Update Feb 2012: apologies to anyone who has tried to contact me recently, as I have been out of the bookcrossing world for a while. From Feb - July 2012 I will not be in Australia, so if I am listed for a bookray, please skip over me!

I'm interested in the situation in Burma, one of the most oppressed populations in the world. I have a (very limited) collection of books Burma-related, from fiction to personal accounts to human rights reports, and I'm hoping to expand in the future. All of these are in the permanent collection, however if you're interested in a particular book and ask nicely I might be persuaded to lend them out.
They are:
Three Pagodas Pass - George Fetherling
Singing to the Dead - Victoria Armour-Hileman
Burmese Days - George Orwell
Secret Histories: Finding George Orwell in a Burmese Teashop - Emma Larkin
Sex Slaves: The Trafficking of Women in Asia - Louise Brown
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Some of these are still in transit back to Australia, along with several not-yet-registered ones.


In December 2004 I had an amazing time in Jamkhed, a small town in Maharashtra, India, learning about primary health care. The leg is from there: at a cost of US$ 25 instead of $400-500! The program there was set up 30 years ago and is effective (the maternal mortaliy is basically zero), sustainable (the training is run by village health workers themselves) and community-run. Anyone interested in health care, justice or India, I'm starting a bookring with the story of how the program was set-up: Jamkhed. PM me if you're interested!

Since i stopped working in a bookshop my reading habits haven't changed, but i have to pay more for my supply! Hopefully there's other crossers nearby for me to discover... Have just cleared out a box of books (one of many) and will attempt to wild release them all - they don't necessarily reflect my overall taste!


My bookrings:
The Cost of Living (International) - now visiting the Lost Book Island
Dark Victory (Australia only) - safely home!
The Bookseller of Kabul - Asne Seierstad
Spies - Michael Frayn
Also offering Darkness, Be My Friend as part of the Aussie Tomorrow series bookring.

Currently reading:
Animal Farm
Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix
The Bridge on the River Kwai

Books read in 2006:
1. City of the Beasts - Isabelle Allende
2. Undue Influence - Anita Brookner
3. The Princess Bride - William Goldman
4. Unless - Carol Shields
5. Overheard at the Bookstore - not sure this counts as it's a gift book
6. Year of Wonders - Geraldine Brooks
7. In the beginning was the command line - Neal Stephenson
8. Portugese Irregular Verbs - Alexander McCall Smith
9. The Virgin Blue - Tracy Chevalier
10. The Bonesetter's Daughter - Amy Tan
sure there were others in here...
11. Emergency Sex (& other desperate measures) - Kenneth Cain, Heidi Postlewait & Andrew Thomson
12. The World According to Garp - John Irving
13. The Salmon of Doubt - Douglas Adams
14. The Bridge on the River Kwai
15. Sourcery - Terry Pratchett
16. The Constant Gardener - John Le Carre
& a number of half books that didn't seem to go anywhere. That kind of year, really.

Books read in 2005:
1. Cry, The Beloved Country - Alan Paton
2. Almost French - Sarah Turnbull
3. Slaying the Dragon - Michael Johnson
4. The Bookseller of Kabul - Asne Seierstad
5. A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
6. Trapped in Silence - Bradley Harris Wolf
7. Daisy Miller - Henry James
8. Eyes Wide Open - Michael Frost
9. Hello Missus - Lynne Minion
10. Three Pagodas Pass - George Fetherling
11. Singing to the Dead - Victoria Armour-Hileman
12. Mother Tongue - Bill Bryson
13. Enduring Love - Ian McEwan
14. Vernon God Little - DBC Pierre
15. Off the Rails in Phnom Penh - Amit Gilboa
16. How Stella Got Her Groove Back - Terry MacMillan
17. Five Quarters of the Orange - Joanne Harris
18. One Fourteenth of an Elephant - Ian Denys Peek
(fractional period completely unintentional!)
19. On Green Dolphin Street - Sebastian Faulks
20. The Grass is Singing - Doris Lessing
21. The Sunday Philosophy Club - Alexander McCall Smith
22. Eva Luna - Isabel Allende
23. Burmese Days - George Orwell
24. Will They Ever Trust Us Again? - Michael Moore
25. Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
26. Letters from Burma - Aung San Suu Kyi
27. Lost Battalion - Kyle Thompson
28. The Fourth Hand - John Irving
29. The Beach - Alex Garland
30. Holy Fools - Joanne Harris
32. Hanoi Stories - Pam Scott
33. Hide & Seek - Clare Sambrook
34. Shantaram - Geoffrey David Roberts
35. 44 Scotland Street - Alexander McCall Smith
36. 31 Songs - Nick Hornby
(seems to be a rather numerical year)
37. Secret Histories: Finding George Orwell in a Burmese Teashop - Emma Larkin
38. Amsterdam - Ian McEwan
39. Touching the Void - Joe Simpson
40. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
41. Hotel Pastis - Peter Mayle
42. Geisha of Gion - Mineko Iwasaki
43. Sex Slaves: The Trafficking of Women in Asia - Louise Brown
45. Keep the Apidistra Flying - George Orwell
46. Feet of Clay - Terry Pratchett
47. Woman of Independence - Kirsty Sword Gusmao
48. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

