So claims English professor Dr Laura Bates in her like-titled novel, which is the Big Library Read until the end of this month. Fortunately, I haven’t suffered complete inoculation against Shakespeare by well-meaning high school teachers, who tend to force it on their students with the appeal of 400-year-old...
Last night, if good for anything, was good for reminding me what living with a newborn is like. Just in case I’ll get nostalgic for it at some later date. I’m pretty sure I won’t, because just seeing a newborn baby—even before it’s made a noise—gives me Post-Traumatic Stress...
The Writing Prompt Boot Camp — by Brian A Klems & Zachary Petit Day #1: Breaking Up With Writer’s Block It’s time for you and Writer’s Block to part ways. Write a letter breaking up with Writer’s Block, starting out with, “Dear Writer’s Block, it’s not you, it’s me…”...
In the last couple of weeks I’ve tasted some diverse literary flavours. Not all of them I cared for. But trying a variety made me feel good about trying a food (or book) before deciding I didn’t like it. ‘Devil Bones’ by Kathy Reichs. This was Marmite to me....
There’s a very important difference between yesterday and today. It’s the difference that means that, unlike yesterday, today I feel lethargic, morose, and generally as flat as a pancake. With a tyre track across the middle. The difference: the sun is not shining. It’s ruined everything, just by sleeping...
I’d never enjoyed being insulted until I met Mark Forsyth, and then I couldn’t help myself. I use the term ‘met’ somewhat loosely. I was reading one of his books while on the other side of the world. But after his words were in my head, my life felt...
This blog is half a step above Tumbleweed status. I’ve discovered I’m really not suited to ‘mummy-blogging’, so this needs to be something different. I revolve around my toddler-shaped bombs of entropy on a daily basis, as a matter of necessity — why would I then spend my precious...
In hindsight, it seems obvious that if someone were to fly out a rear windscreen and 70 feet down the road, there may be long-term ramifications. Especially when one landed not on a mattress but on chip-seal. Then was tangled in fallen power lines, on life support for a week,...
