The Floundering by Romy Ash
The Beloved by Annah Faulkner
Questions of Travel by Michelle de Kretser
The Mountain by Drusilla Modjeska
Mateship with Birds by Carrie Tiffany

The winner will be announced June 19th at the National Library of Australia.

Today Anzac Day commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders “who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations,” and while Armistice Day (November 11th) is still recognized as a Commonwealth memorial day, ANZAC day holds a special meaning for these nations.

It’s hard to imagine life in the trenches, just waiting for the whistle that commanded you to hoist up over the top, I can’t even fathom what would be going through my mind or how I would be able to keep myself even remotely sane knowing that moment could come any day or any hour.  Soldiers also had very little they could do to distract themselves while waiting for this to happen other than sit, try and sleep or read; and apparently that is what many of them did.

As for what they read, Perhaps the safest answer is anything they could get their hands on. Most soldiers traveled light to the front and then craved books and magazines once they were embroiled in the stalemate. They would read anything that could take their thoughts off the mud, the rats, the shelling, the smell, the snipers and the prospect of going over the top and charging machine gun emplacements.

If you are interested, here is a list of literature that may have been popular on both sides of no-mans land.

As an aside, I apologize i f this post may seem a little ill-timed to Australians and New Zealanders, I happen to live on the exact wrong side of the international date line when it comes to timely recognizing your national events, so while the majority of you are about to wake up on the morning of April 26 I am most assuredly living the morning of the 25th, and absolutely thinking of you all at this time.

As of now in 2013, Doris Lessing is 93. She was born in 1919 and her second novel, published in 1956, was titled Retreat to Innocence. All of this, coupled with her round, sweetly wrinkled face and penchant for wearing her white hair parted at the middle and pulled back into a bun, might give one preconceived notions about her temperament, character and preferred subject matter. But if you’ve read Doris Lessing’s work, you’ll know she is no kindly, simple old lady doling out pearls of grandmotherly wisdom. Her writing is shrewd, difficult, complex, and nuanced, and has even been called inaccessible. It is as challenging to read as it is enjoyable. She has earned countless literary awards, including the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2007.

The Zimbabwe-born author is also not one to shy away from controversy, whether in reference to her politics – she was prohibited from entry to South Africa and Rhodesia for vocally protesting apartheid and nuclear armament – or her outspoken comments to those who would pigeonhole her as a femnist writer. Labelled a feminist by critics and readers time and time again, Lessing has repeatedly lashed out in response to the term, expressing extreme distaste for her perspective of trends toward the belittlement of men and male writers, under the guise of empowerment of their female counterparts. She has repeatedly stated that she finds the term and its followers grotesquely oversimplified, and wishes to distance herself from it.

That said, much or her writing inarguably empowers women, and she writes bravely about issues of gender and sex without batting an eyelash. Perhaps the most notable example is her 2003 novella The Grandmothers. In it, Lessing tells the story of two middle-aged women, best friends since childhood, inseparable for decades. The two grow up together, intentionally marry two men who are friends, and move in next door to one another. Eventually, when the two husbands are out of the picture, each woman begins an affair – with her best friend’s teenage son.

It sounds like the stuff of a juicy and perhaps distasteful romance novel. That alone might make one uncomfortable, but when squirm-worthy subject matter is put in the hands of a skilled writer like Lessing, it becomes more interesting, less black and white, and harder to ignore. The story is surprisingly Ask anyone who has read Lolita – a talented wordsmith can be expert at challenging our absolutes and making a reader question his or her own certainties and opinions.

It is likely that complexity and challenge that attracted French filmmaker Anne Fontaine to option the project, and it will be her first English-language film as director. The film adaptation is set and filmed in Australia, and is called Two Mothers. It premiered at Sundance in January, and so far is scheduled for various very limited release worldwide throughout 2013.

Here is a taste:

Australian author Bryce Courtenay has died from stomach cancer at the age of 79, as reported on The Big Story yesterday. He was best known for The Power of One, which, despite it being Courtenay’s debut novel, garnered much critical acclaim and made a name for Courtenay among Australia’s most respected writers.

Throughout his career, Courtenay wrote 21 books and sold over 20 million copies in total.
The Power of One is the story of a boy’s brutal experiences growing up under apartheid in South Africa in the 1930s and 1940s.

Courtenay’s final book, Jack of Diamonds, was published just 2 weeks ago, on November 12th. It included an epilogue to his readers, which read:

“”It’s been a privilege to write for you and to have you accept me as a storyteller in your lives. Now, as my story draws to an end, may I say only, ‘Thank you. You have been simply wonderful.’”"

They are the brain-child of an Australian company called Light Reading Melbourne, and these images come from the Light Reading Melbourne facebook page. And yes, you can have them made-to-order.

From their description:

Light Reading gains inspiration from our collective perception of heavy literature. Each brick is a secondhand paver – the texture, cracks and chips are all a result of time and wear. The brick is stenciled on each side, with titles and pages giving the appearance of an antique leather-bound book.

It whimsically invokes nostalgia for a time when libraries were cavernous worlds full of yellowing p
aper, silence and time. A book’s weight and size often had a direct relationship with its gravitas – and those we cherished are eternally embedded in our memory.

Light Reading gives Melbourne’s bricks a new lease of life – with a helping hand, they transform into a new narrative. Each one is given a significant literary title, or made to order as a cherished favourite.

At the moment, sadly, it appears these gorgeous gems are only available in Australia (but in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia – not bad), which is no surprise (shipping costs must be hefty – they are bricks, after all), but maybe if we all wish and hope and pray and love them with all our might, they could be available in North America one day, too.

In the meantime, drool along with me, won’t you?

Get a taste of Australia’s finest fiction with these Miles Franklin award-winners.

1. The Margaret Fulton Cookbook
2. The Cook’s Companion by Stephanie Alexander
3. The Complete Asian Cookbook by Charmaine Solomon
4. The Australian Women’s Weekly Cookbook by Ellen Sinclair
5. Sydney Food by Bill Granger
6. Thai Food by David Thompson
7. The Australian Women’s Weekly Kids’ Birthday Cakes
8. Maggie’s Harvest by Maggie Beer
9. Off the Shelf by Donna Hay
10. Arabesque by Greg and Lucy Malouf

JOEL BOWDEN – RICHMOND
Understanding Power, a collection of talks by Noam Chomsky, is the book that had the biggest influence on me. It allowed me to develop a critical view of global issues.

I like it because it gives an alternative view to historical events – it is always good to hear two sides of a story. I did not really start reading extensively until I was in my 20s, but now I enjoy it for relaxation. I mostly read on holidays or of an evening after the kids have gone to bed. In the future, I am really interested in reading Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama.