"The Names of a Hare" Bernice Barry

What's better than Christmas?
Book club.

What's the only thing I want for Christmas?
A pile of books!

Decided on The Names of a Hare as the main book, and perhaps Crybaby by Mabel Gibson as an optional extra? And I'm happy to take on more extras if anyone fancies.

It was the ABC article on Bernice Barry's $100k award that decided it for me (thanks for sharing, Anna).
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-15/bernice-barry-the-names-of-a-hare-historical-novel-prize-winner/107257848?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other

"Cornwall, 1628. A young girl guards a dangerous secret: she can leave her body and fly. Steeped in herbal lore and forbidden spells, the girl becomes a woman, while across the land whispers of witchcraft turn deadly. When witchfinder Matthew Hopkins sets out to hunt her down, their meeting will change the course of history. In a world that fears what it cannot explain, a story shared is the most potent magic of all."

Here's a few other books I mentioned earlier that I'll be working my way through for a while from the Totally Lit Festival or other recent events and similar:

• Worlds Within Worlds - edited by Casey Mulder
• A Tale of Two Publishing Houses - Linda Martin
• Palace of Angels - Mohammed Massoud Morsi
• Old Ghosts - Rashida Murphy
• Cafe d-Afrique - Tineke Van der Eecken
• Bailey Street - Lynsey McDonnell
• Coonardoo - Katherine Susannah Pritchard (being re-released v. soon): https://uwap.uwa.edu.au/products/coonardoo?_pos=1&_sid=99ed58dc9&_ss=r