2018 Reading Wrap Up Post

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In 2018, I had the aim of reading 120 books throughout the year. This was my general reading goal from the first of January to the end of December, and included review books, books I had to read for work as a quiz writer with Scholastic Australia, and my other challenges – The Australian Women Writer’s Challenge, the Pop Sugar Challenge (which I came close to finishing, but several categories were too hard to fulfil when it came to it), and Book Bingo 2018 with Theresa and Amanda, which we will be attempting again in 2019.

In 2019, I will be participating in each of the above challenges again – The Australian Women Writer’s Challenge, Book Bingo and the Pop Sugar Challenge. My main aim will be to complete the 2019 Book Bingo, and to see how I go with the 2019 PopSugar Challenge – which will be addressed in a separate post. Below is my list of books I read in 2018:

Reading Log

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Illustrated) by JK Rowling (Newt Scamander)
The Tides Between by Elizabeth Jane Corbett
Where’s Jane? Find Jane Austen Hidden in her Stories by Rebecca Smith and Katy Dockrill
Rose Raventhorpe Investigates: Hounds and Hauntings by Janine Beacham
Four Respectable Ladies Seek Part-Time Husband by Barbara Toner
Mr Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva
Smile:The Story of the original Mona Lisa by Mary Hoffman
The Secrets at Ocean’s Edge by Kali Napier
Differently Normal by Tammy Robinson
The Endsister by Penni Russon
The Last Train by Sue Lawrence
Graevale by Lynette Noni
Eventual Poppy Day by Libby Hathorn
The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Olmec Obituary by LJM Owen
The Passengers by Eleanor Limprecht
The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
The Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin
Draigon Weather: The Legends of Arnan – Book One by Paige L Christie
Miss Lily’s Lovely Ladies by Jackie French
The Sealwoman’s Gift by Sally Magnusson
Surf Rider’s Club #2: Bronte’s Big Sister Problem by Mary van Reyk
Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer
Jorie and the Magic Stones by A.H. Richardson
The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton
Skin in the Game: The Pleasure and Pain of Telling True Stories by Sonya Voumard
Babylon Berlin by Volker Kutschner
Spinning Tops & Gum Drops: A Portrait of Colonial Childhood by Edwin Barnard
Tin Man by Sarah Winman
Mayan Mendacity by L.J.M. Owen
The Opal Dragonfly by Julian Leatherdale
Grandpa, Me and Poetry by Sally Morgan
The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester
The Freedom Finders Series: Touch the Sun by Emily Conolan
The World Goes On by László Krasznahorakai (translated from the Hungarian by John Bakti, Ottilie Mulzet and Georges Szirtes
The Book of Answers: The Ateban Cipher Book 2 by A.L. Tait
Munmun by Jesse Andrews
Little Gods by Jenny Ackland
Leaving Lucy Pear by Anna Solomon
I am Sasha by Anita Selzer
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
The Good Doctor of Warsaw by Elisabeth Gifford
Thunderwith by Libby Hathorn
Monty the Sad Puppy by Holly Webb
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
Lovesome by Sally Seltmann
Egyptian Enigma by L.J.M Owen
The Ship that Never Was by Adam Courtenay
Other Worlds: Perfect World by George Ivanoff
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
The Enchanted Places by Christopher Milne
The Beast’s Heart by Leife Shallcross
Eleanor’s Secret by Caroline Beecham
Australia Day by Melanie Cheng
The Most Marvellous Spelling Bee Mystery by Deborah Abela
Other Worlds: Beast World by George Ivanoff
Circe by Madeline Miller
Miles Franklin: A Short Biography by Jill Roe
The Book of Colours by Robyn Cadwallader
The Jade Lily by Kirsty Manning
The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse
Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen by Alison Weir
Ready to Fall by Marcella Puxley
A Home for Molly by Holly Webb
My Girragundji by Meme McDonald and Boori Monty Prior
Burning Bridges and Other Hobbies by Kitty Flanagan
Bluebottle by Belinda Castles
Selected Short Stories by Katherine Mansfield
The Upside of Over by J.D. Barrett
P is for Pearl by Eliza Henry Jones
Into the Night by Sarah Bailey
The Seventh Cross by Anna Seghers, translated from the German by Margot Bettauer Dembo
The Yellow House by Emily O’Grady
The Notebook of Doom #10: Snap of the Super-Goop by Troy Cummings
Embassy of the Dead by Will Mabbitt
Dragon Masters: Search for the Lightning Dragon by Tracey West
Ella and Olivia: A Wild Adventure by Yvette Poshoglian
Kensy and Max: Breaking News by Jacqueline Harvey
Captain Cook’s Apprentice by Anthony Hill
Swallow’s Dance by Wendy Orr
We See the Stars by Kate van Hooft
The Far Back Country by Kate Lyons
Beneath the Mother Tree by D.M. Cameron
The Peacock Summer by Hannah Richell
Harry Potter – Diagon Alley: A Movie Scrapbook by Warner Brothers and Jody Revenson
Strange Meeting by Susan Hill
The Desert Nurse by Pamela Hart
The Gypsy Crown by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #1)
