Book Around the Corner

Hello everyone,

Thanks a lot for all the book recommendations I received when I asked about Australian lit books. What a great response to my billet!

You can find lists by Lisa here and here and one by Sue here. I compiled a list of all the titles I could gather from lists and comments and I want to share it with you, it might be useful.  I hope I didn’t miss one, there were so many!

1. The Three Miss Kings by Ada Cambridge
2. The Sitters by Alex Miller
3. I For Isobel by Amy Witting
4. Behind the Night Bazaar by Angela Savage
5. Paris Dreaming by Anita Heiss
6. Barb Wires and Cherry Blossoms by Anita Heiss
7. Double-Wolf by Brian Castro
8. The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin
9. The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
10. Painted Clay by Capel Boake
11. The World Beneath by Cate Kennedy
12. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
13. The Glass Canoe by David Ireland
14. Ransom by David Malouf
15. Remembering Babylon by David Malouf
16. Fly Away Peter by David Malouf
17. Glissando – A Melodrama by David Musgrave
18. The Book of Emmett by Deborah Forster
19. The Catherine Wheel by Elizabeth Harrower
20. The Watchtower by Elizabeth Harrower
21. Three Dollars by Elliott Perlman
22. Taming the Beast by Emily Maguire
23. All the Birds, Singing by Evi Wyld
24. My Brother Jack by George Johnson
25. Barley Patch by Gerald Murnane
26. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
27. The Fortune of Richard Mahoney by Henry Handel Richardson
28. Walkabout by James Vance Marshall
29. Panthers and The Museum of Fire by Jen Craig
30. Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
31. Gilgamesh by Joan London
32. The Secret River by Kate Grenville
33. The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville
34. That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott
35. True Country by Kim Scott
36. Salt Creek by Lucy Treloar
37. (For the Term of) His Natural Life by Marcus Clarke
38. The Cardboard Crown by Martin Boyd
39. Lexicon by Max Barry
40. The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
41. My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin
42. Eucalyptus by Murray Bail
43. The Death of Bunny Munroe by Nick Cave
44. And the Ass Saw the Angel by Nick Cave
45. Amy’s Children by Olga Masters
46. Loving Daughters by Olga Masters
47. Voss by Patrick White
48. The Tree of Man by Patrick White
49. The Eye of the Storm by Patrick White
50. True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey
51. Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey
52. The Broken Shore by Peter Temple
53. The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea by Randolph Stow
54. The Sound Of One Hand Clapping by Richard Flanagan
55. Death of a River Guide by Richard Flanagan
56. The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
57. Floundering by Romy Ash
58. Swords and Crowns and Rings by Ruth Park
59. The Harp in the South by Ruth Park
60. The Arrival by Shaun Tan
61. The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard
62. The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard
63. A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz
64. The Art of the Engine Driver by Steven Carroll
65. Life in Seven Mistakes: A Novel by Susan Johnson
66. Drylands by Thea Astley
67. Coda by Thea Astley
68. Dirt Music by Tim Winton
69. The Riders by Tim Winton
70. Breath by Tim Winton
71. Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
72. Black Teeth by Zane Lovitt
73. The Dry by Jane Harper
74. Forces of Nature by Jane Harper
75. The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood
76. Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
77. The Eye of the Sheep by Sofia Laguna
78. The Choke by Sofia Laguna
79. The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
80. Goodwood by Holly Throsby

The titles in bold are the ones I already have on the shelf, so, obviously, I’ll start with these. I think that For the Rest of His Natural Life is a must read. Then I’ll try to mix genres, times and topics. I have a soft spot for short books, so I’ll probably take the number of pages into account. I know it shouldn’t be a criteria but sometimes you have to be pragmatic: it’s a way to discover more writers in a limited reading time.

In bold green is my wish list. I hope I’ll have time to read this soon and now I have to think about reading them in the original or in translation. Some might not be available in French, I haven’t checked out yet. So, this list is not final but I wanted to let you know what I was inclined to read.

Of course, if you have new reading ideas, don’t hesitate to leave a comment! 🙂

To be followed…

Emma