Australia in Print: AusReading Month (November)

Welcome to Australia in Print.

Australia in Print celebrates Australian books, Australian authors and all books set in Australia.

Join us as we travel around Australia state by state, region by region, city by city.

Over the next year or so, I plan to visit (by map) each state and territory. I hope to highlight their authors, books set in their region or famous characters who hail from their towns.

To get the ball rolling I'm hosting an AusReading Month to coincide with TripleJ's Ausmusic Month in November.

Triple J have been hosting Ausmusic month for years and years. You can view clips, enter competitions & listen online to non-stop Aussie music as you read an Australian book or two.

This event will be being spread around the world via The Classics Club events page, therefore this year, AusReading Month will focus on Australian classics.

The Goal is to read as many Australian classics as you can during November.

They can be fiction, non-fiction, children's, bio's, poetry, modern classics whatever - they just have to be Australian. You can also team up your books with classic Australian music and movies.

It's time to break out the lamingtons, open a pack of tim-tams and crack a violet crumble.
Why not try a vegemite sandwich or get stuck into a pavlova!
It's time to join the true blue down under!

(I promise not to have a month long Aussie slang fest, but I suspect as you read some of our classics you may come across unusual words, phrases or cultural references that will need to be explained.)

You can join in by popping your name with a link to your blog into the comments below.

You can write a start-up post on your blog and link it back here or you can write in the comments below.
Let us know what you plan to read.
What are your impressions of Australia and Australian literature?
Have you ever visited or plan to visit Australia soon?

Over the next month I will add some lists of Australian classics. You can also check out my tabs above - especially the CBCA tab to find prize winning Australian books.

I hope you can join me on our literary journey around this big beautiful land.

Happy reading mate!

November - The master post for this event is now live and can be found here.

Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park

This weeks Friday Flashback is a modern day classic that regularly features on school reading lists and 'must-read' Australian books lists.

It won the CBCA award for older readers back in 1981.

And it was made into a movie in 1986 (see below).

Ruth Park wrote novels for adults and children. She was born in New Zealand but moved to Australia when she was 25. She married Australian author, D'Arcy Niland (who wrote The Shiralee) and had 5 children. Her youngest daughters were twins, Kilmeny and Deborah, who became well respected illustrators for children's books.

Playing Beatie Bow is set in Sydney in modern times. Abigail is facing all sorts of family upheavals and spends a lot of time wandering around her local area of the Rocks to avoid the tension at home. A bizarre meeting with a young (lost) girl called Beatie Bow causes Abigail to travel back in time to 1873.

Park provides an evocative and memorable journey around the streets and slums of colonial Sydney as Abigail tries to find her way home again.

Curiously, to the 21st century reader, it's the scenes set in 1980's Sydney that jar the most. They sound dated and almost cringe-worthy. Or maybe that's just me - since I was also an out-of-place teenager in the '80's!

Penguin Australia have now released new editions of Australian children's classics with lovely hardback covers, including Playing Beatie Bow.

Australians At War

I've just completed a run of novels about Australians and WWII.

Generally I love a good war book...as long as it doesn't focus too much on the actual, you know, war part!

The war stories I prefer tend to focus on the relationships between people at war, the effects of the fighting, the bombing, the hardships.
I want to know how individuals and countries coped with the grief, loss, deprivation & fear of war. I'm fascinated by courage and bravery and loyalty.

In reading about how others survived the chaos & horror of war, I wonder how I would cope in a similar situation. I'm curious about the choices people make to survive and the fine line between heroism and cowardice.
I want to read about the internal conflicts as much, if not more so, than the actual battles.

I want to explore the moral dilemma's.
I want to make sense of man's inhumanity to man.

I read war books to come to grips with these periods in history in the hope our knowledge can prevent future world wars and holocausts.

So far we don't seem to be winning this battle...and perhaps I expect too much from literature! But I feel compelled to keep on trying to make sense of war & hate & intolerance.

The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan is a

"novel of the cruelty of war, and tenuousness of life and the impossibility of love. This savagely beautiful novel is a story about the many forms of love and death, of war and truth, as one man comes of age, prospers, only to discover all that he has lost." (according to the Random House blurb)!

Which sounds like it should be my kind of book, but I simply couldn't engage with it or care about the main character Dorrigo Evans. It may have been 'savagely beautiful' but I just found myself completely alienated by Dorrigo.

I thoroughly enjoyed Flanagan's earlier novel The Sound of One Clapping (which was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin in 1998), but I've been unable to get into any of Flanagan's books since.

Steven Carroll's A World of Other People is very loosely based on a T.S. Eliot poem and even features Eliot as one of the characters. He, along with Iris, are fire watchers during the Blitz in London. One night they observe a flaming British plane crash land in a park. Their shared experience leads Eliot to write "Little Gidding" while Iris struggles with her own creative interpretation of the nights events.

A chance meeting with an Australian pilot grieving for the loss of his flight crew allows Iris to see that this was the pilot and the burning plane that she saw crash land. The three different viewpoints of the same event provide an interesting structure on which to hang a story.

I enjoy Carroll's writing style and some of his phrases were truly beautiful to read, but I struggled to feel a connection with Iris, the pilot or Eliot. I felt too removed from the action to care. Which is a pity, because I adored his other Eliot novel, The Lost Life.

I had high hopes for Keneally's Shame and the Captives too as it is based on the true story of the Cowra breakout. I finished my highschool years in Cowra and I am very familiar with this story and the local area.

My first disappointment was the introduction where Keneally explained that he had fictionalised everything, including the name of the town.
"Fiction has always tried to tell the truth by telling lies."

I was instantly alienated from this story.

Everytime, Keneally wrote Gawell, instead of Cowra, I saw red! I couldn't get past this feeling and in the end had to give up on the book entirely.

Which is a shame, because I enjoyed his last book which was set in Kempsey (& Egypt & Gallipoli). He was able to write fiction about real events in real places in The Daughters of Mars - why not this one?


Fortunately I have been rescued from this WWII slump by the latest Classics Club spin...

Midnight's Children by Salmon Rushdie

This week's Friday Flashback (hosted by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies) is one of my all-time favourite past Booker winners (1981).

It was my first attempt to read anything by Salmon Rushdie.

It was also one of those books that evoked a sense of place so strongly that I still feel myself back there simply by talking about it.
But by back there, I don't just mean India.

I mean Perth, Margaret River and Denmark in southern WA!

Midnight's Children was the book I took on my 2 week holiday to Perth in 1999. I was visiting a dear school friend and her family at the time. I was able to use her home as a base from which I went on a few day trips and extended excursions.

For me, Midnight's Children became this strange parallel universe that I travelled through in my mind even as my eyes took in the incredible sights and sounds of WA for the first time.

I remember certain B&B's, cafe's, bushwalks and even a boat trip in Denmark that have become intricately enmeshed with scenes and characters from the book.

I was enthralled, mesmerised even by Rushdie's writing. I loved the mix of historical fiction and fantasy. I adored his discussion on time, history, truth & memory.

“I fell victim to the temptation of every autobiographer, to the illusion that since the past exists only in one's memories and the words which strive vainly to encapsulate them, it is possible to create past events simply by saying they occurred.” 

I made notes, jotted down quotes and my travel journal became a weird mix of travelogue and book review.

“What's real and what's true aren't necessarily the same.” 

Midnight's Children began a personal phase of reading all things India that lasted quite a few years & included lots of memorable books like A Passage to India, The God of Small Things, A Suitable Boy, Interpreter of Maladies, Fasting, Feasting & Journey to Ithaca just to name a few!

“Reality is a question of perspective; the further you get from the past, the more concrete and plausible it seems - but as you approach the present, it inevitably seems more and more incredible.” 

Midnight's Children was also the joint 1981 winner of the James Tate Black Memorial Award. 

The 13-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton

The only Griffiths/Denton book that I've previously read was What Body Part is That? I read it with my 8 year old nephew.
We took it in turns to read aloud certain chapters.

He thought it was the funniest thing he'd ever read and I had to admit it was funny in a gross kind of way.

The 39-Storey Treehouse came out a couple of weeks ago and became an instant bestseller. I thought it was about time I actually checked out what was between the covers of this incredibly popular series.

So I took The 13-Storey Treehouse to lunch with me today.

Obviously I am not the target audience for this book. But the whole time I was reading it I could hear my nephew and youngest stepson appreciating (loudly) the lemonade fountain, the marshmallow machine that follows you around shooting marshmallows into your mouth and the pillow room (designed for pillow fights of course!)

The story itself is about two procrastinating blokes trying to write a book. It comes complete with burps that become bubbles to float around in, canary cats & self-making beds! What's not to love!

The success of these books is only set to increase with the stage show being held in Sydney right now.

Coal Creek by Alex Miller

This is my first Alex Miller.

I know! How did that happen?

I've been meaning to read his others books Autumn Laing, Lovesong &; Journey to the Stone Country in particular.

And although there were some flaws in Coal Creek; the writing, the story, the characters and the sense of place were so evocative that I was left with the desire to read Miller's earlier works to see what else he can do.

Coal Creek is very Queensland. The sights, sounds and smells of 'stone country' Queensland jump out of the page at you.
"It was hard country and the people in it was hard but good in their hearts and ready to share what little they ever had with each other."

The main character, Bobby Blue, is a likeable, taciturn, hard-working young man caught up in an intricate web of lies, honour and loyalty. His voice carries the story. His words get under your skin.

My main concern with the story is how long it took to unfold, or unravel as the case may be (you will have to read it to see what I mean by that!)
I also felt that Miller used the 'I wont tell you this now, but in the right time' device too many times  - for example
"I see it now, but at the time I brushed it aside..."
and "I only come to that understanding later on."
and "as if I was told by it of the terrible things ahead."
and "but I did not know that until later."
to name just a few!

I understand that in a reflective narrative there will be a lot of 'I remember when's' and 'with hindsight I would have done things differently', but by the end of Coal Creek it had become my own little personal mission to note every single time Miller used this technique.

Despite this though, I loved Bobby Blue's story. I wanted to know what happened to him. I cared for him deeply.

Apparently some of the characters in Coal Creek have already appeared in two of Miller's earlier works, Watching the Climbers on the Mountain and The Tivvington Nott. My curiosity is now aroused...I will have to add these to my TBR pile as well!

If you'd like to know more from Alex Miller himself, about this story, here's a youtube link with him chatting to Caroline Baum.

Looking For Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta

This weeks Friday Flashback has become a modern day Aussie classic in a very short period of time. It won the CBCA award for older readers back in 1993. And it was made into a movie in 2000 with Melina Marchetta writing the screen play.

It was via this movie starring Pia Miranda, Kick Gurry, Greta Scacchi, Matthew Newton and Anthony LaPaglia that I first came across this book.

I was already in my thirties and hadn't read any teen literature for a decade or so. But the movie looked like fun, so I watched it during the summer holidays.

It was so delightful, so heart-breaking, so heart-warming and so full of Sydney that I was won over from the start. The next day I went to my local bookshop and purchased a copy of the book.

The book and movie are a little different, but with Marchetta at the helm for both, the heart and soul of the story remains the same. And the heart and soul of this book is Josie Alibrandi.
This is her coming of age story. This is her family, her friends and her Sydney.

If you haven't read this book or seen the movie, then put it high on your list of things to do this weekend.
You wont be disappointed.

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

The Story of Ferdinand (1936) is a personal favourite.

When I was teaching, one of my assistants would fall about in hysterical laughter whenever I got to the part about Ferdinand's mother being a very understanding mother "even though she was a cow"!

Even now the thought of it brings a smile to my lips.

Some of my colleagues refused to read this story aloud because they didn't like the bullfighting scenes. 


I could see their point, but I could also see that Leaf used the brutality of bullfighting (in this case toned down considerably for the young audience) to contrast Ferdinand's gentle nature. The point being, that despite provocation (bullying) and peer pressure, Ferdinand stayed true to his nature.

I've always loved the last illustration of Ferdinand sitting happily under his childhood tree dreamily smelling the flowers - a big, burly bull confident about embracing his sensitive side.

I also love the authenticity of Lawson's illustrations.

They are based on the city of Ronda in Andalusia, which has the oldest bullfighting ring still in use in Spain. 

Leaf actually published Ferdinand nine months before the beginning of the Spanish Civil War although rumour had it, that he wrote it to support of the pacifist movement against Franco. 

Whatever the reason for its creation, there is no doubt that Ferdinand is a classic in children's literature. It still has something to say to us nearly 80 years later. 
Whether as an emblem for pacifism or as an anti-bullying message or as a rallying call against gender stereotyping, Ferdinand will always appeal to those of us who like a happy ending.

Flashback Friday - Hitler's Daughter by Jackie French

Flashback Friday hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies is a new meme that encourages us to remember a book we read over 5 years ago that is still in print and that we haven't blogged about previously.

Hitler's Daughter by Jackie French won the CBCA Younger Reader's award in 2000. It is regularly set as a school text & has been turned into a play.

I read it about 5 years ago when my stepson was studying it in class. 

I enjoyed it more than he did! But at that point he preferred the Cherub series and books with more action. 
Whereas historical fiction is right up my alley. 

French moves between modern times and WW2 to tell this story that begins with a group of children telling each other stories while they wait for their school bus each day. One day Anna begins a story about a secret girl, hidden away by her father during WW2. As Anna's story progresses we realise that the girl is none other than Hitler's daughter, Heidi.

As Heidi comes to terms with her father's other life, Anna and her friends question the meaning of good and evil and how do you recognise it. Moral dilemma's abound and of course, the big question is, did Hitler's daughter really exist or not?

Classics Club September Meme

I'm a little excited.

This month over at The Classics Club they have selected my question for the September meme.

"Rereading a favourite classic at different stages of your life gives you different insights with each reading. Is there one classic you’ve read several times that also tells a story about you?"

I've reread books all my life. As a child I didn't own many books, so rereading was the only way to feed my need to read daily. Rereading nurtures something deep within my soul. My choice of reread reflects what's going on for me at the time.

When I was young I was drawn to books about adult-free children. I loved the freedom, the independence and the resourcefulness these books portrayed.
(I guess I'm not the only one as there is a whole section of children's books devoted to this theme.)

Early on my favourite reread was a slim early chapter book called Baby Island by Carol Ryrie Brink. Two young girls, shipwrecked on an island, with 4 babies and toddlers to care for.

I then moved onto The Magic Faraway Tree books by Enid Blyton. Although these children were not orphaned or lost, they went into the forest, made new, strange friends and had adventures in strange lands with unpredictable consequences that they had to deal with.

My next big passion was The Secret Island. Another Enid Blyton with all my classic themes. Orphans, runaways, isolated islands and clever, resourceful children surviving by themselves. The only problem I ever had with this book was the toileting issue. Where did they go to the bathroom? Blyton never mentioned this basic need once. It was only a small island - if they just pooped all over the place randomly, then they would have had some unpleasant walking along in barefoot experiences!

During my late primary years, I discovered my mothers Louisa May Alcott collection and I found reread nirvana. I read the four books so many times in the hope that somehow Jo March's character would rub off on me!


A kind aunt then gave me the first two Trixie Belden books for my tenth birthday. By my 14th birthday I had collected the entire 36 books then in print (another 3 came out later). I reread the entire series several times, but certain books (the ones with a little bit of romance!) got a heavier workout. My needs were changing!

My teens were less about rereads and more about discovery. I scoured second hand bookshops for cheap books and trade-in deals. I devoured lots of romances and light historical fiction dressed up as romance. None of these books warranted a reread. Thankfully I had some good English teachers who lead me towards adult classics and modern literature, so that when I finally emerged from my romance phase I had some ideas on what to turn to next.

The big one, of course, was Jane Austen. Yes, romance is a big part of the Austen oeuvre, but rereading highlights the humour, the clever construction of plot & the sparkling dialogue. I also have oodles of older posts detailing why and how many times I've reread my Austen's.

Curiously my need to be stranded on a desert island returned as an adult as I devoured end-of-the-world drama's. I reread Stephen King's The Stand, Jean Hegland's Into the Forest & John Wyndham's Day of the Trifids several times.

But whenever I need inspiration, the only book to turn to was To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

About 7 years ago I planned a major move. I decided that I had to cull some of my books. It involved lots of hard decisions and lots of quick rereads. I was surprised and disappointed to see that quite a few books that had moved me to tears, to laughter and filled me with joy in my twenties, just didn't cut the mustard in my late thirties. The lessons had been learnt, the message received, I didn't need them any longer. Which made the packing much easier than I had thought!

But ever since then I've been thinking about the reasons why we reread books.

For me it's a matter of survival and sometimes a need for comfort.

What is it for you?