Stephanie Land’s memoir comes at an extremely important time in the world’s social and political climate. The very existence of her memoir is in direct defiance of the shame and stigma surrounding poverty. When I saw this memoir appearing in my social media feeds I was extremely excited to know more from Land. Although her … Continue reading
Beth Miller’s novel posits the question: What happens when you love someone outside of your faith? There are thousands of answers to this question, and arguably loving the ‘wrong’ person is something humans seem pretty good at since we have been doing it for centuries. The Two Hearts of Eliza Bloom is in many ways … Continue reading
Mindfulness has become a buzz word in the last few years. The term has taken on so many different meanings in the West and is all at once meditation, letting go of your ego, getting to know your inner self, practicing kindness, learning to let your thoughts go, sitting still for a long time, not … Continue reading
Michelle Obama’s memoir is a bestseller for all the right reasons. Regardless of your political affiliations and opinions, this book reflects a new era in politics. The lines between politicians and the contemporary notions of celebrities are becoming more and more blurred. The way that we consume, critique, and engage with politics and celebrities is … Continue reading
When I read books, sometimes I know exactly what I want to highlight in my review and other times, ideas and themes from the novel need time to grow and develop in my mind like an oyster and its pearl. The latter was very true for my reading of A.D. Hopkins The Boys Who Woke … Continue reading
CONTENT WARNING: discussions of sexual assault, cancer, death by suicide, and drug/alcohol abuse. As a passionate researcher in memory studies I am always drawn to books, both fiction and nonfiction, that draw on and play with the way we remember collectively and individually. J.M. Monaco’s novel is an exquisitely painful exploration of collective remembering within … Continue reading
“Who hasn’t—sometime—wanted to escape? But from what? To where? And once we have arrived at the good place, is this the end of the desire to move? Or does it stir again, tempted by another image […]” p xi. Tuan,Yi-Fu Escapism. Yi-Fu Tuan describes the universal nature of our desire to escape in his geographical … Continue reading
When I saw The Land Before Avocado by Richard Glover I knew I had to read it. Not only am I missing Australia a little bit these days, but I also felt drawn to the title, which I assume is a not so subtle reference to millionaire real estate mogul Tim Gurner and his ‘advice’ … Continue reading
I recently read Ami McKay’s novel The Witches of New York whilst I was on holiday on the Spanish island, La Palma. I spent a lot of time enjoying the sunshine and catching up on some much needed rest and reading. McKay’s novel struck a chord with me and felt it arrived in my life … Continue reading
2018 was a year of exploring new genres and discovering new and first-time published authors. The year wasn’t all success when it comes to books and you can read about my worst reads of 2018 here. Fear not though, this post is about the best five reads of 2018 and gosh there were some amazing … Continue reading
