Don't know why but the website I included in my last message failed to show up in the posted form. I'll try again :
http://www.themonthly.com.au/tm/video

postet av Picola43 kl. 7:15 pm (EST) den Aug 24, 2008

I very much enjoyed my two days in Melbourne in spite of the chilly temperatures. We went to the opening of the Melb. Writers' Festival where Germaine Greer gave the keynote address to the attentive audience of 2,000 in the Town Hall. She spoke on her newly published 10,000 word essay "Rage", printed by Melb. Uni. Press, and, with wonderful quotes from Shakespeare and her brilliant performing abilities, had us all in the palm of her hand. Australian writers Tim Winton and Don Watson were also there to receive prizes for their latest books. I noticed that the Australian current affairs/arts magazine The Monthly had their SlowTV crew filming so am looking forward to revisiting the address on their website :
- if you are interested. There are other writers, journalists, politicians, interesting Australians, also on that site who have been filmed at the Adelaide Writers' Festival, Sydney W.F. and other events. Hope you have luck with the Garner through your son! Cheers.

postet av Picola43 kl. 7:13 pm (EST) den Aug 24, 2008

Hi Hazel,
Should you decide to read more of Helen Garner may I recommend "The Children's Bach" which was published in 1984? This is a highly regarded novel. She has also written several non-fiction books and there are collections of her essays ("True Stories" and "The Feel Of Steel" are wonderful). I know what you mean about the coffee shops and when combined with a place like Readings Books in Lygon Street, Carlton, and the Nova Cinema across the street, it makes a perfect day out for me. I'll be having one next week when I go up to Melbourne for the Writers' Festival with my cousin. Sheer bliss!

postet av Picola43 kl. 8:35 pm (EST) den Aug 13, 2008

Hi Hazel,
I completely agree with your responses to "The Spare Room" and feel that now it is time for me to reread it. A few months have passed since my initial rush at it when I devoured it in a night and I want to contemplate some of the issues Garner drew my attention to near the ends of her chapters. In these few months there have been several articles in The Age about a business in Melbourne very similar to the Theodore Institute, run by an ex-dentist, I think. Too similar for it to be a coincidence but Helen responded to queries with the one statement that her book was fiction. I was quite shocked to discover the existence of this type of business here - I think I must have had my head in the sand very deeply! Another impetus for rereading the novel. When I read it I was down in Tasmania staying with my best friend while she was undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer - we seem to have stumbled on a lot of literature this year about cancer since her diagnosis, all good and giving us a lot of rewarding reading. I've been keeping a steady stream of books flowing to her as she has had a great deal of reading time. Have you read other works by Helen Garner?
Cheers, Suzanne.

postet av Picola43 kl. 9:02 pm (EST) den Aug 11, 2008

Hazel, that's right, it's The Reckoning. The other title that I mentioned, Enter'd from the Sun, is a fictional work about Marlowe's death (murder?) by George Garrett--also quite good.

~Deborah

postet av Cariola kl. 5:03 pm (EST) den Aug 6, 2008

Glad to see that I am not alone in NOT being swept away by Half of a Yellow Sun. I really tried to like it but found it tedious and kept getting sidetracked by more intesting books.

You'll enjoy Nicholl's Marlowe book (Entered from the Sun, I think?). I much preferred it to A Dead Man in Deptford.

postet av Cariola kl. 10:25 am (EST) den Aug 5, 2008

I do have a bunch of music books from both Barry Manilow and Hector Berlioz but....Barry wrote his memoirs "A Sweet Life" and Berlioz wrote a "Treatise on Orchestration"... now ya know!

All of my music books are on my LT, also. They're books...they have ISBNs just like novels and non-fiction. LOL

postet av JoleneConnelly kl. 8:33 am (EST) den Jun 30, 2008

Yeah, I know, embarrassing, isn't it. I'm a bit worried that I'm more addicted to the act of buying books than actually reading them.

Graham

postet av Grammath kl. 3:46 pm (EST) den May 14, 2008

I know this is a bit random, but I saw a comment of yours on amandameale's profile page regarding ways to order books in Australia. If your granddaughter lives in Melbourne, perhaps trying the Readings bookshop website would be a good idea. They're an independent book chain in Melbourne and they charge $6 for postage in the Melbourne metro area. You can find them at www.readings.com.au and all you need to do is select which section you want to look at (DVDs, Children's, Fiction etc) and then click on the shopping cart next to the item you want. Hope you find it helpful....I always like to suggest ways that people can support independent businesses.

Steph (from Melbourne)

postet av dreamlikecheese kl. 12:30 pm (EST) den Sep 5, 2007

Hazel,

Thank you so much for the kind words about my Howards End meanderings (I don't presume to call them a lecture).

