Strangely, I'm looking forward to a bit of time off work. My contract ended on Wednesday, so I'm officially between jobs. A job will come, and come soon, so it's best I enjoy the downtime - not that my downtime looks quiet and boring - I have too much to do, if I'm being honest.
2. What do you wish you had more time for?
I want to make more time to dedicate to finishing these bloody novels. I must stop procrastinating about this.
3. What would like to do less?
Procrastinate.
4. What do you spend too much money on?
Stupid shit on the internet. As I'm keeping a tight rein on what I'm spending at the moment, it's taking every fibre of my being to stop the dopamine spending. I'm doing pretty well. Long may it continue.
5. What childhood wish never came true?
I always wanted to meet Prince Charming and get married. I've not achieved either, but that's led to an interesting life. You have to see this as a good thing.
6. What did you do to celebrate your last birthday?
Ah, nothing. We had book group at the pub the night before, and on the day of my birthday, I had a very quiet day at work, then got tortured by my trainer at the gym in the evening. I wanted a quiet one, so it was fine.
7. What drives you nuts?
Here's a list:
Tinnitus
When you run out of milk in the evening and there's not enough left for your morning coffee.
Loopy people who sit next to you on the tram (I'm a loopy person magnet)
Negative people
Overly critical people
People who are rude to service staff
People who drive and don't use their indicators
Slow walkers
Should I go on?
8. What keeps you sane?
Friends, books, movies, long walks, my cat, exercise, talking, my psychologist, limiting alcohol - among other things
9. What historic date is etched in your memory?
More a time, the first three months of 2011 were pretty awful. There was the big Christchurch earthquake, Cyclone Yasi, the Japanese earthquake - big global events which were on the telly and were hard to watch - especially as I was home waiting to find a job. I had to stop watching the news.
16 December 2015 was the day my niece passed away from leukaemia. That was just tragic.
10. What one thing would make your life immeasurably better?
Possibly a GLP-1 that isn't expensive and doesn't make your hair fall out, but that's not going to happen.
There could be an extra day in the week, with an extra two hours in the day that I could put aside for reading and writing.
1) I did not get a good sleep last night - no idea why.
2) I love my podiatrist. The fact that I have a podiatrist is a bit scary, but I only see her once a year for a 'clean up'. Regardless, she's better than the dentist.
3) I met an old colleague for a catch up to discuss a possible role. We were there for an hour and a half. it was lovely to reconnect.
4) Being the swat that I am, I dropped off my spent coffee pods at the Nescafe shop in town. I feel virtuous.
5) I went to go for a write in the library only to find my iPad was out of juice and no charging cable was to hand.
6) A lovely massage was later today. I'm going back to the practice next week to see the acupuncturist to try and get rid of a small but irritating issue.
7) And now the massage has left me a big puddle, so I'm going to go to bed.
September was a good reading month. Technically, I've read ten books, but two of those books I'll class as half books because technically I had about 30 pages to read and they were finished in the next month. So, I'll be giving my quick review of Sophie, Standing There by Meg Mason and leaving my review of Whistler, which I finished this morning, until next month. Thankfully, nothing was too disappointing this month. Anyway, here we go.
1) Sophie, Standing There by Meg Mason - Paper - 3.5 Stars
I loved Meg Mason's Sorrow and Bliss when it came out a few years ago, so I was hoping to feel the same about this. But I didn't.
The blurb from the Harper Collins website describes the book as such:
"Sophie Pattison is such a lovely person. Warm, kind, amazingly positive. She works as a freelance sound technician for literary festivals. She is a massive reader and was recently forced to move house. She is bracingly lonely.* So much so, the absence of others feels like a physical weight, if that makes sense. But then Sophie discovers an author through work and comes to adore her. Her books, interviews and podcasts, her wisdom and brilliance, her beautiful words. It's like solace and company. It's almost like love. And Sophie would love to meet her, although she never will, obviously. The author would never come to her festival. She's too famous for that. Too brilliant, too beautiful. And in a way, thank goodness, because that would change everything. Sophie's entire life.
But ... what if she did?"
I didn't connect with this until later in the book. It was nearly a did not finish, but I wanted to find out about "The Author" and what happened there, and ultimately, I'm glad I stuck around, but, this was all a bit name-droppy and niche. If, like me, you do go to a lot if literary events and author talks, or ever have volunteered at a literary festival, you'll get it. Many won't. It started out a bit pretentious, but it did get better.
2) Mansfield Park by Jane Austen - Audio - 3.75 Stars
This is not my favourite Austen - I'm a lover of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. This one is okay - but not my favourite. You do have to like the plucky Fanny Price, who is sent off to live with her better off cousins, giving her access to a better education, manners and the hoi-polloi, and Austen's biting wit is all through this. But it doesn't have the emotional clout of some of her other books. I also feel sorry for the fact that all a women perceived to be good for is getting married. You can also see that she's going to end up with the lovely Edmund, her cousin... the second half was better than the first.
Frances Barber's narration was sound. No other notes.
3) Lost Lambs by Madelaine Cash - Paper - 3.75 Stars
This one held out a lot of promise but let me down a little at the end. A book about dysfunctional families and communities and the characters that live in them. Part family drama, part light thriller this first novel by Madelaine Cash truly is laugh-out-loud funny in places, and the voice is superb. It really appealed to my warped, dark sense of humour.
The Penguin website describes it as such:
"For the three Flynn daughters, it’s been disastrous since their parents opened up their marriage. Abigail, the eldest, is dating an ex-soldier several years her senior nicknamed ‘War Crimes Wes’. Louise, the middle child, maintains a secret correspondence with an online terrorist. And the brilliant youngest, Harper, is being sent to a wilderness reform camp due to her insistence that someone – or something – is monitoring the town’s citizens.
Casting a shadow across their lives is Paul Alabaster, a nefarious local billionaire. Rumours of corruption circulate, but no one dares dig too deep. No one except Harper, whose obsession with Alabaster’s machinations sends the family hurtling into a criminal conspiracy – one that may just, finally, bring them closer together."
This is a romp. I loved the fact that the family, though deeply ga-ga, were all there for each other. It's not perfect, but there are some very great things about it as well. The errant g - which I will say nothing more about, is one of those stylistic choices which will have you scratching your head.
I'd love to find somebody to discuss this with. It's not perfect, but it is cool.
4) The Peacock Emporium by Jo Jo Moyes - Audio - 4 Stars
"In the sixties, Athene Forster was the most glamorous girl of her generation. Nicknamed the Last Deb, she was also beautiful, spoiled, and out of control. When she agreed to marry the gorgeous young heir Douglas Fairley-Hulme, her parents breathed a sigh of relief. But within two years, rumors had begun to circulate about Athene's affair with a young salesman.
Thirty-five years later, Suzanna Peacock is struggling with her notorious mother's legacy. The only place Suzanna finds comfort is in The Peacock Emporium, the beautiful coffee bar and shop she opens that soon enchants her little town. There she makes perhaps the first real friends of her life, including Alejandro, a male midwife, escaping his own ghosts in Argentina.
The specter of her mother still haunts Suzanna. But only by confronting both her family and her innermost self, will she finally reckon with the past--and discover that the key to her history, and her happiness, may have been in front of her all along."
I like Jo Jo Moyes' writing, and really enjoy her historical fiction, because yes, the sixties are now classed as historical fiction. I also remember liking her Ship of Brides - that was really well done.
As audiobooks go, this was good car fodder. Once you get a handle of the large gaggle of characters and the split timelines, it really comes together. You feel for Suzanna, the first daughter of an upper class family, stuck in a loveless marriage and the situation she's put in. You do love Alejandro and the collection of characters that commune in the shop.
Is this the best book in the world - no, but its still a good read that slots nicely between heavier are more literary reads. A good Mum book, if you get my drift.
5) Nesting by Roisin O'Donnell - Paper - 5 Stars
This was a standout audiobook for me last year, and it was a standout read again this year. This was our September reads for book group. It was just as good the second time around.
"On a bright spring afternoon in Dublin, Ciara Fay makes a split-second decision that will change her life. Grabbing an armful of clothes from the washing line, Ciara straps her two young daughters into her car and drives away. Head spinning, all she knows for certain is that home is no longer safe.
It was meant to be an escape. But with dwindling savings, no job, and her family across the sea, Ciara finds herself adrift, facing a broken housing system and the voice of her own demons. As summer passes and winter closes in, she must navigate raising her children in a hotel room, searching for a new home and dealing with her husband Ryan's relentless campaign to get her to come back.
Because leaving is one thing, but staying away is another."
This is a quick read, but oh, so effective. This reads like a thriller, but displays the plight of those fleeing domestic violence with a clarity like no other.
This is essential reading.
Also, if you get a chance, listen to it on audiobook. Louisa Harland's narration is impeccable.
6) The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - Audiobook - 5 Stars
I've read this six or seven times. I noted that Russell Tovey was reading this for Audible. He's fantastic and I delved into Wilde's little book of a Faustian promise and a magical picture locked in an attic again.
No notes - it's still superb.
On a side note, the one-woman play of the book is coming back to Melbourne next year. If you didn't make it the first-time round, DO IT. Nikki Sheilds is fantastic, as is this interpretation of the book.
7) The Things That Matter Most by Gabbie Stroud - Paper - 4 stars
The Readings website describes the plot like this:
"The staff of St Margaret's Primary School are hanging by a thread. There's serious litigation pending, the school is due for registration, and a powerful parent named Janet Bellevue has a lot to say about everything. As teachers they're trying to remain professional, as people they're fast unravelling.
There's Tyson, first year out of uni and nervous as hell, Derek the Assistant Principal who's dropped the ball on administration, Bev from the office who's confronting a serious diagnosis, and Sally-Ann who's desperate for a child of her own.
Thank goodness for kids like Lionel Merrick. Lionel is the student who steals your heart and makes the whole teaching gig worthwhile: he's cheerful, likeable and helpful - and devoted to his little sister Lacey. But Lionel has a secret of his own. As his future slides from vulnerable to dangerous, will someone from St Margaret's realise before it's too late?
As secrets threaten to be exposed and working demands increase, each staff member begins to lose sight of the things that matter most."
This was enjoyable - and shone a light on school communities and life in a country town. The characters are relatable. If you've got kids in school, or if you're a teacher, you will understand. I really liked the relationships shown in this. It's not a hard read and comes recommended.
8) Frankie by Graham Norton - Audio - 4 Stars
Who knew Graham Norton from the telly was such a good writer? This small novel about a woman from a small town out of Cork making her way in the world is very enjoyable.
The Readings website describes the plot as such:
"Frankie Howe was never quite sure enough of herself to take centre stage - after all, life had already judged her harshly. Now in her eighties, she finds it easier to forget the life that came before.
Then Damian, a young Irish carer, arrives at her London flat to keep an eye on her as she recovers from a fall. A memory is sparked, and the past crackles into life as Damian listens to the story Frankie has kept stored away all these years.
From post-war Ireland to the dazzling art scene of 1960s New York, Frankie shares a world in which friendships and chance encounters collide. A place where life blazes with an intensity that can't last but will perhaps live on in other ways and in other people."
This was a wonderful listen - made even better by Graham Norton narrating the book. It's very enjoyable.
9) Our Noble Selves by Kate Atkinson - Audio - 4 Stars
Kate Atkinson is fast becoming a favourite author of mine, and this, her latest book is wonderful. This historical novel with a backbone of a mystery keeps you on your toes. It also looks at some of the barking mad history that is the 1951 Festival of Britain. Immaculately research and wonderfully written, if you like your historical novels on unusual topics, this should fit the bill. I also love the pathos she gives her character. Harry Flynn is a marvel - seriously.
10) Sipsworth by Simon van Booy - Audio - 4 stars
This charming small book is about a woman, a mouse and the power of community.
Goodreads provides the following information:
"Over the course of a single week, a woman who is ready to die discovers an unexpected reason to live.
Following the deaths of her husband and son, Helen Cartwright returns to the English village of her childhood after living abroad for six decades. Her only wish is to die quickly and without fuss.
Helen retreats into her home on Westminster Crescent, becoming a creature of routine and habit. Then, one cold autumn night, a chance encounter with an abandoned pet mouse on the street outside her house sets Helen on a surprising journey of friendship.
Sipsworth is a reminder that there can be second chances. No matter what we have planned for ourselves, sometimes the world has plans of its own. Simon Van Booy’s lyrical storytelling is a delight even as it will fill your heart."
This is only 220 pages long (or five hours of audio book listening). It's a charming, heartfelt novel that looks at aging, dying, memory and building community. It's got some lovely messages in and a touch of British bonkers-ness that I love so much. This is great for a quick read. Sure, it's a little twee, but if you can suspend judgement, it's worth it.
As I finished Ann Patchett's Whistler this morning, that will be reviewed with my October books.
It's Wednesday afternoon, there's the taste of rain in the air, and as of about 3.30 this afternoon, I'm between jobs.
This is very okay.
I'm on a break - and I need it. This time last year I was in Paris. If you want me to be really specific, this time last year I was wandering around Versailles with a friend, and yes, I miss Europe and I miss Paris, and that was my last real holiday.
Regardless, I'm on the hunt for my next gig, and I've gone into 'between jobs' mode.
So, what does this mean.
I'll be time boxing. There's no rest for the perceptibly wicked. I want to spend a part of each day doing the following:
Job hunting
Exercising
Spring Cleaning
and Writing.
I want to be up by 9 a.m.
Job hunting takes no more than an hour. Scan the job sites, make a few phone calls, go have a coffee with people. Once the job hunting is done, that's it unless a call comes in.
Exercising means a couple of things - I have weights at least twice a week, cardio at least twice a week because I promised my boxing trainer, and a round or two of Pilates for the challenge. I have the time. I love that the gym is five minutes' walk away. And exercise is very good for my mental health.
Spring Cleaning is also a given. It's time for a clean out - dig around in some cupboard, break out the paper shredder and make some space.
As for the writing - it's back to the novels. To make the most of the time, this will be done in a library - either the Richmond Library or the State Library - I work best without distraction.
Over the next week, I've got some what I call girlie admin. Leg wax, hair appointment, psychology appointment, massage, podiatrist. It's nice to not have to fit these in on the weekend.
I'm also meeting an old colleague about some prospective work on Friday, I've got an initial online interview over the next few days, coffee catch ups to organise, lunches to schedule....
Oh yes, and I have a day of paid work cleaning the temple. We're looking for a cleaner for the temple, in the meantime, I'm the cleaner. I have the time.
Oh, and I would like to bring back the black and white photo of the day challenge. I like being creative.
I'm not going to be bored.
Oh yes, I've also got a book launch tomorrow night, a house cooling party on the weekend, an author talk Tuesday, a play next Friday and Saturday...
I just know I have faith that I'll be back in a great job with good people in no time and I've just got to relax into this 'holiday'.
The Event: Magda Szubanski in conversation with Julia Baird
Where: Melbourne Town Hall
As a part of the Wheeler Center
When: 29 September - for one night only.
I was gifted a ticket to see this a few weeks ago. I was thinking of going along, but my friend got in before me and offered me one for my birthday. It turns out, she got the flu, I had a spare ticket, and I was joined by my mate Ernie, who came down from the Macedon Ranges to see Magda talk about her new book, I Can't Tell You But I Will. Ernie's a huge fan. I've always been an admirer of this plucky woman - comedian, advocate, writer, survivor and all-round great woman.
The talk, in conversation with Julia Baird, a wonderful author in her own right led the conversation into some choppy places. A lot of the talk centered around her mother, her decline and death, and the ever-difficult topic of mothers and daughters. She spoke of her cancer treatment. Her advocacy for the same sex marriage and the First Nations Voice. A down to earth, incredibly eloquent and funny woman, she spoke of her Scottish heritage (her father was Polish - he was also the subject of her first book) and how it is okay to be more than one thing... Scottish... Polish... Lesbian... Right wing. I think I'm going to borrow her term, that she's a radical moderate.
This evening was a delight. Just hearing about her new book makes me want to see more.
The Guardian has reviewed the book - singing its praises. Her first book, Reckoning, about her father, had similar reviews. I look forward to getting my hands on it.
This was a top session. Okay, I could have brained the women sitting next to me who were loudly agreeing with everything she said, but you can only love this national treasure, because that is what she is.
It was also lovely to catch up with Ernie. A quick dirty burger and along chat and the world feels a little more stable.
I love when a cheap ticket over- delivers. This cheap seat, procured on TodayTix for $50 was worth every cent.
Angus Cameron's Luke is going to become an Australian classic. It's awesome. The Red Stitch website describes it as such:
"One night in 2007, Chris - fresh out of high school - drinks, argues and philosophises with his two older teacher friends, Damon and Olena. But when a buried secret begins to surface, the night takes an irreversible turn, and their lives are rewritten forever."
Things I can tell you. Firstly, this is going to become a queer classic. It's got everything you need. Three characters, no straight answers, no way to know what actually happened all those years ago, and now way of seeing what was going to happen after the initial events.
I'm not going to delve into the plot as it would spoil it. Needless to say, it involves accusations of grooming
However, I can say that the acting was very enjoyable. Dion Mills as Damon, the country teacher, proud of the job he's doing, probably better suited to the city, hopeful and despondent in turn. Olga Makeeva is Olena, Damon's colleague and housemate, also an outsider in the town. The third hand to the play is Will Lonsdale, who plays Chris, a favourite student of Damon, caught in his own bubble.
The play takes place over two decades. The first act takes place at the end of 2007, which sets the scene. The other two acts take place decades later, still in the hometown where Chris has grown up and the consequences of his actions must be address.
I've remained intentionally vague about the plot so not to ruin this.
What I will say is Angus Cameron's script is tight, fun and walks a brilliantly morally ambiguous line from the plays first line until its conclusion. Iain Sinclair, who directorial work with the Melbourne Theatre Company includes The View From the Bridge and Berlin, keeps the action fast paced and the relationships between the main characters very real.
The Red Stitch's tiny stage is used to great effect, screens making the transition between time periods seemless.
The 90 minutes of this play kept me on the edge of my seat. This is a punchy, pacy and thought-provoking play that should do very well. This is on until 11 October. Hunt out a ticket. This is one play you'll want to see before this gets more airtime. Like Break of Day, which was on at the Malthouse last month, this has the feel of a new modern classic.
As I'm heading off to a play in a minute, after another busy day, I'll see what I can get done before I take off.
Questions which were garnered from Sunday Stealing player this time around, come from Sunday Stealing.
1. If you were trapped in a TV universe for a month, what TV show would you choose?
Bridgerton - that looks fun. But with better plumbing.
2. What song instantly revs you up and gets you going?
As an Australian, if Tina Turner's Nutbush City Limits comes on, I'm on the dancefloor with the rest of Australia. We're taught this in school and find it bizarre that the rest of the world doesn't do this.
I'm serious. This is our national dance. Government sponsored in the 70s and 80s. We all do it.
The B52s Rock Lobster and Echo Beach also get me up.
3. Are you decorating your home for fall?
I'm in the Southern Hemisphere. We're going into Spring. So, no.
4. How do you treat a cold?
Ugh, colds. Hate them. I take a naturopathic tablet daily from April to September to ward them off. But when I do get them, lots of paracetamol or ibuprofen, fluids and rest and then hope for the best. Hate colds.
5. What insignificant thing would you be genuinely annoyed if you lost it or it was taken from you?
Oh, that would be my jar top popper. It's a handy implement that helps the bubble pop in jars - no more struggling with opening jars. It makes this easy. You can get them on Temu. I have an orange one. I've had it for more than ten years and it's saved a heap of frustration.
6. What place do you remember vividly, even though you haven't been there in years?
Oh, that would be Toledo in Spain. Serious deja vu, and a place that feels very much like it has been my home many lives over.
7. Do you have a favorite Dolly Parton song or story?
Um, no. I have always had a lot of respect for Dolly Parton. Her Imagination Network and the fact that she's provided over 300,000,000 books to children over the year is enough for me.
