01. A lovely morning for the start of Birrarung Riverfest, making ‘hotels’ for native bees (of which there are over 2000 native species). Australian native bees live alone and don’t make honey. Their preferred place to reside is in little holes (hence the bunch of sticks). Our hotel is now installed in our wattle tree, which is the equivalent of having a nice restaurant in the hotel. Continue reading
Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye. Continue reading
I read Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash months ago – ridiculous to be writing a review now but I am because, since reading it (in May), I have recommended it to so many people.
And this is what I say when I recommend it – “The ending isn’t fab but it doesn’t matter because by the time you get there, you will have laughed so much, you won’t care.” Continue reading
01. It was a week of launches, including the MTC 2027 season launch. Lots of excellent productions ahead, particularly Richard III and A Delicate Balance. I’m excited but I’ll also be missing a large chunk of Melbourne in 2027 (if all goes to plan…). Continue reading
Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. This week, all three are from Cathy at 746 Books’ post on Irish Short Stories & Nonfiction to look out for in 2026 – Continue reading
In some ways, Sophie, Sill Standing by Meg Mason is wildly unbelievable. But in other ways (and I was reading it while I was enjoying the Edinburgh International Book Festival) it is clearly informed by experience and therefore quite believable (and Mason’s chat with Ann Patchett reveals a bit about that experience).
Anyway, real of not, it doesn’t matter a jot. The story is charming – it features Mason’s signature, gentle humour, and it’s set at a literature festival – what a bonus! Continue reading
01. Visited a pool ‘out of zone’ this week (the newly refurbished Brunswick Baths) and it was brilliant. I wish it was my local. Continue reading
Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye. Continue reading
I began Short Story September with two remarkably similar collections – Other People We Married by Emma Straub and Middle-Aged Boys & Girls by Diane Bracuk. Continue reading
First up, Literary Wives has had a rebrand – we are now The Marriage Plot. We decided that a new name was in order to be more inclusive, and broaden our definition and consideration of roles in long-term partnerships.
So, to the club selection – Family Family by Laurie Frankel. Even with our rebrand, this book didn’t fit our intended focus because there are no core partnerships in the story. Instead, Frankel looks at how families are formed and what counts as ‘family’.