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.

Ancient Word of the Day: Brumation

A word coined in 1965 by American Zoologist Wilbur W. Mayhew. Brumation denotes a state of torpor and sluggishness brought on by winter. Mayhew used the word to describe the cold-weather dormancy of reptiles. Brumation is also a term commonly used in Biology to describe the dormant period for reptiles. As with hibernation in mammals,Continue reading “Ancient Word of the Day: Brumation”

Book Review: The Lonely City by Olivia Laing

The Lonely City by Olivia Laing is a mixture of reportage, biography and creative non-fiction. Weaving together strands of history, philosophy and art, Laing explores one of the last taboos of humanity which is loneliness. This is an alarming and at times uncomfortable book to read if you have been or are now lonely. Yet loneliness is common to all of us at some point in our lives. It’s what we seek at all costs to avoid and hide under the rug.

WordPress no longer autoposts to Twitter because of Musk…is this annoying to you?

Personally I have found this to be annoying because I share out my posts from here only to Twitter nowhere else. Since Musk took over Twitter it is incredibly buggy, seedy and full of all sorts of unsavoury characters. Sort of like dropping into a party too late into the night (or towards sunrise) turningContinue reading “WordPress no longer autoposts to Twitter because of Musk…is this annoying to you?”