Aussie Author Challenge 2015

[Sarah]

At least I have three options now. Thanks again.

[Sally906]

Sarah wrote: "Between booko and booktopia I found all but Dead Tree Forest. That one must be out of print. Now I just have to get over the culture shock of the prices. :) I do want these badly, so thanks ladies!"

ABE books has at least one copy from a US bookseller:
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookD...

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Sally906 wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Between booko and booktopia I found all but Dead Tree Forest. That one must be out of print. Now I just have to get over the culture shock of the prices. :) I do want these badly, so ..."

Good one Sally - I didn't think of ABE!

[Sarah]

ABE had Red Queen, too. Yay! I really thought I was out of luck on Dead Tree Forest and it looks so fantastic. I'm getting closer and I can add my horror genre back in.

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Sarah wrote: "ABE had Red Queen, too. Yay! I really thought I was out of luck on Dead Tree Forest and it looks so fantastic. I'm getting closer and I can add my horror genre back in."

Ahh that's good Sarah:)

[Phrynne, Series Queen!]

Sarah wrote: "I saw that! I was shocked at the prices. I don't know how you guys can afford a reading habit!"

We buy books from America:)

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Phrynne wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I saw that! I was shocked at the prices. I don't know how you guys can afford a reading habit!"

We buy books from America:)"

And the UK;)

[Sarah]

Resourceful, I like it. I honestly thought I was doing the calculations wrong.

[Phrynne, Series Queen!]

Sarah wrote: "Resourceful, I like it. I honestly thought I was doing the calculations wrong."

Nope. Our book prices are truly ridiculous.

[Sarah]

It's too bad because it pushes buyers away and then good novelists aren't getting read. Unless they get published elsewhere, which means you end up with less local industry. Wow. I put way too much thought into that.

[MaryG2E]

I've compiled my list of books to read for the 2015 challenge, which I hope to achieve. It's nice to have a bit of a road map for reading in a meaningful way, so I greatly appreciate the opportunities offered by this challenge.

I've opted for the BUSY level, i.e. 2 books in each of 12 genres:

1. Travel Narrative
The Bush by Don Watson
Tony Wheeler's Bad Lands by Tony Wheeler

2. Non-fiction
This House of Grief by Helen Garner
Warning, The Story of Cyclone Tracy by Sophie Cunningham

3. Biography/Memoir
Carry a Big Stick by Tim Ferguson
The Happiest Refugee: A Memoir by Anh Do

4. Classic Australian
Voss by Patrick White
My Brother Jack by George Johnston

5. Suspense/Mystery
Life or Death by Michael Robotham
Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James

6. Crime Fiction
White Dog by Peter Temple
The Darkest Hour: An Ella Marconi Novel 2 by Katherine Howell

7. Literary Fiction
Eyrie by Tim Winton
The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard

8. Historical Fiction
Mr Chen's Emporium by Deborah O'Brien
Ronan's Echo by Joanne van Os

9. YA
On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
The Third Day, the Frost by John Marsden

10. Humour
Free to a Good Home by Catherine Deveny
All That Happened At Number 26 by Denise Scott

11. Romance
The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion
Morgan's Law by Karly Lane

12. Contemporary Fiction
Coal Creek by Alex Miller
The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

I'm looking forward to getting started during the January school holidays.

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Great list Mary! Well done:)

[Jülie ☼♄ ]

Some really good choices there Mary.

[Sarah]

I was very curious about This House of Grief, too. Congrats on the list and have fun!

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Sarah wrote: "I was very curious about This House of Grief, too. Congrats on the list and have fun!"

This House of Grief

[Marianne]

Sarah wrote: "ABE had Red Queen, too. Yay! I really thought I was out of luck on Dead Tree Forest and it looks so fantastic. I'm getting closer and I can add my horror genre back in."

I find http://www.bookfinder.com/ a very good site for sourcing hard-to-get books

[Sarah]

Thanks Marianne. I have a lot to get so the more sites the better.

[Jülie ☼♄ ]

Sarah wrote: "Thanks Marianne. I have a lot to get so the more sites the better."

Also: http://www.bookworm.com.au

[Sarah]

All those sites that start with "book". It's pretty funny. I need to write all of these down.

[Sally906]

MaryG2E wrote: "I've compiled my list of books to read for the 2015 challenge, which I hope to achieve. It's nice to have a bit of a road map for reading in a meaningful way, so I greatly appreciate the opportunit..."

Some fabulous books on your list :)

[MaryG2E]

Sarah wrote: "I was very curious about This House of Grief, too. Congrats on the list and have fun!"

Thanks Sarah. My interest was piqued recently when I had coffee with friends, and one of them said she had read it for her book club. She was positively quivering with rage with the notion that Helen Garner was profiting from crime by writing a book for sale about the trial of Robert Farquharson. I found that to be a most unusual reaction. Personally I have no issue with a serious author like Garner writing about a crime, and I certainly appreciated reading her earlier work Joe Cinque's Consolation, A True Story of Death, Grief and the Law

[MaryG2E]

I'm loving looking through everyone's lists for 2015. Some really interesting selections, which should make for some very interesting reviews throughout the year.

[Sarah]

That's an interesting reaction. I can kind of understand it but True Crime is a rather popular genre. It's good for learning a bit more about why people do what they do.

[Jülie ☼♄ ]

MaryG2E wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I was very curious about This House of Grief, too. Congrats on the list and have fun!"

