Category: Fiction

This week has been a pretty good one. Monday was a public holiday, Labor Day or 8 hour day. 8 hours of work, 8 hours of sleep, 8 hours of play. The gym has reduced classes on holidays so the pilate class I was going to attend was booked full so I had to sleep in. 😁

Tuesday was Photo Club 2 meeting that evening. I am in two photo clubs. We shared and discussed quite a few black and white photos. We’re currently on a kick with mono photos lately. In April we’re going to the top of Kunanyi (Mt Wellington) with a very good photographer and practise our trade.

Wednesday was the Barre class at the gym. So many squats at the bar and so much balance work. My balance is quite bad these days so good to have exercises to work on. But hard to move the next day.

Then my book club met in a conference room in a local hotel. It is nice as people can come early and get a drink to bring into the meeting if they want. We discussed The Death at the sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson.

Death at the Sign of the Rook” is the sixth novel in Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie series. The story follows ex-detective Jackson Brodie as he investigates the theft of a Renaissance painting, “The Woman with a Weasel,” from the home of a recently deceased widow. His inquiry leads him to Burton Makepeace, a once-grand Yorkshire estate now hosting a Murder Mystery weekend to generate income. A snowstorm traps Brodie, the event’s guests, and staff at the estate, blurring the lines between the staged murder mystery and real-life crimes, including art thefts and an escaped convict on the loose. Amidst the chaos, Brodie and Detective Constable Reggie Chase navigate a web of deception to uncover the truth. 

Several people asked why such a light weight book was chosen. Last year’s books were all horror war or violence in refugee stories. Heavy topics. Also last month’s book of Alexis Wright’s Praiseworthy is very tough going. But most members said they are just so upset at the world news these days they really enjoyed delving into this lighter book.

Would I recommend this book? If you like Agatha Christie books, escaping the news and closed room mysteries then Yes.

Next month’s book is Antarctica by Claire Keegan.

The blurb:

Antarctica” (1999) is Claire Keegan’s debut short story collection, featuring a series of quietly powerful tales about human longing, isolation, and the complexities of relationships. The stories explore themes such as betrayal, desire, and self-discovery, often set in rural Ireland. Keegan’s writing is known for its lyrical prose and emotional depth, capturing the hidden tensions in everyday lives. The title story, Antarctica, follows a woman who embarks on a brief but intense affair, leading to unexpected consequences. The collection as a whole showcases Keegan’s ability to reveal profound truths in seemingly ordinary moments.

I’m on a plane this coming weekend so I will read it then.

I was going to pick three random books for a Clear Your TBR shelves but as I’m going to be away I will wait until I return. I’m spending 10 days on the mainland between two friends.

The week before last week I attended a Fullers book launch of the book The Ancients by Andrew Darby. The conversation was facilitated by past Senator and environmentalist Bob Brown. What is happening to our forests here is just so wrong. Just chop, chop, chop. This event was absolutely brilliant.

In The Ancients Andrew Darby goes on a journey to find the world’s oldest surviving trees in wild Tasmania. He tells of their exploitation and loss to fire even as their true value was revealed, and of the people offering hope for their future. In wild Tasmania there are trees whose direct ancestors lived with dinosaurs. Many of those alive today are thousands of years old, and some have been growing for ten millennia or more. They are mostly hard to reach, hidden in forest valleys or on remote mountains, survivors of human greed and fire. Prize-winning nature writer Andrew Darby takes us on an island odyssey to discover the world’s oldest surviving trees.  First, he seeks the little-known King’s Lomatia, perhaps the oldest single tree of all. Then the primeval King Billy, Pencil and Huon pines – with their vivid stories of admiration and destruction – and the majestic giant eucalypts. Finally, he looks at the ‘mother tree’, the Myrtle Beech, and Australia’s only native winter deciduous tree, the golden Fagus. On his journey he shares the stories of the people who identified the ancients, scientists and nature-lovers who teased out their secrets and came to venerate them. Lacking defences to fire, these awe-inspiring trees face growing threats as the climate changes. But their protection is becoming more sophisticated, offering hope for their future – and ours.

