#AussieAuthors2026, #AussieYAChallenge, #LoveOZMG, #LoveOzYA, adventure, Alice-Miranda, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, biography, Blog Tour, Book bingo, Book Industry, Books, challenges, check in post, Children's Literature, Crime/Mystery, Disney Reading Challenge, Dymocks Reading Challenge, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, historical fiction, history, humour, Indigenous authors, Jacqueline Harvey, Junior Fiction, literary fiction, memoir, middle grade, mythology, non-fiction, Picture Books, plays, poetry, Publishers, Reading, Reviews, Scholastic, series, The Nerd Daily, Young Adult

June 2026 Reading Round Up

In June, I read 21 books, and reviewed most of them. All but one were by Australian authors, and one or two were re-reads. I also finished reading the Alice-Miranda books that I hadn’t read yet, and have been staying on top of my review books. It’s meant I have been able to squeeze some… Continue reading June 2026 Reading Round Up

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Tiki and Jill and the Great Australian Camel Race by Kate Simpson and Dr Jill Colwell, illustrated by Craig Smith

Title: Tiki and Jill and the Great Australian Camel Race Author: Kate Simpson and Dr Jill Colwell, illustrated by Craig Smith Genre: Non-fiction Publisher: Allen and Unwin Published: 30th June 2026 Format: Hardcover Pages: 40 Price: $24.99 Synopsis: The amazing true story about a remarkable camel called Tiki from two CBCA award-winning creators, the author… Continue reading Tiki and Jill and the Great Australian Camel Race by Kate Simpson and Dr Jill Colwell, illustrated by Craig Smith

#AussieYAChallenge, #LoveOZMG, #LoveOzYA, animals, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, Book Industry, Books, historical fiction, history, Junior Fiction, literary fiction, memoir, middle grade, non-fiction, Picture Books, Reading

Books for ANZAC Day

ANZAC Day is coming up next Friday, and it marks two significant anniversaries: 110 years since the landing at Gallipoli of the first ANZACS, and 80 years since the end of World War Two, as well as commemorating all who have served Australia in war. The following list of books are about the ANZACS and… Continue reading Books for ANZAC Day

#AussieAuthors2024, #AussieYAChallenge, #LoveOZMG, #LoveOzYA, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, biography, Blog Tour, Book bingo, Book Industry, Books, CBCA, challenges, Charlotte Barkla, check in post, Children's Literature, Christmas, Chronicles of Whetherwhy, Covers, Dani Vee, Dervla McTiernan, Dymocks Reading Challenge, Ella at Eden, Ella Diaries, Ella's World, Elston-Fright, Emily Rodda, Events, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, Friday Barnes, Gannet Quartet, historical fiction, history, humour, Indigenous authors, Jackie French, Jacqueline Harvey, Junior Fiction, Kate Forsyth, Larrikin House, literary fiction, memoir, middle grade, mythology, NCACL, non-fiction, Pages and Co Series, Pamela Hart, Picture Books, plays, poetry, Publishers, R.A. Spratt, Reading, Reviews, satire, Scholastic, Sci-Fi, series, short stories, Sleep with Kip, Solomon Macaroni, Speculative fiction, spies, Sulari Gentill, The Girls Who Change the World, The Nerd Daily, translated works, Verse novels, Wherewithal Way, Willa and Woof, Wolves of Greycoat Hall, Young Adult

Final Reading Log 2024

In 2024 I read 244 books from authors covering a wide range of identities and nationalities, adult fiction, children’s and young adult books, and across a wide range of genres. There were some I loved some I didn’t, and some that I felt a bit middling about – they may not have been my thing,… Continue reading Final Reading Log 2024

#AussieAuthors2024, #AussieYAChallenge, #LoveOZMG, #LoveOzYA, adventure, Alice England, animals, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, biography, Blog Tour, Book bingo, Book Industry, Books, challenges, Charlotte Barkla, check in post, Children's Literature, Christmas, Crime/Mystery, Dani Vee, Deltora Quest, Dervla McTiernan, Dymocks Reading Challenge, Dystopia, Ella at Eden, Ella Diaries, Ella's World, Emily Rodda, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, Friday Barnes, Futuristic Fiction, Gannet Quartet, Garth Nix, historical fiction, history, humour, Indigenous authors, Jackie French, Jacqueline Harvey, Junior Fiction, Kate Forsyth, Kate Temple, Larrikin House, literary fiction, memoir, middle grade, NCACL, non-fiction, Pamela Hart, Picture Books, poetry, Publishers, R.A. Spratt, Reading, Reviews, satire, Scholastic, Sci-Fi, series, short stories, Sleep with Kip, Solomon Macaroni, Speculative fiction, spies, Sulari Gentill, The Girls Who Change the World, The Nerd Daily, Verse novels, Wherewithal Way, Wolves of Greycoat Hall, Writing, Young Adult

Australian authors read in 2024

I read 206 Australian authors in 2024, many more than international authors, because I feel like Australian authors are often overlooked in favour of US or UK authors, unless they have a big name that is almost guaranteed to sell books. My Australian reading has been as diverse as possible, within genre and author identity.… Continue reading Australian authors read in 2024

