Australian Women Writers Challenge 2017 - My Sign Up Post

Hosted by: Australian Women Writers.
Challenge period: 1st January to 31st December, 2017.
Sign Up: Throughout the year until 30th November, 2017.
Aim: To help overcome gender bias in the reviewing of books by Australian women.

All the information about the challenge and how to join can be found here.

This year the challenge has changed slightly by encouraging participants to also read and review one or two classic novels as well as contemporary ones.

Again there are four levels:

Stella: read 4 – if reviewing, review at least 3
Miles: read 6 – if reviewing, review at least 4
Franklin: read 10 – if reviewing, review at least 6
Create your own challenge: nominate your own goal

Last year I opted for Miles and easily read six books, but didn't manage as many reviews as I would've liked. This year I'm being a little more daring choosing Franklin. 

Here are the ten books I hope to read and review (in no particular order) for this challenge. I've selected a mixture of old and new releases and some yet to be released in 2017.

01. My Father's Moon by Elizabeth Jolley (not read)
02. And Then Mine Enemy by Alison Stuart (not read)
03. The Currency Lass by Tea Cooper
04. Daughter of Mine by Fiona Lowe
05. My Love Must Wait by Ernestine Hill (not read)
06. Skylarking by Kate Mildenhall
07. Mayfield by Joy Chambers (not read)
08. Ambulance Girls by Deborah Burrows
09. Whispers in the Wind by Janet Woods
10. Tiger Men by Judy Nunn (not read)


11. Salt Creek by Lucy Treloar 
12. Perseverance by L.F. McDermott
13. The Unmourned by Meg Kenneally, Tom Keneally
14. Poppy's Dilemma by Karly Lane
15. If Wishes Were Horses by Karly Lane
16. Troubadour by Isolde Martyn
17. The Woolgrower's Companion by Joy Rhoades
18. May's Rose by Kaye Dobbie
19. The Paris Time Capsule by Ella Carey
20. Daughter of the Murray by Darry Fraser
21. The Country Wedding by Barbara Hannay
22. Willow Tree Bend by Kaye Dobbie
23. Home Before Sundown by Barbara Hannay
24. We That Are Left by Lisa Bigelow
25. A Time of Secrets by Deborah Burrows
26. A Stranger in My Street by Deborah Burrows
27. Lighthouse Bay by Kimberly Freeman

Aussie Author Challenge 2017 - My Sign Up Post

Hosted by: Jo at Book Lover Reviews

Challenge period: 1st January to 31st December, 2017

Sign Up: Anytime during the year

Aim: To showcase the quality and diversity of the books being produced by Australian authors.

All the information and how to join is here on the sign-up page.

There are three levels to choose from and, as last year, I'm opting for the lowest level, Wallaby. To successfully fulfill this level I have to read and review three titles written by Australian authors, of which at least one of those authors are female, at least one of those authors are male, and at least one of those authors are new to me, fiction or non-fiction, any genre.

These are the three books I've selected for this challenge, all are fiction:

•  Daughter of Mine by Fiona Lowe (author new to me)
• The Currency Lass by Tea Cooper
• The Ballad of Desmond Kale by Roger McDonald (another author new to me)

This will be my third year participating in the Aussie Author Challenge. My previous two attempts have been failures due to reviews not being posted, but this year I hope to be better organised and, as a result, successfully finish this challenge.

2016 Reading Challenges - Wrap Up

Here is my wrap-up post for the various challenges I participated in during 2016. A mixed result, with some successes and some failures - well, mostly failures. Reading has not been the problem. Writing reviews is where I came unstuck, but I plan to be better organised in 2017, that is, write my reviews as soon as I finish a book. That's my New Year's resolution for 2017 and my only one because I usually fail at keeping those too! Anyway, onto the challenges.


AUSSIE AUTHORS CHALLENGE

2016 was my second year participating in this challenge. I opted for the Wallaby level, which meant I had to only read and review three books. While I read the three books I'd nominated and more, reviews did not get posted.

A quick check of the books I've read this year showed that twenty-five were by Australian authors, a mixture of male and female. This total is ten up on last year, a great result.

I'm signing up for this challenge again in 2017 and hope to do better.

AUSTRALIAN WOMEN WRITERS CHALLENGE

2016 was my third year participating in this challenge. The level of participation I opted for was Miles: read six – if reviewing, review at least four. I managed to read more than six novels, a mixture of old and new publications, but only reviewed one. Technically this challenge was successfully completed. I have reviews to be posted, but these have missed the challenge completion deadline so won't count.

Looking through my list of books for 2016, I've read a total of 19 books by Australian women authors.

BACK TO THE CLASSICS

I didn't do well in this challenge at all. None of the books I'd nominated were read, but I did read three 20th century classics, two Georgette Heyer novels (The Nonesuch and The Unknown Ajax) and one by Catherine Gaskin (Blake's Reach).

