tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/summer-reading-13618/articlesSummer reading – The Conversation2023-12-27T20:25:59Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2176962023-12-27T20:25:59Z2023-12-27T20:25:59Z7 inspiring books for kids this summer, chosen by kids aged 11-12<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563251/original/file-20231204-25-8wezt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C14%2C3229%2C2347&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/boys-sitting-on-beach-sand-5791008/">Maksym Lavrynets/Pexels</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Kids aged five to 14 read less in their spare time than they did four years ago, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/children-are-reading-less-but-is-it-their-fault-they-spend-more-time-on-screens-20230421-p5d2cy.html">according to a recent study</a> – but a healthy 72.4% still like to read.</p>
<p>How can we encourage children to keep reading? </p>
<p>Supporting kids to <a href="https://teacher.scholastic.com/education/classroom-library/pdfs/The-Power-of-Reading-Choice.pdf">choose what they read</a> is crucial to reading motivation. <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/children-and-biography-9781350236400/">My research</a> explores how reading books they feel personally connected to, with characters they can empathise with and relate to, can help them become more motivated readers.</p>
<p>And there are some simple things you can do to encourage and support your kids’ reading choices.</p>
<p>You can make time to <a href="https://theconversation.com/10-ways-to-help-the-boys-in-your-life-read-for-enjoyment-not-just-for-school-205997">visit a local library</a> or bookshop (which might be a secondhand bookshop, or the books section of your local op-shop). </p>
<p>You can provide your kids with websites or catalogues they can browse and let them choose from them.</p>
<p>And you can stay open to books in accessible formats, like graphic texts, digital books and audiobooks – available for free from most libraries – which are crucial in supporting <a href="https://theconversation.com/help-my-kid-wont-read-chapter-books-what-do-i-do-195092">diverse reading needs</a>.</p>
<p>In the spirit of celebrating choice, here are some summer reading recommendations from kids aged 11 and 12, who belong to a book club I run. I asked them each to review an inspiring book they’d chosen for themselves – whether they borrowed it from a library or a friend, or asked someone to buy it for them. </p>
<p>Their recommendations reflect their interest in diverse representations, inspirational role models and accessible reading formats.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/6-non-fiction-reads-for-kids-this-summer-recommended-by-kids-aged-9-to-11-195578">6 non-fiction reads for kids this summer, recommended by kids aged 9 to 11</a>
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<h2>1. Not Here to Make You Comfortable: 50 Women Who Stand Up, Speak Out, Inspire Change</h2>
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<p><a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/not-here-to-make-you-comfortable-9781761340581">Not Here to Make You Comfortable</a> (Penguin Random House) is an awesome book that tells the stories of 50 incredible women who have fought for what they believe in. </p>
<p>It is full of inspiring stories about women who have made a difference in the world, including fighting for equal rights and showing people that your body isn’t gross at all. I learned so much about these amazing women and their accomplishments. </p>
<p>I was especially inspired by the stories of Taylor Swift, who wasn’t afraid to claim what was hers, Celeste Barber, who shows women how to be proud of their bodies, and neurodivergent actor, author, and podcaster <a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/different-not-less-chloe-hayden/book/9781761500169.html?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAyKurBhD5ARIsALamXaF7iX9aQHNTlUsCFEINrq9yvzTjzwP4J_jYNpqMkpzKnOvToRHcV2caAhNYEALw_wcB">Chloe Hayden</a>, who wrote a book about how being different is a superpower.</p>
<p>I highly recommend this book to any girl or boy who wants to make a difference in the world.</p>
<p><strong>– Chloe, 12</strong></p>
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<h2>2. My Journey to the World Cup by Sam Kerr</h2>
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<p><a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/My-Journey-to-the-World-Cup/Sam-Kerr/9781761101007">My Journey to the World Cup</a> is about Sam’s achievements and how she got into the amazing sport of soccer. This non-fiction book has different parts: Sam’s stories, lots of photos, interviews with Sam and teammates, fact sheets and statistics. </p>
<p>Sam talks about playing for local, national, and international clubs and for Australia – and how she felt when she played. The book aims to inspire readers and motivate them to do the things they love and to always try their best. It motivates me to know other people feel the way I do about the value of teamwork.</p>
<p>This book would appeal to many readers, including people who play a sport, who like watching the Matildas, or who are interested in Sam Kerr. The book is written for readers of my age and older.</p>
<p><strong>– Darcy, 12</strong></p>
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<h2>3. The Amazing Edie Eckhart by Rosie Jones</h2>
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<p>Edie Eckhart is an 11-year-old girl who has cerebral palsy. <a href="https://www.hachette.com.au/rosie-jones-natalie-smillie/the-amazing-edie-eckhart-the-amazing-edie-eckhart-book-1">The Amazing Edie Eckhart</a>, written by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/dec/31/comedian-rosie-jones-interview-triple-threat">Rosie Jones</a>, a comedian with cerebral palsy, is about Edie starting high school. </p>
<p>She has a best friend named Oscar, who has been with her since day one. Everything is exciting until Edie is put in a different class to Oscar. Now she cannot rely on him to help her all the time. She has to figure out how to be independent on her own. Edie thinks she is not good enough and will never be like the others. But the moral of the story is that her slower talking and different way of walking does not stop her from achieving success. </p>
<p>This book is funny, warm, and heartfelt. This book is aimed at young readers, to teach them that even disabilities cannot stop you from reaching your dreams. </p>
<p><strong>– Arly, 11</strong></p>
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<h2>4. The Boy From Boomerang Crescent by Eddie Betts</h2>
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<p><a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/The-Boy-from-Boomerang-Crescent/Eddie-Betts/9781761420658">The Boy from Boomerang Crescent</a> (Eddie Betts, Simon & Schuster) is about Eddie’s life before, during and after football. </p>
<p>Eddie grew up in Kalgoorlie and Port Lincoln. He shares stories about his large family and playing with his brothers and cousins. Throughout his whole career, he was raising his own children, which shows how important family is to him. </p>
<p>Eddie talks about starting and ending his football career at Carlton, as well as his time at <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-02/eddie-betts-autobiography-adelaide-crows-training-camp/101294046">the Crows and their infamous camp</a>. He talks about his coaches and how they influenced him, and the impact of the death of former Crows coach Phil Walsh.</p>
<p>I was inspired by Eddie Betts, as he wasn’t drafted in the first draft and joined mid-year, when he was very unfit. He could have given up, but he put a lot of work in. He didn’t come from the richest family, so had to work harder than most. The book would appeal to AFL fans, sport fans, people interested in stories of overcoming challenges and people who like reading biographies.</p>
<p><strong>– Asher, 12</strong></p>
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<h2>5. Dragon Skin by Karen Foxlee</h2>
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<p><a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Karen-Foxlee-Dragon-Skin-9781760526108">Dragon Skin</a> is about a girl called Pip who finds a baby dragon. She finds it at a waterhole and takes it home to save it. The dragon scratches her and she knows it has given her access to something special. Two other people help her save the dragon, and the cut on her hand opens a portal the dragon flies into. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, her mother has met a guy, and they are dating and living together. He verbally abuses them, but eventually they can get away from him. </p>
<p>This book intrigued me because it had more mature themes and an essence of magic to it. The main character, Pip, inspired me because although she was being verbally abused, she still had the strength and bravery to save a dragon. She also convinced her mum to escape her abusive partner Matt, and she made new friends. </p>
<p>I recommend this book for ages 9-13 years old.</p>
<p><strong>– Sienna, 12</strong></p>
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<h2>6. We are Wolves by Katrina Nannestead</h2>
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<p><a href="https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780733340888/we-are-wolves/">We Are Wolves</a> is set in the second world war and told from the perspective of a German family. The father must go to war and the rest of the family is forced to evacuate. However, as they are evacuating, the three children get separated from their mother and grandparents. These three children are named Leisl, Otto and Mia. This book is about their survival on their own in a war-struck country. </p>
<p>I found this book interesting because when we learn about wars, we are only ever taught about what happens on the battlefield. We are never taught about what is happening to people who live in these places and are affected and suffer from the consequences of war. I found the main characters very inspiring.</p>
<p>Overall, I found this book amazing. It had a beautiful storyline that kept me hooked. </p>
<p><strong>– Molly, 12</strong></p>
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<h2>7. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Big Shot by Jeff Kinney</h2>
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<p><a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/big-shot-diary-of-a-wimpy-kid-16-9780143796114">Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Big Shot</a> is about a boy named Greg, who is trying out for a basketball team because his mum said he had to try. Greg had already tried out for soccer before, in kindergarten, but he quit – knowing he was terrible! </p>
<p>Greg makes a team and when they start playing, they learn a lot about being a team and being the underdog. Playing is very hard for them and the book is very funny. Greg’s mum wants to teach him playing sports is good for you, no matter if you lose.</p>
<p>This book would appeal to young children who enjoy stories about young people’s lives and who like reading funny books. I found this book easy to read because of the illustrations.</p>
<p><strong>– Daisy, 11</strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217696/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Douglas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If you want your kids to read more, my research shows it’s crucial to support kids to choose what they read. Here are some practical, affordable tips, plus great reads picked by kids.Kate Douglas, Professor of English, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2083502023-07-13T17:11:35Z2023-07-13T17:11:35ZJoys of summer reading: the books we’re devouring are likely influenced by someone we know and trust<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537310/original/file-20230713-21-6sry09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C134%2C2991%2C1598&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People’s ways of choosing books are significantly influenced by our offline relationships and book browsing habits.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If your bag is packed for your summer holiday, does it contain books that you’ve been meaning to read for ages, or titles that you very recently bought or borrowed? </p>
<p>Perhaps you grabbed a bestselling mystery or romance in an airport bookstore, or chose an intriguing-looking celebrity memoir from a <a href="https://littlefreelibrary.org">little free library</a> in your neighbourhood. </p>
<p>Maybe you loaded up your e-reader a few weeks ago with titles that were recommended to you on the basis of your most frequently read genres, or that you saw featured in a “summer reads” list <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jun/24/summer-reading-50-brilliant-books-to-discover?utm_term=6497e5f9b107ea901e2df2b89e14c811&utm_campaign=Bookmarks&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=bookmarks_email">in a newspaper</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/books/40-canadian-books-to-read-this-summer-1.6888528">website</a> or <a href="https://lithub.com/50-of-the-greatest-summer-novels-of-all-time/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Lit%20Hub%20Weekly:%20June%2020-23%2C%202023&utm_term=lithub_weekly_master_list">book blog</a>. </p>
<p>If you’re a reader, at least one of these scenarios will be familiar to you. But the chances are that your summer reading choices have been influenced by someone you know and trust, whether that person is an influencer on Bookstagram, a colleague or your best friend. </p>
<p>We may have online access to a recommendation culture that supplies us with reviews, star ratings and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108933377">book promotion buzz</a>, but how we choose books is significantly influenced by our offline relationships and book-browsing habits. </p>
<p>Even for those of us who regularly use social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Goodreads or TikTok to find out what other readers recommend, suggestions offered by friends, family members or colleagues remain the main way of picking our next book to read, according to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108891042">our recent research</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1678449000066809857"}"></div></p>
<h2>Longer hours of daylight … to read</h2>
<p>For many Canadians who enjoy reading books for pleasure, the summer season brings with it some extra reading time. Longer hours of daylight and, if we are lucky, a summer vacation allows us to tackle the TBR (to be read) pile, or to reach for a lighter “beach read.” </p>
<p>As a practice, <a href="https://www.umasspress.com/9781625343833/books-for-idle-hours/">summer reading</a> in North America has a history stretching back into the 19th century, when an increase in literacy, the mass production of more affordable books, the provision of electricity to many towns and the proliferation of <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/libraries#:%7E:text=The%20earliest%20libraries%20in%20Canada,belonging%20to%20immigrants%20from%20Europe">public libraries</a> all combined to create the conditions for leisure reading for those with access to these resources. </p>
<p>Fast forward about 150 years and we find ourselves in a <a href="https://publishing.monash.edu/product/post-digital-book-cultures/">post-digital age</a>: as noted by scholars like Alexandra Dane and Millicent Weber, digital technologies and platforms have changed and complicated how books are produced, and how they circulate and are consumed.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v9Nx9lgLNQU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Video from BookNet Canada on what makes #BookTokers tick.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A trip to the library now consists of a few mouse clicks <a href="https://www.booknetcanada.ca/press-room/2023/5/30/comics-and-graphic-novels-rise-in-popularity-for-canadians-in-2022">to borrow an audiobook or comic</a>, while a browse through a bricks-and-mortar bookstore may include skimming through paperbacks on the <a href="https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/research/2022/9/29/the-real-impact-of-booktok-on-book-sales">“BookTok Books”</a> display table that curates notable books promoted by TikTok influencers. </p>
<h2>Opinions on ‘bestsellers’</h2>
<p>Our research involved an online questionnaire with more than 3,000 readers, interviews with social media influencers and a two-month asynchronous conversation with international Gen Z readers in a private Instagram chat space.</p>
<p>The readers we surveyed frequently combine traditional methods of book selection such as consulting reviews in newspapers, and browsing in libraries and bookstores, with the use of online recommendation sources. </p>
<p>We learned the label of <a href="https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2018/11/12/what-makes-a-book-a-bestseller">“bestseller”</a> is a further resource for choosing books. </p>
<p>This is the case regardless of whether “bestseller” is signalled by a sticker on a book’s cover, by a publisher’s advertisement or by a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCd3MWT6Jbc">BookTuber’s roundup of #summerreading</a>. And, it’s true even when readers view “bestseller” as a term that screams “not for me,” “trashy” or “poor-quality writing” — as many of our surveyed readers did. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man reading while lying on bench." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537330/original/file-20230713-27-jcarbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537330/original/file-20230713-27-jcarbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537330/original/file-20230713-27-jcarbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537330/original/file-20230713-27-jcarbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537330/original/file-20230713-27-jcarbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537330/original/file-20230713-27-jcarbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537330/original/file-20230713-27-jcarbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Do bestsellers draw you in or turn you off? A man reads on a bench in Madrid, Spain, in April 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Paul White)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Trusted influencers</h2>
<p>But for every reader who dismissed bestsellers, there was a reader for whom the word bestseller was an invitation to research that title further. Add in a recommendation from a friend or a trusted <a href="https://www.makerandmoxie.com/blog/ariel-bissett">online influencer like</a> Canadian <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@ArielBissett">Ariel Bissett</a>, and a reader is highly likely to at least try out the book.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/">Gen Z readers</a> are especially likely to use a range of sources and media when choosing a book, including finding their way to the next read via a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108589604">film adaptation, TV show or videogame tie-in</a>. </p>
<p>Among the people we surveyed who responded to our survey question about the various — and combined — ways that they choose books, “favourite author” (73 per cent) and “friend’s recommendations” (72 per cent) were the top two means of selecting a book. </p>
<p>“Prize winners” and “family member’s recommendations” were also significant, with 40 per cent of respondents indicating both of these as their go-to methods. Thirty-five per cent of readers identified “work colleague’s recommendations” as trustworthy.</p>
<h2>Young adult readers</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A person seen reading in a bookstore." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537332/original/file-20230713-21-wme9t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537332/original/file-20230713-21-wme9t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=929&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537332/original/file-20230713-21-wme9t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=929&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537332/original/file-20230713-21-wme9t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=929&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537332/original/file-20230713-21-wme9t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1167&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537332/original/file-20230713-21-wme9t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1167&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537332/original/file-20230713-21-wme9t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1167&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Young adults said making ethical choices about reading was based not only on who or what is represented, but also about where and how to buy or borrow books.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another aspect of <a href="https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2023/5/30/podcast-reading-bestsellers">our research</a> highlighted how readers engage with reading recommendation cultures online and offline. This research involved a two-month conversation with an international group of young adults from 13 countries living on five continents. </p>
<p>These readers look for books that reflect their concerns about climate change, mental health issues and the experiences of their own communities, especially if their communities are racialized and/or discriminated against in terms of gender, language and abilities. </p>
<p>For this generation of readers, making ethical choices not only based on who or what is represented within the pages of books, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437221099615">but also about where and how to buy or borrow books, are important</a>.</p>
<h2>A book to engage us</h2>
<p>Summer in Canada affords readers the opportunity to pick a new book to read. Some will be guided by their favourite authors or genres. Others will make choices inspired by their ethics or political commitments. As readers, we all want to invest our time in a book that will engage us, whether for entertainment or education. </p>
<p>If we’ve made a successful selection, we are very likely to tell friends about it, or to go online and share our reading experience with other readers through social media posts <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/bookreviewers/">or Reddit reviews</a>.</p>
<p>In these post-digital times, we are perhaps more likely to judge a book by its readers than by its cover.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208350/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Even for people who regularly look to social media platforms for book recommendations, recommendations from friends, family members or colleagues are a main way of choosing what to read.Danielle Fuller, Professor, Department of English and Film Studies, University of AlbertaDeNel Rehberg Sedo, Professor, Department of Communication Studies, Mount Saint Vincent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2048862023-05-31T12:39:02Z2023-05-31T12:39:02ZSummer reading: 5 books that explore LGBTQ teen and young adult life<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528449/original/file-20230526-19-zowllg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C38%2C5137%2C3350&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Coming of age brings new challenges for central characters who are discovering their own sexuality.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/reading-at-the-beach-royalty-free-image/102491237?phrase=summer+reading&adppopup=true">Chris Hackett via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>In recognition of LGBT Pride Month, The Conversation reached out to <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=uBrR7S0AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra">Jonathan Alexander</a> – an English professor with a scholarly interest in the interplay between sexuality and literature – for recommendations of young adult fiction books that feature LGBTQ characters. What follows is a list that Alexander, who has just stepped down as the children’s and young adult fiction section editor for the <a href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/">Los Angeles Review of Books</a>, considers as “must-reads” for this summer.</em></p>
<h2>1. Darius the Great Is Not Okay</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="Two boys sitting and looking at an urban landscape" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527550/original/file-20230522-19-alwc0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527550/original/file-20230522-19-alwc0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527550/original/file-20230522-19-alwc0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527550/original/file-20230522-19-alwc0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527550/original/file-20230522-19-alwc0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527550/original/file-20230522-19-alwc0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527550/original/file-20230522-19-alwc0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Darius the Great Is Not Okay’ by Adib Khorram.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/573023/darius-the-great-is-not-okay-by-adib-khorram/">Penguin Random House</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Written by Adib Khorram, “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/573023/darius-the-great-is-not-okay-by-adib-khorram/">Darius the Great Is Not Okay</a>” is told from the perspective of a Persian American teen battling an anxiety disorder while navigating the complexities of growing up in a culturally mixed household. Darius’ parents – an Iranian immigrant mother and a white father – are kind and sympathetic, even as they are dealing with their own issues, including the dad’s struggle with mental health issues and the mother’s attempt to maintain family relations with relatives in a country that is not only halfway around the world but whose government is viewed with suspicion by many Americans. Still, Darius’ family pulls together, even making a trip to Iran to visit relatives. While there, Darius learns about his cultural background as Persian, makes a lifelong friend in an Iranian cousin, and considers his own sexuality. He might be gay. How will that complicate his life? </p>
<p>Khorram beautifully handles the challenges – and pleasures – of growing up in a culturally mixed but rich and loving household while also dealing with mental health challenges and identity exploration. And there are a lot of sweet touches throughout, including a love of tea and “Star Trek.” Highly recommended for its sensitivity and authenticity. </p>
<h2>2. Lark & Kasim Start a Revolution</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Two teenagers holding hands and smiling." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527556/original/file-20230522-23-49gxsv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527556/original/file-20230522-23-49gxsv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527556/original/file-20230522-23-49gxsv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527556/original/file-20230522-23-49gxsv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527556/original/file-20230522-23-49gxsv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527556/original/file-20230522-23-49gxsv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527556/original/file-20230522-23-49gxsv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Lark & Kasim Start a Revolution’ by Kacen Callender.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.abramsbooks.com/product/lark-kasim-start-a-revolution_9781419756870/">Abrams Books</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Kacen Callender, whose groundbreaking “<a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/felix-ever-after-kacen-callender?variant=32280909578274">Felix Ever After</a>” delighted readers with its tale of a Black trans boy learning how to navigate being in and out of love, returns with a new book just as compellingly real. Lark and Kasim are old friends whose relationship has seen better days. Lark is working hard at being a writer while also trying to help Kasim figure out how to handle the complexities of living at least part of their young lives in the shadows of social media. Ultimately, the book is as much about forging friendships – and learning how to handle their evolution – as about crushes and teen love. </p>
<p>With richly drawn nonbinary and queer characters, “Lark & Kasim Start a Revolution” joins Callender’s previous award-winning books in contributing beautifully written and deeply imagined Black, queer and trans characters that readers of all kinds will come to love. </p>
<h2>3. Last Night at the Telegraph Club</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="An empty city street with two people holding hands under a lamppost." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527560/original/file-20230522-14801-xyo5r1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527560/original/file-20230522-14801-xyo5r1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527560/original/file-20230522-14801-xyo5r1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527560/original/file-20230522-14801-xyo5r1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527560/original/file-20230522-14801-xyo5r1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527560/original/file-20230522-14801-xyo5r1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527560/original/file-20230522-14801-xyo5r1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Last Night at the Telegraph Club’ by Malinda Lo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/565819/last-night-at-the-telegraph-club-by-malinda-lo/">Penguin Random House</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Malinda Lo’s<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/565819/last-night-at-the-telegraph-club-by-malinda-lo/"> National Book Award-winning novel</a> is set in mid-20th-century San Francisco, in a Chinese American immigrant community in which Lily Hu has to learn to deal with racism, the “Red Scare” and the possibility that she might be a lesbian. A masterwork of historical young adult literature, “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” introduces readers to how lesbian communities formed – and thrived – even during some of the most repressive and homophobic moments in U.S. history. </p>
<p>Lo’s novel joins her previous works, such as the groundbreaking “<a href="https://www.malindalo.com/ash">Ash</a>,” a retelling of Cinderella from a lesbian perspective, in creating exciting and affirming work for young queer readers, as well as for anyone who cares for those questioning their sexuality and sense of belonging in the world. </p>
<h2>4. Café Con Lychee</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Two boys making eye contact in front of sugary snacks and drinks." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527562/original/file-20230522-15-b7kh5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527562/original/file-20230522-15-b7kh5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527562/original/file-20230522-15-b7kh5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527562/original/file-20230522-15-b7kh5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527562/original/file-20230522-15-b7kh5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527562/original/file-20230522-15-b7kh5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527562/original/file-20230522-15-b7kh5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Café Con Lychee’ by Emery Lee.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/cafe-con-lychee-emery-lee?variant=40682132668450">Harper Collins Publishers</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Emery Lee’s delicious novel centers on the rivalry between an Asian American café and a Puerto Rican bakery in a small Vermont town – with both eateries facing competition from a new fusion restaurant that has just opened. The families that own the cafés each have a young son working in them – Theo and Gabi, respectively – who have to learn to overcome their own rivalry and help their families survive the precarities of operating a business in a world of cutthroat capitalism.</p>
<p>“<a href="https://www.harpercollins.ca/9780063210271/cafe-con-lychee/">Café Con Lychee</a>” shows how love survives economic challenges and family foibles as the two young men move from rivalry to romance. A sweet and nourishing tale, the book offers readers a relatable glimpse into making it – and making out – during a time of economic upheaval.</p>
<h2>5. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A red truck parked on grass at night." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527563/original/file-20230522-17128-jkclqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527563/original/file-20230522-17128-jkclqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527563/original/file-20230522-17128-jkclqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527563/original/file-20230522-17128-jkclqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527563/original/file-20230522-17128-jkclqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527563/original/file-20230522-17128-jkclqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527563/original/file-20230522-17128-jkclqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe’ by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Aristotle-and-Dante-Discover-the-Secrets-of-the-Universe/Benjamin-Alire-Saenz/Aristotle-and-Dante/9781665925419">Simon & Schuster</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I want to conclude this year’s summer reading list with an older work – Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s still beautiful, still vital and still very necessary paean to young gay love. Ari and Dante, from two different walks of life, learn to find love and self-acceptance in this beautifully written book. At the start of the book, Ari is dealing with family trouble, including a brother in prison, and Dante is perhaps a bit too smart for his own good. The two meet at a swimming pool one summer, setting the stage for a steamy exploration of friendship that might turn into something more. If you haven’t read “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,” catch up this summer with this classic of contemporary LGBTQ young adult fiction, and then check out its recently published sequel, “Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World.” Happy reading!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204886/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Alexander does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A scholar of young adult fiction presents a fresh list of LGBTQ ‘must-reads’ for the summer of 2023.Jonathan Alexander, Professor of English and Gender & Sexuality Studies, University of California, IrvineLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1955692023-01-02T19:45:02Z2023-01-02T19:45:02ZMelodramatic potboilers, worthy classics and DIY escapism: a brief history of the beach read<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500291/original/file-20221212-94932-hn4y1o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C8%2C5973%2C3359&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mikhail Nilov/Pexel</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Like most people I read a book or two on holiday,” says Stuart, a character in Julian Barnes’ 1991 novel <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/talking-it-over-9780099540137">Talking it Over</a>. He does not have time for recreational reading; it must wait until he is at leisure. His best friend, the erudite but erratically employed Oliver, derides this attitude. To Oliver, a summer reader is a pedestrian one: incurious and intellectually lazy. </p>
<p>Summer reading – or the beach read – is often associated with undemanding, enjoyable narratives: “middlebrow” literary fiction, thrillers, fantasy novels, historical and contemporary romances. This is even reflected in the physical design of books released in the summer months. Light colours and cheerful covers signal their lack of intimidating seriousness. </p>
<p>While the term “beach read” itself is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jun/02/beach-read-summer-books-holiday-vacation">relatively recent</a>, first appearing in publishing lists and booksellers’ catalogues in the early 1990s, traditions of summer reading are much older. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500279/original/file-20221212-94216-wsoxgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500279/original/file-20221212-94216-wsoxgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500279/original/file-20221212-94216-wsoxgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500279/original/file-20221212-94216-wsoxgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500279/original/file-20221212-94216-wsoxgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500279/original/file-20221212-94216-wsoxgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500279/original/file-20221212-94216-wsoxgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500279/original/file-20221212-94216-wsoxgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A beach read doesn’t have to be trivial. Don Draper took The Inferno to Hawaii as his holiday reading.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mad Men/AMC</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ten-great-australian-beach-reads-set-at-the-beach-108083">Ten great Australian beach reads set at the beach</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Holiday reading</h2>
<p>Communications scholar <a href="https://www.umasspress.com/9781625343833/books-for-idle-hours/">Donna Harrington-Lueker</a> notes that in the early 19th century, holiday reading was often viewed as a mark of gentility and refinement. Travellers were encouraged to use their abundant time to appreciate worthy classics. </p>
<p>The anonymous author of the essay <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=0CcAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=#v=onepage&q&f=false">Summer Philosophy</a> exhorts vacationers to read books that are “good of their kind”, and offers the volumes of Lord Byron and Charles Lamb’s <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10343">Elia</a> as examples of “perfect” summer reading. </p>
<p>In the United Kingdom, summer months had traditionally been a fallow period for new books. Christmas was the more important holiday period for publishing. But in the post-Civil War United States, publishers and booksellers were becoming aware of the growing appetite for light reading among summer vacationers. </p>
<p>Rising literacy and declining costs of production had made books increasingly accessible, typically in cheap, paper-covered formats. These “dime novels” largely consisted of suspenseful narratives focusing on murder, adventure, and romance. Because of their convenient formats and frequent sales at railway and dockside newsstands, sensationalist, diverting fictions became associated with summer vacation and travel. </p>
<p>By the 1870s, American publishers had begun to capitalise on this trend, launching dedicated summer reading series of “light literature”. These were marketed as a respectable alternative to their dime novel competitors. Summer reads soon became a ubiquitous feature of holiday recreation. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500258/original/file-20221212-95295-wvvb7h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500258/original/file-20221212-95295-wvvb7h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500258/original/file-20221212-95295-wvvb7h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500258/original/file-20221212-95295-wvvb7h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500258/original/file-20221212-95295-wvvb7h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500258/original/file-20221212-95295-wvvb7h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500258/original/file-20221212-95295-wvvb7h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500258/original/file-20221212-95295-wvvb7h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In his travel essays, Henry James, while on a steam ship, notes the presence of “young ladies from the hotel on the deck, with copies of Lothair in their hands” (this was Benjamin Disraeli’s <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/7835/7835-h/7835-h.htm">bestselling romance</a>). Summer novels were typically presented as “agreeable” fiction, easy for vacationers to pick up and put down, cheap enough to be happily left or exchanged in hotels. </p>
<p>Much like today, summer reading had its detractors. The form of the novel itself was still viewed with suspicion throughout much of the 19th century, and the escapist titles published during the summer season were seen as especially pernicious. </p>
<p>The popular Brooklyn preacher <a href="https://daily.jstor.org/inventing-the-beach-read/">Reverend Thomas De Witt Talmage</a> delivered a memorable denunciation in 1876, labelling summer novels as “literary poison” and “pestiferous trash”, and cautioning his congregants on the shame of being found struck dead with one of those “paper covered romances” in hand. </p>
<p>Others mocked the formulaic conventions and subjects of popular summer titles. The satirical magazine <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puck_(magazine)">Puck</a> proposed an indexation project (“castles at sunset, pp. 3, 13, heroine’s dresses, pp. 38, 54, 68, 69, 120, 240, 246, 318”), so that readers would be able to skip to their favourite trope. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500256/original/file-20221212-90146-fjq70s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="castle at sunset" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500256/original/file-20221212-90146-fjq70s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500256/original/file-20221212-90146-fjq70s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500256/original/file-20221212-90146-fjq70s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500256/original/file-20221212-90146-fjq70s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500256/original/file-20221212-90146-fjq70s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500256/original/file-20221212-90146-fjq70s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500256/original/file-20221212-90146-fjq70s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Castles at sunset were a favourite trope of popular summer reads in the late 19th century.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Red Zeppelin/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, the books marketed as summer reading could be surprisingly diverse. Harrington-Lueker provides Scribner’s advertised summer offerings in 1885 as an example. </p>
<p>This list included Frank R. Stockton’s <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/396">humorous short stories</a>, Frances Hodgson Burnett’s passionate exploration of inequity and exploitation in the Lancashire coal pits (<a href="https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/frances-hodgson-burnett/that-lass-o-lowries/9781447268437">That Lass O’ Lowrie’s</a>), the <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/23169/23169-h/23169-h.htm">surreal, proto-science-fiction tales</a> of Fritz James O’Brien, as well as travel writing, histories, and a small collection of Plato’s dialogues. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1874/08/12/archives/new-publications-the-bricabrac-series-anecdote-biographies-of.html">Bric-a-Brac</a> series (memoirs and reminiscences of famous writers) was enormously popular in the summer months, as were reprinted editions of international fiction, and holiday collections of classic and contemporary poetry. </p>
<p>Critics and publishers defended summer reading as a necessary “release” from the stresses of the year. But a release doesn’t necessarily imply triviality, and it could clearly be found in many kinds of text. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500281/original/file-20221212-93936-40jmna.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500281/original/file-20221212-93936-40jmna.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500281/original/file-20221212-93936-40jmna.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500281/original/file-20221212-93936-40jmna.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500281/original/file-20221212-93936-40jmna.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500281/original/file-20221212-93936-40jmna.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500281/original/file-20221212-93936-40jmna.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500281/original/file-20221212-93936-40jmna.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Beach reading has been a feature of summer holidays since the 19th century. Saiorse Ronan as Jo (right) reads to Eliza Scalen as Beth, in Little Women.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Columbia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hidden-women-of-history-isabel-letham-daring-australian-surfing-pioneer-111530">Hidden women of history: Isabel Letham, daring Australian surfing pioneer</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Contemporary beach reads</h2>
<p>Contemporary beach reads have a lot in common with the summer reading traditions of the 19th century. As Henry James observed of Disareli’s Lothair in 1870, there will often be a book everyone seems to be reading while on vacation. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500266/original/file-20221212-93608-9f9cod.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500266/original/file-20221212-93608-9f9cod.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500266/original/file-20221212-93608-9f9cod.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500266/original/file-20221212-93608-9f9cod.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500266/original/file-20221212-93608-9f9cod.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500266/original/file-20221212-93608-9f9cod.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1158&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500266/original/file-20221212-93608-9f9cod.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1158&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500266/original/file-20221212-93608-9f9cod.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1158&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Dan Brown’s <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-da-vinci-code-9780552159715">the Da Vinci Code</a>, Jonathan Franzen’s <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780312576462/freedom">Freedom</a>, Gillian Flynn’s <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/196906/gone-girl-by-gillian-flynn/">Gone Girl</a>, and Liane Moriarty’s <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/big-little-lies-9781405916363">Big Little Lies</a> are all examples from their years of publication. What grips our collective imagination in any given summer may be quite revealing. </p>
<p>Lothair was not just a melodramatic potboiler, but also grappled with the challenges of reconciling organised religion with personal faith and morality, which would have resonated with 19th century readers. Popular beach reads may engage with familiar concerns and preoccupations – family, gender roles, history, wealth – in ways that offer a cathartic sense of release and escape. </p>
<p>Like the dime novels and holiday editions of the 19th century, beach reads are often disposable and exchangeable. The remnants of past summer reading seasons can be found in beachside secondhand bookstores, the common rooms of hostels, and on living-room shelves in Airbnbs. Fat, faded books with broken spines, warped and wrinkled from the sand encrusted between their pages. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/teen-summer-reads-5-books-to-help-young-people-understand-racism-150072">Teen summer reads: 5 books to help young people understand racism</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Beach read as serendipity</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500265/original/file-20221212-94216-ft8xxk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500265/original/file-20221212-94216-ft8xxk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500265/original/file-20221212-94216-ft8xxk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=925&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500265/original/file-20221212-94216-ft8xxk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=925&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500265/original/file-20221212-94216-ft8xxk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=925&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500265/original/file-20221212-94216-ft8xxk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1162&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500265/original/file-20221212-94216-ft8xxk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1162&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500265/original/file-20221212-94216-ft8xxk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1162&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
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<p>A beach read can also be an experiment, a chance encounter. Discarded summer reading piles have led me to some amazing discoveries. Like the cynical, subversive fantasy novels of the New Zealand author <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Cook_(science_fiction_author)">Hugh Cook</a>, or the exactingly described technical operations of a B52 bomber in Dale Brown’s <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/293075/flight-of-the-old-dog-by-dale-brown/">Flight of the Old Dog</a>. Or Donna Tartt’s iconic story of murder, college and mythology, <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-secret-history-9780140167771">the Secret History</a>. My copy of the latter – lifted from a backpackers’ in 1999 – has now fallen apart after repeated summer re-readings. </p>
<p>The best lesson to take from the history of the beach read is that if you can only get through a book or two while on holiday, then make sure they are ones you will like. </p>
<p>This year, a friend of mine will be taking <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/ulysses-9781784877712">Ulysses</a> with them on vacation, so they can be completely immersed – whereas I’m still looking for a worthy successor to Samantha Shannon’s <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/priory-of-the-orange-tree-9781635570298/">The Priory of the Orange Tree</a>, which kept me hooked all last summer. Both are perfectly fine beach reads. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.netflix.com/au/title/81078137">Fran Leibowitz</a> says: “I have no guilty pleasures because pleasure never makes me feel guilty.” This should be our attitude to recreational reading all the time, but the summer beach read provides the best opportunity to fully embrace it. </p>
<p>This year’s summer reading lists – literary, historical, fantasy, thriller, and more – probably contain many novels that are “good of their kind”, regardless of their genre or cover design. And if they’re not, then you might enjoy them anyway. </p>
<p>Everyone needs their own kind of release.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195569/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julian Novitz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Summer reading is a byword for light escapism – but it can mean anything, from catching up on the classics to a new romance novel. Julian Novitz travels to the 19th century to trace its evolution.Julian Novitz, Senior Lecturer, Writing, School of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1955782022-12-27T19:20:14Z2022-12-27T19:20:14Z6 non-fiction reads for kids this summer, recommended by kids aged 9 to 11<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499962/original/file-20221209-25000-8w73ee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5607%2C3724&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Drew Perales/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Kids are often gifted books for Christmas, but the trick is to get them to read them! </p>
<p>No one likes nagging their kids to read, though we know <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/education/read-the-room-it-s-time-to-act-on-our-children-s-literacy-20220904-p5bf7w.html">reading is crucial</a> to their <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/au/academic/subjects/education/teacher-training-and-professional-develop/english-and-literacies-learning-how-make-meaning-primary-classrooms">critical and literacy development</a>. </p>
<p>But what do <em>they</em> think about books and reading over the summer? Kids’ voices are often overlooked when it comes to cultural criticism. </p>
<p>For the past two years, I have been facilitating a children’s book club. In our most recent session, I asked the participants – aged 9 to 11 – to share their summer reading recommendations. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/children-and-biography-9781350236370/">My research</a> has found that kids respond positively to non-fiction books in social reading environments. Reading non-fiction impacts positively on their civic and critical literacy. So, we focused on non-fiction recommendations.</p>
<p>These tips – straight from the kids themselves – might help adult readers to know what books to buy this Christmas, or to hunt out at the library over summer.</p>
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<h2>1. You Don’t Know What War Is: The Diary of a Young Girl from Ukraine by Yeva Skalietska</h2>
<p>This is <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/you-dont-know-what-war-is-9781526660138/">an eye-opening and heart-breaking story</a> about a 12-year-old girl called Yeva Skalierska, living through the Ukraine war of 2022. </p>
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<p>A normal girl who loves school and spending time with friends, she suddenly goes through shelling and bombing right out the front of her own house. She travelled around Ukraine with her grandmother, and many other Ukrainians, trying to escape the war and danger. This book is Yeva’s personal diary account of the experiences of the war through her eyes. </p>
<p>I found it fascinating that a girl so similar to me can be going through something so drastically different. This is happening at this very moment, not in the history books, which makes me wonder why we have to have more war like this. This is a good book for anyone wanting to understand the impact of war on children and families and to put into perspective the things we might complain about that don’t really matter. </p>
<p><strong>– Chloe, age 11</strong></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/5-must-read-books-about-russia-and-ukraine-our-expert-picks-179832">5 must-read books about Russia and Ukraine: our expert picks</a>
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<h2>2. Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Inspiring Young Changemakers by Jess Harriton and Maithy Vu</h2>
<p>This is <a href="https://www.rebelgirls.com/products/100-inspiring-young-changemakers">the latest book</a> in the amazing <a href="https://www.rebelgirls.com/products/good-night-stories-for-rebel-girls">Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls</a> series. </p>
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<p>The book contains 100 short stories about young changemakers. A changemaker is someone who has achieved something in the world to make it a little bit better. These changemakers are from all parts of the world with different abilities. </p>
<p>The book is introduced by conservationist Bindi Irwin. The subjects in this book include Greta Thunberg (activist), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Springmuhl_Tejada">Isabella Springmuhl</a> (fashion designer) and Zendaya (actor and singer). </p>
<p>I think this book is wonderful because this Rebel Girls book focuses on young people only. Young girls aren’t usually recognised as having an impact in the world, so that’s what makes this book special. People who read this will see how great young people are at making the world a better place.</p>
<p><strong>– Darcy, age 11</strong></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/empathy-starts-early-5-australian-picture-books-that-celebrate-diversity-153629">Empathy starts early: 5 Australian picture books that celebrate diversity</a>
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<h2>3. Welcome to Your Period by Melissa Kang and Yumi Stynes</h2>
<p>This is <a href="https://www.hardiegrant.com/au/publishing/bookfinder/book/welcome-to-your-period-by-yumi-stynes/9781760503512">a very informative book</a> about welcoming you to your period and what is going on with your body as you grow up and start changing into a young woman. The authors are two women that have experienced everything you’re starting to go through and know all the tricks to managing your period. </p>
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<p>They understand what you’re going through and how you may feel about the situation. The book makes you feel as if it’s nothing to worry or be scared about. The authors act like your big sisters; they’ll guide you and teach you everything you need to know about your body. They make you feel comforted, with different alternatives to manage your period to suit your body type, and help you talk to somebody you can trust and help you through that process. </p>
<p>I think that this book is a really great preparation for when you don’t have your period but when you feel like you need to start managing it or talking to a helpful adult who can help you through this tough time.</p>
<p><strong>– Arly, age 10</strong></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/first-periods-can-come-as-a-shock-5-ways-to-support-your-kid-when-they-get-theirs-177920">First periods can come as a shock. 5 ways to support your kid when they get theirs</a>
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<h2>4. Barefoot Kids by Scott Pape (2022)</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9781460763650/barefoot-kids/">This book</a> is all about money and how to invest properly. It teaches you about money and how to use it a “smart” way. </p>
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<p>Usually, when I think of a book about money, I think “oh no I’m not reading that!”. But this book was super fun, exciting and interesting. I loved it. It included short interviews of children who started a business and got heaps of money. It was really inspiring and amazing for giving ideas. It had good instructions of what to do to earn money, and I found it interesting that children five and up can have their own business. </p>
<p>I definitely recommend this book to other kids aged nine and up, because I gave it to my cousin who is nine years old, and she loved it. It definitely helps children to be “smarter” with money than most adults. I think it would be very intriguing for kids with a short attention span. </p>
<p>It tells kids that they are the boss, while also telling them to get parents’ permission and help. It tells you how to separate money into four buckets and has apparently changed lives. I give this book a five-star rating.</p>
<p><strong>– Sienna, age 11</strong></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/teaching-kids-about-maths-using-money-can-set-them-up-for-financial-security-85327">Teaching kids about maths using money can set them up for financial security</a>
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<h2>5. How to Speak Dog: a Guide to Decoding Dog Language by Aline Alexander Newman</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780008257910/how-to-speak-dog/">How to Speak Dog</a> is a fantastic book about how to communicate with dogs. This book tells you when your dog is sick, sad, happy or scared. It has many interesting facts about dogs. It even tells you how to deal with an aggressive dog and what to do if a dog attacks you. How to Speak Dog even has some pages on how to train your dog.</p>
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<p>I think people will like this book because it has lots of information about dogs and dogs are a common pet. They could have a new puppy with some bad habits, and they might need help training their pup. </p>
<p>I have a dog and this book was very helpful to me because I learnt from it that my dog is scared when he shows the whites of his eyes. My favourite thing about this book is that they have funny facts on every page. Facts like: “A dog can smell half a teaspoon of sugar dissolved in an Olympic sized swimming pool.”</p>
<p><strong>– Avery, age 9</strong></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/to-pat-or-not-to-pat-how-to-keep-interactions-between-kids-and-dogs-safe-182419">To pat or not to pat? How to keep interactions between kids and dogs safe</a>
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<h2>6. Against all Odds: Young Readers’ Edition by Richard Harris and Craig Challen</h2>
<p>This is <a href="https://www.phoenixdistribution.com.au/against-all-odds-young-readers-edition">an interesting, educational, and suspenseful</a> book, with exhilarating and thrilling twists all through it. </p>
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<p>(Editor’s note: the book tells the inside story of the cave rescue of a boys’ soccer team in Thailand, back in 2018. It’s written by the two Australian cave divers involved in the rescue.)</p>
<p>This book explained everything in great detail, giving the reader a real idea of what’s happening. I liked how they made the book extremely fascinating, and the authors went far to explain everything to an understandable degree. </p>
<p>I disliked how such a large chunk of the book was an autobiography about Craig and Richard. I would recommend this for 10-15 year olds, since younger children may not understand the complex vocabulary used in the book. I would rate it 7.5/10.</p>
<p><strong>– Molly, age 11</strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195578/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Douglas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>How can you get your kids to read this summer? Research has found they respond well to reading non-fiction – so we’ve gathered 6 top non-fiction books, recommended by the kids themselves.Kate Douglas, Professor of English, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1846312022-06-16T12:24:41Z2022-06-16T12:24:41ZSummer reading: 5 books on the joys and challenges of LGBTQ teen and young adult life<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468669/original/file-20220614-17-8cgug2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C0%2C4855%2C3617&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The past decade has seen a flurry of young adult fiction written from a queer perspective.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/woman-reading-in-field-of-high-grasses-royalty-free-image/96390424?adppopup=true"> Aurelie and Morgan David de Lossy / Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>In recognition of LGBT Pride Month, The Conversation reached out to <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=uBrR7S0AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra">Jonathan Alexander</a> – an English professor with a scholarly interest in the interplay between sexuality and literature – for recommendations of young adult fiction books that feature LGBT characters. What follows is a list that Alexander – who serves as the children’s and young adult fiction section editor for the <a href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/">Los Angeles Review of Books</a> – considers as “must-reads” for this summer.</em></p>
<h2>1. “Juliet Takes a Breath”</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="Two women riding a motorbike" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468567/original/file-20220613-11-jr9hnn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468567/original/file-20220613-11-jr9hnn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468567/original/file-20220613-11-jr9hnn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468567/original/file-20220613-11-jr9hnn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468567/original/file-20220613-11-jr9hnn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468567/original/file-20220613-11-jr9hnn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468567/original/file-20220613-11-jr9hnn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Juliet Takes a Breath’ by Gabby Rivera.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images3.penguinrandomhouse.com/cover/9780593108192">Penguin Random House</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Written by <a href="https://gabbyrivera.com/">Gabby Rivera</a>, this novel focuses on the experiences of Juliet, a Latina lesbian living in New York who takes an internship to serve as the research assistant for a famous white feminist writer, Harlowe Brisbane, living in Portland, Oregon.</p>
<p>Juliet heads to Portland, a bit unsure of herself and still trying to figure out what being a lesbian will mean for her life, particularly given how unsettled her mother is at the prospect. She hopes that Harlowe will help her out. Complications ensue. “Juliet Takes a Breath” is a super-smart book that challenges readers by looking carefully and critically at feminist and feminist-of-color histories and interactions.</p>
<h2>2. “Heartstopper”</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Two boys wearing backpacks standing next to each other" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468570/original/file-20220613-24-8kje50.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468570/original/file-20220613-24-8kje50.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468570/original/file-20220613-24-8kje50.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468570/original/file-20220613-24-8kje50.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468570/original/file-20220613-24-8kje50.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468570/original/file-20220613-24-8kje50.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468570/original/file-20220613-24-8kje50.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Heartstopper’ by Alice Oseman.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/external/title/9781338617436/">Hachette Book Group</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This book is getting a lot of attention as a <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10638036/">television series</a>. What you might not know is that the heartwarming queer story <a href="https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/heartstopper/list?title_no=329660&page=1">began as a webcomic</a> and then morphed into a <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/product-recommendations/books/heartstopper-netflix-books-read-online-1343293/">series of immensely popular graphic books</a>.</p>
<p>Originally written by <a href="https://aliceoseman.com/">Alice Oseman</a>, the narrative focuses on the burgeoning relationship of Charlie and Nick. Charlie is an “out” teenager at his school, and he falls in love with the charming and sporty but not-so-sure-of-his-identity Nick.</p>
<p>What makes “Heartstopper” engaging – and even groundbreaking – is how it presents sexuality as an identity for some but a possibility of exploration for others. Charlie knows he’s gay, but Nick might be gay or bi; he’s still figuring it out. Validating sexuality as fluid and even changeable seems like an important next step in representing intimacy, love and identity itself as complex experiences.</p>
<h2>3. “Felix Ever After”</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A boy wearing a flower bouquet on his head" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468576/original/file-20220613-26-3jizto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468576/original/file-20220613-26-3jizto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468576/original/file-20220613-26-3jizto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468576/original/file-20220613-26-3jizto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468576/original/file-20220613-26-3jizto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1136&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468576/original/file-20220613-26-3jizto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1136&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468576/original/file-20220613-26-3jizto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1136&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Felix Ever After’ by Kacen Callender.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/felix-ever-after-kacen-callender?variant=32280909578274">Harper Collins Publishers</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This work of fiction by <a href="https://www.kacencallender.com/">Kacen Callender</a> also refuses to shy away from complexity. Felix is a young African American trans boy trying to make his way through a summer arts program.</p>
<p>A talented young person, he is still struggling somewhat with his gender identity, despite having commenced his own transition. He eventually finds the term “demiboy” while researching gender identity and comes to identify with this term as an apt description of his deeply felt sense of gender.</p>
<p>A challenging but immensely relatable book, “Felix Ever After” also presents frankly the experience of transphobia while ultimately offering readers a message of empowerment for those working on their gender identity.</p>
<h2>4. “The House in the Cerulean Sea”</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A house sitting on a cliff above the sea" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468579/original/file-20220613-12-dcsnfn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468579/original/file-20220613-12-dcsnfn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=935&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468579/original/file-20220613-12-dcsnfn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=935&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468579/original/file-20220613-12-dcsnfn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=935&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468579/original/file-20220613-12-dcsnfn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1175&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468579/original/file-20220613-12-dcsnfn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1175&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468579/original/file-20220613-12-dcsnfn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1175&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘The House in the Cerulean Sea’ by TJ Klune.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250217288/the-house-in-the-cerulean-sea">Macmillan</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This book by <a href="https://www.tjklunebooks.com/">TJ Klune</a> follows very much in the vein of young adult books that feature the presence of young people with magical abilities trying to make their way in a world of “normals,” or people who do not have such abilities and fear those who do.</p>
<p>Such a narrative formula, popular in young adult fiction as it sets up dramatic conflict between two distinct groups, gets a twist in Klune’s novel. The narrative is told primarily from the point of view of Linus Baker, a nonmagical caseworker who is assigned the task of visiting and inspecting various orphanages or homes that house magical youths who have been taken from their parents and relocated to be raised separately. This is much like Native peoples’ children across the North American continent being relocated to white-run schools throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries to assimilate them into white society and culture.</p>
<p>What makes “The House in the Cerulean Sea” particularly queer is not just the queerness of many of its characters, including Linus, but the ways in which it shows us how outsiders have generally been ostracized, and how many outsiders have in turn learned to embrace their queerness, not just to survive, but to thrive.</p>
<h2>5. “The Outsiders”</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="The legs of a boy running" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468585/original/file-20220613-19-e92qqa.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468585/original/file-20220613-19-e92qqa.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468585/original/file-20220613-19-e92qqa.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468585/original/file-20220613-19-e92qqa.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468585/original/file-20220613-19-e92qqa.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468585/original/file-20220613-19-e92qqa.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468585/original/file-20220613-19-e92qqa.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘The Outsiders’ by S.E. Hinton.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/536555/the-outsiders-by-se-hinton/">Penguin Random House</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is a “classic” or older work of young adult fiction, one of the first written by a relatively young person for other young people: <a href="http://www.sehinton.com/books/">S.E. Hinton</a>. She started writing the book at age 16.</p>
<p>For those who say this isn’t a queer book, on the surface, no, it’s not. But many contemporary readers, including many of my students, have picked up and enjoyed the book from a queer perspective, “queering” it in the process. </p>
<p>Set in rural Oklahoma, “The Outsiders” concerns a group of working-class teen boys. These “greasers” are always rumbling with the “socs” or “socials,” the middle-class preppy kids. The book’s focus on class conflict still resonates, but even more so does its portrayal of intimacy between the boys.</p>
<p>While they are never overtly sexual, there’s something delightfully warm, caring and intimate about these relationships that could serve as a model for young men today, whether or not they are questioning their gender or sexuality. Read – or reread – “The Outsiders” and think about how gender roles continue to change and as humanity evolves in its understanding and acceptance of what is “normal,” and what should be.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184631/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Alexander does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A scholar of queer literature takes a closer look at five books that are pushing the envelope on society’s understanding of LGBTQ life.Jonathan Alexander, Chancellor's Professor of English and Gender & Sexuality Studies, University of California, IrvineLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1625832021-06-30T19:40:46Z2021-06-30T19:40:46Z5 children’s books that teach valuable engineering lessons<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408905/original/file-20210629-16-1j5jcge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=46%2C0%2C5124%2C3382&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Engineering lessons can be found in many books kids already have at home or their local library. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/girl-hoists-her-books-to-the-checkout-desk-at-the-watertown-news-photo/1228228140">Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most people think of the children’s classic “<a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/charlottes-web-e-b-whitekate-dicamillo?variant=32153972277282">Charlotte’s Web</a>” as a story of devoted friendship between a spider and a pig. But it can also be read as a story of a budding engineer – Charlotte – who prototypes, builds, tests and revises her web to solve a problem.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=-Wmb3e8AAAAJ&hl=en">teacher</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=vA_66SsAAAAJ&hl=en">educators</a>, we use children’s books <a href="https://my.nsta.org/resource/115145/methods-and-strategies-hiding-in-plain-sight">to make lessons about science</a> and <a href="https://www.nsta.org/science-scope/science-scope-novemberdecember-2020/using-trade-books-and-biographies-bring-practices">engineering</a> accessible to children of all ages.</p>
<p>Through books, children can experience how engineers use <a href="https://www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration/what-is-design-thinking">design-based thinking</a>, which focuses on creative and innovative solutions, to solve problems. They can also explore the history of things that they use every day, such as crayons, bridges and cars. And they can expand their image of who can be an engineer or inventor.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.5860/cal.16.4.4">Our work</a> suggests that picture books and biographies for young adult readers can be particularly effective for introducing children to the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/best/edp.html">engineering design process</a>. These are the actions – ask, imagine, plan, create, test and improve – that engineers take to design a solution to a problem. They also help children understand engineering <a href="https://www.linkengineering.org/Explore/what-is-engineering/5808.aspx">habits of mind</a>. These are the traits, such as creativity and persistence, that help engineers successfully solve problems.</p>
<p>Here are five of our favorite science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) books for children, and some of the engineering lessons that they teach.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408909/original/file-20210629-21-xq8p1i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Children's book cover with man holding water gun" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408909/original/file-20210629-21-xq8p1i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408909/original/file-20210629-21-xq8p1i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408909/original/file-20210629-21-xq8p1i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408909/original/file-20210629-21-xq8p1i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408909/original/file-20210629-21-xq8p1i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=964&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408909/original/file-20210629-21-xq8p1i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=964&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408909/original/file-20210629-21-xq8p1i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=964&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The man who made water guns awesome.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>1. ‘<a href="https://chrisbarton.info/books/whoosh.html">Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions</a>’</h2>
<p><a href="http://lonniejohnson.com/">Lonnie Johnson</a> was always curious about how things worked. One day, while trying to figure out a way to replace the harmful chemicals found in refrigerators and air conditioners, he connected a pump with a nozzle to his bathroom faucet. When he turned the faucet on, water blasted across the room. Johnson had invented a water gun! Johnson tested and redesigned his new invention until it became the perfect summer toy – the Super Soaker. </p>
<p>This picture-book biography introduces young readers to the prototype-test-redesign process that is central to engineering. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408911/original/file-20210629-22-if7v14.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Children's book cover with man holding strings to parade balloon" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408911/original/file-20210629-22-if7v14.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408911/original/file-20210629-22-if7v14.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408911/original/file-20210629-22-if7v14.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408911/original/file-20210629-22-if7v14.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408911/original/file-20210629-22-if7v14.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=621&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408911/original/file-20210629-22-if7v14.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=621&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408911/original/file-20210629-22-if7v14.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=621&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Marionette strings inspired the famous parade balloons.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. ’<a href="https://www.melissasweet.net/balloons-over-broadway">Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade</a>’</h2>
<p>Grab a front-row seat to the story of how Tony Sarg, an immigrant from Western Europe, created one of America’s most iconic holiday traditions – the giant balloons of <a href="https://www.macys.com/social/parade/?decade=1920s">Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade</a>. </p>
<p>This picture-book biography highlights how engineers draw on imagination and inspiration to improve their designs. After reading, children can use these same traits to create their own <a href="https://www.asiaeducation.edu.au/curriculum/the-arts/details/wayang-puppet-plays">Indonesian rod puppets</a>. These puppets inspired Sarg to flip his marionette strings upside-down so that his famous balloons could soar.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408912/original/file-20210629-28-1hu7t3s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Children's book cover of woman watching birds fly" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408912/original/file-20210629-28-1hu7t3s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408912/original/file-20210629-28-1hu7t3s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408912/original/file-20210629-28-1hu7t3s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408912/original/file-20210629-28-1hu7t3s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408912/original/file-20210629-28-1hu7t3s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=869&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408912/original/file-20210629-28-1hu7t3s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=869&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408912/original/file-20210629-28-1hu7t3s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=869&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Greatness often starts with failure.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. ‘<a href="https://kirsten-w-larson.com/wood-wire-wings-emma-lilian-todd-invents-an-airplane/">Wood, Wire, Wings: Emma Lilian Todd Invents an Airplane</a>’</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.earlyaviators.com/etodd1.htm">Lilian Todd</a> – a self-taught inventor, engineer and contemporary of the Wright brothers – worked to improve airplane designs in the early 1900s. This picture-book biography of her life illustrates how an engineer’s designs frequently fail. And it uses quotes from Todd’s perspective – “There is no work so discouraging, so exasperating, so delightful … so exhilarating as building aeroplanes” – to capture her resilience in overcoming these challenges. </p>
<p>As children often face similar obstacles in their own STEM journeys, Todd’s story provides a model for how children can prepare for, reflect on and move forward from moments of failure.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408913/original/file-20210629-11592-17idmbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Children's book cover of server in an ice cream parlor" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408913/original/file-20210629-11592-17idmbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408913/original/file-20210629-11592-17idmbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408913/original/file-20210629-11592-17idmbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408913/original/file-20210629-11592-17idmbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408913/original/file-20210629-11592-17idmbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408913/original/file-20210629-11592-17idmbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408913/original/file-20210629-11592-17idmbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Life wasn’t always so sweet for the young chocolatier.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. ’<a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Milton-Hershey/M-M-Eboch/Childhood-of-Famous-Americans/9781416955696">Milton Hershey: Young Chocolatier</a>’</h2>
<p>We’ve all eaten Hershey’s chocolate bars and Hershey’s Kisses. However, the road to commercial success for <a href="https://www.thehersheycompany.com/en_us/our-story/milton-hershey.html">Milton Hershey</a> was circuitous, and he failed many times before he succeeded. </p>
<p>This biography, written for ages 8-12, highlights the power of persistence and the design axiom: “<a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57be4ff3893fc0b6f35a64c4/t/59a5f87512abd9d5f9884c45/1504049273548/annotated-file.pdf">Fail often so you can succeed sooner</a>.”</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408915/original/file-20210629-14-ov21k7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Children's book cover of boy standing on a windmill" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408915/original/file-20210629-14-ov21k7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408915/original/file-20210629-14-ov21k7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=875&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408915/original/file-20210629-14-ov21k7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=875&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408915/original/file-20210629-14-ov21k7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=875&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408915/original/file-20210629-14-ov21k7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1100&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408915/original/file-20210629-14-ov21k7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1100&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408915/original/file-20210629-14-ov21k7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1100&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kamkwamba used old bike parts to power his family’s home.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>5. ‘<a href="https://clubs.scholastic.com/the-boy-who-harnessed-the-wind%3A-young-readers-edition/9780545946032-rco-us.html">The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind</a>’</h2>
<p>This biography, written for ages 10-13, tells how teenaged <a href="http://www.williamkamkwamba.com/">William Kamkwamba</a> built a wind turbine to produce electricity for his family in Malawi. The story shows how anyone, of any age, anywhere in the world can be an engineer. </p>
<p>This book is a great selection for a family or multi-age book club as it is also available as a <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/307402/the-boy-who-harnessed-the-wind-by-william-kamkwamba-and-bryan-mealer-illustrated-by-elizabeth-zunon/">picture book</a>, a <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-boy-who-harnessed-the-wind-william-kamkwambabryan-mealer?variant=32128262242338">biography for adults</a> and even a <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80200047">movie</a>. Everyone can pick the version that is best for them and gather in person or via video chat to talk about lessons learned from Kamkwamba’s dream, determination and design.</p>
<h2>Other books</h2>
<p>Many books that are already in homes, schools and local libraries can also be used to introduce the engineering design process and habits of mind. We recommend looking for the <a href="https://www.nsta.org/science-and-children/science-and-children-januaryfebruary-2021/innovation-and-design">following story features</a> when choosing a book to explore design-based thinking with children. </p>
<p>First, the story presents a problem in a real-life context. Second, the story describes a design plan or way to solve the problem. Third, a character creates, tests and evaluates a prototype of this design. And finally, a character improves the design and applies the revised solution.</p>
<p>Parents and teachers can find more high-quality STEM books on the National Science Teaching Association’s <a href="https://www.nsta.org/best-stem-books-k-12">Best STEM Books K-12</a> or our own expanded <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/18pmSBBZx7f676earUpfKxdjtAI51GxbW/view">list of favorites</a>. </p>
<p>[<em>Get our best science, health and technology stories.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/science-editors-picks-71/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=science-best">Sign up for The Conversation’s science newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162583/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Picture books and young adult biographies can introduce kids to design-based thinking and engineering habits like creativity and persistence.Michelle Forsythe, Assistant Professor of STEM Education, Texas State UniversityJulie Jackson, Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, Texas State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1500722021-01-03T18:58:00Z2021-01-03T18:58:00ZTeen summer reads: 5 books to help young people understand racism<p><em>This article is part of <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/teen-summer-reads-97466">three-part series</a> on summer reads for young people after a very unique year.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>US teenager Trayvon Martin was shot dead in 2012 by a neighbourhood watch volunteer, George Zimmerman who was <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-accumulated-injustices-of-the-trayvon-martin-case-16061">later acquitted of the murder</a>. This saw the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. The racist social and political issues in the US saw the deaths and violence on Black bodies brought front and centre through acts of protest. </p>
<p>The arguments against the alleged police brutality in the US were easily translatable to the Australian context. </p>
<p>The Black Lives Matters movement was renewed following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers in May this year. And together with US counterparts, tens of thousands of Australians marched across our cities to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jun/06/australian-black-lives-matter-protests-tens-of-thousands-demand-end-to-indigenous-deaths-in-custody">draw attention</a> to racial profiling, police brutality and the more than 400 Indigenous people who have died in police custody since a royal commission into the problem was held in 1991.</p>
<p>The global movement brought <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/07/22/sales-of-white-fragility-and-other-anti-racism-books-jumped-over-2000-after-protests-began/?sh=2b2a99f3303d">unprecedented sales of books about race and anti-racism</a>. This turn toward texts is indicative of the role they play in helping us make sense of major social issues. </p>
<p>Angie Thomas, author of the 2017 bestseller “The Hate U Give”, has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jan/27/angie-thomas-the-hate-u-give-interview-famous-fans-readers">spoken about the role of literature</a> in igniting awareness, resistance and change.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think books […] play a huge role in opening people’s eyes and they’re a form of activism in their own right, in the fact that they do empower people and show others the lives of people who may not be like themselves.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Research <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190523-does-reading-fiction-make-us-better-people">has long shown</a> a link between the books we read and our development of empathy. But more <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342764732_White_deja_vu_Troubling_the_Certainty_of_the_English_Canon_in_Literary_Education">recent research</a> has highlighted it is important we don’t see books as immediate fixes to complex social issues, especially when we import these books from other locations and times. </p>
<p>Our reading must be accompanied by close attention to the ways racism and prejudice unfold in our own location. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/5-australian-books-that-can-help-young-people-understand-their-place-in-the-world-127712">5 Australian books that can help young people understand their place in the world</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Coming to understand the impact and complexity of racism in this way is referred to as “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13688790.2020.1759755">racial literacy</a>”. Here are five books that can help young people build racial literacy around the varied forms of racism and discrimination. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374728/original/file-20201214-24-jos28x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374728/original/file-20201214-24-jos28x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374728/original/file-20201214-24-jos28x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374728/original/file-20201214-24-jos28x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374728/original/file-20201214-24-jos28x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374728/original/file-20201214-24-jos28x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374728/original/file-20201214-24-jos28x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374728/original/file-20201214-24-jos28x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dear Martin is build around the question: what would Martin Luther King do?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/534050/dear-martin-by-nic-stone/">Penguin</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>1. <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/534050/dear-martin-by-nic-stone/">Dear Martin</a></h2>