#AussieAuthors2024, #AussieYAChallenge, #LoveOZMG, #LoveOzYA, adventure, Alice England, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, biography, Blog Tour, Book bingo, Book Industry, challenges, classics, Crime/Mystery, Dani Vee, Dymocks Reading Challenge, Ella at Eden, Ella Diaries, Ella's World, Emily Rodda, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, Friday Barnes, historical fiction, history, humour, Indigenous authors, Jackie French, Jacqueline Harvey, Junior Fiction, Kate Forsyth, Kate Temple, Larrikin House, literary fiction, memoir, middle grade, Miss Mary-Kate, mythology, NCACL, non-fiction, Pamela Hart, Picture Books, poetry, Publishers, R.A. Spratt, Reading, Reviews, satire, Scholastic, Sci-Fi, series, short stories, Solomon Macaroni, Speculative fiction, spies, The Girls Who Change the World, The Nerd Daily, Wherewithal Way, Willa and Woof, Wolves of Greycoat Hall, Writing, Young Adult

Australian Women Read in 2024

For the past several years, I have been eager to promote Australian women writers. Not to the detriment of men or international authors, but because Australian women writers are brilliant and often overlooked, so don’t always get the recognition they deserve. There are some who are popular, but for those who aren’t, I feel that… Continue reading Australian Women Read in 2024

#AussieAuthors2025, #AussieYAChallenge, #LoveOZMG, #LoveOzYA, Alice England, animals, Anna James, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, biography, Blog Tour, Book bingo, Book Industry, Books, challenges, check in post, Children's Literature, Chronicles of Whetherwhy, Crime/Mystery, Dani Vee, Dervla McTiernan, Dymocks Reading Challenge, Dystopia, Ella at Eden, Ella Diaries, Ella's World, Emily Rodda, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, Friday Barnes, Futuristic Fiction, Gannet Quartet, historical fiction, history, Indigenous authors, Jackie French, Jacqueline Harvey, Junior Fiction, Kate Forsyth, Kate Temple, Larrikin House, literary fiction, memoir, middle grade, NCACL, Pages and Co Series, Pamela Hart, Picture Books, poetry, Publishers, R.A. Spratt, Reading, Reviews, Scholastic, series, short stories, Solomon Macaroni, Speculative fiction, spies, Sulari Gentill, The Girls Who Change the World, The Nerd Daily, Verse novels, Wherewithal Way, Willa and Woof, Wolves of Greycoat Hall, Young Adult

Total Women Authors Read in 2024

During 2024 I read 210 books by women, which was in line with my goal to read more books by women in general, and I did my best to read as diversely as possible, but I was also reading the books I already had or that were sent to me for review or literary judging,… Continue reading Total Women Authors Read in 2024

#AussieAuthors2024, animals, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, Book Industry, Books, Children's Literature, history, middle grade, non-fiction, Picture Books, Publishers, Reading, Reviews

Unreal: Can You Tell Fact from Fake? by Kate Simpson, illustrated by Leila Rudge

Title: Unreal: Can You Tell Fact from Fake? Author: Kate Simpson, illustrated by Leila Rudge Genre: Non-fiction Publisher: Allen and Unwin Published: 2nd July 2024 Format: Hardcover Pages: 64 Price: $29.99 Synopsis: Guess which of the weird and wonderful exhibits are real and which are fake in this sumptuous collection of extraordinary animals and plants.… Continue reading Unreal: Can You Tell Fact from Fake? by Kate Simpson, illustrated by Leila Rudge

#AussieAuthors2024, #AussieYAChallenge, #LoveOZMG, #LoveOzYA, adventure, animals, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, Blog Tour, Book bingo, Book Industry, Books, challenges, check in post, Children's Literature, classics, Crime/Mystery, Dani Vee, Dymocks Reading Challenge, Emily Rodda, Fables, Fairytales, Fantasy, Friday Barnes, historical fiction, history, humour, Junior Fiction, Larrikin House, literary fiction, middle grade, non-fiction, Picture Books, Publishers, R.A. Spratt, Reading, Reviews, Scholastic, series

June 2024 Reading Round Up

During June I read 17 books and made headway on all of my challenges – with only one or two prompts for each to go. I also completed Mains challenge prompts for the Dymocks Mains Prompts and prepared for a few blog tours. Most books were Australian, and I reviewed most of them as well… Continue reading June 2024 Reading Round Up

#AussieAuthors2024, animals, Aussie authors, Australian literature, Australian women writers, Author interviews, Book Industry, Children's Literature, historical fiction, history, Interviews, literary fiction, Picture Books

Interview with Kate Simpson How to Move a Zoo

Hi Kate, and welcome to the Book Muse How did you find out about Jessie the Elephant’s story? My publisher Anna McFarlane introduced me to Jessie’s story. She visited an exhibition at the Museum of Sydney called How to Move a Zoo and was really taken with Jessie’s journey across the city. She messaged me… Continue reading Interview with Kate Simpson How to Move a Zoo