#Australian books

[bookshelvesandtealeaves]

5 star reads of 2024 ↳ lola in the mirror by trent dalton

[homerjacksons]

5 star reads of 2024 ↳ dancing barefoot by alice boyle

[bowokshop]

Growing Up Queer in Australia - edited Benjamin Law

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘No amount of YouTube videos and queer think pieces prepared me for this moment.’ ‘The mantle of “queer migrant” compelled me to keep going – to go further.’ ‘I never “came out” to my parents. I felt I owed them no explanation.’ ‘All I heard from the pulpit were grim hints.’ ‘I became acutely aware of the parts of myself that were unpalatable to queers who grew up in the city.’ ‘My queerness was born in a hot dry land that was never ceded.’ ‘Even now, I sometimes think that I don’t know my own desire.’ Compiled by celebrated author and journalist Benjamin Law, Growing Up Queer in Australia assembles voices from across the spectrum of LGBTIQA+ identity. Spanning diverse places, eras, ethnicities and experiences, these are the stories of growing up queer in Australia.

‘For better or worse, sooner or later, life conspires to reveal you to yourself, and this is growing up.’

With contributions from David Marr, Fiona Wright, Nayuka Gorrie, Steve Dow, Holly Throsby, Sally Rugg, Tony Ayres, Nic Holas, Rebecca Shaw and many more.

I am privileged enough to have grown up with the internet, with information about queer people and queer identities so difficult to hide, such that even at a christian school, I was able to find the words to describe myself almost as soon as I recognised those parts of myself.

Even so, hearing first-person accounts of Australian queer people, like me, dealing with Australia's culture and biases, made me felt seen in a way I don't think any other medium could have.

Growing Up Queer in Australia portrayed all different aspects of queerness, from celebration and pride to rejection and heartbreak. It was a wonderful reflection of thoughts and feelings I've had, as well as those I would never have considered to be part of the queer experience.

I really appreciated the range of queer identities represented in the book; from lesbian and gay to queer, every letter of LGBTQ+ was represented. I do wish we got more stories from the '+' part of the queer community, but I am glad that Growing Up Queer does make an effort to include more than just gay and lesbian authors. I especially appreciated the range in gender identities and presentation of the authors, including both masc- and femme-presenting lesbians and their struggles, trans people who realised both early and late in life, people who had strong gendered feelings that didn't neatly fit into these boxes.

I also welcome the intersectionality present in Growing Up. As someone who is white and able-bodied, it was eye-opening to read how deep the authors' queerness was related to other marginalised parts of their identity such as disability and race. I appreciated the variety in Australian class and location represented in the book, including rural, small towns, suburban and city perspectives. It made me really happy in one story to notice where they were from and say "Hey, that's near me! That's my community!"

As Benjamin Law addresses in the wonderfully written foreword, I am very glad that the title chosen is 'Growing Up Queer in Australia.' The use of 'queer' feels very inclusive and tells me Law is not shying away from the tougher parts of queer identities in an effort to make the book more marketable.

For me personally though, trying to digest the a-spec parts of my identity has been a big part of my personal discovery, and for this reason I would loved to have seen asexual and aromantic representation. It seems from personal anecdote to make up a surprisingly large section of the lgbtq+ community, so it was a bit disappointing that with dozens of authors involved, there was not a single a-spec author.

In general, I was a little disappointed there weren't many authors from the '+' part of lgbtq+, such as a-spec, non-binary and genderfluid. There are some identities that feel marginalised even within the queer community and this book could have been a good opportunity to bring light to them. I would have especially loved to see 'contradictory' identities such as he/him lesbians.

I am still giving 5 stars because I understand when compiling and publishing a book like this, there will always be people who felt left out by it, and I can see and appreciate the effort that has gone into diversity and intersectionality in Growing Up Queer.

Growing Up Queer, through its diverse collection of stories, reaches out and says, You are not alone. There are others who have been in the same situation.

[rachel-sylvan-author]

"The Crocodile Hunter" by Steve and Terri Irwin wholehearted book recommendation by Rachel Sylvan

[jackheathwriter]

Out TODAY! 🎉 Thanks to all the incredible people at Allen & Unwin, Audible, and Curtis Brown Australia. In a world where ChatGPT exists, human writers need to focus on quality over quantity, take creative risks, and write from their own experience rather than regurgitating things which have been done before. But I would never have had the guts to write something so deeply personal if I wasn't dead certain that these three fantastic teams would have my back every step of the way, turning this story into the most enthralling version of itself. Thanks also to all the wonderful authors who provided quotes, and most of all to my wife for encouraging me (egging me on, in fact). Find at your favourite bookshop in Australia/New Zealand, in the Audible app, or online at jackheathwriter.com/books . And if you're in Melbourne, Sydney or Canberra, grab a slice of wedding cake at one of the launches: jackheathwriter.com/events . If you have thoughts about the book, I'd love to hear them--tag me in your posts!

[good-books-to-read]

Travel destination: Australia

Ghost bird by Lisa Fuller

One of favourite books ever. Stacey knows something has happed to her sister because they are mirror twins, she will have to put aside her grudge against the old way to save her sister in time.

Hive by A.J. Betts

Hayley is a bee keeper and her life changes dramatically when the unexpected and totally impossible happens a drip of water.

Wraith by Alex and Shane Smithers

A boy who can fly and a princess of the sky are thrown together in a race against time to find a dangerous technology across Australia.

Whisper by Lynette Noni

For two years, six months, fourteen days, eleven hours and sixteen minutes, Subject Six-Eight-Four — ‘Jane Doe’ — has been locked away and experimented on, without uttering a single word. But that’s about to change.

Gap year in Ghost town by Michael Pryor

Set in Melbourne, Anton hunts ghosts gently passing them on, however with an uptick in violent ghosts, Rani from London has come down to fix the problem. Will they be able to get alone with their different takes on passing ghosts along.

[midnighttraindemo]

rather moldy copy of the 1913 australasian boy's annual that i picked up in an op shop down south last summer. the plate in the front says it was presented to one James Pye for 'first class attendance' at christmas of 1913.

[tintededges]

Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens

Novel about aged care, community and the meaning of freedom I was looking for my next gardening book while waiting for my very overdue baby to arrive, and this came up as a recommendation. It also won the 2023 Miles Franklin Award so was getting a considerable amount of hype. The title was very cute as well. Image is the audiobook cover of “Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens”. The cover is an…

[notyoursterotypicalnerd]

Uncomfortable : Ann, Laura: Amazon.com.au: Books

Izzy Hazelhurst never thought loneliness, insecurity, or fear would play a part when she reconnected with Henry Carlisle, the boy she’s loved since she was twelve. But Henry’s now an A-list actor, and though he’s shown her a life she could never have imagined, Izzy finds the price of his fame harder and harder to deal with. Then, when Henry’s off filming his dream role, she learns she’s pregnant. Unable to tell him and feeling more alone than ever, Izzy runs to the safety of her grandparents’ home in Australia, leaving only an empty house for Henry to find upon his return. Heartbroken and confused, Henry follows Izzy to Australia, determined to win her back, but he’s about to learn their relationship wasn’t quiet as perfect as he believed.. Can Izzy and Henry find their way back to each other, or is love built on childhood dreams never meant to last? Inspired by a Henry Cavill fanfic I wrote

[authorlaurakinch]

You can get a copy of my books on the booktopia Australian site. 😊

[adreamthatsworthkeeping]

Anybody have tips for finding Australian books on Scribd/Everand? The categories are already hard to navigate since they're actually too specific sometimes but I wish there was a #loveozya one.

[flammablepitch]

as an Australian, it is tough to get special editions/ hardbacks of any kind of my fav books!! that being said, i have been lucky enough to get a hold of the water stones edition of Any Way The Wind Blows!! it now matches my Wayward Son cover! but my Carry On copy doesn’t match still 😓 is a matching set of books too much to ask as an aussie? 😩😤

[biglisbonnews]

Aphrodite’s Breath by Susan Johnson review – a revealing memoir about mothers and daughters A trip to Kythera for the Australian author and her mother results in this unsparing and intimate look at their intense and often unhappy dynamicGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailWhen Susan Johnson began planning her return to Kythera, the Greek island of her youthful summers, she knew it would be different this time around. The Australian writer first “fell fatally and irrevocably in love with Kythera” in the 1970s on a trip “that set the course for the rest of my life – as a writer, as a perennial exile, as a person”.Returning as a 62-year-old, she was also now travelling with her 85-year-old mother, Barbara. What Johnson could not forecast was the extreme emotional climate that would buffet them both.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morningAphrodite’s Breath by Susan Johnson is published by Allen & Unwin ($34.99) Continue reading... https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/apr/03/aphrodites-breath-by-susan-johnson-review-a-revealing-memoir-about-mothers-and-daughters