Tag Archives: Anna Goldsworthy

20 Books of Summer (except that it’s winter)

Posted by Kate W in Stuff and Nonsense and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

books-for-challenge

Cathy at 746 Books is hosting the 20 Books of Summer reading challenge again this year. I’m going to join in, with a particular effort to read from my stacks of physical books (as opposed to e-books).

There’s no better time to curl up with a book than winter. Because it’s winter in Melbourne. So while Cathy et al. is enjoying the Irish sunshine along with twenty selected books, I’ll be rugging up  (I wonder if in fact my winter will be the equivalent of an Irish summer? Perhaps I’ll post the weather forecast for the day I finish each book to compare…). Continue reading →

Six Degrees of Separation – from Elizabeth is Missing to Tales of the City

Posted by Kate W in Stuff and Nonsense and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

elizabeth-is-missing

It’s six degrees of separation for books. Created by Emma Chapman and Annabel Smith. Check out the rules if you want to play along.

We begin with Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healy. It’s a mystery involving an elderly woman. A similar theme runs through The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane. Continue reading →

Australian Women Writers Challenge 2013 Wrap-up

Posted by Kate W in Fiction and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

awwbadge_2013

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oi, oi, oi! I enjoy the Australian Women Writers Challenge – it goes a little way to addressing the gender bias in literary review pages, plus I try to buy my AWW titles from an independent book shop (doing my bit for the Australian publishing industry and independent booksellers).

I signed up for the Miles challenge (read 6 books, review at least 4) but managed to complete the Franklin level (read 10 books, review at least 6). Continue reading →

‘Welcome to Your New Life’ by Anna Goldsworthy

Posted by Kate W in Non-fiction and tagged with , , , , , ,

I went through a stage where I was addicted to ‘mummy memoirs’. Because being up at 2am feeding a baby wasn’t enough – I had to read about it too.

By and large, I’ve moved on from mummy memoirs but a copy of  Welcome to Your New Life by Anna Goldsworthy came my way and I read the first chapter. And then I read the whole book in one sitting. I enjoyed this book immensely from the very first page when a newly pregnant Goldsworthy, having been a vegetarian for 14 years, suddenly craves a sausage. And eats one.

“I do not just crave any old sausage, I crave this sausage: a stocky turd-like cevapi. Years of abstinence vanish, as my mouth remembers, my tongue remembers. The sausage’s loud clang against the tastebuds, of spice and flesh and fat.”

And then she tells her family she’s pregnant. I obviously don’t know Goldsworthy’s sister, Sash, but if I had a sister I’d like one like Sash. Sash gets a few scenes in the book but her opener, on hearing about Anna’s pregnancy is “Fuck off!” (presumably said with a “Get outta here” spin).

Continue reading →