Thank you one and all for your reviews and comments throughout November. It’s a busy blogging month, so I appreciate how creative you are at combining the various book events. To this end, I have been thinking about 2023.
When I first started AusReading Month in 2013, I chose November because of Triple J (a national youth radio station). For as long as I had been a listener, they hosted an AusMusic month every November. It was something I looked forward to every year. It was only natural that November became the home for my inaugural reading event.
But as the years have gone by, more and more book events have landed in November. I no longer (or very rarely) listen to Triple J (long past their usual demographic). It’s time for a change.
Below is a poll to pick a new month for AusReading Month I scrapped the poll when I realised (after posting) that the only way to get the results was to sign up to yet another outside group. I’m tired of this pressure to sign up to more and more things.
I have chosen months that work best for me, my family and my work schedule. Which month would you prefer – May, June, August, October or stick with November? Please let me know in the comments below, which month you would like to see AusReading Month.
Thank you for saving up your Australian books for AusReading Month each year and thank you for all your support and enthusiasm for Australian books and authors over the past decade.
If like me you need more time to finish your final review, I’ll keep the list open for one more week, and if I have missed your review, please pop it into the comments below.
AusReading Month Review List
(alphabetical order author surname)
- Limberlost | Robbie Arnott (reviewed by Kim @Reading Matters)
- Telling Tennant’s Story | Dean Ashenden (non-fiction reviewed by NancyElin)
- Dark As Last Night | Tony Birch (short stories reviewed by NancyElin)
- Painted Clay | Capel Boake (reviewed by Madame Bibiliophile)
- Little Pago | Lauren Briggs (children’s picture book reviewed by Carol @Jounrey & Destination)
- The Three Miss Kings | Ada Cambridge (reviewed by Madame Bibilophile)
- Marlo | Jay Carmichael (novella reviewed by Kim @Reading Matters)
- Cannon Fire: A Life in Print | Michael Cannon (memoir reviewd by Lisa @ANZ LitLovers)
- Say No to Death | Dymphna Cusack (reviewed by Nancy Elin)
- Springtime: A Ghost Story | Michelle de Kretser (reviewed by Cathy @746 Books)
- A House is Built | M Barnard Eldershaw (reviewed by Lisa @ANZ LitLovers)
- Soil | Matthew Evans (non-fiction reviewed by NancyElin)
- Not Now, Not Ever | Julia Gillard (non-fiction reviewed by Theresa @Theresa Smith Writes)
- Born to Fly | Patrick Guest & Jonathan Bentley (picture book reviewed by me)
- The Lost Man | Jane Harper (reviewed by Hopewell’s Public Library of Life)
- Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia | edited by Anita Heiss (reviewed by Liz @Adventures in Reading)
- The Evening of the Holiday | Shirley Hazzard (novella reviewed by me)
- Jack and Jill | Helen Hodgman (reviewed by Lisa @ANZ LItLovers)
- Salonika Burning | Gail Jones (reviewed by Lisa @ANZ LItLovers)
- Indelible City | Louisa Lim (non-fiction reviewed by NancyElin)
- The Lucky Laundry | Nathan Lynch (non-fiction reviewed by NancyElin)
- The Ladies of Missalonghi | Colleen McCullough (novella reviewed by Helen @She Reads Novels)
- Goodbye From Vanilla | Christine Mathieu (reviewed by Bill @The Australian Legend)
- Below the Styx | Michael Meehan (reviewed by Lisa @ANZLitLovers)
- The Salt of Broken Tears | Michael Meehan (reviewed by Lisa @ANZLitLovers)
- Stormy Weather | Michael Meehan (reviewed by Lisa @ANZLitLovers)
- A Brief Affair | Alex Miller (reviewed by Kim @Reading Matters)
- The Electrical Experience | Frank Moorhouse (reviewed by Lisa @Anz LitLovers)
- Two Sets of Books | Ruairi Murphy (reviewed by Lisa @ANZLitLovers)
- Friends & Rivals | Brenda Niall (biography reviewed by NancyElin)
- Accidentally Kelly Street | Tim O’Connor & Briony Stewart (picture book reviewed by me)
- Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence | Doris Pilkington Nugi Garimara (memoir reviewed by Liz @Adventures in Reading)
- Lowitja | Stuart Rintoul (biography reviewed by Nancy Elin)
- Nothing Bad Ever Happens Here | Heather Rose (memoir reviewed by me)
- Beyond the Black Stump | Nevil Shute (reviewed by Carol @Journey & Destination)
- Runt | Craig Silvey (children’s novel reviewed by me)
