Summer Reads 2007

The State Library of Victoria seems to run a new program nearly once every year, and they have just announced the new program which is called The Summer Read. The programs focuses on a selection of 20 book either set in Victoria or written by Victorian authors (last years was called Reading Victoria: 20 Novels Set Close to Home). The good thing about this type of program is that it at last brings to my attention a whole heap of authors that I probably wouldn't otherwise hear about.

The books this time are:

Company by Max Barry
A wonderful satire of corporate culture. If you like The Office this novel is for you.

Ron McCoy’s Sea of Diamonds by Gregory Day
Passion for the Australian coastline and mixed blessings of development.

The Lost Dog by Michelle de Kretser
Mystery and romance moving between current-day Australia and mid-20th-century India.

Chain of Evidence by Garry Disher
The latest DI Challis Peninsula crime novel.

The Beginner’s Guide to Winning the Nobel Prize by Peter Doherty
An inspiring account by Nobel prize winner Peter Doherty.

Broken by Ilsa Evans
Some things can never be fixed once they are broken.

Delinquent Angel by Diana Georgeff
Born secretly and adopted into a high-profile Victorian family.

Well Done, Those Men by Barry Heard
Experiences of life before, during and after the Vietnam War.

In My Skin by Kate Holden
Memoir of an educated, everyday girl arriving in the world of drugs and prostitution.

Diamond Dove by Adrian Hyland
Humorous narrative juxtaposed against a murder mystery in Central Australia’s Indigenous communities.

Dark Roots by Cate Kennedy
A collection of award-winning short stories.

Spiral Road by Adib Khan
Secrets unfold during a visit to a dying father in Bangladesh.

The Unexpected Elements of Love by Kate Legge
A story about balancing career and multi-generational family life.

Cricket Kings by William McInnes
Set in the western suburbs, this story is about much more than cricket.

Landscape of Farewell by Alex Miller
Everything changes when a feisty young Australian Aboriginal academic attends a lecture in Germany.

Dodging the Bull by Paul Mitchell
Strongly written, socially aware short stories set in Australia and abroad.

Patriot Act by James Phelan
A must-read for fans of the political thriller.

El Dorado by Dorothy Porter
A unique verse novel telling the story of a serial child-killer stalking the streets of Melbourne.

Unpolished Gem by Alice Pung
A warm family memoir of immigration and coming of age in multicultural Footscray.

Hoi Polloi by Craig Sherborne
A humorous autobiography about growing up in a New Zealand pub.

Of these books and authors, I have read a book by Garry Disher before, and have heard really good things about Unpolished Gem. This is a book that I will be reading in the next couple of weeks. Other than that I haven't really read any of them, or heard of some of them! I have to say The Lost Dog sounds great!

There is also a display on at the State Library which I might make an effort to go and see as well! Maybe!