What we're reading in preparation for Melbourne Writers Festival 2017
The 2017 program for Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) has been revealed and we’re already counting down the days. Here, our staff share what books they’re planning to read to get read for the festival
For more MWF inspiration, we’ve compiled a list of terrific international guests appearing in this year’s program, and our staff have shared the events they’re most excited to attend. We’re also delighted to be hosting an entire day of fantastic free events showcasing a range of new Australian fiction.
Jo Case is reading…
Technically, all I’ve been reading this week is content for and drafts of Readings Monthly, which goes to print today… But I have also been assembling a book pile to start on this weekend.
Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians series sounds like delicious, trashy, witty fun, and has been recommended to me by readers I love and trust, including Readings colleague Leanne Hall and Big Issue books editor Thuy On. Kwan coming to MWF is the perfect excuse to finally crack the covers on the first in the trilogy: I’m going to treat myself with a spot by the heater, some Haigh’s chocolate, and a long afternoon on the couch, ignoring all the housework I haven’t done.
Longer ago than I care to remember, I bought Robert Fisk’s contemporary classic The Great War for Civilisation. This history of the modern Middle East, based on more than 30 years reporting in the region, provides fascinating historical context for the wars currently being waged there. I read roughly half of it, before getting distracted by a pile of work reading, but am determined to finish it before listening to his Closing Address at the festival.
Stella Charls is reading…
I’ve just started reading Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give – I don’t know how I waited so long, especially when my colleagues (and the rest of the world) have showered this young adult novel with praise. As soon as I found out that Thomas was giving a keynote on YA and activism at MWF, I went out and bought a copy of her book. I’ve only just started but already I’m resenting every single thing that’s keeping me away from this gripping novel!
Other books on my MWF reading list are Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians, Reni Eddo-Lodge’s Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race, David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon and Toby Walsh’s It’s Alive!.
I’m really looking forward to hearing journalist and transgender rights activist Janet Mock’s keynote on visibility and voice, and have found early episodes of her new podcast, Never Before entertaining and insightful (Lena Dunham is the executive producer).
Finally the book that I’ve been saving, but intend to read before MWF is The Museum of Words, the latest book by one of our very best, Georgia Blain.
I had not read anything by Blain until Between a Wolf and a Dog early last year – a masterful examination of the small beauties and ordinary tragedies of daily life. This will always be one of my favourite novels, and you can read my review here. I was immensely saddened when Blain passed away from a terminal brain tumour late last year, and took great comfort from reading her backlist, especially her phenomenal memoir Births, Deaths and Marriages.
The Museum of Words is a deeply personal memoir written as Blain came to terms with her tumour that sat right in the language centre of her brain. It will be launched at MWF by Blain’s partner, Andew Taylor, alongside a celebration of the author’s work including performed readings by Sophie Cunningham, Chris Healy and Katrina Sedgwick. I’m sure this will be a acutely moving event, and an important opportunity to acknowledge Blain’s profound contribution to Australian writing.
Nina Kenwood is reading…
There are so many books by MWF authors I want to read, but the two at the top of my pile are Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan, and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.
I have read and absolutely loved the first two books in Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians series, and I’ve been saving up Rich People Problems, the third book, as a treat to give myself on a cold Melbourne weekend. Kwan’s books are highly entertaining, whip smart and very funny, and I can’t recommend them highly enough to anyone looking for an interesting escapist read.
The other book at the top of my pile is acclaimed YA novel The Hate U Give. All of my colleagues have raved about this book, along with the rest of the world, and I can’t wait to read it.
Ellen Cregan is reading…
I’ve narrowed my MWF reading list down to five titles…
I have been wanting to read Rachel Khong’s Goodbye, Vitamin since it came out. I’ve read so many enthusiastic reviews and have had at least five people rave to me about how excellent it is. I also like reading novels with a medical twist to them, and Alzhimer’s is something I find particularly interesting due to its specific degenerative nature and the fact that most people will come into contact with it at some point. I’m currently in the middle of Harriet McKnight’s forthcoming Rain Birds, and McKnight and Kong will be in conversation at MWF about how Alzheimer’s featured in their books. I’m especially interested to hear an American author’s take on this issue, as most of the reading I’ve done about the disease comes from Australian authors.
Another book I’ve had my eye on for a while is Reni Eddo-Lodge’s Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race for a while now. Eddo-Lodge is a fierce and articulate cultural commentator, and I’m sure she will be one of the highlights of MWF 2017 for many.
I also really love a big novel. Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko spans generations and countries, telling the story of a Korean family living in Japan in the twentieth century. I have recently been trying to read more Asian stories lately as so much of what I read tends to be very Eurocentric. I am interested in hearing how Lee approached writing such a big book – the way writers keep track of inter-generational stories has always fascinated me.
Kim Scott’s Taboo is also on my list. Scott is a legendary writer – That Deadman Dance is easily one of my favourite Australian novels of all time. I actually started reading an advance copy of Taboo a couple of weeks ago, and despite absolutely loving it, I had to put it on hold due to other reading commitments. MWF makes for a good excuse to bring it back to the top of my bedside pile.
Finally, I am enamoured by Hera Lindsay Bird’s poetry collection. I wish I could say I was rereading the book in preparation for seeing her at MWF, but the reality is that I revisit it (creepily) almost weekly. I can’t recommend her work enough – I like to read poems aloud at the dinner table, which is always a great time for me but maybe not so much for my housemates. It is equal parts hilarious and profound, and I’m almost at the stage where I want to set up a shrine to it on my mantelpiece. I love what Bird is doing for poetry, and as a poetry editor I can see her influence on the work young writers are sending out into the world.
Bronte Coates is reading…
My ambitious MWF reading stack includes two memoirs that sound fascinating and important: Surpassing Certainty by Janet Mock and Muslim Girl by Amani Al-Khatahtbeh. Both Mock and Al-Khatahtbeh are quickly becoming crucial voices in discussions around identity, politics and more.
Also on my reading list is the soon-to-be-released Terra Nullius. Claire G. Coleman’s debut is set a near future Australia, and is receiving early rave reviews. I’m also anticipating Jennifer Down’s second work of Australian fiction, Pulse Points, which is due in August. And I’m intrigued by the sounds of Gabi Martínez’s In the Land of Giants, which sees him hunting monsters in the Hindu Kush.