- Another Day in the Colony | Chelsea Watego (non-fiction reviewed by Liz @Adventures in Reading)
- Voss | Patrick White (reviewed by Bill @The Australian Legend)
- Voss | Patrick White (reviewed by me)
- Cut | Susan White (reviewed by Bill @The Australian Legend)
- The Carbon Club | Marian Wilkinson (non-fiction reviewed by NancyElin)
- Cloudstreet | Tim Winton (reviewed by FanFiction)
Related Posts
- I will cross Australia | Bill @The Australian Legend
- Classic Australian Novellas | Sue @Whispering Gums
- Canberra’s Children’s Picture Book creators | Sue @Whispering Gums
| This post was written on the traditional land of the Wangal clan, one of the 29 clans of the Eora Nation within the Sydney basin. This Reading Life acknowledges that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are our first storytellers. |
bronasbooks.com 
I just published Voss. Missed your wrap up by minutes! Thanks for another interesting month. Thanks for the Voss readalong. Thanks for linking my posts when I didn’t come back and do it myself (sorry!)
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I’ve popped your link into the reviews above Bill but will save reading it properly until this weekend when I plan/hope to finalise my own Voss response.
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Thanks for hosting a great month. I read Oz lit all year round but nice to promote it here as part of a more focussed reading effort.
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I’m the same but like focussing on things like Australian novellas during November. But it is a very busy blogging month!
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Week 4:
Louisa Lim. – Indelible City
https://nancyelin.wordpress.com/2022/11/30/ausreadingmonth2022-louisa-lim/
#AusReadingMonth2022 – Wrap-up
https://nancyelin.wordpress.com/2022/11/30/ausreadingmonth2022-wrap-up/
No particular preference for “new month”…whatever is preferable for you!
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Thanks Nancy I’ll add these links in next time I’m on my laptop.
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Thanks for hosting this, Brona… I’m sorry I fizzled out towards the end, I’ve had some health issues which have got in the way.
But #FingersCrossed I had my last laser treatment on my eyes today so once the black floaters dissolve I will be back on deck!
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Fingers crossed here too.
The number of books you read & review each month is impressive – thank you for your support again.
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I like it being in November as I can then promote Australia books with the hashtags for the other challenges I do …
But also: noooo! It’s still November here for another 15 hours and I was hoping to get my review for “Another Day in the Colony” written up later … is there a chance that can still squeak in?!
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You sure can!! I still haven’t finished my post for Voss. I should have said last minute/late reviews always welcome 🤗
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Oh, that is good – I don’t think I’ll realistically get my review up today and then I have posts booked in for Thu and Fri so it might be Saturday! I want to do the book justice and not rush my review – I need to think over it first!
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I’ve added a note in the post to say that late reviews are more than welcome – so no hurry Liz!
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Thanks for hosting Brona, I always discover some really interesting books following along with everyone’s posts. Any month works for me 🙂
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I feel the same about NovNov – the wonderful array of novellas blossoming on your lists each year are dangerous for my TBR pile!!
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I’m hopeless about remembering to schedule books for these specific challenges so I feel a bit cheeky expressing a preference. But May would be my choice. June is full of tennis over here and I tend not to blog much then, and in August the blogosphere over here is always very quiet as it’s the month most people take their summer vacation. November works OK too, but as you say it seems to have become very overcrowded with challenges now, so much so I tend to participate in none of them!
