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A Week in Reviews: From Russian Literature and Southern Gothic to Contemporary German Fiction and Magical Realism

The Big Green Tent by Ludmila Ulitskaya

Morgan says; This book is an epic saga that follows three young friends growing up in turbulent 1950s Russia. Mikha, an orphaned poet; Sanya, a fragile pianist; and Ilya, a budding photographer and collector, struggle to reach adulthood in a society where their heroes have been censored and exiled. This big yet intimate novel offers a panoramic survey into everyday Russian life after Stalin. Each of the characters seek to transcend an oppressive regime through art, a love of Russian literature, and activism. And each of them ends up face-to-face with a secret police that is highly skilled at creating paranoia, division and self-betrayal. The Big Green Tent is a fascinating insight into how young Russians survived a volatile period of their contemporary history.

$26.99

An End to Murder by Colin and Damon Wilson

Nelson says; The final work of prolific criminologist Colin Wilson, An End to Murder was completed posthumously by his son after his death in 2013. Whilst the work stands on its own, it's also a memorial to his father. The tone is often conversational and it's clear both authors cherish life whilst considering whether human beings are in reality as cruel and violent as is generally believed. Ranging through history and content from Baron Gilles de Rais, 'Bluebeard', to modern forensic science they also explore the possibility that humankind is on the verge of a fundamental change: that we are about to become truly civilised.

$26.99

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Mischa says; When I read Caraval I couldn't even put into words what a complex page-turner it is. The dazzling, yet perilous game of the circus-like Caraval parallels the much more sinister dangers that women must face on a regular basis; ones in which sisters Scarlet and Tella embody throughout the course of the book, and ones that are only overcome by their struggles not to be turned against one another. In an attempt to describe Caraval in the briefest way possible, I would say it's a bit like a more grotesque Alice in Wonderland, and every bit as magical and haunting as The Night Circus, however, utterly unique and highly compelling. It's a journey into another, more enchanting world, yet one that is every bit our own. It consumed my world!

$24.99

The Ballad of the Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers

Mariana says; "[L]ove is a joint experience between two persons, but the fact that it is a joint experience does not mean that it is a similar experience to the two people involved."

This beautiful desperation to map the intangible is fitting of the writer who allegedly camped on seminal modernist Djuna Barnes's porch for days despite Barnes's refrain: "Whoever is ringing this bell, please go the hell away". The title story of this collection is a twisted Southern Gothic masterpiece, and its companions are not far behind.

$14.99

The Taste of Apple Seeds by Katharina Hagena 

Steph says; I was in Berlin visiting my family, and naturally wound up spending an entire evening in the Dussmann das KulturKaufhaus, a large bookshop in the heart of the city. The Taste of Apple Seeds was the book I bought there, after it was recommended to me by three different booksellers, two cousins and a staff shelf review. It spent years on the German bestseller list and has been translated into 26 languages (English being one of them). It is at once a meditation on family (and family secrets), friendship and memory. Hagena takes the reader on a sensory experience evoking the smell of apples and apple jam and blossoms and the sights and sounds of the beautiful German countryside.

$19.99

The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel

Fergus says; Writer Finkel is the only person granted interviews by Christopher Knight, who, having 'disappeared' in 1986, was in 2013 discovered to have been living for 27 years in total seclusion in a tent the woods near Little North Pond, central Maine. Behind the short-lived newsworthiness of the discovery, and of Knight's forced removal from the woods, there remains the enigma of his preference for extreme privacy and solitude. I greatly enjoyed this book, which explores and takes the biographical measure of Knight's world-the social context of his anti-social existence. An autobiographical dimension unfolds as Finkel reveals and reflects upon the nature of his writerly use (invasive abuse?) of the attention-shy man, the story's singular object of 'human interest'.

$29.99

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel

Mischa says; To quote the novel itself, The Roanoke Girls is "equal parts horrifying and mesmerising." From the very first page this book sucks you into its dark and twisted world. The mystery of the Roanoke girls and why each one of them either dies or disappears unravels slowly, each thread like a tightly wound spool of tension. Engel has created a gritty Southern Gothic atmosphere that will appeal to fans of Robin Wasserman's Girls on Fire and a patriarchal cult-like thriller similar to Emma Cline's The Girls. Compelling and at times disturbing, I was consumed by the story of the Roanoke family, and the flawed and secretive characters that hide behind the facade of beauty and wealth. There is, however, something beautiful and poignant that lies within the darkness of this book; something you'll discover for yourself when you read it!

 $29.99

Barking Dogs by Rebekah Clarkson

Virginia says;

...The dogs do bark...

It has been a while since I have read such a strong, worthwhile collection of short stories. The connected short stories set at Mount Barker, SA, are maddeningly evocative and lively as the beasts in the title. Clarkson captures with humour and depth a collection of recognisable characters that are so lifelike I could smell them. A subtle critique of pop reality lifestyle consumption underpins these stories that are monstrously every day. I loved them.

$24.99

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Fergus’s Christmas Picks

Book of the Year

The Mare by Mary Gaitskill

11-year-old Velvet, a Dominican girl who lives with her mother Silvia and little brother Dante in testing circumstances in NYC, empathises with ‘Fugly Girl’, a difficult-to-manage mare stabled upstate near where Velvet stays regularly with childless 47-year-old Ginger, a middleclass white woman shakily secure in a new marriage and keen to experiment with foster care. The story, covering about 3 years, is told retrospectively in short sections alternately by different characters—mainly by Velvet and Ginger. The novel wonderfully honours a recognisable coming-of-age/girl-on-a-horse story format, and is a moving and successful experiment in the fictional deep-mapping of emotion.

