Virtual Visit to 🇯🇵Japan I’ve been in a Japanese Culture Appreciation phase for a while now. I can’t get enough of it. It may have been inspired from all those novels I’ve read this year that take part in Japan. Or reading Japanese authors. It may also be because I’ve been living through the travels […]
Vladivostock Circus Book Review
I love the writing of Elisa Shua Dusapin who is a French Korean author. I read Pachinko Parlour this year that set me off on a love affair reading all her books as well as exploring Korean and Japanese books, food and culture. I wanted to read her latest novel Vladivostock Circus which was all […]
Visit to Canterbury
On Saturday it was a lovely day so rather than stay inside, I wanted to go and explore a bit. One of the things I like to do is to visit second hand bookstores and I found out that there was one in the quaint suburb of Canterbury. Our first stop was to the Canterbury […]
Why I Love My YouTube Channel: For The Stories People Write
Even though creating videos to share online on YouTube is a bit of a pain, I prefer reading the comments from viewers and fellow readers. This morning I read one that I loved. As a history buff, this reader brought back to life a part of Melbourne that was long since forgotten: Cheshire’s Bookstore. What […]
New Book Review: Body Friend by Katherine Brabon
I’m a member of my local library’s book club and over the last few months or so, I haven’t enjoyed the books that were chosen for us. However, I guess that’s why we have book clubs. We don’t always need to love the book we read. Instead, if it inspires thought provoking conversation or changes […]
My Book Club Books for 2024
I started a Book Club this year at my local golf club that has various clubs that members can get involved with. It’s a great way to socialise with others other than just golf. Here are the books I’ve chosen for the year. I select them based on recommendations by others but also my own […]
New Book Review on Stoner by John Williams
Here is one of the book reviews I uploaded last week. It’s on Stoner by John Williams. I loved this book so much that I went out and bought his other books. His writing style is beautiful and evokes images in your mind’s eyes. It reminded me of Steinbeck’s writing. Here’s what I have to […]
Reading Graphic Novels
Yesterday was my Book Club day. I started a book club this year with my golf club and before the event, I headed to the Cheltenham Library. I wanted to find out more about their Book Club Stacks. They provide a stack of 10 books for local book clubs to use. I signed up so […]
East of Eden
Why have I not read this book sooner? I’ve yelled out in places when I’m reading this book. I gasp and sigh. It torments me when I put it down and settle to sleep every night. Why is Kathy so evil? This is why I love reading. How great is Steinbeck at story telling? This […]
Books About Revenge
In my latest video, I share some thoughts about a couple of books about revenge. The Revenge Club by Kathy Lette & Lileth by Eric Rickstad. Have you read these books? If so, let me know what you think.
The Kids Run the Show
Recently I read a book translated from French called The Kids Run the Show (or in French, Les Enfants Sont Rois) by Delphine De Vigan. I’ve read some of her other books and liked them so when I saw this latest one on the shelf at the local library, I borrowed it. It kept me […]
Trip to Moonee Ponds to Check out Collins Booksellers
One of the things I love to do is to go somewhere new in our city and just walk and explore. I was going to meet my friend in Ascot Vale to have lunch at a cute cafe called Old Man Andrew in Ascot Vale. As I was early, I stayed on the tram and […]
Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang
Here’s the latest book review that I’ve put up online. I enjoyed this book that gave you a picture of the publishing world behind the scenes but also the toxicity of social media. Well worth a read!
The Pachinko Parlour Book Review
Here’s the latest book review up online. I liked this book as it taught me a little about the history of Japanese and Korean relations. I had no idea of their tension and how Japan had colonised Korea in the past. Well worth a read.
What are My Next Steps?
I’ve been considering what to do with this Activate Learning blog. Should I close it down? Should I rename and redesign it? Should I start a new one as Life Lessons from Books? However, the more I think about it, the more I realise that “activate learning” is a useful generic “catch-all” phrase that could […]
Medea and Other Plays
Here’s the latest review I published on YouTube. I enjoyed reading this book and wondered why I hadn’t read the Greek plays before this. 🤦♀️
At the Crossroads of a Decision
Book Review: Steppenwolf By Herman Hesse
Here’s the latest video I uploaded to my YouTube account.
Book Review: The Porcupine by Julian Barnes
Continuing with my reading of books by Julian Barnes, I read The Porcupine recently. I found it at a second hand bookstore in a condition worse for wear and sticky taped it back together again. It was only $2, it’s pages brown and brittle, as I turned them they’d split from the spine. I found […]
What I’ve Been Reading, Finished Reading or Unable to Continue Reading
Here’s my latest video vlog talking about what I’ve been reading and what I put down. I don’t always have one video per book simply because I read too many books and it takes a long time to shoot, edit and upload these videos. Instead I choose which books I devote a video to nowadays. […]