Books + Ideas

The British media really only cover Australia when there are major political events, disasters, or "man bites kangaroo" stories. more

On Saturday our friends Val and Paul took us to see Alan Bennett's The Habit of Art, at the National Theatre in London. more

I went to two very different but fascinating events today. more

Oxford is well-provided with bookshops, not surprisingly for a university town. Here is my survey of them. more

I waited 4 days before buying my first book, but have since run a little amok, acquiring 49 books in my first 21 days in the UK. These fall into several categories: more

Books I have read are unthreatening, placing no pressure on me and offering the comfort of a familiar experience. In contrast, unread books are not so relaxing - some bring back memories of unwise purchases or over-eager review copy requests, some have remained unread because they seem difficult or daunting, and even the most docile of them whisper an insistent "read me! read ME!". more

Books are cheaper in the UK. This was true even before the pound crashed and the Australian dollar boomed, but the price difference is now striking.

So I've been deferring book purchases ever since C got the job and we decided we were moving to the UK. I might start with the entire Archipelago Books back list...