Karen Comer

Collecting Stories

Memory stories

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We celebrated twenty years of spending Easter together with three families at the beach – technically it was nineteen because we missed Easter last year due to Covid – but that’s a minor detail!

We started with eight adults, and now we have accumulated nine children between us, ranging from ten to nineteen. We’ve stayed at a few different houses as our crew has grown.

Looking at these beautiful kids and some of our oldest friends filled me with a hundred stories. The play the kids put on one year where Miss 14, then Miss 3, was too shy to participate but ‘helped’ behind the scenes instead. The year we had an Italian theme based on the movie Big Night and ate way too much pasta. Twenty years of eating fish on Good Friday, with each fish given a different name – Percy Poisson, Sammy Salmon. Many, many craft activities to keep little people entertained. The annual Easter egg hunt, even for the teenagers now!

I attended a talk by psychologist Andrew Fuller a few years ago where he talked about the importance of memory for learning. This included not only tips and tricks for helping students to memorise facts and concepts but also the importance of remembering stories as emotions are tied to memories.

When I remember to remember this(!) I can bring up memories for my kids at dinner, in the car, walking the dog. During the lead-up to Easter, when we’re talking about what to pack, what we’ll cook, we often remember other Easter stories.

  • Remember when M played his guitar and we all sang?
  • Do you think L will cook tacos on our first night like she usually does?
  • Remember when we stayed at the other house and all the kids slept in one room?
  • Remember when we put on plays with the shadow puppets and torches?

By reliving memories, we create a strong narrative about who we are and what’s important to us – important enough to remember. I hope you created or relived wonderful Easter memories, too.

Poetry workshop for kids – school holidays

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This is a quick post to let you know I’m teaching a poetry workshop for kids in the school holidays on Tuesday 13th April. The workshop is for 8-12 year-old kids, the cost is $10, the venue is Now and Then cafe in High St, Kew. Bookings are through the Kew Junction Traders Business Association here.

We’ll be looking at different types of poems – and not all of them will rhyme! Kids will have the chance to write a black-out poem and a poem based on an image. Our theme is poetry in action.

I’ll be supported by Henry, a student writer, who brings a lot of energy and fun to the workshop.

Please pass this on to anyone who might be interested!

Happy Easter, happy reading!

My violin, my violin

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I am a fine musician,
I practise every day.
And people come from miles around
just to hear me play.
My violin, my violin…
they love to hear my violin…

This old Play School song is going through my head – along with David Garrett’s version of Coldplay’s Viva la vida – because I have recently started learning the violin!

One of the main characters in the current young adult book I’m writing plays the violin – it’s a crucial element of her identity. Don’t ask me why – I had an image of a teenage girl playing a violin in an empty tram and knew I wanted to write a story about her.

I wanted to write this part of her story with a little more knowledge so I bought a beginner’s violin and booked in for some lessons.

Some observations:

  • It’s an interesting process to learn something completely new as an adult, because let’s face it, it takes a while to learn the basic skills. I had to fight my frustration at hearing such awful screeching sounds coming from my beautiful violin, and my frustration at having to practise again and again the basic bow hold, even how to position the violin under my chin and the boredom of doing the same basic bowing techniques over and over and over.
  • But oh the satisfaction in making a beautiful sound, even if it’s just one reverberating D string!
  • The dismay on my children’s faces when I suggested I could play a few strings to summon them to dinner!
  • The pride in being able to play Twinkle twinkle little star – not well. Not fluently. Not hitting the right string every time. Not seamlessly easing from the E string with three fingers held down, thank you very much, to the A string. But I can play a somewhat recognisable version.
  • The rituals – how I love the ritual of adding rosin to the strings on my bow, then using the tuning app on my phone to tune my violin, before settling the violin into position tucked into my neck.
  • The distinct sound of my husband or children shutting the hall door when they hear the first screech of my violin!

I’ve been out a couple of times to listen to a contemporary violinist. First of all, how wonderful to be out in Melbourne hearing live music! And then all the notes I took, how each violinist held her bow with such grace, how the violin sounded played with the piano or the drums, how both violinists were also singers and how they moved between singing and playing effortlessly.

My violinist character now has some added depth, some authenticity as I describe her playing movements or talk about her musical dreams. I have a stronger image of her playing her violin in an empty tram now.

And sure, thanks for asking, if you’re interested, I can probably free up some time to play jazz violin at your next event – just check with my manager!

Cassandra speaks – book review

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Cassandra speaks, Elizabeth Lesser

The context in which we read books is important. My reading this week has reflected the state of affairs in Australia for the past month. The book is Cassandra speaks, When women are the storytellers, the human story changes by Elizabeth Lesser, published in late 2020.

Lesser, the founder of the Omega institute in New York, is an author who also organises retreats and conferences on topics ranging from women and power, mindfulness, health, sustainability and creativity.

This is a book about stories – the stories a culture tells, and how those stories become the culture. It’s about the stories we still blindly cling to, and the ones that cling to us: the origin tales, the guiding myths, the religious parables, the stories passed down through the centuries about women and men, power and war, sex and love, and the values by which we live.

Elizabeth Lesser

She wrote this book when reflecting on the stories of women such as Eve, Pandora and Cassandra. Of course, you will have heard of Eve, the woman charged with eating the apple which forever changed the course of human nature and Pandora, whose curiosity let evil spirits out of the box. Do you know Cassandra’s story? She was a princess from Troy, and both Zeus and his son Apollo were in love with her. Apollo gave her the gift of seeing into the future. But when she refused his advances, Apollo cursed her – she would remain clairvoyant but would never be believed. In vain, Cassandra tried to warn her people of the fall of Troy and other devastations but she was mocked and disbelieved.

See any parallels with current events?

Lesser invites us as women to speak with courage and confidence about the things that matter to us. She encourages women to be the storytellers, rather than seen through the lens of the male perspective.

This is not a new idea – female characters have been seen through the eyes of male writers for centuries. Hello, Shakespeare, Dickens, Tolstoy. Virginia Woolf, one of the earliest feminists, wondered about Shakespeare’s fictional sister in a series of lectures, published as A room of one’s own. How would this sister, Judith, have written her poetry had she been given the same opportunities as her brother?

Lesser’s book is equal parts practical and observational. She talks of her own experience – she was a single mother of two small boys, and is now remarried, with a stepson, ‘three daughters-in-love’ and a few grandchildren. She tells stories of her parents, her work as both a midwife and then a conference founder and author.

This is not a book that denigrates men – it is fair and open and non-judgemental.

Lesser offers practical suggestions for moving past our own biases towards the ‘other’, incorporating mindful practices and gathering the courage to make our voices heard.

I imagine that even if you were to read this book in a few months, a few years, it will still be relevant. Sadly. Change is slow, but it is a grassroots movement, as seen around our cities this week.

I hope my copy of Cassandra speaks will become dog-eared as I pass it around to both the women and men in my circle.

‘The practice’ by Seth Godin – review

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Really, I could just copy out quote after quote of goodness from this book by Seth Godin – The practice, Shipping creative work – but I’ll try and summarise for you instead.

Writers write. Runners run. Establish your identity by doing your work.

Seth Godin is an American best-selling author who has written 19 books on creativity, marketing, ideas, change and leadership. This book focuses, as the title implies, on getting your creative work out there. Your creative work might be dance, fine art, business proposals, a small business idea, a book or many other possibilities.

We fail and then we edit and then we do it again.

Many other luminaries have discussed the idea of showing up to your art. It’s not a matter of waiting for the muse to show up – you show up to your art and you treat it like work.

My husband is a cyclist and he has a t-shirt which reads – the harder I work, the luckier I get. Sport, art, Yr 9 maths – showing up regularly improves your chance at success, whether that’s a better race time, an art gallery show or a B plus for your maths test.

The practice is divided into eight chapters, which are further divided into 219 brief sections. Very easy to pick up and read in bite-size chunks, especially with Godin’s accessible language.

1. This is a practice.

2. It has a purpose.

3. I desire to create change.

4. The change is for someone specific.

5. How can I do it better?

6. Can I persist long enough to do it again?

7. Repeat.

We don’t ship because we’re creative. We’re creative because we ship.

According to Godin, shipping your work is a sign of trust, a generous act and an indication of your professionalism. There’s no certainty, but there’s no certainty in anything, really.

So go practise!

Cate Kennedy – workshop

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During Melbourne’s last lockdown of five days, I was supposed to attend a writing workshop with Australian short story writer and poet Cate Kennedy at the Wheeler Centre in the city. She kindly offered to run the workshop online. So that Saturday I spent the day in my study looking at a screen of the unknown faces of my fellow participants as well as Cate’s fabulously detailed slides.