I think I would like to listen to this book if it is available.

The week was busy but it was good. I finished the week off, yesterday with my veterinarian friend with a drive to a small town nearby for lunch, a bit of shopping and a cold drink in a lovely book shop. We spent a bit of time discussing the disaster of the fish farms along our coastlines as they had a high rate of deaths recently in their pens with the hot weather and overcrowded pens. They also contracted a virus and are being pumped with anti-biotics. I would not eat Tasmanian salmon. The anti biotics are being found by recreational fishermen a few kms away in their catch. Not good.

The veterinarians aren’t eating it and the RSPCA withdrew their backing. Hmmm

While at the book shop the owner recognised me as a past Penguin book collector and we had a fun conversation. He is collecting them as he goes but is more interested in collecting the Modern Library books. He said they are getting quite hard to find now in thrift stores. As are bintage Penguins.

Well that sums up the week for now. I’m heading out to Sydney next weekend for a couple of days and then up to Port Macquarie. I am looking forward to seeing these favourite people of mine.

There is quite a bit happening here and there. I finished the book Death of a Rook by Kate Atkinson for Wednesday’s book group.

I thought it was an okay book. I’ve not read her before but know she is popular. It is pretty much a take off of the golden crime age and I thought very similar to an Agatha Christie novel, The humour in it was the best bit. I kept asking myself, why? Agatha Christie did it so well, why is she trying to replicate it. I’m sure there is a great literary answer but it escapes me. It gets a little discombobulated at the end. People running around the mansion playing a murder game, Dead bodies here and there. Who is part of the game, who isn’t?

It begins with our retired police detective, now private, being hired to find a missing , possibly Renaissance art work after the elderly matriarch dies. She has all the greedy relatives wanting to cash in. A couple of the characters were developed well but others seemed like drop ins yet they had important roles. Anyway, it was mostly entertaining and probably would be better if I were on a long distance flight without distractions.

Next week I’m going to a Fullers book shop launch of Trouwerner by Tasmanian indigenous elder, Aunty Patsy Cameron, journalist Martin Flanagan and our previous governor Kate Warner.

I was lucky that I got the first copy the library ordered and picked it up this week. I was going to read a few pages of it last night to see how I like it and next thing I knew it was after midnight and I was on page 60. It is so good. The history takes place mainly in the north of the state and on Flinders Island where the Aboriginal population was settled back in the 1800s where many died. We get more history of those days in the book. I can’t wait to hear the discussion of this book and hope to finish the book in time for the event next Friday. More on this later.

Other activities. Monday I went swimming at the spa in town. Woke up after a nights sleep of up and down. Pilates was not in my mind when morning came so I headed off to this pool. No one else there except one young woman in the corner chair reading a book enjoying the steaming of her sinuses. I guess that’s as good a reason as any to be there.

I had the small pool and waterfall to myself and splashed around for half an hour. The room is low light as well so very relaxing. Then I hopped in the newly repaired jacuzzi spa and enjoyed the heat on my tired old bones.

Afterwards I adjourned to my favourite cafe outdoors and watched people as I had a toasted ham, cheese and pineapple sandwich and a cappuccino. I made a 30 minute friend, an elderly local woman of 87, who was also enjoying a coffee and we shared our glaucoma stories. That made me laugh. How far we’ve come from being young and vibrant to older and half blind. Haha, you have to laugh. Then we each went our separate ways to our busses home.

While waiting for the bus I heard crazy dog barking coming down our main road through town. I looked up and saw a WWII motorbike with side car coming by. In the side car was a large black labrador retriever, wearing goggles, happily barking his head off. Of course I didn’t have my camera. That is always the way.

For something different-

Last week I made some pumpkin muffins. I had a hankering for American tasting pumpkin pie but wanted to use local pumpkin and not Libby’s canned pumpkin from USA foods.com. With the correct spices I was able to replicate the taste exactly so who needs to buy American food? At least there wasn’t a tariff on it. Lol.

A couple of more gym sessions during the week, another Fullers event on Thursday evening, more on that later and my monthly seniors meal with friends filled out the week.