I'm determined to successfully finish this challenge one year. Hopefully 2017 will be that year! So yes, you've guessed, I'm signing up again.

BRITISH BOOKS

I easily read the twelve books needed to complete this challenge, but only reviewed half of them. So another failure, but I'm not discouraged. I'm signing up again in 2017.


GOODREADS

Yay! A successfully completed challenge. Not much to say about this one other than I'm signing up again for 2017 and increasing my target slightly from 110 to 120 books.




HISTORICAL FICTION

My goal again for 2016 was 50+ books, which I read comfortably, but didn't review as many as I would've liked. I'm determined to successfully complete this challenge so I'm signing up again in 2017.







POPSUGAR READING CHALLENGE

As always this challenge was a bit of fun. I ticked off 17 out of 41 books. Not a bad result. I'm participating in this challenge again in 2017. Let's see how I do this year.







READING ENGLAND AND READING YORKSHIRE

I successfully completed the Reading Yorkshire 2016 Challenge  by reading and reviewing one book!

I failed the Reading England 2016 Challenge. Even though I opted for the lowest level (1-3 counties), I didn't read any for this part of the challenge.

I'd like to sign up again for this challenge in 2017, but as yet haven't seen any posts about it. Hopefully it will be offered again this year.


Well, that's it, my wrap up for 2016. Not a very successful year for challenges, but another great reading year filled with lots of interesting and exciting books.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This weekly meme is hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

A very quiet reading week for me with only two books read, the first two in a mystery series by M.J. Carter. I enjoyed them both and so have found a new series to follow. I'm looking forward to the next book, The Devil's Feast.

I seem to be in the mood for historical mysteries. This week I'm reading another, the fourth book in the Westerman and Crowther series by Imogen Robertson, Circle of Shadows and will follow this up with the next book, Theft of Life.

After that, I'll be looking to my pile of review books for my next read in an effort to catch up and post reviews as promised.

What I Read Last Week

The Strangler Vine by M.J. Carter

Calcutta 1837. The East India Company rules India - or most of it; and its most notorious and celebrated son, Xavier Mountstuart, has gone missing.
William Avery, a down-at-heel junior officer in the Company's army, is sent to find him, in the unlikely company of the enigmatic and uncouth Jeremiah Blake. A more mismatched duo couldn't be imagined, but they must bury their differences as they are caught up in a search that turns up too many unanswered questions and seems bound to end in failure.
What was it that so captivated Mountstuart about the Thugs, the murderous sect of Kali-worshippers who strangle innocent travellers by the roadside? Who is Jeremiah Blake and can he be trusted? And why is the whole enterprise shrouded in such secrecy?
In the dark heart of Company India, Avery will have to fight for his very life, and in defence of a truth he will wish he had never learned.

The Infidel Stain by M.J. Carter

It's 1841, and three years after we left them at the close of The Strangler Vine, Blake and Avery are reunited in very different circumstances in London. There has been a series of dreadful murders in the slums of the printing district, which the police mysteriously refuse to investigate, and Blake and Avery must find the culprit before he kills again.





What I'm Reading Today

Circle of Shadows by Imogen Robertson

Death at the Carnival: riddle, ritual and murder.
Shrove Tuesday, 1784. While the nobility dance at a masked ball, beautiful Lady Martesen is murdered. Daniel Clode is found by her body, his wrists slit and his memories nightmarish. What has he done? Harriet Westerman and Gabriel Crowther race to the Duchy of Maulberg to save Daniel from the executioner's axe. There they find a capricious Duke on the point of marriage, a court consumed by luxury and intrigue, and a bitter enemy from the past. After another cruel death, they must discover the truth, no matter how horrific it is. Does the answer lie with the alchemist seeking the elixir of life? With the automata makers in the Duke's fake rural idyll? Or in the poisonous lies oozing around the court as the elite strive for power?

What I Hope To Read Next

Theft of Life by Imogen Robertson

London, 1785. When the body of a West Indies planter is found pegged out in the grounds of St Paul's Cathedral, suspicion falls on one of the victim's former slaves, who was found with his watch on the London streets. But it seems the answer is not that simple. The impact of the planter's death brings tragedy for Francis Glass, a freed slave now working as a bookseller and printer in the city, and a painful reminder of the past for William Geddings, Harriet Westerman's senior footman. Harriet is reluctant to be drawn in to the difficult and powerful world of the slave trade, but she and her friend, reclusive anatomist Gabriel Crowther, begin to understand the dark secrets hidden by the respectable reputation of London's slave owners. Together, they negotiate the interests of the British government, the secrets of the plantation owners, and a network of alliances stretching across the Atlantic. And they must confront the uncomfortable truth that some people are willing to do great evil when they believe their cause to be just.