Kathryn's Inbox

Five Go Gluten Free is a hilarious parody of modern day problems ... staring a slightly grown up version of Enid Blyton's beloved Famous Five who are navigating their way through adulthood and the 21st Century with muddled results. In this adventure, a grown up Anne is inspired to take up a gluten free diet after Dick gives her a new cookbook for her birthday. The others agree to go along with it, and the results are well ... lets just say it turns out that the five are human after all. (Well, four of them. Timmy is still a dog, even though Anne forces the diet on him as well.) This one is what it is, and it's great fun so long as you go in looking for a few laughs and nothing more. The pictures provide a lovely bit of satire, and other beloved characters from the series find themselves the butt of various jokes--I loved Uncle Quentin's car, which runs on peanuts and could explode at any moment. It never quite meets the benchmark for Famous Five parodies that was set ...

It was a twitter recommendation that led me to discovering this beautifully written story of how one act, one secret and one summer has lasting effects on three adult lives. Told from the perspective of a group of older women from a small church in Southern California known as the mothers, who play a role within the church that is not unlike that of The Holy spirit. (And if one wants to dig deeper into the religious subtext, the Pastor and his wife are the cold and judging father, while the child born at the end may just well be the saviour ... for the characters in the story at least, anyway.) The first character we are introduced to, thanks to the mothers, is Nadia Turner, a seventeen year old girl who is smart, about to be the first in her family to go off to college, and, most importantly, she is grieving for her mother who committed suicide a few months earlier. It is the death of her mother that leads her into the arms Luke Sheppard, the twenty-one year old pastor's s...

Just thought I would share this Christmas song ... despite the fact that it is probably the Christmas song most universally hated by retail staff. 

Just a bit of inspiration for your Wednesday. Happy writing, everyone!

Although I was unable to take a great (or even decent) shot of these, it was lovely to see a new selection of Christmas decorations in Rundle Mall this year. Wooden blocks spelled out messages such as the one above. I also spied a sign that said Peace and another that read Merry. 

On select Sundays I will be reviewing some of the old Apple Paperback titles from my childhood. These titles were published, or republished by Scholastic during the 1980s & 1990s and were written and set in the United States. In Australia, these books were typically only available from libraries or could be ordered through catalogues that were distributed through primary schools. Most of these titles are now long out of print or have been updated and republished for later generations ... I remember reading Merry Christmas, Miss McConnell! when I was in year six at primary school and being quite taken with the story about three kids who have a lot of trouble relating to their strict new teacher. It is Christmas time and the beloved fifth grade class teacher, Mrs Jackson, has gone on maternity leave. Mrs Jackson is replaced by the strict Miss McConnell who orders the kids about by blowing a whistle and never seems to let them have any fun. It's a blow to the main charact...

I know I've shared this one before, but just for a bit of a Christmas themed laugh, I thought I'd share it again. Funny song, funny group ... pity the crowd looks a bit bore every time the camera turns on them, but I guess the canned laughter sort of makes up for it ...

The Better Son was an award winning novel before it was even published and it is not difficult to see why. The beautiful prose tells the story of Kip, the younger of two brothers, growing up on a farm in Tasmania in the early 1950s. Father Harold is suffering Post Traumatic Stress following his role in the Second World War, and also appears to hate farming, his wife Jess, and his youngest son with a frightening vindictiveness. By contrast, the older brother Tommy, is considered to be wonderful by Harold, and occasionally comes across as spoiled (and a little vindictive,) though he is not always treated well. One day, Tommy and Kip discover some caves near their farm, and the location becomes their secret hideaway. But tragedy is looming, and one day only Kip will come home.  Told in third person narrative from the perspectives of Kip and farmhand Squid, the story moves across a number of years. Secrets are revealed slowly, and over time it becomes clear how the lives of ea...

