01. Lots more at the Comedy Festival this week – Tom Sainsbury, Daniel Foxx, Geraldine Hickey, and Chris Parker. You know when a comedian mentions something that you had completely forgotten and suddenly it’s hilarious? (that for SSR – Sustained Silent Reading – with Tom Sainsbury, and continuous cricket with Geraldine Hickey). All were fantastic but if you have a chance to see Daniel Foxx, grab it. Continue reading
I’m not sure why but I’ve been very slow off the mark with memoirs this year. Ordinarily, I’d be at least ten deep by April – memoir is my favourite genre. Anyway, I picked up Strangers by Belle Burden (subtitle – ‘Memoir of a Marriage’) and I barely moved a muscle until I’d finished it.
Belle’s story is relatively straightforward – happily married to a man called James, three teenage children, an apartment in New York and a large house on Martha’s Vineyard. Belle had worked as a lawyer at a large firm where she met James. She left the practice after they married and had their first child, and in the meantime, James moved to working with a hedge fund (and was very successful). When COVID hit, the couple moved to Martha’s Vineyard and fell into the rhythm of slower days, cooking elaborate meals and long walks.
And then James announced he was leaving Belle. 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. This week, all are books that have just hit the shelves. Continue reading
01. It’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival time. Have been to a couple of shows: Continue reading
It’s time for #6degrees. Start at the same place as other wonderful readers, add six books, and see where you end up. Continue reading
Are you familiar with Chris Kraus’s writing? I have never read her seminal work, I Love Dick, but did enjoy the TV series based on the book that came out a couple of years ago. It’s certainly not necessary to have read her previous work to appreciate her latest ‘novel’ (it’s actually a combination of autofiction, memoir and true crime), The Four Spent the Day Together, however, I suspect it would have been a richer reading experience had I. Continue reading
In previous years, I’ve attempted to read the full Stella Prize longlist – that took some effort in terms of coordinating predictions, library reservations and bookshop visits! This year, the longlist announcement crept up on me and I was totally unprepared. Nevertheless, I got my hands on a copy of Lucy Nelson’s short story collection, Wait Here. Continue reading
01. It’s Melbourne Food and Wine Festival! Two dinners and an event: 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. This week, all three books came from the ‘Best of 2024‘ list (yes, they’ve been lingering a while!). Continue reading
My last three picks for Reading Ireland Month (two audios and a hardcover) – Continue reading