You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
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Challenges: Monthly
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January 2014 REPORTING THREAD
TRANSLATION Alright you great guys and girls. Time to put on your best singlet (view spoiler), very short workman shorts (view spoiler) and flip-flops, or your board shorts or your swimming costume if you're heading to the beach. Place a few sausages on the outdoor barbecue (or whatever you vegetarians want to cook the traditional Australian way of cooking things on the barbecue and cover with sauce like ketchup but tastes very different), help yourself to a large bottle of beer or a soft drink out of the portable box-shaped drinks cooler (although if it's empty you're off to the take away alcoholic bottle shop and you are paying) and pull up a seat for the January Challenge.
So no more talking about things that don't matter before you all start getting upset and making a scene. This month, in honour of the great sunburnt land who celebrates Australia Day on the 26th, you'll all have a read a very good, honest to goodness Australian book. And by that it has to fit either of these rules:
1.The book's set in Australia.
2.The author is Australian born (don't care if they are from a rural town or a city). If they've moved overseas since then, well, they're a bit stupid but still count.
I know some of you lot have been talking about having a look at our Australian writers, so now is your chance to check out some of our very good books. And I'm telling you the absolute truth, some of them are excellent.
Now remember you don't have to go to fast, you do have all month to read (just so you don't wear yourself out). But make sure you don't go to slow like a lazy person either and get it done on time (but I'm not encouraging any fake sick days off work to complete the challenge either).
Personally though, I think this challenge is going to be lots of fun and very lively.
Don't be an idiot and make sure you follow the standard challenge rules:
see above post :)
Please limit chatting in this thread so I can keep track for badges.Feel free to keep chatting over in the discussion thread
I readThe Husband's Secret byLiane MoriartySet in "Straya"-(Sydney, Melbourne )-5 points
Author born in Sydney - 5 points
Author is female- 3 points
416 pages-3 points
Total 16 points
Oop you missed some points Marnie.Author:
3 pts - Is female
Thank you Rusalka - I blame my weary eyes. I have edited my score.
I read The Light Between OceansBook is set in 'Straya. - 5 pts 5 pts.
The author is Aussie born – 5 pts M.L. Stedman 5 pts.
Author:
3 pts - Is female 3 pts.
Pages:
2 pts - 300 - 399 pages 352 pp. ,2pts.
Bonus points:
2 pts – You encounter a kangaroo at any stage in your book. Only counts once. 2 pts.
17 pts.
Travis of NNY wrote: "The Dead Path 
by Stephen M. Irwin2 pts 384 pages
5 pts Aussie born
Lives in Brisbane 5 pts
Setting Tallong 5 pts
all characters fr..."
Hmmm.... i think we have a crossing of wires. Probably my fault.
I get from the info you've given me:
2 pts 384 pages
5 pts Aussie born
Setting Tallong 5 pts
Not sure what other points you get. Cover and bonus points you'll have to answer, however, I can't find anything that says he's a Indigenous writer.
Is the all chars from Tallong for bonus points? That's only place i can see. Then we have a misunderstanding there too. Tallong is pretty close to me, and only 2.5% of the Australian population is Indigenous (Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander). Was a particular char mentioned?
I was just plain confused with things when I posted that so I fixed my post.
It's completely okay. I completely and utterly understand! Did you enjoy it?
It turned much different than I expected but once I adjusted my brain to it all I enjoyed it.
I read The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough for this challenge and really enjoyed it.
Book Reqs.
5 pts - Book is set in 'Straya
5 pts - The author is Aussie born
Author:
3 pts - Is female
Title: (sub-titles do not count)
3 pts – Has an animal in the title
Cover: (based on the issue you read)
2 pts - Has a person with an obscenely large hat on it
Pages:
5 pts - 600 - 1000 pages
Bonus points:
0 pts
23 pts. total
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent 1/5/14The author is Aussie born – 5 pts
Author:
3 pts - Is female
Title: (sub-titles do not count)
0 pts
Cover: (based on the issue you read)
0 pts
Pages:
2 pts - 300 - 399 pages
Bonus points:
0 pts
Total 10 pts
Low challenge score, but a 5* read.
The audiobook read by Morven Christie is wonderful!
Book is set in 'Straya. - 5 ptsThe author is Aussie born – 5 pts
Author:
5 pts – Is Aboriginal
3 pts - Is female
Title: (sub-titles do not count)
3 pts – Has an animal in the title
Cover: (based on the issue you read)
4 pts – Has someone back lit with the blinding Aussie sun
Pages:
0 points for pages (less than 200)
This book did not have a lot of pages but it had a lot of story packed into the ones that it did have!
Bonus points:
2 pts – One of the characters is Aboriginal or a Torres Strait Islander
2 pts – You encounter a kangaroo at any stage in your book.
----------
29 points for
Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence
by Doris Garimara Pilkington (Nugi Garimara)
Points are a work in progress. Will reveal book when I am done....Book is set in 'Straya. - 5 pts
The author is Aussie born – 5 pts
Author:
4 pts – Has won a Booker Prize
2 pts – Has won a Miles Franklin Award (Aussie book award)
Title: (sub-titles do not count)
2 pts - Has a person's name in the title (explain if not obvious)
Cover: (based on the issue you read)
4 pts – Has someone back lit with the blinding Aussie sun
Pages:
3 pts - 400 - 499 pages
Bonus points:
2 pts – One of the characters is Aboriginal or a Torres Strait Islander
2 pts – You encounter a kangaroo at any stage in your book. Only counts once.
5 pts – Book set in 'Straya 5 pts – author is Aussie born
3 pts – author is female
1 pts – first name and surname start with same letter
3 pts – 400- 99 pages in length
0 pts – bonus
____
17 points for American Kindle version of On the Jellicoe Road
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Would have had 5 more pts if they'd kept original cover art (for the backlit figure in blazing sun and image of river). Oh bother!
They always do that!! They never change them for the better points. Did you enjoy? I've been meaning to pick it up for year and years.
At least both covers made sense for the book :) I had trouble at first figuring out that the image on my version above is supposed to be a poppy. Thanks, I enjoyed this read very much. Kind of took me by surprise because of its stripped down simplicity and yet its complexity in capturing some raw essence of real life and emotion.
Will write short review soon. Still reflecting, gathering my thoughts...
I just finished:A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
5 pts Set in Australia (although its only about half of it)
5 pts Title has an Australian town or city in it (subjective to Rusalka's ruling due to the whole town name not being there)
2 pts Person's name in the title
1 pt 262 pages
2 pt bonus for a wallaby!!
--------------
15 pts total
edited for macropod points
We call it Alice. Why use 2 words when you can use one? It totally counts
Rusalka wrote: "We call it Alice. Why use 2 words when you can use one? It totally counts"LOL
I also read The Husband's Secret by Liane MoriartySet in "Straya"-(Sydney, Melbourne )-5 points
Author born in Sydney - 5 points
Author is female- 3 points
416 pages-3 points
Total 16 points
Rusalka - AmyK's book also has a person's name in the title - does she get points for that too? or just the town name?
Ooo... good question. Umm yes. I believe it was named after an Alice. Yes, yes it was. More points Amy and thank your Mum.
I read BloodSetting is Australia: 5 pts
Author is Australian :5 pts
Author is of aboriginal descent but I'll wait for an adjudication on the points :)
Title is one word: 1 pts
Author name is bigger than title: 5 pts
Pages: 253: 1pts
Bonus points
Mother tells son he is half Aboriginal
Kangaroos make an appearance but only of the flattened variety
Not sure if the bonus points count, but definitely 12 points otherwise!
Rusalka wrote: "Ooo... good question. Umm yes. I believe it was named after an Alice. Yes, yes it was. More points Amy and thank your Mum."Edited for the extra points....thanx Mum
@ Kat - the "flattened variety" of kangaroos? Is that a nice way of indicating those roos that truckers and drivers manage to "aim" at rather than avoid because they are considered nuisance animals in some areas?
Bonus points count. As long as it was actually kangaroo roadkill, not an assumed kangaroo roadkill.
Cherie wrote: "@ Kat - the "flattened variety" of kangaroos? Is that a nice way of indicating those roos that truckers and drivers manage to "aim" at rather than avoid because they are considered nuisance anima..."
