This is a fascinating book - especially for readers with Scottish heritage and an interest in our own historical background. Set in 1852, I found it particularly interesting as one side of my own family also arrived from Scotland that same year but under very different conditions. Another element that makes this book so... Continue Reading →
It is always exciting to find and really enjoy the writings of a "new" author. Although this is 'technically' a crime novel, the crime itself is the catalyst for the powerful story of family life in a remote Shetland Island village, where infidelities are exposed and relationships are tested. The characters are all strongly depicted... Continue Reading →
It had been a hard week for me with the death of my own old dog, but I was happy to be able to speak with the charming and whimsical young man who has written a lovely little book titled '(Definitely) The Best Dogs Of All Time'. Jadan Carroll does not own a dog himself... Continue Reading →
I interviewed Jill Dupleix on my program The Good Life, whose name is very familiar to the foodies of Melbourne. Jill worked with The Age and was very active on the Melbourne culinary scene before she and husband, restaurant reviewer Terry Durack, moved to London where, for six years, Jill was Food Editor Back in... Continue Reading →
Ann Creber passed me this book on Australian community recipes because as well as being part of the same community we have a shared interest in all things food. This is not a book full of recipes. But, it does have recipes to take you down memory lane. Initially I started picking through the book... Continue Reading →
This is a magnificent book .. but it left me deeply frustrated! I am inquisitive by nature and I was desperate to know the story behind so many of the photos in this book. The walls covered with so many photos, others covered with nothing but Jaeger magazine covers......cluttered old shop interiors paired opposite pristine,... Continue Reading →
This is an extraordinarily powerful book which captures the personalities of the human characters involved and, as we expect now from this author, introduces the vast and harsh Australian landscape as a character in its own right. In this story the landscape is a ruthless killer, with vast, barren distances and the occasional lonely grave... Continue Reading →
On The Good Life, it is unlikely you will not hear books mentioned at least once on every program! This week we spoke about Mountain of Books, the annual fair which will be held again at Ferny Creek Reserve during November. Meryll Williams is the owner of Rainy Day Books, a den of overwhelming temptation... Continue Reading →
I was really looking forward to speaking with author Blaise van Hecke....I had so much pleasure from sharing the childhood experiences of her memoir titled THE ROAD TO TRALFAMADORE IS BATHED IN RIVER WATER. I was especially pleased when she offered to visit the studio for a chat! This is a charming little book, with... Continue Reading →
Do you ever feel a pang of guilt when you see a reference to War & Peace and realise you have still to read it? I do.... but then I am seduced by the arrival of a new Harry Bosch crime novel tempting me and I succumb! Good Life guest, Ander Louis, was in the... Continue Reading →
a good book, a good life 