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Jon Doust

Goodreads Author

Born

Australia

Website

https://jondoust.com/

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Young Adult Books, History

Member Since

November 2009

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/jondoust

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Jon comes from an old WA family, steeped in the stories he’s gathered along the way and those handed down to him by his story telling grandfather, Roy Doust.

His first adult novel, Boy on a Wire (Fremantle Press), published in 2009, required a re-print before December and was then long-listed for the 2010 Miles Franklin, Australia’s most prestigious literary award, along with such notable Australian writers as Thomas Kenneally, Craig Silvey, Alex Miller, Sonya Hartnet, Peter Carey and the eventual winner, Peter Temple. It was then reprinted in 2019, with an entirely new cover. And he thought that only happened to the big names.

Since then, two more: To the Highlands and Return Ticket. The final novel completing his trilogy – One Boys Journey Jon comes from an old WA family, steeped in the stories he’s gathered along the way and those handed down to him by his story telling grandfather, Roy Doust.

His first adult novel, Boy on a Wire (Fremantle Press), published in 2009, required a re-print before December and was then long-listed for the 2010 Miles Franklin, Australia’s most prestigious literary award, along with such notable Australian writers as Thomas Kenneally, Craig Silvey, Alex Miller, Sonya Hartnet, Peter Carey and the eventual winner, Peter Temple. It was then reprinted in 2019, with an entirely new cover. And he thought that only happened to the big names.

Since then, two more: To the Highlands and Return Ticket. The final novel completing his trilogy – One Boys Journey to Man. Both were written in Menang Noongar Boodje, the Great Southern region of Western Australia, a place that nurtures him, sustains him, and where his spiritual brothers and sisters hold him.

Since that first novel Jon has often attended literary festivals, schools, book clubs, libraries, bus stops and coffee shops. These days he mainly entertains tour groups around Kinjarling Albany.

Some time ago, he was a regular on the conference circuit, speaking on a wide range of subjects, from Jungian psychological theory, the value of humour as a stress reliever, to leadership and community development. Those days are gone, given his age and weak knees.

Jon has been responsible for starting a range of organisations and events. These include one of Australia’s longest running comedy rooms, Perth’s Laugh Resort; the Australasian Cherry Pip Spitting Championship and the Manjimup Cherry Harmony Festival; Albany’s Sock Fence; and he was one of the founding members of the WA branch of the Wilderness Society.

He was born in Bridgetown (Joogilup) into a farming/retailing family and worked in both until he was old enough to know better. Outside the family business he was asked to leave jobs in banking, the media, retailing (again), farming (again) and comedy.

He also wrote a political satire – How to lose an election – based on his own losing experiences and co-written with Ken Spillman three children’s books – Magpie Mischief, Magwheel Madness and Kidnapped. Two almost received awards.

Jon got a BA English from Curtin University and has been a member of the Jungian Society, the Australian Association for Psychological Type, Laugh Resort Inc, an association of stand-up comedians, Creative Albany, a creative community think tank based in WA’s first town and port, the Australian Society of Authors, the Wilderness Society, and the International Society for Humour Studies.

He is old now but can still do 80 squats in a day, body surf, run through busy traffic, and remember where he put his shoes.
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Average rating: 3.68 · 249 ratings · 50 reviews · 11 distinct works • Similar authors

	Boy on a Wire 3.65 avg rating — 118 ratings — published 2009 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Into Your Arms: Nick Cave's Songs Reimagined by Kirsten Krauth (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Sarah Bailey (Contributor), Tony Birch (Contributor) 3.60 avg rating — 72 ratings — published 2023 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Return Ticket 3.73 avg rating — 33 ratings — published 2020 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	To the Highlands really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 26 ratings — published 2012 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Magpie Mischief by Jon Doust (Goodreads Author), Ken Spillman 3.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2002	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Voices of the South: Albany-Kinjarling and the Great Southern by Roger Guinery, Dianne Wolfer (Goodreads Author), Maree Dawes it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Magwheel Madness by Jon Doust (Goodreads Author), Ken Spillman (Editor) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2005	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Kidnapped! (The Amity Kids Adventures #3) by Jon Doust (Goodreads Author), Ken Spillman, James Foley (Goodreads Author) (Illustrator) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Boy on a Wire 1st Edition by Doust, Jon (2009) Paperback by Jon Doust (Goodreads Author), Unknown Author 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Disturbing the Peace (The Amity Kids Adventures #2) by Ken Spillman, Jon Doust (Goodreads Author), James Foley (Goodreads Author) (Illustrator) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2013	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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WA local government elections

In Albany, the ballot slips are in the mail.

Here are the choices.

For those of you who have never done this before, or have forgotten how to do it, here are some basic instructions.

The MayorThere are seven candidates.

You may put 1 in the box of the mayor you want and leave the rest.

Or you could put 2, then all the way down to 7. Or any other variation.

My preference, and I always do this, e

Series by Jon Doust

One Boy's Journey to Man (3 books)
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Jon Doust (Goodreads Author)

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The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine

by Ilan Pappé

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Mother Mary Comes To Me

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One Snowy Day

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Quotes by Jon Doust (?)

“…a hilarious, angry and sympathetic portrait of boys behaving badly, teeming with sadistic bullies, imperfect heroes, adolescent onanists and ice-cream gorging hedonists.’— The West Australian”
― Jon Doust, Boy on a Wire

tags: boarding-school, boy-on-a-wire, jon-doust, the-west-australian

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“From the opening sentence, it is clear that we are in the presence of a writer with a distinctive voice and uncanny ability to capture the bewilderment and burgeoning anger of a boy struggling to remain true to himself while navigating the hypocritical system he finds himself trapped in … what makes Boy on a Wire much more than a bleak coming-of-age story is Doust’s sharp wit. “Justice not only prevails at Grammar School, it is rampant.” If you know an angry teenager, give this to him.’ — The Age”
― Jon Doust, Boy on a Wire

tags: boarding-school, boy-on-a-wire, jon-doust, the-age

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“The boarding school memoir or novel is an enduring literary subgenre, from 1950s classics such as The Catcher in the Rye to Curtis Sittenfeld’s Prep. Doust’s recognisably Australian contribution to the genre draws on his own experiences in a West Australian boarding school in this clever, polished, detail-rich debut novel. From the opening pages, the reader is wholly transported into the head of Jack Muir, a sensitive, sharp-eyed boy from small-town WA who is constantly measured (unfavourably) against his goldenboy brother. The distinctive, masterfully inhabited adolescent narrator recalls the narrator in darkly funny coming-of-age memoir Hoi Polloi (Craig Sherborne)—as does the juxtaposition of stark naivety and carefully mined knowingness.’ — Bookseller+Publisher”
― Jon Doust, Boy on a Wire

tags: boarding-school, boy-on-a-wire, jon-doust

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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The Seasonal Read...: * Completed Tasks: PLEASE DO NOT DELETE ANY POST IN THIS THREAD	3708	399	Nov 30, 2019 09:00PM
Pick-a-Shelf: LOST and FOUND (2019 LOST, part 3)	44	47	Dec 31, 2019 03:18AM
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Jon’s Quotes

“In Israel, we spent time working on several kibbutzim. It was unique experience and a very different type of culture than I was used to. I enjoyed picking grapefruits, netting fish on the "fish farm", and doing other agricultural work. Mostly, however, it was the structure of the community that impressed me. People there were living their democratic values. The kibbutz was owned by the people who lived there, the "bosses" were elected by the workers, and overall decisions for the community were made democratically. I recall being impressed by how young-looking and alive the older people there were. Democracy, it seemed, was good for one's health.”
― Bernie Sanders, Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In

tags: israel, kibbutz, sanders

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