Shakespeare's Hamlet is given a very contemporary YA re-imagining by Australian author John Marsden in this occasionally creepy book of the same name. Marsden takes a common YA theme--honest teens battling against unfair and corrupt adults--and blends it seamlessly against the backdrop of a story about greed and madness. In this version, Hamlet is a teenager driven to madness by the need to avenge his father's murder, unsurprisingly, his mother and uncle/stepfather are controlling arseholes. Supporting characters Orphelia and Horatio are both in their teens and are written quite well, with themes of puberty woven into the plot. This one was published in 2008, but I had no idea of it's existence until a friend found a copy and emailed me about it. Any new or previously unknown John Marsden title is always a pleasant surprise. While this one may not be one of his best (let's face it, the Tomorrow Series is awfully difficult to beat,) it is an interesting quirky r...

Beep! Beep! This genuine Pageant car pulled up in the Central Markets a little while ago and looks destined to stay there until Christmas Day. I think it looks great, and the Christmas trees are a nice touch.

Just a bit of light and fluffy 1990s nostalgia this week, this short clip shows a new pair of foster kids entering Summer Bay for the first time. Shannon and Curtis were a pair of teens whose adoptive parents had died. Everyone thought that they were brother and sister, and were shocked when the pair shared a kiss, but later it turned out that they were only 'adopted' brother and sister. Their arrival is symbolic of a more innocent era from the series, where most of the drama revolved around troubled teens who (nearly) always learned to become responsible adults during their stay in Summer Bay, thanks to the gentle guidance of the adult residents.  Interesting contrast in the casting--both Isla Fisher (Shannon) and Shane Amman (Curtis) were seasoned actors by the time they arrived on the set of Home and Away. Both had appeared in short lived soap Paradise Beach and a number of children's television programmes. While Isla Fisher would go on to become a Hollywood lev...

One of the things that constantly amazes me about the Peanuts comic was how its artist and author Charles Schulz was able to say so much in one small square, with a simple, inked picture and a few words. This simple square captures perfectly some of the less pleasant feelings that we experience when we're in love with someone--stupid actions, barely thought through, followed by agonising moments of self-doubt.

Because You'll Never Meet Me is a story told in letters, detailing the correspondence between teenagers Ollie, who lives in the United States, and Moritz who lives in Germany. Neither Ollie nor Moritz are ordinary boys--Ollie has an allergy to electricity meaning that he must live in a remote cabin with his mother, and Moritz, has a pacemaker (hence why they can never meet,) and an almost supersonic ability to see despite the fact that he literally has no eyes. Through their correspondence both will reveal their struggles with their peers (Moritz is a target for bullies, while Ollie struggles with Liz an 'ordinary' girl who wants to cure him rather than understand him,) and they will learn some remarkable life lessons, before a startling, life changing revelation is made ... Though a little gross in places, this one is a thought provoking read, one that seamlessly blends real life teenage themes with science fiction. Optimist Ollie is a contrast to the bitter and d...

This ad was is clever, memorable and oddly annoying. It also features something that an advertising agency could never get away with today--showing a child under the age of twelve eating junk food.

Following on from my previous Kermit and Grover clip, I just couldn't resist sharing this little bit of fun and silliness ...

Finding Cinderella is a short novella featuring Daniel and Six from Hoover's Hopeless series, and unsurprisingly, it's a romance. As always with Hoover's novels, the fun is seeing how the couple get together, despite the odds working against them.  It's been a long time since I read Hopeless  and I have yet to read it's sequel Losing Hope, so most of the minor characters were a little bit fuzzy for me. Fortunately, this one stands up pretty well on its own merit, detailing the unlikely romance between Daniel and Six. The novella begins with Daniel making out (and eventually sleeping with,) a girl that he meets ever day in a janitor's cupboard at their high school. He never sees her face or learns her name, but he hopes that one day he will. One year later, he's almost given up hope of finding this girl, when Six (the best friend of his best mate's girlfriend,) returns from a student exchange from Italy. The pair are instantly smitten in a way t...

This short eBook had me asking one vital question as I got to the last page-- when will I get to read part two. Ever-so-slightly reminiscent of Mad Max, this is the story of Elizabeth, a young woman who is living with her family in a bleak, future version of Australia where resources, particularly food and water, are scarce. Elizabeth is one heck of a tough young woman who is fighting to feed her family. This is a solid introduction to what absolutely has the potential to be a killer series.  Highly recommended. 

