So after a pretty long wait, on early Tuesday morning (3am AEST) I finally got my owl telling me my Pottermore account was ready. Of course, it was another day before I could even get past the busy server (Muggles—can’t trust their technology, really.)

Consider yourself warned—SPOILERS AHEAD.

It’s been just over four years exactly since the last Harry Potter book came out (21 July 2007). I still remember the time as clear as day – waking up at 6am on a Saturday, on one of the coldest July days, dressed in Gryffindor garb to meet up with my friend to be part of the phenomenon, and completely disregarding my other obligations, like homework. I even ended up being on the ABC’s evening news, though I didn’t know about it until after my friend told me. What a day! The following week I caught a nasty cold as I recall it – now that’s commitment.

Do you remember what you were doing on that 21st day of July in the year 2007? Celebrating Harry Potter, I hope.

Jane Eyre is one of the world’s most loved books. It certainly is very special to me. And with the pending film release of yet another adaptation (I’m terrified of seeing it, yet I cannot wait!), there’s been a recent influx of reissues of the classic novel, penned by Charlotte Bronte in the 19th century. New editions of literary classics are a cause for excitement and occasionally dismay – there have been some beautiful redesigns lately, in particular by Penguin. However, I was horrified to to see such classics as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, even Pride and Prejudice, being rebranded as clichéd young adult fiction, which strongly suggests that publishers are trying to cash in on the very loose connection Twilight‘s creator made between her vampire romance series with the aforementioned classics. But hey, if this marketing gimmick gets the kids interested in reading the classics, more power to them.

On the other hand, as a designer and observer it pains me to see a disregard for the content within on book cover designs, which could make a potentially iconic work into just another meaningless, dispensable thing. I’ve always aimed to follow the dictum that content dictates style and not …

As if I wasn’t already busy with upcoming folio and exhibition preparation, and any leftover freelancing projects to complete, I have decided in my funny head to read as much as possible this month (from the 7th to 30th September) in the spirit of the Books Alive campaign, which is supported by Book Thingo, from which I’m drawing inspiration.

The last time I participated in a reading challenge was in my final year of high school, for the Australian Readers’ Challenge to encourage literacy in Aborigine communities, but back then I had a generous time span of 6 months to read 10 books. Quite a cinch, right? Wrong! VCE did not allow me to read much other than set Literature texts. Anyway. The same holds for uni, unfortunately.

Now I have a shitload on my to-read list. I keep buying and buying and accumulating and accumulating, until my house nearly tumbles from too many books crammed into too few crevasses. (OK I love to embellish my words, but it’s true, my balcony was on the verge of collapsing at one point but probably not for reasons I imagined…)

Anyway, I’m going to post my progress here periodically during September. So wotcher! Without …

Seems like every blog’s got to have one, but this year was certainly one to remember. So many good things and bad things, possibly more bad than good, if the media has anything to do with it. We’ve had the best Olympic Games in history (in my opinion, not that I’m biased or anything), some of the worst natural disasters in decades, with alarming frequency and devastation; a phenomenal, an emotional and historic apology to the Indigenous Australians for the wrongs of the past (but no compensation in sight hrmmm), an aggressive but inspiring race between Obama and McCain to the White House and the worst economic meltdown in decades. I feel as though that 2008 still has plenty to offer me, and yet it seemed to pass by so slowly… I wonder at that, but I’m optimistic at what lies ahead in 2009.

We haven’t exactly had a great plate of good films this year, but I think the handful of excellent ones make up for all the constant churning of sluggish nonsense (I look at you, Beverley Hills Chihuahua).

Best Film
The Dark Knight (hands down)
Director, Christopher Nolan completely blows our minds away with an intelligent and action-packed sequel to the …