Category: Review

I picked up this book expecting something very different from what it was. Rather than celebrating the ordinariness of one’s life, this very much looked at the process of an ordinary death. The family connections, the social work, the health systems in England. This actuality took me a little bit of time to get into…

A lot of drugs, not many chapter breaks. This book sucks you in, it is immersive in both plot and character with well-developed twists and turns that feel real. The relationships feel real and deep and for this reason the book shines. Loaded is about a young Greek Australian on a night out, Ari. Ari…

I remember going through Dymocks in the city and finding Jurassic Park, I didn’t realise it was a book before it was a movie. Soon after I found Jaws. Both stuck with me, but in the end I eventually picked up Jaws. I enjoyed it pretty much from the get go. It pained the world…

So, off the bat, I feel like I skimmed through this more than the other books. I skimmed even quicker when the climax of the book appeared about 100 pages earlier than I expected. I think there is the sense of completion that I was chasing, but also, as the web of characters grew, the…

I think I enjoyed The Two Towers more than Fellowship of the Ring. Coming into the book the story was more developed, and the plot began to become more interesting. The parting of characters also created an enjoyable curiosity throughout the book. I found myself thinking of Frodo and Sam in the first part and…

Eurotrash was a short and easy read – the kind that encourages anyone to write. It was a, I guess autobiographical inspired novel about a writer and his elderly mum. The most interesting part of this book was exploring the family’s history and understanding how it impacted the characters. They were tense, filled with guilt…

After finishing The Hobbit (finally) I decided I’d have a crack at Lord of the Rings. Published nearly 20 years after The Hobbit, it’s fair to say the first of the Lord of the Rings trilogy had developed the lore of Middle Earth a bit. Reading far less like a kid’s book and instead focusing…

I had been eyeing off Helen Garner books for a while. They were common and prominent in Melbourne bookstores and after I saw her described as Australia’s greatest ever living writer I felt compelled to read one of her works. Monkey Grip probably wasn’t the best book for this though. Although it has received a…

I was excited to read this book after thoroughly enjoying the other two Murakami books I had recently read. Unfortunately, overall I didn’t enjoy this as much. Unlike Kafka by the Shore, this book was a lot more conventional, and lacked any sort of magic or mystery. It was essentially a coming of age story…

This was my third and only successful attempted at completing the Hobbit, having found myself board with just 10 pages to go, twice, as a child. But this time I persisted, now having a little more experience finishing books. Overall I enjoyed it. Tolkien paints a colourful world full of magic and adventure and the…

Although I enjoyed this book, in the end I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. I guess part of that is on me. I’ve heard heaps about the Thursday Murder Club. The book has become a franchise with multiple sequels, a TV show and above all I like Richard Osman. I’ve listened to his podcast and…

This book presented a collection of comedy essays from Fran Lebowitz. They mostly covered social dynamics and were organised by loose themes like ‘manners’ or ‘science’ the reality though is the content was anything but. In reality each piece revealed a piece of Lebowitz herself, as her unique voice cut through and was solidified further…

I’ve read a couple of these now and generally enjoy Meanjin for the variety and introductions to new concepts, writing styles and authors I generally wouldn’t be exposed to. I also enjoy the biographies of the authors which captures a good snapshot of the literary community in Australia. I generally struggle with the short stories…

Stephen Fry’s tone oozes from this book and if you’re not a fan it can be a little grating. In retelling the classical Greek stories he takes creative liberties which don’t just stop at dialogue but also interwoven thoughts and options about the events being retold. The tone is generally humorous, a little irreverent and…

I started reading through this book quite quickly, then I took a break, and then I finished a couple of months later. This book is my second of John Carey’s after his 100 Poets, both are useful histories of poetry. 100 Poets offers I think a deeper look at the poet’s lives and a deeper…

I was over the moon when I received a copy of this book for my birthday. It was printed on demand and represented the culmination of a year’s search asking for it at bookstores around Melbourne. After a slow start (largely biographical) this book delighted me with unheard stories that I feel every football fan…

After reading a couple of Taleb’s books in Uni I was completely entrapped by his thinking. I picked up The Bed of Procrustes and not only did it take me nearly a decade to read but it has represented one of the most frustrating experiences of my life (a mild exaggeration there). Taking the advice…

I read most of this during a sick day at home. It was short and written in a quite personable open style so it was quick to get through. Murakami here presents a series of thoughts, almost like essays, in a loosely connected book that roughly is presented chronologically. Murakami talks about his pre-writing life…