AusReadingMonth is Here!

Welcome one and all to the fifth year of #AusReadingMonth.

Each year I promise to be more organised, but each year November sneaks up on me and I'm suddenly scrambling to get posts written.

One of the changes this year will be a weekly challenge (to be posted every Wednesday).

Week 1 starts with the Q&A below plus some brief getting to know you stuff.
If Q&A's are not your thing, but you'd like to flag your intentions to join in #AusReadingMonth, then please add your URL link below to whatever 'joining in' post you'd prefer to write.

Who are you? And where in the world are you?

My name is Bronwyn and I've been blogging for 8 years.
In 2015 I joined the editorial team at the Australian Women Writers Challenge. My first role was to edit the History, Memoir, Biography page, but I recently became the editor for the General Non-Fiction page.

I live in an inner city suburb of Sydney, but have lived most of life in country NSW.

To keep life even more interesting, I'm also preparing for my very first photographic exhibition this month.
If things suddenly go quiet here in the middle of November, you'll know why!

I love reading books set in my own country & hope to infect the rest of the world with this love.
My blog is full of Australian book suggestions and reviews (as is the AWWC blog linked above) - please feel free to explore both 'til your heart's content.

What are your reading goals for this year's #AusReadingMonth?

I'm starting with The Ladies of Missalonghi by Colleen McCullough.

It will be a reread for me that began when I spotted a readalong with Naomi & Sarah last month for The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery.
I can't read one without the other.
My desire to compare and contrast and ponder the controversy once again was simply too strong.
I declared my intentions and found that a few others were also keen to readalong.

The Ladies of Missalonghi is set in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, thereby ticking off the NSW square on my BINGO card.

My next read will be The Commandant by Jessica Anderson, an historical fiction set in the convict settlement of Moreton Bay, QLD.

After that I will have to search out a book set in the ACT/Canberra area (or written by a Canberra based author - Marion Halligan or Cold Light by Frank Moorhouse perhaps?) to complete my first row on the BINGO card below.

Read one square, one row or two, or go the whole hog and read nine Aussie books this month.
For more details about the BINGO card challenge see my earlier post here.

Aussie Q&A

1. Tell us about the Australian books you've loved and read so far.

2. When you think of Australia, what are the first five things that pop into your mind?

3. Have you ever visited Australia? Or thought about it? 

What are the pro's and con's about travelling to/in Australia for you?

What are/were your impressions? 

4. If you have been or plan to visit, where will you be heading first?

If you already live in this big, beautiful land, tell us a little about where you are, what you love (or not) about it and where you like to holiday (or would like to visit) in Australia.

5. Do you have a favourite Australian author/s or book/s?

Tell us about him/her/it.

6. Which Aussie books are on your TBR pile/wishlist?

7. Which book/s do you hope to read for #AusReadingMonth?

8. It came to my attention recently (when I posted a snake photo on Instagram) that our overseas friends view Australia as a land full of big, bad, deadly animals.

Can you name five of them?

What about five of our cuter more unique creatures?

(For the locals, which five animals from each category have you had an up close and personal with)?

9. Can you name our current Prime Minister (plus four more from memory)? 

No googling allowed!

10. Did you know that Australians have a weird thing for BIG statues of bizarre animals and things?

Can you name five of them?