<p><strong>by Nic Stone</strong></p>
<p>Dear Martin explores issues of race through the eyes of conscientious 17 year old, Justyce McAllister.</p>
<p>Built around the central question, “What would Martin (Luther King) do?”, this novel brings to light the litany of decisions and ethical conundrums thrust into Justyce’s lap daily, as he navigates a world affected by racism and prejudice. </p>
<h2>2. <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780008422141/punching-the-air/">Punching the Air</a></h2>
<p><strong>by Ibi Zobai and Yusuf Salaam</strong></p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374730/original/file-20201214-15-1abg4mc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374730/original/file-20201214-15-1abg4mc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374730/original/file-20201214-15-1abg4mc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374730/original/file-20201214-15-1abg4mc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374730/original/file-20201214-15-1abg4mc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374730/original/file-20201214-15-1abg4mc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374730/original/file-20201214-15-1abg4mc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374730/original/file-20201214-15-1abg4mc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Written by one of five young men imprisoned for a crime they didn’t commit.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780008422141/punching-the-air/">Harper Collins</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 1989, five young men were falsely accused of the assault and murder of a jogger in New York’s Central Park. Now documented in Ava Duvernay’s Neflix miniseries <a href="https://www.netflix.com/au/title/80200549">When They See Us</a>, the Five were exonerated 12 years later. </p>
<p>But the story stands as a haunting reminder of the inequalities experienced by Black men and the life-altering consequences this can wreak on innocent lives. </p>
<p>One of these young men, Yusuf Salaam, collaborates with award-winning author and prison reform activist Ibi Zobai, to craft a story that examines these themes through a narrative of a wrongfully incarcerated young man navigating his teenage years in prison.</p>
<h2>3. <a href="https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/growing-aboriginal-australia">Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia</a></h2>
<p><strong>edited by Anita Heiss</strong></p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374732/original/file-20201214-17-1qwv2wy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374732/original/file-20201214-17-1qwv2wy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374732/original/file-20201214-17-1qwv2wy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=933&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374732/original/file-20201214-17-1qwv2wy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=933&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374732/original/file-20201214-17-1qwv2wy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=933&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374732/original/file-20201214-17-1qwv2wy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374732/original/file-20201214-17-1qwv2wy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374732/original/file-20201214-17-1qwv2wy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An anthology of essays written by those with lived experience of racial issues.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/growing-aboriginal-australia">Black Inc books</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This anthology of 50 chapters provides an opportunity to deeply listen and understand the lived experiences of Indigenous Australians and the ways racism takes all manner of overt, subtle and systemic forms. </p>
<p>Particularly noteworthy are the chapters by Ambelin Kwaymullina and Celeste Liddle, in which the authors describe both the nature of racism experienced by them from the schoolyard, and the broader historical context on which this racism is based.</p>
<h2>4. <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/SLAY/Brittney-Morris/9781534445437">Slay</a></h2>
<p><strong>by Brittney Morris</strong></p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374735/original/file-20201214-21-1ttmyy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374735/original/file-20201214-21-1ttmyy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374735/original/file-20201214-21-1ttmyy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374735/original/file-20201214-21-1ttmyy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374735/original/file-20201214-21-1ttmyy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374735/original/file-20201214-21-1ttmyy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374735/original/file-20201214-21-1ttmyy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374735/original/file-20201214-21-1ttmyy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Explores racial themes through an online game.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/SLAY/Brittney-Morris/9781534445437">Simon & Schuster</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This novel centres on 17-year-old Kiera, a talented young developer who creates a multiplayer role-playing game. The game is a “mecca of black excellence” and an escape from the racism often experienced by those “game-playing while black”. </p>
<p>When an offline murder is traced back to the game, Kiera grapples with the complexity of both the implications of her creation and the conversations it triggers. </p>
<p>Slay weaves social commentary into the dialogue between characters from all walks of life, covering everything from cultural appropriation, to whether racism can ever be “reversed”.</p>
<h2>5. <a href="https://www.magabala.com/products/living-on-stolen-land">Living on Stolen Land</a></h2>
<p><strong>by Ambelin Kwaymullina</strong></p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374737/original/file-20201214-20-1rl8e2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374737/original/file-20201214-20-1rl8e2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374737/original/file-20201214-20-1rl8e2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=826&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374737/original/file-20201214-20-1rl8e2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=826&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374737/original/file-20201214-20-1rl8e2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=826&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374737/original/file-20201214-20-1rl8e2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1038&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374737/original/file-20201214-20-1rl8e2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1038&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374737/original/file-20201214-20-1rl8e2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1038&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This is made up of prose verses like ‘Bias’ and ‘Listening’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.magabala.com/products/living-on-stolen-land">Magabala Books</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many books here centre around the kind of racial stereotyping and violence that put the Black Lives Matter movement on the map. But understanding racism in the Australian context also involves examining colonialism and the racist underpinnings of our history. </p>
<p>Living on Stolen Land centres Indigenous sovereignty in the conversation about race. Using prose verses such as those titled “Bias” and “Listening”, it leads readers through examining unconscious beliefs and moving toward being a genuine ally of Indigenous people. </p>
<p>Author and educator <a href="https://time.com/5869517/me-and-white-supremacy-layla-f-saad/">Layla F Saad</a> has suggested when we read texts about social issues like racism, we read for transformation, not merely information. </p>
<p>A range of texts have been developed to support families in having these transformative discussions together. Maxine Beneba Clarkes’ “<a href="https://www.hachette.com.au/maxine-beneba-clarke/when-we-say-black-lives-matter">When We Say Black Lives Matter</a>”, for instance, is a beautifully illustrated picture book that focuses on the strength and resilience of black children and communities. While texts like <a href="https://www.hardiegrant.com/au/publishing/bookfinder/book/our-home_-our-heartbeat-by-adam-briggs/9781760504168">Our Home our Heartbeat</a> by Adam Briggs centres on key Indigenous figures to be celebrated. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/teen-summer-reads-5-novels-to-help-cope-with-adversity-and-alienation-149546">Teen summer reads: 5 novels to help cope with adversity and alienation</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150072/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Books can play a role in activism and change. Here are five books that will help young people build their racial literacy.Jessica Gannaway, Lecturer, The University of MelbourneMelitta Hogarth, Assistant Dean Indigenous/ Senior lecturer, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1506462020-12-21T22:24:05Z2020-12-21T22:24:05ZTeen summer reads: how to escape to another world after a year stuck in this one<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373225/original/file-20201207-72125-1fstke8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/caucasian-girl-lying-on-beach-reading-746169763">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/teen-summer-reads-97466">three-part series</a> on summer reads for young people after a very unique year.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>As this tumultuous year comes to a close, the Australian summer is an ideal time to relax and escape through reading.</p>
<p>Like many people, Australian teenagers have experienced <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.09.07.20190124v1">higher rates of psychological distress</a> this year as a result of the COVID pandemic. Reading is one way for teens to remove themselves, if only temporarily, from their current stresses.</p>
<p>As fantasy writer Neil Gaiman <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/125057-books-make-great-gifts-because-they-have-whole-worlds-inside?page=9">said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Books make great gifts because they have whole worlds inside of them.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Young adult novels also present alternative ways of being and resolving crises. This is because a <a href="https://www.uipress.uiowa.edu/books/9780877458579/disturbing-the-universe">defining characteristic</a> of young adult books relates to power. In novels for young adults, teen protagonists learn how to use their power to navigate social situations, whether in families, schools, their community or, indeed, other worlds. </p>
<p>In this way, young adult literature can be considered both a form of escapism and empowerment.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/teen-summer-reads-5-novels-to-help-cope-with-adversity-and-alienation-149546">Teen summer reads: 5 novels to help cope with adversity and alienation</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>According to <a href="https://teenreading.net/">Teen Reading in the Digital Era</a> — a study conducted by Deakin University — teenagers have diverse reading preferences. The study identified five of these: fantasy, contemporary realist fiction, science fiction, autobiography or biography, and action or adventure.</p>
<p>With this in mind, here are some recommendations for your teen’s summer reading to help them both escape and, hopefully, re-empower themselves.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373229/original/file-20201207-72125-1w59u19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373229/original/file-20201207-72125-1w59u19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373229/original/file-20201207-72125-1w59u19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373229/original/file-20201207-72125-1w59u19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373229/original/file-20201207-72125-1w59u19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373229/original/file-20201207-72125-1w59u19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373229/original/file-20201207-72125-1w59u19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Aurora has woken up in the year 2380.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/548791/aurora-rising-by-amie-kaufman-and-jay-kristoff/">Penguin Random House</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2><a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/-9e8C2xZLrcpAJAQBFnKUu8?domain=jaykristoff.com">The Aurora Cycle</a></h2>
<p><strong>by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff</strong></p>
<p>Teenagers who feel they’re finally emerging from a tough year of restrictions may empathise with Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, who has woken up from a 200-year <a href="https://medicalfuturist.com/are-you-going-to-wake-up-from-cryosleep/">cryosleep</a> (where your body is cooled down and preserved in liquid nitrogen) to find herself in the year 2380.</p>
<p>Aurora secretly joins a group of graduating cadets on their first mission. What should be a simple cargo run ends up being a cat-and-mouse chase across the galaxy. In trying to find her place in a new universe, Aurora and the cadets uncover an ancient alien species who has spent millions of years preparing to take over the galaxy.</p>
<p>Told from the perspective of each of the seven teenage protagonists, the Aurora Cycle is a new action science-fiction series. It currently comprises the books <a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/bzl-C5QZOxCZOQO1XS2Yof_?domain=jaykristoff.com">Aurora Rising</a> (2019) and <a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/l8NAC6X1PysrxAxJpIxyZTT?domain=amiekaufman.com">Aurora Burning</a> (2020).</p>
<p>Other intergalactic action-adventure sci-fi books teenagers may enjoy include <a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/EJe8C71ZQzSA9x9Y8FRqYas?domain=garthnix.com">A Confusion of Princes</a> (2012) by Garth Nix, <a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/lDa-C81ZRAS6xZxg2SzJQLE?domain=fordstreetpublishing.com">Mindcull</a> (2019) by K. H. Canobi, and Kaufman and Kristoff’s earlier series, <a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/7QBvC91ZVBSkPgPjlFZoiDP?domain=amiekaufman.com">The Illuminae Files</a> (2015–2016).</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373233/original/file-20201207-21-hbubiu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373233/original/file-20201207-21-hbubiu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373233/original/file-20201207-21-hbubiu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=945&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373233/original/file-20201207-21-hbubiu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=945&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373233/original/file-20201207-21-hbubiu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=945&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373233/original/file-20201207-21-hbubiu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1188&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373233/original/file-20201207-21-hbubiu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1188&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373233/original/file-20201207-21-hbubiu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1188&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Monuments is a duology.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.hachette.com.au/will-kostakis/monuments">Hachette</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2><a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/s1YPC0YZJpCGlDlz7uobubz?domain=hachette.com.au">Monuments</a> (2019) and <a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/ugNjCgZolKFAnxnJoF6n4nj?domain=hachette.com.au">Rebel Gods</a> (2020)</h2>
<p><strong>by Will Kostakis</strong></p>
<p>A scavenger hunt for buried gods may be just the thing teenagers need to get their minds moving. In this urban fantasy duology, Connor learns about the Monuments — powerful gods who have hidden themselves to protect humanity.</p>
<p>Joined by Sarah and Locky, Connor searches across contemporary Sydney, trying to uncover the gods. However, despite their awesome powers, the Monuments need protecting, too. The problem is Connor doesn’t know who he can trust with the knowledge and power of the gods.</p>
<p>This is author <a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/lnfCCjZroMFnkMk0BFgW7pO?domain=willkostakis.com">Will Kostakis</a>’ first foray into the fantastical.</p>
<p>Other fantasy novels for teenagers to get lost in include the bewitching <a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/E6DZCk8vpKsOZ6ZvKhGZsbw?domain=harpercollins.com.au">The Last Balfour</a> (2019) by Cait Duggan; <a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/f-ytClxwqLc2D5DlVSleyZ2?domain=allenandunwin.com">Four Dead Queens</a> (2019) — a murder mystery by by Astrid Scholte; and <a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/psyMCmOxr6sjGKGqgIMWF3K?domain=garthnix.com">the Old Kingdom series</a> (1995–2016) by Garth Nix.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373235/original/file-20201207-17-1n2kvj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373235/original/file-20201207-17-1n2kvj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373235/original/file-20201207-17-1n2kvj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=930&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373235/original/file-20201207-17-1n2kvj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=930&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373235/original/file-20201207-17-1n2kvj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=930&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373235/original/file-20201207-17-1n2kvj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1168&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373235/original/file-20201207-17-1n2kvj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1168&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373235/original/file-20201207-17-1n2kvj8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1168&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This novel is mainly made up of instant messenger conversations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9781460709542/the-long-distance-playlist/">Harper Collins</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2><a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/sNQPCnxyvXc7QqQVPsMHcY8?domain=harpercollins.com.au">The Long Distance Playlist</a> (2020)</h2>
<p><strong>by Tara Eglington</strong></p>
<p>Having spent more time on a screen this year than before, what better way for teenagers to re-engage with novels than to read one that’s written in instant messenger, text, emails, prose and playlists?</p>
<p>Eglington’s fourth young adult novel centres on teenagers Taylor and Isolde, who live in Wanaka (New Zealand) and Sydney, respectively. Friends since childhood, the two reconnect across the Tasman after an 18-month long fight. </p>
<p>As they exchange cross-country messages over the course of the year, they help support each other through their ordeals and, in doing so, realise relationships can develop over distances.</p>
<p>Two more realist young adult novels in which teenagers connect with others include <a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/lBEdCoVzwKhrJLJmgIBc0a6?domain=textpublishing.com.au">19 Love Songs</a> (2020) by David Levithan and <a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/gvaVCp8AxKsnPNPZVF5ku-r?domain=textpublishing.com.au">It Sounded Better in My Head</a> (2019) by Nina Kenwood.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373238/original/file-20201207-15-10f4nxl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373238/original/file-20201207-15-10f4nxl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373238/original/file-20201207-15-10f4nxl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=843&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373238/original/file-20201207-15-10f4nxl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=843&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373238/original/file-20201207-15-10f4nxl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=843&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373238/original/file-20201207-15-10f4nxl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1060&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373238/original/file-20201207-15-10f4nxl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1060&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373238/original/file-20201207-15-10f4nxl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1060&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This graphic novel is a biography of a man who fought against Nazi oppression.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.johnhendrix.com/226542492172">John Hendrix</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2><a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/8XM4Cq7By5s8GPGvEsjMET9?domain=abramsbooks.com">The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler</a> (2018)</h2>
<p><strong>by John Hendrix</strong></p>
<p>Teenagers who prefer to read about the lives of others may be interested in this graphic biography. It tells the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian who resisted the Nazi regime and was associated with the plot to kill Hitler.</p>
<p>Using a red-black-teal colour scheme, the mixture of text and illustration details Bonhoeffer’s life and outlines the larger historical context of Hitler’s rise to power and the second world war. Cited material is asterisked, and a select bibliography and limited notes are included.</p>
<p>A graphic autobiography (about a girl growing up during the Iranian Revolution) teenagers may also enjoy is <a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/M1nqCr8Dz5s8X0XOks2ArLA?domain=penguin.com.au">Persepolis</a> (2000) by Marjane Satrapi.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/5-australian-books-that-can-help-young-people-understand-their-place-in-the-world-127712">5 Australian books that can help young people understand their place in the world</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><em>For other lists of recommended young adult novels, check out the <a href="https://www.cbca.org.au/notables-2020">CBCA’s notables</a> or <a href="https://insideadog.com.au">Inside a Dog</a>, a website for teens to share reviews, recommendations and their own creative writing.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150646/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Troy Potter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>2020 has been a tumultuous year. Here are some books your kids can lose themselves in this summer.Troy Potter, Lecturer, The University of Melbourne, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1269282020-01-01T21:02:56Z2020-01-01T21:02:56ZLove, laughter, adventure and fantasy: a reading list for teens<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306539/original/file-20191212-85404-1xcruv6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Summer is a great time to catch up on some reading.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>An Australian summer can be a holiday by the beach, recovering from exams, or anticipating the next stage of schooling. The summer break can also offer a wonderful opportunity to catch up on some reading.</p>
<p>Award-winning author and illustrator Shaun Tan <a href="http://www.shauntan.net/essay1.html">wrote</a> the </p>
<blockquote>
<p>lessons we learn from […] stories are best applied to a similar study of life in general […] At its most successful, fiction offers us devices for interpreting reality.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>(If you aren’t familiar with Tan’s work, look out for The Arrival, Cicada and Tales from the Inner City, among others). </p>
<p>Research from New Zealand suggests <a href="https://natlib.govt.nz/schools/reading-engagement/strategies-to-engage-students-as-readers/engaging-teens-with-reading">young adults like</a> to read books which make them laugh, “let them use their imagination, have a mystery or problem to solve, have characters they wish they could be like”.</p>
<p>Based on this, here are some recommendations your teen could read this summer. </p>
<h2>For teens in years 10-12</h2>
<p><strong>Living on Hope Street (2017)</strong></p>
<p>Man Booker Prize winner Eleanor Catton <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/71989528/into-the-river-eleanor-catton-john-boyne-john-marsden-and-more-speak-out">said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When I was a young adult I cherished those books that took me seriously, that acknowledged the world was a complicated and often troubled place.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306532/original/file-20191212-85422-1lle8xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306532/original/file-20191212-85422-1lle8xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306532/original/file-20191212-85422-1lle8xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=927&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306532/original/file-20191212-85422-1lle8xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=927&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306532/original/file-20191212-85422-1lle8xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=927&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306532/original/file-20191212-85422-1lle8xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1165&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306532/original/file-20191212-85422-1lle8xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1165&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306532/original/file-20191212-85422-1lle8xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1165&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/childrens/young-adult-fiction/Living-on-Hope-Street-Demet-Divaroren-9781760292096">Allen & Unwin</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Living on Hope Street by Demet Divaroren does just that. Hope Street is a fictional Australian street with a diverse population. </p>
<p>This diversity is replicated in the book’s multiple-voice narrative structure. </p>
<p>The voices are initially separate but come together in a way that reflects the development of the community. </p>
<p>The characters range in age from school children to a Vietnam war veteran and include a refugee family. Hope Street has messages of tolerance, love, courage, friendship and the importance of family.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/5-reasons-i-always-get-children-picture-books-for-christmas-127801">5 reasons I always get children picture books for Christmas</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>The Things That Will Not Stand (2018)</strong></p>
<p>Novels <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271625478_Ethics_literature_and_education">invite the reader</a> to imagine themselves as the characters and understand other people’s situations.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306535/original/file-20191212-85376-1xso7g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306535/original/file-20191212-85376-1xso7g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306535/original/file-20191212-85376-1xso7g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306535/original/file-20191212-85376-1xso7g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306535/original/file-20191212-85376-1xso7g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306535/original/file-20191212-85376-1xso7g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1160&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306535/original/file-20191212-85376-1xso7g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1160&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306535/original/file-20191212-85376-1xso7g6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1160&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.readings.com.au/products/25778485/the-things-that-will-not-stand">Readings</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In The Things That Will Not Stand, by Michael Gerard Bauer, two teenagers, Sebastian and Tolly, attend a university open day together. </p>
<p>They meet a girl who is not quite what she seems but who so intrigues Sebastian, he stays on long after Tolly has gone home and the open day activities have finished, just so he can see her again.</p>
<p>There are some very funny scenes throughout the book, usually involving Tolly. </p>
<p>The action takes place on just one day, a day which both boys will remember for ever. </p>
<p>This book will particularly appeal to readers at the upper levels of secondary school, inviting them to imagine themselves in the place of the characters.</p>
<p><strong>All the Crooked Saints (2017)</strong></p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306536/original/file-20191212-85371-1h1kz0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306536/original/file-20191212-85371-1h1kz0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306536/original/file-20191212-85371-1h1kz0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306536/original/file-20191212-85371-1h1kz0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306536/original/file-20191212-85371-1h1kz0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306536/original/file-20191212-85371-1h1kz0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306536/original/file-20191212-85371-1h1kz0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306536/original/file-20191212-85371-1h1kz0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://kids.scholastic.com/kids/book/all-the-crooked-saints-by-maggie-stiefvater/">Scholastic</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Maggie Stiefvater sets this book in a remote Colorado town, Bicho Raro, where a most unusual family lives – a family that appears to perform miracles. Into this tiny town comes Pete, whose application to join the army has been rejected and he is seeking to come to terms with that disappointment by hitchhiking. </p>
