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Category Archives: General adult audience
Inventor of the post box and novel-making machine: Autobiography is the self-told story of one of my favourite Victorian novelists, Anthony Trollope
Autobiography by Anthony Trollope was an easy and amusing read. It focuses on Trollope’s two careers – as post office official and author – with only brief forays into personal life, although Trollope-as-a-person comes through on every page. Part of … Continue reading
Posted in Biography/Autobiography, British, General adult audience, Nonfiction, Victorian
Tagged autobiography, British, hunting, novel writing, postal service, work
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Pleasant, light reading that leaves me with a warm feeling towards my fellow-human beings: The 44 Scotland Street series by Alexander McCall Smith
The 44 Scotland Street series by Alexander McCall Smith is a modern serial novel published daily in the Scotsman and subsequently in book form. It follows a number of characters in Edinburgh as they drink coffee, negotiate childhood with a … Continue reading
Posted in British, Contemporary, General adult audience, Light Fiction, Scottish, Serial Novel
Tagged Alexander McCall Smith, character-driven, child-raising, dogs, fiction, gap year, gentrification, good out loud, growing up, humour, lighthearted read, men and women, mild romance, modern life, music, narcissism, neighbours, poetry, Scotland, Scottish, social class, society, uni student life
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Our attitudes and experiences of near neighbours haven’t changed all that much in the last 160 years, if Emily Eden’s The Semi-Detached House is any guide
The Semi-Detached House by Emily Eden is a social satire written in the mid-19th century. When young Lady Chester moves into a semi-detached house in the suburbs she anticipates being forced into awkward intimacy with vulgar neighbours, whose daughters will … Continue reading
Posted in 18th Century, British, General adult audience, Novel, Novel of Manners, Victorian
Tagged birds, British, fiction, friendship, having children, humour, mild romance, newly weds, novel of manners, observant, pregnancy, satire, society, some anti-semitism, suburban life, Victorian Era, women
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Radio plays that were The Mark Drama of the 1940s: The Man Born to Be King by Dorothy L. Sayers
As I read The Man Born to be King I found myself thinking, this was the Mark Drama of the 1940s! A series of twelve radio plays about the life of Jesus Christ, they were written by Dorothy L. Sayers … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century, Biography/Autobiography, Christian, Christian Non-fiction, General adult audience, Nonfiction, Script/Play
Tagged 20th Century, ascension, British, character-driven, Christianity, Christmas, crucifixion, disciples, Dorothy L. Sayers, drama, Easter, good for spiritual health, good out loud, Gospels, historical, holiday reading, Jesus' ministry, radio plays, resurrection, The Inklings, wartime
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A book that argues the indispensable value of spinsters: Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym is about capable spinsters – truly excellent women capable of dealing with any sort of drama – observant, helpful, available and overlooked. Mildred, the protagonist, is just one of these women, pondering her life and … Continue reading
A book doing justice to a complex place: Darwin by Tess Lea
Darwin by Tess Lea is an intriguing, beautifully written exploration of the unique history, geography, beauties, tensions and contradictions of Australia’s smallest and remotest capital city. It’s been on my bookshelf for awhile, read, recommended and bequeathed by my father … Continue reading
Posted in Australian, Contemporary, General adult audience, Nonfiction, Travel and Geography Non-Fiction
Tagged 21st Century, Aboriginal history, Australian, Australian Armed Forces, Australian history, colonialism, crocodiles, Cyclone Tracy, Darwin, geography, history, insects, modern Australia, Northern Territory, social policy, Top End, White Australia Policy, WWII
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A nonsensical tale for grown-ups: Once On a Time by A.A. Milne
A little known story by A.A. Milne, Once On a Time is an absurd and whimsical fairy story. It starts when one king takes exception to another king taking a morning walk over his battlements during breakfast time while wearing … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century, Fantasy, General adult audience
Tagged 20th Century, adventure, British, fantasy, fiction, food and fighting, good out loud, humour, seven league boots, whimsical
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Spending time with a delightful dead guy: The Essays of Elia by Charles Lamb
I was curious about Charles Lamb after references to him in Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and I was surprised at how enjoyable The Essays of Elia and The Last Essays of Elia actually were. Published in magazines … Continue reading
Posted in 18th Century, Arts Criticism, Biography/Autobiography, Essays, General adult audience, Miscellaneous Non-Fiction, Social Commentary/Analysis, Travel and Geography Non-Fiction
Tagged 19th Century, authors with day jobs, British, character sketches, classic, criticism, essays, exam period friendly, humour, semi-autobiographical, society
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The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion
The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion follows on where The Rosie Project left off. Don and Rosie are now married and living and working in New York. They’ve adjusted to many of the challenges of married life and abandoned the … Continue reading
Posted in Australian, Comedy, Contemporary, General adult audience, Romance
Tagged 21st Century, Australian, autism, comedy of errors, disability, Don and Rosie book, fiction, friendship, Graeme Simsion, having children, humour, lighthearted read, marriage, New York, non-neurotypical, pregnancy, relationships, romance, romantic comedy, social skills
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Is it possible to have a high powered job and a functioning family? It’s a lot easier if you have a ‘Wife’, according to discussion-provoking book, The Wife Drought by Annabel Crabb
The Wife Drought by Annabel Crabb is an intriguing look at work, home, family balance and gender in modern Australia. Why do men, on average, work an extra four hours a week after the birth of their first child? Why … Continue reading →