Kathryn's Inbox

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  "And, of course men know best about everything, except what women know better" - George Eliot, Middlemarch

Finally, Enid Blyton's classic and most beloved series gets the graphic novel treatment. Adapted and illustrated by Beja and Natael, this one depicts the very first Famous Five adventure where the three Barnard siblings--Julian, Dick and Anne, meet their cousin George 'not Georgina' Kirrin for the first time, along with Timmy the Dog. And soon, they find themselves on an adventure involving crooks and long lost treasure ... This was a lot of good, nostalgic fun. Much of the nostalgic elements of the story are kept--it is still very obviously the 1950s or thereabouts--but most of the problematic elements of the series are gone. (Blyton was, unfortunately, something of a white, upper middle class snob and unfortunately those attitudes leaked into her work.) The graphic novel is mostly concerned with recreating most of the action packed scenes of the story--most of the bits about how the cousins slowly become friends is glossed over, though the story of how George is secretly ...

A few weeks ago, I was intrigued when I discovered that musician Amanda Palmer was to be the Writer in Residence for Substack. I read the first column ( which you can find here ) and two things absolutely blew me away. The openness of the column, and the deep and very real sense of community that could be found in the comments. Through the column, I also learned that Amanda had written a book about ten years ago that was one part manifesto and one part memoir. I immediately wanted to read it.  I've known of Amanda Palmer for a long time. I can remember hearing her band, the Dresden Dolls on Triple J back in the day, and getting a little bit excited when their song Coin Operated Boy made Triple J's Hottest 100 and was included on that years Hottest 100 CD, which I still own but, frustratingly, I haven't been able to find these past couple of weeks. I remember feeling impressed when I learned that she was married to one of my favourite authors, Neil Gaiman. And more recently,...

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  ."I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be.” - Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

  Kentucky has more caves than anywhere else on earth.

The seventh Bridgerton novel is the story of outspoken youngest Bridgerton Hyacinth and her unlikely match with Gareth St Clair ... whom she meets at the annual Smythe-Smith musicale and with whom she finds herself on a surprising adventure, which involves translating a diary from Italian to English and searching for some most valuable, but hidden, family heirlooms. I have to admit, I was hesitant going in to this one. Of all of the Bridgerton siblings, I've found Hyancith to be the most annoying. Bratty, outspoken and getting in the way just when the story is starting to get interesting. And the character is, indeed, all of those things and remains so in this novel. It's just that she happens to find a perfect match in Gareth St Clair, a man with a tragic past who I just wanted to see win, especially after he was treated so badly by his father. (Who, I am pleased to report gets his come tuppence in every way.) My only real complaint about this one is that the ending, well, the...

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So, this morning, current Prime Minister Scott Morrison made a rather unfortunate Freudian slip at a press conference, suggesting that Adelaide is shitty. ( See more here. ) For many seasoned Adelaidians, it was just another typical jibe from someone from the Eastern states who should have known better but didn't, quite possibly because there is votes in it for him on the other side of the border. Sadly what Scott Morrison failed to realise there is no one who knows quite how to make fun of Adelaide like someone who actually lives there. But who actually counts as someone who is from Adelaide? Well, if you identify with at least one of the things on this list, you probably are from Adelaide, or at least spent an afternoon here, instead of merely stopping by for a press conference.  You know you're from Adelaide when: You think it's perfectly normal to see a bronze statue of a pig eating out of a bin in the middle of Rundle Mall.  You also think that it's normal to see a...

  "The Answer to the ultimate question of Life, The Universe and Everything is…42!" - Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

A series of four short essays by author Neil Gaiman are brilliantly brought to life by Chris Riddell in this beautiful hardcover book. Art Matters is something of a call to arms, encouraging all to make art a part of their every day lives--by using their imaginations, by reading fiction, by using libraries and ultimately, creating their own work and not giving up when things become difficult.  I found this one to be an inspiring book, one that had the good fortune to arrive in the post just as I needed it most. Since then, I've greedily read it two or three times before deciding to share what is, essentially a short and glowing review of the book. Is it even possible to review a book like this? Or should I just tell everyone, read this, it's great. Or should I be gifting it to other creatives, especially ones who are suffering with writers block, imposter syndrome, or are feeling like what they do doesn't make a difference?  Or should I state the obvious, that this would m...