<p>He has been picked up by Tony, a DJ trying to escape fame and heading to Bicho Raro because he has heard about the family that can perform miracles. </p>
<p>Their visit changes both of them for the better. There is a lot here for older teenage readers as the book involves romance and humour, and has touches of magic and fantasy. </p>
<p>Stiefvaster also explores concepts of good and bad and the importance of knowing ourselves.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/young-adult-fictions-dark-themes-give-the-hope-to-cope-27335">Young adult fiction's dark themes give the hope to cope</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307312/original/file-20191217-124041-rk4a9j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307312/original/file-20191217-124041-rk4a9j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307312/original/file-20191217-124041-rk4a9j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=915&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307312/original/file-20191217-124041-rk4a9j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=915&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307312/original/file-20191217-124041-rk4a9j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=915&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307312/original/file-20191217-124041-rk4a9j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1149&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307312/original/file-20191217-124041-rk4a9j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1149&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307312/original/file-20191217-124041-rk4a9j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1149&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781742612386/">Pan Macmillan</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Words in Deep Blue (2016)</strong></p>
<p>This novel by Cath Crowley is largely set in the delightfully-named secondhand bookshop, Howling Books.</p>
<p>It is a paean of praise to books, the important part they can play in our lives and helping us come to terms with grief. </p>
<p>This is also a celebration of words and friendship, with characters older readers will relate to. </p>
<hr>
<h2>For teens in years 7-9</h2>
<p><strong>Dragonfly Song (2016)</strong></p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307315/original/file-20191217-124041-d0egzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307315/original/file-20191217-124041-d0egzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307315/original/file-20191217-124041-d0egzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=929&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307315/original/file-20191217-124041-d0egzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=929&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307315/original/file-20191217-124041-d0egzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=929&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307315/original/file-20191217-124041-d0egzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1167&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307315/original/file-20191217-124041-d0egzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1167&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307315/original/file-20191217-124041-d0egzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1167&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/childrens/childrens-fiction/Dragonfly-Song-Wendy-Orr-9781760290023">Allen & Unwin</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Ancient Crete is the setting for Wendy Orr’s Dragonfly Song. The book tells of those chosen to be the tribute to the Bull King (he chooses a tribute every year). </p>
<p>The outcast girl, called No-Name by everyone, seizes the opportunity to become one of the tributes, a task she knows to be demanding and often dangerous. She will have to brave the bloody bull dances in his royal court.</p>
<p>Will she actually survive the test? </p>
<p>The book is inspired by the legend of the Minotaur. It is thoroughly researched, lyrically written and invites readers to imagine themselves in No-name’s place.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307316/original/file-20191217-124031-1947vd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307316/original/file-20191217-124031-1947vd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307316/original/file-20191217-124031-1947vd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=924&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307316/original/file-20191217-124031-1947vd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=924&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307316/original/file-20191217-124031-1947vd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=924&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307316/original/file-20191217-124031-1947vd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1161&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307316/original/file-20191217-124031-1947vd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1161&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307316/original/file-20191217-124031-1947vd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1161&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9781460756188/his-name-was-walter/">Harper Collins</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>His Name was Walter (2018)</strong></p>
<p>A group of students and their teacher, separated from the others on a school excursion, find an odd-looking book in a deserted house. Emily Rodda beautifully uses the device of a story within a story in His Name Was Walter.</p>
<p>What happens next is mysterious and intriguing as past and present combine. The ending is both poignant and satisfying.</p>
<p><strong>Hatchet (1986)</strong></p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306730/original/file-20191212-85367-s4tum1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306730/original/file-20191212-85367-s4tum1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306730/original/file-20191212-85367-s4tum1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=893&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306730/original/file-20191212-85367-s4tum1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=893&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306730/original/file-20191212-85367-s4tum1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=893&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306730/original/file-20191212-85367-s4tum1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1123&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306730/original/file-20191212-85367-s4tum1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1123&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306730/original/file-20191212-85367-s4tum1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1123&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/books/hatchet-by-gary-paulsen/">Scholastic</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Imagine finding yourself stranded in an unknown wilderness without a mobile phone. This is exactly what happens to Brian in Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet. </p>
<p>It’s a kind of modern Robinson Crusoe story, first published in 1986 before the proliferation of mobile phones. </p>
<p>In this adventure, Brian has to be inventive and resilient to survive. The book is the first in a series of five. One <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/hatche">review suggested</a>, for many readers, Hatchet was “the first school-assigned book they fell in love with”. </p>
<p><strong>How to Bee (2017)</strong> </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307317/original/file-20191217-124009-xu8jvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307317/original/file-20191217-124009-xu8jvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307317/original/file-20191217-124009-xu8jvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=927&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307317/original/file-20191217-124009-xu8jvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=927&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307317/original/file-20191217-124009-xu8jvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=927&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307317/original/file-20191217-124009-xu8jvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1165&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307317/original/file-20191217-124009-xu8jvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1165&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307317/original/file-20191217-124009-xu8jvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1165&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/childrens/childrens-fiction/How-to-Bee-Bren-MacDibble-9781760294335">Allen & Unwin</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>How would life be without bees? How would the pollination of plants, so essential to life on earth, happen? </p>
<p>This intriguing story, by Bren MacDibble, explores that idea and sets up a scenario where children do the pollinating – but only the bravest and quickest. </p>
<p>Penny longs to be one of these, but can she, especially when it looks as though she might be taken away from the life she has known?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/honest-and-subtle-writing-about-sex-in-young-adult-literature-48002">Honest and subtle: writing about sex in young adult literature</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126928/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Margot Hillel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A children’s literature professor recommends some of her favourite books for high school kids.Margot Hillel, Professor, Children's Literature, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1184302019-06-10T12:58:21Z2019-06-10T12:58:21ZWhat advice articles miss about ‘summer loss’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278528/original/file-20190607-52762-11f9iqs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Summer enrichment programs can lead to academic gains.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/school-kids-running-elementary-hallway-front-735954460?src=PxFjYgsLiv9uhHrSIOsLGQ-1-0">Monkey Business Images/www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When the end of the school year arrives, internet articles and morning talk shows sound the annual alarm about preventing summer learning loss. They advise parents to <a href="https://www.today.com/parents/books-kids-keep-summer-reading-fresh-away-school-t154868">purchase hot new reads for their children</a>, <a href="https://ced.ncsu.edu/news/2018/07/30/7-strategies-for-preventing-summer-learning-loss/">take them to museums</a>, and <a href="https://www.northernvirginiamag.com/family/education/2019/05/10/heres-how-to-help-your-child-avoid-summer-learning-loss-this-year/">sign them up for science camp</a>.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://soe.syr.edu/about/directory/kelly-chandler-olcott/">literacy educator</a> for the past 27 years – and the parent of two teenagers – I’ve tried many of these recommendations myself. (Ask my son about the library reading programs I signed him up for, and wait for the groan.) I understand why such tips are appealing. Who doesn’t want young people to spend their summers more productively than sleeping and <a href="https://theconversation.com/fortnite-teaches-the-wrong-lessons-104443">playing Fortnite</a>? But it’s high time we question the assumptions baked into our thinking about the so-called “summer slide.” </p>
<p>Let me tell you why.</p>
<h2>The summer slide is real, but …</h2>
<p>It’s hard to blame parents for anxiety about summer loss given <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/summer-learning-loss-what-is-it-and-what-can-we-do-about-it/">a century’s worth of research</a> that shows young people can lose up to several months’ worth of school-year learning over summer break. Studies also show <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/000312240707200202">older students have greater gaps</a> than younger students, and <a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR815.html">summer loss is greatest for low-income students</a>. These findings are worrisome.</p>
<p>At the same time, it’s important to recognize that concerns about summer loss are grounded in an idea that learning is linear and that students’ gains or losses are best measured by <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/00346543066003227">performance on achievement tests</a>. Any gaps these tests reveal need to be considered with caution. </p>
<p>The loss-prevention recommendations themselves also reflect some problematic biases. Parents and caregivers from all walks of life <a href="https://www.tcpress.com/reaching-and-teaching-students-in-poverty-9780807758793">find ways to support their children’s growth and development</a>. But many ideas suggested for stemming summer setback assume an audience with disposable income, employment flexibility and English fluency that not all families have. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://ced.ncsu.edu/news/2018/07/30/7-strategies-for-preventing-summer-learning-loss/">tracing shadows every two hours from breakfast to dinner</a> is easier for a parent with the means to stay home than a working parent. Suggesting that families who can’t afford summer camps <a href="https://www.parentingscience.com/summer-learning-loss.html">create their own using online resources</a> ignores variation in parental education, literacy levels and technology access. Such disregard of social class differences is particularly concerning since many summer-loss articles are thinly veiled advertisements for commercial <a href="https://www.nwea.org/blog/2018/summer-learning-loss-what-we-know-what-were-learning/">products</a> and <a href="https://www.idtech.com/blog/summer-slide-facts-for-productive-school-break">programs</a>. </p>
<p>Also troubling is the assumption that families, not educators, should promote learning in specialized areas such as mathematics, reading and science. Although families from all walks of life <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1476399?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">promote varied kinds of learning in everyday life</a>, most parents lack preparation to address academic subjects, and their year-round obligations don’t end just because school is out for their offspring. </p>
<h2>Summer gains for all</h2>
<p>Given these complexities, I believe that solutions to the summer slide should not fall predominantly on students and their families. Instead, schools must step up to design summer-learning supports responsive to community needs. These might be home-based initiatives, such as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02702711.2010.505165">the one created by Richard Allington and colleagues</a>, where students’ selection and ownership of 12 free books yielded small but significant gains in reading, particularly for students from the least-advantaged families. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278536/original/file-20190607-52739-hyzlck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278536/original/file-20190607-52739-hyzlck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278536/original/file-20190607-52739-hyzlck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278536/original/file-20190607-52739-hyzlck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278536/original/file-20190607-52739-hyzlck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278536/original/file-20190607-52739-hyzlck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278536/original/file-20190607-52739-hyzlck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278536/original/file-20190607-52739-hyzlck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Reading over the summer yields academic gains.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Schools might also offer no- or low-cost programs on site that <a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9924.html">combine interest-driven academics</a> with a mix of enrichment activities such as dance, drama, or meditation. Summer school can be much more than the retaking of <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED467662">failed courses</a>. </p>
<p>Research suggests parents would take advantage of these programs if they were offered. The National Summer Learning Association found that 51 percent of families not participating in a summer program <a href="https://www.summerlearning.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/State-Education-Agencies-Playbook-2019_Interactive.pdf">would do so if one were available</a>. Cost is often a factor. For instance, the association found that of families that pay for summer programming, the average cost was <a href="https://www.summerlearning.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/State-Education-Agencies-Playbook-2019_Interactive.pdf">$288 per week per child</a>.</p>
<p>I have seen first-hand what can happen when summer is viewed as a time to test innovations that promote learning for all, teachers and students alike, rather than an opportunity <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23414665?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">to “fix” some children stereotyped as deficient</a>.</p>
<p>For four years, I served as director of a summer writing institute meant to ease middle schoolers’ transition to high school. The three-week program was free, open to all students slated to attend a local high school in the fall, and drew its staff from volunteers committed to continuous professional improvement. Students pursued individual and collaborative projects in both print and digital forms. Guest authors from the community spoke about how and why they write. Teachers worked together to construct plans responsive to students’ varying needs.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.hepg.org/hep-home/books/a-good-fit-for-all-kids">My research within the institute</a> suggests that students valued interacting with peers from diverse backgrounds and abilities around topics of interest. It also suggests that families valued a high-quality learning experience for their children that didn’t duplicate the school curriculum, take the whole summer or require extra effort from them. Teachers valued collaborating with peers to design a strengths-based writing program tailored to the local community.</p>
<p>To be sure, programs like the writing institute require considerably more time and money than sending home a one-page menu of suggestions for families. But if such programs engage students without stigmatizing them and help teachers refine their craft, that investment could be well worth it.</p>
<p>[ <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=thanksforreading">Thanks for reading! We can send you The Conversation’s stories every day in an informative email. Sign up today.</a></em> ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118430/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kelly Chandler-Olcott does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Instead of expecting parents to help kids stay sharp during the summer, schools should offer more programming, a literacy instructor argues.Kelly Chandler-Olcott, Laura J. & L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence, Syracuse UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/889532017-12-18T19:14:58Z2017-12-18T19:14:58ZFrom testosterone to dogs, and physics for babies: five fascinating books in 2017<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199321/original/file-20171214-27562-1fpew6g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Happy reading this summer break. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-image-woman-reading-book-outdoors-324472961?src=5u9jNZpFVnderf3uEm_bhg-1-6">from www.shutterstock.com </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In my mild-mannered persona as an academic in science education, I teach and research ways that science can be better taught in Australia and globally. </p>
<p>But every year I also explore the world of science books. I scope what’s new and interesting for my not-for-profit <a href="http://sciencebookaday.com">science book blog</a>, and the <a href="https://www.meetup.com/en-AU/Big-Ideas-Book-Club/?_cookie-check=ZAbxNjtPGn4BzaJx">Big Ideas Book Club</a> I help run in Melbourne.</p>
<p>In 2017, five books in particular grabbed my attention, covering the fields of psychology, biology, history and physics. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-robots-to-board-games-its-easy-to-do-science-this-christmas-88571">From robots to board games, it's easy to do science this Christmas</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How men and women behave</h2>
<h3>Testosterone Rex: Unmaking the Myths of Our Gendered Minds, by Cordelia Fine</h3>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199352/original/file-20171215-25987-1kscihm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199352/original/file-20171215-25987-1kscihm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=957&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199352/original/file-20171215-25987-1kscihm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=957&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199352/original/file-20171215-25987-1kscihm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=957&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199352/original/file-20171215-25987-1kscihm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1203&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199352/original/file-20171215-25987-1kscihm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1203&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199352/original/file-20171215-25987-1kscihm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1203&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Testosterone Rex: Unmaking the Myths of Our Gendered Minds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Allen and Unwin</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This book won the <a href="https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/book-prizes/science-book-prize/">Royal Society Book Prize in 2017</a>. The author is University of Melbourne’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/cordelia-fine-90297">Cordelia Fine</a>, an academic working in historical and philosophical studies with a background in experimental psychology. </p>
<p>With discussion of feminism in the media on a regular basis, this book provides an important critique of previous research that has linked many underlying societal assumptions about testosterone to explain behaviour of both men and women. For example, “men engage more in risk-taking behaviour”. </p>
<p>Many of us assume that science is done without prejudice, but Fine highlights how social factors influence what research and concepts are considered important. This can compound an over-simplified notion of how testosterone affects us both biologically and socially. </p>
<p>Fine covers a wide range of topics in this short book, and often I found myself wanting to know more. But I think she successfully achieves her aim of getting us to reconsider some assumptions in our everyday lives. She helps the reader realise that when it comes to testosterone, things are a little bit more complicated than we may have assumed.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-we-inherit-masculine-and-feminine-behaviours-a-new-idea-about-environment-and-genes-82524">How we inherit masculine and feminine behaviours: a new idea about environment and genes</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Where dogs came from</h2>
<h3>How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog): Visionary scientists and a Siberian tale of jump-started evolution, by Lee Alan Dugatkin and Lyudmila Trut</h3>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199355/original/file-20171215-25998-1omnpnn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199355/original/file-20171215-25998-1omnpnn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199355/original/file-20171215-25998-1omnpnn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199355/original/file-20171215-25998-1omnpnn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199355/original/file-20171215-25998-1omnpnn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199355/original/file-20171215-25998-1omnpnn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199355/original/file-20171215-25998-1omnpnn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">University of Chicago Press</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This book is at the top of my holiday reading list. It’s part of a wave of science books directed at understanding the inner minds of dogs, their behaviour and their evolution. </p>
<p>Growing up with chihuahuas in the house, it can be difficult to reconcile how my family dog had somehow evolved from the wolf. While foxes are not wolves, the question of how wild animals can be domesticated was investigated by a team of researchers in Siberia, commencing in 1959, led by Dmitri Belyaev and Lyudmila Trut. The latter is currently head of the research group at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Department of the <a href="http://www.bionet.nsc.ru/en">Russian Academy of Sciences</a>, and one of the authors of this book. </p>
<p>The premise was quite simple: to recreate the process of domestication from wolves to dogs – a process that is estimated to span 15,000 years – by selecting and breeding foxes on the basis of their tameness. </p>
<p>Trut and co-author Dugatkin (a biologist and science writer) write about the history, politics and outcomes of this experiment, including genetic, behavioural and physical changes seen in wild foxes as they became tame foxes with floppy ears, curly tails and an interest in human companionship. </p>
<p>This looks perfect for anyone interested in the history of dog-kind, and in how scientists answer questions about our relationship with our closest companions.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/should-you-ever-get-a-puppy-at-christmas-heres-all-you-need-to-know-88093">Should you ever get a puppy at Christmas? Here's all you need to know</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Women deciphering military codes</h2>
<h3>Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II, by Liza Mundy</h3>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199356/original/file-20171215-25996-10ws8pc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199356/original/file-20171215-25996-10ws8pc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199356/original/file-20171215-25996-10ws8pc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199356/original/file-20171215-25996-10ws8pc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199356/original/file-20171215-25996-10ws8pc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199356/original/file-20171215-25996-10ws8pc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199356/original/file-20171215-25996-10ws8pc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Code Girls.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hachette Book Group</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Code Girls is one of several recent books that tell stories about women’s involvement in history and science – others include Hidden Figures (2016), The Radium Girls (2016), Rise of the Rocket Girls (2016), and The Girls of Atomic City (2013). The previously untold stories of these remarkable women are being recorded as they get older, and as previously classified documents are shared with the public. </p>
<p>This particular book tells the story of some 10,000 women who were recruited by US military intelligence during World War II to decipher Japanese and German military codes. A great opportunity for highly educated women, they were taken from around the country and moved to live in dormitories in Washington and Arlington. Here, they had to deal with sexism, bureaucracy, relationships and new-found freedom.</p>
<p>To prepare the book, author Liza Mundy – a journalist who has written for the Washington Post – interviewed 20 of these code girls, who over 70 years ago had taken a vow of secrecy about their work. </p>
<p>Due to the age of the women, Mundy worked diligently to <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/11/opinions/code-girls-iiza-mundy-opinion/index.html">locate them</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I literally cold-called most of the women, and they were delighted to hear from someone who wanted to know about this.</p>
<p>I was struck by the number of adult sons who were really proud of what their mothers had done and had wanted them to tell the story forever. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This book captures the highs and lows of these brave women, and celebrates their rich and varied impact on generations of women working in science and technology.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hidden-figures-takes-us-back-to-a-time-when-computers-were-people-women-and-black-72303">Hidden Figures takes us back to a time when computers were people, women, and black</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A journey through mass</h2>
<h3>Mass: The quest to understand matter from Greek atoms to quantum fields, by Jim Baggott</h3>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199357/original/file-20171215-26014-k4tb78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199357/original/file-20171215-26014-k4tb78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199357/original/file-20171215-26014-k4tb78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199357/original/file-20171215-26014-k4tb78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199357/original/file-20171215-26014-k4tb78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199357/original/file-20171215-26014-k4tb78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199357/original/file-20171215-26014-k4tb78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mass.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Oxford University Press</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Mass is one of those terms that many of us first encounter in primary school, but what is it, really? </p>
<p>Popular UK science writer (and former scientist) Jim Baggott takes us on a journey through mass. He presents early philosophical considerations, how mass influences the elements of the periodic table, and then to modern considerations of mass that have come from recent work from quantum physics, field theory and the standard model. </p>
<p>Typically, we consider that mass is a property that all things “possess”, but Baggott asks us to reconsider this idea, and to think that mass is an outcome of what things “do”. </p>
