Aussie Readers discussion

Finished my 23rd of this Challenge with:-

A - Anna Willett - Vengeance Blind

Rated this as 5 stars (9.5/10). My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read my 23rd book for this Challenge. I might finish a challenge, very unusual :-)

T As Fast As I Can by Penny Tangey Read 1/12. 3★ AA

Good work Clare - only 3 to go!!

2020 challenge - done and dusted ☺

Annual A-Z Author Challenge
Duration: 1/1/20 - 31/12/20
26/26

A - Angie Thomas - The Hate U Give 4 ★
B - Sally Berneathy - The Great Chocolate Scam 4 ★
C - Catherine Jinks - Shepherd 4★ AA
D - Dervla McTiernan - The Scholar 4★AA
E -Erin Kelly - He Said/She Said 3★
F - Lucy Foley - The Guest List 4★
G - Tess Gerritsen - The Killing Place 4★
H - Gail Honeyman - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine 5★
I - Isabelle Broom - The Place We Met 4★
J - Jeffery Deaver - The Coffin Dancer 4★
K - Ausma Zehanat Khan - The Unquiet Dead 4★
L - Lynette Noni - Weapon 4★
M - Martin Michaud - Never Forget: A Victor Lessard Thriller 4★
N - Celeste Ng - Little Fires Everywhere 4★
O - Gregg Olsen - Victim Six 3★
P - Priscille Sibley - The Promise of Stardust 4★
Q - Suzy K. Quinn - Lies We Tell Mothers 4★
R - Ruth Hogan - The Keeper of Lost Things 4★
S - Sarah Bailey - The Dark Lake 4★ AA
T - Jessica Townsend - Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow 4★ AA
U - Jacquie Underdown - The Secrets Mothers Keep 4★AA
V - Viveca Sten - Guiltless 4★
W - Sue Welfare - Just Desserts 4★
X - Candice Fox - Crimson Lake 4★ AA
Y - Grace York - The Body in the Beach House 4★ AA
Z - Robert Bryndza - The Night Stalker 4★

Great job Kylie!!

Well done Kylie!

It took me until now to read my A book! Two more to go.

What mother in her right mind enlists the help of her fourteen-year-old daughter so she can have an affair with her husband's best friend? Adrienne Brodeur had just such a mother, and she tells all in her autobiography, Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me. It's all true and quite a read!
4.5★ Link to my Wild Game review

And now only one to go. I is for Ian McGuire who wrote The North Water, about a nineteenth-century whaling expedition that goes terrifyingly wrong. Brutal but brilliant!
5★ Link to my North Water review

Finished the Q;
Q Ellery Queen The Player on the Other Side
A fun revisit of an old style American detective story; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Only one more book to go! It is a big one, but I might make it!

Go girl!! You'll do it :)

Challenge complete! 🥳

Q - Spencer Quinn with Dog on It ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Z - Molly Katz with Nobody Believes Me ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Well done Jackie!!

Well done Jackie!

Phrynne wrote: "Well done Jackie!"

Brenda wrote: "Well done Jackie!!"
Thankyou! 😃

2 books read - 6 left to go...
F- The Long Road Home / Fiona McCallum AA 3*
Q- The Scoop Terence J. Quinn 3*

You'll do it!! Go girl :)

I finished with a good one! R is for Richard Russo's 2019 novel Chances Are..., which was full of more of his excellent characters.
4.5★ Link to my Chances Are review

Well done Patty!

Good job Patty :)

Phrynne wrote: "Well done Patty!"

Brenda wrote: "Good job Patty :)"

I just KNOW you have 2021 all ready to spring on us, and I will say Never Again, and I will weaken as usual. :)

Certainly do ;)

I am so very almost done; all I have left is J.

For J, I unfortunately chose James Joyce 's Ulysses and this is one tough book.

TBH, if it were not for this challenge I suspect it would have been a DNF by now. I am on page 127 and I am finding the reading experience fairly pointless.

Deborah wrote: "I am so very almost done; all I have left is J.

For J, I unfortunately chose James Joyce 's Ulysses and this is one tough book.

TBH, if it were not for this challenge ..."

Oh dear Deborah! That's MY last book to complete the Big Read Top 100 books and have already been dreading starting it - even more so now!!

I am calling this challenge finished!
My last one to go was James Joyce 's Ulysses and while I have not finished it, I made it to page 141 before I decided that life was too short for this experience. SO while this may disqualify me (not sure) in my mind it is a round finish.

My review. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Earlier today, finished my 24th of this Challenge with:-

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey


Rated this first in a trilogy as 4* (8/10) - my review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Kim wrote: "Deborah wrote: "I am so very almost done; all I have left is J.

For J, I unfortunately chose James Joyce 's Ulysses and this is one tough book.

TBH, if it were not for..."

Don't let me put you off it you are determined! That image is the copy I actually own, because both my parents loved it so much it traveled around the world with them.

If you are set on reading it, and my review makes you hesitate, maybe the way to read it is to get your hands on one of the many guides ABOUT the book and let that help you along?

26/26 AA 9/4. Well I finished this challenge today. Or thought I had. Happily updated for my last book, and noticed for the first time that I had 2 books in the list twice! How did I not notice that before today?????

Luckily I was able to swap them out with other books already read. So yeah, I am finished :)



✅ A - Projekt 1065: A Novel of World War II - Alan Gratz 14/8/20 ★★★
✅ B - Under the Ice - Rachael Blok 15/4/20 ★★★
✅ C - Silver - Chris Hammer AA 28/8/20 ★★★★
✅ D - Fatal Remedies - Donna Leon 12/12/2020 ★★★★
✅ E - Death Beside the Seaside - T.E. Kinsey 9/3/2020 ★★★★
✅ F - Dead Lemons - Finn Bell 22/12/2020 ★★★★
✅ G - Peace - Garry Disher AA 1/1/2020 ★★★★
✅ H - Hunter - Jack Heath AA 4/10/2020 ★★★☆
✅ I - Hidden in Plain View: The Aboriginal People of Coastal Sydney - Paul Irish AA 19/12/2020 ★★★
✅ J - Leaving Everything Most Loved - Jacqueline Winspear 28/4/2020 ★★★★
✅ K - Catching Teller Crow - Ambelin Kwaymullina AA 11/1/2020 ★★★
✅ L - Going Underground - Michael Leese 26/9/2020 ★★★
✅ M - The Last Hours - Minette Walters 19/9/2020 ★★★★
✅ N - The Darkness Around Her - Neil White 13/9/2020 ★★★★
✅ O - Disgrace - Jussi Adler-Olsen 22/11/2020 ★★★★
✅ P - Blacklight Blue - Peter May 12/6/2020 ★★★★
✅ Q - A Fistful of Collars - Spencer Quinn 29/3/2020 ★★★★
✅ R - When She Was Good - Michael Robotham AA ★★★★
✅ S - A Decline in Prophets - Sulari Gentill 17/1/20 AA ★★★★
✅ T - Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow * Jessica Townsend AA 12/10/2020 ★★★★
✅ U - Fear in the Sunlight - Nicola Upson 22/1/2020 ★★★
✅ V - Darkness for Light - Emma Viskic AA 22/11/2020 ★★★
✅ W - The Dark Vineyard - Martin Walker 3/11/2020 ★★★#9733
✅ X - To the Land of Long Lost Friends - Alexander McCall Smith 7/8/2020 ★★★★
✅ Y - Hunted on the Fens - Joy Ellis 22/1/2020 ★★★
✅ Z - One For Sorrow - Sarah A. Denzil 23/9/2020 ★★★★

A B C D - E F G H I J K ] L M N O P Q R S T U - V W X - Y Z

Great job Kerri! That has happened to me as well - I really don't know how it happens either :)

