Category Archives: Book Reviews

Just Can’t Do It

Posted on 19/01/2012 by

Sorry, fantasy fanatics. I just can’t do it. I try, but I don’t find fantasy enjoyable. I just finished Obernewtyn, and all I could think about was how awful and expository the prose was, and how frustrated I was about … Continue reading →

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Review: What the Family Needed

Posted on 15/01/2012 by

What the Family Needed, by Steven Amsterdam Sleepers Publishing, 2011 ISBN: 9781742702117 RRP: $24.95 I loved Steven Amsterdam’s incredibly popular novel, Things We Didn’t See Coming. I think what I enjoyed most about it was Amsterdam’s knack for putting characters in … Continue reading →

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Review: Rocks In The Belly

Posted on 06/01/2012 by

Rocks in the Belly, by Jon Bauer Scribe, 2010 ISBN: 9781921844539 RRP:  $24.95 I’m a slow reader, but I ripped through Rocks in the Belly. It’s the kind of book you think about even when you’re not reading it. This novel … Continue reading →

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The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin

Posted on 15/12/2011 by

I’m great at making resolutions. Not New Years’ Resolutions, I just make them all the time. I’ll exercise more, I’ll be up at a certain time, I’ll do a writing exercise every day, I’ll read a hundred books a year… … Continue reading →

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Cherry Ripe

Posted on 19/11/2011 by

I picked up my copy of Cherry Ripe at the closing-down sale of City Basement Books, when they left Elizabeth Street. I got it for only $1. For this reason, it’s sat on my shelf for quite a while, and … Continue reading →

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The Best Art Feels Like Playing

Posted on 07/11/2011 by

“DAWN: Oh, I dunno, Nadine. Sometimes that’s good. I like his work, it’s fun. The best art can feel just like playing…” In Death of a Ladies’ Man, Alan Bissett has written a novel that feels just like playing. I … Continue reading →

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Writer/Reviewers

Posted on 09/03/2011 by

I don’t have time or energy to do this discussion the justice it deserves today, but it is a topic I’m deeply interested in, not just as something that’s relevant to me, but as something that has pretty serious implications … Continue reading →

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Review: Best Australian Stories 2010

Posted on 23/02/2011 by

The Best Australian Stories 2010, edited by Cate Kennedy Black Inc Publication Date: November 2010 ISBN: 9781863954952 RRP: $29.95 One of the chief advantages of The Best Australian Stories 2010 is that it shows that Australian writing is as varied … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, getting published | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Questioning

Posted on 20/01/2011 by

The last few weeks have contained more questions than I’ve had to ask in quite a while. I’ve found myself a spot reviewing books for RMIT’s magazine “Catalyst”, which is incredibly exciting. It’s a really well-produced glossy thing, with an … Continue reading →

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Reviewing: The Problem of the Accidental Steal

Posted on 07/01/2011 by

I’ve recently finished reading “The Best Australian Stories 2010″. I’m reviewing it for publication, so I have pages and pages full of notes. I feel awkward scribbling in the margins of reviewing books, though it does sound like a more … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, getting published, Inspiration, musings, Rant | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments