I read ten awesome books in October, helped a little by cardiac rehab and recovery time. I loved Midnight At the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber so much I bought her next three audiobooks - and listened to another one in November, and bought all the paperbacks too, so I could read them again in
I’m okay, I promise, but last Monday I had a heart attack. ( PSA to all my women friends – it didn’t feel all dramatic and serious like on tv, my chest just hurt, and my arm was a bit sore, so I popped in to the nearby medical centre on my way to work
September was a busy reading month, with some wonderful books by favourite authors - the brilliant novel Home by Larissa Behrendt, and Anita Heiss’s memoir Am I Black Enough For You? 10 Years On - plus a lovely faery tale, The Vintage Witch by Melanie Karsak, and more... 56 of 90 - Home by Larissa
August #bookaweek – work has been crazy busy, and I haven’t had as much time to read, but there were two books I absolutely loved this month, both by Australian authors. Mullumbimby by Melissa Lucashenko and The Beast’s Garden by Kate Forsyth are both important, compelling, heartbreaking reads that I got so caught up in – I was
Covid came to our little apartment in July, and although I worked more days at the day job, not less, I did allow myself to read a bit more inbetween. Books three and four of Selina Fenech’s Beshadowed series were awesome, I loved the extraordinary Legacy by Larissa Behrendt, Garden of Promises and Lies by Paula Brackston and Eternal Light
June was a month of beautiful books, and awesome writers festival events for Hannah Kent’s third book Devotion, Kate Forsyth’s intriguing The Crimson Thread and Favel Parrett’s adorable MG book Wandi, plus the fascinating Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World by Tyson Yunkaporta, sweet audiobook Anne of Green Gables, narrated by Rachel McAdams, and The Silent Princess and may other faery
May #bookaweek catch-up – so many incredible reads, especially Claire G Coleman’s extraordinary debut novel Terra Nullius, and Elle McNicoll’s stunning Show Us Who You Are. The first is a heartbreaking, desperately moving and horrifying sci-fi novel, which made me equally sad and enraged – but convinced that *everyone* should read it. It’s beautiful, powerful
My favourite April reads were the magical MG adventure Like A Charm by Elle McNicoll, and the historical fantasy The Vine Witch by Luanne G Smith. (I have the next two in this trilogy, and will hopefully get to them soon!) There were also faery tales, an intriguing spec fic novel, a new instalment in
March was full of wonderful books, from Felicity Pulman’s Arthurian adventure Shalott 2: Dangerous Magic, Lily Chu’s sweet The Stand-In and Yvette Poshoglian’s inspiring MG read Dear Greta, to Clementine Ford’s Boys Will Be Boys and Samantha Allen’s touching M to (WT)F and Love & Estrogen, and some gorgeous books for younger readers... And I’m
February had two of my favourite books of the year, Shankari Chandran’s incredible Chai Time At Cinnamon Gardens - which won the Miles Franklin Award in 2024 - and Juliet Marillier’s magical A Song of Flight: Warrior Bards Book 3... 07 of 90 - On Hope by Daisy Jeffrey On Hope by Daisy Jeffrey is more
It’s always a bit nerve-racking hearing your audiobook for the first time, because for so long the story has been so clear in your head, and now someone else is contributing their perspective to it too, since an audiobook really is a collaboration between author and narrator. But when I was casting for the audiobook
A new year, and a new stack of books just waiting for me to dive in to. One of my favourite reads of the year - The White Girl by Tony Birch - was a highlight this month, and I adored Elle McNicoll's MG novel A Kind of Spark too. Plus a beautiful, important picture
Someone asked for some recommendations of books to read by First Nations authors, so I thought I’d update my list from a year ago... I’ve read 45 books by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander authors over the last two years, and they’ve all been incredible – three of them were in my favourite six reads
I keep thinking I’ve almost finished this crazy deadline, and I’ll be able to curl up on the couch with a book, but sadly not quite. But audiobooks have allowed me to keep reading... well, listening to... books, and I’m so grateful to all the authors who create them. How We Love by Clementine Ford
Audiobooks for the win! Plus some wonderful books I reviewed for Explorers magazine or read to interview the authors... I love Mel Robbins, she’s so real and inspiring and down to earth and hilarious, and The High-5 Habit (61 of 52) is another great book. I bought the paperback, but have had no time to
Funny to think how recently I became an audiobook lover, since three of my four “reads” this month were actually listens, and the fourth was one I had to review for the magazine. My deadline is still hanging over my head, so no curling up on the couch with a good book until it’s done!
September was a wonderful month for reading - and I was grateful again for audiobooks, which helped me get through a few extra titles in a busy work month... I would never have read Jacqueline Bublitz’s (47 of 52), except that it was a book club choice - but I’m glad I did. It’s about
Equinox Blessings To You – September 23 Today is one of the two days each year of harmony and balance, when the sun is directly above the equator and there are twelve hours of light and twelve hours of dark. OSTARA WISHES The spring or vernal equinox, also known as Ostara, is celebrated between September
It’s been a crazy month with work, and not much time to read, but audiobooks have been a joy, helping me add two more to my monthly tally, since I can listen as a I walk or work out... So I should hit my #bookaweek goal for the year, and maybe I’ll go over? (In 2019
In 2019 I challenged myself to read a book a week – and hit 52. In 2020, I managed more than 70. I’m looking forward to trying to match that in 2021! No wonder I haven’t sent a newsletter in months – I’m not even keeping up with my book posts, oops! I read a