You can't avoid them. They just appear and get in the way and all of a sudden you have a roo sized dent in the side of your car. Or a written off car as they have jumped on your bonnet as you drove past (housemate). Or are in the front seat with you as they have come through your windscreen (Lexx's sister).
Rusalka wrote: "Bonus points count. As long as it was actually kangaroo roadkill, not an assumed kangaroo roadkill."And sorry. Yup on the author as well.
Sounds like the deer here in the Pacific Northwest. They do the same things!My ex- room mate had a coyote jump down off the side if a hill and actually put a huge dent into the passenger side front fender. It got up and ran away. I would never have believed it, except I was sitting in the passenger seat!
AmyK wrote: "I just finished:A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
5 pts Set in Australia (although its only about half of it)
5 pts Title has an Australian town or city in it (subjec..."
When reading the title of this book I automatically got the song 'A town called Alice' in my head. I went to look up if this was somehow related to the book and whether the song is also about Alice Sprins, only to find out the the song is actually called 'A town like Malice'! I sang it wrong all those years...
Too funny, Peggy! I didn't even know there was a song. Oh, I have to look that one up!!!
Now i have to check out this song...A COYOTE!! At least we only have a few animals with teeth! I mean, yes a roo could possibly disembowel you. And the top 8 poisonous snakes, and most of the most poisonous spiders, and jellyfish that only need to touch you with 3 tentacles to stop all 3 major systems in your body, and the fish that looks like a rock that you stand on and die from a neurotoxin in 20 mins, but NONE OF THOSE HAVE TEETH!
That's right, and keeps the likes of me from moving "down there!" We have coyotes in Texas, yes, in the cities. They love cats and small dogs. At least they have teeth. Unlike the scary killers in the Outback.,
Outback you just need to watch for scorpions and Death Adders. Too hot for anything else really... Oh and kids. Have friends working about 150kms NW of Alice and all their problems have come from the local kids killing their chickens. They wanted to see what happened when they threw rocks at the chickens... /sigh
Also, you get taught how to deal with all of the above (ie. if it looks weird, don't poke it. I SAID DON'T POKE IT!). I don't know how to deal with teeth.
Crocodiles have teeth! Quite big ones, too.
Good point. Salty's are up north though... I'm down south... But good point...
Most of time when you leave the teeth alone, the teeth will not bother you. Honestly, i have spent a lot of time alone in the wild and met all kind of critters and the only thing that scared the #<?%%>< out if me was a cow. Some thing about these long horns coming at you when you have no place to get safe.
Fair enough!! That's our philosophy too. It looks dangerous, leave it the hell alone. We used to go cow tipping as teenagers out at a campsite. Until a bull charged one night... never again. Terrifying.
I sported a deer sized dent in my car, along with strands of it's hair a number of years ago. The beastie ran into the side of my car, rolled over the trunk, onto the pavement, then got up and ran into the bush. I'm certainly glad it didn't get into the passenger seat with me. That visual of the kangaroo sitting in the front seat had me laughing loudly!As for coyotes - they're more scared of you. If you can get within 20 feet of one, I'll give you a medal.
The only thing that we could figure is that the hill he jumped off of was on the out side of a curve in the road, and he simply did not see us until he had made the jump and it just took him right into the car.I saw him carrom off, roll over and get up and run off. If someone had been behind us on the road, they would have rear ended us, because my room mate slammed on the brakes when she heard the thump, before she pulled over onto the side of the road. That was scary!!!
Can you really push a cow over? When I was a kid, we lived at the end of a country road where a big dairy and cow pasture was, but we never messed with those cows. THEY WERE BIG!!!
The Husband's Secret 5 pts - Book is set in 'Straya
5 pts - The author is Aussie born
3 pts – author is female
2 pts - 300 - 399 pages
Total 15 pts
I saw a coyote one time in our very far backyard by the creek. I thought at first it was a scrawny german shepherd then realized it was a coyote. By that time it already had disappeared pronto into the brush.That house (we've since moved) backs up to a state armed forces base centrally located within the city limits. There's a large, brushy buffer between the houses and the base that's attractive to the coyotes. The creeks connect to other nearby nature preserves, and they're like coyote highways.
