Kathryn's Inbox

Bestselling author Jennifer Niven does not disappoint with her latest offering Meet the Newmans. Set in 1964, it tells the story of "America's favourite family". For years now, the Newman's have starred as themselves in a top rating television sitcom, and previously, a radio serial. There is Del, the father who is also writer and director of the series, who has fought hard to make Meet the Newmans the success that it is. Then there is wife Dinah, who comes across as the perfect wife and mother on the screen. Finally there are sons Guy, whose recent TV storylines about an engagement might be hiding a different reality from the public and Shep, a popular musician both on and off screen. The Newmans have been a wholesome staple of American television for so long but now, the times, and the ratings are changing. As the series faces cancellation and when Del is seriously injured in a car accident Dinah finds herself tasked with writing the final episode of Meet the Newmans...

British author Eliza Clark goes where few would dare to with Boy Parts creating a novel with an utterly disgusting female lead. Irina is a narcissist, a paedophile, a psychopath and a murderer. Boy Parts is the story of how, while committing some of the most dreadful acts, Irina not only goes undetected, but manages to manipulate everyone around her, from her adoring best friend Flo to the young men that she takes explicit photographs of, to the people that she sells the photographs to.  This novel is not easy reading, however, its saving grace is that it does not promote Irina's behaviour at all--it is written in such a way that the reader will dislike her almost immediately. What follows is a study on how much she can get away with, based on other people's perceptions of what a young and attractive woman is capable of and her worth. I cannot say that I enjoyed this book as much as I found myself turning pages, wanting to know what Irina would do, get away with and if she wou...

Beloved Australian singer/songwriter Paul Kelly takes his songs, arranges them in alphabetical order and uses them as a basis for a truly unique memoir. And unsurprisingly he names it after what is, for many, the most beloved Paul Kelly song of all, How to Make Gravy. This was a truly engaging read. Rather than being a memoir with a linear timeline, Kelly does what he does best, allowing his songs to shape the narrative. Consequently, we as the reader learns the stories behind the songs, more and more is revealed about Kelly's life and the things that inspires his music, whether it be stories that he has heard, life on the road, his family and friends or the challenge of coming up with a film soundtrack. Not all aspects of his life are pretty but I really appreciated the humble way Kelly told his story as he takes the reader into his confidence and shows empathy for the people around him. I found myself reading this one over a couple of weeks, carrying it in my bag and snatching up...

Picture it. Adelaide 2025. I'm walking through my favourite bookshop, passing the crime section when I turn around and I just happen to spot ... The Golden Girls? The hilarious 1980s sitcom, back in the form of a delightful cosy mystery titled Murder by Cheesecake?   Bring it on! Murder By Cheesecake is the first in a soon to be series of cosy mysteries staring Blanche, Dorothy, Rose and Sophia. Rose has been tasked with organising a traditional St Olaf style wedding (complete with lots of silly traditions) for her beloved niece and the others are doing their best to pitch in, especially as the groom's snobbish family aren't all that keen on the idea of a small, quirky wedding. However, things don't truly go awry until Dorothy's unpleasant date for the wedding is found dead in the freezer, his face buried in a traditional St Olaf cheesecake. Worse still, Dorothy is the prime suspect and she and the girls need to move fast to clear her name and keep the wedding on ...

There are a whole lot of animals at the heart of the latest Baby-Sitters Club graphic novel adaption, a whole house full of them in fact, and Jessi Ramsey junior officer of the BSC has been trusted to care for them for a whole week. While the Mancusi's are away, Jessi will be taking on a sitting job of a different kind, caring for three dogs, five cats, various birds, rabbits, hamsters and even a snake. Meanwhile, the BSC are having some internal problems, mostly due to Kristy being bossier than usual. How can Jessi manage to look after a house full of pets for a week, and help to fix things at the BSC?  This was a fun and entertaining read. It's been a long time since I read the original--so long that I was a little skeptical of this one going in. The number of pets the Mancusi family had seemed wildly extreme, as was the fact that they would trust an eleven year old kid they had never met before to care for them for an entire week. Then, of course, I had to remind myself that...

Like many of us, journalist Nevin Martell is a diehard fan of the utterly brilliant daily comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes. Looking For Calvin and Hobbes is equal parts a study of the comic and the story of how Martell sought to find out more about the comic's reclusive author Bill Watterson, who turned his back on multiple deals for merchandising, an animated series and who does not seek fame or notoriety in any way, shape or form. Martell never gets to interview Watterson, but what we go get is a solid story on how a was never spoiled by over-exposure or merchandising and remains beloved by fans, interviews with all kinds of people including Lynn Johnson who created the wonderful For Better of For Worse daily comic, and an outline of Watterson's career.  This was an interesting read. I knew close to nothing about Watterson but for the fact that he never allowed his comic to be monetised, and the story of how Calvin and Hobbes came into being was an interesting one, along with t...