I love a new year’s resolution, and one of mine this year is to sign up to the 2013 Australian Women Writers Challenge.
Of the 30 books I read last year, 17 were by women, seven of whom were Australian:
- Australian Felix – Henry Handel Richardson
- House of Sticks – Peggy Frew
- You’ll Be Sorry When I’m Dead – Marieke Hardy
- Animal People – Charlotte Wood
- Foal’s Bread – Gillian Mears
- Fishing for Tigers – Emily Maguire
- All That I Am – Anna Funder
I should note that Australian men weren’t well represented in my 2012 reading; only three featured in my reading list (The Street Sweeper by Elliot Perlman, The True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey, and Don Walker’s lyrical memoir Shots).
I didn’t spend much time blogging in 2012, something I aim to remedy in 2013. It may be ambitious but I plan to review one book a month for the Australian Women Writers Challenge, starting with Reaching One Thousand: A Story of Love, Motherhood and Autism by Rachel Robertson. This morning I listened to an inspiring interview with Rachel on Radio National’s Life Matters program (replayed from March) and wanted to learn more about her experience in raising a son with autism (listen to it here), so that’s where I’ll start.
