Perth Writers Festival

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Over the weekend I had the amazing experience of going to the Perth Writers Festival - twice! It was held over four days (Thursday 21st Feb to Sunday 24th Feb) and I managed to attend on Friday (22) and Sunday (24). 

Both experiences were quite different, but I had a great time and am feeling excited about writing and reading, and also eager to attend again next year. Just because I'm still super happy about everything that happened (despite being sick the whole time!) I will share my experiences of the festival here.

FRIDAY: I attended two talks on Friday with a good friend of mine who has been studying creative writing. She has always been very positive about my new foray into writing (starting a new degree in writing this year!) and so I thought of her when I wanted to attend with someone. 

We were originally going to go to a few more talks, but arrived late (parking = diabolical) and then got a little lost in UWA's orientation day festivities. By the time we arrived at the actual site of the festival, we truly just wanted to sit down (and my friend wanted to drink her coffee) so we chilled out in an area called Writer's Central - specifically put aside for resting between talks. While there, we became addicted to these homemade icey poles that were being sold by a lovely lady nearby (I ended up having three by the end of the day... two of salted caramel. YUM.) and attempting to complete a crossword on books (we got about half done).

The first talk we attended was brilliant. Having just finished 'The Antidote" (please see earlier posts for a review) I was very excited to go see Oliver Burkeman speak in a session titled 'On Happiness'. He spoke alongside Damon Young (a young philosopher and writer) and Geoff Gallop (for those that don't know, former premier of Western Australia). The session covered many different aspects of happiness and how we relate to it as a construct. It touched on how we seem to be forever chasing this ideal of happiness, and how this constant chasing seems to be doing the most damage to us. In the end, I realised just how important this area of research and thought is to me, and I ended up purchasing Damon Young's book Distraction (I'll hopefully review that later in the year).

The other talk we attended was titled 'the soundtrack to this book is...' and featured Gus Gordon (an illustrator and author) and Myke Bartlett (a journalist who has recently written a novel for young adults) being interviewed by William Yeoman (Book Editor and Senior Arts Writer for The West Australian). The authors discussed the effect that music has on their writing and the specific songs they listen to while writing.

I found the idea of hearing or needing to hear specific music while writing something very interesting, as I often feel the need to listen to something specific to get a certain type of writing done, but it didn't stretch to the same extent as the two authors on show. They also took the opportunity to play some of the music they were listening to during recent books, and I particularly liked the idea that Myke Bartlett operated by, where he found specific songs to represent certain moods or characters.

After that, we grabbed a final icey pole and headed home! A great day.

SUNDAY: For my second visit to the writers festival, I went to a couple of talks with my parents. 

The first one mum and I attended (dad headed off to a different talk) was all about memoirs ('Keeping it in the Family') and I was very excited about this one, too, as one of my favourite writers, Benjamin Law, was going to be speaking. (Note: Benjamin Law is a regular writer for frankie magazine, and has written two books including The Family Law and Gaysia - both are excellent, but I have to say I found Gaysia to be particularly interesting.)

Two other authors were there, including Lily Chan (author of 'Toyo' - a memoir all about her Japanese grandmother) and Scott Johnson (author of 'The Wolf and the Watchman' about his father, a CIA agent). The discussion was very interesting, and I found myself not only enjoying being able to see Benjamin Law speak, but also becoming more interested in the other authors, as well. (I ended up buying Lily Chan's book, too!)

The second talk we attended (all together this time) was 'The Library of my Mind' with John Freeman (author, editor, and book critic) and Ramona Koval (author, interviewer, editor, and originally radio presenter of the ABC's Book Show). Their conversation was quite lively, and I particularly enjoyed their short discussion on why they read in the first place - not only did they seem to see it as some sort of compulsion; something pivotal to their life - but they also seemed to have deeper reasons. Ramona Koval mentioned that she read to understand the world, and John Freeman took that a step further and said that he sometimes read to make sure the world was actually out there.

Overall, I feel very happy to have had such an excellent experience. I ended up buying four books at the festival - I will try and post a photo of my loot sometime soon!

Happy reading everyone :)

3 comments musings, reading, thoughts

Book Challenge Update: Kate Grenville's The Secret River

(from my instagram, originally taken from the abc book club website)

Some of you may remember that towards the end of last year, I dared myself to read the top ten aussie books. My reasons for this are fairly simple: I enjoy reading challenges, I've never had much experience reading Australian literature, and, well, I wanted to.
I have already spoken about book ten - Picnic at Hanging Rock - and now I'm back to talk about Kate Grenville's book The Secret River.

