Read a book from each country discussion

'Cloudstreet' by Tim Winton

Contest by Matthew Reilly, his best book

Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey

Walkabout by James Vance Marshall

Any book by Peter Carey

"Sorry" by Gail Jones. This novel about the power of language in its many forms is ironically (or appropriately?) overwritten at times but still an absorbing read. One can tell Jones has read Carey; there are echos of "Oscar and Lucinda" throughout the work.

"A Fraction of the Whole." A Booker shortlister, this novel is zany and funny and quick, with dashes of homespun humor a la John Irving. It had me until the last 100 pages, then proceeded to unravel.

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Geraldine Brooks is from Austrailia, I just read her book 'Foreign Correspondance' and it was a good, light read.

Madeleine St. John wrote some lovely books - The Women in Black, A Pure Clear Light, A Stairway to Paradise, The Essence of the Thing A Novel

Henry Lawson.

I realise his writing is looked down upon by alot of snobs in Australia but in my opinion he is one of the great Australian writers.
To quote wiki who quoted from somewhere else-
His 'prose collection 'While the Billy Boils'... virtually reinvented Australian realism".[5:] Elder writes that "he used short, sharp sentences, with language as raw as Ernest Hemingway or Raymond Carver. With sparse adjectives and honed-to-the-bone description, Lawson created a style and defined Australians: dryly laconic, passionately egalitarian and deeply humane."['

His writing is at turns hilarious and moving and thoughtful.

I am currently reading Flying Too High by Kerry Greenwood. This is the second in a mystery series featuring Phryne Fisher and I love them so far!

Last of the Nomads
The Songlines
We of the Never Never
Mailman of the Birdsville Track: The Story of Tom Kruse

I just read:
The Happiest Little Town by Aussie author Barbara Hannay which is a feel good found family story about a small town theatre group, a country romance and a new life. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Here is my review

Mullumbimby is an award-winning contemporary fiction by Indigenous Australian author Melissa Lucashenko. It features smart and sassy Jo Breen who finally achieves her dream of owning a property in her ancestral Bundjalung country only to run into problems with the neighbours, her horses, her teenage daughter, and last but not least, the handsome new bloke in town who is putting together a controversial Land Rights claim. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ here is my review

The Bark Cutters is a dual timeline family saga by Australian author Nicole Alexander. It follows the story of Hamish Gordon moving from the Scottish Highlands to Australia in the 1850s and his efforts setting up a successful property Wangallan. The second storyline is about his great-granddaughter Sarah who is torn between two men, and between a life on the land and an escape to the city. Here is my review

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Australian author Holly Ringland is the beautiful lyrical story of a girl who grows up with hardship and loss and learns how to express herself using the language of flowers on her grandmother's wildflower farm. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ here is my review

The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf is a YA dystopian sci-fi by Indigenous Australian author Ambelin Kwaymullina of the Kalyku people of the Pilbara. Ashala faces interrogation as one of the Illegals, captured for possessing special gifts. She must survive the interrogation and save her tribe. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ here is my review

The Money Club is another engaging read by Australian author Fiona Lowe involving financial scandal, a missing person and some seriously strained relationships. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ here is my review

Runt by Australian Craig Silvey is a totally heart-warming, adorable kids book that should be compulsory reading for adults too. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ here is my review

Melaleuca by Angie Faye Martin* (Australian Indigenous Author) 16 Oct 2025 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ my review