Stephenie Meyer's talent lies in her ability to write a page-turner that appeals most to readers who are not fans of the genre. Twilight , for example is not a classic horror novel, though it soon became phenomenally popular with teenage girls and any adult reader who, though they could see the many failings within the narrative, enjoyed the series anyway. The Host  presented a taste of science fiction, one that contained more than a dash of romance. And with her latest novel, The Chemist the author pens a sci-fi thriller about an ex-government agent who is on the run from the very department that employed her in the first place. Juliana was a chemist who was employed by a top secret government agency (one so top secret that it doesn't have a name,) developing concoctions that helped torture some of the CIAs most wanted criminals. The department became infected by paranoia, and after her colleagues try to kill her, Juliana goes on the run, living under a number of alias...

Snapped this strange little thing outside the Art Gallery of South Australia a few months back. It was there to advertise an exhibition, the name of which escapes me for the moment ...

This one is 1980s Nostalgia, sort of. I don't remember this episode of Edward and Friends at all. A little wet, but entertaining ...

Looks remarkably like my house ...

Beside Myself is a literary thriller that had a lot of tongues wagging when it was released several months ago and it's not difficult to see why--the premise is utterly intriguing. Six year old identical twins, Helen and Ellie agree to swap places just for one day. But when Ellie refuses to swap back, the course of Helen's life is changed forever. While she watches her twin live a happy life, her own is filled with illness and addiction, and no one will believe her claims that she is Helen and not Ellie ... This novel is complex and intriguing. It's also dark as hell and depressing. And, language warning everyone (and my sincere apologies to the author and publisher,) but that twist at the end is utterly fucked. Or brilliant if you look at it through the perspective of the complexities of human nature and ego. (Or the unwillingness of some people to admit they were wrong, and had been hoodwinked by a six year old, to the point where they were willing to cause signi...

Sometimes cute, sometimes crude, sometimes thought provoking and nearly always hilarious Something to Say provides readers with a slice of truth, deliciously served inside a very beautiful, and very quirky, book. Something to Say is Frankie Magazine's very first book and it contains stories that have appeared inside the magazine during its twelve year run. (Meaning that I've probably read a number of them before, but hey, these are definitely worth a second read.) The book itself is presented beautifully, on notebook style paper, that sometimes feels like a bit of a contrast to some of the crude and sweary articles, but that makes it kind of cool. There are lots of reflections on life, and those odd things that happen to all of us--one author reflects on how a trip to the service station in the middle of the night led to being pelted with a pie and then an escape with a couple of Kinder Surprises in hand. There is commentary on family, fashion (or family and fashion, as on...

A repeat this week, but I love the way that this tree blends in perfectly with the mural behind it. This picture was taken on the corner of Hunt Crescent and Beach Road at Christies Beach. The building is home to a shop that specialises in reptiles and reptile care ...

Perhaps the greatest Australian ad ever made?

Sometime between his stint of being a maniac who advertised Wilkin's Coffee and being the straight man, or should we say, frog, at Muppet Theatre, Kermit the Frog was staring in Sesame Street where he was part of a near perfect comic duo. Cast opposite Grover, who played the part of an incompetent salesperson, Kermit found himself subject to numerous sales pitches that nearly always ended in disaster. In this one, Kermit gets his sweet revenge ...

Welcome to my new semi-regular post, Random Trivia About ... which contains well, random trivia about one of my books. This time around I'm going to be focusing on Behind the Scenes, my third novel, which I re-released with a new cover last year. 1. Catlin's full name is Catherine Theresa Ryan. Catlin is a nickname given to her by her mother, as she was unable to pronounce Catherine properly. 2. Catlin's birthday is 9 June 1989. The novel opens shortly before her eighteenth birthday. If you do the maths, this means that novel is set in 2007. (Or if you want further confirmation, Johnny's headstone lists his death date as 13 June 2007.)  3. The first part of the novel is set in Southcoast, a fictional town south of Adelaide. Another of my novels, Best Forgotten , is set in the same location. 4. Catlin's address in Melbourne is 10 Baird Avenue, St Kilda. St Kilda is a real suburb, the street is fictitious. I named street after the in...

