Kathryn's Inbox

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 ...

Kristy, Claudia, Stacey, Mary Anne, Dawn, Mallory, Jessi. If these names mean anything to you, then at some point during your childhood you probably read at least one (if not several or all,) Babysitters Club books. If you're really sharp, you will have also just noticed that I listed the characters in the order in which their first book of the series was released. If you're a true fan, you'll probably notice that I left Abby off the list. And you probably don't care. All of the characters had their set personalities. Kristy was the tomboy, Claudia was the artsy underachiever, Stacey was the cool New Yorker, Mary Anne was the shy one, Mallory was the awkward kid who dreamed of better things, and Jessi was a dancer with a big heart. And then there was Dawn. Of the seven core characters (sorry Abby,) Dawn was probably the greatest enigma. Dawn's role in the BSC as the 'alternate officer' because unlike the other four members she didn't hav...

NOWHERESVILLE, AUSTRALIA--Peta Palmer, a self proclaimed keyboard warrior decided to back down from an argument on facebook earlier this week and concede that, "sometimes people have different opinions." "It was a first for me," Peta told our reporter. "Usually when I see a random stranger post an opinion on facebook, I feel the urge to tell them that they are wrong and then post a whole lot of links to prove my point, but today, I decided that it was okay for someone to have a different opinion to me. I mean maybe in her part of the world, potato fritters really are called potato cakes or something ..."

Happy Friday. I'll just leave this here ...

Blue Dog is a charming story of a boy and his dog set in the Pilbara. Eleven year old Mick has been sent to live with his Granpa following the sudden death of his father and his mother's subsequent breakdown. Set sometime in the late 1960s (or possibly the early 1970s) this short children's novel tells the story of how Mick adjusts to life in the outback and how he rescues a puppy, Blue, after a cyclone and the pair form a strong bond. Over the next two years, Mick has enjoys many adventures in the outback with Blue and whilst riding his motorcycle, taming a horse and a crush on his teacher which has surprising consequences when he finally decides to battle his 'rival' for her affections.  This one was an enjoyable tale that I found myself reading in small, one-chapter-a-night doses and found myself feeling quite sad when I finally finished this slim volume--more than a week after I started it.  Blue Dog is a prequel to Red Dog, (which explains the beloved...

In Australia, Bill Oddie is best known as a comedian, actor and songwriter who found fame through the hilarious BBC television series The Goodies  (a series that was repeated many, many times in Australia, but was never repeated on television in the UK until a few years ago.) In the UK, however, Bill Oddie is deservedly well known for his other career was a twitcher, or bird watcher, and has hosted numerous television series about bird watching and nature. Now in his seventies, Bill Oddie's latest work of non-fiction is Unplucked , a collection of essays, magazine articles and blogs that all focus on his work as a twitcher, as well as offering the odd hint of autobiography.  A laid back and interesting read, some of the articles are quite amusing (such as the one about the tiger,) many others explain various tidbits about birdwatching in a way that is both interesting and accessible to readers like myself who don't know all that much about the native birds of Great Bri...

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 ... Initially, when I decided to write these reviews, I made the decision to skip The Babysitters Club series, as it has been mentioned on this blog before, and also because there are already many, many reviews and nostalgia posts on each of the books around the web. However, I decided to make an exception for this one. Mallory Hates Boys (and Gym) is surprisingly well, if not well written, then certainly well intentioned for a...

The Forever Girl is a slow and detailed account of unrequited love that begins in early childhood and continues to flourish through adulthood. Clover is a young woman who grew up on Cayman Island. At a young age, she develops a crush on James, a boy from her neighbourhood. Initially the pair are friends, but Clover finds herself devastated when James pulls away and becomes friends with another boy instead. Somehow, Clover's feelings for James continue to develop and grow, and through their early adulthood she follows him right around the globe, always secretly wishing and hoping that something might develop ... It's difficult to know how I felt about this one. Certainly, the ending felt very sudden. A little more insight into James--insight that did not come from Clover's perspective--would have been helpful I think. Still, the sense of place and location within the novel was quite pleasing and allowed me to travel the globe from the comfort of my armchair.  Re...

From the moment I heard that YA author Gayle Forman ( If I Stay, I Was Here , ) had penned an adult novel, I knew that I just HAD to get hold of a copy. Fortunately I did not have long to wait, as five hours later I found a copy waiting for me on my doorstep. (No, Simon and Schuster Australia have not started up a psychic review request service, they just have a knack for sending me the perfect books to feature on this blog.) Anyway, I was intrigued with this title right from the start, and I'm pleased to report that it ticked all the right boxes.  Leave Me opens with Maribeth Klein, a New York based magazine editor. She is forty-four years old and as well as having a successful career, she is a wife and mother. And she knows only too well that the idea that women can 'have it all' is a complete myth. She struggles with her duel roles, motherhood and career, a scenario that many, many women will be able to relate to.  Then along comes an incident that changes ...

This week's street art comes courtesy of the Beach Road Cafe. It is a visually interesting piece, combining some abstract tags with a realistic beach scene. I'm not sure that I like it, but it is certainly a change from the drab yellow wall and half-finished picture of Woody Woodpecker that existed in that I can remember being in that spot when I was a kid.

Otherwise Pandemonium is a short story about a kid who has just lost his virginity. It's also a short story about the end of the world. Originally written and published in the wake of the events of September 11, it tells the story of a fifteen year old boy who is living with his mother in Berkley. He purchases a secondhand VCR (remember those,) which enables him to see the future ... only problem is the future does not look too bright ... in fact it doesn't even seem to exist. Which, though depressing, helps the kid to seize the moment and ... This is a clever enough story that plays on many of the prevailing fears of the era. Like all of Hornby's work, it suffers one great failing, and that is that it already feels very dated and not in a pleasing way. I found this story included in a volume that was published by Penguin in 2005 and though it may have packed a punch with its original purchaser, for me the volume didn't make for great secondhand reading. Then ag...

Source: garfield.com It's kind of hard not to feel sorry for Jon Arbuckle sometimes--as this comic strip from August 19 2000 reveals that even as a kid, he was friendless, and, consequently, bullied. As an adult, my feelings about Jon have become very divided--I find the comics mildly amusing, but prefer the earlier ones, where Jon was basically the clueless cartoonist who owned the smart arsed Garfield. As the comic has worn on, Jon went from being clueless cartoonist to an unemployed loser (his occupation has not been mentioned in the strip since the 1980s) with severely limited life skills, and no friends.