Finished my 25th of this Challenge (so only one to go!) with:-

An Unfamiliar Murder by Jane Isaac

Rated this first-in-a-series UK-based crime novel as 4* (8.5/10).
My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Another challenge! Yes! Loving them and FINISHED IT
Didn't think I was going to for a while there :D

Annual A-Z Author Challenge
Duration: 1/1/20 - 31/12/20
4 AA (at least)
26/26

A The Bee and the Orange Tree by Melissa Ashley AA 4 Stars ✅
B Ghost Species by James BradleyAA 4 Stars28 Nov ✅
C The Old Lie by Claire G. Coleman AA 5 Stars12 Sep ✅
D The Mission House by Carys Davies4 Stars8 Oct ✅
E Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo5 Stars Mar9 ✅
F Searching for Charlotte by Kate Forsyth AA5 Stars Nov29 ✅
G The Clergyman's Wife by Molly Greeley 5 Stars Feb20 ✅
H No One by John Hughes AA 4 Stars Jun10 ✅
I The Wandering by Intan Paramaditha 4 Stars Sep13 ✅
J The Unforgiving City by Maggie Joel AA 4 Stars Mar1 ✅
K Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi 4 Stars 9 Aug ✅
L Infinite Splendours by Sofie Laguna AA4 Stars Dec9 ✅
M The Animals in That Country by Laura Jean McKay AA4 Stars Nov28 ✅
N The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North AA5 Stars Aug5 ✅
O Weather by Jenny Offillb>4 Stars Jun16 ✅
P Salt: Selected Essays and Stories by Bruce Pascoe AA 5 Stars Jun3 ✅
Q The Alice Network by Kate Quinn 4 Stars Dec23 ✅
R Stone Sky Gold Mountain by Mirandi Riwoe AA 4 Stars Jul18 ✅
S Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld 5 Stars Sep28 ✅
T Exploded View by Carrie Tiffany AA 3 Stars May18 ✅
U Rolling with the Punchlines: A Memoir by Urzila Carlson 4 Stars Dec23 ✅
V Fire Country by Victor Steffensen 5 Stars Dec9 ✅
W Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson 5 Stars✅
X Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter 5 Stars✅
Y The House of Youssef by Yumna KassabAA 3 Stars 9 Mar ✅
Z How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang4 Stars 27Jul ✅
✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

Well done Kim!!!

Brenda wrote: "Well done Kim!!!"
Many thanks Brenda! Thanks for setting the challenge and a Merry Christmas to you xx

You're welcome Kim, and best wishes for the season to you too :) x

Well done Kim:)

Phrynne wrote: "Well done Kim:)"
Thank you Phrynne :D
Thanks for the challenge and Hope you have a lovely festive season. Happy Reading :D

Finished! However, I still have 2 challenges and about 4 books to get through before 31st. That might be a bit ambitious. Glad to have got this one finished though :-)

Annual A-Z Author Challenge
Duration: 1/1/20 - 31/12/20
26/26 as of 25 December 2020

