Kathryn's Inbox

Just another Kermit as a news reporter clip this week. Kermit's lesson in anger might not be funny to him, but to us ...

Hot or What is one of those rare teen novels that makes me want to whoop with joy--its a book with a simple plot, a loveable lead character and brilliant writing that never takes itself--or anything else--too seriously. Lisa Trelaw is a good kid from Melbourne who has been plucked from the obscurity of her mother's snack van to work as a fashion model for one of Sydney's top modelling agencies. Reinvented as Rebel, Lisa finds herself living a crazy life that she neither likes, nor respects. She finds much of her new world too superficial, but a friend in a very high place (one of the nations former top models and now an esteemed businesswoman who is looking for an Australian model of the year,) may just be the person to turn that around and show Lisa just who and what she has the potential to become ... (and how to stay sane in such a crazy industry.) This book was originally published in 1995, a time when being a model for a fashion magazine was big business, and when su...

I snapped this one several months ago in Victoria Square (yep, that's the Adelaide Hilton in the background,) during the SALA festival in mid-2016. I think it made quite a colourful addition to the square, don't you?

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 ... By the time the Babysitters Club got all the way to book #126 the series had well and truly peaked. Key characters, such as Dawn had left the series and gained their own spin-off, and the older characters had repeated eighth grade about ... oh, four times by then. (Except for Claudia, of course, who had been poked down to seventh grade.) The All New Mallory Pike paves the way for the series and it's eventual end. Thou...

Love this!

Anything that is associated with JK Rowling is bound to be, one of high quality, and two, enormously, massively, mind-blowingly popular. So when she penned her first screenplay, it's no surprise that the script was also soon released as a beautifully bound and illustrated book that feels like an instant keepsake. I have yet to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them on the big screen, so reading the screenplay was a bit of a strange experience--where I was free to picture the story as I wanted to, rather than relying on the images created by the filmmakers. That said, I suspect that I also lost out on a number of important visual clues and the kind of atmosphere that can only be constructed by the perfect lighting, choice of background music and quality acting. (After all, this is a screenplay and not a book.) So there were good and bad points to reading this. Overall, it's a great story, telling of Newt Scamander's unpredictable trip to the United States that s...

The latest effort released under the name of long deceased gothic novelist Virginia Andrews is a lacklustre, repetitive tale of sibling rivalry and twisted parenting that is slightly redeemed by a surprising twist at the end. Kaylee Blossom Fitzgerald and Haylee Blossom Fitzgerald are identical twins, living under the iron thumb of their obsessive, perfectionist mother. Mother will go to any length to ensure that both of her daughters are identical in every possible way, fighting against human nature and her husband's not unwarranted concerns about the way his daughters are being raised. Unsurprisingly, this causes both twins to resent one another quite deeply, especially as they are developing radically different personalities. Kaylee, our narrator is the good twin, who wants to break free of mother in a careful, mature way. Haylee, meanwhile, is the reckless twin who resents her sister's cautious nature, and just bloody well wants freedom--despite the cost, and the fact t...

This is another of the refugee artworks that have been posted around Adelaide during the past couple of years. (I've featured these on this blog several times now.) I spotted this one in Franklin Street--it tells the sad story of how one family escaped the Taliban.

It's no secret that a number of former actors from early evening soap Home and Away have gone on to to bigger and better things. Chris Hemsworth, Melissa George, Heath Ledger, Naomi Watts and Ryan Kwanten are just a few actors who found international fame after their characters departed Summer Bay. But did you know that a surprising number of former actors are also best selling authors? Here are four of the most famous ... Isla Fisher I'll kick this one off with Isla Fisher for no other reason than I've featured her books a couple of times on my blog already. At age 19, while starring on Home and Away as Shannon, Isla Fisher penned two teen romance novels with the help of her mother, Elspeth Reid ( who is also a novelist in her own right .) More recently, (and after making it in Hollywood,) Isla Fisher published Marge in Charge, the first book in a new series for kids. (Read my review here. ) Marge and the Pirate Baby, the second book in the series has jus...

This Garfield Quickie is worth sharing as it is one of those rare moments where Garfield gets exactly what he deserves after acting like an arsehole.

I was completely unaware of the story of Bob the Big Issue Cat and his fellow Musketeer James Bowen, until my mother loaned me a copy of a biography that she had recently purchased titled A Street Cat Named Bob . I'm a bit of a sucker for a good cat story and this one is absolutely brilliant. Bowen is a %100 bona fide cat person and it shows. Anyway, it the story itself is how Bowen, a recovering heroin addict, discovers Bob--an injured stray cat, and the pair form a friendship that transforms each of their lives for the better. There are a number of moments that will have cat lovers nodding their heads and saying 'yep.' The story of Bob, and how he clearly felt safe enough with James to be on the streets of London with him, busking and later selling copies of The Big Issue  is nothing short of amazing. There is no denying that this is an uplifting read. It's also a good reminder that sometimes, we cannot know another person's story and the full extent of wh...

Another Sesame Street clip this week. This one features Kermit in his reporter persona, and Elmo in his early Sesame Street persona, where he was not quite as cute and cuddly as we know him today, and a bit wilder, crazier and generally like a real life three year old. Perhaps not the funniest Sesame Street clip out there, but it really highlights the evolution of Elmo's character on the show.

Well, it's 2017 and that means its time to sign up for some more great reading challenges. This year, I'm kicking off with one of my favourite challenges, the Aussie Author Challenge, which is put together and hosted by brilliant book blog Booklover Book Reviews . Even though I fell down a bit in 2016, I'm determined to do a bit better this time around. I will be aiming for Kangaroo, which is the top level of participation--Kangaroos will need to read twelve books by Aussie authors, at least four of them female, four of them male, and four of them must be new to you. I hope to discover some great books, offer some worthy reviews and most of all to discover some excellent books along the way. If you'd like to participate too follow the link below: Aussie Author Challenge 2017 Bonus question: Who is your favourite Aussie author and why?

Faithful is a story of loss, depression and redemption. Shelby Richmond is an ordinary high schooler living it up with her beautiful and popular best friend Helene, until one day a serious road accident changes the lives of both girls. Helene suffer serious injuries, while Shelby slumps into a deep depression and finds herself abused in hospital. As time goes on, Helene becomes a magical figure around town, while Shelby finds herself making more and more bad decisions. The story follows Shelby as she moves to New York with a man who she does not love and suffers a number of ups and downs (though, mostly downs,) as she moves toward adulthood. The mysterious postcards, and Helene both hover in the background and it seems that both may be able to offer the young woman the one thing that she desperately needs--redemption. The question is not so much how Shelby will find redemption, but if she will allow herself to have it. After the second chapter, I wasn't sure how much I...

This colouful laneway runs between Franklin Street and Grote Street in the city and forms part of the Station to Market link. I love the concept of this one, adding a splash of colour to a dull grey footpath and car park.