Grace Notes @ Snarkattack

We all have guilty reading pleasures. Well, except @alexlobov – Alex seems to be reading serious shit 24/7 (I mention him because like my friend Felix, I aspire to adopt Alex’s reading habits). Alas, I don’t quite have that stamina and after getting a second wind of that weird flu-like illness hitting up Melbourne-town, I [...]

As a kid growing up in England, I was fascinated by the serialisation on telly of Chocky. As can be predicted, what I remember didn’t quite match up to what was in the book though I’d love to see the series again. This is my first John Wyndham novel and I walloped it in one [...]

It seemed logical to follow up a reading of Jane Eyre with Jean Rhys’ postcolonial prequel of sorts Wide Sargasso Sea, especially while the previous work was still fresh in my mind. It’s a surprisingly short read despite beginning with Antoinette Rochester née Cosway’s life as a child up till she marries Mr Rochester. So what [...]

Sigh. After reading the first chapter of this book, as an atheist, I had very high hopes. Sadly, I don’t feel Hitchens delivered. At my most critical, I felt he does for atheists what Michael Moore does for the left-wing cause. Oh, don’t get me wrong – I love a good rant. But if you’re [...]

It’s August. Seventy-five books this year is looking very unlikely. Good thing then that I’ve spent most of the last two and a half weeks in bed due to a sinus infection that got to my ears and chest. When not sleeping, it gave me time to catch up on my reading. Historical fiction is [...]

You probably think I’ve slowed down with my reading but nothing could be further from the truth! At the moment, I have taken a breather from books to catch up on a large backlog of issues from The New Yorker. I was a ridiculously lucky/spoilt thing and received a gift subscription. It makes for excellent, [...]

Another Potter book about bullying! A cat gets teased by a mouse, so she teases him back. Not really sure how I feel about that. Again, not one of the greatest in the Potter tales – they’re a bit downhill after The Tale of Little Pig Robinson which was really good.