My thesis chapters will begin with an image and 'personal voice', a reflective conversation about my thoughts at different times during the thesis process. I took this photo for the chapter on early Australian children's literature, rummaging through my childhood books and trying to choose favourites. Sadly Bottersnikes and Gumbles is no longer there, perhaps fallen to pieces or lost in a move. Maybe I just borrowed it from the Mount Waverley Library during my early career as a reader. It seems there are many readers blogging about it. Buying a secondhand copy could set you back over a hundred dollars. Could it be republished as an eBook? I like the idea that reading is a career (Fairbairn and Fairbairn), a 'profession', with educational requirements, and areas of specialisation. I can trace my 'reading career' by perusing my bookshelf: distinctive eras of fairy tales, school stories, science fiction and biography jumbled up, sometimes two books deep on the shelves. An appetite, at various times, for specific authors (Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sacks, McCall Smith...) is obvious. At times my 'other' career has directed my reading choices and there are many educational books (mostly dated, as pedagogy evolves).
Bottersnikes are very unpleasant creatures. They live in rubbish heaps on the outskirts of the Australian bush and grumble and mutter their ways through life. With green wrinkled skin and ears that burn red with anger they are off-putting to the most charitable of characters, even the Gumbles who also live in the bush. Gumbles are squashy, shape-changing creatures who spend much time protecting weaker creatures than themselves particularly birds.
Please tell the publisher I'd like to see this as an eBook link
Comments