Thanks Sarah. My interest was piqued recently when I had coffee with friends, and one of them s..."

That is is a strange reaction Mary, how else would we find out about these things if nobody wrote about them? Indeed how would your friend know about it if not for someone else reporting it? The author can't be expected to spend all of her research and writing time for nothing. Journalists get paid too. Hopefully she gives an honest and unbiased view...though it is still up to the reader to decide, and its the only way to make an informed decision surely.

[Sarah]

Maybe the book reads as lurid gossip instead of being just informative? Do you guys post reviews on here? I'm really curious to see what you think of it. Actually, I'm going to have to read it now!

[Jülie ☼♄ ]

Helen Garner has pretty good credentials for her writing of non fiction and she is a local, so I imagine she would be very familiar with Robert Farquharson publicity at the time, it was a very tragic and well publicised incident. I guess it remains to be seen what people think of it, though I am sure many will want to read it, if for no other reason than to try to find some way to understand it.
I feel certain this author would have done her research.
You know what...I think I'm going to have to read it now also.

[Sarah]

☼♄Jülie wrote: "You know what...I think I'm going to have to read it now also..."

It's a ground swell :)

The reviews on Amazon are quite amazing. It doesn't come out here until April but I'm going to pre-order it.

[Jülie ☼♄ ]

Sarah wrote: "☼♄Jülie wrote: "You know what...I think I'm going to have to read it now also..."

It's a ground swell :)

The reviews on Amazon are quite amazing. It doesn't come out here until April but I'm goi..."

There are reviews here also Sarah, here's the link: This House of Grief

[Sarah]

4.15 is pretty good. Sort of a secondary curiosity- crime and true crime shows come up a lot but I'm curious to see if there are any significant differences in Australia compared to here in the U.S.

[MaryG2E]

Thanks Sarah and Julie for your comments, which very closely concur with my thoughts about the book and the author. Helen Garner is generally considered to be one of Australia's most admired and reputable writers, both of non-fiction and fiction. I suspect that my friend was being rather provocative and also adopting a kind-of 'holier than thou' attitude. We should all read the book, post our reviews and compare notes - sometime in 2015, when we get to it on our TBR lists!

[Sarah]

That would be great!

[Jülie ☼♄ ]

@ Mary, your friend has inadvertently garnered more sales for this book! ;). I look forward to reading it in 2015.

[MaryG2E]

☼♄Jülie wrote: "@ Mary, your friend has inadvertently garnered more sales for this book! ;). I look forward to reading it in 2015."

Too true, Julie, and we get to have the last laugh!

[Sarah]

:)

[Jülie ☼♄ ]

:)

I just got it on my kindle so its ready for New Year read.... This House of Grief by Helen Garner

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Who is getting excited about starting this challenge? Only a couple of days and we can! Yay!

[Phrynne, Series Queen!]

But which one to read first???

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Close your eyes and stick a pin into your list..that's your first one ;)

[Phrynne, Series Queen!]

:)

[Jülie ☼♄ ]

Brenda wrote: "Who is getting excited about starting this challenge? Only a couple of days and we can! Yay!"

Meeeeeeee! :)

[Veronica ⭐️]

Oops! I've already started The Maxwell Sisters . Will have to pick a new one for that Genre.

[Sarah]

I don't even have to think about which to read first! My mom has been talking about The Thorn Birds for 30 years, I'm absolutely dying to finally read it.

[Jülie ☼♄ ]

Sarah wrote: "I don't even have to think about which to read first! My mom has been talking about The Thorn Birds for 30 years, I'm absolutely dying to finally read it."

That will be a great introduction to this challenge Sarah, and maybe you could finish it off with something recent ;)

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Sarah wrote: "I don't even have to think about which to read first! My mom has been talking about The Thorn Birds for 30 years, I'm absolutely dying to finally read it."

Loved The Thorn Birds when I read it many, many years ago Sarah! Hope you enjoy it too:)

[Sarah]

☼♄Jülie wrote: "That will be a great introduction to this challenge Sarah, and maybe you could finish it off with something recent ;)..."

I'll try to keep that in mind :) I have 24 to choose from so I think I'll manage.

Brenda, thanks. I actually added the Romance genre in there specifically so I could use this book. I don't usually read romance novels. At least not strictly romance, but this one is more than that.

I'M SO EXCITED!!!!! I can't wait to start.

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

That's great Sarah:)

[Ashley]

Definitely keen, Brenda :)

Have a nice, short children's book lined up so I can get a flying start!

[Kathryn]

At this stage, I think my first for this challenge will probably be Ronan's Echo, but that may change!!

[Ryan]

What a great idea. I have read far too little Australian fiction. Best of all is that my wife (a Kiwi) gave me three Aussie novels for Christmas.

I cheated a bit, with a few sub-genres of fantasy:

Australian Classic: The Harp In The South

Children's (fantasy): Race to the End of the World

Comedy: The Rosie Project

Coming of Age: The Best Feeling of All

Contemporary: The Slap

Crime: Hades

Historical: The Narrow Road to the Deep North

Historical Fantasy: Gene Of Isis

Romance/Chick Lit: The Wardrobe Girl

Science Fiction: Weapons of Choice

Thriller: Ice Station

Urban Fantasy: White Tiger

[Sarah]

Urban Fantasy had gotten big enough that I think off as a here of it's own. Now if you had Epic, High, and Dark then I would think it was cheating. ;)

Who writes Hades? I want to check it out but it sends like tipping in Hades would yield a ton of results.