BOOK OF THE WEEK
I was recently reading an article in the New York Times newspaper about a woman in New York City that had established a women’s only apartment community. It was as much a supported community as accommodation only. The rise in homelessness of more senior women was the impetus to get this project underway. At the end of the article there were recommendations for a few books that are in this vein of thought.
One of them sounded interesting and was available on audible. Narrated by the author. I had a credit so decided to listen to it. The book I chose is a non-fiction memoir of two Korean women in Seoul that decide to pool their resources and buy a house.
Two Women Living Together by Kim Hana and Huang Sunoco isn’t a novel with fictional characters. It details their unconventional co-living arrangement.
Kim Hana is a Korean writer, podcaster and “chosen family” partner who moved in with Sunwoo in mid life to share a home, domestic life and experiences of friendship, work and everyday routines.
Hwang Sunwoo is co author who is also a Korean writer and editor who, after years of living alone chose to buy a home together with Kim Hana and share a life not defined by traditional marriage or family roles.
Women in Korea are expected to marry and settle down with families. These families involve the care of children and often living with a mother-in-law.
They wanted to avoid this lifestyle and keep their independence. However it is an expensive choice and that was the main reason the two friends believed they could make shared living work.
The other characters were their four cats. The cats are repeatedly mentioned throughout and are a significant part of their family.
The structure of the book is composed in alternating brief essays with a focus on the lived experience, personalities and evolving partnership of Hana and Sunwoo.
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I really enjoyed this story. It moves along nicely, it is well written and I enjoyed the two women. It was interesting to see how they problem solved. The main problem they needed to work on together is that one woman is very neat and tidy and the other leaves everything out and doesn’t take care of much. The women hadn’t thought of these issues before they moved in together. There were other issues they worked on together but it is overwhelmingly a story of the importance of friendship and the ability to create a life outside of expected norms.
LIFE IN HOBART
The past couple of weeks have been quite hectic with more events happening than I wanted. Though I did want to participate in all of the events!
There were a couple of events at Fullers that were interesting. Two book launches in particular. One was A Brain that Breathes: Essential Habits for an Overwhelming World by Australian author Jodi Wilson. Four of us attended this believing it would be on the scientific side. However it turned out to be a bit too new “agey” and aimed at younger people immersed in families and full time jobs. Not as relevant as us retirees who have time on our hands to indulge in all the communing with nature, reading books, taking a walk in the rain she prescribed in order to keep our sanity. Pretty average we thought.
The second launch was much more interesting with the Hobart launch of Niki Sava’s book Earthquake. The launch was moved to a large conference room of a local hotel as so many people attended. She was in conversation with Sabra Lane. Sava is an Australian journalist, author and former senior advisor to Prime Minister John. Howard. As this launch was on the same day as the change in leadership of the Australian liberal party there was a lot of interest and the conversations were both enlightening, interesting and funny.
PHOTOGRAPHY
There wasn’t a lot of photography but I did do a random walk from South Hobart into Hobart City. The photos below show you some of the neighbourhood of South Hobart and where I walked. I quite enjoy a random walk and sometimes while on the bus home I’ll snap a photo out the window every time the bus stops. This changes with every bus ride.
A local church.
TRAVEL
My travels have been quite limited as of late but I am going on a photography workshop on Maria Island very soon. Maria Island is a small island off the east coast of Tasmania and is known for its scenery and wildlife, including wombats and birds. Those photos will be featured in a coming post.
You can see Maria Island off the east coast.
PENGUIN’S QUESTION OF THE WEEK
What did you stop and look at on your last walk? What is the last book you put your hand on?
Travellin' Penguin 
Love the sound of that Korean book, and particularly the issues they had to deal with that they weren’t expecting. Didn’t they know each other well enough to know those differences? Anyhow, I love that they did this and would love to read the book.
I enjoyed your pics. I like red too.
The last book I put my hands on was I guess the anthology I am gradually reading and reviewing from piece by piece, but I touched a few books today including Samantha Harvey’s Orbital.
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Our book club read Orbitol. We had quite the discussion. I didn;t like it but I was in the minority. I think it was the mood I was in. Just couldn’t care enough about it but did appreciate the concept.
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I love, love, love that photo of the house with the red door and red roses. That is exactly why you are such a good photographer!
On my last walk I noticed something unusual at the ramshackle house of a very old Filipina lady who lives alone nearby. The house and garden are idiosyncratic to say the least, and from time to time I see her daughter turn up, girding her loins to deal with whatever muddle there is inside. Neither of them speak much English, and now she’s too deaf to hear a cheery Good Morning as I pass, but neighbours on her other side keep an eye on her and so do I. So I was pleased to see the addition of yet another *huge* pot-plant in front of her garage door. It means not only that someone fit enough to put it there has been by, but also that whoever that is, thinks it’s worth doing. So she is reprieved from removal to aged care for a bit longer.
The last book I put my hand on was Wonderland by Tracy Farr. (Longlisted for the NZ Ockhams and an author I like very much.)
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Thank you for the photography comment. Watching very old people in their homes as neighbours is a worry. Sometimes when they do pass away it is possible to inherit their cat!!!
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As yes, I remember. But as far as I know, this lady doesn’t have any pets.
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Love the last photo of Penguin and the Wombat!
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Thanks Nancy. I have fun designing clothes and scenarios for him.
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I love the sound of the women only apartment, particularly as the focus is on older women who might be living alone. My last walk was home from work and I took in the wildlife I see on the way – mainly squirrels and a huge gathering of magpies (40 or 50 at a guess) which always takes place on a local field at the end of the day!
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I miss squirrels. The red squirrels I grew up with in Michigan were so funny. The Australian possums just aren’t the same.
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I love the platypus mural – and the boat-riding wombat keeping Penguin company.
My last walk was with my Field Nats group yesterday. We walked along a beach to a place called Stockyard Point where one is supposed to see a good collection of waders. Unfortunately, the waders all had appointments elsewhere and all we saw were Silver Gulls! On the trek back down the beach, I stopped and looked at and photographed some beached Jellyfish.
Most recent book was an electronic one, so I only touched it by swiping the screen to turn pages. It was “Death at the Sign of the Rook” by Kate Atkinson, and was good fun.
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If only the rare birds were as common as the silver gulls. Our book club read Sign of the Rook last year. Most enjoyed it but did not think it was the author’s best work.
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Yes, I agree. Hard to go past “Life After Life” for instance. And I think her first book, “Behind the Scenes at the Museum” was brilliant in the way she managed to pull off a story that was hilarious and heartbreaking simultaneously.
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I’ve only ever read the Rook book. I have another sitting on my shelf but haven’t read it.
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I want to apply for that women’s only apartment complex in NYC! What a dream come true it would be to live there!
Two Women Living Together by Kim Hana and Huang Sunoco sounds really good.
The Fuller events sound interesting even though the one didn’t really apply to retirees, since your time is your own.
Love all the photos, especially the platypus and the red door with a face over it.
What did you stop and look at on your last walk? – A very excited basset hound!
What is the last book you put your hand on? – Mine are all on Kindle so do you mean what is the last book I laid my eyes on? Hahahahahahahaha.
I need that wombat!!!!
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Love the basset hound comment. I grew up with two bassets and my sister had three as an adult. I just love them.
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