Hello! micro readers united, the short story reading group in Shanghai, is back with an Australian and New Zealand selection for February 2012. MRU15 marks "a new beginning" so enjoy these stories, and we welcome our regulars and new friends to join the discussion.

Everybody is welcome! Read most of the stories online or get the PDF! Contact: Anna 15821497407 anna.mru @gmail.com

Date and time: Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 19h00 at Garden Books 325 Changle Lu, near Shaanxi Nan Lu. Shaanxi Nan Lu metro station (line 1) 长乐路325 号, 近陕西南路。陕西南路地铁站（1 号线）

Selected Stories:

1...

“Getting Ahead” (1986) from the collection Scission by Tim Winton (AU) - PDF only Summary: A family’s mother decides to rent her house. Bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Winton

2...

“Another Language” (2007) by Craig Cliff (NZ) Summary: A boy talks to his grandfather about speaking in a different language. Bio: http://www.craigcliff.com/p/about-craig.html Story: http://www.bnz.co.nz/static/www/docs/2007-KMA-Another-Language-Novice.pdf

3...

“Praise Be” by Jennifer Woodhouse (AU) Summary: A woman recently leaves the family farm to live on her own. Story: http://www.commonwealthfoundation.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=e9oko2F67uc%3D&tabid=529

4...

“Mrs Dogwether’s Bird Moment” (2011) by Claire Aman (AU) Summary: A volunteer at the Environment Centre is helping an old lady in her spare time. Bio: http://griffithreview.com/contributors/claire-aman Story: http://griffithreview.com/edition-34-the-annual-fiction-edition/mrs-dogwethers-bird-moment

5...

“Owed to Spring” (1993) by Lucinda Birch (NZ) Summary: An unknown narrator describes a garden in spring Bio: http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-Ba36Spo-t1-body1-d42.html#name-100193-mention Story:http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-Ba11Spo-t1-body-d13.html