Top 5 Favourite Summer Read Books

Voting - via our online form, SMS, post and in person - was open from Tuesday 20 November 2007 to Friday 1 February 2008. The top five favourite books and voter prizes were announced at the closing ceremony on 26 February.

Top 5 favourite Summer Read books

The top 5 favourite Summer Read books, as voted by members of the public, were: 

• No 1 (joint winners)
  Well Done, Those Men (Scribe) by Barry Heard 
  A sympathetic portrayal of a group of young men who were sent off to war completely unprepared for the emotional and psychological impact it would have on them.
  and
• Company (Scribe) by Max Barry
  If the BBC comedy The Office made you laugh, you’ll love this wonderful satire of corporate culture - a story of love, loyalty and corporate immorality! 
• No 2
  Unpolished Gem by Alice Pung (Black Inc Books)
  A warm memoir about growing up and coming of age in suburban Footscray. The narrative evokes vivid images of a family of characters and shows us the challenges faced by those who move between two cultures.
• No 3
  Broken by Ilsa Evans (Pan Macmillan)
  In this extraordinary novel the reader is drawn into a searing, realistic portrayal of the complexities of relationships, and why some things can never be fixed, once they are broken.
• No 4
  Delinquent Angel by Diana Georgeff (Random House)
  This biography of a poet tells the bizarre story of Shelton Lea, who was adopted into a high-profile Victorian family as a playmate for the natural children. His life story makes fascinating reading.
• No 5
  In My Skin by Kate Holden (Text Publishing)
  This extraordinary memoir describes how an educated, everyday girl arrived in the world of drugs and prostitution. Kate’s poetic language, both vividly graphic and compassionate, sets this book apart from other memoirs.