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Journey by Patricia MacLachlan (1991)
Journey is a middle grade novel by American author Patricia MacLachlan (1938-2022). MacLachlan was a prolific author and published over 60 novels, eventually collaborating with her daughter. People may know her best for Sarah, Plain and Tall which won the 1986 Newbery Medal. She won it again for Journey, a slim paperback of just 80…
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Why is the Australian Women’s Soccer Team Called The Matildas?
Many people are wondering for the first time in 2023, why are The Matildas called The Matildas? Is it sexist or fine, actually?
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Survival of the Thickest: Favourite One-liners and Words
Survival of the Thickest is a comedy-drama television series co-created by Michelle Buteau and Danielle Sanchez Witzel for Netflix.
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Breaking Bad Discussion Questions
Love Breaking Bad? Love to talk about it? Try these discussion questions, aimed at people who love critique.
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Why were New Zealand women first in the world to achieve suffrage?
If you know anything about New Zealand history at all, you probably learned that New Zealand women were the first in the world to achieve the right to vote in 1893.
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Transgender Jokes Which Are Actually Funny
So we’ve had decades and decades of jokes where trans people are the butt of the “joke”. This has extended to children’s media, where stories about gender transgression of any kind, but especially boys dressed forcibly as girls, have propped up the gender hierarchy by making it seem legitimately punishable to transgress. We’re in a…
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Tricks for Writing A Lengthy Work
How do you write a lengthy piece of writing — a book, a thesis — without giving up? Various writers share tips and tricks. Here are a collected few.
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1960s-1970s Lettering in Graphic Design
A designer called Paul Bacon was influential in creating a mid-century look which is back in fashion.
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Dear Marjorie: A Short Crime Story
Dear Marjorie, I wonder if you’ve had much to do with law-enforcement. Twice now, I’ve had the experience of an official rat-a-tat-tat at my own abode…
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Review: Kutsuwa T’GAAL Pencil Sharpener
The Kutsuwa T’GAAL pencil sharpener sold to Japanese school children comes highly recommended by pencil enthusiasts. Let’s find out why.
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Wake For Susan by Cormac McCarthy Short Story Analysis
If you weren’t told who wrote “Wake for Susan” (1959), I doubt you’d guess it were by American author Cormac McCarthy.
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Describing Australian Landscapes in Literature
How do Australian authors describe Australian landscapes, making it fresh every time? Here are some examples.
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From Rain Man to The Maid: Autistic Archetypes in Contemporary Fiction
Autism Awareness (TM) is starting to impact reader interpretations of texts which seem to star Autistic main characters.
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Lemon Girl
Callous and Unemotional Traits After Charlie’s psychologist talked to her mum, Charlie overheard her mum leaking Charlie’s private business over the phone. “Hun,” Michelle began. ‘Hun’ meant Lionel, Charlie’s dad. Michelle had shut herself inside her own bedroom, but Charlie heard everything from the other side of the wall. “Are you sitting down, hun? Because we…
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Mrs Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat by Roald Dahl Short Story Analysis
“Mrs Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat” is a misogynist short story by British author Roald Dahl, and an excellent example of Hate Your Wife humour. You’ll find it in Dahl’s 1959 collection Kiss, Kiss. I call this story “Mean-spirited Gift of the Magi”. WHERE TO LISTEN You may be able to unearth the BBC dramatization…