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Sally Murphy, Australian author

What I Read in September 2023

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September is done which means it’s time for another round up of what I read last month. I managed nine books,  with old treasures being a recurrent theme here. Here’s what I read.

Books for Children

        1. Farmer Schulz’s Ducks, by Colin Thiele & Mary Milton (Walter  McVitty, 1986). Look at this stunning cover! The inside is just as lovely.  I love Colin Thiele, and was delighted to pick up this first edition hard cover from a local second hand booksale.
        2. Cover shows chidlren playing in school playgroundPlease Mrs Butler, verses by Allan Ahlberg, illustrated by Fritz Wegner (Puffin Books, 1983). Another treasure from the booksale. Ahlberg’s verse is funny, clever and sometimes poignant.
        3. Staying Alive in Year 5Staying Alive in Year 5 , by John Marsden (Piper Books, 1989). Another from the booksale. You can see what a real treasure trove it was! A fun, but also touching story, about the excitement of a teacher with seemingly magical abilities.
        4. How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney? How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney? by Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen (Walker Books, 2023). Not from the booksale – this one came in the mail as a review copy from the publisher. And how glad I was. I LOVE Christmas books, and I love the illustration work of Jon Klassen. Funny text, funny illustrations, sure to be a favourite with my grandies and with you.
        5. Raging Robots and Unruly Uncles (Puffin Books)Raging Robots and Unruly Uncles , by Margaret Mahy (Puffin, 1981). Yes, you guessed it, another from the booksale.  I thought from the title this might be a collection of short stories but is indeed a junior novel about the children of two twin uncles – one who is as saintly as can be, and the other who is wicked and villainous. A whimsical read that I really enjoyed.
        6. The Aboriginal Children’s History of Australia, Written & Illustrated by Australia’s Aboriginal Children (Rigby, 1977) . Another second hand book, though not from the local sale, but tracked down and bought online after I saw a reference to it somewhere. I wanted to see what  how first nations children who were at school when I was a child saw Australia and its history. Well worthwhile reading and contemplating.

Books for Adults

  1. YellowfaceYellowface, by Rebecca F. Kuang (The Borough Press, 2023).  A critique/satire/exploration of the publishing industry through a dark drama.   June Hayward, the viewpoint character and struggling author, steals the unpublished manuscript of the far more successful Athena Liu when the latter dies suddenly. When June rewrites the manuscript it is snapped up by a major publisher – and her career takes off. Except that she is accused both of cultural appropriation and of stealing the manuscript – and events start to spiral out of her control.   It feels kind of meta to even review this book, as it is largely played out through social media from reviewers, readers and others, but I both enjoyed the read and  found myself thinking about the issues it explores.
  2. Mao Tsetung Poems (Foreign Languages Press, 1976). An interesting find at the booksale – a first edition of the poems of Chairman Mao .
  3. Rottnest Island Sketchbook, drawings by Paul Rigby, text by Kirwan Ward (Rigby, 1969). Another second hand book – though I bought this one online.  Doing a little research on the history of Rottnest (more appropriately named Wadjemup, as that is the traditional name)  and while this only a brief overview, it still makes for interesting reading, in spite of its oversight of both the pre-colonial history and some of the terrible history during its time as a penal settlement.

That brings my total for the year to date to 87 books.  Far fewer than last year, but the goal this year has been to read more for pleasure, and less for getting through them. I think I’m managing that.

What have you been reading? I’d love to hear.

 

A Cover Reveal: Queen Narelle is coming

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Can you hear the trumpets sounding?

Da da da daaaaaaa.

Can you hear the drums drumming?

Bom bom bom bom bom bom bom bom

Can you hear the people cheering?

Hurrah hurrah hurrah hurrah hurrah

(You can’t? Well you’ll just have to imagine then!)

Please rise and welcome…

Queen Narelle!

Who is Queen Narelle? Well, as well as being the title of my upcoming verse novel, she is also a rather delightful, clever, and very regal cat. And today she is here because it is cover reveal day!

And, rather than keeping you (and Queen Narelle) waiting, here it is:

Isn’t it lovely? Simon O’Carrigan has done a beautiful job of bringing my little cat to life. And the design team at Walker Books have then worked some extra magic to make the cover simply scrumptious.

You do have to wait a little longer to find out what’s inside that cover – release date is June 3 – but I look forward to sharing Narelle’s story, as well as that of her human, Maddie, with readers of all ages.

It’s extra fitting that I am revealing the cover today, because Queen Narelle is a verse novel, and, of course,  today is Poetry Friday.  So, to top off the celebration, I thought I’d share a couple of cat poems. One of my own –  Marmalade and Marmaduke – published in the School Magazine and then brought to life with a reading by Geoffrey McSkimming, and artwork by Matt Ottley.

 

and another, a favourite from my childhood, by Eleanor Farjeon

Cats Sleep Anywhere

Cats sleep anywhere,
Any table, any chair
Top of piano, window-ledge,
In the middle, on the edge,
Open drawer, empty shoe,
Anybody’s lap will do!
Fitted in a cardboard box,
In the cupboard, with your frocks-
Anywhere! They don’t care!
Cats sleep anywhere.

by Eleanor Farjeon

I do love cat poems – and, while my dog George is less impressed, I cannot wait to share Queen Narelle with you, in paperback and in ebook format   in June.

