Cirrus@Austlit

'Why bother to write reviews at all? Isn't it just a matter of walking into the library or bookstore or logging on to Amazon and checking out the 'People who bought this, also bought...' lists? Why do we need to read what someone thinks about a book? '

'The ethics of writing are rather like the ethics of life: hard to define, open to interpretation, and vulnerable to corruption for love, money, success or revenge. As an art form, writing affords us certain privileges. Yet the act of putting words on a page, writing stories that will enter the public domain, also brings responsibilities. There are moral, ethical, and even legal issues to consider. As the author behind a published work, we, too, enter the public arena. We become role models and spokespeople, and, consciously and unconsciously, construct a public persona.'

confess to being a fan of reading lists. I like the simplicity of them; the suggestion that I might be able to contain my reading, find a path through the almost endless possibilities that are presented to me when I go into the bookshop or library. When I discover a new reading list, I'm excited by the idea that I might complete it, and so come to a deeper and more satisfying understanding of at least one small corner of the literary landscape.

I would like, for example, to read all of the books that have ever won the Booker, or one book from each of the Nobel Prize for Literature winners. Or, alternatively, I would like to hone my focus on Australian writing, and read each of the books that have won the Miles Franklin Award.