I pulled a muscle getting this book off the shelf and put my life on hold whilst reading it. Set over 300 years, tracking mankind’s relentless and ignorant assault on the world’s great forests, Barkskins is the Sistine Chapel of novels. Grand in scale, lofty in its ambitions; this is not a poolside read – […]
Category Archives: All
July
07
The World Without Us by Mireille Juchau
posted by Ms K
Hold the phone Joan because I had an epiphany reading this book. It was this. I mostly read Australian stories. If anyone had said this to me a month ago I would have guffawed, strongly believing I was a true global citizen of the reading kind. Nope. Having had a good look through my reviews […]
June
09
People Who Knew Me by Kim Hooper
posted by Ms K
This is such a clever book I found it hard to put down which, I must say, was a little surprising. I did not expect to like it as much as I did but I happily ripped through it in a weekend and for those of us who love to read, you know what a […]
June
01
The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
posted by Ms A
Siblings come with an innate sense of fairness. It starts with ice cream but extends to everything from who gets the most time with Grandma, help with homework, pocket money or lifts to school. Dammit in my household, I get in trouble for misallocating the length of my hugs. Now I’m no mathematician but surely sibling management […]
May
24
The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks
posted by Ms K
The Secret Chord is my golden trifecta of books. First up, it’s a historical novel which is my absolute undoing – the older the better and it doesn’t get too much older than the tale of David and Goliath, right? (Well, maybe – but then I’d be reviewing The Bible). It is a grandiose tale that sweeps you along […]
May
04
Fever At Dawn by Peter Gardos
posted by Ms A
I was not prepared for how much I would love this book. So quiet and unassuming, I shudder to think how easily I could have missed it. Peter Gardos (who is actually a Hungarian filmmaker) tells the true story of how his parents met and found love at the end of WWII. To be fair, […]
May
02
Between a Wolf and A Dog by Georgia Blain
posted by Ms K
Bitter experience has proven to me never judge a book by the reviews – especially those squeezed onto every spare bit of book real-estate, each one screaming ‘read this’. More than once I answered those siren calls, and after some pretty big disappointments I had decided – once and for all – my ego simply couldn’t take picking up these kinds of best sellers […]
April
21
A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
posted by Ms K
If there was an award handed out to someone taking the longest time to finish a book, I’d win it hands-down. I have been beavering away at this one for m.o.n.t.hs! Poor Ms A has been galloping through her books while I could only reply to her inquisitive emails about my progress with ‘nope, still going’. I don’t know who’ll […]
April
15
Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi
posted by Ms A
Helen Oyeyemi is a bit of a British literary indie sensation with awards left, right and centre and an ability to interview as beautifully as she writes. Just Google her and you will see what I mean. Suffice to say, I had to read one of her books to see what all the fuss was […]
March
28
The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood
posted by Ms A
Apologies in advance to all the Margaret Atwood fans out there and to the beautiful friend who gave me a copy of her latest book. This review isn’t pretty. After just finishing The Heart Goes Last (a massive personal achievement that cannot be understated) I am getting off the Atwood express and calling for a worldwide derailment. […]
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