What to read for Reading Hour…
Reading Hour is upon us – the perfect reason (in case you needed one) to sit and read without feeling guilty. Need some more reasons? Science has proven that reading reducing stress quicker than listening to music or going for a walk. Books help you learn and explore. After reading a book, your brain activity is boosted for days! Books build empathy, connection and help you feel less lonely.
The best books are the ones YOU want to read, but here are a few suggestions – written by Australia Reads ambassadors – to get you started. If nothing takes your fancy make sure to pop in to your local library and ask a librarian, or just browse the shelves.
Will Kostakis
Rebel Gods – With the Monuments gone, newbie gods Connor, Sally and Locky must stop rebel gods from reducing the world to ruin. Trouble is, they don’t know how. While Sally searches for answers and Locky makes plans to save the world, Connor struggles to keep up appearances as an ordinary teenager. But when a rebel god offers them a deal to end their chaos, their lives are turned upside down and they’re forced to reckon with the question: who should decide the fate of the world?
Beck Feiner
My folks grew up in the ’80s – Travel back in time to the era no one has ever forgotten. A time when outfits were so rad you had to wear shades. When crimped hair and perms were cool, kids listened to cassette tapes, and thought dancing on your head was the ultimate. Take a stroll down memory lane and share the decade’s downright weirdness with a whole new generation.
Anna Fienberg
Wicked’s way – Will could walk a tightrope and juggle bananas as he went. ‘One day you’ll be the star of a circus’, his mother told him. ‘But until then, you must be a secret’. For each year pirates came to the islands to steal young boys for their crew. So what’s a young lad to do when his mother disappears and pirates arrive at his door?… Will takes courage from a crazy truth-telling parrot and his mother’s advice: ‘Keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep your eyes on the prize.’
Jacqueline Harvey
Freefall – Back at Alexandria with their friend Curtis visiting, Kensy and Max are enjoying the school break. Especially when Granny Cordelia surprises them with a trip to America! It’s meant to be a family vacation but the twins soon realise there’s more to this holiday than meets the eye – the chase for Dash Chalmers is on!
Peter Helliar
Frankie Fish and the wild wild mess – Frankie Fish has a hunch that a famous Medicine Man from the Wild West holds the answer to his Grandad’s forgetfulness, so he and Drew pack their cowboy hats and spurs and take the Sonic Suitcase for another spin. But when they arrive, gold fever has struck, and Frankie and Drew must take on some sneaky outlaws and clear their new friend’s name. Can Frankie Fish and Drew Bird yee-haw their way into the history books?
Dervla McTiernan
The good turn – It all started with a little favour… Police corruption, an investigation that ends in tragedy and the mystery of a little girl’s silence – three unconnected things that will prove to be linked by one small town. For some, Roundstone is a refuge from trauma. But even this village on the edge of the sea isn’t far enough to escape from the shadows of evil men.
Head over to the Australia Reads website and take the pledge to read for an hour on Thursday 12 November.