Book Chat
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The Guardian Top 100 Books (1998 – 2010)
1As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a sucker for lists, books and, therefore, book lists. I often feel a little nervous when a new list comes to my attention (worried that I won’t mark off as many books as I would like), but I just can’t help myself.
My late night lurking on Twitter included coming across this link to a Boomerang Books (@BoomerangBooks) blog post about the Top 100 Books list recently published by The Guardian.
The Guardian article includes a link to a Google Doc with all the book details. It even has the book list divided into different categories. Obviously some at The Guardian has a bit of a list thing going on as well. In the interest of curiosity (and compulsive list check-marking), I have reproduced just the Title and Author details below, highlighted the books that I have read and those on my TBR list. Obviously my disinterest in Dan Brown, Stephenie Meyer, Philip Pullman, dieting books and celebrity cookbooks has not served me well in my desire to come up with an impressive ratio of read/unread. It’s worth keeping in mind that this list is compiled from UK data only.
How many of the following books have you read? Do you have a favourite? I confess is warms my literary heart to see a classic novel like To Kill A Mockingbird and the picture book The Very Hungry Caterpillar present on such a contemporary list of best sellers.
Da Vinci Code, The – Brown, Dan
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – Rowling, J. K.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – Rowling, J. K.
Angels and Demons – Brown, Dan
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – Rowling, J. K.
Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince:Children’s Edition – Rowling, J. K.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Rowling, J. K.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – Rowling, J. K.
Twilight – Meyer, Stephenie
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – Rowling, J. K.
Deception Point – Brown, Dan
New Moon – Meyer, Stephenie
Lovely Bones, The – Sebold, Alice
Digital Fortress – Brown, Dan
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, The – Haddon, Mark
Eclipse – Meyer, Stephenie
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The: Millennium Trilogy – Larsson, Stieg
Kite Runner, The – Hosseini, Khaled
Time Traveler’s Wife, The – Niffenegger, Audrey
World According to Clarkson, The – Clarkson, Jeremy
Atonement – McEwan, Ian
Lost Symbol, The – Brown, Dan
Short History of Nearly Everything, A – Bryson, Bill
Breaking Dawn – Meyer, Stephenie
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – Rowling, J. K.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Rowling, J. K.
Girl Who Played With Fire, The: Millennium Trilogy – Larsson, Stieg
Child Called It, A – Pelzer, Dave
No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency,The:No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency – McCall Smith, Alexander
You are What You Eat: The Plan That Will Change Your Life – McKeith, Gillian
Man and Boy – Parsons, Tony
Birdsong – Faulks, Sebastian
Labyrinth – Mosse, Kate
Island,The – Hislop, Victoria
Life of Pi – Martel, Yann
Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution: The No-hunger, Luxurious Weight Loss – Atkins, Robert C.
Tales of Beedle the Bard, The – Rowling, J. K.
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – De Bernieres, Louis
Delia’s How to Cook:(Bk.1) – Smith, Delia
Gruffalo, The – Donaldson, Julia
Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation – Truss, Lynne
Northern Lights: His Dark Materials – Pullman, Philip
Interpretation of Murder, The – Rubenfeld, Jed
Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest, The: Millennium Trilogy – Larsson, Stieg
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason – Fielding, Helen
Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, A – Lewycka, Marina
Alchemist,The :A Fable About Following Your Dream – Coelho, Paulo
Notes from a Small Island – Bryson, Bill
Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, The - Boyne, John
Stupid White Men:…and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation – Moore, Michael
Jamie’s 30-minute Meals – Oliver, Jamie
Broker,The – Grisham, John
Bridget Jones’s Diary: A Novel – Fielding, Helen
Very Hungry Caterpillar, The – Carle, Eric
Thousand Splendid Suns, A – Hosseini, Khaled
Sound of Laughter, The – Kay, Peter
Jamie’s Italy – Oliver, Jamie
Small Island – Levy, Andrea
Memory Keeper’s Daughter, The - Edwards, Kim
Billy Connolly – Stephenson, Pamela
House at Riverton, The – Morton, Kate
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – Rowling, J. K.
