not a real post

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There is no post this week. Well, except this one (which is not really a post) to say that there is not going to be a proper post this week.

The reason for this is that I’m busy with other things (like being tired) and tired from doing other things (like being busy).

And I would really like to write a post — I’d like to write many things — but I’m a bit too tired to string together so many words into so many sentences. I did have an actual post drafted, but I still need to proofread it, and the whole thing just doesn’t feel right for this week.

So this is it, unfortunately. Better luck next week, perhaps.

Thursday Doors: a Swiss contribution

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I feel like I’ve been very absent from the Thursday Doors scene – in fact, I know that I’ve been very absent because I’ve missed many weeks of Thursday Doors viewing and posting now. And I must apologise, but hopefully I can get back to a more regular TD schedule (probably still not weekly, but maybe every 2-3 weeks)

I’ve actually been re-inspired by a friend who’s honeymooning in Europe at the moment. She sent me a few photos of some lovely Swiss doors she’s found. I’d forgotten that I’d even told her about TD, but she clearly hadn’t forgotten!  Continue reading →

short trip, quick post

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Just a quick post today. I just got back from a short trip up to Cairns / Palm Cove, and went back to work yesterday. I spent the whole time being very confused about what day of the week it was, and also what the date was. It being the end of July probably didn’t help, but also not having to keep track of dates/days for even half a week was enough to throw me off.  Continue reading →

little-known stories

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All That I Am is largely about the life of Dora Fabian, told from the perspectives of her cousin Ruth, and playwright Ernst Toller (with whom Dora had close relations). The main story takes place between the end of WWI and the start of WWII.

Dora, Ruth, Ernst, and many of their friends and associates flee Germany after Hitler comes to power. In the time that follows, they learn, by various sources, how Hitler is preparing for war with the rest of Europe. However, their refugee status in England prevents them from legally participating in political activism, and their exile from Germany means any anti-Nazi activity could put their lives at risk.

Still, they find ways, and they do what they can to disseminate information.  Continue reading →

backstory

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On the week-end I finished reading All That I Am, by Anna Funder. The same friend who had previously lent me copies of The Narrow Road to the Deep North and All Quiet on the Western Front also once told me that ATIA was one of her most favourite novels written in recent times (as opposed to classics or novels written and published decades ago).

It was probably about three years ago that she told me this. I wrote the name of the book down on a bit of scrap paper (we were at work at the time), and fully intended to read it. I can’t remember why she never lent me a copy of ATIA (too precious?) but I set out to find it in book stores. I don’t think I’d heard of it before, but apparently it was a number-one bestseller at some point.  Continue reading →

knives and daggers

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There’s a particular scene from The Grapes of Wrath that has stayed with me longer than I could have expected it to (although I’m also not surprised that it has). I can remember parts of the novel if I stop and think about it, but this one part pops into my mind of its own accord. [Warning: spoilers in the next paragraph.]  Continue reading →