How to find books from or set in different countries – AUSTRALIA

Discover your next great read with Whichbook.net.

Whichbook.net is a resource for finding books that are from or set in different countries. You can also look up works by their individual characteristics. You can even match moods and emotions to your unread next read. Free access, no limit, and it’s fun!

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The Light Between Oceans | M. L. Stedman

Check it out in our online card catalog!

Summary: After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby. Tom, who keeps meticulous records and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel insists the baby is a “gift from God,” and against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.

Recommendation: Whichbook provides multiple methods by which you might find a new item to read. Explore this link to play with the software yourself: https://www.whichbook.net/world-map/

Visit each country in turn to discover works you MIGHT find through the Smithton Public Library District (all those titles recommended here ARE available through our system for borrowing).

Image Credit: Aspen Card Catalog; Image Link

Theft: A Love Story | Peter Carey

Check it out in our online card catalog!

Summary: Butcher Bones was a celebrated artist until his divorce and a spell in prison. He is reduced to acting as unpaid caretaker at the house of one of his collectors in the wilds of New South Wales until femme fatale, Marlene, appears at the door. What follows is a romp through the corrupt world of modern art taking in an examination of love, provincialism and money along the way. The chief delights of this book lie in the energetic language and sibling rivalry and jealousy revealed by the two narrators. Butcher tells us his ‘damaged 220 -pound brother’ Hugh is none too smart but we soon learn he is more likely to tell us the truth.

Recommendation: Whichbook provides multiple methods by which you might find a new item to read. Explore this link to play with the software yourself: https://www.whichbook.net/world-map/

Visit each country in turn to discover works you MIGHT find through the Smithton Public Library District (all those titles recommended here ARE available through our system for borrowing).

Image Credit: Aspen Card Catalog; Image Link

The Secret River | Kate Grenville

Check it out in our online card catalog!

Summary: In 1806 William Thornhill, an illiterate English bargeman and a man of quick temper but deep compassion, steals a load of wood and, as a part of his lenient sentence, is deported, along with his beloved wife, Sal, to the New South Wales colony in what would become Australia. The Secret River is the tale of William and Sal’s deep love for their small, exotic corner of the new world, and William’s gradual realization that if he wants to make a home for his family, he must forcibly take the land from the people who came before him.

Recommendation: Whichbook provides multiple methods by which you might find a new item to read. Explore this link to play with the software yourself: https://www.whichbook.net/world-map/

Visit each country in turn to discover works you MIGHT find through the Smithton Public Library District (all those titles recommended here ARE available through our system for borrowing).

Image Credit: Aspen Card Catalog; Image Link

Carpentaria | Alexis Wright

Check it out in our online card catalog!

Summary: The story of the town of Desperance on the Queensland coast and its inhabitants: white settlers and Aborigines. A challenging and epic read which tells of the serpent which created the rivers, boats beached by typhoons and a fight at the rubbish tip. Despite dealing with racism and dispossession this book is often funny and always highly original.

Recommendation: Whichbook provides multiple methods by which you might find a new item to read. Explore this link to play with the software yourself: https://www.whichbook.net/world-map/

Visit each country in turn to discover works you MIGHT find through the Smithton Public Library District (all those titles recommended here ARE available through our system for borrowing).

Image Credit: Aspen Card Catalog; Image Link

Wanting | Richard Flanagan

Check it out in our online card catalog!

Summary: How could Charles Dickens’ failing marriage be connected to the subjugation of the Aboriginal inhabitants of Van Diemen’s Land? Read on – the link becomes clear. Dark, destructive passion. While Dickens indulges his in pursuit of a young actress, Victorian Empire builders satisfy theirs by creating a White Christian society in the Pacific. Despite its sombre theme, a compelling read, with flashes of beauty and high spirits lifting the mood.

Recommendation: Whichbook provides multiple methods by which you might find a new item to read. Explore this link to play with the software yourself: https://www.whichbook.net/world-map/

Visit each country in turn to discover works you MIGHT find through the Smithton Public Library District (all those titles recommended here ARE available through our system for borrowing).

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Smithton Public Library

The Smithton Public Library District is located in southern Illinois, near St. Louis, MO. The library serves nearly 5,000 residents. We hope you visit us soon!