The Commuting Book came into being as a humble attempt to pay homage to centuries of storytelling, which we believe is an essential fibre in the very fabric of what it means to be human. We want to present a diverse range of pieces because we all have different interests and sometimes a story doesn't mean much to one person but another will find it talks directly to their heart. This is the wonderful world of literature! We have some beautiful short stories and poetry written by Year 8 and Year 10 students. These will take around a minute to read. We also have essays, non-fiction pieces, book extracts, poems, and short stories, by published and unpublished writers, which will take, at most, about 20 minutes to read.
The time had come. In the warm darkness of his egg, the flamingo chick moved. Crack! His mother stood up. She fussed about, touching the egg gently with he ...More
September 21 ● 14 min read
My Granddad is a strange old man. He is cheeky, but yet, so serious, like a monkey, a very old monkey. A very old monkey who can’t climb, and who lik ...More
August 1 ● 2 min read
It was a glimpse into Paradise. The sun caught the old town first, its jumble of faded pastels glowing like the gilded ceilings of the Vatican – yellow, pi ...More
August 1 ● 22 min read
My life is divided into two revolving states. During one, I eat healthily, run almost every day and don’t drink. I call this ‘Zen’. The other state is ...More
November 17 ● 6 min read
The car drove up the highway, the inside temperature was like 1000 degrees. . “Mum ….” came the nagging voice of my bra ...More
August 1 ● 1 min read
“Come on, Moon, it’s time to hunt.” Sunrise went first to check if there was any danger. Moon tried to go before Sunrise had said the coast was c ...More
February 24 ● 4 min read
‘How’s Alex?’ Hope said. She and Molly were sitting in a café by the river in early spring drinking tea from the same pot. Molly sighed, looked out ...More
August 1 ● 19 min read
It’s morning. I know this because the clock says 7.23 and a finger of light is trying to pull back the curtains. My room faces east. So that makes ...More
August 1 ● 22 min read
First, find a location. Find a shabby farm that keeps its neighbours at arm’s length. Find a house with a rusted roof, with guttering that dribbles down ...More
September 22 ● 5 min read
Zzzzz ….. zzzz ……. An annoying noise was causing hindrance to my much desired afternoon nap. I somehow manage to open my eyes partially, and with ...More
February 23 ● 4 min read
At my father’s funeral an old man in a crumpled black suit gets up to speak. He rises slowly on old man’s legs from among the dark suits and neatly com ...More
September 22 ● 18 min read
Jerry and his friend, Ross, were playing in Jerry’s sandpit. Charlie appeared. “What are you playing?” Charlie asked Jerry. “Planes.” Jerry ...More
September 21 ● 5 min read
She chewed her biro, and read the evaluation form. “On a scale of one to five, five being highest, how much did you enjoy this activity?” One. “On a sc ...More
September 22 ● 3 min read
They’d been walking for about an hour. They’d started in Madras Street, at the office. William was down for the week, the presentation had gone we ...More
September 21 ● 14 min read
Con walks down the streets of Newtown from Berhampore, past the damp, narrow houses, tipped into the wind, cold rain spitting into his face. There’s ...More
August 1 ● 14 min read
Walking across the multi-story car park, her heels clicked and echoed amongst the few silent vehicles. The sound vanished into the dark exit ramps. Her ...More
November 21 ● 5 min read
She lay in bed, eyes tight shut against the grey light, trying not to notice it as it becomes paler and paler through her eyelids. “Concentrate” she whisper ...More
September 22 ● 3 min read
“And the prize for the bravest pirate goes to …” Greybeard, the oldest of all the pirates, held up a piece of paper and waved it around dramatically. ...More
September 22 ● 5 min read
It’s been nearly 70 years since my children left home. That sounds ridiculous but I am 120 years old. When they left, my house felt empty. I bega ...More
August 1 ● 12 min read
John paused and turned away from his screen to glance at the steaming cup of coffee. Something felt a little off but he couldn’t place his finger on it. ...More
September 22 ● 18 min read
I ate my brother. I was always fond of him, looked up to him. He was older than me. I measured myself against him. We stood back to back. At first I onl ...More
September 20 ● 2 min read
“What do you intend to do about this disgraceful situation?” Alison Carrington seethed. Mayor Harper stared at the outraged, elderly woman, like ...More
February 24 ● 22 min read
His fur is silky black, blue eyes wild, teeth glistening white – white like the snow that fell last winter, like the oleander that grows by the ravine ...More
February 24 ● 6 min read
Pull-my-Finger the Giant only had one joke, probably like your dad or grandad. But he was very fond of it and he told it as often as he could. This was it: “H ...More
September 20 ● 6 min read
