The Bookshelf Diaries takes a peek into the reading life of writers, readers and book lovers. Today, Lorelei Vashti allows us insight into what she (and her six-month-old daughter) are reading. What are you reading right now? Mostly picture books! My daughter is almost six months old and she’s really engaged and looking at everything around…
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Rural writer Maggie MacKellar has been through a lot. In her second memoir, How to Get There, she writes about the challenges she’s faced, and how she’s made her life anew. A historian, McKellar was pregnant with her second child when her husband committed suicide. Her mother passed away a short time later due to aggressive cancer, and McKellar…
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(TW: graphic bodily descriptions) I remember that my mother and I were out running errands, but not much else. I can’t tell you the time of day or year, if the leaves crinkled as their rust-coloured corpses tumbled through the sky, or if the scent of summer honeysuckle hung so thick you could almost taste…
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In celebration of Father’s Day, Holly Lazzari shares a story about her dad and reminds us to appreciate the people we have in our lives. I’ll admit it; I’m a complete Daddy’s girl. My dad and I find the same things funny, we always have stuff to chat about, we have loads in common, and a…
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People seek out the warmth of the sun. They bemoan their bad luck when it’s too hot, and hate it when an overcast sky blocks the light it emits. We don’t hide from the sun, but we have a respectful fear of it. The sun’s a lot like life. When it’s perfect, we revel in…
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One of my favourite things about Australia, and something that I didn’t realise before I came here, was how diverse its landscape is. I knew Australia was vast but my idea of this crazy country was pretty much similar to one of those maps you see on Tumblr or Buzzfeed: People living on the coast,…
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When I look back upon the arc of my life, I realise that my times in nature have led to moments of self-discovery. Through being outdoors, I have stumbled upon a few gems about myself – and this probably wouldn’t have happened within the confines of my home, office, or elsewhere in the built…
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As I travelled the vast and beautiful land of Europe, many unique destinations left an impression on me: the Venetian canals, the castles in Tuscany, the cosy log cabin between the snow-capped mountains of Norway. But none of these placescompared to the eye-opening experience that was Dachau, and the truly saddening impression it left on…
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Before I landed in Darwin, I knew I was going to love it. I have always been the kind of girl who rooted for the underdog and, when it comes to Australian cities, I think it’s safe to say that Darwin is the underdog. Maybe it hasn’t got the beaches that Sydney has, or the…
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There was a red mark on my skirt. My friend had told me as soon as I’d risen from my seat and I had no idea what to do. It was my first year of high school. I’d only been there a few weeks and my first month had been fine, but this was a…
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I had a lot of time to think about things while I was bouncing down dirt tracks on my way back to Alice Springs after a month-long jaunt in the Outback. My thoughts were mostly, ‘I hope those cows on the side of the road aren’t going to suddenly launch themselves in front of this…
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She’s fourteen – though she is often mistaken for twelve – and a mixture of insecurity and confidence is etched into her movements. A freshman in a tiny Texas town, she tiptoes through the halls of her high school quietly and curiously. She’s not quite sure how to carry herself – this body of a…
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How do I paint this picture, in ink strokes that become words, of how all three of my closest friends were separately raped before any of them turned twenty? Not one of their attackers was ever brought to justice. It serves as little wonder then, why I — as the only one amongst them who…
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For five nights last week, I had my own bedroom. My own bedroom. I’ve never really thought of myself as fussy when it comes to hostelling. As long as you give me a bed and a doona, I’ll be fine. But after three weeks (and counting) staying in dorms with at least six other people,…
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