Read
A Ali Berg - While You Were Reading AA
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (2.5 Stars)
B Brooke Sivendra - The Secrets of Their Souls AA
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (3 Stars)
C Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - The Thing Around Your Neck
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (4 Stars)
D Darynda Jones - The Dirt on Ninth Grave
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (4 Stars)
E E M Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (3.5 Stars)
F Jeanine Frost - Halfway to the Grave
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (2.5 Stars)
G Gabrielle Williams - My Life as a Hashtag AA
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (3.5 Stars)
H Holly Ringland - The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart AA
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (4 Stars)
I Ian Pears - An Instance of the Fingerpost
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (3.5 Stars)
J Jay Kristoff - LIFEL1K3 AA
Review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (4 Stars)
K Kate Morton The Forgotten Garden AA
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (3.5 Stars)
L L.M. Montgomery - Anne of the Island
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (3.5 Stars)
M Melina Marchetta - On the Jellicoe Road AA
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (5 Stars)
N Nick Earls - Making Laws For Clouds AA
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (3.5 Stars)
O C.M. Owens - Hooked on the Game
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (3.5 Stars)
P Paula Weston - Haze AA
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (4 Stars)
Q Julia Quinn - When He Was Wicked
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (3.5 Stars)
R Richelle Mead - Blood Promise
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (3.5 Stars)
S Sally Thorne - The Hating Game AA
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (5 Stars)
T Taylor Jenkins Reid - Maybe in Another Life
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (3.5 Stars)
U Nicola Upson - An Expert in Murder
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (2.5 Stars)
V Vicki Laveau-Harvie - The Erratics
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (3.5 Stars)
W Wilbur Smith - River God
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (4 Stars)
X A.W. Exley - Ella, The Slayer
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (3.5 Stars)
Y Yann Martel - Life of Pi
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (3.5 Stars)
Z zouroudi anne - The Doctor of Thessaly
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (3.5 Stars)

Well done!!!!!!!!!!

Great job MH!! Can you swap a couple of those you've yet to read, with ones you have, and that fit the challenges?

It is okay Brenda. I am down to 2.5 to read and I love a challenge :-). Not a big deal if I don't finish - but I will give it my all (and if I have to ignore my husband and kids and dogs and chickens in order to meet the challenge, then I guess I will just have to :-P :-P :-P).

Finished just in time :)


Annual A-Z Author Challenge
Duration: 1/1/20 - 31/12/20
26/26

A - Keri Arthur - Blood Kissed AA 5 stars
B - Anne Bishop - Murder of Crows 5 stars
C - Christine Feehan - Vendetta Road 5 stars
D -Garry Disher - Paydirt AA 4 stars
E - David Eddings - The Diamond Throne 5 stars
F - Raymond E. Feist - Queen of Storms 5 stars
G - Yasmine Galenorn - Witchling 4 stars
H - Molly Harper - How to Run with a Naked Werewolf 5 stars
I - Ilona Andrews - Magic Shifts 4 stars
J - Jamie Garrett - Hunted AA 5 stars
K -Kylie Chan - White Tiger 5 stars
L - Quinn Loftis - Surrender 4 stars
M - Fleur McDonald - Red Dirt Country AA 5 stars
N - Garth Nix - Lirael AA5 stars
O - Tess Oliver - Cole 4 stars
P - James Patterson - Texas Outlaw 4 stars
Q - Quinn Loftis - Rapture 4 stars
R - Richelle Mead - The Glittering Court 5 stars
S - Tricia Stringer - Something in the Wine AA 5 stars
T - P.J. Tracy - Ice Cold Heart 5 stars
U - Rachael Treasure - Fifty Bales of Hay AA 3.5 stars
V - Victoria Purman - The CEO AA 4 stars
W - J.R. Ward - Lover Unleashed 3 stars
X - Garth Nix - Sabriel AA 5 stars
Y - Changeling by Yasmine Galenorn 5 stars
Z - Abbie Zanders - Dangerous Secrets 4 stars

Well done Jennifer!

Another challenge I didn't finish, just one short!!

Annual A-Z Author Challenge
Duration: 1/1/20 - 31/12/20
25/26

A Richard Anderson Small Mercies AA 5★s
B Robert Bryndza Nine Elms 4★s
C Diane Chamberlain Big Lies in a Small Town 5★s
D Minnie Darke The Lost Love Song AA 5★s
E Eoin Colfer Highfire 4.5★s
F Chris Flynn Mammoth AA 5★s
G Sulari Gentill Miles Off Course AA 5★s
H D.L. Hicks The Devil Inside AA 5★s
I Ian Beetlestone The London Cabbie's Quiz Book: Pit your wits against the world's smartest taxi drivers 4★s
J Alexandra Joel The Paris Model AA 4★s
K Marian Keyes Grown-Ups 5★s
L Louisa Luna The Janes 5♩s
M Beth Miller The Missing Letters of Mrs Bright 5★s
N David Nicholls Sweet Sorrow 5★s
O Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir Miss Iceland 4.5★s
P Hazel Prior Away with the Penguins 4★s
Q
R Catherine Ryan Hyde Stay 5★s
S Bronwyn Sell Lovestruck 5★s
T Nicole Trope The Nowhere Girl AA 4.5★s
U Emma Jane Unsworth Adults 4★s
V Felicity Volk Desire Lines 5★s
WSandi Wallace Black Cloud AA 5★s
X Lewis Cox One Spring In Paris: A classic historical love story ★s
Y Anne Tyler Redhead by the Side of the Road 5★s
Z Gregg Hurwitz Orphan X 4★s