I must admit, straight up, that this will not be a proper review of the book. I haven't actually finished it. So I will just shortly summarise my experience of reading the book, and why I decided to stop reading it and move on.
The Secret River begins in England, where the main character William Thornhill, grows up and makes his living. I won't give you much information about the book like I would in a review, as I cannot give you a completely holistic idea. What you most need to know here is that Thornhill is sent to Australia, and the bulk of the book is about his experiences while there with his wife and ever-expanding family.
While reading this book, I could easily notice how well it was written. Kate Grenville has a very solid way of writing that draws you in, regardless of the subject matter. Having said that, I found it hard to continue reading this book because I found I couldn't really relate to the characters as well as I would have liked. I think that this was just a personal opinion, as I didn't feel any great negativity towards the characters, I just didn't find myself able to like them, either.
Perhaps that doesn't make any sense, but my main reason for eventually deciding to stop reading this book was because I didn't feel I was gaining anything out of it. My love of Kate Grenville's writing style only went so far and, without any amount of feeling toward the main character and his trials, I found myself slowly pulling away from the book altogether. Those who follow my goodreads profile may have noticed that I have read quite a few different books since beginning The Secret River. Ultimately, I may end up coming back to this book, but for now it is marked as 'abandoned'.

I have taken quite awhile off from this challenge since then - I have read multiple self-help books, a couple of fantasies... even a novel based on a story from the bible (please see previous book reviews for some idea of this). But now I have returned to the challenge, determined to try and get through the next book.
Which is: The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas. I have heard quite a few things about this book - the majority from my mum who has read it already. She said she found all the characters to be depraved and dislikable, but she couldn't stop reading anyway. I kind of hope that I'll have a similar experience and just sail through this one, as I'm not sure how well I'll go with a book full of characters I may (or may not) hate.
I started the book last night and am already about 30 pages in, so we'll see how we go. I think the main thing that might distract me at this point is all the OTHER reading I want to get through! Plus Uni starting next week! Eep! Wish me luck!

Love to all who read.

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Book Review: The Antidote: Happiness for people who can't stand positive thinking by Oliver Burkeman

Title: The Antidote

Author: Oliver Burkeman

Summary: 'Countering the conventional self-help focus on relentless cheerfulness, Oliver Burkeman introduces us to a diverse range of people who share one big, surprising insight into happiness - that trying so hard to be positive is the problem, not the solution. Whether experimental psychologists or terrorism experts, Buddhists, anthropologists or hard-headed business consultants, they all recommend and alternative, 'negative path' to happiness and success that involves embracing failure, pessimism, insecurity and uncertainty - the very things we spend our lives trying to avoid.

The Antidote is a thoroughly liberating, enjoyable and happy journey - a celebration of the power of negative thinking.'

My thoughts: I will begin this review by stating that I read quite a few self-help books. I generally steer clear of the ones that offer to fix your life in ten easy steps, or the ones that indicates different genders are from specific planets, but I do read some of them. I could defend myself by saying that I like to research the psychology behind them (which I do) or that I only read them when forced to at gun-point (which I don't), but to be honest, most of the time, it's because self-help books make me happy. Plain and simple. And the first time I saw this book, I picked it up, read the blurb, and then put it back down. It wasn't because I thought anything within the book would be fake or vapid, but really because I felt threatened. I felt like perhaps the very self-help books I enjoyed reading would be 'picked on' by the author of this book, and I would end up either hurling the book across the room (I hate doing this to any book - even if I hate it) or questioning my whole reasoning for liking self-help books in the first place. After all, there is a certain stigma attached to anyone reading them.

Oliver Burkeman surprised me with an amazing, thoroughly-researched and overwhelmingly logical book. He didn't use his writing as a way to pick on the other self-help books out there - merely to question their effectiveness in doing what they promise: making people happier.

He starts off by talking about the current trend in self-help books and seminars - unfailing optimism. While I like to consider myself optimistic, I agree that being optimistic all the time just leads to being in denial, and Burkeman was clever in his approach of this. He didn't try to point fingers or dispose of the optimistic viewpoint, but just began with a simple question - is this truly making us happier?

I liked that Burkeman consulted many different points of view and multiple professionals in the writing of his book. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on Buddhism and it's use of non-attachment.

I also enjoyed the chapter 'Memento Mori: Death as a way of Life.' as it seemed so very related to a lot of things I have been dealing with lately, and have thus grown to develop an interest in. Burkeman not only fed my interest, but has given me a drive to find out more in the area of the Western world's rejection of death as a constant.

As the book went on, I found myself becoming more and more thoughtful about the views that Burkeman was presenting, and how they seemed to give an overwhelming sense of cohesion. Here was something I had read about in other books, such as those researched and written by Brene Brown - that at the root of all our good emotions (happiness, joy, contentment) was the willingness to be insecure, vulnerable, and in the moment. That we need to observe negative emotions instead of putting our fingers in our ears and yelling 'I'm not listening' every time they appear. I feel as if I'm reading so much about these topics lately, and I am only becoming more fascinated by this call to be more open, more flawed, more HUMAN.

This book is a fascinating journey for anyone to read, and, while I did have a little trouble at times following the way Burkeman wrote (that may have been due to sleep deprivation), I found the way he wrote to be fascinating. I wouldn't necessarily call this book a 'happy journey', as detailed in it's summary, but it has definitely led me further along a path of learning that I am thoroughly enjoying.

Rating: 8/10

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impermanence

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A lot of my reading lately has been leading me to subjects of a similar ilk. Keywords that I come across often include: vulnerability, contentment, acceptance, mindfulness, and impermanence.
When I read about these things, a gentle feeling comes across me, as if I have been robed with a soft, white blanket (for some reason in my head, it is white). I am simultaneously comforted and somewhat nervous, but calm. The anxiety I experience is barely even that - just the lightest of tremors within me that indicate either excitement or some small feeling of dread.
And yet the things I am reading give me such an immeasurable sense of calm. As if by accepting life as impermanent, and myself as vulnerable and insecure, I am taking down all those walls of perceived 'security' and 'permanency' and welcoming in connection and joy.

Ironically, even these feelings are quite impermanent. But right now, I'm okay with that.

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Book Review: The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Title: The Red Tent

Author: Anita Diamant

Summary: "Lost to history by the chronicles of men, here at last is the dazzling story of Dinah, Jacob's only daughter from the Book of Genesis.

Moving panoramically from Mesopotamia to Canaan to Egypt, The Red Tent is robustly narrated by Dinah, from her upbringing by the four wives of her time. In seeking to preserve her own remarkable experiences, as well as those of a long-ago era of womanhood, Dinah tells her story in this beautiful, though-provoking novel."

Review: The summary above is right - this book is definitely thought-provoking, and, at times, very beautiful. But I must admit it took me two or three tries to actually really get into the story.

I will admit upfront that I'm very unfamiliar with the stories of the bible - I was not raised with any religious devotion, and when asked, I tend to defer to the knowledge of Buddhism rather than anything else. But this book was fascinating - enough that I was tempted to pick up our old dusty copy of the Bible to read the story it had been based upon.

The story is told from Dinah's point of view, and is written in such a way as to focus more specifically on the experiences of the women involved in the story. I found certain parts of this story very intriguing - particularly the book's namesake. The red tent exists within this book as a specific tent set aside for women to visit during their periods - a place to be among other women going through similar experiences, and to spend at least the first three days of their 'moontime' being among women, eating sweets, and enjoying rest. Women would also enter the tent when they were about to give birth.

Dinah's experiences revolve around this tent in the early parts of the book, and of her life. As she gets older, things begin to take a turn for the worse. I won't ruin too much of the actual story (those that have read the Book of Genesis will know the gist of what happens), but I was shocked by what Dinah is forced to endure as she ages.

Overall, I enjoyed the development of the female characters, and I found Dinah an interesting protagonist to narrate the story - particularly when she got a bit older. I have read other reviews that said the male characters could stand to be further developed, and while I agree to a certain extent, I also believe that the whole idea of this book was to focus more on the female characters, and I felt that the men in this story were sufficiently explored.

I believe this is a great book for women to read if they crave feeling a bit more connected to other women - as I sometimes do - and also if they enjoy epic stories that follow the entire life of one individual. This is a beautifully written book.

Rating: 7.5/10

In honour of my return to book reviews, I'd like to let you guys know about a new event that's going to be happening over at Book Depository on Thursday the 21st of Feb (that's in two weeks). I love Book Depository - they have a great range of books, at great prices, and they offer free postage around the world. Pretty sure I've recommended them to all my friends. I also still believe in supporting local independent bookstores, but I balance that with shopping online too!

Anyway, here's a little banner to let you know what's happening...

Sounds pretty good, right? Check it out :) Love to all who read.

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VPA

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what i want: bubble.

things have caught up with me lately and, while I think I'm past the emotional breakdown phase, apparently I'm now in the physical breakdown stage. (p.s. thought I had this two weeks ago, actually, but there you go.)

what I want right now is support to rest and rejuvenate. I want tasty comforting food, lots of fluids of the same ilk (tasty/comforting) and maybe things to arrive in the mail to enjoy.

I'm feeling a bit icky so I'm going to sign off here. I meant to write more, but I just can't think straight.

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scarce posts and slow learning

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things feel like they haven't really 'let up' since about November last year. I feel like my family are just trying to ride each new thing as best we can, and hoping that we get some reprieve after that.

having said that, I think I'm doing okay overall. I'm not feeling too overwhelmed, and I feel secure in my little network of support. I do still have those occasional moments where I freak out that the bad stuff isn't going to stop until the end of my life, but I have to reason with myself - with every bad piece, there is some good too.

I guess I just have to trust that everything will ultimately be okay.

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