Today is Australian Reading Hour day, a day where you’re encouraged to set aside just one hour to read any book you want!
Whether you decide to read alone for some much needed self-care time or you read a couple of stories to your kids, you’ll be sharing in all of the goodness that reading a book can bring (you can read more about the benefits of reading here).
In honour of this fabulous day, we asked some of the Australian Reading Hour Ambassadors a couple of questions about the event and the books that they love. Read on!
Matt Stanton
Matt Stanton
What is one of your favourite books and why do you love it so much?
MS: Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela. It’s simply the best way to get inside the mind of one of the most profound and inspirational figures in recent history – reading the words he chose to tell his own incredible story. Life changing.
What is one book that you would give to a reluctant reader to make them fall in love with reading?
MS: The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald. I re-read this book every few years because it captures the incredible power of character for me. I have an unusual difficulty recalling the plot, oddly, but the people are alive in a way that supersedes the story somehow. It’s magical.
Why is the Australian Reading Hour campaign so important to you?
MS: I believe reading is fundamental to continuing to mature and evolve as humanity but even for people who love reading, it can be hard to prioritise. Australian Reading Hour is so important because it highlights the need to make the time to read, not just expect to find it. It’s an honour to be part of spreading that message.
Mick Elliott
Mick Elliot
What is one of your favourite books and why do you love it so much?
ME: It is SO hard to narrow it down to just one! My earliest memory of reading is lying on the floor poring over the fabulour illustrations in Richard Scarry’s Busy, Busy World. We had a handful of Dr. Suess books. I must have read Wacky Wednesday hundreds of times. I absolutely adore Roald Dahl’s two-part biography, Boy and Going Solo. I read it pretty much every year as a masterclass in storytelling.
What is one book that you would give to a reluctant reader to make them fall in love with reading?
ME: We are so lucky to have so many fantastic Australian children’s authors producing incredible books across so many ages and genres. Too many to name, really!
For middle and upper primary readers, a great place to start – apart from Squidge Dibley of course! – is with the books of authors like Tim Harris, Deb Abela, Tristan Bancks and Oliver Pohmavahnn. They are all crafting funny, powerful, engaging books with relatable characters guaranteed to resonate with all readers.
Why is the Australian Reading Hour campaign so important to you?
ME: It has never been more important than it is today. Our next generation of readers is under assault from unprecedented digital distraction. I am not anti-screens (having worked as a TV producer for twenty years), but the power of reading to create empathy, present alternate perspectives and ideas, increase the vocabulary and calm the mind is unmatched by any other medium.
Benjamin Law
Benjamin Law
What is one of your favourite books and why do you love it so much?
BL: Anything by David Sedaris, Jon Ronson, Helen Garner, David Marr or Anna Krien. And quite a few of Richard Yates’ – especially Revolutionary Road.
What is one book that you would give to a reluctant reader to make them fall in love with reading?
BL: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. It’s an epic family saga across generations, languages and countries, which sounds intimidating. But you’ll find yourself so invested, you’ll be up until 3am telling yourself, “Okay, one more chapter and then it’s lights out.” One of those books where you worry about the characters when you’re not reading it.
Why is the Australian Reading Hour campaign so important to you?
BL: Because I’m a massive nerd. Reading is nourishment for your brain.
Rachael Johns
Rachael Johns
What is one of your favourite books and why do you love it so much?
RJ: SUCH a tough question because there are SO many fantastic books, but I’m going to go with Bridget Jones Diary by Helen Fielding. It’s the book that not only brought me back to reading but made me want to be a writer. It’s so easy to read with a relatable plot and well-rounded, lovable characters – the three ingredients I want most in a book.
What is one book that you would give to a reluctant reader to make them fall in love with reading?
RJ: That would depend on who the reluctant reader is. If they were a primary school aged kid, I’d give them Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney or Just Disgusting by Andy Griffiths, the latter of which had me in stitches when I read it to my sons. If they were a teenager, I’d go with Harry Potter, The Hunger Games or Mathew Reilly’s latest, The Secret Runners of New York, which my teen devoured. For adult women who haven’t found the right book yet, I reckon you can’t go past a Marian Keyes book and for men, I’d probably go with a Candice Fox or Michael Robotham – of course, as a woman, I adore these authors too and I know many men who like Marian Keyes 😉
There are so many wonderful books and I strongly agree with J.K. Rowling who said, “If you don’t like reading, you haven’t found the right book yet!”
Why is the Australian Reading Hour campaign so important to you?
RJ: I think a lot of people have lost their way regarding reading – they either no longer have time in their busy lives to read or they’ve got some misconception leftover from high school that reading is boring and often hard work, and I think this is so sad. Escaping between the pages of a good book doesn’t only bring a smile to one’s face but it’s also therapeutic. A study conducted by the University of Sussex found that reading a book lowered stress levels better than all the other activities tested (including listening to music, having a cup of tea, going for a walk and playing video games).
Australian Reading Hour is important to me because it is an opportunity to promote reading to those who don’t currently read at all and also an opportunity to remind those of us who love reading that we should make time to enjoy books without feeling guilty. I hope that by being an ambassador for this year’s reading hour, I will encourage everyone to read a little more in their busy lives.
Happy Australian Reading Hour everyone – tell us which book you’ll be reading in the comments!
Find out more about Australian Reading Hour here.
Book club discussion ideas for Australian Reading Hour 2021! 
Drop everything and read – Australian Reading Hour 2020 is here! 
Get excited for Australian Reading Hour!
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