TheMadHatter wrote: "It is okay Brenda. I am down to 2.5 to read and I love a challenge :-). Not a big deal if I don't finish - but I will give it my all (and if I have to ignore my husband and kids and dogs and chicke..."

That's the way!!! lol

Great job Jennifer!!! And you still have 3 days Marianne - you can do it :)

Finished my last of this Challenge with:-

Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty

My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Well done Kim! Great job :)

I'm going to call this one now. Unfortunately, I've run out of time to read the last two books to bring me to the aimed-for clean sweep of Aussie authors, but will add both books to next year's challenges. Thank you mods - this challenge introduced me to heaps of new Aussie authors and several fascinating books!
A-Z Authors
1/1/20 - 31/12/20
Progress: 26/26 AA: 24/26

A: The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott AA (28/5) 5*
B: Dark Emu, New Edition by Bruce Pascoe AA (25/2) 4.5*
C: Your Own Kind of Girl by Clare Bowditch AA (11/3) 5*
D: The Midnight Watch: A Novel of the Titanic and the Californian by David Dyer AA (11/6) 4.5*
E: The Octopus and I by Erin Hortle AA (17/5) 4*
F: 488 Rules for Life by Kitty Flanagan AA (6/5) 4*
G: Joe Cinque's Consolation, A True Story of Death, Grief and the Law by Helen Garner AA (24/1) 5*
H: Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris AA (30/5) 5*
I: The Shape of Us by Lisa Ireland AA (29/10) 4.5*
J: The Lost Man by Jane Harper AA (6/6) 5*
K: The Bluffs by Kyle Perry AA (14/8) 3*
L: Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko AA (17/1) 5*
M: The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan AA (17/3) 4*
N: The Botanist's Daughter by Kayte Nunn AA (1/8) 4*
O: 13-Point Plan for a Perfect Murder by David Owen AA (7/2) 4.5*
P: There Was Still Love by Favel Parrett AA (8/8) 5*
Q: The Scoop by Terence J. Quinn AA (7/6) 3.5*
R: Bruny by Heather Rose AA (29/2) 5*
S: Undara by Annie Seaton AA (29/4) 4*
T: A Lifetime of Impossible Days by Tabitha Bird AA (25/3) 5*
U: A Royal Abduction by Arthur W. Upfield AA (26/5) 4.5*
V: Le Road Trip: A Traveler's Journal of Love and France by Vivian Swift (21/8) 4*
W: The Yield by Tara June Winch AA (6/4) 5*
X: Gathering Dark by Candice Fox AA (20/4) 4*
Y: Death at the Dog Show by Grace York AA (24/1) 3*
Z: Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez (6/12) 5*

Sarah I can't see any that you've missed in your list? All of them have star ratings and reviews attached! So well done!!!

Brenda wrote: "Sarah I can't see any that you've missed in your list? All of them have star ratings and reviews attached! So well done!!!"

I didn't finish my "V" and "Z" Australian Author reads - The Orchardist's Daughter by Karen Viggers and Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak, respectively. Completed with two non-AA author reads instead. I've lost steam at the end of the year, unfortunately.

Oh now I understand! I was going to say! Brilliant job 24/26 AAs anyway 🎊