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
Escapism in Ottessa Moshfegh’s “My Year of Rest and Relaxation”
Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links. Clicking through for additional information or to make a purchase may result in a small commission. “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, … Continue reading
You Konmari-ed all your books, now what?
Unless you have been living under a rock, you have heard about Marie Kondo and her tidying up as a way of life. Her two books on organising and cleaning have changed the way people structure their homes for good or for bad, depending on who you ask. Since the Netflix series came out, everyone … Continue reading
“The Land Before Avocado”: a truly bittersweet look at Australia’s past
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
“The Witches of New York” by Ami McKay: the importance of sisterhood
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
The Best Reads of 2018
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
The Worst Reads of 2018
2018 was not the best year for me. In fact 2018, for the most part sucked on a lot of levels. Although, the silver lining of 2018 was that I got to read a lot of books. The year before last, 2017, I wrote a summary of my reading focusing on the variety of authors … Continue reading
“The Drum that Beats Within Us”: a review of Mike Bond’s eco-critical poetry collection
Mike Bond’s eco-critical poetry collection The Drum that Beats Within Us is a collection of poetry that asks us to look at our environment through the eyes of animals and also asks us to take a close look at our relationship with nature and the city. Furthermore, Bond critiques the state of poetic production and … Continue reading
A Review of “Tiny Hot Dogs”: recipes for life and food
Mary Giuliani’s memoir Tiny Hot Dogs: A Memoir in Small Bites intrigued me because I love talking about food as much as I love reading. Just yesterday I had a friend over for coffee and when she left my husband remarked, “You spoke about food for two hours straight…” Giuliani owns a catering/events business that … Continue reading
Goodreads Winners Are In: Who were my favourites for 2018?
The wait is over! Goodreads has announced its winners for 2018, which also marks the ten-year anniversary of the book awards. Readers get the chance to vote for their favourite books based on different popular categories like fiction, sci-fi, and Romance. It is basically the Oscars for books. This year, Goodreads recorded over five million … Continue reading
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