Sometimes, it's just fun to read a bit of fun, fluffy middle grade fiction. Particularly when it is the kind that would have had me practically weeing myself with excitement at age thirteen. I loved the concept of this new series and for that reason, I just had to read the first instalment. The Right Track introduces us to Lark, a thirteen year old who is brutally shy, and who has a talent for songwriting--a talent that she does not wish to share with her mother, Donna, an LA based record company executive. Then a new problem arises, in the form of a three member boy band from the UK, who are going to stay with Donna and Lark while they record their first album. How will Lark manage to live with three hot boys and keep her songwriting talent a secret? This one was sweet and pure fun. Certainly there were a few cliches (including the name of the author, a probable pseudonym,) but these were all handled well. A few moments had me smiling, such as Lark fainting at the airport,...

Well, that's one way to decorate ...

On select Sundays I will be reviewing some of the old Apple Paperback titles from my childhood. These titles were published, or republished by Scholastic during the 1980s & 1990s and were written and set in the United States. In Australia, these books were typically only available from libraries or could be ordered through catalogues that were distributed through primary schools, though some popular series found their way into various bookshops. Most of these titles are now long out of print or have been updated and republished for later generations ... I have very clear memories of reading this book when I was a kid--I remember when it came out, our school library got a copy in almost straight away and I was the first kid in the whole school to borrow it. It was the first time I had ever been allowed such a privilege. Proudly, I took the book home that night and read it in one sitting   all by myself. Consequently, I thought that it was the best book ever. (Stop rolli...

Just wanted to share this clip from the short lived but lovely Edward and Friends television series that was based on Lego's Fabuland theme. I don't know how many times I saw this particular episode as a child, but I surprised myself when I started watching it on YouTube and realised that I could remember every word! On a less innocent note, I can remember making up a dirty version of this as a teenager, where the fuzzy thing in every picture was not Edward's trunk, Hannah was a prostitute and where Wilfred Walrus kept blackmailing him for the cost of the film and ending up at the bottom of the canal wearing cement shoes when Edward's gangster older brother found out what was going on, but that's teenage fan fiction for you ...

The Girl From Venice may be the first book that I have ever read by best-selling author Martin Cruz Smith, but I am absolutely certain that it will not be the last. I was pleasantly surprised by just how caught up I became in this story of a fisherman who finds a young Jewish girl in Italy in the final days of World War Two. From there begins a fantastic story of two people who beat the odds, fall in love and find themselves in the midst of a nation in crisis. (After all, Italy has picked the losing side, none of it's people are happy about it, and it's dictator is no long a popular man.) The author cleverly shows the difference between the people and their government, and the uglier side of human nature, where everyone does what they can to survive with little thought to morality or personal accountability. (Excluding, of course, our lead characters--but that would not make for such an interesting story.) Cenzo is the middle of three brothers, and man with a grudge--h...

Beyond the Orchard is a beautiful story of love, loneliness, family and secrets, spanning the twentieth century. Lucy Briar left home in a hurry, keen to get away from a broken heart and past mistakes. Five years later, a mysterious letter from her distant grandfather, claiming that he wants to explain everything, arrives and Lucy finds herself leaving London, and her fiance for her hometown of Melbourne. Her grandfather, Edwin, passes away before she arrives. Her father, Ron, who is struggling with his own problems insists that she travels to Bitterwood, the old estate in country Victoria owned by her grandfather, to retrieve a photo album. What Lucy finds at Bitterwood leads her to uncovering another, much darker, family secret ... Of all of Anna Romer's novels, Beyond the Orchard is by far my favourite for its dark mystery and surprising conclusion. I loved reading the story of Orah and her tragic arrival in Australia that eventually brought her to Bitterwood, as well ...

This artwork appears at the front of an shop in James Place that specialises in imported confectionary, most of it from the United Kingdom, though I notice that in recent times, their range of imports from the United States has increased steadily. It is one of those places that I stop by "every now and again" and usually find myself buying a small selection of sherbet (from the UK side) and junior mints or almond M&Ms (from the US side.)

