No! Not that sort of porn. Go back and search again, if that's what you're looking for. What I'm talking about is pictures of beautiful and unusual bookshelves. Go ahead. You know you like it. Have a look and enjoy! All pictures sourced from https://bookshelfporn.com/ There's plenty more there for you to look at, just in case you've not yet had enough!
Not the best reads, mind you. Simply my best reads for 2015. Which may or may not include books published before 2015. My blog, my rules! It's great to be a despot.... Now to set the scene, you'll have to imagine the red carpet, the glorious frocks and the tedious speeches... The nominees for my favourite non-fiction read of 2015: H is for Hawk - Helen Macdonald (Remarkable, compelling, lyrical, insightful) The Invisible History of the Human Race - Christine Kenneally (Brilliant) Six Square Metres - Margaret Simon (Excellent) Wild [...]
A great podcast has to be the best way to ensure a long commute is an enjoyable enterprise. My regular commute often totals around three hours (there and back again*) so it's in my own interest to fill those hours with interesting company. If I were involved in longer drives I might consider an audio book but for the commute to work a podcast or two fills the gap just nicely. My favourite podcasts currently include: Chat 10, Looks 3. "Think of it as time well wasted." Annabel Crabb and [...]
Photo: adventures in biography Popped into the NGV at lunchtime to see a small – but perfectly formed – display of embroidered pieces. Absolutely beautiful, of course, but also thought-provoking. What better way to prevent aristocratic women from doing anything useful than to encourage them to spend thousands of hours embroidering? Or was the embroidery a vital means of expressing their creativity? Or simply a pleasant way to pass the time? Or a way for poorer women to earn an income? […]
I didn't love reading Eragon. But I struggled right through because my son implored me to read it, his favourite book. With talking dragons, magic, sword fights and an ordinary-boy-destined-for-greatness plot what's not to like? Absolutely nothing - if you are eleven years old, that is. Cough, cough, formulaic, cough. However my son also recommended I read The Hunger Games, which I loved. To be fair, I too have burdened my boy with recommended reads. Who knew he wouldn't like A Wizard of Earthsea? It was only when I subsequently [...]
Given the huge crowds attending the Lost Trades Fair over the Labour Day weekend, perhaps some of the wonderful trades on display aren't really lost at all. More hiding their lights under a bushel - or a bushy beard. While I presume having a beard was not a necessary pre-requisite (and there were one or two women stall-holders - definitely beardless) there was a definitely a bristle of beards about. More collective nouns for beards here. Just saying. Saddle makers, scythe makers, furniture makers, jewellers, armourers, [...]
It's very easy to be distracted while reading. Sometimes in a good way, like when I pause to Google a particular photo mentioned in the text. But sometimes I'm just overcome by the urge to check my email. Again. Travelling with books on the iPad is much more sensible than carting around a hardback. Or three. It may or may not be true that I possibly perhaps have been forced to buy extra luggage kilos when flying with books... I miss the weight and heft of a real book. My [...]
This was going to be the best blog post ever. Well, best post since the last one anyway. I was going to include some photos of Fort Canning Park, in Singapore, which is near where I'm staying (yes, another work trip). Photo: Adventures in Biography And then I was going to mention how this park in the heart of downtown Singapore is where Raffles' original house was built, on a small hill overlooking the river. I hoped to say something witty about how plain old Thomas Raffles started [...]
Rainy day + kids on holidays = cinema time. But not your average mulitplex for us this time, oh no. Into the heart of Castlemaine* we journeyed, to enjoy ourselves at The Royal. Photo source: Adventures in Biography Gourmet ice-cream (I can vouch for the apple crumble flavour), good coffee and a comfy cinema full of atmosphere. Oh, and the movie was OK too. Originally a rough canvas and timber theatre established in 1852, The Royal is now the oldest continually operating theatre on the Australian mainland. A [...]
It's that time of year when the blogosphere, literary journals and newspapers are full of lists of best books of 2014. So, for what it's worth, here's a list of (almost) everything I've read this year for pleasure. The comments are simply whatever small note I made (or didn't make) in my reading journal. I rarely bother to finish (or list) a book I don't enjoy. I've reviewed some of those listed below but I only blog about books that are at least vaguely relevant to the topic of biography [...]