Kathryn's Inbox

China is a country rich with culture and history. It is also a country that is so very often misunderstood by westerners. In Land of Big Numbers Te-Ping Chen brings to us a selection of stories about what life is truly like for the people that live there, those who have left, or for westerners who have married someone from China. The collection opens with Lulu, a story of a girl whose sense of right and wrong--and her need to speak out--lands her in serious trouble. From there, we move to a story of a government call centre worker who is trying to move on from an abusive relationship, a town whose hopes are inspired by, and then ruined, by a new type of fruit, and an old farmer who dreams of building his own aeroplane, and whose success comes in an unexpected way. And so the collection goes on, bringing as stories of triumph, betrayal and something in between. What I loved most about this collection is the humanity of it all. These are the stories of the every day, ordinary people of ...

  This weeks Friday Funny comes courtesy of Sesame Street where, apparently, the black market sale of numbers is a thing. Apparently, it's a great lesson to teach your kid--any time you want a number, you can just buy it from some shady looking character in the street. In all seriousness, it's a fun clip and the whole problem is solved with Ernie's trademark humour. 

Make no mistake, Bunny is one of the best novels I have read in 2021. A brilliant satire on The Secret History, it tells the story of Samantha Heather Mackey, a lonely and introverted creative writing student who watches her cliquey classmates--a group of four sickeningly twee women who call one another Bunny--with both awe and envy. When Samantha is invited one day to join one of their famous 'Smut Salons' she uncovers far more than she expects ... Cleverly blurring the lines between what is reality and what is part of a creative writing assignment, Bunny takes numerous twists and turns as it perfectly satirises campus life, and campus cliques. Samantha could be well, any introverted girl, while we've all known and loathed a clique like the Bunnies. The twists are filled with blood and gore and these women truly are the most ghastly things in existence. Or it could all just be a part of Samantha's thesis. Either way, as long as readers don't enter this one expecti...

It's not often that I have the privilege of reading a YA novel that is set in Brazil but fortunately, Here the Whole Time is one of those novels. This sweet novel tells the story of Felipe, an introverted and sensitive seventeen year old who is struggling with body image--he's, well, a little overweight and the bullies at his school are always making a thing of it. Filipe also knows that he is gay, but fortunately he is okay with that and so is his mother, an artist and part time teacher. Filipe is very much looking forward to his school holidays, where he can just be himself, but his plans are soon turns around when he discovers that Caio, his very attractive neighbour will be staying with them for fifteen days while his parents are away on holiday. It's obvious that Caio would never want to be around someone like him. Then, slowly, everything begins to change ... This was a lovely story about blossoming relationships and how everyone has their own struggles, no matter how...

The World at My Feet is a moving tale of one woman's quest to find inner peace. Ellie has not left her home in two years. She has the strangest of dreams. Ellie is doing okay, though. She loves gardening, to the point where she is a very well respected influencer on Instagram and makes money through sponsored posts. And her kind and loving parents live in the main house on the property, while she has made a comfortable home in a flat outside. But when someone new enters her life, he may just be the thing that convinces her to go outside again. Bit by bit, the novel slowly reveals the extent of Ellie's illness and the horrific experiences that she had to endure. Without giving away too many spoilers, what Ellie endured in the early part of her childhood is based on true events, ones so horrible and that they made headlines across the globe when the story broke. Catherine Isaac writes Ellie's story with a lot of love and understanding. Less convincing is the character of Guy...

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What a delight is Beach Read ! In her debut adult contemporary novel, Emily Henry tells the story of January Andrews, a previously sunny and optimistic romance writer whose life is falling apart. January's Dad died six months ago. A secret was revealed at this funeral--that he'd been having an affair with another woman at a beach house that he owned. And now he's left the Beach House to January, who, understandably, is shattered by her father's betrayal and wants nothing more than to clear the house out and put it on the market. Unfortunately, there are three things standing in her way. First, she's homeless and heartbroken after her partner dumped her. Second, her publisher wants her next book by the end of summer and she hasn't started writing it yet. And so, she reluctantly moves in to the beach house and that's where the third thing gets in her way. Her grouchy neighbour is none other than Gus Everett, her mean and pessimistic nemesis from university.  T...

The latest Marvel Prose novel has some serious girl power vibes. Nadia Van Dyne, aka the Wasp, may be new to being a superhero, and her past may not be great, but that hasn't stopped her from running her own successful lab staffed by an eclectic mix of smart, talented and savvy teenage girls. And life is looking good. She has a great relationship with her stepmother, some great friends and she's even learning to drive and trying her best to like her strict driving instructor. But it also feels as though she never has enough time to do everything, which can be a bit of an obstacle--Nadia has bipolar and it can be hard for her sometimes to know when to stop. Fortunately, her new virtual assistant can help her. And she's forming a new alliance with its creator, Margaret, who used to work with Nadia's dad, Hank Pym. But is Margaret really on the side of good? Or is Nadia in serious danger? This was a fun, friendly read, perfect for readers in their early teens. There is a l...

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  I'm sharing another Muppet Thought of the Week for Friday Funnies ... one of the best things about Kermit is that, while he's sort of the unofficial head of the Muppets, he really never loses sight of the fact that he's a frog and that he grew up in a swamp. Originally, Kermit was always performed by Muppets creator Jim Henson and was his favourite character. Consequently, Kermit became the only Muppet to appear regularly on both The Muppet Show and Sesame Street , though Kermit left Sesame Street after Jim Henson passed away and the rights to the Muppets were bought by Disney. ( Sesame Street was not a part of the deal with Disney.) 

A satire on what happens when you take a little bit of left-wing extremism, combine it with some slacktivism and push it that bit too far Woke has some truly funny, laugh out loud moments. Supposedly written by straw feminist Titania McGrath, this volume shows readers how they can live a more virtuous life without having to, well, do very much at all except talk about it.  Filled with bad poetry and virtue signalling Woke will entertain anyone who has encountered a self-important know-it-all who just doesn't know when to call it quits. Or someone who likes to take the role of the victim, in spite of the fact that they don't really have all that much to complain about. I laughed out loud several times throughout this short volume, though toward the end, the joke does become a little tired. Also, I think that people are entitled to their views and that the only reason that woke culture exists in the first place is because that there are injustices out there. That said, obviousl...

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