On select Sundays I will be reviewing some of the old Apple Paperback titles from my childhood. These titles were published, or republished by Scholastic during the 1980s & 1990s and were written and set in the United States. In Australia, these books were typically only available from libraries or could be ordered through catalogues that were distributed through primary schools, though some popular series found their way into various bookshops. Most of these titles are now long out of print or have been updated and republished for later generations ... I have a confession to make. I actually have no memory of this particular Babysitters Club title being released in Australia. Perhaps by the time it was released (1994) I had already outgrown or was beginning to outgrow the series. (I know it was definitely a distant memory for me when the Babysitters Club Movie eventually came out, but I think that was in 1995.) After all, it was the year that I actually turned thirteen and ...

Seems like pretty good advice to me.

Hello and welcome to my stop on the Beyond the Orchard blog tour. I am very, very excited to share this brilliant and insightful post that author Anna Romer has written about her latest novel, Beyond the Orchard. (In fact, it's been difficult for me keeping it under wraps these past few weeks.) Anyway, a very sincere thank you to Anna Romer and also her publisher Simon and Schuster Australia for putting together this brilliant post and the Beyond the Orchard Blog Tour ... Past and Present: How the Lives of One Generation Shape the Next in Anna Romer's Beyond the Orchard. When I first started collecting ideas for Beyond the Orchard , all I had was a location – a clifftop guesthouse along the great Ocean Road in Victoria – and the idea of someone guarding a terrible secret. But as the story began to unfold, I realised that the secret keeper, Edwin Briar, would cast his shadow over just about every other character in the novel. His actions would link the centr...

The National Australia Bank at Morphett Vale is home to this colourful mural. Not sure how many people will be able to continue enjoying the mural though, as recently after I snapped this photograph, construction of a child care centre began on on the block of land next door.

If you pick up Clementine Ford's Fight Like a Girl (and I hope that you do,) then be prepared for an unflinchingly honest account of what it means to a woman in 21st century Australia. The opening paragraph--describing how the author regarded feminism as an adolescent--had me nodding my head in agreement, as it may as well have been describing my own thoughts about feminism at that age. From there, the subject matter remained consistently relatable, right to the very last page, as the author explains why feminism matters, what this means for us and how each individual can raise their voice.  As I said in the first paragraph, Fight Like a Girl was consistently relatable, whether the author was talking about the pressure to look a certain way, harassment or violence against women. Some of the scenarios outlined were spookily similar to my own experiences. For example, in a chapter titled When Will You Learn Ford explains the internal struggle faced by women when they are app...

Love this Peanuts comic. Snoopy's ability to think laterally always cracks me up. As does the somewhat exasperated expression on Charlie Brown's face.

I've discussed this series of Peanuts comics before, where Peppermint Patty finds herself face to face with the Little Red Haired Girl, and in an unusual twist for the normally confident Peppermint Patty, she finds herself in tears when she sees in the other girl someone and something that she feels that she can never be. Her feelings of helplessness are deepened, of course, by the fact that The Little Red Haired Girl is the unrequited love of Charlie Brown, who Peppermint Patty not-so-secretly fancies. Anyway, I found the comics re-imagined as a series of gifs and decided to share a shortened version of them here. (I am not the creator, just a fan. You can see the full version here .)  

I am uncertain when this picture was taken, or where, though the paving suggests that it might be in or, very close to, Rundle Mall. Obviously, this is a closed and locked roller door to a shopfront.

Who could resist ...?

It was an usual and amusing concept for a novel. When Ransom Riggs discovered a whole lot of old and unwanted photographs, each one stranger than the next, he shaped them into a young adult novel filled with time loops, children with strange and creepy quirks and one very confused teenage boy who finds himself thrown into the action. And Miss Peregrine, the firm but fair matriarch of the home for peculiar children, which exits in a time loop on a tiny, remote island in the United Kingdom. The only problem with all of this is that it doesn't work. A great concept and characters with huge potential is let down by dull storytelling and a plot that drags. Not really recommended.

