I enjoy the Australian Women Writers Challenge – it goes a little way to addressing the gender bias in literary review pages, plus I try to buy my AWW titles from an independent book shop (doing my bit for the Australian publishing industry and independent booksellers).
This year, I upped the ante and signed up for the Franklin level (read ten books, review at least six). I romped it in.
1. Just_a_Girl by Kirsten Krauth
2. The Children by Charlotte Wood
3. The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman
4. March by Geraldine Brooks
5. Walking on Trampolines by Frances Whiting
6. What Came Before by Anna George
7. Lost and Found by Brooke Davis
8. Game Day by Miriam Sved
9. When the Night Comes by Favel Parrett
10. Golden Boys by Sonya Hartnett
11. The Eye of the Sheep by Sofie Laguna
12. This House of Grief by Helen Garner
My AWW reading included some brilliant books this year, notably The Light Between the Oceans, The Eye of the Sheep and This House of Grief although the absolute highlights were Golden Boys and When the Night Comes. Both of these books will appear on my favourite books for 2014 list (for very different reasons).
I can’t quite believe I only discovered Favel Parrett this year – I’m saving her debut novel for my summer holiday. I’d read anything Sonya Hartnett wrote and I’m thrilled that one of her novels is on my son’s high school reading list (The Silver Donkey).
Eleven months after reading it, I’m still thinking about the characters in Krauth’s Just a Girl and similarly, much of March has lingered.
Looking forward to more in 2015.