NAIDOC week’s theme in 2018 is “Because of her, we can.”

It honours the strong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women of Australia. Read more on the theme here. As an immigrant to Australia, I have much to learn about this land and the long history of it’s people. In order to expand my knowledge, I took the challenge of buying (and supporting) and reading books by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.
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, by Claire G Coleman

I read this book last year when it came out, and if there is a book that I’d love to read again for the first time, it is this one. It takes an event that most Australians think they know, and mirrors it back onto everyone. Utterly brilliant, and I recommend it to everyone I meet. I turn it on shelves in bookstores, to make it more prominent. I will champion this book forever. It ought to be taught in schools, in universities, read by book clubs, and by everyone.

, by Anita Heiss

This is the closest book to a romance by an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander woman that I’ve been able to find. (Note – if you know of any, please recommend them to me at my Twitter). This is a fun chick lit style book about dating in Sydney with a HFN ending.

, Edited by Anita Heiss

The huge variety of life stories in this book make it a fascinating and absorbing read.

, by Ellen Van Neerven

Poetry. I’ve flicked through it.

, by Alexis Wright

If you love rambling literature, then this is an epic story. As a genre reader, I found it challenging and slow paced, however, I can appreciate why it won the Miles Franklin Literary Award.

, by Sally Morgan

Still to be read.

, by Jeanine Leane

Update October 2018: I loved this book. It’s an interesting tale of family and how events tie us together. Funny, poignant, clever.

, by Megan Davis & George Williams

Non-fiction. Still to be read.