The Silver Horse by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #2)
If Kisses Cured Cancer by T.S. Hawken
The Herb of Grace by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #3)
Bookshop Girl by Chloe Coles
The Cat’s-Eye Shell by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #4)
Children of the Dragon: The Relic of The Blue Dragon by Rebecca Lim
The Legacy of Beauregarde by Rosa Fedele
The Lightning Bolt by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #5)
The Botanist’s Daughter by Kayte Nunn
Ninjago: The Mystery of the Masks by Kate Howard
Spirit by Ellen Miles (The Puppy Place)
The Butterfly in Amber by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #6)
The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes
Scrublands by Chris Hammer
When the Lights Go Out by Lili Wilkinson
The Last Firehawk: The Crystal Caverns by Katrina Charman
Hey Brother by Jarrah Dundler
The Magic School Bus Rides Again: Satellite Space Mission by AnnMarie Anderson
Amazing Australian Women: Twelve Women Who Shaped History by Pamela Freeman and Sophie Beer
The Honourable Thief by Meaghan Wilson Anastasios
Early Riser by Jasper Fforde
The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas
The Brink of Darkness by Jeff Giles
Mouseford Academy: Lights, Camera, Action by Thea Stilton
No Country Woman by Zoya Patel
The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jaclyn Moriarty
Disappearing Act by Jacqueline Harvey (Kensy and Max #2)
A Kitten Called Tiger by Holly Webb
Fairy Tales for Feisty Girls by Susannah McFarlane
The Distance Between Me and The Cherry Tree by Paola Peretti
The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton
Sisters and Brothers by Fiona Palmer
The Note Book of Doom: Battle of the Boss-Monster by Troy Cummings (#13)
Mission Alert: Island X by Benjamin Hulme-Cross
Time Jumpers: Stealing the Sword by Wendy Mass
Archibald, the Naughtiest Elf in the World Goes to the Zoo by Skye Davidson, Illustrated by Ágnes Rokiczky
We Three Heroes by Lynette Noni
The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit by Emma Thompson
The Colours of all the Cattle by Alexander McCall-Smith
Frieda by Annabel Abbs
Secrets Hidden Below by Sandra Bennett
The Shelter Puppy by Holly Webb
The Case of the Missing Marquess (An Enola Holmes Mystery #1) by Nancy Springer.
The Case of the Left-Handed Lady (An Enola Holmes Mystery #2) by Nancy Springer
What the Woods Keep by Katya de Becerra
The Cat with the Coloured Tail by Gillian Mears
Bright Young Dead by Jessica Fellowes
Total Quack up by Sally Rippin and Adrian Beck
Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
Have Sword, Will Travel by Garth Nix and Sean Williams
Let Sleeping Dragons Lie by Garth Nix and Sean Williams
Stormtrooper Class Clowns by Ace Landers
Lenny’s Book of Everything by Karen Foxlee
The Slightly Alarming Tale of the Whispering Wars by Jaclyn Moriarty (Kingdoms and Empires #2)
Storm troopers: Class Clown by Ace Landers
The Turn of Midnight by Minette Walters
Victoria and Abdul: The Extraordinary True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant by Shrabani Busi
The Nutcracker by Alexandre Dumas
Lethal White by Robert Galbraith
The Little Fairy Sister by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite and Grenbery Outhwaite
Hogwarts: A Movie Scrapbook
Goodbye Christopher Robin by Anne Thwaite
Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald by J.K. Rowling
Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
Edward by Ellen Miles
Clementine Rose and the Bake-Off Dilemma by Jacqueline Harvey
All the Tears in China by Sulari Gentill
Last Woman Hanged by Caroline Overington
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1: Squirrel Power by Ryan North
The Rescued Kitten by Holly Webb
The Au Pair by Emma Rous
Dear Santa, edited by Sam Johnson OAM
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Night Before Christmas by Clement C Moore
A Very Murderous Christmas by Cecily Gayford
Wiser than Everything by Lorena Carrington
Time Jumpers: Escape from Egypt by Wendy Mass]
Henry VIII and the Men who Made Him by Tracy Borman

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As you can see, I have read kids’ books, young adult books, fiction and non-fiction books and everything in between for quiz writing and reviewing, and my own reading that I was able to do in between the books sent to me as a reviewer and quiz writer.

In wrapping up my 2018 reading, there are definitely some books I wanted to get to but didn’t, and that I hope I can get to in 2019. With similar goals for 2019, I hope to achieve similar numbers, more books read, and hopefully more reviews coming your way for the next twelve months.

Pop Sugar Challenge Round Up

One of the challenges I did during 2019 was the PopSugar Challenge. It had forty categories, plus an additional ten advanced ones – a couple of which I managed to check off, and I filled most of the main categories, some with multiple books. It was a good challenge, but one thing I think lets it down is that it is overly prescriptive – and I think this made it too hard to fill in – almost impossible for some, in fact.

One was an author with the same first or last name as you – and this could let many people down, as there will be many names, not just mine, that do not appear as any part of an author’s name. Some I didn’t fill due to lack of time, but there were some that relied on accessibility as well – being able to get the book, or something being available in a library, bookstore or your collection. The point of a challenge is to challenge you and your reading – but perhaps not in a way that lets you down when you find you can’t fill a category.

Still, it was a fun challenge and I’ll be doing it again this year – but I feel that the categories get too prescriptive and specific each year, and rely too much on the accessibility of books – just because you can find a title in a Google search does not mean that book will be readily available for you – and my plan is to fill as many as I can with what I have.

Challenge #1

A book made into a movie you’ve already seen: Victoria and Abdul: The Extraordinary True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant by Shrabani Basu Victoria and Abdul (2017)

True crime: Last Woman Hanged by Caroline Overington

The next book in a series you started: Mayan Mendacity by L.J.M. Owen, The Silver Horse by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #2)

A book involving a heist: The Book of Answers: The Ateban Cipher Book 2 by A.L. Tait, Bright Young Dead by Jessica Fellowes (Mitford Murders #2)

Nordic Noir:

A novel based on a real person: Mr Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva

A book set in a country that fascinates you:

Country: Scotland
Book: The Last Train by Sue Lawrence

Country: England
Book: The Silver Horse by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #2)

A book with the time of day in the title: early – Early Riser by Jasper Fforde

A book about a villain or anti-hero: The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and Babylon Berlin by Volker Kutschner, The Ship that Never Was by Adam Courtenay

A book about death or grief: Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer, Embassy of the Dead by Will Mabbitt

A book with your favourite colour in the title: Bluebottle by Belinda Castles

A book with alliteration in the title: Rose Raventhorpe Investigates: Hounds and Hauntings by Janine Beacham
Olmec Obituary by LJM Owen
Mayan Mendacity by LJM Owen

A book about time travel: The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas, Time Jumpers: Stealing the Sword by Wendy Mass

A book with a weather element in the title: Draigon Weather: The Legends of Arnan – Book One by Paige L Christie, Dragon Masters: Search for the Lightning Dragon by Tracey West

A book set at sea: The Passengers by Eleanor Limprecht, Bluebottle by Belinda Castles, Captain Cook’s Apprentice by Anthony Hill

A book with an animal in the title: The Sealwoman’s Gift by Sally Magnusson, The Opal Dragonfly by Julian Leatherdale

A book set on a different planet: Graevale by Lynette Noni

A book with song lyrics in the title: The Last Train by Sue Lawrence (Last Train Out of Sydney)

A book about or set on Halloween: Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

A book with characters who are twins: The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester, Other Worlds: Beast World by George Ivanoff

A book with a female author who uses a male pseudonym: Lethal White by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling)

A book with an LGBTQ+ protagonist: The Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin, Tin Man by Sarah Winman

A book that is also a stage play or musical:

A book by an author of a different ethnicity to you: The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton, Grandpa, Me and Poetry by Sally Morgan

A book about feminism: Olmec Obituary by L.J.M. Owen, No Country Woman by Zoya Patel

A book about mental health: Differently Normal by Tammy Robinson (mental disabilities, dealing with grief and loneliness)

A book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift: The Enchanted Places by Christopher Milne, Goodbye, Christopher Robin by Anne Thwaite

A book by two authors: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

A book about or involving sport: Surf Rider’s Club #2: Bronte’s Big Sister Problem by Mary van Reyk

A book by a local author: The Secrets at Ocean’s Edge by Kali Napier (AU author), Grandpa, Me and Poetry by Sally Morgan, Olmec Obituary by LJM Owen, Mayan Mendacity by LJM Owen, Four Respectable Ladies Seek Part-time Husband by Barbara Toner

A book mentioned in another book: Heidi by Johanna Spyri, mentioned in Little Gods.

A book from a celebrity book club:

Book Club:
Book:

A childhood classic you’ve never read: Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers

A book that’s published in 2018: Four Respectable Ladies Seek Part-time Husband by Barbara Toner

A past Goodreads Choice Awards winner: Talking as Fast As I Can by Lauren Graham

A book set in the decade you were born: Little Gods by Jenny Ackland

A book you meant to read in 2017 but didn’t get to: Miss Lily’s Lovely Ladies by Jackie French

A book with an ugly cover: Skin in the Game: The Pleasure and Pain of Telling True Stories by Sonya Voumard

A book that involves a bookstore or library: Bookshop Girl by Chloe Coles

Your favourite prompt from the 2015, 2016 or 2017 POPSUGAR Reading Challenges:

2015: A book with a one-word title: Thunderwith by Libby Hathorn, Lovesome by Sally Seltmann.