You referred to imperialism. Certain authors give us a sort of dramatic continuum from Empire to What Comes After--I'm thinking of Kipling/Forster/Orwell. In his 1942 essay on Kipling, Orwell wrote:

"The nineteenth-century Anglo-Indians, to name the least sympathetic of [Kipling's] idols, were at any rate people who did things. It may be that all that they did was evil, but they changed the face of the earth (it is instructive to look at a map of Asia and compare the railway system of India with that of the surrounding countries), whereas they could have achieved nothing, could not have maintained themselves in power for a single week, if the normal Anglo-Indian outlook had been that of, say, E.M. Forster.

Food for thought...

Mike

postet av MichaelMenche kl. 2:39 pm (EST) den Aug 3, 2007

hazelk, sorry you are not enjoying A Short History of Tractors in Ukraine...I don't know how far you got, but the book turns out to be far less light than one is assumes when reading the early part of the novel. Best, Lois

postet av avaland kl. 8:25 pm (EST) den Jul 29, 2007

Hi Hazel, thanks for responding to my review of On Chesil Beach. I will definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes to "talk books". I haven't read Atonement yet - it is at the top of my TBR list - have to find a copy of it first.
Diana

postet av dihiba kl. 3:43 pm (EST) den Jul 24, 2007

I agreee with you completely about Half of a Yellow Sun. I read it over my vacation and it was decent, but I found the characters a little annoying and the book wasn't as resonant as I was expecting it to be.

postet av cestovatela kl. 10:27 pm (EST) den Jun 26, 2007

Hi, Hazel, and thanks for your note. Maybe the other person writing about Haworth made a typing error? We've been to Dove Cottage, too, which I loved visiting. I remember sitting on a bench behind the cottage writing postcards and admiring the garden. We were there in April, so there were daffodils. I'm not too sure I would have liked Wordsworth himself, but I love some of his poetry, as well as Dove Cottage. I remember our tour guide telling us an anecdote about a visitor to the Wordsworths complaining about the food, and sneaking out to the village to find something decent to eat; I believe he said something to the effect that they had 3 meals a day, and 2 of them were porridge. (Possibly Walter Scott?)

I've also been to Dickens House on Doughty Street - another great place to visit. (Bob and I were very lucky to have spent some time traveling in Britain years ago, before children.) Have you been to Samuel Johnson's house on Gough Street? (I think I spelled that right!) I very much enjoyed going up to the garret where Johnson and his crew worked on the Dictionary, even though it is mostly empty now (or at least it was when I was there).

postet av MaggieO kl. 3:32 pm (EST) den May 31, 2007

thanx again, hazelk.

postet av booksrmylife kl. 6:15 am (EST) den Apr 17, 2007

Thanks for taking the time to summarize The Poet. I have put it on my to read list.
Paul Floyd

postet av pmfloyd1 kl. 10:16 pm (EST) den Apr 15, 2007

hi hazelk! You definitely did not bother me. It was curious about Anna of the Five Towns hitting your geneology buttons. My grandmother, for whom I am named was a Miriam Benjamin from London, and gave birth to my father on the boat coming over, and died in childbirth. My father subsequently became an ob/gyn. So I have an english/jewish ancestor. The rest are from Russia and Romania. I am a big fan of english literature, even if relatively boring, for some reason or other. After you go through all of Trollope and Hardy and Dickens you go down a level and there are lots like Bennett, and Powys, and Townsend Warner and Compton-Burnett to name a few. regards, Miriam
mlsbog@yahoo.com (if you prefer)

postet av almigwin kl. 9:29 am (EST) den Mar 10, 2007

I haven't read Remains of the Day yet. I plan to, I just don't know when I will get to it. Have you?

postet av bookwormteri kl. 11:50 pm (EST) den Jan 10, 2007

Please let me know what you think of Never Let me go. I recently read it and loved the book even though it made me feel so sad and hopeless.

postet av bookwormteri kl. 10:25 pm (EST) den Jan 8, 2007

Thanks for your thoughts on [The Transit of Venus], I'll let you know what I think when I get back to it after the holidays. - Lois

postet av avaland kl. 10:29 am (EST) den Dec 22, 2006

Hi, HazelK ~ Thanks for your suggestion! I'll check it out. I've borrowed one from the library titled "Dr. Johnson's London," which I've only skimmed, as well as Thomson's "Street life in London" and Hibbert's "London: the biography of a city," neither of which I've had a chance to read yet.

I found Rutherfurd's "London" hard to get into, but now I'm hooked. I think it's going to be a keeper, and then, when I visit London, which I hope to do in the next couple of years, I'll read it again. :)

Thanks again for your suggestion!

Happy holidays!

Mary aka Storeetllr

postet av Storeetllr kl. 5:10 pm (EST) den Dec 18, 2006

Yes, I also read and loved The Blind Assassin, but it was also some time ago and I always read too fast. Looking at it again, I think (but am not 100% positive) that the book supposedly is Laura's (the dead sister's) but really is Iris's and that Iris is the one who had the affair with the guy who told the science fiction story, although they may both have had affairs with him, and I also think it may be deliberately a little unclear. I'm sorry I don't remember it better -- I think I'd have to reread it to be really clear.

postet av rebeccanyc kl. 4:43 pm (EST) den Dec 8, 2006

Hi,

Got that.

I was just thinking - if you want anything from Ross` stock, let me know before contacting him, and I`ll see if I can wangle any sort of discount for you. I can`t promise anything, but you never know.

Nick

postet av nickhoonaloon kl. 3:31 pm (EST) den Nov 9, 2006

Me again,

Liked the Dracula joke.

A couple of things - I remember you were interested in William Fishman - have I got the name right ? Wrote books about London`s East End.

As it happens, one of my friends, Ross Bradshaw, has the publishing rights to three Fishman books (www.fiveleaves.co.uk). He also publishes quite a lot of Jewish writing which might interest you.

Our company -Hoonaloon Books and Bits (user name Hoon170 on E-Bay UK)- stocks some of his titles (can order others) or you can deal direct, I don`t mind one way or the other.

I would have told you before. but assumed you were in the US, so thought it would be no use to you.

Best Wishes,

Nick

postet av nickhoonaloon kl. 9:42 am (EST) den Nov 6, 2006

Hi again,

Just a very hasty note to say Thanks for joinint the Priestley group.

All the Best,

Nick

postet av nickhoonaloon kl. 8:28 am (EST) den Oct 9, 2006

Belatedly, I thought I`d drop you a quick note to thank you for replying to my `Abe or No Abe` question recently.

The only replies came from sellers, but they seemed to be happy. We did track down one seller leaving Abe with some ill-feeling, but they were very evasive and I didn`t really trust them.

All in all, we`ve decided when we get back from holiday (much-delayed and long-overdue trip to Wales) we`re going to try running our E-Bay shop and an `Abe shop` at the same time for a trial period and see how it goes.

Thanks once again for taking the time to reply.

Nick + Ann-Marie Osmond
Hoonaloon Books and Bits
Hoon170

P.S. You might find Arnold Bennett isn`t as overlooked as you think - we find his stuff sells OK.

postet av nickhoonaloon kl. 1:33 pm (EST) den Sep 4, 2006

Hi hazelk, I posted a response to your question about Arnold Bennett's Roll-Call on the group thread, but as that thread is now closed I thought you might not see it and that I should leave it here too :)

The Roll-Call is the fourth part of what is commonly called the Clayhanger Trilogy. First published in 1918, it was written many years after the Clayhanger books and centres upon George Cannon (Edwin Clayhanger's stepson) as the main protagonist. In fact Edwin Clayhanger and Hilda Clayhanger (Lessways) feature very little in The Roll-Call.

Hazelk: Like you, I thought I had just about read my way right through Arnold Bennett; and I was particularly surprised to find out about The Roll-Call when reading David Trotter's excellent The English Novel in History. I studied Clayhanger for A'level, yet never heard mention of a fourth book. In my very humble and uninformed way, I don't think it's nearly as good as the original three, but still worth reading.

I had a deal of a time finding a copy. There were a few first editions available on the net when I looked but all with first edition price tags too; and it doesn't seem to have been reprinted since. But I eventually found out about a print on demand edition (from The Echo Library) by simply asking in a local bookshop and finally got a copy for just £10. Now I notice the print on demand version is easily available on the net - and the first edition prices have plummeted as a result. Ho-hum.

postet av Rivercassini kl. 1:41 pm (EST) den Aug 26, 2006

Thanks for these pointers. I was desperately trying to think of the Oz novelist who'd won literary prizes so you've put me out of my misery. Many thanks! I do tend to favour the more literary stuff (but like good detective fiction in between.)

postet av hazelk kl. 6:32 am (EST) den Aug 18, 2006

Hi BiblioBillaBong (Ron)

Appreciate your tips. As it happens I was just going to reserve some books from the local library and will start with'The Book Thief'.

Thanks for your time.

Cheers

Hazelk

postet av hazelk kl. 7:22 am (EST) den Aug 17, 2006