Greetings all! My reading group has met and chosen the books for 2011.

In choosing our books, we each bring along copies of books we are interested in, or copies of reviews. We also have lists of book prize winners. We like to do some Australian novels, some young adult fiction, and a classic.

Here is what we have come up with for 2011:

"¢ Young Adult: To be confirmed. We usually choose Children's Book Council short-listed novels.
"¢ Classic: The Iliad, Homer. Extended poem set during the 10-year Trojan wars, and revealing the interplay of the spiritual and human worlds. All the famous faces are here including Agamemnon, Hector, Achilles, Paris, and Helen.
"¢ Man Booker Award short-listed: Parrot and Olivier in America, Peter Carey. A study of manners, moral and politics, in the typical Carey eccentric prose.
Also Room, Emma Donoghue. This book has received global recognition, able to convey the tension of an imprisoned 5-year-old boy and his mother, through the eyes of the child.
"¢ Australian Novels: Lovesong, Alex Miller. Landscape of Farewell was supposed to be his last novel, but Miller achieved even greater success and acclaim for this story of love that moves from Tunisia, to Paris and lovely Melbourne.
Also Hand Me Down Wold, Lloyd Jones: Our group loved Mister Pip, and wanted to read more. This is about an African woman's story, told from many perspectives.
"¢ Controversial: So Much for That, Lionel Shriver. We Need to Talk about Kevin continues to be our group's most talked about book. This novel promises to live up to Shriver's notoriety, full of ethical dilemmas as a man comes to term with the impact on his life of his wife's cancer.
"¢ Mystery: The Distant Hours, Kate Morton. Family secrets are revealed through a series of documents in this novel described by readers as a "ripping yarn".

Miscellaneous:

"¢ The Secret History, Donna Tartt: a complex book that exposes classic literary techniques of the Prologue, epigrams, first person narratives and unusual characterisation.
"¢ The Little Stranger, Sarah Waters: an examination of issues of class through the eyes of a country doctor in England, in 1948.
"¢ Brooklyn, Colm Toibin. A young Irish woman takes the opportunity to escape to 1950s America, and matures through her journey and experiences.

Happy to hear any comments on your reading group lists for 2011, and how you choose your books.

I will be taking a break over Summer = there is plenty of reading to do to prepare for this blog next year ☺ Hope your Christmas was reflective, your New Year challenging and may all your reading stimulate and satisfy.