2016: A book based on a fairy tale: The Beast’s Heart by Leife Shallcross

2017: A novel set during wartime: Eventual Poppy Day by Libby Hathorn

TOTAL READ: 61 in 37 categories
ADVANCED

A bestseller from the year you graduated high school (2004):

A cyberpunk book:

A book that was being read by a stranger in a public place:

A book tied to your ancestry (Scottish):

A book with a fruit or vegetable in the title: Leaving Lucy Pear by Anna Solomon

An allegory: Munmun by Jesse Andrews

A book by an author with the same first or last name as you:

A microhistory: Spinning Tops & Gum Drops: A Portrait of Colonial Childhood by Edwin Barnard

A book about a problem facing society today: When the Mountains Roared by Jess Butterworth – poaching. No Country Woman by Zoya Patel – Racism.

A book recommended by someone else taking the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge:

TOTAL READ: 5

As you can see, some categories were easier to fill than others, some I didn’t manage to find anything for aforementioned reasons, and some had multiple entries. Some were filled in with a stretch – perhaps this is why I like looser themes, rather than ones that dictate what must be in a title or part of the authors name – you still get the challenge of finding a book that fills it, without causing panic because nothing fits in – this takes the fun out of it. So in 2019, my goal is to fill whatever categories I can. And if there are some where I don’t find a book, or a book does not appeal to me, I will give it a miss – and just let it happen as it happens.

In my mind, a challenge like this whilst fun, can also be inhibiting, which is why in the group that does this challenge, I’ve suggested a list of other challenges in case others want to take those on as well as this one or instead of – something I might do, or tweak them for my individual needs.

So ends another year of reading challenges.

Australian Women Writers Challenge 2018 Completed Post

This year I pledged to read fifteen books – which I had completed by at least March, if not earlier. I read a total of seventy-nine books and reviewed seventy-eight – one review is due to go live in January and as a result, also counts towards my 2019 challenge. One book from this year was read in 2017, but reviewed this year, and so counts towards both years, as discussed with other AWW participants. Of these books, the majority came out this year, with a few older ones, and some that were published in new editions, such as Mary Poppins.

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I read a broad range from general fiction to kids, young adult, fantasy, crime, historical fiction, non-fiction and some that mixed genres eloquently to create stories that would find a diverse audience.

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I read picture books, entire series and some books that were just one in a series that was continuing this year. One series had two books come out, and the final book comes out next year – as I wrote this post, my reviewer copy of this book arrived, and I am now torn between diving in or saving it for January and finishing everything else first.

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Below is a list of the books I read and reviewed for the challenge this year,