  Koalas have unique fingerprints.

Author V.E. Schwab offers readers a deliciously other worldly and spooky tale about a small town who finds themselves in the midst of a witch hunt. Each evening, Lexi tells her younger sister the story of the Near Witch. She never expects the legend to be true--that is, until one night when a strange song is heard. In the morning, a child from the town is missing from their bed. Over the next few nights, more children start to disappear. Could it have something to do with the mysterious boy who has appeared in the village? Or is the truth something far more scary--and complex--than that. This was a fun and spooky novel with a strong heroine and an interesting (though suitably dark and brooding,) hero. Lexi doesn't allow the expectations of her strict and somewhat sexist uncle restrain her, and I love the way she that she was able to develop her friendship with Cole and also a pair of local witches who too often fell under the suspicion of the town. The mystery of the near witch is ...

The year is 1943. Despite the Nazi occupation of Rome, Marina has a wonderful job working alongside her beloved father, Vittorio in his art gallery. That changes one afternoon when it turns out that Vittorio, a man of integrity and great courage, is found doing what he knows is right--hiding a Jewish artist in his basement. Vittorio pays the ultimate price, and a devastated Marina travels to Florence to stay with a family friend--American art expert Bernard Berenson. There, Marina finds refuge, friendships and new beginnings, and romance. But the desire to get revenge on the Nazi's runs strong. When her love, Carlos offers her the opportunity to save a priceless painting, Marina takes it ... and life takes another unexpected twist, one that will send her halfway across the world and leave her realising who she truly can--and cannot--trust ... This is quite a page turner. Anita Abriel has carved out a name for herself as the author of twisty, page turning romances set during the Sec...

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  "Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what." - Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

This short novella concludes the story of Nick and Charlie (well, for now at least ,) who readers will know from Alice Oseman's novel Solitare, and also through Heartstopper, her bestselling series of graphic novels. It's the end of the school year, and that means that Nick is about to graduate. He's looking forward to starting university in Leeds in September, and life is looking up. That is, until Charlie, who still has another year of high school, starts to have doubts about their relationship--after all, long term relationships rarely work out. Do Nick and Charlie really have what it takes? It might take the unthinkable--the otherwise solid pair breaking up after a silly argument--to find out. This was a sweet little novella that looks at what happens in a teenage relationship when one partner finishes school, leaving the other, slightly younger one behind. In adult terms, a year isn't that much difference. At school, a year isn't that much difference either. B...

  A jiffy is a real unit of time.

Jacqueline Roy's latest novel takes a dark subject and forces the reader to look within themselves and ask some deep questions about notions of good and evil. Michelle Cameron is considered to be the worst of kind of monster. When she was a child, she lured a smaller child away from her home and murdered her. She was demonised in the media (and by the public,) as the black girl who murdered a white girl. As the book opens, Michelle is an adult released from prison and struggling to fit in to a world that she is ill equiped to handle, and with only minimal support. Can Michelle ever move on from what happened? Or is she doomed to always be a monster?  Told through the eyes of Michelle, Natalie, a black police officer, and Zoe, a journalist who wants to write a book about Michelle, the book takes an empathetic look at a horrendous crime, its impact and the implications for the very real, and very human, person who is forced to live every day with the aftermath of her actions.  S...

Is it possible to enjoy a love story that ends in heartbreak? That is the question posed in the introduction to 28 Questions, the debut novel from Indiana Schneider. From the outset, the reader knows that the relationship in this one will end badly. And while I cannot speak for all readers, I can say that I enjoyed the story very much. Amalia is a first year music student at Oxford College. One evening, a mutual friend introduces her to Alex, a fellow Australian at Oxford. The pair quickly form an intense friendship that, as Amalia becomes more self aware of who she is and what she wants out of life, that becomes a relationship. But can friends ever really become lovers? What does it take to truly fall in love with another person? And what happens when that relationship ends. Each chapter is based around 28 questions that, when answered, are purported to make a couple fall in love with one another. Through these questions, we follow Amalia as she navigates her way through university a...