So keen to read this one after receiving it in my #busymamabookswap package! 😊

I'm so excited to have this advanced review copy in my hot little hands! Who else is excited for Queen B's next novel?!

Loved falling into this comfortingly familiar story and watch it fleshed out with emotional depth.

So keen to get stuck into Holly Throsby's new book, Cedar Valley. Loving the trend of Aussies writing about life in small towns. Have you read any in this sub-genre lately (e.g. The Dry, Scrublands)?

Think a feminist version of X-Men crossed with A Darker Shade of Magic - happy pub day Chess Raven Chronicles!

Sooooooo excited to read this! Kate is one of my favourite Australian authors and I love getting lost in her stories. Also, how stunning is that cover?!

I finally caved and bought a book cart! My house is this much closer to becoming a library 😉

Beautiful cover, fierce contents telling of two women botanists in different eras. So much yes.

I love books narrated by animals, and have been utterly beguiled by the first third of this story of three polar bears.

One of my top picks for this year - eloquent, immersive and emotive, this novel is exquisite.

This is a compelling, fresh reflection on identity and the subtle, more insidious versions of racism in contemporary Australia. Patel writes with feeling and is worth reading.

Picked this up from my local bookstore today - sounds like The Power crossed with Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake series.

Currently reading - this has Mitchell's trademark magical realism plus a Tokyo setting. So far, so good.

Ok, so much of these poems went over my head - I hardly got any of the allusions - but somehow I got swept up in the mood of the words. One to return to again later, I think.

I loved the premise, but hoped for more plot than this volume offered. Yes, it did well exploring the internal lives of the six women, but I had hoped the plot would unfold more than it ultimately did.

Oh this is a harrowing tale. Beautifully written and easy to read, but packed full of tension and tragedy. I almost felt Cub's nausea and fear, and I loved the references to familiar Australian childhood things (especially the sweets) #aussie #vogelsprize

May wrap up! Lots of great stories here, especially the mythological/fantastical ones. How did you go with reading this month?

Love these pretty pastels. I have two of the three and enjoyed both!

Yes, this was a cover buy. But I am so excited to read it! 😍 #debut

This has a curious beginning - I'm interested to see how it turns out. Love, love, love the cover!

Pink covers plus skulls on my TBR #auslit #Australian

Did anyone else participate in #8intwo over the weekend? I finished Lovesome by Sally Seltmann and got 1/4 of the way through this one in about 5.5 hours 😁

On my nighttime walks, the neighbors‘ lives reveal themselves, the lit windows domestic aquariums.

How brilliant is Jennifer Egan?! I devoured this Gothic tale of guilt and redemption in two sittings, caught up by the dynamics of Danny and his cousin Howard's history. A must read.

I love short stories! Anyone else? Here are some of the collections on my TBR - are any of these on your pile?

This is a fun, roller coaster Hollywood blockbuster ride! It's mad and funny and sad, and very easy to read. A bit over the top for my taste, but I can see the appeal and was certainly entertained.

Nothing like a bookish brunch with lovely people for a Sunday morning.

At Sydney Writers' Festival, Denton said he's always had a fascination with rain, and wanted to play with a society that's never seen the sun. The title draws on Goethe's poem Der Erlkoenig.

Did anyone else love Fates and Furies? Or Delicate Edible Birds? I'm super excited for Florida, Groff's new collection due out next month! Which of her titles is your favourite?

Ringland‘s debut novel is a heartfelt account of love, cycles of abuse, and healing, set against a range of magnificent Australian landscapes #auslit ⭐⭐⭐⭐ See my full review at https://www.wherethebooksgo.wordpress.com

While it didn't have quite as clear a story arc as The Song of Achilles, I really loved the feminist tones in Circe. It was wonderful to return to Miller's ancient world and I will enjoy re-reading this down the track.

A fictional account of a true murder in 1930s Melbourne, interspersed with a modern art dealer's attempts to uncover the truth #auslit

Jennifer Down is writing a new novel about a woman who decides to disappear and begin a new life - she gave a fascinating lecture at Sydney Writers' Festival and now I want to go back and read her first book! #auslit

I heard Sharlene speak about Ponti at Sydney Writers' Festival and she was awesome! So excited to read this multi-generational story about film and female power.

"I wanted my characters to be more than their predicament" - Tayari Jones was fabulous at Sydney Writers' Week and now I can't wait to read this!

My April wrap up! I read 13 books (2 not pictured) and particularly loved The Song of Achilles. Are any of these on your pile?

I was lucky enough to win a proof copy of Lovesome from #allenandunwin - the final cover is stunning and this sounds like a good light read to break up my more intense choices with 👍

Guys, I get this is a book of beautiful sentences, and that it shows life progressing slowly, but I didn't love it. I kept putting it down and forcing myself to pick it back up. The last few chapters were easier to appreciate, but I'm glad it's done, and don't think I'd look at it again for at least a decade!

Do you ever buy a book based on the cover, then fall in love with the story? That's what happened with this one 🙈

In this moving, haunting debut, Chater recounts the entwined lives of two young women in Soviet-occupied Estonia; you can‘t help but find your heart in your throat as they fight for survival in an atmosphere of fear and oppression. The writing has its weaknesses, but I was so invested in the characters and the landscape is beautifully depicted. A solid first novel from an author with great promise.

Once you finish it, you cannot say where it will go and how it will be used... you cannot know. All you can do is paint faithfully and well, and then let the book go.

I've got just under half of the Women's Prize longlist books at home - are you reading the list this year? I'm hoping Home Fire will take the prize.

So much hype, but beautiful writing and fascinating characters meant I wasn't disappointed. I loved Simon to bits, felt the intentional distance from Varya, and spent a lot of time contemplating what makes a good life ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

Had fun picking these from my local #bookshop - the cover of The Word for Woman is Wilderness is perfection! And who can resist Jasper Fforde?

Loved getting my April The Book Forest Crate box - just finished The Diary of a Bookseller and snort-laughed the whole way through 😍 #subscriptionbox #bookbox #thebookforestcrate

Each of these #shortstories packs a punch - so many memorable characters and situations already. Aren't short stories and pasta a match made in heaven? #booksandfood

I conjure the boy I knew. Achilles, grinning as the figs blur in his hands. His green eyes laughing into mine. Catch, he says. Achilles, outlined against the sky, hanging from a branch over the river. The thick warmth of his sleepy breath against my ear.

Malice swarms through me in a surge.
I know that flare, that bitter reason.
And I will float and flower
in my season.

-Medusa

I didn‘t really know what to expect from this book, but what I got was a lyrical, moving, feminist imagining of the unsung lives of Australian women writers. The concept was unique and creative – at a literary festival, a writer doodles an image of a speaker discussing The Yellow Wallpaper, when the drawing comes to life and leads her into the lives of five women writers trapped behind. It is a fantastical exercise, but one which works entirely.

The Lido is a tender, heartfelt novel about community and friendship that falls into the ‘comfort read‘ category. The novel centres around Kate and Rosemary, and the way they support and encourage one another as their local lido is threatened. There are good doses of humour and nostalgia amid sensitive treatment of serious issues (anxiety, loneliness, the decline of community/public services), and the combination was more moving than expected.