The Sister’s Song by Louise Allan – Reviewed in 2018 but read in 2017.
The Tides Between by Elizabeth Jane Corbett – Reviewed
Rose Raventhorpe Investigates: Hounds and Hauntings by Janine Beacham – Reviewed
Four Respectable Ladies Seek Part-Time Husband by Barbara Toner – Reviewed
The Secrets at Ocean’s Edge by Kali Napier – Reviewed
The Endsister by Penni Russon – Reviewed
Graevale by Lynette Noni – reviewed
Eventual Poppy Day by Libby Hathorn – Reviewed
Olmec Obituary by LJM Owen -Reviewed
The Passengers by Eleanor Limprecht – Reviewed and Interviewed.
Miss Lily’s Lovely Ladies by Jackie French – Reviewed
Surf Rider’s Club #2: Bronte’s Big Sister Problem by Mary van Reyk – Reviewed
Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer – reviewed
Skin in the Game: The Pleasure and Pain of Telling True Stories by Sonya Voumard – Reviewed
Mayan Mendacity by L.J.M. Owen – Reviewed
Grandpa, Me and Poetry by Sally Morgan – Reviewed
The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester – Reviewed
The Freedom Finders Series: Touch the Sun by Emily Conolan – Reviewed
The Book of Answers: The Ateban Cipher Book 2 by A.L. Tait – Reviewed
Little Gods by Jenny Ackland- Reviewed
I am Sasha by Anita Selzer – Reviewed
Thunderwith by Libby Hathorn – Reviewed
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris – Reviewed
Lovesome by Sally Seltmann – Reviewed
Egyptian Enigma by L.J.M. Owen – Reviewed
The Beast’s Heart by Leife Shallcross – Reviewed
Eleanor’s Secret – Reviewed
Australia Day by Melanie Cheng – Reviewed
The Most Marvellous Spelling Bee Mystery by Deborah Abela – Reviewed
Miles Franklin: A Short Biography by Jill Roe – Reviewed
The Jady Lily by Kirsty Manning – Reviewed
The Book of Colours by Robyn Cadwallader – Reviewed
Burning Bridges and Other Hobbies by Kitty Flanagan – Reviewed
Bluebottle by Belinda Castles – Reviewed
The Upside of Over by J.D. Barrett – Reviewed and Interviewed
P is for Pearl by Eliza Henry Jones – Reviewed
Into the Night by Sarah Bailey – Reviewed
The Yellow House by Emily O’Grady – Reviewed
Ella and Olivia: A Wild Adventure by Yvette Poshoglian – Reviewed
Kensy and Max: Breaking News by Jacqueline Harvey – Reviewed
Swallow’s Dance by Wendy Orr – Reviewed
We See the Stars by Kate van Hooft – Reviewed.
The Far Back Country by Kate Lyons- Reviewed
Beneath the Mother Tree by D.M. Cameron – Reviewed
The Peacock Summer by Hannah Richell – Reviewed
The Desert Nurse by Pamela Hart – Reviewed
The Gypsy Crown by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #1) – Reviewed
The Silver Horse by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #2) – Reviewed
The Herb of Grace by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #3) – Reviewed
The Cat’s Eye Shell by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #4) – Reviewed
Children of the Dragon: Relic of The Blue Dragon by Rebecca Lim – Reviewed
The Legacy of Beauregarde by Rosa Fedele – Reviewed
The Lightning Bolt by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #5) – Reviewed
The Botanist’s Daughter by Kayte Nunn – Reviewed
The Butterfly in Amber by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #6) – Reviewed
When the Lights Go Out by Lili Wilkinson – Reviewed
Amazing Australian Women: Twelve Women Who Shaped History by Pamela Freeman and Sophie Beer – Reviewed
The Honourable Thief by Meaghan Wilson Anastasios – Reviewed
No Country Woman by Zoya Patel – Reviewed
The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jaclyn Moriarty – Reviewed
Disappearing Act by Jacqueline Harvey (Kensy and Max #2) – Reviewed
Fairy Tales for Feisty Girls by Susannah McFarlane – Reviewed
The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton – Reviewed
Sisters and Brothers by Fiona Palmer – Reviewed
We Three Heroes by Lynette Noni – Reviewed
Archibald, the Naughtiest Elf in the World Goes to the Zoo by Skye Davidson, illustrated by Ágnes Rokiczky – Reviewed
Secrets Hidden Below by Sandra Bennett – Reviewed
What the Woods Keep by Katya de Becerra – Reviewed
The Cat with the Coloured Tail by Gillian Mears – Reviewed
Total Quack Up by Sally Rippin and Adrian Beck – Reviewed
Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend – Reviewed
Lenny’s Book of Everything by Karen Foxlee – Reviewed
The Slightly Alarming Tale of the Whispering Wars by Jaclyn Moriarty (Kingdoms and Empires #2) – Reviewed
Archibald, the Naughtiest Elf in the World Visits Santa by Skye Davidson, illustrated by Ágnes Rokiczky – Reviewed
Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers – Reviewed
Clementine Rose and the Bake-Off Dilemma by Jacqueline Harvey – Reviewed
All the Tears in China by Sulari Gentill – Reviewed for 2019 (to be counted as part of 2019’s challenge as well)
Last Woman Hanged by Caroline Overington – Reviewed

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During the course of the challenge, I completed the Chain of Charms series, and did four check in posts across the year, charting my progress every fifteen books – the way I do this may change next year but here are the four check in posts, where you can access all but one of the reviews, as that one is only going live in the new year. There are a handful of books I know I will be reading towards this and other challenges next year, as they have already landed with me as early copies for review, but typically go up on release day as per publicity instructions. My initial goal of fifteen blew out to seventy-nine – being conservative in my goal means I can plan some reads and any others that come across are a bonus – it also lessens the pressure on trying to find that many books given I get so many from publishers, and they’re not always Aussie authors, even though I do my best to make sure this is the focus of my blog.

Check in posts:

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Signing off for the year, so Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year

The Book Muse

Gendered Reading: Why Do We Still Insist on Gendering Books?

Over the past few months and years, I have been following online discussions about the way people gender reading – not only the act of reading, as a pursuit that girls are said to prefer, but the books we give younger children and what we expect of them as they grow and how they develop their reading tastes. Trends in publishing for children and young adults, but especially children, at that age of discovering independent reading and what they enjoy for themselves, can be gendered – targeted stories about princesses being saved for girls, and boys playing sports for boys, for example, are the two extremes. Girls are frilly and passive, boys are dirty and active. It sometimes seems that there is no in between, and children are often presented with books chosen by adults, the ones who buy the books – which, when you only know a few brief facts about a child, can be hard, because what if you buy the wrong book? Understandably, people like to play it safe, and that is where gendered reading can come in.

Yesterday, I followed Word of Mouth TV and Jacqueline Harvey on Twitter as they tweeted and chatted about and at the Colin Simpson Memorial Lecture, with the Australian Society of Authors and the Children’s Book Council of Australia, on the issue of gendered books and reading, and how adults in the lives of children – whether implicitly or explicitly, in schools and libraries, guide children towards books “for girls” or “for boys”. Which brings me to the question – just what are boy books versus girl books? Well, apparently, if you’ve been following the discussions, a few things boys won’t read, or are said to be discouraged from reading:

– a book with love in the title

– a book with a girl on the cover

– a novel (boys apparently prefer comic books)

– a girl in the title

– a female author.

However, as adults, parents, teachers, booksellers and librarians, we encourage girls to read widely, but still within what is seen as “acceptable” for girls: no crime, no violence, passive princesses! LOVE! As a girl reader who has read widely since the age of six, war and crime have never been a deterrent. Spies? GREAT, I love Kensy and Max, and so do many other boys and girls when I read the reviews – and adults. Yet, Jacqueline Harvey has only had the chance to present to one or two groups of just boys – rather than mixed groups or just girls, and George Ivanoff pointed out that he saw that the boys in the mixed group were just as enthralled as the girls – excellent news for Kensy and Max, Alice- Miranda and Clementine-Rose. In my view, anyone can read anything they desire, and that they feel ready for – readers should be free to explore the world around them, so whenever I see people asking for “boy books” or “girl books”, I often feel the desire to point out that books do not have a gender, they are just books. Kensy is exactly the kind of girl character I would have enjoyed as a kid – because she was so different and refused to be overly girly.

So why do we encourage these reading habits? Is it because we associate reading with characters in popular culture like Hermione Granger and Rory Gilmore (By the way, two of my favourite characters), or even Spencer Reid in Criminal Minds? The lack of male characters who enjoy reading, and who aren’t broody and sullen like Jess Mariano, also of Gilmore Girls? Girls as readers seem to have a few role models to look up to when it comes to reading and seeing themselves as readers but also as people who have interests beyond reading. Boys, it seems, are always shown as the hero, or the nerd (Spencer, but he’s an adorable nerd, and a positive reading role model), or Jess, who often faced unfair comparisons with certain literary men, like Holden Caulfield, whilst Rory, and indeed girls, have many to be compared to. Supporting characters can be readers if they are boys – Percy Weasley, but often, they fade into the background, and so, it feels, does reading as a pleasurable activity for our boys.

Of these characters I know of, Spencer, Rory and Hermione are the three whose reading is prominently and positively portrayed – to the point where other characters don’t blink. And when the other male characters in these books and shows – Derek Morgan, Harry and Ron, Dean or Logan – are shown as sporty and brave, or disinterested in reading (Ron), or a someone who would rather disrupt learning than learn (Logan), we don’t blink either. My point is these, whilst exceptionally well written characters, and ones I can either love or hate in varying degrees, are characteristic of how we portray what it means to be a boy or a girl, and therefore, what activities and indeed, books we desire them to read. And perhaps this is why we are seeing a trend in books aimed at both boys and girls by authors like Kate Forsyth and Jacqueline Harvey, and George Ivanoff, and a trend in reimagined fairy tales for girls who dare to not be a passive princess – gone are the days of the prince saving the day, Rapunzel can save herself now!

And books aimed at both boys and girls that tell stories of men and women, across a diverse group of people, who have dared to be different to what their respective societies, cultures, nations and times in history expected of them, and why Disney movies are starting to pull back on ending it with the marriage of the main male and female characters. There are quite a few to name that have done this over the years, but the three recent ones that stand out to me are Frozen, Brave and Moana, where it was love of family that saved the day. Sure, Anna might have ended up with Kristoff (I had Hans picked as the villain from the start – if they look too good to be true, they probably are), but it was the love she had for Elsa, and Elsa’s love for her – their acts of true love, that drove the movie and the idea that love does not have to be romantic to be powerful. It is the same love we see in Kensy and Max, and in the Other Worlds series, especially in book two, Beast World, narrated by a girl, Xandra, who is also disabled. George Ivanoff wrote her really well and made sure she was represented as a disabled girl in a way that wasn’t demeaning. In our Twitter conversation, he said he had written books one and three with a male protagonist, and two and four with a female protagonist, and hoped boys reading them would continue with the female characters.

Unpacking gendered reading and representation of this in film and other media is not going to be resolved in this one post. It requires self-reflection, and asking ourselves why do we hope boys will begin a series with a boy and continue reading the books narrated by a girl? Why do we assume boys are naturally more interested in comics, sports and certain male-coded things rather than fairy tales or girl spies, or anything that girls are supposed to inherently be drawn to? We assume, we don’t ask, unless we think the child is old enough to decide for themselves – and at what age do we start this? Before they start school? When they’re learning to read? Somewhere in between, or only once they hit age ten? My own reading experiences are varied. I read Narnia at age nine, and books like The Wind in the Willows, The Neverending Story and a few others that might have been deemed “boy books”. I also read what are likely deemed “girl books”: The Babysitters Club, Seven Little Australians, Little Women (many, many times), and The Secret Garden, amongst many others. These days, I read whatever I can, and whenever I can. I read books by women, by men, by both, by people with various identities, and books aimed at boy, girls and everyone in between. I laugh with Bridget, I spy with Kensy and Max, I paint with Rowly, and explore all avenues of history with Kate Forsyth. I traverse London with Charles Dickens, and solve crimes with Phryne, and so many others that I cannot list, otherwise this will become an exegesis rather than a blog post.