Nigella Express – Lawson, Nigella
Memoirs of a Geisha – Golden, Arthur
Delia’s How to Cook:(Bk.2) – Smith, Delia
Subtle Knife, The: His Dark Materials – Pullman, Philip
Jamie’s Ministry of Food: Anyone Can Learn to Cook in 24 Hours – Oliver, Jamie
Guinness World Records 2009:2009
Why Don’t Penguins’ Feet Freeze?:And 114 Other Questions
Jamie at Home:Cook Your Way to the Good Life – Oliver, Jamie
White Teeth – Smith, Zadie
Devil Wears Prada, The – Weisberger, Lauren
At My Mother’s Knee …:and Other Low Joints – O’Grady, Paul
No Time for Goodbye – Barclay, Linwood
“Times” Su Doku, The: The Utterly Addictive Number-placing Puzzle:(Bk. 1
Chocolat – Harris, Joanne
Return of the Naked Chef, The - Oliver, Jamie
Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir of a Childhood – McCourt, Frank
Schott’s Original Miscellany – Schott, Ben
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance – Obama, Barack
Dangerous Book for Boys, The - Iggulden, Conn & Iggulden, Hal
To Kill a Mockingbird – Lee, Harper
Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince – Rowling, J. K.
Summons, The – Grisham, John
Lost Symbol, The – Brown, Dan
Catcher in the Rye, The Salinger, J.D.
I Can Make You Thin – McKenna, Paul
Happy Days with the Naked Chef – Oliver, Jamie
Brick Lane – Ali, Monica
Anybody Out There? – Keyes, Marian
Undomestic Goddess, The – Kinsella, Sophie
Book Thief,The – Zusak, Markus
I Know You Got Soul – Clarkson, Jeremy
Sharon Osbourne Extreme: My Autobiography – Osbourne, Sharon
Guinness World Records 2010
Amber Spyglass, The: His Dark Materials – Pullman, Philip
Can You Keep a Secret? – Kinsella, Sophie
Down Under – Bryson, Bill
Spot of Bother, A – Haddon, Mark
Dear Fatty – French, Dawn
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You Always Remember Your First… Shakespeare
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Of course I have a Shakespeare action figure. Don't you?
I remember it well. I was a nerdy 11-year-old browsing my parents’ bookshelves looking for something to read. The primary school library no longer held any new delights and I was keen for a challenge.
The shelves were full, but hardly inspiring for a young girl – Wilbur Smith, Robert Ludlum, Geoffrey Archer, Danielle Steele… I’d almost given up when I finally struck gold. Two Readers’ Digest book sets, one of classics and the other the complete works of Shakespeare, just waiting for me.
I hauled the books off to my room and debated where to start. I eventually chose Shakespeare because I thought it would give me some literary street cred (I did mention I was a nerd). I decided to ease myself into the world of The Bard with a comedy, which seemed much more likely to be appealing to my uneducated palate. I opened the first page of The Comedy of Errors and I was hooked.
I’ve read many other Shakespearean plays and sonnets since that time. I’ve never really ventured into the histories (happy to receive recommendations) but have meandered through the comedies and tragedies and I still have my high school copy of Othello filled with my scribbled notes.
HSC Othello (Act 5, scene 2)
Despite my many other Shakespearean encounters, The Comedy of Errors remains a sentimental favourite.
Do you remember your first Shakespeare? Were you forced to read it at school or did you, like me, read it because you thought it would sound impressive that you were so amazingly literate and cultured? What age do you think is a good time to start reading Shakespeare and what would you recommend to someone for their first experience with the Bard of Stratford-on-Avon?
And now for a little light entertainment: ‘Brush Up Your Shakespeare’ from the Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson 1953 musical Kiss Me, Kate.
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Fun Author Facts about Tania McCartney
1To celebrate the launch of the latest book in the Riley the Little Aviator travelogue picture book series, Australian author and all-round amazing individual Tania McCartney has called in to visit and tell us a little bit about herself. I’m so excited to be part of her Riley and the Grumpy Wombat book blog tour.
