October 08

Commonwealth by Anne Patchett

Having read this book, it’s decided. Anne Patchett has earned a seat at my ‘in-my-dreams dinner party’. You know the one?  The dinner party you’d host if you could invite anyone living or dead – the legends, those you love, have crushes on, wish desperately were your friends.  That one. She’d be joined by Lily […]

October 02

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Are we so short of good book options that finishable has become a measure of quality? I don’t think so. Don’t get me wrong, I like a quick read and am not afraid of chick lit. I support any kind of reading in principle and seeing my kids nose up against the side of the […]

September 12

The Girls by Emma Cline

Here is one author to keep your eyes on, Readheads. Emma Cline has written a beauty with The Girls and while not the easiest of reads or most fun, it is certainly a damn fine one.   My heart broke a little with each page and not because it is super sad in the traditional […]

September 05

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

This book is going to be big. Selected for Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club, put on Barack Obama’s summer reading list, profiled in Time Magazine and The New Yorker, its  scheduled September release was brought forward to August just to meet anticipated demand. Beyond the hype, The Underground Railroad has substance and if it isn’t on […]

August 29

Dinner with Edward by Isabel Vincent

This review may actually read like a visit to the counsellor so I apologise at the get-go. Reason being, Dinner with Edward brought up so many wonderful memories for me about people I loved dearly, who are now gone, and it made me think about why they left such a powerful impression on my life.  It made me remember every […]

August 21

Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler

I absolutely fell in love with this book’s beautiful cover before realising it was by Anne Tyler, an author I love.   Woop Woop.  Baby, you are coming home with me….. Well, thank goodness I loved the cover Readheads, because – and I’m heartbroken to say it – the cover is the only thing I liked about this damn […]

August 15

The Course of Love by Alain de Botton

Relationship worries?  The Course of Love has got you covered. Just one quick read of this breezy bestseller and you could save thousands on tissues, counselling and wine. This hot of the press beauty by Alain de Botton (think Essays in Love) is like an articulate friend and self-help book put together with the added benefit of […]

July 22

Hope Farm by Peggy Frew

While I don’t want to get too ahead of myself, I am pretty sure this is going to be my Book of 2016. Whoa there, I hear you saying.  Hold those horses – it’s only July.  Well perhaps.  But if I judge a book purely on its ability to keep me reading past midnight completely enthralled, well […]

July 16

Barkskins by Annie Proulx

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 – […]

July 07

The World Without Us by Mireille Juchau

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 […]