Senior School Head Librarian Greg Lindorff said Christ Church was getting behind the National Year of Reading in 2012 and he hoped parents would too. “We would love parents to read some or all of the shortlisted books and join in Australia’s biggest book group discussion and voting,” Mr Lindorff said.

The National Year of Reading committee aims to create a collection of books which, read together, describe the Australian experience. WA State Librarian Margaret Allen said: “We’re hoping that thousands of readers will take a journey around Australia through the pages of these eight books and come out of it with an even greater depth of understanding about what it means to be Australian.”

The list of eight winning titles and the start of Australia’s biggest book group for the National Year of Reading will be announced at the launch of the campaign on 14 February, 2012, at the National Library of Australia in Canberra. We’ll interested in your thoughts on the final choices.

The WA shortlist is available on the National Year of Reading website www.love2read.org.au and at the library. Voting, online at www.abc.net.au/yearofreading or at the library, closes on 6 January 2012.

The following books are available to borrow from the Senior School collection:

• Hit List by James Heath
• Territory by Judy Nunn
• The White Earth by Andrew McGahan
• The River King by Max Fatchen
• Three Dog Night by Peter Goldsworthy
• Wanting by Richard Flanagan
• Well Done, Those Men by Barry Heard (audiobook only)
• My Place by Sally Morgan
• Cloudstreet by Tim Winton (audio and print versions)
• JandaMarra by Howard Pederson & Banjo Woorunmurra
• Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey (audio and print versions)

Parents can also request hard to find books from Mr Lindorff, with the subject ‘Our Story – Parent Request’, to glindorff@ccgs.wa.edu.au.