So, here we go, 35 Fun Facts about Tania McCartney:
1. I write every single day.
2. I’m a keen amateur photographer and stylist.
3. I have an obsession with paper and products made from paper (especially books!).
4. I am a Francophile and Nipponophile.
5. I love The Simpsonsand The Office.
6. I have two children – Ella and Riley – and a very supportive husband.
7. I have an obsession with, and large collection of, children’s picture books.
8. I love to travel and have been to over 500 destination in 16 countries.
9. I adore history and foreign cultures.
10. One of my greatest joys is running Kids Book Review and reading books to kids.
11. I have a hairline fracture in my sacrum – it’s been there since birth.
12. I love the cold.
13. I knit, sew and make things from paper, especially travel books and other mementoes.
14. All of my best friends either live overseas or are overseas far too often.
15. I always wanted to be a graphic designer.
16. I have a very sweet tooth.
17. I dream of having a cutting garden full of flowers; my favourite flowers are the peony and hydrangea.
18. I read books every single day.
19. I wore a pale green wedding dress.
20. I think Brussels sprouts are delicious.
21. I love decorating for and throwing children’s parties.
22. I’ve always loved acting and I nearly applied for NIDA.
23. I was born in Tasmania and have lived in almost every Australian state and territory.
24. I love to wrap gifts.
25. I adore old black and white movies and musicals.
26. I have moved house over 60 times.
27. I have lived in four different countries.
28. I absolutely adore going to the theatre.
29. I speak intermediate French and beginner Mandarin.
30. I don’t like unpacking the groceries nor the dishwasher.
31. I can’t stand tailgaters.
32. My favourite authors are Mo Willems, Enid Blyton, Dr Seuss, Oliver Jeffers, Jackie French, Morris Gleitzman and Emily Gravett (among many, many others).
33. I’m impatient.
34. I’m a very visual person but I have terrible eyesight.
35. I adore good coffee.
Tania, Riley and the Grumpy Wombat have had a busy week. You can find details of their blog tour here and you can follow Riley’s activities at the Riley the Little Aviator Facebook page. Tania’s gone all high tech this time around as well – you can even view a Riley and the Grumpy Wombat book trailer on YouTube. What will she think of next? 
Make sure you leave a comment to say Hi! to Tania and pick up a copy of her latest Riley story. My kids love it and I’ll be posting a review soon. I might even have to pick up an extra copy to offer as a giveaway…
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International Postcard Swap for Families
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I recently signed up to take part in an International Postcard Swap for Families hosted and organised by Zoe at Playing by the Book.
Each participant in the swap is given the names of five other familes and asked to send them a postcard (obviously). On the back, we are asked to share some book recommendations suitable for the children in those families.
In total, I am recommending books for nine children: one 1-year-old boy, one 2-year-old girl, three 5-year-olds (2 girls, 1 boy), one 4-year-old girl, one 8-year-old boy, one 9-year-old girl and one 11-year-old boy. My postcards will be winging their way to the US, Spain, India, New Zealand and England.
I will be including recommendations on the back of the cards, but thought I would also put together a longer list here and hopefully add some extra recommendations through the comments this post receives. I am limiting myself to Australian authors (including authors who were born in other countries but now live in Australia). Many of the authors mentioned below, such as Mem Fox, have numerous books that I could recommend. I am trying to limit myself to my favourites rather than list their entire catalogue. I’ve linked through to the author’s website for more details about their books where possible and linked the titles of the books to any reviews I have written, either here at Reading Upside Down or at Suite101.
