Siena Stubbs was just 12 years old when she captured the bird photos that feature in this delightful book – birds she’d seen in and around Yirrkala in North East Arnhem Land all her life. Intrigued by nature, she’d been taking blurry photographs on a borrowed iPad when her aunt gave her a digital SLR.
Aussie women’s words shone brightly in my summer reading. Bird in hand Bird Country (Text) gathers some of my favourite Claire Aman short stories like ‘Jap Floral’, ‘What I Didn’t Put in My Speech’ and ‘Why the Owl Gazes at the Moon’ in one volume. The latter story is unforgettable. Imagine: Beauty, terror, and grief
A patchier reading year for me but still some good finds for you to enjoy … Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman –You’ll love how Eleanor looks at the world and applaud her impatience with society’s silly conventions. While she’s deeply wounded by what happened to her as a child, she’s also funny. The Overstory by Richard Powers –This
Australia’s first Sorry Day was held on May 26, 1998. Almost a decade later, the word SORRY resonated across the land as the prime minister, Kevin Rudd, offered an apology on behalf of past governments for the suffering and loss inflicted on the Stolen Generations and the broader Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. Author
Squeezing reading around long working hours isn’t ideal. Here are a few books I’ve crammed into the late-night nooks and crannies of my crazy life. This Water: Five Tales by Beverley Farmer Vale Beverley Farmer. Farmer’s first books Alone, Milk and The House in the Light were magical to me: her way with words exquisite. Since 1980,
When first lines are good they set the scene and lure you to read more. Here are five recent favourites. My brother drowned ‘A woman came across the field, carrying the body of my brother, who had drowned.’ – Dying in the First Person by Nike Sulway How can we describe what gives us meaning?
Before he flees to the Western Australian desert, 15-year-old Jaxie Clackton has had the tripe thumped out of him regularly by his violent father, ‘the Captain’. He’s also watched his mother Shirley die of a painful illness and prayed (despite his atheism) for relief she never receives. As his father drinks homebrew and rum outside
Chef, entrepreneur and author David Bitton is living proof that early adversity does not have to limit your potential. In fact, his recently published memoir shows how the grit of struggle can be transformed into a pearl of generosity and fulfilment. Despite growing up with an alcoholic mother, a father he saw infrequently, and brothers
Last year was a bumper year of reading for me, and just look at how many Australian books are in my highlights list (nine out of 14, including four debuts). The short grabs in this post should tempt you to investigate the books further. Many of the grabs are also linked to longer A Bigger
A New England Affair by Steven Carroll Just before I left for the airport (back in late September), I closed the pages on this fabulous novel, which probes the long-term relationship that the poet TS Eliot had with Emily Hale. Hale was Tom Eliot’s friend, confidante and muse to his poetry—but their relationship foundered. Emily and Tom
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