This week I am sharing a picture of the memorial at Moseley Square, Glenelg, taken at sunset. PS If you look closely, you can see a tram on the far left hand side. The old town hall can be seen on the upper, far right corner.

Unfair, isn't it? Happy Friday, everyone.

Happy Labour Day, RAdelaidians! I'm guessing that a few of you might be down at the Bay today, which is home to many great artworks, including this mural, which is located just near the Glenelg Community Centre ...

I totally agree. Happy Friday, everyone!

Emma Cline's debut novel The Girls is the troubling story of Evie Boyd, a bystander to a horrific crime. The year is 1969. Evie is fourteen years old, about to be packed off to boarding school and suffering both the after-effects of her parents divorce, and the desire to feel important despite her overwhelming mediocrity. When she encounters the older Suzanne and a group of girls in the park, Evie is instantly smitten, and is soon drawn into their life in a commune on the outskirts of town, where all the girls do the bidding of Russell, a charismatic, almost Manson-like figure. And though something dangerous may be brewing, Evie finds herself drawn in deeper and deeper ... Moving through the summer of 1969, the events that lead up to a horrific mass murder are slowly told to the reader. The author has much to say about feminism, and the role of women, and very little to say at all about Russell, the cult leader who never quite seems to be fully fleshed out or formed. Inste...

Of all of Jim Henson's Muppets that appear on Sesame Street  none have a role quite so vital as Big Bird. Certainly, each Muppet whether it be Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch or Ernie and Bert, provide a heck of a lot of entertainment as they educate, but Big Bird provides a role like no other Muppet. Childlike and intellectually curious Big Bird provides young viewers with a character who views the world through their eyes. As Big Bird learns about the world around him, viewers learn with him, whether it be about road safety ,  or in one landmark episode, death: A running gag for many years on the show was Bird Bird's friendship with Mr Snuffleupagus, a shy mammoth like creature who was never seen by any of the adult characters on the show, and was considered, therefore to be Big Bird's imaginary friend, as can be observed from this sketch.  In the mid-1980s, Big Bird eventually proved to the adults that Mr Snuffleupagus was real. According ...

There is no denying that Colleen Hoover is one of the famous authors of her genre. Her novels have been loved by readers (and this blog,) for their young, working class characters, who triumph against against the odds. There is always a whole lot of heart, and sometimes the hero and heroine bond in an intentionally comical way, one that is pleasing to read. (Very few authors can pull of a line of dialogue such as, "I like you, you stupid fuck-face," the way Hoover can. It's trashy, it's hilarious and it fits in with the characters and their situations perfectly.) There is something human and vulnerable about her characters, who often experience the kind of romances that we all secretly wish we could have against a dramatic backdrop.  It Ends With Us  remains true to form while, paradoxically, taking a new and darker turn.  Told entirely from the perspective of Lily, it tells the story of a university graduate who has recently moved to Boston. Lily's life h...

Not really street art this week, but a very glamourous coffee that I purchased from the BTS Cafe in Pirie Street a little while ago. There is no denying that BTS is one of the friendliest cafes in Adelaide, and their coffee, teas and cupcakes are almost certain to please.

NOWHERESVILLE, AUSTRALIA--A local supermarket has decided to get rid of their self-service terminals in a move that has surprised shoppers. "Frankly, I think these terminals are a piece of shit," Grant Gusto, manager of the Nowheresville Food Mart told our reporters. "They're loud, they break down every five minutes and to be perfectly frank I'm sick of hearing a recorded voice telling me to place an item in the bagging area when I've bloody well already placed the item there." Since the self service terminals have been removed from the store, Nowheresville Food Mart has seen a sharp decline in instance of shoplifting. Other items, such as gourmet truffles are not being mistakenly sold as the much cheaper per kilo brown mushrooms, and shoppers are no longer using the self-service area as an extra entrance to the store. "Best bloody decision that I ever made," Grant Gusto adds. "Best bloody decision ..."

Love this! Actually if you go on Twitter, Woodstock has an official account and will occasionally live tweet various important events. Lots of fun.

I can't quite remember where I snapped this odd plant stand, other than it was probably somewhere within the Adelaide CBD ...