Misrule

1. What a Piece of Work by Dorothy Porter. I read this chilling, remarkable verse novel while I was dog/house-sitting for friends this weekend. Set in Callan Park in Sydney, where I once worked in the NSW Writer's Centre (on the cover of the book) and now go for my walks.

2. Problem Child by James Roy. Just started this—interested to see where James goes with this unreliable narrator—the bully who thinks he's the victim. Knowing James, this will be more than the run-of-the-mill "how to" bullying-themed middle school novel.

3. Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt.

Gorgeous romance/fantasy in the tradition of folk/fairy tale and Scheherazade's 1001 Arabian Nights. This month's group read on adbooks.

4. Fatal Storm by Rob Mundle. Dramatic and affecting account of the 1998 Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

5. "Dancing Through the Minefield: Some Observations on the Theory, Practice and Politics of a Feminist Literary Criticism" by Annette Kolodny. Published in Feminist Studies, Vol. 6:1 (1980: Spring)

For the everlasting thesis...

6. My high school diaries.

A journey back into my adolescence. Very revealing!

Sorry to intrude on my own blog, but Olaf, if you're still reading this, please email me.

Ta!

With permission, I blog this email that came to me today from a friend who is doing too much author research:

How come authors always have such upbeat biographical notes at the
back/front of their books? Why can't they write: 'After my tedious
suburban childhood I rapidly found myself trapped in a dead-end job
and and a marriage that bristled with resentment?'

Phooey.

Hilarious!

Authors reading this: I challenge you to write me a true bio note. Use the comments function and let's have some fun!

I've neglected this blog for a few weeks; forgive me! I've been preoccupied. But now, I'm on leave as of this week, the intention being I spend this month off work on my Everlasting MA Thesis. Ha! Three days into my leave, I have so far been distracted from said thesis by: sleeping in; a lovely dinner with an old school friend; reading my friend Pamela's new adult fantasy novel in manuscript (it's wonderful!); a major book launch and a dead currawong on the ground in front of my flat's verandah. (Beautiful creature—I think it must have flown into the window of the flat upstairs and broken its neck. I went to put my bin out for collection and found The Body and was stupidly upset and unable to cope, so I had to ring a neighbour, Cub Leader Bruce, to come and dispose of The Body. Thanks, Bruce!)

The book launch was for the marvellous new picture book, Going Bush, which was the result of an inter-school, inter-faith and multicultural project (the Harmony Project), led by author Nadia Wheatley and her artist partner Ken Searle, with a bunch of kids from various schools in Sydney's inner-south-west. Nadia and Ken taught the students the Indigenous/Papunya School way of learning—placing Country at the heart of learning about history and culture and environment. The students—white, Aboriginal, Muslim, Catholic, the whole shebang—created art and wrote poetry and learned the principals of harmony, respect, understanding and affiliation with the natural world. Their work appears in the book—one can but hope that the experience will have a major effect on future generations of Australians, and their determination to bring to their world acceptance and a loving harmony to intercultural, inter-faith relationships, as the NSW Governor Marie Bashir noted in her launch speech.

I must also note that the launch began with a sincere and moving Welcome to Country from Auntie Faye; an elder of her Indigenous Australian people—she was so deeply touched by, and proud of the success of the Harmony project, and its role in bringing Indigenous culture and history to the broader community.

A photo from the launch will follow, but I also must note that my "recent reading" blog entries have been all but forgotten for ages. So—recent reading, in brief:

Meme McDonald's stunningly beautiful and moving Love Like Water. Not a children's or even YA book, but a gentle, powerful, sensual and beautifully written novel about impossible love across cultural boundaries. Made me weep. I've never been to Alice Springs, but the novel made me feel like I had spent real time there. So very recommended.

Elizabeth Honey's newest novel in the Stella Street sequence, To the Boy in Berlin. Our Henni Octon is growing up (she swears!), but Henni and Liz's dedication to social and natural justice holds fast. A perfect, natural successor to Remote Man and the Stella Street books, with the bonus of up-to-the-minute technology.

And Susan Beth Pfeffer's post-apocalyptic-for-the-post(?)-nuclear-generation's compelling novel Life As We Knew It. An asteroid hits the moon, and life as we know it on Earth is over. This first-person, diary-based novel will ensure you never look at the moon—or your own home and pantry—the same way again. And hands up for a brilliantly-rendered, but totally likeable, even trustworthy (get that!) unreliable narrator.

Good reading. Good people. Now, down to the damn thesis!

Oh, but first, here is a photo of Nadia and Marie Bashir at today's launch:

And here's another of Professor Bashir meeting children at the launch:

Oh, but, yes, there's another note before I sign off: all the photos from the Going Bush launch, and new photos by my niece Grace can be seen at my Flickr account.

And now, to bed!

My friend Toni has started a blog about good reading and writing. Check out Mockingburg!