During this blog post, I have worked in the binary because many discussions I read do. This is a whole other level that needs unpacking, the inclusion of all genders, and perhaps a really good reason why we should refrain from using the terms “boy books” and “girl books” – and just go with books so we can all feel included, and all find our way to characters we identify with. This layer is something I do not have enough of an understanding about yet, and will leave to those who do to comment on and write about – and leave it at we need to stop gendering our books and reading habits. Just Read.

A list of books that we can all enjoy, whatever our gender:

Cyan Magenta Yellow Black

Kate Forsyth

Chain of Charms series

The Butterfly in Amber

Jacqueline Harvey:

Kensy and Max series

Kensy and Max: Breaking News

Kensy and Max: Disappearing Act

George Ivanoff

Other Worlds series

Other Worlds: Perfect World

Other Worlds: Beast World

Other Worlds: Game World

Other Worlds: Dark World

frogkisser

Garth Nix

Frogkisser!

Garth Nix and Sean Williams

Have Sword, Will Travel series

Have Sword, Will Travel

Let Sleeping Dragons Lie

Jessica Townsend

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow

Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow

Comment with your books that you’d recommend to anyone regardless of gender – I have based this on what I have read!

Book Bingo Twenty-two – a prize winning book, a book by someone over sixty, and a book with a yellow cover.

Book bingo take 2

With 2018 rushing towards its busy, and warm conclusion, and in consultation with my fellow book bingo players, I have assigned some previously read books to the following categories, and have assigned my prize-winning category is taken up this time by 2007 Aurealis Best Children’s Book winning series, The Chain of Charms by Kate Forsyth, and have utilised other books in different squares from last time for others this time.

Book bingo take 2 .jpg

Rows Across – update:

Row #2 –

A book with a yellow cover: Australia Day by Melanie Cheng – AWW2018

A book by an author you’ve never read before: If Kisses Cured Cancer by T.S. Hawken

A non-fiction book:

A collection of short stories: Fairy Tales for Feisty Girls by Susannah McFarlane – AWW2018

A book with themes of culture: Relic of the Blue Dragon (Children of the Dragon #1) by Rebecca Lim – AWW2018

Row #3: – BINGO

A book written by an Australian woman:Disappearing Act by Jacqueline Harvey (Kensy and Max #2) – AWW2018, The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton – AWW2018

A book written by an Australian man: Captain Cook’s Apprentice by Anthony Hill

A prize-winning book: Chain of Charms series by Kate Forsyth – 2007 Aurealis Award for Best Children’s Fiction – AWW2018

A book that scares you: What the Woods Keep by Katya de Becerra – AWW2018

A book with a mystery: The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes (Mitford Murders #1)

Row #5

A book that became a movie:

A book based on a true story:

A book everyone is talking about:

A book written by someone under thirty: The Yellow House by Emily O’Grady – AWW2018

A book written by someone over sixty: Miss Lily’s Lovely Ladies by Jackie French – AWW2018

Rows Down update:

Row #1 –

A book set more than 100 years ago: The Gypsy Crown by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #1) – AWW2018

A book with a yellow cover: Australia Day by Melanie Cheng – AWW2018

A book written by an Australian woman: Disappearing Act by Jacqueline Harvey (Kensy and Max #2) – AWW2018

A forgotten classic:

A book that became a movie:

Row #3: –

A memoir: No Country Woman by Zoya Patel – AWW2018

A non-fiction book:

A prize-winning book: Chain of Charms series by Kate Forsyth – 2007 Aurealis Award for Best Children’s Fiction – AWW2018

A book with non-human characters: A Home for Molly by Holly Webb, Beast World by George Ivanoff

A book everyone is talking about:

Row #5 – BINGO

A Foreign Translated Novel: The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree by Paola Peretti

A book with themes of culture: Relic of the Blue Dragon (Children of the Dragon #1) by Rebecca Lim – AWW2018

A book with a mystery: The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes (Mitford Murders #1)

A book with a number in the title:

A book written by someone over sixty: Miss Lily’s Lovely Ladies by Jackie French – AWW2018

Row three across and row five down are my bingo rows this time around!

Last time, Australia Day by Melanie Cheng slotted into the short story square, and yet this time, it fits into the yellow cover category this time. A series of short stories about life in Australia, and the varying experiences within society, aiming to capture the breadth of society and the different ways people react to, and deal with how they are perceived, and what is expected from the Australian experience, or perhaps in some cases, Melanie plays on the conflict between what is expected and who her characters are – varying between race, gender, class and sexuality to try and give a well-thought look at how Australia and Australia Day, isn’t the same for everyone, whatever their identity, and that it never will be. By revealing uncomfortable truths about Australian society in a way many people can relate to and understand.

