I once moved house because there wasn’t room for all my
books. When I came home from living overseas a few years ago, a good friend
took charge of unpacking my books from storage, knowing that if left to me, all
my worldly possessions would languish for weeks, while I sat on the floor
surrounded by piles of books, re-discovering old favourites.
I usually have two or three books on the go at any one time,
and if you visit me you’ll find books stacked on my coffee table and bedside tables
waiting to be read. There are fewer pleasures greater than finding a book that
grips you so much you have to keep reading, even though it’s two in the morning
and you have to be up for work in a few hours.
So although I hardly need another reason to stick my nose in a book, I’ve signed up
for a challenge that gives me the perfect excuse to sequester myself away with
the written word.
I’ve signed on to take part in the Australian Women Writers 2012
Reading and Reviewing Challenge, and just as it says in the title, for the rest of the
year I’ll be reading and reviewing works for Australian Woman Writers.
The challenge is the vision of Elizabeth Lhuede, in response to concerns
that newspaper and social media literary reviews are disproportionately of male
authors. The challenge is a chance for anyone, female and male, to read and
then write about what they’ve read.
It’s pretty straightforward, you sign up for the challenge by
registering on Australian Women Writers 2012 Reading and Reviewing Challenge,
(I’m Reviewer Number 273), and after that you can read as many books in as many
or as few genres as you like. So whether you’re a devoted fan of comedy, drama,
sci-fi, memoir, non-fiction, fantasy, romance or poetry or you prefer to mix
and match, you can take part. All you need is an ability to read (or listen to
audio books) and an opinion to share.
