Books

Linear time occupying a single, rather crowded universe can feel constricting at times. Everything we do, from catching a certain bus to repairing a relationship with an estranged friend or relative is a one-shot deal, condemned to a single moment in time, whether successful or not, from which there is Continue Reading

One of the most delightful parts of reading a book is discovering the characters who, if written well, play a key role in the story of which you are now, as a reader, a part. While you are not part of the story per se, it can often feel like Continue Reading

When it comes to the end of the world, a subject with which humanity, especially in pandemic-plagued 2020, seems to have an endless fascination, the assumption almost always is that nothing good can come of it. That’s fair enough – on the surface, and even deep down among the zombies, Continue Reading

If there is one thing at which Jasper Fforde excels, and let’s face there are many (have you read his books? Read and learn the breadth of this writer’s extensive talents), it is the ability to wrap hard, made-of-steel truths inside an outer wrapping of appealing wit, whimsy and quirk. Continue Reading

Is there hope at the slow end of a dying world? You could be forgiven for thinking not in Charlotte McConaghy’s The Last Migration where the climate changed-induced creeping apocalypse at its heart has ushered in the demise of moose and elephants, wolves and bees and the big cats, and Continue Reading

The alternate history genre of storytelling is often dismissed as a fanciful game of “what ifs”, a moving around of real world people and events to create an altogether different perspective on a particularly transformative moment in time. But the really good alternate histories perform an altogether more important role Continue Reading

SNAPSHOTThis children’s book is a journey about an endangered red panda who eats its way through the world, meeting other animal friends and trying food that is unique to their countries. It is a celebration of food, animals, and art, promoting biological diversity, cultural diversity, and belonging. (synopsis via Laughing Continue Reading

Humanity has a perverse gift for shooting itself comprehensively in the foot even as it tries to take heady and hopeful steps into a necessary future. This enduring Achilles Heel is on full and invigoratingly involving display in Laura Lam’s novel Goldilocks, which is less about bears, young girls and Continue Reading

Ladies and gentlemen of the pandemic current – even Doctor Dolittle has taken an apocalyptic turn, something that shouldn’t surprise in an age when horror seems to be writ large on just about every part of the human experience. Granted, Hugh Lofting, who penned the Doctor Dolittle series, saw his Continue Reading

Of the many things we mythologise in society, and they are great and many because life very rarely matches our ideal, small towns sit very close to the top of the aspirational heap. We see them as some perfect urban realisation of community, a place where you are known and Continue Reading