Tag Archives: writing

Q&A for Connection: If you could have any ability in the world tomorrow, what would it be?

If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be? This is based to this list of questions famously proven by social psychologists to foster friendship and connection among those who answer it. Please reply along with your own answer in the comments below or repost this toContinue reading “Q&A for Connection: If you could have any ability in the world tomorrow, what would it be?”

Book Review: Island of Wings by Karin Altenberg

This is a book about the raw majesty of St Kilda as a place, and about the spirit, community bonds and resilience of its people. But it’s also a tragic tale about the devastation of colonialism and 19th century morality.

Comforting Thought: James Baldwin on why art is important

If you can examine and face your life, you can discover the terms with which you are connected to other lives, and they can discover them too – the terms with which they are connected to other people. This has happened to every one of us, I’m sure. You read something which you thought only happened to you, and you discovered that it happened 100 years ago to Dostoyevski. This is a very great liberation for the suffering person, who always thinks that they are alone. This is why art is important. ~ James Baldwin

Taking big-boned baby Buck to the beach

Buck has had a very difficult few months. He lost his golden retriever sister to a rare form of liver cancer. My parents’ two beautiful Goldens have now become one very distraught and lost boy. He has now grown into an adult body, but his mannerisms and mind are still show that he is aContinue reading “Taking big-boned baby Buck to the beach”

Book Review: To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey

Eowyn Ivey is a master craftswoman and her sentences are smooth and flowing like treacle. Her debut the Snow Child was one of my favourite novels. It told the magical tale of a child that emerges out of the icy Alaskan tundra and provides an ageing couple yearning for a baby, with the promise of a living child.

Comforting Thought: Whistling in the dark

“Art would not be important if life were not important. And life is important. Most of us, no matter what we say, are walking in the dark, whistling in the dark.” James Baldwin #quote #philosophy #art

Book Review: Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

In this funny, odd-ball and deeply emotional novel by Japanese debut novelist Sayaka Murata, we follow the book’s heroine Keiko, who is in her late 30’s and is working as a sales assistant in a convenience store, while living unmarried and childless (a mortal sin in Japan).

Short Story: Awhiina finds her orb

In the heart of the Pacific, there lies an island so remote it is whispered about like a myth. This island, cloaked in lush greenery and bordered by the endless blue, is home to Awhiina, a woman of quiet strength and profound connection to the natural world around her. Awhiina lived in a small village,Continue reading “Short Story: Awhiina finds her orb”

Book Review – Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

A mind-bending and time-melting story by the master of surreal storytelling Haruki Murakami. The first strand is the 15 year old Kafka Tamura, a teen runaway who takes refuge in a remote town. The second strand begins with mysterious celestial phenomena in the Shikoku mountains, possibly involving a UFO and a group of kids losing consciousness.