Books

  Among humanity’s many contradictory traits, one that stands out is our ability to romanticise just about anything. Whether it’s things as mundane as upcoming holidays or an album release by our favourite artist, or idealistic hopes for a better future, one that dwarfs our oft-blighted present, we are ever-ready Continue Reading

  SNAPSHOT “Turtles All the Way Down begins with a fugitive billionaire and a cash reward. It is about lifelong friendship, the intimacy of an unexpected reunion, Star Wars fan fiction, and tuatara. But at its heart is Aza Holmes, a young woman navigating daily existence within the ever-tightening spiral Continue Reading

  Have loved books for as long as I can remember. And given their close connection, I have loved bookshops with just as much passion for almost as long. Where other kids were spending their hard-won pocket money on skateboards, lollies and comics books – OK I did that too Continue Reading

  As the temporary custodians of relatively short lifespans, humanity has always looked longingly at the idea of immortality. Everything from the fabled Fountain of Youth through to vampires and religious dogma (though in many cases you have to die to get this extension to your lifespan, rather complicating the Continue Reading

  With a built-in warning that humanity is its own worst enemy – by a considerable margin and that’s without a nasty zombie-creating virus on the loose in the world – Deadline picks up the shambling good work of its brilliant predecessor Feed, and runs with it, far faster than Continue Reading

  When it comes to popular parlance, love, to put it mildly, is a popular topic. Whether we are falling into it, breaking up with it, celebrating its longevity or mourning its unexpected brevity, it consumes a lot of pop culture air. For all that well-deserved ubiquity, one aspect of Continue Reading

Young adult literature is starting to explore death in depth. Erin Farrow, Victoria University The inevitable and universal nature of death has made it a popular topic of children’s literature. While death has appeared in these stories for centuries, death in young adult novels has become much darker and more Continue Reading

  Childhood is, on a whole lot of levels, a time when we figure a whole lot of stuff out. It’s messy, it’s fun, it’s complicated, it’s not; what it is above all though is a training ground for the rest of life, figuring out who we are, what we Continue Reading

  As a young gay man growing up in a Christian household back in the ’70s and ’80s, there was a distinct moment, most likely several really, when it dawned on me with a sickening sense of dread that I was not like everyone else around me. All the good Continue Reading