Hi folks!

I spotted this wonderful book tag on Instagram this morning. It is the brain child of the delightful Bowtiesandbooks . I haven’t thought much about the fact that it is then end of the decade, but the first question on this tag in particular reminded me of just how much has changed for me over the last 10 years.

You can find Jesse’s original post with answers here .

1. How did your reading change?

My reading actually changed a lot this decade. I finally started reading again after not really reading for a long time (being a single parent to a very energetic kid while still working will have that effect!) and prior to this most of my reading had been largely of dead white folks (thanks university).

This decade I have gone from not being able to finish 20 books a year to being able to knock over more than 200 books a year since 2016.

I’ve also moved to being very conscious of the diversity of my reading and want to make sure I’m reading First Nations writers, authors of colour, LGBTQIA+ authors, authors with disabilities and books that aren’t from the US, UK. Of the 249 books I’ve read so far this year, 35 have been by straight, white guys. I am also wanting to make sure I am reading more books from Australia (the first year I became conscious of this and really tried hard only 16% of the books I read were from Australia! This year it’s 30%). Diversifying my reading has and continues to introduce me to amazing new authors.

2. What types of stories/characters do you most connect with?

I’m not sure how to answer this question. I do love stories where the main character learns more about who they are as a person and becomes more comfortable in their own skin. If they are queer and that happens in space then all the better.

3. What are your reading goals for the upcoming decade?

I want to continue to diversify my reading – I want to reduce the number of straight white women that I’m reading for starters – and continue with my project to read at least one book (though preferably many) from each country. And to maybe reduce my TBR to 3 digits.

4. Most beloved/ new favourite authors?

I have found so many amazing authors this decade I can’t possibly name all of them, but here are some: Claire Coleman, Yoon Ha Lee, N.K. Jemisin, Becky Chambers, Martha Wells, Sarah Gailey, Melissa Lucashenko, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Kim Scott, Dr Anita Heiss, Bruce Pascoe, Alexis Wright, Tara June Winch, Alison Evans, Fatima Bhutto, Witi Ihimaera, Mona Eltahawy and that’s probably enough for now.

5. Favourite book to movie adaptions:

This is a tough one for me – I don’t see a lot of movies because I have eye issues. Controversially, my answer to this is Ready Player One. I am a similar age to the author and enjoyed all the 80s kitsch in the book. BUT I really loved how the movie brought the world to life and was so completely different from the book. Plus there was bonus Simon Pegg.

Thanks to Bowtiesandbooks for such a great tag. Let me know if you decide to do this one. I’d love to see your answers!

Cheers,