<p>If this has left you scratching your head, don’t worry, Baggott is a skilled writer, as Kevin Orrman-Rossiter writes <a href="https://sciencebookaday.com/2017/11/09/kevin-orrman-rossiter-reviews-mass-the-quest-to-understand-matter-from-greek-atoms-to-quantum-fields/">in his review</a>,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I found his concluding chapter “Mass without mass” to be a great example of his writing in Mass. In this he brings us to the question of matter – via a familiar and everyday substance – frozen water, an ice-cube. He asks “What is this cube made of? What is responsible for its mass?” Using this simple example, he recaps and brings to a prosaic conclusion what is an enthralling, philosophically deep and scientifically rich, story. </p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-mass-49299">Explainer: what is mass?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Good for chewing, and learning</h2>
<h3>Quantum Physics for Babies, by Chris Ferrie</h3>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199358/original/file-20171215-26009-1hahpco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199358/original/file-20171215-26009-1hahpco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199358/original/file-20171215-26009-1hahpco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199358/original/file-20171215-26009-1hahpco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199358/original/file-20171215-26009-1hahpco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199358/original/file-20171215-26009-1hahpco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199358/original/file-20171215-26009-1hahpco.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Quantum Physics for Babies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Source Books Inc</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is part of the Baby University series of board books written for babies. </p>
<p>Author <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/chris-ferrie-230592">Chris Ferrie</a> is an academic from the University of Technology Sydney, who conducts research into quantum physics. </p>
<p>The question immediately comes to mind: “can you teach quantum physics to babies?”. My immediate answer would be “no”, but that isn’t Ferrie’s intention. He wants the book to be a starting point of exploration of a wider scientific world for children, but also for parents to dip their toe into an area they might feel uncomfortable with. He <a href="https://csferrie.com/2017/08/10/let-kids-be-kids/">says</a>, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>many parents I talk to find mathematics and science scary. Whether it is intentional or not, they steer [their children] away from these topics.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I purchased the Baby University series of books for my little person, who likes to chew them. But with him, I have enjoyed the colourful and varied diagrams that represent the complex quantum concepts with minimal text. </p>
<p>The book is a way for parents and children together to explore science concepts and connect to the ideas and representations that they use. Science has its own language of words and images, and the earlier we explore these, the less mysterious and unknowable science will seem to be.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/calling-all-parents-australias-future-female-scientists-need-your-support-now-89025">Calling all parents – Australia's future female scientists need your support now</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These are just a selection of the many science books that come out every year to enlighten, enthral and entertain us. I struggled to suggest only five books. </p>
<p>When you choose a book to get you through the holiday break, make sure you have a look at what science has on offer, whether it’s about birds, space, the human body, psychology or robots. Science offers us a new perspective on the world - one that is intriguing, affirming and full of life, it’s not just about equations and numbers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88953/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>George Aranda does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Go on, treat yourself - read a science book over the holidays. Here are a few ideas to get started.George Aranda, Lecturer in Science Education, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/703932016-12-25T20:41:29Z2016-12-25T20:41:29ZSummer reading guide from The Conversation’s business & economics writers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150452/original/image-20161216-26065-echar0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image sourced from Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><strong>Janine Dixon, Economist at Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University</strong></p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150845/original/image-20161219-24276-18lxyia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150845/original/image-20161219-24276-18lxyia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=929&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150845/original/image-20161219-24276-18lxyia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=929&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150845/original/image-20161219-24276-18lxyia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=929&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150845/original/image-20161219-24276-18lxyia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1167&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150845/original/image-20161219-24276-18lxyia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1167&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150845/original/image-20161219-24276-18lxyia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1167&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Black Inc. Books.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In his 2016 book Richard Denniss calls out politicians and vested interests for using “econobabble” – which he defines as “incomprehensible economic jargon and apparently simple words that have been stripped of their normal meanings” – to conceal simple truths from the public. Econobabble was published at the beginning of 2016, but it almost feels as though Denniss knew in advance that “post-truth” would be voted the Oxford Dictionaries 2016 word of the year.</p>
<p>The book teems with examples of econobabble that are both entertaining, because of the way Denniss describes them, and infuriating, because the consequences are so devastating. The discussion of the Adani coal mine, which continues to this day, is particularly enlightening.</p>
<p>Economists themselves are not immune from criticism. As an economic modeller, I was particularly interested in the chapter on economic modelling. In this chapter, continuing with the main themes of the book, Denniss promotes simplicity and openness in the way economic issues should be communicated to the wider community – and I can only agree!</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Gigi Foster, Associate Professor, School of Economics, UNSW Australia</strong></p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150425/original/image-20161216-26065-18z7pa8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150425/original/image-20161216-26065-18z7pa8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150425/original/image-20161216-26065-18z7pa8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150425/original/image-20161216-26065-18z7pa8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150425/original/image-20161216-26065-18z7pa8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1160&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150425/original/image-20161216-26065-18z7pa8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1160&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150425/original/image-20161216-26065-18z7pa8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1160&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Oxford University Press.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Back in September I had the unique experience of attending the Sydney launch of William Coleman’s new edited volume, “Only in Australia” (OUP 2016). I like William and I bought his book mainly out of curiosity and a desire to be entertained.</p>
<p>As an Aussie-loving Yankee transplant who for professional reasons is supposed to have at least a passing familiarity with Australian political and economic history, I have found “Only in Australia” to be enlightening, reaffirming, and most definitely amusing. The enlightenment has been in regard to umpteen little facts and interpretations about Australia’s history as a nation. </p>
<p>Did you know, for example, that in the mid-1800’s, “public schooling in NSW was not as exclusive of religion as Victoria but was still, at its core, secular” (from the chapter by Greg Melleuish and Stephen A. Chavura)? Or that “from the 1850s, Australian governments have been responsible for the financing, construction, and operation of railways - urban, suburban, and rural…[while] in other countries, extensive government railways were initiated later than the 1850s, often beginning with the nationalization of substantial private rail lines or networks” (from the chapter by Jonathan Pincus)? These types of titbits have filled in some of my sometimes patchy understanding of the how and why of modern Australia.</p>
<p>The reaffirmation has mainly been of my impressions of Australian culture. The book itself is a testament to that culture: not a single of the 15 chapters is written or co-written by a woman, and the entire enterprise has a clubbish old-boysy feel to it. That said, as a constant whinger about the Australian cultural cringe, I felt my heart buoyed by many observations rejecting European and particularly British derivations of Australian institutions - both formal and informal. Many of my own observations about those institutions were also confirmed as I turned the pages, such as the observation that “no other significant comparator country has tribunal-determined wages to the extent that Australia does ” (from Phil Lewis’s chapter) and the “absence of domestic corporate strength and financing” of Australian agribusiness (from Nick Carter’s chapter). </p>
<p>I didn’t always agree with the ideological packaging sometimes wrapping the text, and of course the book was far too expensive for <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/labor-to-oppose-cheaper-book-imports-backing-australian-authors-20161208-gt72d1.html">reasons we all know too well</a>, but I still enjoyed reading “Only in Australia”. </p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Ross Guest, Professor of Economics and National Senior Teaching Fellow, Griffith University</strong></p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150438/original/image-20161216-26056-1xi9zoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150438/original/image-20161216-26056-1xi9zoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150438/original/image-20161216-26056-1xi9zoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150438/original/image-20161216-26056-1xi9zoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150438/original/image-20161216-26056-1xi9zoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150438/original/image-20161216-26056-1xi9zoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150438/original/image-20161216-26056-1xi9zoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Riverhead Books</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tim Harford is one of the best economics writers for a general audience that I have ever read. He shows how economics is everywhere and relevant to our lives in many ways. And he is very entertaining. Besides, this latest book appeals to me because it gives me hope that all of the disorder in my own life might actually be a good thing.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Tim Harcourt, J.W. Nevile Fellow in Economics, UNSW Australia</strong></p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150449/original/image-20161216-26032-wn2qvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150449/original/image-20161216-26032-wn2qvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150449/original/image-20161216-26032-wn2qvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150449/original/image-20161216-26032-wn2qvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150449/original/image-20161216-26032-wn2qvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150449/original/image-20161216-26032-wn2qvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150449/original/image-20161216-26032-wn2qvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Penguin.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/summer-reading-guide-from-the-conversations-economists-52435">Last year</a> I read Geoffrey Blainey ‘s history of Indigenous Australia, titled The Story of Australia’s People, subtitled The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia.</p>
<p>It got me thinking that Australia is 50,000 years old not 230. Geoffrey Blainey tells us, as only he can, the amazing stories of Indigenous history and innovation</p>
<p>This year I am reading the Blainey sequel “The Story of Australia’s people” subtitled The Rise and Rise of a New Australia which takes Australia from the Gold Rush to the present day. Blainey has a unique way of looking at Australia and the world and a unique way of re-looking at it. As he says himself, he has revised a lot of his thinking on Indigenous Australia since his early work The Triumph of the Nomads, written in 1975. He is the master of the historical narrative, a natural born story teller whose words “literally fly off the page”. He is always a pleasure to read regardless of whether you share his view of Australian life.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150441/original/image-20161216-26062-mueda7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150441/original/image-20161216-26062-mueda7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=926&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150441/original/image-20161216-26062-mueda7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=926&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150441/original/image-20161216-26062-mueda7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=926&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150441/original/image-20161216-26062-mueda7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1163&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150441/original/image-20161216-26062-mueda7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1163&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150441/original/image-20161216-26062-mueda7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1163&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New South Books.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another book I’ll be reading, as a self-confessed Australian history junkie, is Stuart McIntyre’s Australia’s Boldest Experiment about the national building efforts of post-war reconstruction in the 1940s. Think of the Snowy Mountains scheme, the Holden car, CSIRO, the ANU, the expansion of the post-migration scheme, all coming out of that innovative policy work undertaken by the war time Curtin-Chifley Labor government and into the long economic boom that Australia enjoyed from the 1950s to the 1970s. The role of the influential economic advisers of the era such as HC Nugget Coombs, JG Crawford and others (known as “The Seven Dwarfs” although no one knows who Snow White was!) is examined in detail by McIntyre. As my own grandfather was an adviser to Prime Minister and Treasurer Ben Chifley in the war years, I am fascinated to see what one of Australia’s most distinguished social historians has to say.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Rodney Maddock, Vice Chancellor’s Fellow at Victoria University and Adjunct Professor of Economics, Monash University</strong></p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150444/original/image-20161216-26056-1bqsg8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150444/original/image-20161216-26056-1bqsg8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=912&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150444/original/image-20161216-26056-1bqsg8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=912&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150444/original/image-20161216-26056-1bqsg8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=912&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150444/original/image-20161216-26056-1bqsg8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1146&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150444/original/image-20161216-26056-1bqsg8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1146&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150444/original/image-20161216-26056-1bqsg8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1146&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">W.W Norton & Company.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>My book of the year is The Internet of Us: Knowing More and Understanding Less in the Age of Big Data by Michael P. Lynch. This is quite philosophical work, reflecting on the ways in which we will change and are changing in response to the internet. It explores all the ideas and concerns you would expect and is somewhat pessimistic as is clear from the title. What Lynch underplays is the way in which consideration and debate can and do take place on the web, so that it can assist in active development of knowledge rather than just consumption of facts. A thoughtful read. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150446/original/image-20161216-26032-iqtsn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150446/original/image-20161216-26032-iqtsn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150446/original/image-20161216-26032-iqtsn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150446/original/image-20161216-26032-iqtsn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150446/original/image-20161216-26032-iqtsn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150446/original/image-20161216-26032-iqtsn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150446/original/image-20161216-26032-iqtsn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">HarperCollins.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>My novel of the year is Commonwealth by Ann Patchett which I think is her best book since Bel Canto. It is a multigenerational family novel, but written with a light touch and lots of insights into how families function. It is another thoughtful book and one which deserves to be read with time for reflection on its shape and character.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Beth Webster, Director, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology</strong></p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150853/original/image-20161220-24299-cpgofr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150853/original/image-20161220-24299-cpgofr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=891&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150853/original/image-20161220-24299-cpgofr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=891&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150853/original/image-20161220-24299-cpgofr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=891&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150853/original/image-20161220-24299-cpgofr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1120&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150853/original/image-20161220-24299-cpgofr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1120&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/150853/original/image-20161220-24299-cpgofr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1120&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Princeton University Press.</span>
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</figure>
<p>Joel Mokyr is a smooth read - packed with anecdotes, facts and stories about our economic origins that will surprise even the most crusty scholar. In A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy, Mokyr highlights the persistent fundamentals that are still very much in operation today in the economy. He makes us wonder why no-one studies economic history any more. Are we raising new generations of number crunchers who only have a superficial understanding of data?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70393/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gigi Foster receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Beth Webster, Janine Dixon, Rodney Maddock, Ross Guest, and Tim Harcourt do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A handful of our business economics writers share the favourite books they read this year.Janine Dixon, Economist at Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria UniversityBeth Webster, Director, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of TechnologyGigi Foster, Associate Professor, School of Economics, UNSW SydneyRodney Maddock, Vice Chancellor's Fellow at Victoria University and Adjunct Professor of Economics, Monash UniversityRoss Guest, Professor of Economics and National Senior Teaching Fellow, Griffith UniversityTim Harcourt, J.W. Nevile Fellow in Economics, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/626372016-07-26T10:02:18Z2016-07-26T10:02:18ZFive picks of what to read this summer – picked by the experts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131266/original/image-20160720-31121-1jy1ooq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Perfect poolside fiction.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-159543026/stock-photo-young-lady-on-sun-lounger-relaxing-by-the-pool-reading-a-book-in-a-wide-brimmed-hat.html?src=B5o6a6oFsvNjSt5G4VzJPA-1-87">EPSTOCK/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Now <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-third-day-of-a-heatwave-is-the-tipping-point-are-we-ready-62710">the sun has finally come out</a> the mass exoduses to the park with a blanket and a paperback have begun, for what Sally O'Reilly calls <a href="https://theconversation.com/summer-reading-the-ultimate-competitive-sport-of-the-middle-class-44631">the ultimate competitive sport</a>: summer reading. We asked academics for their recommendations within their fields. Whether you’d like to read about serial killers or romance, or get your crime fiction picks from a criminologist, beware that <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-reading-fiction-literally-change-your-mind-62726">reading fiction could literally change your mind</a>… and studies have shown that
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-reading-a-little-each-week-is-a-form-of-life-support-37445">reading a little each week can be a form of life support</a> for those with depression or loneliness. Either way, you’ll need a book for that holiday – here’s what our academics have to say.</p>
<h2>1) <a href="https://theconversation.com/best-summer-crime-fiction-as-recommended-by-a-criminologist-61546">Crime fiction recommendations from a criminologist</a></h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131757/original/image-20160725-31162-1fivn6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131757/original/image-20160725-31162-1fivn6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131757/original/image-20160725-31162-1fivn6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131757/original/image-20160725-31162-1fivn6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=972&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131757/original/image-20160725-31162-1fivn6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1221&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131757/original/image-20160725-31162-1fivn6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1221&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131757/original/image-20160725-31162-1fivn6g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1221&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>Crime literature – including fiction and “true crime” – is a saturated market. Much of it even inspires people to study criminology and criminal law, as was the case for Peter Squires, professor of criminology at the University of Brighton. He narrows down his favourite novels by Richard North Patterson, the American legal-thriller writer. </p>
<p>Patterson, who Squires even uses in his teaching materials, explores mass shootings and the US death penalty, confronting major issues from a thrilling fictive angle. These are crime novels anchored to real life law and order, that he argues are a resource to draw from as well as entertainment to consume.</p>
<h2>2) <a href="https://theconversation.com/reading-the-renaissance-the-guilty-pleasures-of-historical-fiction-61548">The guilty pleasures of historical fiction</a></h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130904/original/image-20160718-2144-4u7xwn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130904/original/image-20160718-2144-4u7xwn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=948&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130904/original/image-20160718-2144-4u7xwn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=948&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130904/original/image-20160718-2144-4u7xwn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=948&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130904/original/image-20160718-2144-4u7xwn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1191&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130904/original/image-20160718-2144-4u7xwn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1191&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130904/original/image-20160718-2144-4u7xwn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1191&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>Hilary Mantel wrote: “The past is not dead ground, and to traverse it is not a sterile exercise.” Gabriele Neher from the University of Nottingham argues in line with Mantel for the value of historical fiction, because it enables us to engage with the human element of history. </p>
<p>Here Neher presents her best picks of historical fiction writers. From a 16th-century murder mystery to Sarah Dunant’s triptych of works on the lives of women in Renaissance Italy, these historical novels are something to sink your teeth into and a way to connect with the past.</p>
<h2>3) <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-media-serial-killers-and-a-perfect-summer-novel-about-both-61547">Serial killer reads</a></h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131758/original/image-20160725-31165-172f7bf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131758/original/image-20160725-31165-172f7bf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=944&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131758/original/image-20160725-31165-172f7bf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=944&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131758/original/image-20160725-31165-172f7bf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=944&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131758/original/image-20160725-31165-172f7bf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1186&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131758/original/image-20160725-31165-172f7bf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1186&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131758/original/image-20160725-31165-172f7bf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1186&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>Within the category of crime thrillers is the serial killer novel. The current fascination with Nordic noir is the latest trend in a continual supply of serial killer-based television. This is a genre that has infiltrated our imaginations and held our intrigue. </p>
<p>Why are we so fascinated by the motives of serial killers? A novel by Gordon Burn examines this question, delving into the Moors murders of the 1960s, and how pop culture becomes involved in violent crime.</p>
<h2>4) <a href="https://theconversation.com/three-alternative-romantic-fiction-authors-that-will-heat-up-any-beach-trip-61549">Romantic novels that aren’t necessarily ‘light’</a></h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130909/original/image-20160718-2110-1jmaaf0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130909/original/image-20160718-2110-1jmaaf0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=981&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130909/original/image-20160718-2110-1jmaaf0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=981&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130909/original/image-20160718-2110-1jmaaf0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=981&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130909/original/image-20160718-2110-1jmaaf0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1233&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130909/original/image-20160718-2110-1jmaaf0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1233&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130909/original/image-20160718-2110-1jmaaf0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1233&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>Romance novels are often seen as light and passive reading, the perfect accessory for a summer’s afternoon spent lying on the beach or in the park. But chick-lit is out: Zoe Strimpel shows that romantic fiction needn’t be two-dimensional, drab or contrived. </p>
<p>Three alternative romantic fiction authors that succeed at being intellectual and socially engaged while exploring desire, obsession and romantic love are Iris Murdoch, Margaret Drabble and George Gissing. Gissing offers up a forward-looking feminist romance and Margaret Drabble comments on gender in the perfectly formed “The Millstone”. Never again will romantic fiction conjure up a clichéd tale on a pale pink background. This is beach reading with a backbone!</p>
<h2>5 <a href="https://theconversation.com/cli-fi-novels-humanise-the-science-of-climate-change-and-leading-authors-are-getting-in-on-the-act-51270">Humanising the big issues</a></h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131959/original/image-20160726-7045-j88s9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131959/original/image-20160726-7045-j88s9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=908&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131959/original/image-20160726-7045-j88s9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=908&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131959/original/image-20160726-7045-j88s9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=908&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131959/original/image-20160726-7045-j88s9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1142&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131959/original/image-20160726-7045-j88s9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1142&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131959/original/image-20160726-7045-j88s9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1142&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_(novel)#/media/File:SolarNovel.jpg">Ian McEwan's 'Solar' is a prominent example of cli-fi</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And if an even bigger question is on your mind, then cli-fi – climate change fiction – may be your thing. Adeline Johns-Putra from the University of Surrey wrote about it as a literary phenomenon – and one that has found a fan in literary heavyweight Margaret Atwood. </p>
<p>Ian McEwan, Jeanette Winterson and Atwood have all written on climate change, in novels like McEwan’s Solar, about one physicist’s initiative to tackle the climate crisis with technical ingenuity in a comical world that makes it a difficult task.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62637/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Get your summer reading recommendations from the literature and crime professors themselves.Khalil A. Cassimally, Head of Audience Insights, The Conversation InternationalHolly Farler, Section and Multimedia AssistantLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/524352015-12-22T21:39:38Z2015-12-22T21:39:38ZSummer reading guide from The Conversation’s economists<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106442/original/image-20151217-10286-v23e4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image sourced from Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Challenging, inspiring and funny: a handful of our economics writers share the favourite books they read this year.</p>
<p><strong>Rodney Maddock, Adjunct Professor of Economics, Monash University</strong></p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106195/original/image-20151216-25633-1xuwe1e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106195/original/image-20151216-25633-1xuwe1e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=912&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106195/original/image-20151216-25633-1xuwe1e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=912&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106195/original/image-20151216-25633-1xuwe1e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=912&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106195/original/image-20151216-25633-1xuwe1e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1146&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106195/original/image-20151216-25633-1xuwe1e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1146&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106195/original/image-20151216-25633-1xuwe1e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1146&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://couragetoactbook.com/">W.W. Norton & Company</a></span>
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<p><strong>The Courage to Act by Ben Bernanke</strong></p>
<p>Ben Bernanke’s The Courage to Act gives a wonderful insight into the problems he faced in trying to deal with the crisis, around legislative restrictions, and blame shifting amongst the various regulators.</p>
<hr>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106204/original/image-20151216-25624-1h2cnjn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106204/original/image-20151216-25624-1h2cnjn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106204/original/image-20151216-25624-1h2cnjn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106204/original/image-20151216-25624-1h2cnjn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106204/original/image-20151216-25624-1h2cnjn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106204/original/image-20151216-25624-1h2cnjn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106204/original/image-20151216-25624-1h2cnjn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/316786/doing-good-better-by-william-macaskill/9781592409105/">Penguin Random House</a></span>
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<p><strong>Doing Good Better by William MacAskill</strong></p>
<p>William MacAskill’s Doing Good Better is a great read about the problems with international charities and on ways in which we can do better in providing assistance.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106208/original/image-20151216-25633-mgakug.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106208/original/image-20151216-25633-mgakug.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=919&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106208/original/image-20151216-25633-mgakug.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=919&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106208/original/image-20151216-25633-mgakug.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=919&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106208/original/image-20151216-25633-mgakug.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106208/original/image-20151216-25633-mgakug.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106208/original/image-20151216-25633-mgakug.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/251269/the-heart-goes-last-by-margaret-atwood/9780385540353/">Penguin Random House</a></span>
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<p><strong>The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood</strong></p>
<p>Margaret Atwood’s The Heart Goes Last was my best novel of the year: she is simply a wonderful writer and this one extrapolates ideas about how a prison might be run for profit, posing a possible end state of privatisation.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106210/original/image-20151216-25610-wtva47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106210/original/image-20151216-25610-wtva47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=920&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106210/original/image-20151216-25610-wtva47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=920&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106210/original/image-20151216-25610-wtva47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=920&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106210/original/image-20151216-25610-wtva47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1156&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106210/original/image-20151216-25610-wtva47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1156&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106210/original/image-20151216-25610-wtva47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1156&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.echopublishing.com.au/titles/resurrection-bay/">Echo Publishing</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Resurrection Bay by Emma Viskic</strong></p>
<p>Emma Viskic’s Resurrection Bay is the perfect holiday detective story set; perfect for aeroplanes or the beach.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Janine Dixon, Senior Research Fellow, Victoria University</strong></p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106391/original/image-20151216-11308-12gjtq6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106391/original/image-20151216-11308-12gjtq6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106391/original/image-20151216-11308-12gjtq6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106391/original/image-20151216-11308-12gjtq6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106391/original/image-20151216-11308-12gjtq6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1056&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106391/original/image-20151216-11308-12gjtq6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1056&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106391/original/image-20151216-11308-12gjtq6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1056&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.creatingcities.net/">Niche Press</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Creating Cities by Marcus Westbury</strong></p>
<p>Marcus Westbury, founder of Renew Newcastle, identified a problem and set about trying to fix it. An economist would hardly credit the idea that the main street in the CBD of a major Australian town could lie mostly empty, while at the same time property owners were declining genuine offers of business. Without being an economics textbook, Creating Cities gives us insight into the market incentives that lead to this sub-optimal allocation of resources. The book takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the process of renewal of an urban centre. Westbury describes the failure of large, centrally-led projects (think monorail) to revive Newcastle, and the surprising success of individuals and small enterprises in breathing life into the once empty shopfronts.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106392/original/image-20151216-30063-9yfxjb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106392/original/image-20151216-30063-9yfxjb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106392/original/image-20151216-30063-9yfxjb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106392/original/image-20151216-30063-9yfxjb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106392/original/image-20151216-30063-9yfxjb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1160&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106392/original/image-20151216-30063-9yfxjb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1160&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106392/original/image-20151216-30063-9yfxjb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1160&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.mup.com.au/items/154135">Melbourne University Publishing</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>City Limits by Jane-Frances Kelly and Paul Donegan</strong></p>
<p>“A higher proportion of Australians live in cities than almost any other country, and most of our national wealth is generated in them.” There is no question that well-functioning cities are a great enabler of economic activity and provide residents with a high standard of living. However, in cities a diverse range of individuals and agencies operate and respond to incentives which are not always in the interests of the greater good. This book gives detailed and informative descriptions of the state of many Australian cities, and explores the many challenges faced by city planners, residents and businesses alike.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106393/original/image-20151216-30088-17q4m2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106393/original/image-20151216-30088-17q4m2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=927&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106393/original/image-20151216-30088-17q4m2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=927&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106393/original/image-20151216-30088-17q4m2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=927&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106393/original/image-20151216-30088-17q4m2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1165&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106393/original/image-20151216-30088-17q4m2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1165&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106393/original/image-20151216-30088-17q4m2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1165&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/academic-professional/economics/The-Economics-of-Just-About-Everything-Andrew-Leigh-9781743314715">Allen & Unwin</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>The Economics of Just About Everything by Andrew Leigh</strong></p>
<p>I’ve been lucky enough to hear Andrew Leigh speak on a couple of occasions and he tells a great yarn. His message is clear – economics is about incentives – and he illustrates his point over and over with interesting data and stories to go with it. He dispels the myth that economists are only interested in money. I’ve got this one for my 14-year-old nephew for Christmas this year.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Stephen King, Professor, Department of Economics, Monash University</strong></p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106211/original/image-20151216-25624-18ipu8a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106211/original/image-20151216-25624-18ipu8a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=940&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106211/original/image-20151216-25624-18ipu8a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=940&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106211/original/image-20151216-25624-18ipu8a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=940&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106211/original/image-20151216-25624-18ipu8a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1181&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106211/original/image-20151216-25624-18ipu8a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1181&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106211/original/image-20151216-25624-18ipu8a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1181&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.federationpress.com.au/bookstore/book.asp?isbn=9781862879690">Federation Press</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>From Protection to Competition by Kerrie Round and Martin Shanahan</strong></p>
<p>I reviewed this book for an international competition law journal earlier this year. It is a great little book that provides a history of Australia’s attitudes to competition and our competition laws from 1788 to 1974 (the end date is when our current competition laws were introduced). It is a comprehensive work of economic history and also a great “story”. It is easy to forget that for most of Australia’s history businesses happily and legally formed cartels to prevent “undesirable” competition and to harm consumers. It is also interesting to see government responses (e.g. having government owned businesses to try and increase competition - they usually failed). It is a gem that I referenced in my <a href="https://theconversation.com/confusion-reigns-in-options-for-australias-misuse-of-market-power-laws-52195">most recent article</a> on The Conversation.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Deborah Ralston, Professor of Finance, Monash University</strong></p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106427/original/image-20151217-32618-1wfuq32.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106427/original/image-20151217-32618-1wfuq32.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=917&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106427/original/image-20151217-32618-1wfuq32.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=917&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106427/original/image-20151217-32618-1wfuq32.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=917&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106427/original/image-20151217-32618-1wfuq32.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1153&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106427/original/image-20151217-32618-1wfuq32.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1153&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106427/original/image-20151217-32618-1wfuq32.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1153&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.mup.com.au/items/160808">Melbourne University Publishing</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Advanced Australia by Mark Butler</strong></p>
<p>Much of my research over recent years has been on post-retirement and I think this book is a really accessible discussion of the issues involved. Although a sitting member, Butler seems to take a pretty balanced view of how the ageing population is impacting on the economy. His track record as Minister for Mental Health and Aged Care through a period of considerable reform to aged care gives him a fairly authoritative point of view. I really enjoyed his <a href="http://markbutler.alp.org.au/news/2015/11/18/eoe-transcript-national-press-club-address">speech</a> on this topic to the National Press Club recently.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Ross Guest, Professor of Economics, Griffith University</strong></p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106219/original/image-20151216-25606-7gdrj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106219/original/image-20151216-25606-7gdrj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106219/original/image-20151216-25606-7gdrj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106219/original/image-20151216-25606-7gdrj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106219/original/image-20151216-25606-7gdrj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1056&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106219/original/image-20151216-25606-7gdrj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1056&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106219/original/image-20151216-25606-7gdrj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1056&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://cengage.com.au/product/title/real-world-economic-policy-insights-from-lead/isbn/9780170364386">Cengage Learning</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Real-world Economic Policy by Jan Libich</strong></p>
<p>This is the best book for me this year. Succinct contributions on a range of topical themes from economists from various fields and persuasions.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW Australia</strong></p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106377/original/image-20151216-30063-n1c5ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106377/original/image-20151216-30063-n1c5ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106377/original/image-20151216-30063-n1c5ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106377/original/image-20151216-30063-n1c5ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106377/original/image-20151216-30063-n1c5ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106377/original/image-20151216-30063-n1c5ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106377/original/image-20151216-30063-n1c5ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://zerotoonebook.com/about/">Crown Business</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Zero to One by Peter Thiel</strong></p>
<p>Paypal founder and noted venture capitalist Peter Thiel discusses how monopoly is essential for innovation, not the terrible thing economists have always told you.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106378/original/image-20151216-30079-1rlf2ts.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106378/original/image-20151216-30079-1rlf2ts.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106378/original/image-20151216-30079-1rlf2ts.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106378/original/image-20151216-30079-1rlf2ts.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106378/original/image-20151216-30079-1rlf2ts.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1124&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106378/original/image-20151216-30079-1rlf2ts.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1124&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106378/original/image-20151216-30079-1rlf2ts.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1124&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/112696/destiny-and-power-by-jon-meacham/9781400067657/">Penguin Random House</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Destiny and Power by Jon Meacham</strong></p>
<p>Biography of George Herbert Walker Bush (aka Bush 41).</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106380/original/image-20151216-30098-6vy26b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106380/original/image-20151216-30098-6vy26b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=917&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106380/original/image-20151216-30098-6vy26b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=917&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106380/original/image-20151216-30098-6vy26b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=917&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106380/original/image-20151216-30098-6vy26b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1152&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106380/original/image-20151216-30098-6vy26b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1152&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106380/original/image-20151216-30098-6vy26b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1152&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://books.simonandschuster.com/Crippled-America/Donald-J-Trump/9781501137969">Simon & Schuster</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Crippled America by Donald Trump</strong></p>
<p>Just because…</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106381/original/image-20151216-30092-vg9oxd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106381/original/image-20151216-30092-vg9oxd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106381/original/image-20151216-30092-vg9oxd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106381/original/image-20151216-30092-vg9oxd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106381/original/image-20151216-30092-vg9oxd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106381/original/image-20151216-30092-vg9oxd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106381/original/image-20151216-30092-vg9oxd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/313479/americas-bank-by-roger-lowenstein/9781594205491/">Penguin Random House</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>America’s Bank by Roger Lowenstein</strong></p>
<p>How challenging it was to create the US Federal Reserve system.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Catherine de Fontenay, Associate Professor, Melbourne Business School</strong></p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106395/original/image-20151217-30092-zsq9uy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106395/original/image-20151217-30092-zsq9uy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=913&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106395/original/image-20151217-30092-zsq9uy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=913&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106395/original/image-20151217-30092-zsq9uy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=913&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106395/original/image-20151217-30092-zsq9uy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1148&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106395/original/image-20151217-30092-zsq9uy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1148&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106395/original/image-20151217-30092-zsq9uy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1148&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.pooreconomics.com/about-book">PublicAffairs</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Poor Economics by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo</strong></p>
<p>In the last decade, development economics has undergone a revolution, led primarily by Esther Duflo, an intense young Frenchwoman who is a professor at MIT. The new approach emphasises using randomised control trials (similarly to medicine) to test the efficacy of different policies, and to build a more accurate picture of the economic challenges of the bottom billion (the poorest billion people on earth). The insights garnered are simply amazing, and will lead to changes in policy that will have a profound effect on the condition of the poor for many decades.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Tim Harcourt, J.W. Nevile Fellow in Economics, UNSW Australia</strong></p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106581/original/image-20151217-8068-m5wkjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106581/original/image-20151217-8068-m5wkjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106581/original/image-20151217-8068-m5wkjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106581/original/image-20151217-8068-m5wkjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106581/original/image-20151217-8068-m5wkjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106581/original/image-20151217-8068-m5wkjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106581/original/image-20151217-8068-m5wkjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9897.html">Princeton University Press</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Why Australia Prospered by Ian McLean</strong></p>
<p>Ian McLean turns economic history conventional wisdom on its head in this thought provoking book.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106582/original/image-20151217-22191-1swhupv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106582/original/image-20151217-22191-1swhupv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=949&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106582/original/image-20151217-22191-1swhupv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=949&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106582/original/image-20151217-22191-1swhupv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=949&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106582/original/image-20151217-22191-1swhupv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1193&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106582/original/image-20151217-22191-1swhupv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1193&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106582/original/image-20151217-22191-1swhupv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1193&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://whynationsfail.com/">Crown Publishing Group</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson</strong></p>
<p>Why did the USA succeed while Mexico struggled? Same with Argentina or Australia or Botswana and Sierra Leone? The role of institutions matters. A country needs well defined property rights and democratic rights to succeed.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106583/original/image-20151217-8086-1eijm4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106583/original/image-20151217-8086-1eijm4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=939&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106583/original/image-20151217-8086-1eijm4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=939&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106583/original/image-20151217-8086-1eijm4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=939&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106583/original/image-20151217-8086-1eijm4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1180&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106583/original/image-20151217-8086-1eijm4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1180&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106583/original/image-20151217-8086-1eijm4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1180&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://books.simonandschuster.com/Korea-The-Impossible-Country/Daniel-Tudor/9780804842525">Simon & Schuster</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Korea: The Impossible Country by Daniel Tudor</strong></p>
<p>How South Korea went from one of the world’s poorer nations to an OECD nation in five decades.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106584/original/image-20151217-26812-1bf1izn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106584/original/image-20151217-26812-1bf1izn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106584/original/image-20151217-26812-1bf1izn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106584/original/image-20151217-26812-1bf1izn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106584/original/image-20151217-26812-1bf1izn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106584/original/image-20151217-26812-1bf1izn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106584/original/image-20151217-26812-1bf1izn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.penguin.com.au/products/9781743482995/australias-second-chance">Penguin Books Australia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Australia’s Second Chance by George Megalogenis</strong></p>
<p>Even better than his first book. Megalogenis looks at the role of immigration in Australian economic development.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106585/original/image-20151217-26812-1fglwur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106585/original/image-20151217-26812-1fglwur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106585/original/image-20151217-26812-1fglwur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106585/original/image-20151217-26812-1fglwur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106585/original/image-20151217-26812-1fglwur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1138&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106585/original/image-20151217-26812-1fglwur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1138&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106585/original/image-20151217-26812-1fglwur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1138&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.penguin.com.au/products/9781760141035/story-australia-s-people-volume-1-rise-and-fall-ancient-australia">Penguin Books Australia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>The Story of Australia’s People by Geoffrey Blainey</strong></p>
<p>Australia is 50,000 years old, not 230, and Geoffrey Blainey tells us why. Amazing stories of indigenous history and innovation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52435/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Challenging, inspiring and funny: a handful of our economics writers share the favourite books they read this year.Helen Westerman, Business + Economy EditorCharis Palmer, Deputy Editor/Chief of StaffLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/510532015-12-15T04:08:57Z2015-12-15T04:08:57ZTop minds suggest good reads: from espionage to doomed love and race<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105739/original/image-20151214-9523-1ek5y91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1871%2C5000%2C3128&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What better way to spend your year-end holiday than absorbed in a good book or ten?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Running a university doesn’t leave a lot of time for recreational reading. But with the academic year wrapping up across the continent, Africa’s vice-chancellors finally have the chance to read for pleasure. Natasha Joseph, education editor of The Conversation Africa, asked three vice chancellors what’s on their holiday reading lists.</em></p>
<p><strong>Jonathan Jansen, University of the Free State</strong></p>
<ol>
<li><p><a href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/86914/negroland-by-margo-jefferson/9780307378453/">Negroland</a> (Margo Jefferson): I am fascinated by how middle-class black students negotiate their identities, politics and futures at the intersecting and entangled lives of poor black and middle-class white students in divided communities and countries. This also forms part of the research for my upcoming book – Race, Romance and Reprisal on university campuses.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/19/us/ta-nehisi-coates-wins-national-book-award.html?_r=0">Between the World and Me</a> (Ta-Nehisi Coates): Something is happening in the land where my children were born. It intrigues and scares me at the same time. The book is about the lives and experiences of black men in particular in white America, what this means and how – or whether – it can be resolved. There are also many parallels to South Africa. In November 2015 Coates won the National Book Award for non-fiction in the US.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.cambridge.org/au/academic/subjects/history/african-history/national-liberation-postcolonial-southern-africa-historical-ethnography-swapos-exile-camps?format=HB">National Liberation in Postcolonial Southern Africa</a> (Christian Williams): This brilliant young anthropologist at the University of the Free State writes in a vivid, moving way about the South West Africa People’s Organisation’s exile camps. This brings what could have been a boring academic book to life for a much broader audience of readers.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://panmacmillan.bookslive.co.za/blog/2015/10/30/what-if-there-were-no-whites-in-south-africa-the-new-book-by-ferial-haffajee/">What If There Were No Whites In South Africa?</a> (Ferial Haffejee): I am hoping this is a more insightful reflection than the typical anti-white, pseudo-leftist rant that should not be occupying bookshelves in South Africa or anywhere else for that matter.</p></li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Dennis Hardy, University of Seychelles</strong></p>
<p>The prospect of time to read for pleasure is a highlight of the year. To make sure that I have a good stock of books in hand, for many months before the seasonal break I keep an eye on reviews and recommendations from family and friends. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>High on my list this year is a novel that my wife tells me is a “must read” – <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/feb/05/jamrachs-menagerie-carol-birch-review">Jamrach’s Menagerie</a> (Carol Birch). I live on an island, so the ocean setting – and the theme of human resilience pitted against the might of the sea – will have special meaning.</p></li>
<li><p>Another book I missed first time round is <a href="http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/in-the-land-of-oz-9781608198955/">In the Land of Oz</a> (Howard Jacobson). A few years ago my wife and I travelled round much of Australia in a campervan and this will help me relive the experience of horizons that go on for ever and red sand getting into everything.</p></li>
<li><p>Still in the Antipodes, I’ve also got a real door-stopper of a book, <a href="http://themanbookerprize.com/books/luminaries">The Luminaries</a> (Eleanor Catton). It won the Booker Prize in 2013 when it was published. People tell me it’s quite a long haul but worth the effort. Set in a gold mining community in New Zealand in the 19th century it is, by all accounts, finely researched and imaginative in scope.</p></li>
<li><p>As an aficionado of espionage books, I’m intrigued by The Secret War (Max Hastings). It’s received <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/04/secret-war-spied-codes-guerrillas-max-hastings-entertaining">excellent reviews</a> and sees Hastings leading the reader through the shadowy world of plot and counter-plot. Sounds a bit like academia!</p></li>
<li><p>Finally, there’s always the joker in the pack – a book received as a present that I would not otherwise have thought of. You take your chances, but it could be the best thing ever. </p></li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Wim de Villiers, Stellenbosch University</strong></p>
<ol>
<li><p><a href="http://www.litnet.co.za/flame-in-the-snow-the-love-letters-of-andre-brink-and-ingrid-jonker/">Flame in the Snow: The Love Letters of André Brink & Ingrid Jonker</a>. Translated by Karin Schimke and Leon de Kock; edited by Francis Galloway. The doomed love story of these two Afrikaans poets and writers has fascinated many South Africans. I guess I am a romantic at heart and this is why I want to read the letters which have captured the imagination of academics and non-academics alike. </p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/13/the-fishermen-chigozie-obioma-review">The Fishermen</a> (Chigozie Obioma). Being a South African, I am interested in literature from everywhere on our continent. Obioma’s book was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2015 and should be interesting. Nigeria has produced such great writers as Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Ben Okri and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. </p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Waterloo-History-Three-Armies-Battles/dp/0062312057">Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles</a> (Bernard Cornwell). The Battle of Waterloo took place <a href="http://www.history.com/topics/british-history/battle-of-waterloo">200 years ago</a>, yet the events that ended Napoleon’s military career remain intriguing. Cornwell’s account is bound to provide keen insights into this important moment in history. </p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.humanrousseau.com/Books/10698">Die sneeuslaper</a> (Marlene van Niekerk). This book, a collection of four stories, was published in 2010 but I have not read it yet. I am looking forward to this work by Van Niekerk, who was shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize in 2015 in recognition of her oeuvre, which includes the acclaimed <a href="http://www.postcolonialweb.org/sa/viljoen/8.html">Triomf</a> and <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7105495-agaat">Agaat</a>. </p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Networks-Outrage-Hope-Movements-Internet/dp/0745662854">Networks of Outrage and Hope: Social Movements in the Internet Age</a> (Manuel Castells). The <a href="https://theconversation.com/africa/topics/feesmustfall">protests</a> on South African campuses in 2015 should be seen in broader context. This work by Castells, one of the most <a href="http://www.africancentreforcities.net/people/manuel-castells/">highly cited</a> communication scholars in the world, provides useful background. He analyses the wave of social movements across the globe the past few years and looks at the role of information and communication technology advances in making it easier for people to organise themselves and press for change. It was published in 2012, but remains relevant.</p></li>
</ol><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51053/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
There isn’t a lot of time for recreational reading when you’re running a university. But when year-end holidays roll around, Africa’s vice chancellors can finally read for pleasure.Natasha Joseph, Commissioning EditorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/450762015-08-21T10:06:40Z2015-08-21T10:06:40ZA book for any occasion – the perfect holiday mini library<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92260/original/image-20150818-12421-1gx7fyl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Fernando Jose V. Soares/Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Hell is not, as Sartre suggested, other people – it’s a holiday without books. Holidays, with their promise of carefree pleasure seeking, might seem like the most materialistic of activities. Yet the name has sacred roots: the holy day suggests a time set apart from the ordinary flow of life. </p>
<p>I can tolerate zigzag queues and disappointing hotel rooms but a lack of literature would ruin my trip. For some of us there is no greater pleasure, or more sacred thing, than the imaginative travel afforded by a good book. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92262/original/image-20150818-12414-mmxgxx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92262/original/image-20150818-12414-mmxgxx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92262/original/image-20150818-12414-mmxgxx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=887&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92262/original/image-20150818-12414-mmxgxx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=887&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92262/original/image-20150818-12414-mmxgxx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=887&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92262/original/image-20150818-12414-mmxgxx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1115&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92262/original/image-20150818-12414-mmxgxx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1115&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92262/original/image-20150818-12414-mmxgxx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1115&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Holiday reading fan.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The great philosopher Blaise Pascal believed that human misfortune was the result of other people’s inability “<a href="http://blog.talkingphilosophy.com/?p=323">to sit quietly in one’s room</a>”. I’m not sure where Pascal liked to spend his summer break – Disneyland Paris hadn’t opened its gates in the 1600s – but if forced to leave the tranquillity of his room for adventure and the promise of ice cream, it’s probable that he would have filled his suitcase with literature as well as factor 50. And, if he were to ask for a few suggestions, I might recommend this mini-library of my all-time holiday reading favourites. Take note, if you want a real break on your travels.</p>
<h2>First chapter</h2>
<p>Clive James’s absurdly funny and sad <a href="http://www.lrb.co.uk/v02/n10/karl-miller/the-whole-secret-of-clive-james">Unreliable Memoirs</a> (1980) is the first book that I remember reading on a beach. I was 16 and should have been focusing on other things, like the exhilarating surf and real human beings, but this “novel disguised as an autobiography” snagged me and encouraged a lifelong belief that words placed in the right order are a kind of magic. </p>
<p>James’s rites of passage tales of suburban Sydney in the 1940s and 1950s are intense in their specificity, evoking a distant world and way of life. But his askew take on the ritual humiliations and surprising freedoms of childhood are so resonant that they might connect with anybody who remembers what it is to be young, awkward and excessively bookish. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92263/original/image-20150818-12418-bx965l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92263/original/image-20150818-12418-bx965l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92263/original/image-20150818-12418-bx965l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92263/original/image-20150818-12418-bx965l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92263/original/image-20150818-12418-bx965l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92263/original/image-20150818-12418-bx965l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92263/original/image-20150818-12418-bx965l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In another world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Soloviova Liudmyla/Shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The family saga</h2>
<p>This evocation of the idiosyncrasies of family life anticipates the fiction of James’ fellow Australian, Tim Winton. I especially recommend <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/jun/28/saturdayreviewsfeatres.guardianreview9">Cloudstreet</a> (1991), now widely regarded as a classic of world literature, which follows the fortunes of two families who are compelled by separate losses to share a house for two decades. </p>
<p>Winton writes with a distinctive lyricism about Western Australia but this is also a compelling family saga of the pious, industrious Lambs and their worldly, fortune-seeking peers, the Pickles. There are few better writers of landscape and this is a visceral narrative full of elemental detail, salty humour and raw feeling.</p>
<h2>The page turner</h2>
<p>Ben Aaronovitch’s <a href="http://londonist.com/2011/01/book-review-rivers-of-london-by-ben-aaronovitch">Rivers of London</a> (2011) is likely to prompt less refined reader responses: fear, laughter and the need-to-know-what-happens-next are the big pleasures in the first of a rather Dickensian sequence that blends police procedural with the supernatural. </p>
<p>PC Peter Grant, a rare fictional detective who seems to be perfectly sociable, becomes a kind of wizard’s apprentice in the Met and investigates crimes that leave his peers clueless. The genre term “urban fantasy” may discourage but this is witty, smart contemporary fable that represents a mischievous rewriting of the rules of classic detective fiction. </p>
<h2>The tome</h2>
<p>A long break might create space to grapple with one of the big books of our time: Donna Tartt’s ambitious <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/17/goldfinch-donna-tartt-review">The Goldfinch</a> (2013), which blends art, obsession and the search for home, is perhaps the closest thing to the experience of reading a 19th-century triple-decker published in recent years; it is rich with character, incident, plot twist and, yes, many pages. I found it utterly absorbing and the fact that it isn’t brief is part of the pleasure.</p>
<h2>When homesick</h2>
<p>Holidays might encourage escape from everyday life but they’re also a good opportunity to reflect on our understanding of home and belonging. Marilynne Robinson’s <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/apr/16/fiction.alismith">Gilead</a> (2004), is a kind of hymn to the joys of not travelling: John Ames, a minister facing up to mortality, reflects on the ordinary mysteries of life in the titular mid-Western town in a series of letters to his young son.</p>
<p>Robinson, in common with otherwise very different novelists such as John Irving and Stephen King, is brilliant at world building. We might have little in common with a Calvinist minister living in 1950s Iowa but Robinson opens up his particular world in a way that encourages both thought and emotional connection. Gilead offers an alternative take on the velocity (and restlessness) of contemporary Western life.</p>
<p>In her brilliant poem, <a href="http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/questions-of-travel/">Questions of Travel</a> (1956), partly inspired by Pascal’s defence of staying put, Elizabeth Bishop asks: “Should we have stayed at home, wherever that may be?” If you are similarly sceptical about tourism, I recommend this pile of books and the out-of-office reply as an alternative trek into new lands.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/45076/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Tate does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Hell is not, as Sartre suggested, other people – it’s a holiday without books. So if you want a real break on your travels, take note.Andrew Tate, Reader in English, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/446312015-07-24T05:22:55Z2015-07-24T05:22:55ZSummer reading: the ultimate competitive sport of the middle class<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88861/original/image-20150717-21066-azf7ge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Poolside pretention. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPSTOCK/Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s the summer holidays – finally we have the chance to relax on the sun lounger and escape into a good book. This is the one time of the year when we can read at our leisure, undisturbed by colleagues and urgent deadlines, enjoying a nice glass of something chilled. </p>
<p>Except that life is never really quite that simple, particularly for the time-poor, information-sated bourgeois professional on a break. July and August may offer a brief respite from the cut and thrust of working life, but questions will be asked when you return to the daily grind – just what did you read during your stay in Tuscany/Suffolk/the Dordogne? Are you au fait with the Bailey’s shortlist? Have you grappled with Knausgaard? And where are you at with economics, psychology and popular science? There may be a respite from work-related reading, but not from the demands of dinner parties yet to come.</p>
<p>So how should we make our choice? Attempting this can mean a substantial investment of time in itself. Scrolling through the culture sections of the quality news sites is daunting – the great and the good are all at it, reading away, brains whirring as their bodies soak up the heat. The political biographers are absorbing the sexy new political biographies, the historians are perusing historical tomes bursting with on-trend opinions, while the TV chefs are gobbling up sumptuous recipe books. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88870/original/image-20150717-21047-ocwxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88870/original/image-20150717-21047-ocwxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88870/original/image-20150717-21047-ocwxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88870/original/image-20150717-21047-ocwxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88870/original/image-20150717-21047-ocwxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88870/original/image-20150717-21047-ocwxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88870/original/image-20150717-21047-ocwxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Where to start …</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/71267357@N06/15610338712/in/photolist-pMr4QU-fioFG3-49QZSE-6t3reX-51D2wG-XXKFK-9irYP3-JEe3J-6wRA6L-nMfqWv-9upGH5-4qZ3EK-4q97B5-4q7VXG-4q3Urk-aNv9B-9is1sA-6BW9qM-NwdD1-5jfd1T-vwLQyz-8vBVYM-w8427B-89NBaJ-daYdMZ-vZ423d-4UEpCV-c3KWqQ-6jXKew-P3wxn-6BizrL-6bFvrH-u2iZ8C-6rhwtS-5CVwUG-53XCkv-ie3kqD-29bhf8-u2iZNf-5eXwEr-87baCW-9irZ5C-6rdn6p-7xMoXo-sbCT7M-9irZ1N-877YiR-6tNf2d-5b495D-8m3pZS">Transformer18/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Everyone is delighted by the work of their rivals, everyone is excited by the prospect of turning to the first page. No one seems to be thinking: oh God, not another one. Apparently no one is going into bookshops and having a funny turn. (Nick Hornby is an exception to the rule. In his nonfiction book <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/nov/30/stuff-ive-been-reading-hornby-review">Stuff I’ve Been Reading</a> he confesses to feeling depressed by the prodigious output of his brother-in-law.) </p>
<p>Indeed, assembling your summer book pile can feel like a mission to self-improve: along with the <a href="https://theconversation.com/thank-you-bikini-terrorists-for-moving-us-on-from-throwback-diet-ads-now-eachbodysready-40973">beach-ready body</a> comes the book-ready brain. In the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/12/best-holiday-reads-2015-observer-summer-holiday">Observer</a> alone, 54 writers and cultural commentators from Jeremy Paxman to Shami Chakrabarti share their holiday reading plans – more than 150 titles appear on their collective wish-list. The Italian writer Elena Ferrante is the most frequently cited contemporary author, while several of the busy pundits are determined to tackle the magisterial works of Tolstoy and Flaubert.</p>
<p>But the pressure to become acquainted with the latest must-read volume or to take on a cultural monolith like Anna Karenina can itself be counterproductive. We are awash with words, in danger of being swept away by a tsunami of information, both digital and in paper form. According to the International Publishers Association UK, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/22/uk-publishes-more-books-per-capita-million-report">more than 184,000</a> new books were published in 2013, and more books are published per hour, per inhabitant, than in any country in the world. It’s increasingly difficult to maintain focus on the books that really interest us, and to give them the attention they deserve.</p>
<p>In that sense Helen Dunmore’s recommendation – the classic Ladybird book <a href="http://www.ladybird-books.com/articles/what_to_look_for.php">What to Look For in Summer</a> – is more appealing than some of the more rigorous choices. The invitation to look around and appreciate the sights and smells of summer is enticing. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88868/original/image-20150717-21027-1jij3ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88868/original/image-20150717-21027-1jij3ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88868/original/image-20150717-21027-1jij3ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88868/original/image-20150717-21027-1jij3ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88868/original/image-20150717-21027-1jij3ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88868/original/image-20150717-21027-1jij3ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88868/original/image-20150717-21027-1jij3ty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Escapist bliss.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Romiana Lee/Shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But surely one of the great pleasures of holiday reading is the escapist one of entering a different world? There’s much to be gained from reading what we love, and letting go of the compulsion to read the latest prize-winning or media-friendly book. Some of the happiest days of my childhood were spent reading E Nesbitt’s magical stories in my grandmother’s garden, sitting under a sunshade eating peppermint creams. There was no sense that such books were “good for me”. They offered sheer enjoyment.</p>
<p>We can rediscover such pleasures as adults. On one Lake District holiday with my partner, we both tussled over our sole copy of Donna Tartt’s <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/18/donna-tartt-secret-history-modern-classic">The Secret History</a>, pushing our relationship to the limits. (He, having brought the book with him, felt that he had priority access to it, I begged to differ.) Both of us took it in turns to stay up all night to finish it, collapsing exhausted as the sun rose. </p>
<p>Although the denouement has its anticlimactic element, as such denouements often do, the obsessive desire to unravel the novel’s secret has stayed with me vividly, as has the glossily queasy atmosphere that Tartt evokes. Of course, I would have enjoyed the novel had I read it in snatched moments over several weeks, but I wouldn’t have been able to lose myself in the story so completely. Engaging with the imagination of another person with such single-minded passion can sustain you for a lifetime.</p>
<p>Here’s to summer reading that really is a holiday – from our incessant desire to compete.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44631/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sally O'Reilly does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s summer, which means that the inevitable annual scrum to read the newest and hottest book on the block has begun. How exhausting.Sally O'Reilly, Lecturer in Creative Writing, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/343612014-12-29T21:28:09Z2014-12-29T21:28:09ZPreventing your kids’ summer reading slide<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65047/original/image-20141120-29241-1yybwa2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Kids usually find more interesting things to do on summer break than read books...but this can interrupt their progress in reading.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/downloading_tips.mhtml?code=&id=134945261&size=medium&image_format=jpg&method=download&super_url=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTQxNjQ3MjM0MywiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfMTM0OTQ1">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the warmer weather settles in we know that it isn’t long before children are free of the restraints of school for another year. The regular reading that is a part of many children’s school day suddenly comes to an end as there are far more interesting things to do on vacation than read a book, right?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02702711.2010.505165#.VGriGdYZekQ">Research</a> though has shown that when kids put down the books for their summer break, often their reading ability drops with it. The term “slide” refers to children dropping in their reading ability following a lack of reading over the summer break. Teachers frequently report that students return to school in January with a lower reading level and interest in books, than when they left in December. </p>
<p>While research predominately focuses upon the long mid year summer vacations of the <a href="https://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/publ/research/publ/researcharticle_the_summer_achievement_gap.pdf">northern hemisphere</a>, there is still an emerging trend within Australian schools, albeit over a shorter break. Achievement gaps are often identified in lower <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socioeconomic_status">socio-economic</a> communities due to <a href="http://ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pbh&AN=24958565">lack of available resources</a> and books within the home. Some children simply don’t have access to books once the school library closes for the year. However, you don’t need money in order to prevent the slide for your children. </p>
<p>Here are five tips to make sure your kids stay engaged with reading over the summer break.</p>
<h2>1. Make reading time fun (and quick!)</h2>
<p>It is easy and necessary to make reading together the most fun time of everyday. Read together with funny voices, try humorous books to engage the reluctant readers in your family and trust that <a href="http://www.penguin.com.au/products/9780143500889/walter-farting-dog">toilet humour</a> is often a surefire winner for most boys. You should aim for no more than ten minutes reading together – just enough to encourage the kids to come back tomorrow. Set a timer if you need to, it will encourage them to ask for a minute or two more when reading time comes to an end.</p>
<h2>2. Visit the local library and bookstores</h2>
<p>Make regular visits to the local public library and bookstores as part of your family’s routine. These trips are simple ways to drive reading passion. Many children are amazed when they discover that they can borrow sometimes up to twenty books from their local library for free (and probably will the first time). Discount department stores often sell brand new popular kids books for less than A$10, much less than a movie ticket.</p>
<h2>3. Have a ‘screen free night’ each week</h2>
<p>Make a screen free night part of your family’s regular routine (except for eReaders of course) where everyone in the family picks up something to read. Having your children see you read and talk about books adds value to this reading time. Different approaches to the screen free night may be to invest in reading lamps or book lights so that children can read in bed before sleep.</p>
<h2>4. Give books as gifts</h2>
<p>Christmas for kids means presents, and more books in the house can never go astray. Gift the next book in the series that your child is loving – the <a href="http://www.abramsbooks.com/Books/Diary_of_a_Wimpy_Kid-9781419711893.html">Diary of a Wimpy Kid</a> series by Jeff Kinney or the <a href="http://www.panmacmillan.com.au/display_title.asp?ISBN=9781742614212&Author=Griffiths,%20Andy">52nd Storey Treehouse</a> by Australia’s Andy Griffiths are great places to start. Encourage your child to lend and swap their books with friends once they have read them. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65055/original/image-20141120-29238-gkii3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65055/original/image-20141120-29238-gkii3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65055/original/image-20141120-29238-gkii3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65055/original/image-20141120-29238-gkii3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65055/original/image-20141120-29238-gkii3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65055/original/image-20141120-29238-gkii3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65055/original/image-20141120-29238-gkii3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65055/original/image-20141120-29238-gkii3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Buy kids books they like to prevent the summer reading slide.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/chr1sp/15716310461/in/photolist-pWNcy2-9stUdD-61Sp76-9hrRxn-4G8o6f-61WDdS-6trqie-4cDJpU-5Rhp3D-aTTW96-dScLFR-dKKAxu-aMqTii-eSJM17-61Sqsk-61WBLd-61Sq4X-61Spa2-61WCaf-61SpZF-61Spb4-61SppV-61WBbh-61WDjA-61WCzh-61WBfy-61WBG5-61WAWN-61SrPe-61WD6U-61WDnG-61WBk1-61SqR6-61SqQ2-61Sqdx-61SqMc-61Ssj4-61SqkT-61Spna-61Spg8-61WB6m-742f79-kqBr4r-bDTst2-61T9Mr-nchT6v-61WAYS-61SrqF-61Sr2M-61WBjd">Flickr/Chris_Parfitt</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<h2>5. Read together using supportive strategies</h2>
<p>When you are reading together with your child, it’s a great idea to give them the option of how they would like to read. Provide the opportunity for children to choose whether they would like to read aloud or silently. Check if they would like to try <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j80MHkyIIFs">paired</a> reading if they feel like they need extra support with the book.</p>
<p>When your child comes to a word that they don’t know or aren’t sure of, remember to:</p>
<p><strong>Wait:</strong> give your child a chance to figure out the word on their own</p>
<p><strong>Ask:</strong> does that make sense? Does the picture give you a clue? Could you read on for more information?</p>
<p><strong>Then skip:</strong> if the child is still stuck on the word, ask them to skip it and read on. You can always drop that word into the conversation as you turn the page. This has the added advantage of not making the child wrong!</p>
<p>Working with your child to maintain good reading habits over their summer break allows you to not only establish your family as active readers, but will give them the best possible start to the next school year.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/34361/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ryan Spencer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As the warmer weather settles in we know that it isn’t long before children are free of the restraints of school for another year. The regular reading that is a part of many children’s school day suddenly…Ryan Spencer, Clinical Teaching Specialist; Lecturer in Literacy Education, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.