2019 was a great year for me and this challenge. I hit and exceeded my 40 book goal, even my reviewing one. I was super on form with my reviews and I got a lot of AWW books read while also getting to read a lot of other authors I enjoy this year. I think if I devoted my entire reading to AWW I would excel, but there’s too many other books I love reading so I am pretty sure my challenge numbers will always be around this number. Which is not to say it’s a small feat, I am impressed with myself for making it and I can’t wait to hit this same number next year. I started the year aiming for 30 so to hit 45 is incredible. I’ve read 180 books this year and AWW made up 25% of my reading.
My final official numbers are 45 book read, 35 reviewed. Looking at past attempts this is a vast improvement so while I know it is low looking at some other people’s numbers, it’s a fantastic personal achievement that I’m really proud of. In terms of the types of books I read it varied a lot. I read a mixture of picture books, young adult, adult fiction, and even a few non fiction and anthologies. There are so many other AWW books I had on my list to read that I’m eager to dive into in 2020 and get this challenge off to a cracking start once more. For now though, I will be content with my win and grateful I was able to read so many amazing and diverse books by some amazing Aussie women.
Did you participate this year? How did you do? If not, keep an eye on the website for the 2020 sign up form if you’d like to jump on board and celebrate the talents of Australia’s Women Writers!
AWW 2019 Books Read and Reviewed
And All the Stars by Andrea K Host – Review
The Book That Made Me ed. by Judith Ridge – Review
Blossom Possum by Gina Newton – Review
The Tales of Mr Walker by Jess Black – Review
The Accusation by Wendy James – Review
The Pirate Treasure by Zander Bingham – Review
The Haunted Lighthouse by Zander Bingham – Review
The Lost Temple by Zander Bingham – Review
Kindred: 12 Queer #LoveOzYA Stories ed. by Michael Earp – Review
The Fifth Letter by Nicola Moriarty
Upside Down by N. R Walker – Review
Introducing Teddy by Jess Walton – Review
Wild Heart by Belinda Williams – Review
Jacob’s Toys by Claudia Woods – Review
The One by Kaneana May – Review
Once by Kate Forsyth – Review
Heartbreaker by Belinda Williams – Review
Lightening Tracks by A. A. Kinsela – Review
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty – Review
The Lost Man by Jane Harper – Review
The Good Girl Stripped Bare by Tracey Spicer – Review
It’s Not Scribble to Me by Kate Ritchie – Review
December’s Wish by Karly Lane – Review
The Greatest Gift by Rachel Johns – Review
Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin Kwaymullina
It’s A Long Way to the Shop by Heidi McKinnon – Review
Did You Take the B from my _ook? by Beck and Matt Stanton – Review
Millie Loves Ants by Jackie French
Sorry Day by Coral Vass – Review
An Aussie Year by Tania McCartney
The Easter Bunny’s Helpers by Ann Mangan – Review
We Love School by Lucie Billingsley
Amazing Babes by Eliza Sarlos – Review
Beginnings: An Australian Speculative Fiction Anthology edited by Austin Sheehan – Review
You Must Be Layla by Yassmin Abdel-Magied – Review
Emmie and the Tudor King by Natalie Murray – Review
Whitney and Britney Chicken Divas by Lucinda Gifford
Meerkat Splash by Aura Parker
Little Puggle’s Song by Vikki Conley – Review
Every Time He Dies by Tara East – Review
Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park – Review
Illuminae by Aimie Kaufman
A Lifetime of Impossible Days by Tabitha Bird – Review
Dottie is waiting for the Christmas feeling to arrive—that fizzy, excited feeling, where everything is a bit magical. But this year, Dottie, her brother, Jem, and their dog, Shortbread, are staying with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma and Grandpa are trying hard, but Christmas just isn’t the same . . . A gorgeous, heart-warming story about misplacing the Christmas spirit, and finding it again.
Eighteen-year-old Ellie Canning is found shivering and barely conscious on a country road, clad only in ill-fitting pyjamas. Her story of kidnap and escape quickly enthrals the nation: a middle-aged woman with a crazy old mother has held Ellie in a basement, chained her to a bed and given her drinks from an old baby’s sippy cup. But who was this woman and what did she want with Ellie? And what other secrets might she hide?
This isn’t just about me. It’s also about the other people in my life – my mother, my father, my dead sister Sky, my penpal Denille, Rich Uncle Brian, Earth-Pig Fish and Douglas Benson From Another Dimension. These are people [with the exception of Earth-Pig Fish, who is a fish] who have shaped me, made me what I am. I cannot recount my life without recounting elements of theirs. This is a big task, but I am confident I am up to it.
