Tell Me Your Secrets by Poppy Gee

My TBR pile 
(Just kidding. I took the picture in Arcadian Books and Prints, in the French Quarter of New Orleans.) 

Do you try to stay current in your reading, to keep abreast of the market, or do you read from your TBR pile at random? Do you read classic mysteries?

My reading habits reflect my mood and frame of mind. Often, I seek out books that might inspire or influence my own creative writing project. Other times I want the opportunity to study the expert plot work, complex techniques or psychological craftmanship of a crime fiction maestro. Sometimes, I crave escapism, or to be entertained.

Lately, I haven’t read much crime fiction. 

I’ve been reading a lot of work by Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian and Israeli writers. I’m trying to make sense of a world in which my government is a significant player in a weapons supply chain that is aiding a live streamed genocide in Palestine. How did we get to this point? I always thought bad things happened in the world because no one knew until it was too late. I’m sure I was naïve, maybe ignorant. Right now, I’m interested in the stories of writers, fiction and non-fiction, who offer a significant perspective of the seismic global political events we’re witnessing.

A beautiful anthology I just finished reading is called Don’t Ask The Trees For Their Names. It’s a collection of stories by nine Arab-Australian women who were displaced, or fled, from Palestine, Lebanese, Syria and Sudan. I planned to write a quick one-page review of the collection, but their stories gripped me so intensely I wrote thousands of words. I couldn’t stop myself. Writing a thoughtful response to each story took me a month - I spent about an hour or so each day working on it. These are shining, intricate stories about love and longing, family and memories, told through the unique lens of writers who have lived through the reality of war, occupation, resistance, displacement, exile and devastating loss.

Partly, I wanted to honour the effort that went into the exquisite, tender writing. But also, I wanted to share and elevate the writers' work, a small act of resistance in a world that wants to dehumanise Arab people. What does it feel like to be an Australian citizen and watch your government provide support for the ethnic cleansing of your family? How do you breathe, live, love, work, care for your children, let alone write? The answer emerges in a myriad of ways in Don’t Ask The Trees For Their Names.

I say I haven’t read much crime fiction this summer – and yet, these stories are shaped by, or stem from, a range of horrifying crimes against humanity. I can see how my writing and my reading are connected. I wrote such an extensive review of the anthology, in part to process my emotion and reaction to their powerful stories. 

I’m currently reading The Beguiled by Thomas Cullinan, as I’m working on something similar. Before that I started reading a new release suspense novel by a bestselling Aussie author which I quit halfway because it was boring. And before that I read a beautiful, moving historical fiction novel by Australian Wiradyuri author Anita Heiss, called Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray, which translates as River of Dreams.

  

In the next week, as preparation for an upcoming interview, I’m about to re-read Konrad Muller’s My Heart At Evening. Isn’t that a dreamy title? It’s a haunting historical crime novel set in Tasmania in 1832 that examines the mysterious suicide of Henry Hellyer, architect and surveyor of the Van Diemen’s Company. Following that, I’ll read Every Wild Soul by Katherine Johnson. I’m interviewing her for her book launch at Riverbend Books soon. 

I try to read widely in the crime fiction genre, and I try to support writer friends by supporting their work. I don’t usually seek out any of the top bestsellers. I often find those stories a bit boring and undercooked, often rinse-and-repeat from a tried and tested formula. I like novels that are original, intriguing, written from the heart with something important to say. Stories that feel fresh and urgent, and that whisper a secret that I desperately want to know. Stories that arouse empathy and deeper understanding. 

It’s not possible to keep completely abreast of the market as a reader - there are too many books published to do this. However, it’s important for professional writers to have a well-rounded understanding of the market, to have an opinion on who is doing-what-well, and what subgenres are particularly captivating readers. I find books by reading reviews, both by professional critics and by authors I like. If a writer friend recommends a book, I’ll usually seek it out. And a wonderful way to find a good book is to ask a bookseller what they’re reading. They always have surprises to add to the TBR pile.