I have long been a fan of Cate’s short stories and poems. Her poems about the miscarriage of her son and the birth of her daughter are heartbreaking. Her two short story collections, Dark Roots and Like a house on fire, have stayed with me long after I finished reading them. Cate focuses on ordinary people, and she shines a light on them to show both their vulnerability and strength.

Her characters are us – a woman organising herself and her family before she goes to a doctor’s appointment to have a lump checked, a man making poor decisions after his partner has left him, a woman struggling at work on her first day back after maternity leave, a young girl rebelling against her mother’s family Christmas photo, a young cleaner befriending an elderly man in hospital. But it’s never about just these events – there’s a subtext of anger or loss or relationship concerns which adds a quiet background hum that sometimes rises to a roar of frustration or despair. Cate discussed the idea that conflict, even though small, brings the inner life of characters to the surface.

Cate was generous with sharing her knowledge and experience with a set of slides which whizzed us through the different elements of creating stories. ‘Emerging writers always have wonderful ideas,’ she told us, ‘it’s about the execution.’ Too true.

Cate’s latest short story collection, Like a house on fire, is on the Yr 12 VCE English curriculum. My Yr 12 son’s first SAC (School Assessed Coursework) was to write an addition or adaption of one of Cate’s stories. It’s such a wonderful opportunity for students to try to understand another human being, through reading about ordinary people’s circumstances and choices and then writing a response. Cate’s stories can be so subtle, that students are encouraged to look at her characters and empathise with them while they imagine different possibilities for them.

What does that elderly man need at the end of his life? What sort of person will that young girl, rebelling against her mother, grow up to be? Cate told us,

The story is the transformation of the narrator.”

So how does that elderly man change the young cleaner’s life? How will that young girl grow up to parent her own children?

Writing is about imagining different scenarios, putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes, daydreaming about different possibilities for ourselves, reinventing ourselves as characters. Cate urged us to go into the ‘vortex of doom’, to face any resistance we have on the page, to allow the secrets of our characters and their inner worlds to float up to the surface, to be examined in the light. Therein lies transformation.

The wonderful thing about students studying these short stories is that hopefully, hopefully, hopefully, they gain insight into their own lives. That in writing their additions or adaptions, they look beneath the surface of Cate’s characters and see what they really want, how they strive to reach it, and how they transform when often they don’t get what they want but instead what they need. In fiction – and life.

Thank you very much for your kind comments last week – I’m glad to be back too in such wonderful company!

Dear readers, it’s been a while

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Dear readers, it’s been a while since I last posted. My website updated itself in December and there were problems that seemed insurmountable because it was December and there were work deadlines and Christmas deadlines and general December busyness.

Thank you to the lovely Nic from Planning with Kids who helped me with the technical side of my blog as well as giving me a big pep talk for continuing on!

There is news to catch up on!

Reading

I’ve been reading a lovely pile of books – my usual mix of fiction, non-fiction, children, young adult and poetry. Standout books include Seth Godin’s The practice (non-fiction), Cate Kennedy’s The taste of river water (poetry), The forty rules of love by Elif Shafak (novel) and The girl who became a tree by Joseph Coelho (young adult). Reviews for some of these books coming!

Editing

I have a mix of projects at the moment which makes my editing life varied and exciting. I’ve almost finished editing a fabulously detailed family history of six generations dating back to Scotland in the 1850s, I’ve proofread a book about wills which has prompted me to have conversations with family members, I’m about to start reading an exciting crime novel for a general reader’s report and I edited a wonderfully lyrical essay on nature.

Writing

My first middle-grade verse novel is under submission so I’ve been researching for my young adult verse novel. I’ve almost finished this now, so I’m ready to look at the structure of the first draft. Are my key scenes in the right places? Do they match up with my research? Do my two main characters meet up at the right moment?

Facilitating

I’m now the facilitator for the online Springfield writers’ group. This is a talented, oh so talented group of women who are writing poems, essays, novels, short stories, memoirs, non-fiction. We meet once a week to discuss two writers’ work and the creative collaboration in this group is a tangible thing.

Creating

Apart from creating a weekly menu of lunches and dinners and snacks which lately have NOT been as creative as my other pursuits, I’ve been teaching myself to weave. Last year during the lockdowns, I found quilting and sewing to be an antidote to the news cycle. I have a beautiful weaving kit and I am making a random, unplanned small weaving in soft dusky pinks, creams and burgundies.

