tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364203112009-11-08T14:47:00.444+11:00jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.comBlogger121125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-59512489100524814642009-11-03T16:03:00.007+11:002009-11-03T16:29:43.408+11:00

There has been lots of reading around these parts lately, and I'm pleased to say that I'm on a run of books that I've really enjoyed.First up, Sylvie Matton's historical novel, Rembrandt's Whore. Matton focuses on the character of Hendrickje Stoffels, a woman who lived for many years as Rembrandt's partner although they never married. As you can imagine this was very controversial in

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-18215865183710874632009-10-08T16:27:00.009+11:002009-10-08T18:11:40.556+11:00

Sigh. I don't want to spend an entire post on why I haven't been posting but I probably owe some sort of explanation for my pretty hopeless neglect of this blog. The last few months have been absolutely hectic at work. The flow on effect of that has been that I just haven't had the mental space for writing here. In fact I've barely had the mental space for actually reading. If you look at

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-29572179283925893892009-07-26T17:49:00.007+10:002009-07-26T18:54:06.238+10:00

In a dark, chaotic and dusty second hand bookshop, where the shelves were so close together that I had to shuffle sideways to get between them and, when I did, it was almost impossible to read the spines of the books that were pressed up to my nose, on a day when the rain was icy and the wind strong enough to knock you over, I came across a book that I hadn't thought about in many years.Theodore

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-21999788889608507992009-06-13T17:21:00.000+10:002009-06-13T17:22:36.414+10:00

Just coincidentally, two of my recent reads have centred on young women who find themselves in terrible situations. Although they are very different books, Kate Holden's In My Skin and Sylvia Plath's classic novel, The Bell Jar, share the ability to evoke the powerful emotions and crises in identity experienced by many young women.Not many young women go through the experiences that Australian

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-54723776010677145302009-04-14T12:19:00.006+10:002009-04-14T12:54:32.996+10:00

Hot on the heels of In the Electric Mists with Confederate Dead, I whipped through another book in James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux series on the weekend. Sunset Limited was similarly gripping and atmospheric, a perfect lazy long weekend read. We even (finally) had some rain here which was quite appropriate given the almost constant rain in Burke's New Iberia, Louisiana.Sunset Limited is a

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-81478643246445887362009-04-11T15:55:00.000+10:002009-04-11T15:57:50.046+10:00

There has been a rather long silence here at this delicious solitude lately. Partly this has been because my work has changed this year, and with extra responsibilities there, there has seemed to be little time to write here. Also, I've had a sort of writer's block when it comes to my blog. Somehow when I'm on the internet I seem to be more easily distracted by other bright and shiny sites and

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-13554233633586904542009-02-21T16:36:00.006+11:002009-02-21T17:42:31.422+11:00

King Dork by Frank Portman is one of the most fun reads I've had in ages. It's ostensibly written for young adults but, like with the best fiction in any sub-genre, its appeal is much broader than that. I think the quote from someone called John Green on the cover of my edition says it best: "If you're in a band or wish you were, if you loved or hated The Catcher in the Rye, if you like girls

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-23236967084105157082009-01-26T13:48:00.005+11:002009-01-26T14:31:32.079+11:00

I read William Boyd's novel Restless in a day and a bit (give or take a few hours for necessities like eating and sleeping). It was a perfect book for the moment (that being mid-way through my long summer holidays, in the middle of a heat wave and with plenty of time on my hands). Please forgive my review though, which might be rather shallow- I read this book quickly and it was a few weeks (

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-78594389300705987742009-01-22T09:54:00.006+11:002009-01-22T11:07:12.792+11:00

While on holidays over Christmas I was looking for a light, fun read. Something not too challenging. And I hoped that Sophie Gee's historical novel The Scandal of the Season would fulfil my requirements. I had heard about Gee's novel on an ABC TV special on the genre of romance- one of the series hosted by Jennifer Byrne. Sophie Gee appeared on the panel and came across as clever and

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-71775907155806150492009-01-21T17:17:00.004+11:002009-01-21T18:09:14.240+11:00

When I bought David Sedaris' collection of essays, When You are Engulfed in Flames, as a Christmas present for my husband, I hadn't read anything by Sedaris but the reviews of this book had been fantastic and somehow I knew it would be his kind of thing. Happily, I was right. My husband raced through it in a day or so and then I got my greedy mits on the book. Sedaris seems to be pretty well

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-31602919537356625422009-01-14T10:31:00.003+11:002009-01-14T10:52:56.732+11:00

We're a good way into the first month of 2009 and finally I get around to writing my post on reading in 2008. Oh well, diligent posting does not seem to be the way for me...2008 was a great year for reading at this delicious solitude. I read 39 books, which is ok for me, but I'd love to read more this year (and I really think I should be able to count Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrell as more than

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-72212953370278712712008-12-14T16:52:00.005+11:002008-12-14T17:32:09.343+11:00

This morning I finished reading Alain de Botton's thoroughly enjoyable book, The Architecture of Happiness. I've realised that I've become a big fan of De Botton's clear, thoughtful writing after loving The Art of Travel and now finding this book as good, if not better. He has a nice way of simplifying complex ideas and making clear the relationship between philosophy and ordinary, every day

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-51069903862246884962008-12-08T18:52:00.002+11:002008-12-08T19:01:50.847+11:00

My blog posts have become sadly infrequent (well, sadly for me at least, as I really enjoy posting here). This is for all the usual reasons of things both within and beyond my control. But now that reports are written and the long summer holiday is tantalizingly within reach, I'm determined to get back into it and once again crank up this delicious solitude.I've got lots of Australian books to

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-34527270111769090042008-10-31T21:07:00.005+11:002008-10-31T21:39:52.654+11:00

I'm currently reading two very English books, from roughly the same era (well, mid-twentieth century-ish) and which are both written in a really delightful, quiet, precise and beautiful way. They are both also, co-incidentally, written by women called Elizabeth.Elizabeth David's cook book French Provincial Cooking is justifiably famous. This is a cook book that is easy to read cover to cover.

