I was unwell yesterday. God only knows what ailment bested me and required me to spend most of the day in bed feeling sorry for myself resting, but it meant I had an opportunity to do something I rarely do. Read. In bed, that is.

Regular visitors to my site know I really only read in bath. In the evening. I’m a bit weird like that. I have a no-daytime reading rule (also incidentally a no daytime-television-watching rule) but my malady was such that I decided reading was permitted. And this new release – the first ever book of its kind by Frankie Magazine was the perfect choice.

by Frankie Magazine
Published by Frankie Magazine
on November 7th 2016
Source: Frankie Magazine
ISBN: 9780646958590
Pages: 240

Goodreads

This novel-sized book is a whopping 240-page collection of funny, rude, clever, cute (and sometimes sad and sweary) stories from the first 12 years of frankie magazine.

Inside you'll find witty words from some of our favourite frankie writers, including benjamin law, helen razer, marieke hardy, eleanor robertson, rowena grant-frost and mia timpano. oh, and there are some pretty illustrations in there, too.

The book comprises a collection of stories from 12yrs of Frankie Magazine. They are by a range of contributors – including Eleanor Robertson, Helen Razer, Benjamin Law and Mia Timpano; and traverse a range of subjects – everything from cats, coupledom, communal fridges, to surgery and singledom. Oh, and there are some essays about periods.

They are of varying length and emotional engagement. I snorted a few times and *may* have become a little teary on a couple of occasions. On the whole the pieces are well-written and really clever.

I’m not sure that I ever really admit this here but my dream job would be a regular columnist for a website / print magazine or similar. I know I should aspire to be a heavy-drinking hermit-like novelist, but I rarely have the ideas I’d need to feed a lengthy book. Instead I enjoy getting my rant on, or pondering the important stuff in life. Like feature walls and early mornings.

Sadly for me, I’m all-talk when it comes to pitching stuff to magazines; but happily for you (dear readers) I blog (here) about my innermost thoughts instead. #yourewelcome

As a result of all of that, I can very much appreciate the sass, wit and painstaking effort that goes into these pieces. I’m not usually a fan of non-fiction. Indeed, I’d usually prefer to poke my eye out with a fork, but I loved this book for the same reason I read blogs and certain websites. It’s entertaining, interesting and makes me think about stuff outside my own little world. For a while.

This book has been beautifully illustrated by Ashley Ronning. It’s quirky and its ‘finish’ is a little different. I notice there’s a comment on the magazine website about the book’s smell and it’s true. Its pages are thick ‘nostalgic’ stock. Apparently.

With Christmas (and the birthdays of the population’s elite) coming up, I hafta say, it’d make the perfect gift.

Something to Say by Frankie Magazine is now available.

I received a copy of this book for review purposes.

Are you in the market for some Christmas presents? Or perhaps a fan of the witty repartee of some of Australia’s finest writers?