Cats were constantly disappearing in that neighborhood, including several of ours over the years before we learned that keeping them in at night wasn't enough :( The coyotes even prowl around in the day. Two of our immediate neighbors saw their small dogs attacked in separate incidents by coyotes right in their back yards.
The coyotes ran away once people showed up. (One of the dogs survived and recovered from the injuries but never from the trauma. The other dog died in neighbor's arms on the spot.) Cats and smaller (usually) dogs are like candy to the wily coyote.
Cherie wrote: "Too funny, Peggy! I didn't even know there was a song. Oh, I have to look that one up!!!"Good song and band! I'm familiar with Paul Weller's later Style Council. Like them, but this band (The Jam) rocks! Thanks for the intro.
Tejas Janet wrote: "That's right, and keeps the likes of me from moving "down there!" We have coyotes in Texas, yes, in the cities. They love cats and small dogs. At least they have teeth. Unlike the scary killers..."
Tejas Janet, where in TX are you?
Rusalka, do wallabies count for roo points?
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You'll love this one...!! A book club & more
Books mentioned in this topic
I Am the Messenger (other topics)A Town Like Alice (other topics)
Burial Rites (other topics)
Year of Wonders (other topics)
True History of the Kelly Gang (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Hannah Kent (other topics)Peter Carey (other topics)
Colleen McCullough (other topics)
Dean Mayes (other topics)
Jo Nesbø (other topics)
More...
Alright you top blokes and sheilas. Time to don your best chesty bond, stubbies and thongs, or your boardies or your cozzie if you're heading to the surf. Throw a few snags on the barbie (or whatever you vegos want to burn and cover with 'mato sauce), help yourself to a longneck or a softie out of the esky (although if it's empty you're off to the bottlo and it's your shout) and pull up a pew for the January Challenge.
So no more beating around the bush before you all start carrying on like a pork chop. This month, in honour of the great sunburnt land who celebrates 'Straya Day on the 26th, you'll all have a read a you beaut, dinky-di Aussie book. And by that it has to fit either of these rules:
1.The book's set in 'Straya.
2.The author is Aussie born (don't care if they are from the bush or the big smoke). If they've pissed off overseas since then, well, they're a bit of a drongo but still count.
I know some of you lot have been talking about having a sticky beak at our Aussie writers, so now is your chance to check out some of our heaps good books. And fair dinkum, some of it is top shelf.
Now remember you don't have to go flat out like a lizard drinking, you do have all month to read (just so you don't knacker yourself). But make sure your not a bludger either and get it done on time (but I'm not encouraging any sickies to complete the challenge either).
Personally though, I reckon this challenge is going to go off like a frog in a sock.
Don't be a galah and make sure you follow the standard challenge rules:
General rules:
1. The book may be in any format - paperback, ebook, audiobook.
2. The book may NOT be combined with the Year Long Chunkster Challenge.
3. The book must be read between January 1 and January 31, 2014.
4. The challenge is for one book. You may read more books if you chose, but only the highest scoring book will apply.
Scoring: (Count all that apply)
Book is set in 'Straya. - 5 pts
The author is Aussie born – 5 pts
Author:
5 pts – Is Aboriginal or a Torres Strait Islander
4 pts – Has won a Booker Prize
3 pts - Is female
2 pts – Has won a Miles Franklin Award (Aussie book award)
1 pts – First name and surname start with the same letter
Title: (sub-titles do not count)
5 pts - Has an Australian town or city in it
4 pts – Has a number in it
3 pts – Has an animal in the title
2 pts - Has a person's name in the title (explain if not obvious)
1 pts – Is one word
Cover: (based on the issue you read)
5 pts – Author's name is larger than the title
4 pts – Has someone back lit with the blinding Aussie sun
3 pts – Has an Australian native animal on it
2 pts - Has a person with an obscenely large hat on it
1 pts – Has a body of water on the front
Pages:
5 pts - 600 - 1000 pages
4 pts - 500 - 599 pages
3 pts - 400 - 499 pages
2 pts - 300 - 399 pages
1 pts - 200 - 299 pages
Bonus points:
2 pts – One of the characters is Aboriginal or a Torres Strait Islander
2 pts – You encounter a kangaroo (or any other macropod http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macropod...) at any stage in your book. Only counts once.