Tutoring

I am constantly telling my children how lucky they are to have me as a mother but it’s only when I cook their favourite meal or help them with an English essay that they truly appreciate me! Mr 17 is in year 12 this year and we have already spent some time together talking through his first SAC. I also read through a few of his mates’ pieces – one of them named a character Karen. I am not sure whether to take it as a compliment or an insult – the character was rather annoying!

Your news …

Please tell me what you have been reading, writing or creating – I’d love to know.

Christmas wishlist – non-fiction

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Are you a non-fiction reader? I flit between adult fiction, adult non-fiction, young adult fiction and children’s fiction – variety is the spice of life! If you usually read fiction, try a non-fiction book for a change. Is there a topic you’d like to dive deep into? Is there someone you’d like to learn about?

If reading fiction gives us empathy, reading non-fiction will broaden your mind.

Here’s a selection of wonderful non-fiction books I’ve recently enjoyed or bought with the intention to read over summer, on topics as diverse as mindfulness, creativity, spirituality, memoir, finances, health, poetry and parenting.

The gift of presence, a mindfulness guide for women by Caroline Welch – my kids are always rolling their eyes when I mention the word mindfulness but in this age of constantly beeping devices, we need mindfulness more than ever. We need conversations with no typing fingers, meals at home and coffees at cafes without scrolling, clear minds with no multi-tasking. Welch discusses the four Ps – presence, purpose, pivoting and pacing. I haven’t read this one yet but plan to read it ‘mindfully’ during January when there are less distractions.

Untamed, stop pleasing, start living by Glennon Doyle – this memoir by New York best-selling author is a call to women to ‘stop pleasing, start living.’ It’s the story of Doyle’s journey to leave her marriage with her three kids and build a relationship with her new partner, former soccer player Abby Wambach. I read this one as a mini-bookclub with three friends – so many discussions!

The body keeps the score, mind, brain and body in the transformation of trauma by Bessel Van der Kolk – an interesting read on how our bodies can hold on to trauma for years. Van der Kolk draws on his years of experience in treating people with trauma, from veterans to abused children. If you suffer from chronic pain, this one’s for you.

David Whyte Essentials by David Whyte – beautiful poems about just about everything with a brief explanation or background about each poem. There’s nothing like reading evocative, lyrical poems over summer. Perfect for dipping in and reading a poem a week.

Simplicity parenting, using the extraordinary power of less to raise calmer, happier and more secure kids by Kim John Payne – I read this book over and over when my kids were little. Payne’s non-judgemental, gentle voice taught me patience and creativity and understanding for my kids in that period when the days were long but the years short.

Wild Mercy, living the fierce and tender wisdom of the women mystics by Mirabai Starr – Starr weaves in her own stories through her exploration of women mystics, looking at topics such as mothering, remembering the Sabbath, caring for the Earth and dying. A fascinating read with an invitation to explore your own spirituality.

More myself, a journey by Alicia Keys – Keys wrote and performed one of my favourite songs ‘This girl is on fire’ so I am keen to dive into her memoir. As a writer, I’m always interested in other creative people’s stories, whether they’re artists or musicians or weavers. Another book to add to the summer reading pile!

A promised land by Barack Obama – clearly a man who needs no introduction! I bought this doorstopper of a book for my husband’s recent birthday, and will read it myself when he’s finished.

The barefoot investor for families by Scott Pape – I bought this one for my kids, and my teenagers have flicked through it. There’s a particularly good section on putting together a resume in order to find casual work. My then-fourteen-year-old son found it useful – and voila – success – he was hired as a supermarket shelf-stacker. I wish my fourteen-year-old self had seen the page on compound interest, though!

This one wild and precious life, a hopeful path in a fractured world by Sarah Wilson – I heard Wilson interviewed when her book came out a few months ago – she was her usual articulate and authentic self. Looking forward to reading this one over January – all about her hikes, her thoughts on the environment and her ideas for making changes.

Creativity, Inc, overcoming the unseen forces that stand in the way of true inspiration by Ed Catmull – another one to read over summer! Catmull dreamt of making the first computer-animated movie – and he did, with Toy Story. Storytelling, creating memorable characters, achieving dreams – this is my sort of book!

I hope you’re inspired to pick up a non-fiction book to read over summer. Perhaps it’s a design book or a travel one, maybe a teach-yourself or a book on astronomy or a biography. Let me know if you have a recommendation!

Christmas wishlist – adult fiction

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Books are the perfect Christmas present – easy to wrap, light to transport, wonderful summer entertainment, a conversation point. There are no plastic parts, they don’t need batteries. Here’s my 2020 list of my ten favourite novels for adults, in no particular order – historical fiction, Indigenous fiction, a verse novel, young protagonists, older protagonists, female protagonists, male protagonists – enjoy the variety!

