Tag: Reading

  • A more hopeful view of humankind

    Around the world, the vast majority of people believe things are getting worse. But in Humankind: A Hopeful History, Rutger Bregman shows us that “The reality is exactly the opposite. Over the last several decades, extreme poverty, victims of war, child mortality, crime, famine, child labour, deaths in natural disasters and the number of plane […]

  • The key to being smarter, healthier and happier

    Mark your calendars! This year Australian Reading Hour is Tuesday 14 September. This is a chance to not only make some extra time in your schedule for reading, but also to celebrate reading and all its benefits and joys. Australia Reads exists to ‘champion reading, promote the many mental health and lifestyle benefits of reading […]

  • Invite the author to your book club!

    In a book club? I love talking to readers, and I’m happy to make a virtual appearance at any book club meeting. We can do this via Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, or whatever technology suits you. If you’re in Sydney, I may even be able to make an in-person visit. Contact me about booking a free […]

  • The new book, out this year!

    I can finally share some exciting news with you. My second book will be out this June from Affirm Press. It’s called How to Be Australian, and it’s a memoir of moving from Canada. In a lot of ways, the book is a love letter to Australia, this charming, vast, baffling country that has been […]

  • 2019: The reading year in review

    In 2019, for the first time in years, I read more fiction (slightly more) than non-fiction. Perhaps, in this third year of illness, I needed to escape more. ‘Everybody should be reading 20 pages of fiction – from a real book – to open or close each day‘, as a way to  increase our empathy, […]

  • 2018: The reading year in review

    One of the few positives of putting most of my life on hiatus due to illness is that I’ve actually had more time for reading. I’ve always loved reading. I used to walk home from school with an open book, looking up only before crossing the street, and even then only if I wasn’t at […]