2004:
1. Across the Nightingale Floor - Lian Hearn
2. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
3. May You Be the Mother of 100 Sons - Elisabeth Bumiller
4. Are You Experienced? - William Sutcliffe
5. The Art of Travel - Alain de Botton
6. Atonement - Ian McEwan
7. Grass for his Pillow - Lian Hearn
8. Eats, Shoots & Leaves - Lynne Truss
9. Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi
10. The Life of Pi - Yann Martel
11. Tears of the Giraffe - Alexander McCall Smith
12. Eucalyptus - Murray Bail
13. Something Special - Iris Murdoch
14. Morality for Beatiful Girls - Alexander McCall Smith
15. The Kalahari Typing School for Men - Alexander McCall Smith
16. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov (which, rather scarily, was "my exact literary match" in the Book Quiz!)
17. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
18. The Cost of Living - Arundhati Roy
19. The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
20. A Room of One's Own - Virginia Woolf
21. The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman
22. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Jean-Dominique Bauby
23. Brilliance of the Moon - Lian Hearn
24. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
25. Saving Francesca - Melina Marchetta
26. The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
27. Traveling Mercies - Anne Lamott
28. Jennifer Government - Max Barry
29. Candy - Luke Davies
30. Dark Victory - David Marr & Marian Wilkinson
31. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
32. Lyra's Oxford - Philip Pullman
33. Bill Bryson's African Diary - Bill Bryson
34. Love among the Chickens - P.G. Wodehouse
35. 84 Charing Cross Road - Helene Hanff
36. While I Live - John Marsden
37. The Girl in Times Square - Paullina Simons
38. Last Orders - Graham Swift
39. The Colour of Magic (Audiobook) - Terry Pratchett
40. Neither Here Nor There - Bill Bryson
41. Dirt Music - Tim Winton
42. Brick Lane - Monica Ali
43. The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
44. The Songlines - Bruce Chatwin


Bookrings / rays / boxes I'm involved in:
Shades of Grey hosted by BlueAmazon
The Edible Woman hosted by JenKazoo
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid hosted by Sobergirl
In Cold Blood hosted by BettyBoekwurm or this one hosted by Caroley
Cakes & Ale hosted by cally-c
A if for Author game hosted by imawinn2
Thanks to those organising these!

Bookrings I've read and sent on:
Fear of Flying (hosted by augustusgloop)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (hosted by lakelady2282)
Traveling Mercies (hosted by illinicheme)
Jennifer Government (hosted by LeafOfHumanTree)
The Little Prince (hosted by bookgal23)
Candy (hosted by kirst040)
Middlesex (hosted by EDDI)
Lyra's Oxford (hosted by beatrice-s)
Bill Bryson's African Diary (hosted by Catwoman)
Love among the Chickens (hosted by gerenggat)
84 Charing Cross Road (hosted by Mistlerose)
While I Live (hosted by BrdGrl
The Booker / Orange Prizewinner Virtual Bookbag (hosted by bacardiandlime)
The Songlines (hosted by chelseagirl)
Cry, The Beloved Country (hosted by Tantan)
A Prayer for Owen Meany (hosted by leeann347)
Trapped in Silence (hosted by Loopylou127)
Australian Fiction Bookbox (hosted by felicia-fairy)
Two Days in Tehran hosted by Joanthro
The World from Islam hosted by caldron
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers hosted by tqd
Short Story bookbag hosted by bookworm76

My wish list: Click here for Cliff's nifty website!
My local hunting grounds
My wild catch rate 12 / 58 = 20.6%! Two catches in 2 days!!

If you're wondering about the name, grab a copy of The Shiralee...