Want more poems? Come with me – I am off to pounce on the delights of Poetry Friday, with the Roundup hosted by Jan at Bookseed Studio.

What I Read in June

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Another month down and we are halfway through 2021. Time flies! That means it’s time to take stock of what I read in June. I can report that after struggling to read in May, in June I got back on track and read 14 books, though some were picture books (I only include picture books in my total if it’s the first time I’ve read them, and if I take the time to really examine them). Some good ones here, but I think my favourite was Poems That Do not Sleep, because I am still thinking about it, long after I put it down. Isn’t that what poetry is supposed to do?

Books for Kids

  1. Our Home, Our Heartbeat, by Briggs, with illustrations by Kate Moon & Rachel Sarra. (Hardie Grant, 2020). How wonderful to come across this picture book adaption of Briggs’ song The Children Came Back. A celebration of Aboriginal legends from history, sport, music and more. A must have for every classroom and home.
  2.  Dragonfly Song, by Wendy Orr (Allen & Unwin, 2016).  I love Wendy Orr’s writing, so am not sure why it has taken me so long to get to this one, but I am really glad I finally picked it up. A mythic story set in the Bronze Age, with action,  twists and turns and featuring a resilient main character, Aissa.
  3. Common Wealth, by Gregg Dreise (Scholastic, 2021).
  4. Hello and Welcome, by Gregg Dreise (Penguin, 2021)
  5. My Culture and Me, by Gregg Dreise (Penguin, 2019) You might notice a theme emerging in my picture book reads this month. I went looking for the voices of  more First Nations poets because I felt there was a gap in my reading, and perhaps in publishing, too. I was heartened to find three books by Dreise, as well as the Briggs book above. Each very different, and all books that I will be sharing  with my  education students and recommending widely. 
  6.  Paws, by Kate Foster (Walker Books, 2021). A  charming story of friendship, dogs and coping with change. Max, the main character, lives with autism, and is trying to navigate the challenges of his final year of primary school, and his desire to make friends.
  7. Wednesday Weeks and the Tower of Shadows , by Denis Knight & Cristy Burne (Lothian, 2021).  This is the first in a series, and i am already looking forward to the second. Wednesday Weeks isn’t super keen on being a sorcerer’s apprentice but when her grandpa (the sorcerer) is kidnapped. Wednesday has to find a way to rescue him, along with the help of her best friend Alfie. Lots of magic and a satisfying mix of science too.
  8. A Boat of Stars, edited by Margaret Connolly & Natalie Jane Prior (ABC Books, 2018). Not my first read of this beautiful anthology, and I have dipped in and out of it many times,  but a great pleasure to take the time to reread from cover to cover. The world needs more beautiful poetry books – and Australia needs more such books produced by Australian creators.

Books for Young Adults

  1. The Gathering, by Isobelle Carmody (Puffin Books, 1993). I had read this last year, after picking it up in an op shop, but somehow it went back into my to be read pile, and so I read it again. This is a gripping young adult story, about how Nat, and a group of other seemingly misfit teens find the way to tackle the dark force which is taking over their school and their town.
  2. We Were Wolves, by Jason Cockcroft. I have to confess to not enjoying this one, which says nothing about the quality of the writing and more about the events of the book. It was grim at the start, grim in the middle and grim at the end. Although there were glimmers of hope, I wasn’t sure the boy (he didn’t even have a  name) was left any better off.

Books for Adults

  1. The Little Boat on Trusting Lane, by Mel Hall (Fremantle Press, 2021). The author of this one guest blogged on Aussiereviews earlier this month, inspiring me to pick up a read the book. I really enjoyed this book, though it’s hard to explain – it’s a gentle satire about religion, and new aged healing, and coping with pain. And, if you know Fremantle, the settings will resonate with you, as they did for me.
  2. The Emporium of Imagination, by Tabitha Bird. I raced off to buy this when I read an article about it in the paper in May, then had to wait a while to read it, because I was in the midst of grief and wondered if a book about grief was the best thing for me.  I needn’t have worried – yes, this book has its sadness, but it also uplifting and even in places humorous. I loved it.
  3. The Night Village, by Zoe Deleuil (Fremantle Press, 2021). From my review pile (and actually not released until August), I enjoyed this, reading it over two evenings. Dealing with the realties of early motherhood – the birth experience, the impact of sleeplessness, the isolation and so on, against the backdrop of an air of threat/mystery.

Non Fiction Books

  1. The Way of Integrity, by Martha Beck (Audible). I found this one through a recommendation on Audible, and really enjoyed the messages of this book, as well as the easy to listen to narration, by the author. Clear messages about being true to yourself – ie living in integrity – if you want to be truly happy.

Poetry

  1. Poems That Do not Sleep, by Hassan Al Nawwab (Fremantle Press, 2021). I picked this one late one evening from my to read pile, and then couldn’t go to bed until I had read  every poem. Easy to read, in their accessibility, but sometimes hard to digest because they deal with such real, difficult experiences. The poet is a former Iraqi soldier and refugee. the title should have been enough hint to me of their challenge, but I am very glad I read them, and will do so again.

 

That brings my total to the year to 81. Not bad when I consider just how busy I really am. What have you been reading lately? I’d love to hear.

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