I am the sort of person who waits until a day or two after daylight saving shifts to change all the clocks. I need a day or two to adjust to the idea, even though it happens twice a year.
Same with a new year.
Now that it is well and truly 2012 I have updated my reading list. 2011 is still there with a few comments on the books I did get around to reading. Some good, some great, some so so. Some I couldn't finish.
Here's something to look forward to in your reading year. Text Publishing is producing 32 Australian classics in paperback form, cheap at $12.95 (cheap for an Australian book - don't get me started on book prices here).
In this thought-provoking opinion piece Michael Heyward, the head of Text Publishing, bemoans the fact that many of Australia's best literary works are now out of print - and even the entire works of some of our best authors.
He has an excellent point. I studied English Lit at school - not at university unfortunately - and would consider myself pretty well read but many of the books and authors he mentions I haven't read or (cough) recognise. 2012 should change that.
The full list has not been released but will include Careful, He Might Hear You, David Ireland's The Glass Canoe, and Henry Handel Richardson's The Fortunes of Richard Mahoney.
The scheduled release date is May. You can read more about it here on the publisher's website in the coming months.
Thank you for that heads-up Ann. Maybe that list should be THE reading list for 2012. I've only read 6 books this January - half what I'd managed this time last year :(
ReplyDeleteSad to say that my reading has fallen in a hole! From a book every two days to two in a month! I shall have to rectify this immediately!
ReplyDeleteI'm terrible, I don't recognize any of those titles! I do need to read more. Boy, Kerry puts me to shame with her 6 books. I'm still trying to finish one I started last year. Not a pageturner :)
ReplyDeletePs why do we have to pay so much for books in Aus? Terrible.
Oh Ann. I adored the film of 'Careful, He Might Hear You' but have never read the book. I'd be intrigued to see how it measures up. And yes, thanks for the tip about the list - will watch out for it! J x
ReplyDeleteI'm a little late coming to your blog, forgive me. But now I'm here I love it, especially the literary posts.
ReplyDeleteText is onto a good thing with their re-releases. Penguin has made SO much money from their $9.99 classics, simply because people want to catch up on all the timeless titles - and do it for a cheap price. (I'm currently reading The Woman In Black because I've never read it and it's being made into a film this year.) And these 'new' covers are beautiful - well worth collecting. I'll look forward to seeing the other covers as they're released.
Janelle McCulloch