Kathryn's Inbox

Every heading in this book is a lie ... begins You're Doing It Wrong, a hilarious history of all of the terrible advice that women have been told for centuries. Cooke examines advice about health, sex, marriage, housework, work, motherhood, beauty, so-called ideal body shapes and clothing and gives it, well the answer it deserves, and the no-nonsense advice that everyone needed all along. There is also a lot of acknowledgement to have Indigenous Australian women have been treated since 1788--if white women were the victims of ridiculous advice, there was a whole other race whose lives were made a lot tougher based on truly ridiculous medial, patriarchal and truly racist ideas. Each section begins with a heading that is, as the opening line tells us, a lie. And some of those headings are truly hilarious. (Fantasise about men who order you around, for example. I truly love Cookes examination of modern erotic novels. She nails it.) This was an excellent read that had me laughing out ...

  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kathryn White (@kathryns_inbox)

  “You know, Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help.” ~ Bill Watterson, via his famous comic, Calvin and Hobbes.

  Grapes explode if you put them in the microwave. 

Sophia Glock's graphic memoir Passport tells of an unusual childhood. Born in the United States, to American parents, she has spent most of her childhood living in various countries because of her parents jobs ... not that she knows what they do for a living, exactly. Her parents are the ultimate masters of deflecting and not answering direct questions, and they encourage their six children to do the same. By the time Sophia is in her teens, she and most of her family are living in Central America. It's a lonely life for Sophia, who finds herself being uprooted from schools constantly, and never really able to make friends. Things take a turn for the worse when her beloved older sister Julia leaves the family to go to college in the United States. Her current school is a drag, Sophia feels as though she is merely tolerated by the kids in her friendship group, who can be mean at times. Her parents have some strict rules, and seem bizarrely overprotective in some ways. And the b...

Fans of Adelaide's history following European settlement/invasion are almost certain to be delighted with this glossy, hardcover volume that documents the history of Adelaide's buildings from 1836 to 1886 in atmospheric black and white. Provided, of course, that they can find a copy, as this one was published by Oxford University Press in 1969 and is long out of print. There is something fascinating, and just a little heartbreaking about reading this one. Divided into two sections, it gives an insight into some of the earliest buildings located within the City of Adelaide, or the areas generally known as the the Adelaide CBD and North Adelaide (more on that, later,) and mourns the buildings that have already been demolished. A note in the jacket adds that just before the book went to print, a number of buildings featured in the book had also now suffered a similar fate. As is sadly typical of the era, there is no mention of the Kaurna people. Keep in mind that in 1969, First Na...

  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kathryn White (@kathryns_inbox)

  "I have got key to my castle in the air, but whether I can unlock the door remains to be seen." - Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

  More people are killed each by vending machines each year than by sharks.

Many Australians will be familiar with Amber Petty. She was, most famously, bridesmaid at the wedding of Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark and worked in PR and had been an executive at Mushroom Records. From there, she had a series of enviable, high profile jobs, working in women's magazines, was a contestant on Celebrity Survivor, co-hosted a top rating breakfast radio show, and now runs a successful podcast. It's a dream life, surely? Well, kind of. In her memoir This is Not a Love Song Amber Petty details what went on behind the scenes, from toxic relationships to being used for gossip about her best friend, to a 'gotcha call' on breakfast radio that ended in a cat fishing scam no one saw coming. She also takes a careful look at her family relationships, particular that with her father, who left the family and moved to another state when Amber was just a year old. Amber Petty's memoir is honest and, occasionally, heartbreaking. She details her c...

Aussie author Hayley Walsh spins a superb mature age romance with Not Dead Yet the story of a widow whose big life move leads to something wonderful. Mary was widowed six months ago, after being happily married for 51 one year. She misses her husband, Bob, terribly, but life in their house in Sydney isn't what it used to be. So she packs her things and moves into a retirement village in Queensland. Life there isn't quite what she is expecting, especially not when romance is suddenly on the cards. This was a fun read, and definite proof that there is no upper age limit for heroines in romance novels. I liked the flashbacks and suggestions of what might have been, along with the lovely ending. There are some sad moments, but that is to be expected, given the age of the main character. Overall, an enjoyable mature age romance. Recommended. Thank you to author Hayley Walsh for my ARC of Not Dead Yet.

  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kathryn White (@kathryns_inbox)

  "Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful." - Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

The BSC Graphix series continues to go from strength-to-strength. The series is now up to its eleventh graphic novel adaption of Ann M Martin's utterly beloved series, The Baby-Sitter's Club. This time around, it is book thirteen of the original series getting the graphic novel treatment. Things are looking up for Stacey McGill. She has lived in Stoneybrook for a bit over a year now. She has a best friend in Claudia, and close friends in all of the other members of the Baby-Sitters Club. She has watched as her favourite sitting charge, Charlotte Johansson has bloomed into a confident kid and sometimes, the pair, who are both only children, feel like sisters. Then Stacey's parents make a surprise announcement. The family is moving back to New York ... The announcement leaves Stacey with mixed feelings. She misses New York, especially now that she's made up with her childhood bestie, Laine. But things are going to be tough if she moves back. After all, there were plenty o...