Upcoming: tomorrow I will be attending the Pancreatic cancer fundraiser as one of the required photographers recording the event. My brief is to photograph the speakers, stall holders and purple costumed people and dogs. We get there early to set up and then let the fun begin. I think it will be moving, fun, and important. I’ll post a couple of photos later if they turn out. We’ve been asked to turn in 100 photos each they will then be turned over to the organisers for marketing and advertising.

Monday is a public holiday here for 8 Hour day or Labor day. 8 hours work, 8 hours life, 8 hours sleep. Though I don’t know many people who stick to that schedule. I’ll use it as a quiet day at home after Sunday’s activities.

Well I could say about the week- that’s a wrap!

I’ve been a bit fatigued the last couple of weeks but think I’m coming out of it now. Autumn is my favourite season so looking forward to getting out into some colours and maybe a country town or two with my camera.

I finished Helen Garner’s book The Season. I am not into Aussie rules footy much but I love Helen Garner’s writing. I listened to the audible in the evening while I worked on puzzles and she reads her own work. She has a wonderful reading voice and her intonations and sometimes sarcastic wit comes through. I laughed out loud a few times.

The Amazon blurb:

It’s footy season in Melbourne, and Helen Garner is following her grandson’s under-16s team. She not only goes to every game (give or take), but to every training session too, shivering on the sidelines at dusk, fascinated by the spectacle.

She’s a passionate Western Bulldogs fan (with an imperfect grasp of the rules) who loves the epic theatre of AFL football. But her devotion to the under-16s offers her something else. This is her chance to connect with her youngest grandchild, to be close to him before he rushes headlong into manhood. To witness his triumphs and defeats, to fear for his safety in battle, to gasp and to cheer for his team as it fights for a place in the finals.

I enjoyed this book so much and the relationship between her and her grandsons is wonderful. Helen is 80 now and the conversations between her and her teen grandsons were touching, funny and quite respectful most of the time. The boys appreciate her so much. It is a short read and you won’t go wrong with this book if you love Garner’s writing or love footy. She managed to make footy sound quite exciting even for me.

I think I mentioned I finished Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks. Geraldine is doing a book tour now in Australia but I am so disappointed she misses Tasmania this trip. She has been here twice before and the last time she filled the Theatre Royal when launching her book Horse. I see she does an interview with our prime minister so at least I can listen to that. That is a bit different for her but she is a journalist after all so it might be interesting. She is probably more riveting to listen to than he is (chuckle).

I have now sent this book off to a very dear friend whose husband sadly passed away recently and I will enjoy talking to her about the book when I visit in a few weeks. More on my quick trip to Sydney and Port Macquarie to see two of my dearest friends.

I am currently reading Death of a Rook for book group meeting in March. It is authored by Kate Atkinson. I am enjoying it quite a lot. It is a mystery in the style of the golden detective writing of the past. It begins very much like an Agatha Christie book. I will have more on this after our meeting.

Last week I spent some time focusing on some street photography. I am trying to think of small projects with my photography as it is better to have a goal for the time spent then to wander around aimlessly. I did a couple of street portraits then looked for little stories. That was fun and I will share those here.

We have been spending extra time with our dog Ollie. He has ear infections and allergies and his new meds clashed a bit with his regular allergy med. He became lethargic and seemed quite depressed. He took himself off to be alone and wouldn’t interact. We stopped the new medication as the infection wasn’t a problem anymore and he is back to himself again. We are probably taking him to the dog beach today. He loves that. I might tag a photo of that later so you can share his joy with Peannie, his sister

I need to catch up on some post reading as I haven’t checked lately who has written what lately but I intend to go back and see what I have missed. I have a habit of withdrawing from the world here and there and though my psychologist said that is one of the main signs of autism I understand it now. I need to recharge and let my batteries drain then the cycle continues. I always thought it was MS fatigue but evidently it isn’t. It is so weird to learn all of this at my advanced age. If only….I say.

Well, not to linger. Enjoy the photos and I’ll be back soon. Hope all of you enjoy this coming week. We never know what will pop up do we?

What happens on the streets of Hobart 🌻

Trying to work out what bus to take.