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-13138165190258007742008-10-16T21:29:00.005+11:002008-10-16T22:01:45.250+11:00

Carry Me Down by MJ Hyland is a disturbing and brilliant novel (a combination of adjectives that applies to some of my favourite pieces of literature). It totally divided my book group last week. There were some who hated it so much they could hardly even discuss the book- and these are lovely, educated readers- and then there were those of us who just fell totally in love with the beautiful

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-37700830378687309192008-09-30T16:22:00.004+10:002008-09-30T17:00:20.544+10:00

For someone who rarely reads much other than fiction, I seem to have found myself reading outside of my usual comfort zone lately. For starters, I read Where Underpants Come From by Joe Bennett for my book club. Bennett has written an account of his search for the source of the unbelievably cheap underpants he buys at his local department store in New Zealand. The book becomes a kind of

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-43913947369549681722008-08-31T15:53:00.001+10:002008-08-31T15:54:21.965+10:00

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne are two books for young readers that share their basis in tragic periods from history. I read both books recently and was struck by some of their similarities. Both books share a sense of dread and fear, and both raise the issue of how brutal events in history might be mediated for younger

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-55829956056931022452008-08-11T18:08:00.003+10:002008-08-11T18:34:25.239+10:00

There's been lots of reading and not much blogging happening around here lately so it seems time for a bit of a round up post. I'm reading a couple of interesting books for school at the moment. I just finished Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor and am working my through John Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Both are young adult novels that deal with terrible, tragic

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-81235428697198151272008-07-28T18:23:00.000+10:002008-07-28T18:23:45.606+10:00

I have recently converted to being a Graham Greene fan as a result of his small but perfectly formed novel, The Quiet American. I had read some Graham Greene before (Our Man in Havana) and was not particularly drawn in by his writing, although I could see that technically it was good. The Quiet American, however, really blew me away.The Quiet American is narrated by the main character Fowler, a

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-88866354358509207432008-07-13T17:59:00.003+10:002008-12-12T16:09:26.709+11:00

What is it that I loved so much about Michael Chabon's Wonder Boys? It's hard to capture now that I try to write my thoughts down. In fact, I think it's the books that I really love that I find the hardest to blog about perhaps because it's those books that are hardest to disect and analyse. Part of me wants to keep the experience of reading Wonder Boys whole and untouched. On the other hand,

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-69874923438724928742008-07-05T18:09:00.000+10:002008-12-12T16:09:26.918+11:00

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm in love with Michael Chabon. How did I not see this before when I read The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and thought it was only 'pretty good'? Clearly I was in denial because after reading The Yiddish Policemen's Union for my book club and then quickly following it with Wonder Boys, I can't believe I wasn't raving about Chabon years ago.The Yiddish Policemen's Union

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-29609797065295745312008-06-30T17:53:00.008+10:002008-07-05T18:57:21.236+10:00

The days are short and fresh. The nights, long and cold. It's mid-winter and that means report writing, head-colds and that feeling that this month will never end. But finally on the last day of June, I've found time for a catch up post. Rather than go through each book in its own proper review, I think I'll just sum up my recent reading.I bought The Greatest Man in Cedar Hole by Stephanie

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-390653513781609672008-06-02T21:16:00.002+10:002008-12-12T16:09:27.063+11:00

One thing I enjoy about fiction is the ability it has to show you a part of the world that you know little about. Sometimes a novel can make you feel like a true insider in a way that few other mediums can, by making you feel you inhabit a place and time completely. Hearts and Minds by Rosy Thornton was one such novel for me. In this novel, Thorton reveals some of the workings of the

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-91952579333265753542008-05-27T21:45:00.001+10:002008-12-12T16:09:27.355+11:00

Hot on the heels of having read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, I recently found myself reading yet another modern take on the Victorian novel. Sarah Waters' novel Fingersmith is a rip-roaring yarn set in 19th century England. Waters draws on the tradition of social realism, combining it with a good dose of the Gothic, to create a page-turner of a novel. The plot flies along, taking the reader

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36420311.post-20351356548161970832008-05-03T11:01:00.003+10:002008-05-03T11:22:49.298+10:00

The new school term started on Monday and, as usual, that means not much time for reading or blog-writing in this part of the world. However the beautiful autumn weather (we even had dusting of snow on the surrounding hills the other day!) bodes well for cosy indoor activities ahead.I've been slowly making my way through Tristram Shandy, a book that I am finding quite easy to read in fits and

jesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834794859513738057noreply@blogger.com8