Courtney Johnston
@auchmill.bsky.social
Tumu Whakarae | Chief Executive Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. She / her.
That’s a goal for this summer
October 9, 2025 at 7:42 PM
That’s a goal for this summer
Sorry — I don’t use X so haven’t seen it
August 10, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Sorry — I don’t use X so haven’t seen it
Only finished this because the same week my reserve came up at the library it made the Booker list. My problem, not the book’s: I just like more plot in my reading.
August 1, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Only finished this because the same week my reserve came up at the library it made the Booker list. My problem, not the book’s: I just like more plot in my reading.
Reserves pile-ons rate highly in my luxury problems list
July 31, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Reserves pile-ons rate highly in my luxury problems list
Imagine Kate DiCamillo wrote a book about a little girl facing life’s problems and her family’s much-loved dysfunction for adult readers. That’s this book exactly.
July 27, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Imagine Kate DiCamillo wrote a book about a little girl facing life’s problems and her family’s much-loved dysfunction for adult readers. That’s this book exactly.
This is an Erdrich I had somehow missed. It’s wonderful! And it made me think about how the land has evolved as a bigger and bigger presence and driver of story in her books (contrary this to The Mighty Red, for example). Tender, rich, observant.
July 27, 2025 at 10:32 PM
This is an Erdrich I had somehow missed. It’s wonderful! And it made me think about how the land has evolved as a bigger and bigger presence and driver of story in her books (contrary this to The Mighty Red, for example). Tender, rich, observant.
I think if you’re fond of the original but know it won’t play for kids today, this is a good way to share that enjoyment.
July 27, 2025 at 10:31 PM
I think if you’re fond of the original but know it won’t play for kids today, this is a good way to share that enjoyment.
James brings the riddling and wordplay of the original through beautifully, and you deeply feel Alyce’s foot-stomping irritation at the ridiculous encounters she has along the way. James also simplifies her story a lot — adding a grief motif, but also a clear problem to solve & end to the adventure
July 27, 2025 at 10:30 PM
James brings the riddling and wordplay of the original through beautifully, and you deeply feel Alyce’s foot-stomping irritation at the ridiculous encounters she has along the way. James also simplifies her story a lot — adding a grief motif, but also a clear problem to solve & end to the adventure
This couldn’t be more different: a pick-up of Alice set in 1919, with the original’s grand-daughter Alyce being swept into Wonderland to settle a dispute between the Sun King and the Queen of the Moon
July 27, 2025 at 10:28 PM
This couldn’t be more different: a pick-up of Alice set in 1919, with the original’s grand-daughter Alyce being swept into Wonderland to settle a dispute between the Sun King and the Queen of the Moon
This book is ambitious, layered, and deftly walks a line between grittiness and surreality. I think that the ending is a bit tidy but the pathway there is terrific.
July 27, 2025 at 10:26 PM
This book is ambitious, layered, and deftly walks a line between grittiness and surreality. I think that the ending is a bit tidy but the pathway there is terrific.
Somehow I’d managed to miss this 2003 Erdrich, a sweeping epic of two world wars and an incredibly close character study of immigration, settler colonisation, love, despair and hardscrabble lives in small town America
July 12, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Somehow I’d managed to miss this 2003 Erdrich, a sweeping epic of two world wars and an incredibly close character study of immigration, settler colonisation, love, despair and hardscrabble lives in small town America
In the vein of Maeve Brennan’s “The Visitor”, Elizabeth Taylor’s “Angel” is another fantastically chilly novel, this one charting the life arc of novelist Angel Deverall
July 6, 2025 at 4:41 AM
In the vein of Maeve Brennan’s “The Visitor”, Elizabeth Taylor’s “Angel” is another fantastically chilly novel, this one charting the life arc of novelist Angel Deverall
This book pulled me out of my reading rut. Utterly embedded in its remote Alaskan setting, with a cast of deeply realised characters and a shapeshifting twist that stays firmly in the real world.
June 20, 2025 at 12:46 AM
This book pulled me out of my reading rut. Utterly embedded in its remote Alaskan setting, with a cast of deeply realised characters and a shapeshifting twist that stays firmly in the real world.
Queer romance and English folklore combine in a very satisfying novella. Particularly taken with the dryads.
June 20, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Queer romance and English folklore combine in a very satisfying novella. Particularly taken with the dryads.
Sooooooo close. Again, would make an AMAZING tv series, such incredible world building
June 10, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Sooooooo close. Again, would make an AMAZING tv series, such incredible world building
“Gwen and Art Are Not In Love” was such a charmer; this didn’t quite live up to that sparkle but if you like Sherwood Forest and chosen families, it’s likely spot on for you
June 10, 2025 at 8:19 AM
“Gwen and Art Are Not In Love” was such a charmer; this didn’t quite live up to that sparkle but if you like Sherwood Forest and chosen families, it’s likely spot on for you
I wanted to love this more. Would make an elegant tv series. Telepathy, political manipulation, divided societies, friendships across the lines.
June 10, 2025 at 8:17 AM
I wanted to love this more. Would make an elegant tv series. Telepathy, political manipulation, divided societies, friendships across the lines.
I like how withheld Ali Smith’s books feel. If this was a long novel I’d be frustrated by the feeling of elisions and lacunae; as it was, it felt light (for an apocalypse novel)
June 10, 2025 at 8:15 AM
I like how withheld Ali Smith’s books feel. If this was a long novel I’d be frustrated by the feeling of elisions and lacunae; as it was, it felt light (for an apocalypse novel)
Gosh Donoghue pumps books out. This (a reimagining of a real life Parisian train crash told as a potential “terrorist” plot) wore its research a bit too heavily and the post-modern theory vibes of transport and modernity stuck out a bit too strongly
June 10, 2025 at 7:47 AM
Gosh Donoghue pumps books out. This (a reimagining of a real life Parisian train crash told as a potential “terrorist” plot) wore its research a bit too heavily and the post-modern theory vibes of transport and modernity stuck out a bit too strongly
“A Grief Observed” by CS Lewis set my bar for grief memoirs HIGH. I enjoyed the modesty of Brooks’ book, and the pragmatism of the advice offered in the closing pages.
June 10, 2025 at 7:45 AM
“A Grief Observed” by CS Lewis set my bar for grief memoirs HIGH. I enjoyed the modesty of Brooks’ book, and the pragmatism of the advice offered in the closing pages.
Catching up on books read in the last month or so. I ordered this thinking it was another Harding middle-grade (of which I’m a fan) but it’s a sophisticated picture book which is not my bag (and which I found pretty dull)
June 10, 2025 at 7:42 AM
Catching up on books read in the last month or so. I ordered this thinking it was another Harding middle-grade (of which I’m a fan) but it’s a sophisticated picture book which is not my bag (and which I found pretty dull)
Slipped behind on book posting as I hit a rut. This pulled me out. While it has a bit of books-as-therapy to it (probably great for actual child readers) which sticks out to an adult reader, the world-building is great and who doesn’t love a lost gods story?
May 3, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Slipped behind on book posting as I hit a rut. This pulled me out. While it has a bit of books-as-therapy to it (probably great for actual child readers) which sticks out to an adult reader, the world-building is great and who doesn’t love a lost gods story?
These two are in my current books of the year list - not relaxing reads, but engrossing.
April 19, 2025 at 7:52 PM
These two are in my current books of the year list - not relaxing reads, but engrossing.