Countdown is on: ABIA this week

The countdown is on this week to find out who’ll win the Australian Book Industry Awards on Friday! I’m waiting with baited breath, as a number of my recent favourites can be found on the short list!

The Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs) which will be presented at a gala dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel on Friday May 24 as part of the Sydney Writers’ Festival. Known as the ‘Academy Awards’ for books, the 2013 ABIAs celebrate the very best of Australian writing, publishing and bookselling.

The 2013 nominees showcase the exceptional quality and diversity that the Australian Publishing Industry presents. These awards, which acknowledge the country’s most talented authors, publishers and booksellers, are unique as they are the only awards voted on by the entire publishing industry. The winners are chosen by a panel of 100 booksellers and publishers.

The shortlisted authors are:

Biography of the Year 2013
On Warne by Gideon Haigh (Penguin Group Australia)

True North: The Story of Mary and Elizabeth Durack by Brenda Niall (The Text Publishing Company)

Jim Stynes: My Journey by Jim Stynes and Warwick Green (Penguin Group Australia)

Exit Wounds: One Australian’s War on Terror by John Cantwell and Greg Bearup (Melbourne University Press)

Political Animal: The Making of Tony Abbot: Quarterly Essay by David Marr (Black Inc.)

Eugenia: A True Story of Adversity, Tragedy, Crime and Courage by Mark Tedeschi (Simon and Schuster Australia)

Gina Rinehart: The Untold Story of the Richest Person in Australia by Adele Ferguson (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Book of the Year for Older Children (8 – 14 years) 2013
Children of the King by Sonya Hartnett (Penguin Group Australia)

After by Morris Gleitzman (Penguin Group Australia)

The Curious Dictionary: Word Hunters by Nick Earls and Terry Windborne (University of Queensland Press)

Alice-Miranda in New York by Jacqueline Harvey (Random House Australia)

The 26-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Book of the Year for Younger Children (0 – 8 years) 2013
Owl Know How by Cat Rabbit and Isobel Knowles (Thames and Hudson Australia)

Today We Have No Plans by Jane Godwin and Anna Walker (Penguin)

The Gobbledygook is Eating a Book by Justine Clarke and Arthur Baysting (Penguin Group Australia)

Sophie Scott Goes South by Alison Lester (Penguin Group Australia)

Little Elephants by Graeme Base (Penguin Group Australia)

Good Night Sleep Tight by Mem Fox illustrated by Judy Horacek (Scholastic Australia)

The Very Hungry Bear by Nick Bland (Scholastic Australia)

General Fiction Book of the Year 2013
Secrets of the Tides by Hannah Richell (Hachette Australia)

Jack of Diamonds by Bryce Courtenay (Penguin Group Australia)

Nine Days by Toni Jordan (The Text Publishing Company)

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton (Allen & Unwin)

The Mother’s Group by Fiona Higgins (Allen & Unwin)

The Amber Amulet by Craig Silvey (Allen & Unwin)

Illustrated Book of the Year 2013
Australian War Memorial: Treasures from A Century of Collecting by Australian War Memorial (Allen & Unwin)

Luke Nguyen’s Greater Mekong: A Culinary Journey from China to Vietnam by Luke Nguyen (Hardie Grant Publishing)

The Lost Diggers by Ross Coulthart (HarperCollins Australia)

Lake Eyre: A Journey through the Heart of the Continent by Paul Lockyer (HarperCollins Australia)

What Katie Ate by Katie Quinn Davies (Penguin Group Australia)

The Little Veggie Patch Co’s Guide to Backyard Farming by Fabian Capomolla and Mat Pember (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Literary Fiction Book of the Year 2013
Question of Travel by Michelle De Kretser (Allen & Unwin)

Floundering by Romy Ash (The Text Publishing Company)

The Light between Oceans by M.L. Stedman (Random House Australia)

Lola Bensky by Lily Brett (Penguin Group Australia)

The Daughters of Mars by Tom Keneally (Random House Australia)

The Mountain by Drusilla Modjeska (Random House Australia)

The Book of the Year
The 26-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths (Pan Macmillan Australia)

The Lost Diggers by Ross Coulthart (HarperCollins Australia)

Speechless: A Year in My Father’s Business by James Button (Melbourne University Publishing)

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman (Random House Australia)

Jim Stynes: My Journey by Jim Stynes and Warwick Green (Penguin Group Australia)

QF32: The Captain’s Extraordinary Account How One of the World’s Worst Air Disasters Was Averted by Richard De Crespigny (Pan Macmillan Australia)

***

Who are you barracking for? Stay tuned on Friday for the ABIA winners for 2013.

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Five More Things

Monday again, and I’m tapping away like crazy, working on lots of reviews and interviews for the TBYL blog. Here’s an update on what’s going on and coming up for TBYL…

Firstly, you might have already noticed, but the TBYL Reading Pile is busting at the seams with exciting new titles. If you’ve not already, can I suggest that you take a look at the Reading Pile for some great reading ideas? I’d love to know what you like the look of… 

Secondly, I’m reading in a few different directions this week – there’s just too much to choose from to just pick one book! I’ve got three titles on the go at the moment; All That Is, by James Salter, Shooting Star, by Clayton Zane and  Dark Matter, by Brett Adams. All I can say at this stage is that I wish there were (many) more hours in the day!

Thirdly, for this month’s TBYL Book Club we’re going to be talking about our favourite literary mums! You can find out more here, but essentially, it’ll give us a chance to think about our favourite bookish mothers and the books that our mums (and other lovely ladies) love the most. Plus, for something a little different, we’re going to be holding our club discussions on the Facebook page in May. To get involved, just join our Facebook community.

And fourth, there are still a handful of tickets left for the TBYL Event The Next Step. As well as being a fantastic chance to chat with publishers and authors from Escape Publishing, the event will be held 22 May 2013 (7pm) at the Wheeler Centre, Melbourne. Book your tickets now!

Finally fifth, I wanted to make sure that you knew that there are two copies of Angela Lawrence’s The Rules of Conception from Harlequin up for grabs at the moment. It’s super quick to enter, you’ll find full details in this month’s edition of TBYL News: All Things Bookish… Don’t miss out, this is a really funny book on a fascinating topic.

So that’s a little of what’s going on with TBYL at the moment, so much fun, and lots of goodies coming up for all you lovely bookish people!

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Raiding the Kids’ Bookshelves

For the next little few months, I’m going to make Saturday on the blog, Kids Day. As I try hard to share my love of books and writing with my kids, I thought it might be nice to share a few of these endeavours with my bookish friends.

This weekend I want to tell you about the fantastic Book-A-Day Instagram Game that Oscar and I are playing throughout the month of May.

Using daily prompts from My Little Bookcase, Oscar and I are rediscovering our book collection. The first day had us revisiting a classic title, day two was our favourite, funniest book, and the third day was all about the best read-out-loud book on our bookshelf.

Today we got to choose our very favourite cover… we chose The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse by Eric Carle.

Of course, when picking them up off the shelf to photograph, we have to sit and read them too…

Photos are shared on Instagram (you can find TBYL on Instagram here) as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

You can find out full details here… at the My Little Bookcase site.

Will you play along?

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An Announcement: TBYL Book Club

I think I’ve made a decision about the TBYL Book Club…

I love the TBYL Book Club. It’s been fantastic to hear what you guy think about our monthly books and the feedback has been really positive. Many of you have told me that it’s a fantastic chance to get involved in a book club, especially for when you’re not able to join a ‘real-life’ club for one reason or another.

Last year I set up an online home for the club using SocialGO, which many of you joined. It was great having our own space, but over the last couple of months it’s been a bit difficult to get a really good ‘flow’ of discussions. I think for people it’s not always possible to visit the site, and it can be difficult to remember to visit the site repeatedly.

As we all get busier (myself included) TBYL needs to continually adjust and adapt to work smarter, not harder… and for that reason I’m proposing that we now conduct the TBYL Book Club on the existing TBYL Facebook page.

I’d love to know what you think about this idea?!

I’m going to try this out in May. The structure of the club will remain the same – we’ll discuss the book(s) together starting 27 May 2013. The discussion will start off with some questions from me on Facebook and hopefully the conversation will grow from there.

Now I hear you asking… ‘Which book?!’

I thought it might be nice to chat about a theme for the May TBYL Book Club, rather than a single book. Next week is Mothers’ Day and it got me thinking about my favourite ‘literary mothers’. For our club I’d like us to have a conversation about Mums and Books. About our favourite storybook mums and about books that remind us of our mum, or other significant women in our lives.

Will you join us?

If you’d like to be involved, make sure you Like Us on Facebook so you don’t miss the chats. If you’d like to know a little bit more about the TBYL Book Club you can visit the TBYL website here. After we’ve given this new approach a try, I’ll look to you guys for some feedback on how you think it went. I hope you’ll get involved.

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Five Things

It’s a new week, and there’s so much going on in TBYL-land that today’s post brings you five small things of note…

The first thing is that, despite being a little busy doing the day-job on Monday and Tuesday, the transit time gives me a fabulous chance to get some reading done. I’m pleased, as it’ll give me a chance to get into my Mother’s Day reading A Grandmother’s Wisdom by Catriona Rowntree (Allen and Unwin). I’ve only read a chapter so far, but so far it’s very sweet

Thing two is about a bookish chat we’re about to start. The April TBYL Book Club starts today, and I’m looking forward to hear what you think about The Unfinished Journals of Elizabeth D by Nichole Bernier (Allen and Unwin). You can read a review here and join the conversation here.

Thing number three is a wonderful development for the next TBYL Event The Next Step. As well as being a fantastic chance to chat with publishers and authors, attending this event will also give you the chance to win an USB key from Escape Publishing, loaded with titles from Charmaine Ross and Rhian Cahill. There are three up for grabs, and winners will drawn on the night. The event will be held 22 May 2013 (7pm) at the Wheeler Centre, Melbourne. Book your tickets now!

The forth thing is that next Monday, the May edition of TBYL News: All Things Bookish… will be published. It’ll have interviews, favourite reviews, special offers and a fantastic book give-away. If you’ve not subsribed to receive it by email, you can SUBSCRIBE here!

Finally, thing five is all about staying in touch. Our Facebook community is growing bigger by the week, and I wanted to invite you to Like Us  if you haven’t already. It’s the best way to keep up to date with what’s going on with TBYL. We’re on Twitter and Pinterest also, if that’s more your thing. Can’t wait to connect!

So that’s a little of what’s going on with TBYL at the moment. There’s also lots of author-interviews in the pipelines, as well as a new mobile friendly TBYL Store in the works, but more about that later…

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A Little More: About TBYL

I’ll admit to being a little bit surprised by the request from Michelle at Beauty and Lace. They wanted to know a little bit more about That Book You Like and about the blogger behind it (that’d be me).

I was a little nervous, it’s usually about the books, you know?  But in the end I decided it would be fun exercise and agreed to answer a few questions about TBYL.

I had a chance to chat about my favourite books, my favourite authors, and more generally, how TBYL came about.

If you’re curious to find out a little bit more about this bookish blog, and about what’s rattling about in my busy brain, here it is …

Visit the Beauty and Lace article here…

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Off-kilter, doomed and unrequited

I’m not a hopeless romantic, but I like a good love story as much as the next girl. For me, the most compelling romances are a little off-kilter, sometimes a little sad, and at times, hopeless unrequited. Most often they take place in the context of a wonderfully told, much larger, story.

It’s probably no surprise to you that Valentines Day had me rummaging through my bookshelf in order to have a flick through some of my favourite love stories. Here’s my top four…

1. A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway. Set against the gritty, shell-shocked backdrop of World War I, I was transfixed. Oh Henry and Catherine, you made me cry. In public. In a cafe. Shame on you, Hemingway for making me care so much.

2. Still Life with Woodpecker, by Tom Robbins. This wild, wild ride of radical princess Leigh-Cheri and the mad bomber Bernard has had me re-reading this book many times over many years. The unlikely pairing of a disgraced cheerleader and a jagged-toothed drunk, I believed every word and have never since stopped asking the question… “How do you make love stay?”

3. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. A novel of decadence, full of shallow people and shallow lives, Daisy so whimsical it almost feels like she could float away at any moment. The love affair between Gatsby and Daisy remains one of my favourites. Doomed from the start, this romance was at once both superficial and equally rife with complications. Two beautifully flawed characters in a fickle, conflicted time.

4. The Riders, by Tim Winton. I don’t know if may would classify what Fred and Jennifer have as a romance, but I do know that this novel it a gut-wrenching love story that’s stayed with me, darkly, since I read it a couple of years ago. Fred Scully is hopelessly and violently in love with his wife Jennifer. Problem is, she’s no where to be found. His search for her, his unrequited love and the great mystery around their relationship is completely compelling and hopelessly, horribly romantic.

Do you have a favourite love story?

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Last chance to enter our big book give-away!

Firstly, and again, I’d like to thank everyone who’s entered the competition so far – I’ve had an absolute ball reading your answers. After I’ve drawn the winners, I’ll share some of my favourite entries!

Today is your very last chance to enter the TBYL big book give-away, I’ll be drawing winners after midnight tonight.

To enter today, you need to tell me a little story… emailed to info@thatbookyoulike.com.au with the subject line STORY TIME. It can be a short story or a long story, truth or tall-tale, about anything you’d like. I just want to hear a few of your wonderful words! Don’t forget to include your name and postal address in your email and let me know if you’d mind me sharing your response on Facebook.

I can’t wait to hear your stories!

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Adapt and win

This week, I’ve been thinking a lot about film adaptations. There’s been chatter about the film version of The Book Thief, and the newest trailer for another adaptation of Great Expectations. Not to mention the new(ish) On The Road film I’ve still not had a chance to see…

And so, today’s chance to enter the TBYL big book give-away is all about the silver screen, or more specifically the process of page to film.

Let us know which book-to-film adaptations you either love or loath, by emailing info@thatbookyoulike.com.au with the subject line SILVER SCREEN. Don’t forget to include your name and postal address in your email and let me know if you’d mind me sharing your response on Facebook.

As a little note, I’d like to thank everyone who’s entered the competition so far. Your answers have been fantastic, creative and wonderfully entertaining. My apologies if I don’t have a chance to acknowledge each message personally, there’s a lot, but rest assured I’m receiving and loving them.

Don’t hesitate to enter and spread the word, there’s just a couple more chances to enter!

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Running late, a chance to enter!

On no – I’m running a little late with the TBYL News: All Things Bookish... this month! I don’t know about you, but I’ve been skipping and jumping all over my to-do-list, not getting much traction, while I’ve been busy getting the kids settled into new schools and getting my head around a new work year.

But, I think kids and work aren’t very interesting reasons for running late, and today I want to see how creative you are…

Today’s chance to enter the TBYL big book give-away is all about creative excuses!

I want you to come up with the most creative excuse for why the newsletter is running late this month and to email it to me at info@thatbookyoulike.com.au with the subject line THE DOG ATE MY HOMEWORK. Don’t forget to include your name and postal address in your email and let me know if you’d be happy for me to share your entry on Facebook.

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