Green means best in my opinion, purple means I have it, yellow means I would like to have it (a.k.a. wish list), turquoise means look for it to read.
2017 Sabbatical: I have been reading mostly Australian writers.
Picture books:
- Gibbs, May. Found Tales from the Gum Tree sickeningly cutesy.
- Lester, Alison, Elizabeth Honey, and the children of Gununa. Our Island is great! The children did the artwork, using crayons and food dye.
- Oliver, Narelle. Fox and Fine Feathers was fantastic, gorgeous artwork.
- Owen, Lindsey, ill. by Matteo Grilli. Poss in Boots was funny, about a young possum who tap dances on the roof of a house of jazz musicians.
Found the book about the Aboriginal cricket team in the 1800's illuminating.
- Brinsmead, Hesba: loved The Honey Forest
- Hall, Leanne: Iris and the Tiger - set in Spain but with an Australian protagonist - really terrific!
- Lindsay, Norman: I read about half of The Magic Pudding - it is funny.
- Pascoe, Bruce: Mrs Whitlam (Aboriginal, girl and horse) was ok but the writing wasn't that good.
YA:
- Brinsmead, Hesba: I felt that Isle of the Sea Horse was boring, sort of an Aussie retelling of Swiss Family Robinson so didn't finish it.
- Fitzpatrick, Deb. Have you Seen Ally Queen? I guess I'm tired of sad YA novels: didn't finish it.
- Gough, Erin: I found The Flywheel by (lesbian) difficult and sad until the very end, when it came round right.
- Winch, Tara June: Swallow the Air (Aboriginal) was beautifully written but so very sad.
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Wrightson, Patricia: liked A Little Fear and A Wisp of Smoke. Did not finish Shadows of Time.
Adult:
- Slatter, Angela. I just finished the compelling Vigil (urban myth, Brisbane setting) and have been thinking about it ever since. Corpselight was also compelling! Third is Restoration (e-book), which sums everything up.
- Greenwood, Kerry. Corinna Chapman mysteries. Enjoyed Earthly Delights - loved it right up until the ending. 2nd is Heavenly Pleasures, only in print format at KDL (as are the others in this Corinna Chapman series). I read Devil's Food (#3) from Brisbane Library. Forbidden Fruit (#5) & Cooking the Books (#6) are pretty good (e-books).
- Hodgson, Anthea. The Drifter - not your typical Western Australia romance - an excellent story! Didn't like The Cowgirl (e-book), though.
- Nunn, Judy. Enjoyed Spirits of the Ghan - historical and contemporary fiction, set in cities and the Outback.
- Fergus, Lara. Tried to read My Sister Chaos (about a lesbian cartographer with OCD, obsessed with mapping her house, and her twin) but couldn't stand it.
- Hawthorne, Susan. Falling Woman is about a lesbian with epilepsy, told in 3 ways - as a child, Stella, as an adult with her partner, Estella, and there's a mystical part with Estelle. I'm enjoying it and am simultaneously bored with it.
- Mears, Gillian. Foal's Bread. 2012. - fiction about a young woman, set in New South Wales between WWI and WWII. Great writing but sad, and I didn't finish it.
- Van Neerven, Ellen. Read Heat and Light (Aboriginal, lesbian short stories); it too was beautifully written but sad.
Read before/after 2017:
Search KPL for: "lgbtq+ fiction" AND australia* (start with the authors after H)
- Brown, Maggie. In the Company of Crocodiles (e-book, love it!). Last Time We Met (loved it). Playing the Spy (e-book, fun!). Reinventing Lindsey (e-book, interesting). I Can't Dance Alone (e-book, not great). Mackenzie's Beat (not great).
- Denison, Lyn. I've read some of her lesbian novels, but put them on my Hoopla favorites anyway.
- Emrick, K.J. Death in Room 7 (Pine Lake Inn Cozy Mystery Book 1) and Digging For Trouble (# 2) (e-book cozies: set in Tasmania but don't give a feel for the landscape)
- Fulton, Jennifer (aka Rose Beecham) is a New Zealander who lives in Australia. Greener than Grass - lesbian romance.
- Hill, Gerri.
- Kuttner, Naomi. New Zealand Paranormal Cozy mysteries. The Retired Assassin's Guide to Country Gardening (#1) was great! Enjoyed #2 The Retired Assassin's Guide to Orchid Hunting (#2). #3, The Retired Assassin's Guide to Amateur Theatrics, is on my wishlist.
- McNab, Claire. Wombat Strategy (meh, set in L.A.).
- Nunn, Kayte. Rose's Vintage is so good, as is Angel's Share (e-books)! Botanist's Daughter (e-book) settings are Australia, Cornwall, and Chile.
- Scoullar, Jennifer. Brumby's Run is the 1st in a series called the Wild Australia Stories. Identical twins separated at birth, one raised in a wealthy, city family, the other in poverty in an outback farm. Very good! 2nd is Currawong Creek, about a lawyer who gains a difficult foster child and moves to her grandpa's outback farm.
