It’s a fairly regular event that I click over to my local public library’s home page, log in to the catalogue and my account and reserve a book that I’ve recently discovered I must read. Often, by the time the books turn up on the reservation shelf with my name on them I’ve forgotten what prompted me to reserve them in the first place – whether it was something I heard on a podcast, or read in some article, or was recommended by a friend – but I’m rarely disappointed. I thought I’d pass on reading recommendations for two such books that turned up recently.

Sadie Jones: The Outcast

The Outcast by Sadie Jones turned up for me a couple of weeks ago, and it was a novel I devoured within a couple of busy days. Set in the 1950s, what makes this novel amazing is not the storyline itself – it’s a fairly normal story about a boy whose mother dies and who then has trouble with relationships and his direction in life – but it’s the characters and the empathy that we feel for them. I’m not going to give away too much of the plot, but you’ll understand if you read it: inevitably, the reader ends up sympathising so strongly with the boy, even when he’s behaving badly, and it ends up giving you an entirely different perspective on anti-social behaviours. It’s really an incredible book that everyone should read – but especially if you’re a novelist writing about some partially unlikeable characters, then this will teach you a lot.

Sophie Cunningham: Bird

Devoured in less than a day, Sophie Cunningham’s novel Bird (not yet available at Amazon; but her first novel Geography is) was a good-timing read for me for several reasons, but mostly because it’s told from the alternating points of view of several characters, each of whom uses the first person. You see, I’m still trying to decide what to do with my second novel, which is told from the POVs of three characters, and I’ve been torn between first and third person – it’s in third at the moment – but I really loved this first person stuff. So perhaps it’s time for a change?

Anyhow, beyond that, Bird is another great novel by an Australian writer (that’s been a big theme for me lately), although there’s nothing much Australian about this story. I’d recommend reading this book for the characters – a bunch of unique, strong ones with varied voices and a storyline that jumps around and is ultimately very satisfying.