Miss Lily 1 Another book I recycled this time was Miss Lily’s Lovely Ladies by Jackie French – which fitted into the over 500-page square last time. This time, it fits into a book by someone over sixty – I did this again to make it easier filling the remaining categories with books I am in the middle of, and some I am yet to find. A historical fiction novel set during World War One, Sophie is sent to London to a school to learn how to be a lady – yet it is much more than that – she learns the ways of spying and using her feminine ways to find out about the war, and eventually, play a part in the war on the front line, in a time when the world is in tatters, and where men and women are dying everyday as battles rage across Europe, leaving Sophie’s home relatively untouched by the guns of war. Jackie French has been writing for all age groups for many years, and has been a favourite of mine since I was thirteen, and read Somewhere Around the Corner, which I still have my shelf. Another good book that fit more than one square.

My final square is the prize-winning book square. Ordinarily, this would go to a single book, however, with the flexibility we have given ourselves in this challenge, I have assigned it to a series I read this year within two weeks (had I not been so sick, it would have been a week). The Chain of Charms series by Kate Forsyth won the Aurealis Award for Best Children’s Fiction in 2007, for the whole series, comprised of six books, and won for books 2-6, i the long fiction category:

Cyan Magenta Yellow Black

Kate Forsyth, The Silver Horse, The Chain of Charms 2, Pan Macmillan
Kate Forsyth, The Herb of Grace, The Chain of Charms 3, Pan Macmillan
Kate Forsyth, The Cat’s Eye Shell, The Chain of Charms 4, Pan Macmillan
Kate Forsyth, The Lightning Bolt, The Chain of Charms 5, Pan Macmillan
Kate Forsyth, The Butterfly in Amber, The Chain of Charms 6, Pan Macmillan

The series follows Luka and Emilia during the final days of a tyrannical reign during the time of Oliver Cromwell, trying to track down charms from each Roma family in the south regions of England, to reunite them and their families to bring back their good luck and fortune, and also, help stop the violence growing around them, and release their families from prison. It is a charming tail about friendship, and family, tying in historical fact and belief to create a world that children and any other readers can escape to.

Again, all my books are by Australian Women Writers. My aim was for each to be a unique book, but as I am cutting it fine, I’m not sure that will happen, so recycling will happen at times. Onto my next Book Bingo in two weeks time!

Australian Women Writer’s Challenge Check in Four – forty-five to sixty.

My fourth check in, and most current one as of the 12th of August, 2018, takes me to sixty books for the year, and in July I managed to read an entire Kate Forsyth series, as well as historical fiction, an #OwnVoices book, female focussed books, and one with fascinating link to ancient history that I adored, as well as memoir about race, feminism and religion that unpacked how various identities can often be at conflict and how this affects you as a person and how you see the world, but also looked at how various aspects of one’s identity can inform a world view and understandings.

Cyan Magenta Yellow Black

From Cromwell’s England to the desert hospitals of World War One, a haunted house and survivalists, dragons and China, and memoir, along with a good dose of fantasy, this list is as diverse as the others, with a large dollop of Kate Forsyth, whose books are always delightful.

My next post of this nature will begin with the latest Kensy and Max adventure, and from there, who knows what else will come?

Books forty-six to sixty

From here, there will be many review books to come, some feminist fairy tales, crime, a whole mix – anything could be read and that is what is so enjoyable about the challenge and these posts – getting to see what I have read so far, and where it all fits in.

Book Bingo fifteen – A Book Set More Than 100 Years Ago

Book bingo take 2

Kate Forsyth’s Chain of Charms series has been sitting on my shelf for a few years. Between university up until eighteen months ago, reviewing for publishers and most recently, writing quizzes for Scholastic Australia, I’ve been trying to squeeze them in, and have found time lately, so that’s what I have done.

A book set more than 100 years ago: The Gypsy Crown by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #1) – AWW2018

Book bingo take 2

Unknown When the family of Emilia and Luka Finch are taken to jail by Coldham, a representative of the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell, they are sent on a quest by their grandmother to reunite the six charms that were scattered between six gypsy/traveller families many years ago. With only a bear, a dog, a monkey and a horse to keep them company, Emilia and Luka must first evade capture and ending up in jail with their family – and then go in search of the five other families who hold the charms and bring all six together.

I loved this start – and am hoping to have the rest of the series read very soon – in fact, I have just started book two. Set in the late 1650s, this comes into the book set more than 100 years ago by A LOT. Kate often uses history as a backdrop to her novels and she has done it exceptionally well again, right down to the author notes that go through her research and the times that her novel is set in. Kate_Forsyth

My longer review is much more in depth, and I look forward to seeing where the rest of the series takes Emilia and Luka as they seek to help their family.

The Book Muse

Books, reading and writing

Category: Chain of Charms

2018 Reading Wrap Up Post

Pop Sugar Challenge Round Up

Australian Women Writers Challenge 2018 Completed Post

Gendered Reading: Why Do We Still Insist on Gendering Books?

Book Bingo Twenty-two – a prize winning book, a book by someone over sixty, and a book with a yellow cover.

Australian Women Writer’s Challenge Check in Four – forty-five to sixty.

Book Bingo fifteen – A Book Set More Than 100 Years Ago

Books, reading and writing

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