Summer holidays and reading go together like a Margharita and salt. We’re super keen to hear about what you’ve been reading in comments and this month on The Book Circle, three fabulous women talk about their writing, their books and what they read during summer.
Tara Moss, Gemma Crisp and Amanda Hooton are our guests this month. If you aren’t familiar with these writers let us introduce you…
The Skeleton Key by Tara Moss
Tara Moss: Tara Moss is the author of several bestselling and critically acclaimed novels including Fetish, Split, and Siren. Her books have been published in seventeen countries in eleven languages, and have been nominated for both the Davitt and the Ned Kelly crime writing awards. Tara is also a mum and does some fantastic work for a number of charities. She has been an ambassador for the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children since 2000, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2007 is a UNICEF Patron for Breastfeeding for the Baby Friendly Health Initiative.
Finding Mr Darcy by Amanda Hooten
Amanda Hooton: Originally from Western Australia, Amanda Hooton went to university in Scotland, before working for newspapers such as The Scotsman in Edinburgh, and the Daily Telegraph in London. Since 1999 she has been a journalist with Good Weekend Magazine and has won both a Walkley award for Australian journalism, and a British Press Award. She’s now turned her writing skills to the world of books, with her first Finding Mr Darcy.
Be Careful What You Wish For by Gemma Crisp
Gemma Crisp: Gemma Crisp developed her love of books and magazines while growing up on a sheep farm in the middle of Tasmania, back in the days before the internet. Sincethen she’s gone on to work for some of the best magazines in the UK and Australia including New Woman, Girlfriend, OK and NW and has been the editor of Dolly and most recently Cleo. Gemma’s first book Be Careful What You Wish For was released in January.
The ‘book of the month’ for this month is Jack of Diamonds by Bryce Courtenay. If you are one of the few people out there who didn’t receive a copy for Christmas, make sure you grab one and let us know what you think. Happy Reading!
Did you read any great books over the holidays? What’s stacked up ready to go on your bedside table or loaded onto your E-reader?
Comments
18 Comments so far
I’ve been reading ‘the competition’ … Tiffany Reisz, Tara Sue Me, Megan Hart.
As an author of erotica (think 50 shade but better grammar and storyline) I was keen to see who else is writing this stuff that is published as I’m begin writing my third book next month after the release of my second!
http://www.kljoy.com
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I like these videos but I feel like you could do so much more with them – they’re so short and dont really go into any depth.
Maybe ask the guests more about what they read as well as what they’ve written?
like… all time favourites? a good book you’ve read recently? read this book if you also liked…?
go more in depth into the genres they write about and how they feel about that genre.. what made Tara go from writing crime to paranormal? does Gemma feel like writing about your own ‘world’ can be socially risky?
I don’t know, I always see these posts and think ‘yay books!’ and then get disappointed. the comments are fun but there are plenty of places on the internet I can read about books… readers love writing! but there aren’t many (any?) tv shows about books. maybe I’m wrong? can anyone recommend any youtube channels? i prefer talk about lots of books and reading in general rather than ‘book of the month’ type things.
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Just finished reading Pamela Stephenson’s autobiography The Varnished Untruth. Very interesting, complex and intelligent woman. Now I want to read the biography she wrote about Billy Connelly! Also read Greg Pages autobiography (yellow Wiggle). I do enjoy reading people’s stories.
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I love the book posts!
Thank-you mm community for such great ideas!
I’m reading (again) my precious collection of Penguin 60′s – short stoies.
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Have just devoured The Passage by Justin Cronin. Post-apocalytpic America ravaged by a vampire virus.
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No offence to you Tanlee but I wish the vampire book craze would be over.
I loved Buffy & Angel, back in the day, but I am so over the current saturation output of Vampire stories. Time for some fresh ideas, I think, especially for the teenage girl market.
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The passage definitely isn’t your typical vampire book nor is it aimed at teenage girls. I highly recommend giving it a go – I hate vampire books as a rule but The Passage has been my fave summer read so far and I’m now devouring The Twelve
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I agree. I hate Twilight etc but loved The Passage. I would compare it to Stephen Kings The Stand more than teen vampire lit. It’s a great story. I have The Twelve but yet to get to it
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Did you know there is a sequel – Twelve
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Have you also read Twelve, it is the sequel to Passage.
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Thanks! Have got The Twelve all packed for my beach holiday this week. And I agree Michelle re vampire teen books. But as Chloe pointed out The Passage is not in the same vein.
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Hi Tanlee, I recently finished ‘The Passage’ as well and absolutely loved it as well. Sure it is about vampires but is sure a minor part of the story. Justin Cronin is a wonderful writer and this story is so complex, with action, empathy and wonderfully drawn characters. Michelle it is so much more than a vampire book, it is a beautifully written novel, with insights and will surely be regarded in the future as an trilogy in the top ten of Sci-Fi/fantasy genre. It was high on the NY Times list for weeks and the second part of the trilogy is out now and is fabulous, I’m half way through.
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I just finished reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn which I really enjoyed but I’m not so sure about the ending. It’s quite controversial from what I’ve seen on the interwebs. I’m now reading one of her previous books titled “Sharp Objects” which isn’t pulling me in just yet but I have high hopes for it. Waiting in the wings is “The Virgin Suicides” by Jeffrey Eugenides, “The Messenger” by Markus Zusak and “Wuthering Heights” (finally!).
I’m afraid I will die next to a pile of unread novels…
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I just finished Gone Girl too and I wasn’t sure about the ending either. I loved it right up until then though
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Really enjoyed Whisky Charlie Foxtrot (Annabel Smith), The Dinner (Herman Koch), The Hundred year old Man who Climbed Out of a Window and Disappeared (jonas Jonasson) and Morning Side of the Hill (Marion Holdsworthy). Now if only those four children would make themselves scarce I could get more read!
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Being on holidays at the moment I’m making the most of doing a lot of reading and have managed to start and finish 8 books since New Year’s Day…unfortunately once holidays end I won’t be able to read anywhere near as much as I want other than stuff for work or study.
I have read Gemma’s book and really enjoyed it.
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Loved Tara Moss in this video. So wonderfully articulate, witty and what a great question she posed to the panel.
I’ve never read her books but watching this video made me want to go out and get one today.
Reading is one of my favourite holiday activities and something I always vow to do more often through the year…I used to catch the ferry to work and loved my hour of reading time each day and miss books so much, as without the commute time I’ve struggled to fit reading into life. So over the holidays it was great to read some of the latest books from old favourites-Maggie Alderson who wrote so wonderfully about feeling torn between London and Australia in Everything Changes But You.
I also enjoyed House of Memories by Monica McInerney.
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I read Everything Changes But You over the holidays as well… loved it!
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