Tuesday, December 31, 2013

The #spbkchat #spbkchat wrap up

Last week our #spbkchat list was all about #spbkchat itself.

#spbkchat has been running just under three years with the format staying the same that whole time. As part of the brainstorm we decided to try a few new things.

The first thing we are going to trial is a slightly later start time. For a few weeks at least we are going to start chat at 8.30pm Australian Eastern Standard Time, which is 10.30pm New Zealand.

We are also going to start trialling a shorter chat. The chat will officially last for one hour but it doesn't matter if people want to hang around chatting after the official time is over. Some weeks there are lots of things to talk about and others not so much.

We will review the changes in the next couple of months and see if participants are happy with the changes or want to revert back to the original format.

In addition to brainstorming about the format, we came up with the topics to cover the next few months. I have now created the schedule which will take us through to March 2014.

20-Jun-2013 Miles Franklin prize
27-Jun-2013 Best books of the year ... So far
4-Jul-2013 General chat
11-Jul-2013 Reading indigenous literature
18-Jul-2013 Expectations vs reality
25-Jul-2013 Adaptations
1-Aug-2013 General chat
8-Aug-2013 Podcasts
15-Aug-2013 Contemporary fiction
22-Aug-2013 Book clubs - what works and what doesn't
29-Aug-2013 Most anticipated new releases for spring/fall
5-Sep-2013 General chat
12-Sep-2013 Translated fiction/best translators
19-Sep-2013 Music in/with books
26-Sep-2013 Cookbooks
3-Oct-2013 #spbkchat bookclub - Neil Gaiman
10-Oct-2013 Reading recommendations
17-Oct-2013 zombies
24-Oct-2013 Act of reading and/or blogging
31-Oct-2013 spooky reads
7-Nov-2013 General chat
14-Nov-2013 Favourite authors
21-Nov-2013 Judging books by their covers
28-Nov-2013 Storing your books - help, I need more bookcases!
5-Dec-2013 #spbkchat bookclub - Emma by Jane Austen
12-Dec-2013 buying books as gifts
19-Dec-2013 Christmas reads
26-Dec-2013 best books of the year
2-Jan-2014 New year reading resolutions
9-Jan-2014 General chat
16-Jan-2014 Most anticipated books of 2014
23-Jan-2014 Reading Challenges - yay or nay
30-Jan-2014 Audiobooks
6-Feb-2014 General chat
13-Feb-2014 YA
20-Feb-2014 Libraries
27-Feb-2014 Crime
6-Mar-2014 #spbkchat topics/general chat
13-Mar-2014 Most anticipated new releases for autumn/spring
20-Mar-2014 Non Fiction

Friday, June 21, 2013

The #spbkchat Miles Franklin Prize list

The list of books and authors from the 20th June chat on the Miles Franklin Prize chat.

Title

1988
Praise
'Oscar and Lucinda'
Inouk
Tiffany book
Great Expectations
Mister Pip
The Slap
'The Gift of Speed'
All That I Am & Dirt Music
That Deadman Dance
HarryPotter
50 Shades
Twilight
The Bird
Mateship of Birds
Floundering

Author

China Mieville
Tim Winton
Tom Keneally
Question of Travel by Michelle de Kretser
The Jesus Man by Christos Tsiolkas
Dead Europe by Christos Tsiolkas
Loaded by Christos Tsiolkas
'The White Earth' by Andrew McGahan
'The Gift of Speed'
'The Great Fire' by Shirley Hazzard
'Seven Types of Ambiguity'
Jack Maggs by Peter Carey
Carpentaria by Alexis Wright
The Slap Christos Tsiolkas

Sunday, May 19, 2013

The #spbkchat general chat list

This past Thursday was an open, general chat.

This coming Thursday, we're talking about literary prizes.

There was no list last week as it was a very quiet chat, in case anyone is wondering. :-)

On to the list!



Titles:
Mateship for Birds
Eleanor and Park
Persuasion
Pride and Prejudice
Sense and Sensibility
The Savage Detectives
Kitchen
Welcome to Sanditon
The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Dr Horrible's Singalong Blog
Downton Abbey
Unsticky
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me
Call the Midwife
Adorkable
The Following
American Horror Story
Parks and Recreation
The Walking Dead
Game of Thrones
Life in Outer Space
The Da Vinci Code
50 Shades of Gray
The Rosie Project
Team Human
The 5th Wave
Inferno
Darwins' Ghosts
The Housemaid's Daughter
Liar
Supernatural
The Human Body

Authors:
Jane Austen
Roberto Bolano
Sara Manning
Dan Brown
Rick Yancy
Rebecca Stott
Justine Larbalestier



Sunday, May 5, 2013

The #spbkchat Austens chat list

 This past Thursday the chat was all about The Austens.

This coming Thursday, we're talking new-to-you authors.

On to the list :-)

Titles:
The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Mamma Mia (movie)
Love Actually (movie)
Pride and Prejudice
Bridget Jones' Diary
Emma
Northanger Abbey
Persuasion
Sense and Sensibility
Mansfield Park

Authors:
Jane Austen
Georgette Heyer

Links:
http://www.janeausten.co.uk/darcy-wentworth-heroic-inspiration/



Friday, April 26, 2013

The #spbkchat Anzac Day list

This past Thursday was Anzac Day in the South Pacific region, so that's what we focused on for the chat.

This coming Thursday, we're talking about the Austens.


On to the list!

Titles:
M*A*S*H (TV series)
Message from Nam
China Beach (TV series)
Kitty's War
The Persimmon Tree
Regeneration
The Bronze Horseman
The Book Thief
A Stranger on My Street
The Lavendar Keeper
The Clover House
The Storytellers
Barbed Wire and Roses
In Falling Snow
Aussie Redstone Station
Iron Man 3 (movie)
Daughter of Mars

Authors:
Danielle Steele
Janet Butler
Bryce Courtenay
Pat Barker
Paullina Simons
Deborah Burrowes
Noel Barber
Fiona Mackintosh
Victoria Hislop
Henrietta Laziridis Power
Jodi Picoult
Peter Yeldham
Mary Rose McCall
Mandy Magro
Thomas Keneally
Therese Creed
The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Links:
http://warthroughthegenerations.wordpress.com/book-reviews-viet-nam-war/
http://bookdout.wordpress.com/2012/11/09/review-in-falling-snow-by-mary-rose-maccoll/

Friday, April 19, 2013

The #spbkchat short story chat list

This past week the topic of discussion was short stories.

Coming up this week, we're talking about Anzac Day.

On to the list:


Titles:
Zombies vs Unicorns
Geektastic
A Village After Dark
Tenth of December
Mansfield with Monsters
Extreme Weather Events
Transported
The Interpreter of Maladies
Sons of Darkness
Brothers of the Night


Authors:
Holly Black
Justine Larbalestier
Isaac Asimov
Enid Blyton
Rudyard Kipling
Kazuo Ishigiro
Debbie Cowens
Matt Cowens
Tim Jones
Neil Gaiman
Stephen King
Poppy Z Brite
Ray Bradbury
Roald Dahl
Katherine Mansfield
Annie Proulx
Alice Hoffman
Alice Monroe
Jhumpa Lahiri
Truman Capote
Helen Garner
Raymond Carver
J D Salinger
Courtney Milan
P G Wodehouse


Links:
http://www.amazon.com/Zombies-vs-Unicorns-Holly-Black/dp/1416989544
http://www.steampress.co.nz/monsters.html
http://www.amazon.com/Sons-Darkness-Tales-Blood-Immortality/dp/1573440590/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366280031&sr=1-7&keywords=sons+of+darkness+book

Sunday, April 14, 2013

The #spbkchat general chat list

This past week we enjoyed a general chat.

This coming week, we're talking about short stories.

On to the list!



Titles:
Wormwood,
Mourning Gloria
Holly Blues
Cat's Claw
Selected Works of T S Spivet
Mercy (series)
Kitty (series)
Cloudstreet
Dirt Music
The Riders
Breath
Revivalist (series)
Dash and Lily's Book of Dares
Pennyroyal Green
Psy-Changeling (series)
Madaddam
Oryx & Crake
Emergent
The Riders
Lochie Leonard
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Anna Karenina
Game of Thrones (series)
Looking for Alaska
Paper Towns
The Fault in Our Stars
Code Name Verity
Will Grayson, Will Grayson
Take My Word for It
The Crane Wife

Authors:
Robyn Carr
Susan Wittig Albert
Margaret Maron
Reif Larsen
Diana Gabaldon
Patricia Briggs
Carrie Vaughn
Ilona Andrews
Tim Winton
Rachel Caine
Rachel Cohn
Julie Anne Long
Nalini Singh
Margaret Atwood
Khaled Hosseini
Patrick Ness
Helene Young
John Green
John Marsden

Links:
http://www.writersfestival.co.nz/Home/Programme/2013SchoolsProgramme/tabid/271/Default.aspx
http://www.writersfestival.co.nz/

Sunday, April 7, 2013

The #spbkchat foodie fiction chat list

This past week's foodie chat was a bit quiet, but still very tasty.

This Thursday is a general chat.

Also, please note, daylight saving has ended in New Zealand, which means for the rest of the world, the chat time will shift as we fell backwards an hour.

I'll put an alert on twitter closer to the actual time :-)

Titles:
Corinna Chapman (series)
Darina Lisle (series)
Ricky and G-Man (series)
Liquor
Delicious
The Restaurant of Love Regained
Garlic and Sapphires
Ministry of Food
30 Minute Meals
Like Water for Chocolate
Chocolat
Pomegranate Soup
Rosewater & Soda Bread

Authors:
Kerry Greenwood
Poppy Z Brite
Sherry Thomas
Ito Ogawa
Ruth Reichl
Cleo Coyle
Louisa Edwards
Jamie Oliver
Marsha Mehran
Barbara O'Neal

Links:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Restaurant-Love-Regained-Ito-Ogawa/dp/1846881803

Saturday, March 30, 2013

The #spbkchat Russian classics list

This past week the chat was about Russian classics.

Coming up this Thursday, we're talking foodie fiction - should be tasty. :-)

On to the list!

Titles: 
The Simpsons
The Battleship Potemkin
Howl's Moving Castle
Baba Yaga
Petersburg
A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Gulag Archipelago
The Seagull
The Cherry Orchard
The Last Station (film)
The Master + Margerita
Happiness is Possible
Maidenhair
The Light and the Dark
Notes from the Underground
Eugene Onegin
The Lady with the Dog
Pride and Prejudice
Anna Karenina
War and Peace
Lolita
Pale Fire

Authors:
Andrei  Bely
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Anton Chekov
Leo Tolstoy
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Vladimir Nabokov
Gary Shteyngart
Vladimir Sorokin
Yevgeny Zamyatin
Aleksander Pushkin
Oleg Zaionchkovsky
Mikhail Shishkin
Jane Austen

Links:
http://tonysreadinglist.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/colours-of-chaos.html

Sunday, March 24, 2013

The #spbkchat Brontes chat list

This past Thursday, the Brontes were the topic of discussion.

This coming Thursday we turn our attention to Russian classics.

On to the list!

Titles:
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Agnes Grey
Jane Eyre
Wuthering Heights
Vilette
Lady Chatterly's Lover
Sex and the City
Twilight
Jane Bites Back
Shirley
Wide Sargasso Sea
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
The Eyre Affair
Jane Slayre
Sense and Sensibility

Authors:
Charlotte Bronte
Emily Bronte
Anne Bronte
Stephenie Meyer
 Michael Thomas Ford
Jean Rhys
S A Erwin
Jasper Fforde
Byron
Keats
Shelley
Jane Austen

Links:
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/television/reviews/2007-01-18-jane-eyre_x.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7_uNOTpG5Y
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanticism

Sunday, March 17, 2013

The #spbkchat general chat list

This past Thursday we had a general chat, and the spectre of losing Google Reader soon loomed large in a lot of chatters' minds.

This coming Thursday we're talking about The Brontes.

On to the list.



Titles:
Ever  After
Minority Council
Just One Day
The Anteater of Death
The Koala of Death
Will Grayson, Will Grayson
Driving Her Crazy
The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (web series)
Bitter Greens
Paper Towns
The Fault in Our Stars
The Wild Girl
Lincoln (film)

Authors:
Kim Harrison
Kate Griffin
Gayle Forman
Betty Webb
David Levithan
Amy Andrews
Kate Forsyth
John Green

Saturday, March 9, 2013

The #spbkchat International Women's Day chat list

This past Friday was International Women's Day, so that's what we celebrated for last week's chat.

This coming Thursday is a general chat.

On to the list!

Titles:
Harmless
Little Women
Sea Hearts
Tender Morsels
Good Wives
The Secret Garden
A Little Princess
The Bonesetter's Daughter
Wild Swans
Desert of the Heart
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Anne of Green Gables (series)
Wolf (series)
Miss Marple (series)
Lord Peter Wimsey (series)
Rachel's Holiday
Persuasion
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
Chaos Walking (series)
Wolf Hall
The Queen of the Damned
Blackwood Farm
The Witching Hour
Graffiti Moon

Authors:
Julienne van Loon
Louisa May Alcott
Margo Lanagan
Amy Tan
Jung Chang
Jane Rule
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Baroness Orczy
L M Montgomery
Jane Linksgold
Dorothy L Sayers
Agatha Christie
Marian Keyes
Patrick Ness
Sarah Waters
Diana Wynne Jones
Ursula Le Guin
Kij Johnson
Hilary McKay
Yoko Ogawa
Hiromi Kawakami
Hilary Mantel
Melina Marchetta
Anne Rice
J K Rowling
Caroline Overington
Shirley Marr
Margaret Mahy
Elizabeth Knox
Karen Healey
Cath Crowley
Megan Whalen Turner
Fleur Beale
Kate deGoldi

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisa_Alcott

Thursday, February 28, 2013

The #spbkchat utopia/dystopia chat list

This past Thursday we talked about utopian/dystopian literature, which skewed towards dystopia more, because, as someone pointed out, utopia would get a bit dull after a while.

This coming Thursday, our focus is International Women's Day, so we'll be celebrating women writers. :-)


On to the list!



Titles:
The Age of Miracles
The Hunger Games (series)
Uglies
Pretties
Specials
The Machine Stops
Super Sad True Love Story
Battle Royale
1984
We
The Giver
Unwind
Divergent (series)
Legend
Never Let Me Go
Children of Men
The Handmaid's Tale
Oryx & Crake
Harmony
The Adoration of Jenna Fox
Chaos Walking (series)
Winter of Fire
The Crossing (series)
Juno of Taris (series)
Atals Shrugged
Anthem
We the Living
Brave New World
When We Wake
Warm Bodies


Authors:
George Orwell
Patrick Ness
Margaret Atwood
Scott Westerfeld
E M Forster
Yevegny Zamyatin
P D James
Project Itoh
Mary E Pearson
Sherryl Jordan
Fleur Beale
Mandy Hager
Sir Thomas More
Karen Healey



Links:
http://flavorwire.com/373669/the-10-greatest-dystopian-love-stories/
http://literary-exploration.com/2012/09/12/dystopian-fiction-a-brief-history/

Saturday, February 16, 2013

The #spbkchat general chat list

We had a good general chat this past Thursday, and for this coming Thursday, we're talking New Adult fiction.


On to the list :-)



Titles:
Tigana
Sailing to Sarantium
The Lions of Al-Rassan
Pride and Prejudice
Anna Karenina
The Rosie Project
The Toe Tag Quintet
The Handmaid's Tale
The Year of Rice and Salt
A Teaspoon of Earth and Tea
Wolf Hall
The Price of Inequality
The Little Russian
Lifesavers for Beginners
Ever After

Authors:
Guy Gavriel Kay
Terry Pratchett
Kim Stanley Robinson
Kate Locke
Dina Nayeri
Joseph Stiglitz
Susan Sherman
Ciara Geraghty
Kaje Harper
Stephanie Julian
Kim Harrison

Saturday, February 9, 2013

The #spbkchat reading from our heritage list

This past Thursday we talked about reading from our own heritage.

This coming Thursday is a general chat.


On to the list!




Titles:
Druids
A Greener Shore
The Maltese Falcom
Brides of Rollrock Island
Sea Hearts
October Daye (series)
Saved by Cake
Saga of the Light Isles
When We Wake
Sea of Trolls (series)
The Raven Queen
The Swan Maiden

Authors:
Elizabeth Chadwick
Karen Marie Moning
Beatrix Potter
Charles Dickens
Jane Austen
William Shakespeare
Sharon Kay Penman
Morgan Llewellyn
Seanan McGuire
Diana Gabaldon
Marian Keyes
Juliet Marillier
Rosemary Sutcliff
Karen Healey
The Brontes
Nancy Farmer
Tana French
Sheila Flanagan
Jules Watson

Links:
http://www.goodreads.com/places/1118-wales?page=1

Friday, February 1, 2013

The #spbkchat under-rated series list

This past Thursday we talked about under-rated series.

Next Thursday, we're talking about reading from our own heritage.

On to the list!




Titles:
The Shadowfae Chronicles
The Dirty Streets of Heaven
Kate Daniels (series)
Kitty (series)
Killing the Emperors
The Bachelorette Pact (series)
Corinna Chapman (series)
Phryne Fisher (series)
Rev Claire Ferguson/Russ Van Alstyne (series)
Sea Witch
The Hobbit
Moon Called
Blood Bound
Iron Kissed
Bone Crossed
Cliff Hardy (series)
Magician (series)
The Belgariad (series)
The Mallorean (series)
Daughter of the Empire (series)
Fortress (series)
The True Game (series)
Rameses (series)
Royal Spyness
Lymond and Niccolo (series)

Authors:
Tad Williams
Ilona Andrews
Carrie Vaughn
Ruth Dudley Edwards
Kathleen O'Reilly
Kerry Greenwood
Julia Spencer Fleming
Charles Dickens
Patricia Briggs
Brent Weeks
Peter Corris
David Eddings
Raymond E Feist
Janny Wurts
C J Cherryh
Sherri S Tepper
Christan Jacq
Dorothy Dunnett
Rhys Bowen

Links:
http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/wait-book-authors-die/

Friday, January 25, 2013

The #spbkchat North/South Korea list

This past Thursday we talked about North and South Korea.

This upcoming Thursday we're talking under-rated series.

On to the list! :D



Titles:
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Waiting for Mummy
The Recipe
Brother Fish
The Orphan Master's Son
The Red Queen

Authors:
Martin Limon
Tae Jun Lee
Linda Sue Park
James Michener
Bryce Courtenay
Lisa See
Margaret Drabble

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar:_The_Last_Airbender
http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/20844143?q=Waiting+for+mummy&c=book&versionId=24750163
http://vienna-pyongyang.blogspot.com.au/
http://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=Korea

Saturday, January 19, 2013

The #spbkchat general chat list

This past week was a general chat, which is always fun.

Next week, we're talking North/South Korea.


On to the list!



Titles:
Persuasion
Pride and Prejudice
Northanger Abbey
Sense and Sensibility
American Gods
Emma
Les Miserables
Game of Thrones
Behind the Veil
Lady Susan
The Watsons
Sanditon
Baking Cakes in the Kagali
The Casual Vacancy
The Potato Factory
War and Peace
Middlemarch
We Need to Talk About Kevin
The Brothers Karamazov
Running With Scissors
The Magic Mountain
The Man Without Qualities
The Snow White Christmas Cookie
Life of Pi
Mansfield with Monsters
Anna Karenina
The Brontes
Yoko Ogawa
Wolf Hall
Telegraph Avenue
Bring Up the Bodies
Bitter Greens
Life of Pi
Beauty Queens
Legend
The Secret Keeper
Prodigy
Murder on the Ballast Train

Authors:
Jane Austen
J R R Tolkien
Tad Williams
Victor Hugo
Neil Gaiman
Charles Dickens
Gaile Parkin
J K Rowling
Thomas Mann
Robert Musli
David Handler
Marcel Proust
Katherine Mansfield
Matt and Debbie Cowens
Michael Chabon
Hilary Mantel
Libba Bray
Marie Lu
Kate Morton
Kerry Greenwood

Friday, January 11, 2013

The #spbkchat personal reading list

This past week we opened up our personal reading histories and peeked inside.

Next Thursday it's a free-for-all general chat.

On to the list!

Titles: 
Pride and Prejudice
Emma
Clueless
Redwall (series)
Eagle of the Ninth
Rider of the White Horse
Cross Stitch
Famous Five (series)
Secret 7 (series)
Wishing Tree (series)
Flowers in the Attic
My Sweet Audrina
A Study in Scarlet
Nancy Drew (series)
Heidi
Dawn
The Babysitter's Club (series)
The Hobbit
Animalia
The Belgariad (series)
Sweet Valley High (series)
Goosebumps (series)
Trixie Belden (series)
The Wind in the Willows

Authors:
Jane Austen
Rosemary Sutcliff
Barbara Softly
Enid Blyton
V C Andrews
Judy Blume
Graeme Base
David Eddings
Jean Plaidy

Links:
http://originofspeciesforsale.blogspot.co.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Belgariad

Saturday, January 5, 2013

The #spbkchat most anticipated books list

The start of a new year is a very exciting time, because it almost invariably means new books from favourite authors, and exciting reads from debut authors.

This past Thursday we talked about our most anticipated reads for 2013.

Next Thursday we're delving deep, and talking about our own personal reading history.

For now, however, on to the list!



Titles:
Forty Signs of Rain
Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand
The Big Smoke
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
The Crane Wife
More Than This
Maddaddam
The Shifting Fog
Life After Life
American Gods
Outlander (series)
The Flood and Ark (series)
Pure
Fuse
Original Sinners (series)
The Wild Girl
Black Dagger Brotherhood (series)
The Forgotten Garden
Just One Day
Man Drought
The Secret Keeper
Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood (series)
Garment of Shadows
The Casual Vacancy
An Apprentice to Elves
A Companion of Wolves
The Tempering of Men
Delirium (series)
The Graveyard Book
And the Mountains Echoed
The Red Queen

Authors:
Kim Stanley Robinson
Samuel Delaney
Neil Gaiman
Margaret Atwood
Patrick Ness
Kate Atkinson
Sara Addison Allen
Susanna Kearsley
Steven Baxter
Elizabeth Knox
JR Ward
Kate Forsyth
Gayle Forman
Rachel Johns
Kate Morton
Deborah Burrows
Laurie R King
Elizabeth Bear
Sarah Monette
Lauren Oliver
Hisham Matar
Elizabeth Chadwick
Sylvia Plath
Isobelle Carmody
Deanna Raybourn
Lauren Willig
Nastuo Kirino
Yoko Ogawa

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stars_in_My_Pocket_Like_Grains_of_Sand
http://justaddstory.wordpress.com/2013/01/01/review-american-gods/
http://www.nzatfrankfurt.govt.nz/authors/elizabeth-knox
http://www.patrickness.com/