Women of Letters curated by Marieke Hardy and Michaela McGuire

I secretly love this book because it’s about chicks writing to each other. And I’m a chick who loves both writing and receiving letters. And I secretly hate this book because I’m not in it and it makes me feel uncool; like somehow after 25 I gave up any bohemian ideals I might have had and grew up, instead of cultivating vagabond friends and an addiction to rollies and cask red wine. Lord knows it could have happened.

Originally conceived as a series of Sunday afternoon salons bringing together women on a variety of topics, organisers and gals about town Marieke Hardy (she of former Triple J brekkie hosting) and Michaela McGuire have bought together some of their fav women on a selection of topics, from "To my first boss" to " To the song I wish I'd written".

This book is full of carefully selected very Melbourne women (in the Catherine Deveny criteria sense of the word), from Helen Razer to Angie Hart to Missy Higgens to Joan Kirner. Many are dead-set brilliant (Celia Pacquloa take a bow for your hilarious teenage ode to gatecrashing a party; Peggy Frew on knowing when the end of a relationship is nigh; Sophie Black on being the work experience kid at New Idea; Eddie Perfect’s perfect love letter to his wife; Terri Psiakis on being inspired to be a comedian); Megan Washington’s intro describing her house in North Fitzroy taking me right back to Best St circa 2004). Some are just plain shite, and even more so considering the good and intelligent company they are keeping (Helen Razor, the angry shtick is getting very old; Anna Krien that description of crabs was way too graphic; Lindsay McDougall’s failed attempt at irony; Bhakti Puvanenthiran I don’t know who you are but your story didn’t make sense and should have been cut out).

Perhaps I could loan this to you and send a letter enclosed….now THERE'S an idea.