The other Bennet sister by Janice Hadlow – Jane Austen fans, you will know this title refers to Mary Bennet, the sister from Austen’s Pride and prejudice given the least amount of page space. Mary has no chance for more space, given she has to compete with her sisters – Jane’s beauty, Elizabeth’s wit and the silliness of Kitty and Lydia. But now Hadlow has given Mary a book of her own, and gosh, it’s a thick one at 655 pages. This book is a wonderful escape – perfect summer reading. There’s a longer review here.

Here is the beehive by Sarah Crossan – this is the story of a married woman having an affair whose lover is killed unexpectedly. How do you grieve in secret for someone you loved? Here is the beehive is a verse novel – the pace is fast and it just flows. I read this book a few months ago, and I’m almost ready to pick it up again. Sarah Crossan is one of my favourite writers.

The yield by Tara June Winch – the three threads of this novel wind in and out of each other – August Gondiwindi’s story of coming back home to Massacre Plains for her grandfather’s funeral weaves in between her grandfather’s dictionary, his words to define the language of his people and then there are the letters of Revered Greenleaf, who set up the original homestead which became August’s home. The yield won the 2020 Miles Franklin award.

The mother fault by Kate Mildenhall – This book is such a fascinating read. It’s set in the near future in Australia, where The Department monitors citizens with tracking devices. Mim is a stay-at-home mum, who is suddenly forced on a trip to find her missing husband, last seen mining in Indonesia. It’s a gripping tale, with large scale drama as well as the micro tension of Mim searching for her husband, with her two small children beside her. I chose this book for my bookclub next month.

The dictionary of lost words by Pip Williams – I loved immersing myself in this story about a young girl who grows up in the workplace of her father, a lexicographer in Oxford in the 1880s. I found myself bewailing the limitations of women in both their personal and professional lives, and wanting so much for the main character, Esme.

The book of longing by Sue Monk Kidd – Meet Ana, a young woman living in Galilee in the first century. She feels compelled to write down the lost stories of women, and begs her father for parchment and ink. She writes this prayer, Bless the largeness inside me, no matter how I fear it, into an incantation bowl given to her by her aunt, the only educated woman she knows. Not only is Ana from The book of longings a bright, rebellious and brave young woman, she is also the wife of Jesus. This was one of my favourite books for this year! There’s a longer review here.

Star-Crossed by Minnie Darke – This book would make such a wonderful romantic comedy movie – I’m not a huge fan of rom-coms but I would love to see this one. Justine has a minor job at a local paper, including responsibility for organising the monthly horoscopes. When she bumps into an old friend, Nick, the stars suddenly take on a whole new meaning. A perfect beach read!

All our shimmering skies by Trent Dalton – All our shimmering skies is the story of twelve-year-old Molly Hook, the gravedigger’s daughter, who sets off on a journey when bombs start hitting her home town of Darwin in 1942. She’s trying to revoke the curse Longcoat Bob, an almost mythical outback character, placed on her grandfather which has caused her family no end of sorrow and hardship. I love the mix of real-life events and mythology, the sadness of Molly’s life combined with her hopeful spirit, the wonderful descriptive writing and the unlikely but absolutely believable ‘sky gifts’. This book will become an Australian classic.

The question of love by Hugh Mackay – Freya is a violinist, her husband Richard is an architect. MacKay uses the musical idea of ‘variation of a theme’ to explore the same scene in different ways, with variations in the ways the characters respond to each other. This original idea, combined with Mackay’s experience as a social researcher, is a compelling read.

Honeybee by Craig Silvey – Honeybee is told in first person by Sam Watson, a fourteen-year-old transgender person who begins their story on the night they meet Vic on the Clayton Road overpass in Perth. Both Sam and Vic are forever changed by their chance meeting. There’s a wonderful array of characters in Honeybee – a nurse who works as a drag queen, an effervescent girl who befriends Sam, a wise psychologist, a thoughtful man who deals with motorbikes – many of Silvey’s characters embody different facets of kindness. But of course, there’s also the characters surrounding Sam who are into theft and drugs, and who hurt Sam – physically and emotionally. There’s a longer review here.

Happy shopping! Happy library borrowing! Happy passing a dog-eared book around friends! Happy reading!

