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| What is the best Australian book you have read?
Posted: 5/14/2008 7:47:59 AM | | What???? No Patrick White? "The Tree of Man" almost wins hands down on my bookshelf were it not for Christina Stead's "The Man who Loved Children" (though Peter Carey's "Illywhacker" was a ripper as well). Robert Drewe's "Savage Crows" was a pretty good read as was Keneally's "The Play Maker". Other favourites of auslit might also include David Malouf, David Ireland, Frank Moorehouse, Tim Winton. Oh, and of the non-fiction genres, yes, Robin Davidson's "Tracks" blew my mind while Pilger's "The Secret Country" opened many a can of worms for me. | |
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| What is the best Australian book you have read?
Posted: 5/16/2008 1:33:55 AM | Saw Tim Winton last night at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne and it was really enlightening. The place was nearly packed out. When he read from Breath you could nearly hear a pin drop. He is a very humble laid back character who stated how frustrated he is with less abled reviewers revealing key components of the end of his book!
It was also great when he described how he wrote in pencil, biro and fountain pen so it always seemed he could see the authenticity and meakness of his work rather than use a word processor which gives many people the assumption their work is near completion - already looks published. Those waiting for autographs for their book were part of a line that went all the way down Collins st hitting Swanston St.
Fortunately my friend and I pre-purchased before the show a signed book of his. Must box frame it now. I am certain if 'Dirt Music' made top 5 in aussies favourite books then 'Breath' will be up the order at position 1 or closer to. Mark my words. Hehe.
Matt K
www.murkywaters.com.au | |
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| What is the best Australian book you have read?
Posted: 5/16/2008 1:36:39 AM | Awesome Matt wish I coul've been there. While I'm here, I've been trying to find Tracks some of you guys mentioned? Not at the library and doesn't come up in searches, any ideas?
ronda :) | |
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| What is the best Australian book you have read?
Posted: 5/16/2008 1:50:06 AM | http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_T/tracks1.asp
seems to provide lots of info....forget getting popular books at library they are mainly out or people have nicked em and system is too slow to catch up.
I buy all mine and then give to op shop or mates. | |
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| What is the best Australian book you have read?
Posted: 5/16/2008 2:16:57 AM | | Thanks Matt I'll check out the site, and I've started doing the same thing once I realised there are very few books I will ever actually read again and all I'm doing is dragging them around everywhere while they gather dust, better for someone to be enjoying them :) | |
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| What is the best Australian book you have read?
Posted: 5/16/2008 2:41:51 AM | You are welcome!
I am same with my books. One's I really like for friends or family I keep on shelf. Those I don't finish or not feel much about such as "the Secret River" which got rave reviews however I didn't share same enthusiasm I will give to op shop. 30 bucks down drain. Oh well..so much for listening to my editor. We have differen't opinion which is a worry lol | |
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| What is the best Australian book you have read?
Posted: 5/16/2008 6:54:55 AM | hi Mat
kings in grass castle's, was a great book,can't member authur. also the australians by william stewart long, also known as vivien stuart, now thats great reading, about 14 books in all , if i remember correct. | |
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| What is the best Australian book you have read?
Posted: 5/16/2008 3:11:16 PM | Was at the airport waiting for a friend, the plane was delayed so I started reading "Wouldn't be dead for quids" by Robert Barrett
When my friend finally found me I had tears streaming down my face & roaring in laughter. A very embarrassing moment
Great aussie humour  | |
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4rum
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Joined: 5/10/2008
Msg: 60 | |
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| What is the best Australian book you have read?
Posted: 5/17/2008 9:54:19 PM | Tim Winton's "Breath" is number one on the bestseller list in today's paper so I guess there's lots of us with good taste, can't wait to read it, plus just got Open Swimmer from the library
ronda :) | |
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| What is the best Australian book you have read?
Posted: 6/5/2008 6:22:27 AM | I agree - Robert Barrett is great! have read quite a few opf hes books,, very very funny.
Stephen Kings Dark Tower series - cannot get enough of them, have actually read, and re-read them all, thisman has an imagination you would nt believe,,,, Dolores Claiborne , another of Kings books. The story line isnt all that great actually, but its the WAY that he has written it. all in the first degree but within the story and the conversation, you can 'hear' other characters in it. I think its one of hes best, if you want to read a book with an incredible writing style, read this! ROFL. and no, my services in recommending this book have not been paid for. lol I sound like a promoter dont I!?
Matthews Flinders Cat- I think written by Courtney not too sure, real good read. | |
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| What is the best Australian book you have read?
Posted: 6/6/2008 6:43:30 AM | you are all to be congratulated on your reading of some of the finest Australian authors, famous and not so famous and some I have never heard of.....
one of the more memorable ones for me was The Sun of the Stubble by Colin Theile, written about the german/dutch immigrants who settled in the wine country of South Australia.
It was a book that was heralded as a fine piece and was also a standard for English literature classes and on the curriculum of most West Australian schools in the late 1960s (1966/8 for me) I can well relate to the gelignite in the woodpile to combat wood thieves in one of the stories.
Another one I enjoyed Was Kings In Grass Castles, by Mary Durach, about the pioneer families who did a cattle drive from Queensland to the North of Western Australia, in the latter part of the 19th century. It was also dramatized for radio by the abc.. since then it was made into a 4 part series , by Thames Television and our ABC combined. there used to be a programme called Women`s Hour on the West Australian ABC country stations run by Katherine King, who was a great granddaughter of one of the families.
Thorn Birds, is another favourite made into a movie by a New Zealand film crew.
Robert Barrett was an actor before he became a writer, but he also did screen plays.
Arthur Updike, wrote a series about an aborigine detective/tracker, which also became the series Boney.
one of the first Australian series of books I ever read were by E V Timms, about the Retallack family who I believe were from South Australia....
Another childrens series was The Littlest Australian!
Another kids one was written before Ruth Park became famous, and I dread to think what the dreaded software will do with this one.......D i g i t D i c k was a favourite of my oldest about a tiny boy, the size of a digit...One in which he met an aborigine called Wyalcatchem, which is a town in the central wheatbelt north east of Northam country WA......but you all have rekindled some of the older books in my memory....
My mother also wrote a book about the early part of the history of Geraldton, where she grew up, about her irish immigrant pioneers...Hearts to Dare . its in the Geraldton Library..anyone who had any relatives who lived in that region between 1850 and 1895
would be in the book, as its almost like a day to day history of the social life in that town..
so i am more into historical type stories.....   | |
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TLC_
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Joined: 1/26/2008
Msg: 67 | |
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| What is the best Australian book you have read?
Posted: 6/8/2008 9:59:36 PM | | Just finished Peter Carey's The Tax Inspector - a great read. I think that him and Patrick White are definitely my faves, though I would like to read more from Christina Stead. | |
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| What is the best Australian book you have read?
Posted: 6/10/2008 1:52:44 AM | I am listing what books I might buy. Which one should I buy first? I know Shantaram seems to be a pretty big favourite of many.
Last book I read was the Ballad of Lee Cotton. Thoroughly recommend it.
The list is
Memoirs of a Geisha,
Mao's Last Dancer,
Eragon - Paolini Christopher
Life of Pi - Martel Yann
Shantaram: A Novel - ROBERTS, GREGORY DAVID
Poisonwood Bible: A Novel - KINGSOLVER BARBARA
Million Little Pieces - FREY JAMES
Assassin's Apprentice - Hobb Robin
Secret History - Tartt Donna
Poet - Michael Connelly
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| What is the best Australian book you have read?
Posted: 6/10/2008 5:41:59 PM | While most of my favorites have been covered by previous posters...., I thought a non-fiction biography about the life of
Sir John Monash (I cant recall the author at the moment)...., was for me very eye opening and deeply informing in regard to what became 'the ANZAC Spirit'.
The most telling part of this book to me was basically..., The story of a huge amount of young aussie males
that went off to the first world war..., and eventually with all 5 divisions of the first AIF together under Monash's direction...., and with their own unique can do attitude they basically showed the rest of the Allies how to finally put an end to that conflict.
Of course it must be stated that the Kiwi's were with us there....., and you would not want anyone else by your side in a scrap !
And also...., that conflict and others made a huge impact on the lives of a generation of Aussie women and children.
This book created me to more clearly understand that that period in our history was a kind of birthing and rise of an aussie spirit and attitude.
Sadly..., in my opinion the ANZAC spirit and attitude is much diminished these days.
Try and check it out if you can bear it......, check the numbers of Aussies involved...., staggering considering our population was a fifth of its present level. | |
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| What is the best Australian book you have read?
Posted: 6/11/2008 1:06:29 AM | Ive read most of Tim Wintons ..., and especially got into the early short stories.
I loved and hated them ...., loved them because he absolutely 'nailed it' in regards to what it was like to grow up on the quiet Western Australian coastlines and in the small S/W towns here back in the late 70s and early80s.
I also hated those early novels and short story anthologies for selfish reasons like "that bugger Winton cant surf and stole the novella/story I was going to write"
The characters in them were real and I thought I knew them...., and so they were mine....., stupid I know. | |
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