Jane's mog - Book Club

Jane's mog - Book Club

Jane's mog Index

Australiana

_________________

From
The Hunting of The Snark,
by Lewis Carroll

The Bellman himself they all praised to the skies—
Such a carriage, such ease and such grace!
Such solemnity, too! One could see he was wise,
The moment one looked in his face!

He had bought a large map representing the sea,
Without the least vestige of land:
And the crew were much pleased when they found it to be
A map they could all understand.

...Other maps are such shapes, with their islands and capes!
But we’ve got our brave Captain to thank:
(So the crew would protest) “that he’s bought us the best—
A perfect and absolute blank!”

This was charming, no doubt; but they shortly found out
That the Captain they trusted so well
Had only one notion for crossing the ocean,
And that was to tingle his bell.

Favourite Reads

Fiction

I must confess I'm not a great fiction reader, but my two all-time favourite Australian novels would have to be:

The Year of Christiana Cleaves by Alexandra Long, Penguin 1988, and Remembering Babylon, by David Malouf, Chatto and Windus, 1993

Favourite UK classics include Dylan Thomas' short story/radio broadcast from 1946, Holiday Memory, with lines like "when the sun declared war on the butter, and the butter ran". Naturally, I have to include Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in my list.

From the US I like the Earth's Children series by Jean-Marie Auel - any fiction which can bring history so alive is rivetting stuff, for me. I also like detective stories such as those by Jeffery Deaver, or David Baldacci, because I don't feel the need to concentrate or even try to guess who or why, but am happy to just kick back and let the story happen. Kathy Reisch's books were interesting for a while, but I must confess I enjoy the TV series Bones inspired by her work, and would now rather watch that than read - the TV show is a corny soap, but it makes me laugh.

Non-Fiction

Although they weigh a ton and add too much to one's baggage limits, I enjoy the DK travel books. They are full of interesting snippets and photos, have excellent maps and are printed on the lovely sort of art paper one can't help but sniff. They are excellent for armchair travel, providing information about both geography and history, while keeping all the guff about prices and accommodation separate so I can ignore it unless I'm actually planning a trip.

I'm also fond of biographies - especially well written stories about comedians or actors, or biographies of cities or particular points in time [such as the book 1932 by Gerald Stone].

Your Favourites

So, dear reader, what sort of books do you like? What do you like about them, and which titles are your favourites? Would you like to write a review of something you have found particularly interesting, or to which you return again and again?

If you would like to kick-start a discussion or provide feedback, I'd love to hear from you. Just click on this link to email me with your thoughts!

Jane

Email jane's mog
Please note that I am unable to pay for contributions. Please do not send creative or copyright materials to me without sending a proposal first. Should you send me ideas or suggestions for this mog you accept that I may use them without obligation, beyond acknowledging the source of that idea, and you further accept that someone else may also have had the same idea.

Visitors may reproduce materials as follows:
Please contact me in the first instance to clarify ownership; include my copyright marker and any credits I have given in whatever you print or circulate, and if you publish something of mine in a newsletter, or find it useful, please let me know...I'd love to hear from you! You may NOT use my materials free of cost if you are going to charge for anything they become part of: (please write for price/permissions to do so.)

WHY NOT PUT YOUR AD
OR COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT HERE?