It’s interesting to me that I was just thinking about all the old Enid Blyton books I loved to read when I was a kid and in the mornings papers was this story: Famous Five Set to Find Fame. Made me feel almost magical.
I read the ‘Secret Seven’ series, the ‘Famous Five’ of course, but loved the ‘Faraway Tree’ trilogy and ‘Wishing Chair’ set more I think. My favourite of all the many though would have to be ‘The Naughtiest Girl’ books. I am sure I only read 2 or 3 of them, yet it appears there are 8 on this site.
If you want to learn more about Enid Blyton, The Enid Blyton Society website is absolutely a must read. It’s quite amazing to see the list of writing, there are 100s of books. When I look through the list I see many other familiar books that I read as a child.
Melbourne Writers Festival Today
We saw three authors speak today and each had something valuable to say. The first up was Maureen McCarthy, then Greg Pyers and finally Brigid Lowry. I thoroughly enjoyed the balmy spring day in the city with some of my favourite ‘book worm’ students.
Maureen McCarthy
Maureen McCarthy has written a number of books and I have read Queen Kat, Carmel & St Jude Get A Life 
Greg Pyers
Greg Pyers
Brigid Lowry
Juicy Writing with Brigid Lowry delivered everything it promised with such a luscious title. She spoke with passion and read some great writing to us. I got quite watery in the eyes by a piece she wrote about a mo
ther reflecting on her son’s impending independence. I am sorry I didn’t have the time and presence of mind to ask where I could get it. I am not even sure who wrote it, but I suspect she did. I have spent the weekend reading her latest book Tomorrow all will be Beautiful and have found what I have read so far poignant and touching. It is truly juicy.I will get my hands on Guitar Highway Rose
‘the best thing’ by Margo Lanagan
First Impressions
‘the best thing’ by Margo Lanagan
Mothering
I loved the way Margo Lanagan describes the passage of pregnancy and childbirth and the early days of mothering. Her protagonist is a young woman, yet I found it a description that closely resembled the feelings I had when I was a slightly older young mother.
Margo Lanagan’s Writing
I discussed Margo Lanagan’s writing today with a colleague and we both agreed it wasn’t always easy to read, not that it was difficult to understand, it was emotionally confronting. I always find her writing rewarding though precisely because it is confronting.
Short Story vs Novel
When I started the novel, I wondered if I didn’t prefer Lanagan’s writing in short story form as I had loved the three anthologies of short stories I had read ‘Red Spikes‘, ‘Black Juice’ and ‘White Time’. At the conclusion of this novel, I find that I love her writing in both forms. She cuts to the heart of what’s really important and describes it beautifully. It is truly a vibrant and triumphant tale that is gutsy in it’s subject choice as well as the depth it delves into.