penguin friends (Southern Hemisphere Reads)
Southern Hemisphere reads!! we will be running an unofficial SH season readalong, so follow along to help us pick a book and read it with us - Winter readalong coming soon! this is for any books written by SH authors, especially those set here, so pop your fav recs in the comments đ (i haven't read all of these! so double check content warnings if you need to)
created by skgd03
last updated June, 2026
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Looks like the results are in!! for our very first southern hemisphere unofficial season readalong (I might need a shorter name? đ) for our winter readalong we will be reading Wild Dark Shore. We'll be reading it between 1/6-31/8, hope you all join us!!!
Super keen for this!!
Looks like the results are in!! for our very first southern hemisphere unofficial season readalong (I might need a shorter name? đ) for our winter readalong we will be reading Wild Dark Shore. We'll be reading it between 1/6-31/8, hope you all join us!!!
Super keen for this!!
skgd03OP
First Nations Classics has been recommended as a great series of Australian Indigenous writing, I have added a couple from this list but check it out if you want to find more!
skgd03OP
A couple children's books:
Hairy Macleary is THE book you read as a preschooler in New Zealand
And Mophead was written by one of our recentish poet laureates who also taught me poetry for one semester đ
SHOCKED to open this list and see Hairy Macleary at the top! I always assumed it was from the UK. TheMoreYouKnow.gif
skgd03OP
Nope! hahaha Lynley Dodd is very much a NZ writer đ and honestly the best hahaha. I literally referred to some random dog by its Hairy Macleary character instead of its breed this week đ
I am ashamed to say I am an australian (can easily finish the sentence there lol) and did not know Hairy Macleary was written by an author from Aotearoa!!!! I always loved Schnitzel Von Krumm with the very low tum đ
skgd03OP
crazy hahaha, like i know its big here but i never really thought about anyone else reading tbh hahaha. and Schnitzel Von Krumm is the best! and the only way i ever refer to sausage dogs đ
Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson is a great book for murder mystery fans! Set in the winter (with snow!) in Australia đŚđş
skgd03OP
Ohhh yay! ive seen it around and it looks super interesting đ
I've read all four books in the series (the most recent just came out in March) and I definitely think the first was the best by far. It's also just such a perfect fit for a Southern Hemisphere winter read that I couldn't leave it out!
skgd03OP
Yay!! if you want to write up a little rec blurb please do so i can put it up for voting!
I'm trying to think of something super wintry set in the southern hemisphere by a sh author. Only thing i can think of right now is Seed by Bri Lee (but I've already read it and didn't like it!). There's got to be something else set in Antarctica... Oh Wild Dark Shore! I've read it but it's great so might be a readalong option
Ohh nice! Seed can go on the list, but might not be a great option if you didnt like it hahaha, but ill put wild dark shore on our voting list! antartica is reall the perfect SH winter story hahaha
skgd03OP
ALSO!! could you please write up a little rec blurb so i can put it up for voting!
On an isolated subAntartic island, that is slowly being lost to rising oceans, lives Dominic and his three children. The research base is mysteriously abandoned. A woman washes ashore in a shipwreck. They are all keeping secrets in this tense and emotional novel with a strong sense of place.
skgd03OP
Thank you!! that's perfect đ also, are there any major trigger warnings or smut or anyhting that might make this unsuitable for some readers?
skgd03OP
Please add your suggestions for this list and also for our winter readalong starting in June!
Going to jump in and suggest Lola in the Mirror since itâs a love letter to my city, Brisbane (anyone else?)! Edenglassie is also set here and would be a great readalong book.
Omg this suggestion just gave me whiplash to my childhood!
Edit: Hah! I realise I was thinking of a VERY different book đ. I'd still vote for this book as a winter read along suggestion
skgd03OP
Thank you for the suggestions! ill add them to the list, but could you write up a little rec blurb please so i can put it up for voting!
Just in a comment?
Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton follows a young âhouselessâ girl navigating danger, mystery, and magic in Brisbane. Itâs engaging, emotional, and twisty.
Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko takes place across current day Brisbane and recently colonised Brisbane. It follows First Nations people as they navigate colonisation. Itâs sad, powerful, and informative.
skgd03OP
Perfect, thank you!! do either of them have any major trigger warnings or smut or anything that might make them unsuitable for some readers? juar double checking before recommending them to everyone đ
Oh dear. Is that what you meant by blurb. Sorry.
Lola would be violence, drug use, poverty
Edenglassie would be racism, colonisation, genocide. References to sexual violence
skgd03OP
no hahahah, that was perfect! this is a second question to just make sure if it'll be a suitable readalong book haha
I'd suggest The Season as its about Australian Rules football which is typically played in the winter, however im fine with whatever goes
skgd03OP
Thanks! my suggestion list is currently,,, nothing hahaha so ill make a note of that!
skgd03OP
Thank you!! I'll add it to the list for sure and might see what other suggestions come up and maybe do a vote!
skgd03OP
Hii! if you want to write up a little rec blurb please do so i can put it up for voting!
The book is a memoir piece of Helen Garner's grandson, Ambrose, in one of his final seasons in junior AFL footy. She decides to attend his practices and follow along with his games. It's a book not only about AFL, but about Garner getting older, her grandson and his teammates moving into manhood, and the relationship between grandmother and grandson at a very pivotal time in his life. Its a very real and often quite funny book, and i was rooting for Ambrose and his team more than i rooted for my own.
Theres not much in terms of trigger warnings, there is one moment where a boy calls another a gay slur, but homophobia isnt a big part of the book outside of that moment.
skgd03OP
Thank you! that sounds like such an interesting read!
A few African books for your consideration:
- Drinking from Graveyard Wells by Yvette L. Ndlovu
- His Only Wife by Peace A. Medie
- Chaka by Thomas Mofolo
- This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga
- The Hairdresser of Harare by Tendai Huchu
- Transparent City by Ondjaki
- Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah
- Sleepwalking Land by Mia Cuoto
- The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell
- Smouldering Charcoal by Paul T. Zeleza
- The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
skgd03OP
Thank you! I'll add them all now đ
skgd03OP
It is time to vote on the book for our unofficial Southern Hemisphere winter readalong book!
Big thank you to everyone who made these recommendations and wrote up the blurbs! Appreciate you all đ
To vote I will list the names of the books in the replies and upvote whichever one you want to read, whatever book ends up with the most upvotes wins. I'll try announce the readalong book around next Friday (the 29th), and the readalong will run from the 1st of June to the 30th of August.
The book options are: Wild Dark Shore, Charlotte McConaghy: On an isolated subAntartic island, that is slowly being lost to rising oceans, lives Dominic and his three children. The research base is mysteriously abandoned. A woman washes ashore in a shipwreck. They are all keeping secrets in this tense and emotional novel with a strong sense of place. (tw â a few deaths involved, including suicide, some animal deaths, adult-minor relationship is mentioned)
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, Benjamin Stevenson: set in Australia during the winter, this is a cozy murder mystery novel (tw â death (obviously hahaha), suicide, alcohol and drugs, violence, kidnapping)
Lola in the Mirror, Trent Dalton: this novel follows a young âhouselessâ girl navigating danger, mystery, and magic in Brisbane. It is engaging, emotional and twisty. (tw â violence, drug use, poverty)
Edenglassie, Melissa Lucashenko: this book takes place across current day Brisbane and recently colonised Brisbane. It follows First Nations people as they navigate colonisation. Itâs sad, powerful, and informative. (tw â racism, colonisation, genocide, references to sexual violence)
The Season, Helen Garner: this book is a memoir piece of Helen Garnerâs grandson, Ambrose, in one of his final seasons in junior AFL footy. She decides to attend his practices and follow along with his games. It is a book not only about AFL, but about Garner getting older, her grandson and his teammates moving into manhood, and the relationship between grandmother and grandson at a very pivotal time in his life. Itâs a very real and often quite funny book, and I was rooting for Ambrose and his team more than I rooted for my own. (tw â one instance of a gay slur being used, but homophobia wasnât a big part of the book outside of that moment)
Thank you all for your votes! I look forward to reading one of these with you all!!!
skgd03OP
Lola in the Mirror
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The Season
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Wild Dark Shore
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Edenglassie
skgd03OP
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone
