June Reading

 As there's no way I'll finish another book before the month turns over, I thought I'd do my monthly reading review tonight. I read seven books in June, and I'm well into another two which should be read by the end of the week. 

So, without further ado here's what I read. The great, the okay, and the well.... yeahs. 

1) The Frozen River by Arial Lawhon - Paper - 3.5 stars

This was our book group read for the month, and while a lot of our group loved this I was left underwhelmed. This is a historical crime novel, based on the life of a midwife, Martha Ballard. As it goes, the book is very readable and the action keeps you going. Where it lost marks with me is that I found the characters two dimensional, and it had the Outlander mentality of having to put in every last detail of the research, making this a little overblown in places. As popular historical crime fiction goes it's great. For me - I prefer literary historical crime fiction. Give me Geraldine Brooks, Hannah Kent or Umberto Eco any day. It certainly wasn't a bad book - it just didn't meet my expectations. 

2) Last One Out by Jane Harper - Audiobook - 3.5 stars

I've read most of what Jane Harper has written. Nobody does the Australian landscape like her. She also writes crime novels. Again, not normally my genre, but going on the strengths of The Dry and The Lost Man, I decided to give this a go. 

Like the last book, it's not a bad book, but she has better. I mean, it's the story of a dying town. Ro, who was the local doctor, has come back on the anniversary of her son's disappearance. The town has been taken over my a large mining consortium and nobody is happy. Ro, of course, is discovering the town's secrets. Maybe it will lead to some answers at to what happened to her son. 

As Jane Harper books go this is middling. I didn't mind it. I certainly liked it better than Exiles, but The Dry and The Lost Man remain my favourites. 

3) Trust by Hernan Diaz - Audiobook - 4 stars

After two middling book, I wanted to read something that might have a bit more weight. Trust was long-listed for the Booker Prize and it won the Pulitzer Prize along with Demon Copperhead. 

It was a good move. The writing is spectacular. It's intricately plotted. The characters are incredible. Wikipedia describes this as such:

"Set predominantly in New York City and focusing on the world of finance, the novel is a metafictional, fragmentary look at a secretive financier and his wife."

I loved this. It kept the brain working while the story grew layers and layers of meaning. It's not for everybody, but it fulfilled my literary needs. 

4) Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes - Audiobook - 3.5 Stars

Another favourite author, but not her best book. Anybody Out There? is Anna Walsh's story. I'm slowly working through the Walsh Family books. I've always loved Rachel's Holiday. Watermelon was good. The Mystery of Mercy Close was not bad. There's still a couple in the series I have to read. 

Anybody Out There? focusses on Anna Walsh, who's moved to New York, has a great job, and is fantastic at faking her way through everything. How she's ended up sleeping in her parent's front room, with major injuries and no idea how she got them is the story. 

In many ways, this is a book about grief and healing. It's also laugh out loud funny in places. You want to slap Anna a lot of the time. 

Otherwise, this was as enjoyable as most of Keyes' other books. It was taken on as light relief after listening to/reading Trust. 

5) I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman - Kindle - 3.75

This took me a long while to get into, and when I did get into it, I was wondering where it was going. Written in French and first published in 1995, its English translation has recently been rereleased.

As short, dystopian fiction, it's great. The synopsis is simple: Wikipedia describes it as such:

"Thirty-nine women and a girl are being held prisoner in a cage underground. The guards are all male, and never speak to them. The girl is the only one of the prisoners who has no memory of the outside world; none of them know why they are being held prisoner, or why there is one child among thirty-nine adults.

One day, an alarm sounds, and the guards flee; the prisoners are subsequently able to escape. They find themselves on an immense barren plain, with no other people anywhere, and no clue as to what has happened to the world.

The women form a community, build dwellings, and one by one mourn the deaths of their group. Finally, only the narrator is left living. In her wanderings she affirms the planet has “almost no seasons,” and decides she is no longer on Earth. After many years exploring, she discovers an underground bunker with lushly-appointed furnishings and a variety of inscrutable scientific equipment, some of which she associates with the bunker’s books on Astronautics. In this luxurious bunker, the narrator sets down her memoirs (the text of the novel), as she prepares to die of uterine cancer."

I can't say much more about it, but it stays with you. Academics write about this. It's stark and bleak. There is no reason why this is happening to the women, but the women are resilient. 

I'll keep thinking about this for a while. I'm glad I had a plane trip to finish this one off. I've been trying to get through it for months. I'm glad I got through it. 

6) The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne - Audiobook - 4.5 stars

This is my pick of the month. I know John Boyne is a problematic author, but his work is amazing. If possible, I like this more than A Ladder to the Sky. The Heart's Invisible Furies follows the life of Cyril Avery. The son of an unmarried girl cast out of her village for becoming pregnant, his birth is fraught. He's adopted by an unconventional pair - a charlatan and an unconventional author. He befriends the love of his life at boarding school, but goes on to marry his sister,

Cyril is also very good and making the worst of decisions. 

This is brilliant. Densely plotted, hysterically funny, tragic, finely drawn and very, very human. 

I loved this. I know Boyne is problematic in some of his views, but I'm choosing to distance the author from his works. This book is amazing.

7) Him by JD Kirk - Audiobook - 4 stars

This was a freebie from Audible - and a very timely and enjoyable one at that. 

From what I can see, this is only available on audiobook.

From the author's website, the story is described as such:

Just because he sounds real, doesn’t mean he is…

"When Sarah’s husband, Nick, is killed in a car accident, her world shatters. Facing a future without him seems impossible.

But maybe she doesn’t have to.

When Sarah discovers EternaTech, the AI program Nick and his business partner have been working on in secret, she is given the chance to speak to Nick from beyond the grave.

It sounds like him. It feels like him…

As Sarah becomes consumed by her connection to this digital Nick, she begins uncovering secrets about his final days. But as she digs deeper, the lines between what’s real and what isn’t blur, and Sarah must confront a chilling, terrible truth.

Some things may be best left buried."

Mostly thriller, part cautionary tale, this looks at how AI can mess with your life. It's highly entertaining and thought provoking. Louise Brealy and David Tennant bring the book to life. It was worth my time. 

And now, I'm off to bed, hoping that the cat doesn't wake me up at 4.30 again.I'm buggered. 

Today's song:

Not tonight

 I’m reading my book.

After spending the day in front of the computer, I would rather read my book. Analog is good. I’m dictating this into the phone.

After spending the day in front of the computer, I would rather read my book. Analog is good. I’m dictating this into the phone.

Normal transmission will resume shortly.

Today's song:

Theatre Review: LoveMusik

 The Show: LoveMusik based on the book by Albert Uhry, Music by Kurt Weill

The Theatre: Downstair at the Belvoir Street Theatre

The Company: Neglected Musicals

Stars: 5

The limited run ends tonight. (24-28 June)

A couple of things happened last night. I caught up with a friend from my writing retreats. We went to see a show. I got to see a phenomenal piece of theatre. What more do you want? 

Seeing this was a pure fluke. I like to see interesting theatre, but Sydney can be a bit of a cultural backwater. The one show that mildly interesting me was David Wenham in The Iliad, but the ticket prices were too steep. Then I looked up what the Belvoir Street Theatre was doing and this came out. A musical about Kurt Weill and his wife, Lotte Lenya. It had a four-day run in their smaller space. At $70 a ticket, it fit the bill. Even more so, my friend is a German teacher and there were some German themes that ran through this. 

We turned up. the 80-seater theatre was full. On the small stage there were a number of chairs, with some props underneath and a keyboard. 

For the next two hours we were mesmerised. 

What I didn't know before seeing this was that the company behind this performance, Neglected Musicals, is a company that does just this - it takes musicals which are rarely performed, or never been performed in Australia. They go on a very limited run. The cast get one day's rehearsal, they go on, script in hand with a piano accompanist.

Theatre by the seat of your pants stuff. 

A very talented professional cast. 

Utter magic. 

The musical revolves around the lives of the composer Kurt Weill (best known for writing the music for Mack the Knife) and his wife, Lotte Lenya and Weill's relationship with Bertholt Brecht. 

Weill and Lenya's life is striking. Fraught, poignant, and incredibly interesting. The musical takes them from the excesses of the Weimar Republic, to their escape to America in the 1930s, to Weill's burgeoning celebrity, to life in New York and Hollywood, to Weill's death in 1950. This musical covers a lot of ground. 

I was blown away within minutes. 

The music was great. The story cohesive. The fact that the actors had a day's rehearsal to put on a musical of this calibre is incredible. 

This is theatre by the seat of your pants. Looking at the cast's bios, there was a lot of musical theatre experience. This shone through. This was performed by a group of actors at the top of their game. 

Most daftly, the cast wouldn't take a second curtain call. No idea why. They had the whole audience by the heart. 

In some ways, this reminded me of shows that La Mama or The Red Stitch Actors Theatre put on. It's great to know that Sydney has such an outlet. 

For me, I'm just honoured that I got to see this on this limited run. As somebody who doesn't normally like musicals, this one fit the bill. 

Today's song:

Sunday Stealing: Meme Schmeme Part Two

I'm just back from the theatre. Normally, I would be making a go of a review of this play, but I really want to mull this one over a bit more. It was fantastic.

Regardless, here are the Sunday Stealing questions for this week. It's easier than writing about the incredible piece of theatre I was lucky enough to see. 

I LOVE TO be in water. Be it a bath or a shower or a swimming pool or the sea or jumping in puddles or getting caught in the rain. I love being in water. 

I SOMETIMES wonder what would happen if my hard won, oft used filter left me and I got to say exactly what I was thinking when I was thinking it. I do have a filter. Some might think that I don't have one, but I do - and I know I only use it selectively anyway, but yeah... that could be fun. 

I FEAR this romp towards the right. The Christian Fundamentalist lurch to controlling women's bodies is absolutely obscene. 

I MISS living in England. I loved it over there. I know it's a very different place from when I left it over twenty years ago, but I still miss it. Britain is far more accepting of the barking mad - of which I class myself. I fitted in better there. 

I CRAVE lots of things. Ice cream. Sex. The turn of a beautiful sentence. Long, slow kisses. A holiday. Bahn Mi for lunch. A wander around a cathedral. Rain. Kinder politics. Better journalism... want me to go on. 

I CHERISH time with friends. Education. Kindness. 

I AM IMPATIENT WHEN _people walk slowly in front of me. I'm just back from Sydney. Sydney people do this all the time. I want to slap them about the head. 

Today's song: 

Movie Review: Toy Story 5

 Movie Number 25 of 2026

The Movie: Toy Story 5

The Cinema: Hoyts Victoria Gardens

Runtime: One hour 47 minutes

Stars: 4

Argh! The first Toy Story movie came out in 1995 - 30 bloody years ago! 

Now, in the age of tech and devices, will a Toy Story movie stand up? 

Yes, it does. This is delightful - with some great messaging, a lot of laughs and a comfort factor. This is a kid's movie adults can happily watch, get a hit of nostalgia and wonder at the creativity of some people. 

The premise is fairly simple. Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the rest of the gang's jobs are challenged when they're introduced to electronics, a new threat to playtime.

Jessie (Joan Cusack) is still leading the charge with the toys. Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) is still pining over her, and Woody (Tom Hanks) and Bo Peep have retired nearby. But when Bonnie's parents succumb and buy her a Lily Pad tablet (Greta Lee), the toys feel they've been made redundant, being relegated to the garage or the opp shop. 

What follows in an hour and three quarters of delight, as the toys try to get back together and find Bonnie some friends. 

The film has a lot to say about kids today, the dependance on devices and the seeming lack of imagination kids have today.

I won't say much more. Written and direct by McKenna Harris and Andrew Stanton, they know what they're doing. This will appeal to kids and much as it will the adults who are taking them along - as well as the couple of middle-aged women looking to see something light on a Friday night. 

Today's song:

Bogan Nachos

 I'm very lucky with my neighbours. They're nice people. They're quiet. And we all have a chat in the stairwell every so often. Easy neighbours. Helpful neighbours. We don't live in each other's pockets, but it's good that we are friendly enough to say hi. 

Tonight, I ran into Ross, who lives downstairs. 

He's a long, stringy country boy from rural Queensland. He's in the process of changing careers, as being a mechanic wasn't working for him anymore. He's currently got a warehouse job at a high-end French bakery down the road. Lucky bloke.

Being from rural Queensland, there's no flies on Ross. He's lovely, and willing to learn. He admits that his tastes aren't refined, but he's open minded. I love this about him. 

We had a chat about tea. He spent the day sorting out a bulk order of French tea.

"I thought there was two types of tea - English Breakfast and Earl Grey," he told me. 

"Nah, there are lots more to see and try. Doesn't matter if you don't like them all, but if you're willing to try, then good for you."

"Yeah," he said, "It's like the macaroons..."

"You mean macarons - macaroons are made of coconut but your nana. Macron is the French President. Macarons are the things your bakers make."

"It's so hard, this French stuff."

"You'll learn. If you want a hand, I can give you some tips."

We then got onto the subject of dinner. He was heading out to the supermarket.

"I've got bogan nachos for dinner tonight."

"Bogan nachos?"

"Easy dinner, because I'm wiped. You get a packet of Doritos, tip a can of baked beans over then, and some grated cheese. Chuck them in the oven for ten minutes, and voila!"

"But isn't that how everybody makes nachos?" he asked. "By the way, Doritos - corn chip of champions."

"Absolutely agree."

I must say that bogan nachos are the bomb. 

According to Matt Preston of Masterchef fame, you can soup up bogan nachos and make them for the cashed-up bogans.

Sometimes I love being Australian. 

Today's song:

Engineer Lunch

Today was my monthly engineer lunch day. I went into the office because of this - otherwise I could have worked from home. But as it was engineer lunch day, I dutifully went in. 

Engineer lunch?

I have lunch with an engineer. We've been doing this for the best part of years. 

Dave and I were in the same team at a Telco back in the late naughties. Yes, I was working in an engineering team. 

Dave is one of those quiet people who normally doesn't say boo to a goose. He's universally respected across whatever company he works at, but he's one of those typical engineers that normally look down when speaking to you... you know, complete introvert, a cow lick, wears lots of blue, grey and brown and is generally nondescript. 

Except, being on this strange team, we got to know each other. 

And after I got made redundant at the back end of 2010, we made a promise to meet for lunch once a month. 

15 years on, we still meet for lunch once a month. 

Other than we're both well into our 50s, think similarly on most things political and laugh at the youth of today, we have very little in common. Other than we have lunch with one another once a month.

Today, we talked about lots of things over Grill'd burgers. His daughters finishing school, aging parents, possible holidays, and my last writing retreat. 

"I read my book while I was down the Great Ocean Road. Read my book and patted the dog and that was it."

"No naked swimming?"

"Nope. I was tending the fire that I'd lit. For a change, I was happy on the couch with a coffee, a crochet hook and a spare dog."

"Heaven?"

"Yeah."

"And the book?"

"Not awful. I now need to find some accountability monitors?"

"Somebody to check in with?"

"Yep. I've set myself a goal to finish the first draft by the November Gunnas. Wanna be my accountability monitor. You don't have to read it, but you can see that there's progress."

"Why not. I've got faith in you."

And this is why we have lunch once a month.

Today's song: