Our thanks to those who were able to join us for our SLAV online Book Club on Thursday November 12th, 2023, to discuss the topic: Short Stories and Short Books. We asked members to share short story collections or short books that work well with their students. As always, our members had so many wonderful contributions to share with us and we had a great deal of fun!
This was our final book club meeting for 2023, and we want to say a very special thank you to all who have attended and contributed to these informal and informative meetings. We cannot wait to see you all next year, your generosity is greatly appreciated.
We absolutely encourage you to reach out to the wonderful Jenny at The Younger Sun as an invaluable resource, for further information and recommendations. The staff at The Younger Sun are incredibly knowledgeable!
Disclaimer: The lists generated as a result of Book Club discussions are not, by any means, an exhaustive list of all titles or authors for each genre/category discussed. Nor will all titles be suitable for all libraries. We advise staff discretion when referencing these lists, to properly confirm individual title suitability for individual libraries, school and student’s needs. These are suggested titles only, shared by our members and inclusion on, or exclusion from, a list does not suggest SLAV endorsement or rejection of a title.
Titles Discussed
The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick
The Little Wave by Pip Harry
Life on the Refrigerator Door: a Novel in Notes by Alice Kuipers
Foster by Claire Keegan
Alice Oseman’s Novellas
Minutes Of Series by Jack Heath
Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link
M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman
Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock.
Only the Animals by Ceridwen Dovey
I Am the Mau and Other Stories by Chemutai Glashee
Dust Makers – edited by Penny Jaye and R.A. Stephens
Off the Map by Scott Gardner
Things a Map Won’t Show You and Where the Shoreline Used to Be Edited by Susan La Marca and Pam McIntyre
Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher”
Astonishingly Good Stories by R.A. Spratt
YOLO Juliet by Brett Wright and William Shakespeare
Darcy Swipes Left by Courtney Carbone and Jane Austen
OMG classics
All in an Hour by Kate Chopin.
The Pink Bow Tie by Paul Jennings
The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury
The Butler by Roald Dahl
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
Bulletcatcher series by Chris Bradford the Mission Alert series by Benjamin Hulme-Cross
The Defenders series by Tom Palmer (sport)
Needle by Patrice Lawrence (realistic fiction)
Firebird by Elizabeth Wein (war)
Conkers series by Tom Palmer (war)
Aussie Nibbles of course for primary…have been re-issued as they were so successful. One title that was a bestseller for some reason, was “No Cat and that’s that” by Bruce Dawe illustrated by Andrew McLean.
The Saturday Portraits – Maxine Beneba Clarke
Tim Harris’ Exploding Endings have been amazing hook books for upper primary at my school.
Smart Ovens for Lonely People – Elizabeth Tan
The Mist by Stephen king
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Unbreakable, Women share stories of resilience and Hope. Edited by Jane Caro.
The Big Issue Presents Letter to my Younger self by Jane Graham
Jon Scieszka – https://jonscieszka.com › guys-read – Commissioned and edited by real-life literature legend Jon Scieszka, Guys Read: True Stories is a brain-bending collection of essays, biographies, how-to guides …
Other Short Collections – Growing up Wiradjuri / ed. by Anita Heiss.
Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia
Growing Up Muslim in Australia
Growing Up Disabled in Australia
Growing Up African in Australia
Growing Up Queer in Australia
Quick Adult/YA Reads for Secondary Students
Disclaimer – some of the books on this list contain complex adult themes, we trust you to use your discretion when stocking these titles in your library, as you know your students and your school community best.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
Sula by Toni Morrison
My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide, Eric Selland
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
Train Dreams by Denis Johnson
Crudo by Olivia Laing
Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, Ginny Tapley Takemori
Crimson by Niviaq Korneliussen, Anna Halager
A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Incendiaries by R. O. Kwon
Indelicacy by Amina Cain
Dolores by Lauren Aimee Curtis
Strange Hotel by Eimear McBride
Ms Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami, Louise Heal Kawai, Jo Walker
The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker
The Death of Francis Bacon by Max Porter
Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier
The Union of Synchronised Swimmers by Cristina Sandu
Night Blue by Angela O’Keeffe
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
A Dream Life by Claire Messud
People From My Neighbourhood by Hiromi Kawakami (Y), Ted Goossen
The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-Eun, Lizzie Buehler
Heatwave by Victor Jestin
A Girl Returned by Donatella Di Pietrantonio, Ann Goldstein
Nostalgia Has Ruined My Life by Zarah Butcher-McGunnigle
Winter In Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin
Heaven by Mieko Kawakami, Sam Bett, David Boyd
My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley
Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au
Burntcoat by Sarah Hall
A Slipping Down Life by Anne Tyler
Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner (Y)
Heartburn by Nora Ephron
Napoleon’s Beekeeper by José Luis de Juan, Elizabeth Bryer
Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss
ADULT – What We Have Been Reading
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Women and Children by Tony Birch
Question 7 by Richard Flanagan
The Empty Honour Board by Martin Flanagan
Exiles by Jane Harper
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
So Late in the Day: Stories of Men and Women – Clare Keegan
All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
‘The Inaugural meeting of the Fairvale book club’ – Sophie Green.
Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton
The Librarianist by Patrick Dewitt
Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth
All the Light we cannot See by Anthony Doer
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang