To celebrate the introduction of 280-character Tweets by Twitter, Meanjin Quarterly ran a microfiction competition. The rules were simple: tweet a 280-character story and include the hashtag #meanjin280. The top ten stories were published on the Meanjin Blog, and the authors paid one dollar a word.
It was a warm, lazy Sunday afternoon, and I took advantage of the day to sprawl and finish Their Finest by Lissa Evans. I was inspired to read the book after watching the film version — a British period comedy-drama about making propaganda films and life on the home front in London during The Blitz.
In October 2017, I attended a premiere screening of Three Summers. After the film, there was a Q&A session with the writer/director, Ben Elton. I have loved his writing since reading Stark in 1989. So it was a great privilege to meet Ben in person after the Q&A and for him to sign my yellowed copy of Stark!
I commented on Facebook recently that with all the bleak news on North Korea and brinksmanship by Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, I thought I'd dust off and re-read my old second-hand bookshop copy of Nevil Shute's On the Beach ... to prepare for the worst, just in case!
In these days of instant gratification, it's hard to believe once upon a time, wanna-be writers would type and print their manuscripts, post them to publishers with a reply-paid, self-addressed envelope. And then wait and wait and wait, for an offer to publish or, more likely, a feared rejection letter.
The Writer’s Circle recently posed a question for book lovers on Facebook: What book are you currently reading? In my case, the answer is not singular but plural. I’m currently reading three books — along with a few more on my bedside table I’ll probably need to take with me to my grave to finish!
To celebrate International Literacy Day 2017, Penguin Books Australia asked on Facebook: What is the first book you remember reading? While I don't recall reading my first book, it must have been a Sooty or Joe 90 Annual. I still have a worn copy of Sooty, but sadly the boy spy Joe 90 went AWOL long ago.
The other night, I watched Their Finest, based on the 2009 novel Their Finest Hour and a Half by Lissa Evans. It's a British period comedy-drama about making propaganda films and life on the home front during The Blitz in London. But it also has a modern take on the role of women in society and the war effort.
A pleasant memory from 2013 popped up in my Facebook timeline the other day. It was a comment I’d made in response to a post by the Sydney Writers' Festival on a “fantastic find” in Sappho Books (Glebe), a treasured secondhand copy of Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr Fox.
Penguin Books Australia posted a question on Facebook in August 2017: What is the last book that made you cry? The books could evoke tears of joy or sadness, and I immediately thought of three books, all for the latter category. My top tear-jerkers are Tuesdays with Morrie, Marley and Me, and The Book Thief.