If your The Slap radar was tuned in this week you would've heard that the award-winning novel by Christos Tsiolkas, The Slap, will be developed into a television series by ABC TV and Matchbox Pictures. The eight-part (like the book's 8 chapters) drama series will begin development in November and will go into production in Melbourne in 2010. ABC TV's Acting Head of Drama, Amanda Higgs, says the drama will resonate with audiences. "The Australian novel that provoked fiery discussion from offices to dinner parties to mothers' groups and suburban barbeques will become the most talked about series on television." The Age newspaper reported Matchbox Pictures announced that after a competitive bidding process it had purchased the rights to produce a television adaptation of the novel, which is set in Melbourne. This year, The Slap has won the Commonwealth Writer's Prize, the Australian Book Industry Book of the Year award, the Victorian Premier's Literary Award, the ABA Book of the Year, and the Association for the Study of Australian Literature Gold Award. Go The Slap - there is no stopping the talking point power of this book as our Pageturners book discussion group discovered.

Pageturners book discussion group were chuckling away last night at some of the amusing anecdotes from books they had read in the humour genre. Authors and titles included Kiran Desai for Guava Orchard, My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell, Alphabet Sisters and Odd One Out by Monica McInerney, The Year at Thrush Green by Miss Read, The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian, Bimbo by Keith Waterhouse, Dear Fatty by Dawn French That'd be Right by William McInnes and other authors – Bill Bryson, Clive James, Ben Elton, Spike Milligan, Kathy Lette.

A surprisingly funny read turned out to be Perfumes the Guide by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez. Here is a small sample "Reviewing Poison is a bit like road testing an Abrams M1 tank in the evening rush hour. People just seem to get out of your way, and if they don't, you just swivel that turret to remind them that your not kidding."

Deborah said reading the book may send you scurrying off to your local retailer's perfume department to match the real thing against the insightful, witty and provocative reviews. These two experts combine to rank almost 1500 fragrances from five stars "a masterpiece" to one star "awful". It also included introductions to women's and men's fragrances, essays on trends, history and chemistry and a glossary of materials and terms. The series of Top Ten lists is particularly useful identifying feminine, masculine, floral, quiet and loud fragrances. These last are the fragrances that are room clearers but even they are not proscribed although you are advised not to wear them to dinner. In fact the general thrust of this elegantly designed and produced book is to encourage you to educate your nose and to avoid being timid and rule-bound. You are urged to "try it on. It's only perfume." PS. It made me change my perfume.

Winner of the 2009 Miles Franklin Literary Award is Tim Winton for his work Breath (published by Penguin). On his win, Tim Winton said that this award has tried to do its part over time to stiffen the resolve and bolster the confidence of Australian writers and by honouring local stories and voices it's contributed to the success our literary culture has enjoyed in recent years. Commenting on the winner's novel, the Judging Panel wrote: "Breath is a searing document about masculinity, about risk, and about young people's desire to push the limits. Winton is at the height of his powers as a novelist, and this is his greatest love letter yet to the sea, to the coast of West Australia, and a compelling testimony to the role of surfing in Australian culture. Written in Winton's own distinctive voice, we can sense that it is also a homage to some of his favourite writers: Salinger, Faulkner, Melville and Hemingway. But as we are drawn in by the elemental currents of its narrative and the compelling, wave-like force of events, Breath raises disturbing questions about desire and 'the damage done'. What lines are crossed during rite's passage? What ethical constraints affect relations between different generations of men and women? Throughout the novel we hear the scream of wind and storm waves and the distant, siren call of the bombora – surf breaking far out at sea. After 'so much damage, too much shame', can there be a going back?" To read more about the author and awards go to the Miles Franklin Trust website http://www.trust.com.au/awards/miles_franklin/

Drum roll ...............five novels are on the Miles Franklin Literary Award Shortlist announced today:

Breath by Tim Winton

Ice by Louis Nowra

The Pages by Murray Bail

The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas and

Wanting by Richard Flanagan

Congratulations to all the shortlisted authors. To find out more about each novel and to read the Judges comments please visit the Miles Franklin Trust website at www.trust.com.au The winner will be announced on 18 June – who do you think it will be?

At a suburban barbecue, a man slaps a child who is not his own. This event has a shocking ricochet effect on a group of people, mostly friends, who are directly or indirectly influenced by the event. In this "startling" novel, Christos Tsiolkas turns his unflinching and all-seeing eye on to that which connects us all: the modern family and domestic life in the twenty-first century. The Slap is told from the points of view of eight people who were present at the barbecue. The slap and its consequences force them all to question their own families and the way they live, their expectations, beliefs and desires. This book made for an interesting evening at Pageturners book discussion on Wednesday with reactions ranging from "nothing redeeming" to "couldn't read it" to "characters are really believable", to "glimpses of brilliance", "expected more about the incident", "I spent the weekend reading this and wouldn't want to invite any of these people to a barbecue", "I kept reading to see what would happen to Hugo" (the brat child), "loving it" and "it is a book I would never have read unless I came along to book club, thank you". The Slap will be featured on the ABC Book Show on May 5 and as predicted by Pageturners is also on the Miles Franklin Literary Awards longlist. Pageturners meet next on Wednesday April 8 from 5.30pm - 7pm to discuss works by and about US President Barack Obama.

Dedicated Pageturners and some Classics book club members braved the sudden change of cold weather and blustering winds to dine in Robertson Park for Slow Summer Read. Actually the wind was turning the pages for us. There was tasty morsels of picnic food including a delicious eggplant ratatouille, yummy green lentil salad, wrapped vine leaves, savoury fetta and sun dried tomato muffins and refreshments. Music by Ben McGarity was terrific but the weather managed to win out and we retired earlier than planned. But we still managed to chat about books and here are some of the suggested Holiday Reading titles:

Robber Bride Book by Margaret Attwood "Interesting structure. Four very well drawn characters. Elegant language."

The Resurrectionist by James Bradley "Interesting concept, liked the way it was written, short train of thought chapters. Ended too soon and too long in the middle."

Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirosky "Many people had talked about this, it's certainly worth reading even it the subject and author's experiences are tragic.

Books by Fred Vargas "Mysteries written by a French female, wonderful eccentric characters and glimpses of Paris."

The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler "The book introduced me to Ursula Le Guin and I was not interested in Science fiction until now. Also interested in reading other authors mentioned plus I love Jane Austen so it was good to hear and see (watched the DVD) people talk about her books.

Hotel Albatross by Debra Adelaide "A look at Orange from behind the scenes of The Hotel Canobolas. Some great character portraits, dramas in the hotel with staff and patrons and enjoyed reading about places near Orange – Ophir, Blayney, Millthorpe and recognised a few characters too."

Other authors included Eva Ibbotson, Lillian Bradshaw and Helen Hollick.

And the next Pageturners meeting will be on Wednesday 11 March, upstairs in Orange City Library from 5.30pm – 7pm to discuss The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas. This comment on the book comes from JennyReadingblog: "The title of this book is very apt. It hits you in the face with a sharp sting that seems to linger for days afterwards." Well put.

So time to confess. How many books did you read over the Summer Break? Ten or 12 or closer to 2 or 3. If you would like to talk about your holiday reading or get some ideas for further reading then come along to Pageturners book discussion group. They will be meeting this month at the Slow Summer Read Picnic, part of Slow Summer events, on Thursday 12 February at Robertson Park from 6.30pm. Meet other book lovers and enjoy talking about books with some light refreshments.