Picture Books
- Alexander’s Outing by Pamela Allen
- Are We There Yet? by Alison Lester
- Australia at the Beach by Max Fatchen
- Bath Monster by John Danalis
- Belonging by Jeannie Baker
- Big Rain Coming by Katrina Germein
- Brown Bread and Honey by Pamela Allen
- Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French & Bruce Whatley
- Edward the Emu by Sheena Knowles & Rod Clement
- Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo by Alison Lester
- Fair Skin Black Fella by Renee Fogorty
- Henry and Amy by Stephen Michael King
- Henry the Goat by Ella Watkins
- In the City by Roland Harvey
- Let’s Get a Pup by Bob Graham
- Memorial by Shaun Tan
- Me, Oliver Bright by Megan de Kantzow
- Mirror by Jeannie Baker
- Miss Lily’s Fabulous Pink Feather Boa by Margaret Wild
- My Place by Nadia Wheatley
- Never Ever Before by Stephen Michael King
- Oscar’s Half-Birthday by Bob Graham
- Over the Hill and Around the Bend with Granny and Bert (and me) by Helen Lunn
- Possum Magic by Mem Fox
- Riley and the Curious Koala by Tania McCartney
- Roos in Shoes by Tom Keneally
- Sailaway. The Ballad of Skip and Nell by Mem Fox
- Samuel’s Kisses by Karen Collum
- Savannah Dreams by Lolla Stewart
- Surprise! by Karen Andrews
- The Boy, the Bear, the Baron and the Bard by Gregory Rogers
- The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan
- The Shaggy Gully Times by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley
- The Waterhole by Graeme Base
- This is the Mud! by Kathryn Apel
- To the Top End by Roland Harvey
- Where is the Green Sheep by Mem Fox
- Who Sank the Boat by Pamela Allen
- Why I Love Australia by Bronwyn Bancroft
- Window by Jeannie Baker
- Wombat Stew by Marcia K. Vaughan
- A Year on our Farm by Penny Matthews
Younger Children Novels (Up to 10 years)
- Chess Nuts by Julia Lawrinson
- Give Peas a Chance by Morris Gleitzman
- Gizmo series by Paul Jennings
- Nim’s Island by Wendy Orr
- Jaguar Warrior by Sandy Fussell
- Just… series by Andy Griffiths
- Mosquito Advertising: The Parfizz Pitch by Kate Hunter
- My Australian Story series by various authors (published by Scholastic)
- Nim’s Island by Wendy Orr
- Pearl Verses the World by Sally Murphy
- Ranger in Danger series by Alison Reynolds & Sean Wilmore
- Schooling Around series by Andy Griffiths
- Singenpoo series by Paul Jennings
- Specky Magee series by Felice Arena and Garry Lyon
- Stick Dudes series by Felice Arena
- The Animal Stars series by Jackie French
- The Cat on the Mat is Flat by Andy Griffiths
- The Garden of Empress Cassia by Gabrielle Wang
- The Greatest Blogger in the World by Andrew McDonald
- The Night they Stormed Eureka by Jackie French
- The Word Spy by Ursula Dubosarsky (creative non-fiction)
- Toppling by Sally Murphy
- Zac Power series by H I Larry
Older Children Novels (Up to 14 years)
- A Rose for the ANZAC Boys by Jackie French
- A Year in Girl Hell by Meredith Costain
- Captain Cook’s Apprentice by Anthony Hill
- Conspiracy 365 series by Gabrielle Lord
- Dreaming of Amelia by Jaclyn Moriarty
- Heroes of Tobruk by David Mulligan
- I Lost my Mobile at the Mall by Wendy Harmer
- Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
- Letters to Leonardo by Dee White
- Loathing Lola by William Kostakis
- Lucy Zeezou’s Goal by Liz Deep-Jones
- Mac Slater, Cool Hunter series by Tristan Bancks
- Mahtab’s Story by Libby Gleeson
- Once, Then and Now trilogy by Morris Gleitzman
- The Freewheelers series by J A Mawter
- The Phoenix Files series by Chris Morphew
- Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden
What books have I missed? What books would you include on a ‘must have’ list of books for kids by Australian authors.
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Thinking About All Things Seuss
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I still have the Dr Seuss books I read as a child
My Day 2 entry for the 30 Day Photography Challenge was a photo of my ‘I am Sam’ T-shirt, one of my favourite Dr Seuss shirts (I have several). I love the persistent and passionate Sam in Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham, possibly because this is a Seuss story that I remember from my childhood and possibly because I’m rather fond of quoting him to my children when they don’t want to try a new food at dinner time. (‘You do not like them. So you say. Try them! Try them! And you may. Try them and you may, I say’)
Do you remember reading Seuss books as a child? I’m sure you do, because I’m sure they don’t let you graduate from childhood to adulthood if you haven’t experienced Seuss. The Seuss books I remember from childhood are mostly the early reader classics – The Cat in the Hat, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, Hop on Pop, Green Eggs and Ham and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.
I can’t forget Ten Apples Up On Top either. For some reason I LOVED the illustrations in this book. And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street was another favourite. Well, let’s face it, they were all favourites. I also vividly remember being incredibly envious of my best friend’s copies of Wacky Wednesday and Try to Remember the First of Octember. I loved The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, although I’m not sure that I actually realised that this was a Seuss book until I was much older. And then there was Fox in Socks, of course, because who could resist reading about Tweetle Beetles and their battles, bottles, puddles, paddles, poodles, and noodles?
I’ve learned more about Seuss in recent years. I attended an exhibition of his editorial cartoons and other drawings (including book illustrations) a few years ago and was fascinated by the
Do we love Seuss? Yes! We do!
intelligence, humour and insight his work displayed (although hardly surprised I must say). I’ve read The Lorax, Oh, the Places You’ll Go and I had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew with my own children and feel a little sad that I didn’t get to enjoy them during my own childhood.
I’ve also discovered a few lesser known Seuss books in the past few years that have built the pedestal I place Seuss upon just that little bit higher. In particular Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!, compiled posthumously from Seuss’ notes and drawings by children’s poet Jack Prelutsky and illustrator Lane Smith (author/illustrator of the wonderful It’s a Book). Hooray for Diffendoofer Day is a wonderful celebration of individuality, creativity and independent thinking. If you haven’t read it, you should try to find a copy because it is simply brilliant. I’ve given it as a Christmas gift to several of my children’s teachers and I have quoted it more times than I can remember.
Obviously I could go on and on (and on and on) about my infatuation with all things Seussical, but instead I’ll finish off with a quote from another posthumous Seuss publication My Many Coloured Days. The book is a simple but lovely way of exploring feelings with children. The sentence that impacted me most, however, was the dedication in the book from Seuss’ wife:
To Ted, who coloured my days… and my life.
This dedication brought tears to my eyes, because this amazing man that I never met and who never knew me has coloured my life as wellwith his thoughtful words and whimsical illustrations.
Do you have a favourite Seuss memory? Do you remember reading Seuss as a child and/or do you read his books with your children? Which book is your favourite?
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Which Vintage Classics Heroine am I?
1I can’t resist a good questionnaire (or list) and so despite the late hour (it’s currently 12.15am), I was tempted by the Random House ‘Which Vintage Classic character are you?’ quiz. I tried to answer honestly, although I think I may have fudged the ‘how attractive are you’ question a little. We’ll blame the late hour and my abnormally large intake of sugar in the past 24 hours for that. I’m sure if I was well rested and not on a sugar high, I would have been far more realistic.
So, sleep-deprived and fueled by excess glucose I completed the 9 question survey and was rather delighted to discover that I am Elizabeth Bennet. To paraphrase the questionnaire results, apparently my admirable qualities are numerous – I am quick-witted, clever and converse brilliantly. My honesty, virtue and lively wit enable me to rise above the nonsense and bad behaviour that pervade my class-bound and often spiteful society. Nevertheless, my sharp tongue and tendency to make hasty judgements might lead me astray.
In 9 simple questions, the Vintage Classic Character Questionnaire has held a mirror up to my very soul and I see 
reflected back at me my literary doppleganger Elizabeth Bennet – lively, quick witted, spirited and bright-eyed. If only I wasn’t sitting up late by myself, I’d take a quick turn about the room to celebrate my association with the infamous Miss Bennet (and show my figure off to best advantage to any dark brooding handsome wealthy gentlemen who might happen to be sitting nearby writing letters to their sister).
You can take the questionnaire by clicking ‘Like’ on the Random House Australia Facebook fan page and then following the link in the sidebar to the ‘Which Vintage Classic character are you?’ questionnaire (or you can just click here).
I’d love to know which Vintage Classic character you are. Do you agree or do you think you match another literary hero or heroine more closely?
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Buying Books From Westfield Online (+ Giveaway!)
1I was recently given the opportunity by Westfield Online to indulge in a little book browsing with benefits at The Nile on the Westfield website. I was asked to check out their online bookstore with a voucher for $40 burning a hole in my virtual pocket.
I have a list of books I want to buy about seven pages long (if I was organised enough to write it down, that is). Given the debate about the pros and cons of buying books online, however, I decided to simply browse the virtual bookshelves and see what caught my eye, much as I would in a bricks and mortar bookstore.
I narrowed my search down to Fiction. After 5 minutes of clicking on random pages, I had found several books that I already owned and had managed to tag 20 books that I was interested in having a closer look at. Like any true book addict, once I started book browsing I couldn’t stop. Should I buy a $40 book, two $20 books, a new release, a classic, something for the kids?
I’m sure they didn’t realise the kind of decision making torture they would be putting me through when they offered me the voucher. I should have asked for extra as compensation for psychological distress.
My final selection:
Mary Poppins She Wrote by Valerie Lawson
Mary Poppins She Wrote: The True Story of Australian Writer P. L. Travers, Creator of the Quintessentially English Nanny by Valerie Lawson ($25.49)
Pippi Longstocking (50th Anniversary edition) by Astrid Lindgren ($17.99)
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Well would you look at that. It looks like I did ask for a little extra to cover the psychological distress caused by my pathological difficulty in making a decision. Oops.
I confess I’m a big fan of shopping for books online. It gives me a chance to check my bookshelves to make sure I’m not doubling up and it is easy to compare prices between retailers to make sure I am getting the best price. Several online bookstores (including The Nile through Westfield Online) offer free delivery which makes them easily comparable to buying books in store.
Do you shop online? A friend on Twitter recently commented that they buy everything online and rarely venture out to a shopping centre. I’m not quite that enthusiastic, but I do have certain products (such as books) that I shop for online regularly.
Now that I’ve rattled on about my online shopping experience, I can let you know that Westfield Online is offering one lucky reader a $40 voucher for a little online retail therapy.
Giveaway Guidelines
- Add yourself as a follower on my blog (Google Friend Connect and/or Networked Blogs)
- Leave a comment telling me what products you like to buy online.
- You can earn one extra entry for tweeting about this giveaway. You need to come back and leave a separate comment letting me know that you have done so to qualify for an extra entry.
- Entry is open to Australian residents only.
- Entries close at midnight (Aust EST) on Monday, 23rd May 2011.
- The winner will be drawn using a random number generator. Please make sure you include your email address with your comment (it won’t appear on screen) so that I can contact you if you win. The winner will be announced on the Reading Upside Down Facebook page and contacted by email. The winner has one week to contact me to arrange delivery of their prize or the competition will be redrawn.
- Disclaimer: My original $40 Westfield Online voucher and the $40 Westfield Online prize voucher were provided by Westfield Online. The nature of this post and the giveaway offer were not influenced by Westfield Online in any additional way and any opinions expressed are entirely my own.
Good luck!
This giveaway has now closed. The winning commenter was drawn using a random number generator from random.org. The winner was comment #27. Congratulations Anj (@AnjWrites). Thanks to everyone who entered.
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Guest Post: Anonymums MumA Ponders the Challenges of Working with Others
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I’m very excited to have a guest post from one of the authors of the newly released and rather amazing book Anonymums (HarperCollins, 2011). Anonymums is a great blend of light-hearted anecdotes and some very thought-provoking revelations about marriage, motherhood, friendships and retaining a sense of personal identity beyond the roles of wife and mother. Please make AnonymumsMumA welcome…
Back in the day, almost every one of my report cards from school read something like this, ‘Quite independent. Prefers not to work with others, or with groups’. If I’d received report cards from university, they probably would have stated something similar as well. And is it any great surprise? Because if I’ve learnt one thing over the years it’s that things are done faster, better and to a higher quality if you simply crack on and do them yourself.
So when I had an idea for a book that could only be written with the help of two other mums, well… let’s just say I was hesitant at best.
So were others. ‘Three authors?’ my agent said to me. ‘Things could get tricky with three authors.’ And I believed her. Over the years, I’d seen single authors need two publicists to control their author antics.
But the idea kept pestering me, so I thought very long and hard about the other two authors I’d like to work with. They had to be just right. And when I thought I might have handpicked the perfect ones, I contacted them.
Well, phew. As it turned out, I chose well.
Perhaps it’s all in the chemistry. At school and university I was usually handed the groups I would be ‘working’ with (I use this term loosely, for often most of them would do no work at all). Somehow, things would always pan out in the same way. There would be one slacker who would come down with a sudden case of Leprosy, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever or similar, somebody with three brain cells who would turn up to meetings but have no idea what the project was about whatsoever, a control freak who would want to draw up lists and assign tasks but not actually achieve anything and… you.
This time was different. By choosing my own participants, I was able to opt for some light and shade. One of them was good at telling the other two of us that we needed to write deeper. One of them was wittier than the other two of us put together. I had more experience with how a book actually ticks. We were a good match, with strengths and weaknesses that we weren’t afraid to show each other. But again and again, we surprised ourselves with our similarities, too.
Our book was a long time coming, but, looking back, I can truly say the three of us enjoyed the process. Not just of writing a book that we can now see on the shelves, but of working together, alongside one another, getting to know each other in the way that you have to to write such an intimate project, where you are exposing your innermost thoughts. And, of course, there’s the relief that it wasn’t just me. I can work well with others – when the others are the right people.
*How about you? Have there been people along the way you’ve loathed working with, or maybe others who’ve lightened and brightened each and every workday for you?*
Anonymums: Three women, the truth and a whole lot of dares (HarperCollins Publishers) is out on May 1. Join the Twitter launch party tonight (Monday, 2nd May 2011) between 8 – 9pm (AEST) by following the #anonymums hashtag. You can follow the authors as well – @AnonymumsMumA @AnonymumsMumB and @AnonymumsMumC – or keep up to date with the latest news by following the Anonymums Facebook Fan Page.
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Results – Giveaway: Paris Dreaming by Anita Heiss
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Thank you so much to everyone who entered my giveaway to win a copy of the wonderful new novel Paris Dreaming by Australian author Anita Heiss.
There were 27 entries (comments + retweets) and the random number generator spat out number 16 as the winning entry.
Congratulations Benison O’Reilly. I’ll be in touch to organise delivery of your copy of Paris Dreaming soon.
For everyone who missed out, I can highly recommend Paris Dreaming as not only an enjoyable book to read but also a wonderful introduction to the Australian Indigenous art world. I am thoroughly enjoying reading it and will have a review ready soon.
Thanks again to Anita as well for her wonderful guest post.
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Guest Post: Why Paris? Anita Heiss on the Setting for Paris Dreaming
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My new novel Paris Dreaming is about a feisty, focussed young woman – Libby Cutmore – originally from Moree, working as an arts educator at the National Aboriginal Gallery in Canberra who finds herself temporarily thriving in gay Paree.
Many people have already asked me ‘Why Paris?’ in terms of the setting for the story, and of course, the immediate answer is ‘Why not?’
Seriously, setting does matter with my commercial women’s fiction, because although classified in the genre of ‘chick-lit’, my stories are not just about relationships, shopping, sex and fun. Rather, they are essentially about putting Aboriginal women, our arts and culture, and indeed our politics, into the commercial fiction arena, and on both the Australian and international literary radars.
It’s important that when I write about modern urban-based Aboriginal women, that they are real to me; that they do and say things that are also part of my own personal, cultural and professional landscape. And so many of my characters go to places I know intimately, places I feel at home in when I visit, places that I know my readers would love to travel to in books if they can’t get there in person. And Paris, therefore, was the perfect setting to fulfill all my goals.
Without giving too much away, I wanted to take my character and her story to Paris to showcase the internationally renowned work of Brenda L Croft and Hetti Perkins, who co-curated the Australian Indigenous Art Commission at the Musée du Quai Branlee in Paris. Theirs is a permanent exhibition that takes our stories, our cultures, our talented artists to one of the premier cultural spaces in Europe at this time.
It was hard not to be inspired walking through the musée when I first visited, and it was that inspirational experience that I wanted to bring to those who may never get to have the same experience. Importantly, I wanted to reach women who may never engage with Indigenous art or artists either, but who appreciate reading books about relationships – those between mothers and daughters, those between girlfriends, and of course, those between women and the elusive ‘one’.
Of course another reason for Paris is that it is known as the city of love, and of course it was the best place to send a woman on self-imposed ‘man-fast’.
The difficult thing for me is that I am a method writer. I always get into character and do what my heroines would do – for the sake of research – and I had to go to Paris ‘in-character’ as Libby. I had to cruise the Seine, stroll the Champs-Elysee, spend Sunday at the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur, be a tourist at Moulin Rouge, and indulge in too many macaroons and delectable pastries while admiring the local arts, culture and architecture. All the while of course, I forced myself to take in as many observations of the beautiful and fashionable French women while avoiding – as best I could – the flirtatious French men.
Why Paris? Does one really need to ask?
Anita Heiss’ latest novel Paris Dreaming is available nationally on April 1st. There are events around the country. You can find out more at www.anitaheiss.com
To celebrate the launch of Anita’s new book and her guest post at Reading Upside Down, I have a copy of Paris Dreaming to giveaway to one lucky reader. You can find the giveaway details here. Giveaway entries close midnight (Aust EST), Sunday 10th April 2011.
