I read two five-star books in a row (this and this). It set the bar high – what to read next? To avoid a crash, I switched to genres that I don’t ordinarily go for. Firstly, a mystery – The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke – and secondly, Bossypants, a memoir by comedian Tina Fey (and yes, I read lots of memoir but I know very little about Fey and certainly have not watched her television 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
Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld was probably one of my most anticipated books of 2025 (I rarely pre-order but this one, I did). I was excited because her last short story collection, You Think It, I’ll Say It was exceptionally good (subtext – Show had a lot to live up to…).
There are twelve stories in the collection – very much character-driven (don’t wait for plot twists), with the focus on the inner lives of middle aged women.
From time to time, Janie wonders if David is having an affair. Because of how rigidly he sees things, she doubts it, but if he is, she’s not sure she can summon the requisite outrage, nor, really, can she identify with the impulse. Continue reading
When I started scouting my TBR stack for #ShortStorySeptember books, I happened across Zadie Smith’s Grand Union and couldn’t remember how it had even come into my possession. To be honest, I’ve been a bit off Smith after finding Swing Time so-so, and abandoning The Fraud.
Mystery solved when I opened the book – it’s a personally signed copy, that I acquired at an incredible literary event in 2019, Broadside (among others I saw over the two days were Curtis Sittenfeld, Ariel Levy, Helen Garner and Monica Lewinsky). Clearly when I had the book signed I was totally loving Smith… which makes this review a little rude… Continue reading
Lisa at ANZ LitLovers has just announced a new reading event – Short Story September. 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
Proving that I don’t actually care about my never-really-shrinking-TBR-list is this list of new releases that are on my radar for 2025. Continue reading
Presenting the 2023 Commonly-Agreed-by-the-People-Who-Publish-Best-of-2023-Book-Lists-Before-December-31 top 55 books.
(This is my annual community service to book-bloggers – a list of the books that appear most frequently on the 49 lists that I listed on Best Books of 2023 – A List of Lists – enjoy!). 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
Sometimes a book comes along at exactly the right moment, and your circumstances mean that you get all the more out of said book. This usually happens when I read nonfiction – something will be going on in my life and I happen across a book that is reassuring or affirming in precisely the way I need at that time. When I read Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld it was right-book-at-the-right-time for different reasons. I was on holiday with my friends (yes, this review is long overdue). One of those friends is the person I often refer to here as my ‘best reading buddy’. Coincidentally, she had also brought Romantic Comedy along as her holiday reading. So we sat on the beach and by the pool, laughing and loving the same bits of the story at virtually the same time. And neither of us wanted the book (or the holiday) to end. Continue reading