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Thanks for listing preferences and why.
I thought I had removed August from my list of options as I remembered a couple of days ago how much I love to join in Austen in August.
I like May & June as it is coming into our winter time and I have more time at home in the evenings in particular which is good for blogging.
But October might be good 1. it’s less busy in the blogging world and 2. for those who like to combine events, they could still read Aust non-fiction or Aust novellas with the two months rolling into each other.
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Thanks for hosting another great month Brona! I’ve just managed to post my contribution (there’s still 4.5 hours left of November here in the UK 😀 ) I’m resolved to do much better next year! https://madamebibilophilerecommends.wordpress.com/2022/11/30/ive-always-been-in-love-with-melbourne-kerry-greenwood/
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Thanks for including two VMC gems this month. I really need to read more Cambridge and get started on Boake. They both write about a time and place so evocatively, and the particular issues of being a woman during these times.
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I’ve been enjoying the Voss posts & I’m currently maybe 3/4 through it. But since I’ve been running behind I haven’t managed to comment at all. But I do think it’s a pretty great novel.
It would make sense to change the month, but I don’t have a strong preference as to when.
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I’m very curious to see how Voss appears to someone not in Australia – the landscape is such a big part of the story.
I’m leaning towards October I must admit, it means those who enjoy combining events couold still do so.
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I have reviewed The Ladies of Missalonghi but must have forgotten to link it. I agree that November is becoming very busy with events so moving it would probably be a good idea. Any other month would work for me!
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Thanks for joining in Helen. I love TLOM – it’s the perfect tonic on a rainy weekend. The Blue Castle does the same, but in slightly different ways.
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Any month works for me!
On a personal note, what I learned is that I need to go ahead and buy myself a few Australian books so that I’m not relying on the library to have what I need, when I need it. LOL
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Great idea!
My problem is working out which of the books on my Australian TBR pile will finally get the nod 🙂
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Thank you for hosting this challenge. I have discovered some great Australian books through this. I agree there are a lot of reading events in November so would be great to spread them out a bit. My preference is either May or August.
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What works best for the hostess? May, June, August are sparse, but here in the USA people with kids still at home are probably swamped. I’ll still participate no matter what you decide.
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Thanks Lisa. I’m leaning towards October right now as it will allow those who wish to combine reading events from November to still do so if they wish…
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Oh, Brona, a person after my own heart! You listed the books that were contributed to the month alphabetically by author! Thankyou!
For me, it doesn’t really matter which month because I read Aussie books all months, even though this month was woeful. I had a bunch of Aussie novellas to do but only ended up finishing a translated one. Also, I finished 2 Aussie novels this month that I haven’t written up. Very unusual for me, but I just got overwhelmed, as I have three other blogs l manage or co-manage (not counting the irregular travel blog) and it all got away from me. However, given November is so FULL of reading months, changing it to another seems a good idea to me. May is an important Australian month given it contains National Sorry Day (not that your focus is First Nations given we have Lisa’s Week in July) OR for alliteration how about Aussie August – AuAu!
On that I’ll close!
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When I was a child I wanted to be either a teacher or a librarian – alphabetical order comes naturally to me 🙂
I was look at alliteration possibilities too, but April is often Easter (& we are usually away/busy that week) and August was looking good until I remembered Austen in August.
October is firming as my favourite atm…
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My choice for AusReading Month would be June. Mid-year is quiet, wintertime, indoors, hot beverage, warms socks and a large stack of books to read 🙂 Gretchen.
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I feel so guilty that I never managed to join in the Voss readalong. Started off with good intentions but real life got in the way so I came to a halt after only 50 pages…..
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Oops, pressed enter before saying that I think it would be a good idea to avoid November for the Australia reading month in future – it’s so crowded with Novellas in November, German lit reading month and Non Fiction November
Maybe May would be a good option?
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