Monte Cassino, great-grandfather and a bear
On May 18, the day Australia goes to the polls, on the other side of the world we will be commemorating the 75th anniversary of the end of the bloodiest …
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What will be the classics of today?
Just the other day I was again browsing at Lifeline Bookfest, the twice-yearly largest charity book sale in the world, which takes place – of all places – in Brisbane, …
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Hands off my books, Marie
Who is this monster and what does she want? Book lovers are not happy about the way organization guru Marie Kondo recommends handling books in her new Netflix series “Tidying …
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A View from the High Castle
December 1942. The Imperial Japanese Army, having cleared the Allied resistance across Papua New Guinea, invades the Australian mainland. Japanese armies land in Darwin, Cairns and Townsville. There is a …
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Children of the Revolution
Number one most-read article in “The Atlantic” monthly at the moment is a very interesting piece by Yascha Mounk, lecturer on government at Harvard, titled “Americans Strongly Dislike PC Culture”, …
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20 best books I’ve read in 2017
I read. Too much. In fact, my New Year’s resolution for 2018 is to read less, and instead fill that time with some more profitable pursuits, like making some profits …
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Trump – the children’s book
Bored with “A Hungry Caterpillar”* and “Winnie the Pooh”, or with some recent examples of woke children’s fiction? Why not try “Thump: the First Bundred Days” and make the childhood …
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Happy 1984 Day, everyone!
The 1984 Day is not a thing, but perhaps should be. On April the 4th, Winston Smith, the protagonist of Orwell’s masterpiece, takes his first tentative step in a rebellion …
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Arthur & The Delcons
For all the fans of the 1950s’ rock’n’roll… …Or maybe I just have been having far too much time reading what strangers think about me. One of my Facebook friends …
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The best books in 2016
Confession: I read a lot. Always did, since I was 5. Perhaps too much. Which is why, to avoid bankruptcy, I don’t buy new books. My readings range widely and …
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The Road to Perdition
At the beginning of last month, until I was rudely interrupted by my Jordanian hacker friend, I started writing a blog post with my thoughts about Niki Savva’s notorious “Downfall”-style …
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The October that never ends
Books that deserve the epitaph “masterpiece†come few and far between. “A People’s Tragedy: The Russian Revolution 1891-1924†by a British historian Orlando Figes deserves it without a doubt. I’m …
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In defence of Tsarist repression (well, sort of, not quite)
One day, when I’m rich and famous, I’m going to set up the Daily Chrenk Foundation to train journalists who write stories and sub-editors who write the headlines to know …
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The Joy of Sex* (and Books)
I have been coming to Bookfests since the very first one, more than twenty years ago. In case you’re not from around here, Bookfest is a twice-yearly, biggest charity book …
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