Review of Tom Strelich’s novel, Dog logic

Dog logic; it makes sense Some stories remind us not to take ourselves too seriously, to curb our hubris; perhaps remind us how invidious we can be. ‘Dog logic’ is dystopian, sort of, a book about a man, Hertell, wounded by the now (wits scrambled, wife left, career in ruins) and out of sorts. He … Continue reading Review of Tom Strelich’s novel, Dog logic →

The zoo speaks

An excerpt from the novel called Kidnapping Douglas Adams - a kind of homage: Tralfamadore is not so much planet as spectacle. Its whole landscape has become, indeed, the universe’s zoo; where planet begins and zoo entertainment ends cannot be unravelled. The place where Felix had put them down (un-intercepted, much to Douglas’s surprise) was … Continue reading The zoo speaks →

Top 10 teachable novels – a list of sorts

Here's my list (the order is not important.) Tomorrow when the war began. For year 9 or 10. Students, even reluctant readers, respond to this book and it would be eminently teachable given that there is now a recent film. Holes: Easy reading, big themes; an apparently simple book but the result of skilled writing - for … Continue reading Top 10 teachable novels – a list of sorts →

Book Drum – Great for the new Australian curriculum in English

Within the new National Curriculum for English, the opening sentence beneath the heading - Year 9 Achievement Standard - is: "By the end of Year 9 students listen to, read and view a range of spoken, written and multimodal texts, recognising how events, situations and people can be represented from different perspectives, and identifying stated and implied meaning in texts." Book Drum (www.bookdrum.com) … Continue reading Book Drum – Great for the new Australian curriculum in English →