(courtesy IMP Awards) Yes, my friends, I put up a Christmas in July tree. Well, to be fair, it’s a plain white tree that sits on a table in our loungeroom all year round and which is bedecked in Christmas ornaments in July and December (and yes, just into February Continue Reading
Books
Book review: Juno Loves Legs by Karl Geary
(courtesy Penguin Books Australia) Not a lot goes right in life for the two titular characters at the heart of Karl Geary’s arrestingly moving novel, Juno Loves Legs. Born into poverty in 1970s Dublin, they are both well and truly up against from the get-go in their economically deprived estate; Continue Reading
UPCOMING READ: The Beforelife of Eliza Valentine by Laura Pearson
(courtesy official Laura Pearson Twitter/X account) YOU’VE HEARD OF THE AFTERLIFE. WELCOME TO THE BEFORELIFE. There are four of us: Samuel, Lucy, Thomas, and me – Eliza. We came into being the day Becca Valentine was born. We’ve been by her side ever since. What she doesn’t know yet, is Continue Reading
Book review: The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent
(courtesy Penguin Books Australia) You have to hand it to romantic comedies (which, by the way, this reviewer adores) – they often have the most outrageously out-there premises that, somehow, in the hands of an accomplished writer, end up feeling grounded and human. It takes some talent for that to Continue Reading
Book review: The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks
(courtesy Hachette Australia) If you stop to think about, every time you open a book and starting reading the opening words on the first page, you are embarking on a journey of sorts, one without a defined ending and only the most beguiling of beginnings. You think nothing of setting Continue Reading
Christmas preview: Dive into the festive comedy chaos of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTThe story revolves around the annual Christmas pageant in a small town, which is turned upside down by the arrival of the Herdman siblings. Known as “the worst kids in the history of the world,” the Herdmans bring unexpected mayhem to the rehearsals and the performance itself. Continue Reading
Book review: The Little Village of Book Lovers by Nina George
(courtesy Penguin Books Australia) Positioning a novel right at the heart of supernatural whimsicality can either work an absolute treat or come across as a little twee and a tad syrupy and corny. Thankfully, The Little French Village of Book Lovers by Nina George (The Little Paris Bookshop) hits just Continue Reading
Book review: Birding by Rose Ruane
(courtesy Hachette Australia) How often do you wonder, as you life races with thoughtless heed and speed on, where all those innocent hopes and dreams of your youth disappeared to? Even if you have had something approaching a charmed existence, there are moments when the shape of life around you Continue Reading
UPCOMING READ: Cover reveal for The Relentless Legion (a novel of The Divide) by J. S. Dewes
(courtesy J. S. Dewes / Macmillan Publishers) SNAPSHOTJ. S. Dewes is back with her acclaimed and action packed Divide series (The Last Watch, The Exiled Fleet) where The Expanse meets the Night’s Watch. The Sentinels have rallied under the leadership of Adequin Rake, and Cavalon Mercer has uncovered the horrifying Continue Reading
Book review: Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack
(courtesy Macmillan Publishers) As a general rule, when you think of things that are fun, you usually don’t think of murder. But the solving of these murders? Ah, that is a another gloriously immersive thing indeed! That’s been quite clear since the early days of crime-solving models and got a Continue Reading