Christmas wishlist – young adult fiction

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Bookshops are open in Melbourne again, and it’s time to go Christmas shopping! This week, we can think about the teens in our lives – let’s show them inspiring characters, humorous situations, tender romantic relationships, strong friendships and everything else that affects our young adults.

Miss 14 is here to give you some of her favourites, many of them are on my to-be-read pile. When choosing books, readers usually like to read about a character a year or two older than them – teen reading is aspirational.

A Court of Thorns and Roses – Sarah J. Maas – Feyre and her family’s survival counts on her ability to hunt. So when she goes into the woods and kills a Faerie for food her world is changed. She is taken and forced to live with the Faeries. This is the first book in a series of four with a new instalment coming out next year.

A Throne of Glass – Sarah J. Maas – This story follows Celaena Sardothien, a teenage assassin living in a corrupt kingdom with a tyrannical king. Celaena is forced to participate in a competition to become the King’s Champion. If she wins she will serve him for five years before being freed from her sentence at the caves of Endovier. There are seven books in this series.

Red, White & Royal Blue – Casey McQuiston – Red, White & Royal Blue is a book about the first son Alex Clarment-Diaz and his rivalry with Prince Henry. After a mishap at a royal wedding the two are forced to pretend to be friends, they grow to enjoy each other’s company and that turns into something more than friendship. But there are complications that stop them from being together in the public eye.

After Series – Anna Todd – Tessa has just moved into her dorm room at college, when she meets Hardin, a boy with an attitude and facial piercings and tattoos. He is everything that Tessa doesn’t like and besides she has Noah, her high school boyfriend. So why can’t she stop thinking about him, and why does he always show up at the right time? This is one of five books.

Crave Series – Tracy Wolff – After her parents die in a car accident, Grace moves to her Uncle’s academy in Alaska. Her life changes when she steps into that academy, nothing in there is what it seems. Everyone is hiding something from her and there is Jaxon Vega. A vampire who is hiding dark secrets of his own, Jaxon’s walls begin to crumble once he gets to know Grace. This is the first in a trilogy. 

The Selection Series – Keira Cass – Thirty five girls are selected to win over the love of Prince Maxon. America Singer doesn’t want to go because she already loves someone, Aspen, but she must go because her family is a Five and they need any money that they can get. When America meets Maxon she starts to question her feelings for Aspen and the plans that she has made for herself. There are four main books in this series and six books in the novella series.

Bring Me Their Hearts – Sara Wolf – Zera is a Heartless, her heart belongs to the witch Nightsinger. She is immortal and bound to the Nightsinger. The witch sends Zera to steal the heart of the prince, with one catch. If she gets caught, in a town where they hate and torture witches, she will destroy her heart which will destroy her. The prince, Lucien, hates the court as much as it loves him. Everyone loves him and lets him get away with everything, until the arrival of Lady Zera. This begins a game between a girl with nothing to lose and a boy who has it all. Bring Me Their Hearts is the first book in a series of three.

These Broken Stars – Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner – Everything is running smoothly until the Icarus, a massive luxury spaceliner, is pulled out of hyperspace and plummets to the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux, the daughter of the richest man in the universe, and Tarver Menderson, a young war hero, survive the crash and are the sole survivors. Stranded on an abandoned planet they must learn to tolerate each other to survive.

And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie – 10 strangers were summoned to a private island for a weekend getaway by an eccentric millionaire who is unknown to them. All of the guests have a wicked past that they are unwilling to share and a secret that will seal their fate. A nursery rhyme is framed in every room. 

“Ten little boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine. Nine little boys sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight. Eight little boys traveling in Devon; One said he’d stay there then there were seven. Seven little boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in half and then there were six. Six little boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five. Five little boys going in for law; One got in Chancery and then there were four. Four little boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three. Three little boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two. Two little boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was one. One little boy left all alone; He went out and hanged himself and then there were none.”

They soon realise that the murders are occurring exactly as described in the nursery rhyme. Before the weekend ends there will be none.

Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen – Pride and Prejudice is a coming of age, historical and romance novel. It focuses on the conflicts of marrying for love and marrying for economic reasons. Mr Bennet has five daughters and none of them can inherit his estate therefore they are pressured to find security in a good marriage. The oldest sisters Jane and Elizabeth struggle to marry because of their lack of aristocrat status.

Thank you, Miss 14! I hope you find something to read in this eclectic mix of fiction – historical, crime, fantasy, contemporary and dystopian.

Happy book shopping!