  Bananas are curved because they grow toward the sun.

Lemon is the story of a girl. The story of a girl who is murdered. It is also the story of a boy delivery boy who was wrongfully accused of her murder and let go on a technicality. It is the story of the sister of the girl who was murdered, who has spent a lifetime grieving and searching for answers. It is the story of two of the classmates of the murdered girl, whose lives must somehow keep going forward ... In the summer of 2002 Kim Hae-on, a girl who is in her final year of high school is murdered. Hae-on is something of an enigma. Beautiful and free spirited. She attracts the awe and jealousy of her classmates and that of her younger sister, Da-on who acts as a keeper of sorts. Then Hae-on is murdered, and a delivery boy is wrongfully accused. Spanning seventeen years, the author stops in different points in time, and uses different characters to paint a picture of not only the murder of Hae-on, but life in modern day Seoul, where although it may be a thoroughly modern city, not e...

Startlingly frank, My Mess is a Bit of a Life is the memoir from screenwriter Georgia Pritchett. Pritchett, who has won multiple awards, has worked on television comedies such as Miranda, Smack the Pony, Veep and most recently, Succession,  where she works as a writer and co-executive producer. She also happens to suffer from anxiety. My Mess is a Bit of a Life stemmed from a visit to a therapist. During the visit, she found herself unable to articulate her thoughts. Her therapist suggested writing them down instead. And what she produced was just so amusing, bloody interesting and such an excellent insight into what it means to be living with--or in spite of--anxiety that it has found its way into print. Told in a series of mostly time-ordered vignettes, Georgia tells of her first experiences of anxiety in childhood (worrying that the monsters under her bed might not be comfortable enough,) attending an alternative school, and events that would be truly frightening--such a...

  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kathryn White (@kathryns_inbox)

  "That is the one unforgivable sin in any society. Be different and be damned!" - Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind

  I absolutely love this beautiful song that Amanda Palmer wrote about her love of Judy Blume and wanted to share it here. Enjoy. 

  Freddy Mercury had four extra teeth in his upper jaw.

Australian author Julie Bennett leverages on a unique childhood experience working as a child extra onstage at the Sydney Opera House to create a dazzling (and entirely fictitious,) story set during the grand opening of the Opera House in 1973. Sophie is a young aspiring singer, with a part in the chorus for the grand opening of the Sydney Opera House. She is also in an enviable position, chosen to be the understudy for the female lead in the opening's performance of Madame Butterfly. But Margaret Gardiner, Australia's premier female opera star would never miss such an important occasion, would she? And nothing could possibly happen ... could it? When Margaret suddenly disappears just before opening night, Sophie finds herself thrown into the lead role, and into the arms of her leading man. But what happened to Margaret? Who is pulling the strings? And just how much does Sophie know, really? Ambition can be deadly. This was an enjoyable read, set during the opening of one of Au...

Mona Awad's latest offering is a brilliant satire on Shakespeare, theatre and campus life. Miranda Fitch has been living a real life nightmare, stuck with chronic pain, caused by a fall that put an end to a promising career as an actor. Botched surgery, and dubious medical treatments have only increased the pain. Her husband has abandoned her and though she is trying her best, she is close to losing her job as a drama instructor at a local college. There, she is determined to put on a performance of Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well, but she faces a mutinous cast who are equally determined to put on Macbeth instead. Add to it a very annoying colleague who will do anything to get Miranda's job, and the whole thing suddenly seems impossible ... doesn't it? Enter three mysterious benefactors, and suddenly Miranda's fortunes are turning around. But at what cost? At times hilarious, a little wicked and reminiscent of Margaret Atwood in the best kind of way, thi...

Ben and Arthur are back. They may have broken up at the end of summer, but they've remained friends ... right? And they're both happy in their relationships, Arthur with Mikey, a nice dependable guy, and Ben who is almost-but-not-quite dating the very attractive and personable Mario. It looks as though both have met their perfect match. So why hasn't Ben contacted Arthur in a while? And what inspired Arthur to apply for an internship in New York? And how long will it take before their paths cross ... again? This was such a fun read. It was fantastic to revisit Ben and Arthur, and I loved how the authors kept us up to date on some of the other side characters from the first book, particularly Dylan and Samantha, who I think I loved even more in this book than I did in What if it's Us. Ben and Arthur compliment each other well. I couldn't help but feel sorry for Mikey, though I wish he'd plucked up a bit more courage early on and stood up for himself.  Overall, a ...