Time Travel by James Gleick

The concept of time travel is a fascinating ‘mode of thought’ that itself evolves and diversifies through time. Gleick—brilliant historian of ideas and author of the influential bestsellers Chaos and Information—here tracks the life of a concept now intrinsic to imagination and culture. From Marcel Proust to Doctor Who, from HG Wells to JL Borges and beyond, he investigates inevitable looping sci-fi paradoxes and the porous boundaries between historical thinking, speculative fantasy and modern physics. Finally, he addresses a temporal shift unsettling our own moment—the instantaneous wired world, with its all-consuming present and vanishing future.

 The Wasp that Brainwashed the Caterpillar by Matt Simon

Wired magazine’s ‘Science’s Absurd Creature of the Week’ columnist has put into one book some of evolution’s most tellingly funny-but-true solutions to the problems of everyday life. Examples… On a barren seafloor, the pearlfish safe-harbours itself conveniently in the sea cucumber’s anus. Meanwhile, the female bolas spider releases female moth pheromones, luring male moths to their spider-dinner doom. Elsewhere, the Glyptapanteles wasp injects a caterpillar with her young, which feed on the victim, erupt out of it and then mind-control the poor (and somehow still-living) schmuckterpillar into protecting them from predators.

 Envelope Poems by Emily Dickinson

Among the makeshift and fragile manuscripts of ED’s later writings we find the poems gathered here. These manuscripts on envelopes, recycled by the poet with marked New England thrift, were written with the full powers of her late, most radical period. Intensely alive, they are charged with a special poignancy—addressed to no one and everyone at once. Full-colour facsimiles are accompanied by transcriptions of Dickinson’s handwriting. Their transcriptions allow us to read the texts, while the facsimiles let us see exactly what Dickinson wrote—the variant words, crossings-out, dashes, directional fields, spaces, columns and overlapping planes.

 How Long is Now?: Fascinating Answers to 191 Mind-Boggling Questions by New Scientist

How long is ‘now’? The 2-second answer is ‘2-to-3 seconds’. The longer answer, also given in this book, involves fascinating journeys through neuroscience and the margins of time-consciousness. Why isn’t Pluto a planet? Why do hens cluck more loudly after laying an egg? What happens when one black hole swallows another? Do our fingerprints change as we get older? How young can you die of old age? What is at the very edge of the Universe? These and many other questions you never thought to ask, along with answers that will change the way you see everything, are given here by the good people at New Scientist.

 The Voyeur’s Motel by Gay Talese

In 1980 Talese met Gerald Foos, owner of the Manor House Motel near Denver, and saw the secret viewing platform that Foos had in 1966 installed above some of the guest-room ceilings, which he had fitted with discrete viewing ‘vents’. The book intersperses Talese’s own account with extracts from the earnestly amateur-sexological ‘Voyeurs Journal’ in which Foos kept a record of his observations, and which he entrusted to Talese. I half expected to be creeped out as a reader attempting to enjoy this ethically fraught and understandably controversial story—but, no, there is mysterious appeal and subtle retro-historical insight in both the matter and deceptively simple manner of this retelling.

Kids Book of the Year

The Book of Bees by Piotr Socha (text by Wojciech Grajkowski)

Here’s a book that any person above the age of 5 is likely to pore over with interest and delight­­—72 big, informative, colourfully-illustrated pages, all about bees. Youngest readers will focus on the pictures while older ones will take in not only the distinctive artwork but also the natural history that picture and word together convey. Prehistoric bees, the bee’s body in close-up, life in the beehive and surrounds, hives natural and artificial, honey and wax, various histories and cultural styles of human-bee interaction, industry and ecology… All in this beautiful bee encyclopedia!

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James’s Christmas Picks

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Steph’s Christmas Picks

Book of the Year

Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave

When Dean handed me the proof copy of this book I thought I’d be spending my evening trudging through yet another conventional WWII novel. It had all the usual tropes; London in the Blitz, soldiers at the battlefront, nurses, bomb shelters, strict rations and dwindling ammunition. But Cleave didn’t stop there. Everyone Brave is Forgiven is about a school of children deemed not desirable enough to be evacuated, about the hunger, desperation and comradery on the frontline, and about what can only be described as a love quadrangle. The narrative is punctuated by some of the wittiest dialogue I’ve ever read and the epistolary romance made me ache (out of a strange combination of envy, devastation and elation). Each and every moment gripped me, to the point where I did end up spending my entire evening reading a WWII novel cover-to-cover!

$29.99

Goodwood by Holly Throsby

Goodwood, Holly Throsby's debut novel, is set in a small town where everyone knows everyone, where butchers are "Pleased to Meat You" and where people resolve to be progressive through the establishment of a Progress Association. Even the town's slogan is perfectly punny; "Goodwood's good for wood. Yet this novel is far from absurd and wittily written moments tie together perfectly with the charming, lyrical narrative that Holly has woven. Goodwood's not just good for wood, it's a place "Where Val Sparks worshipped a porcelain baby Jesus and listened to old pop songs on a silver radio." Simultaneously I was engrossed by the story of two disappearances in this Stars Hollow-esque Australian town and captivated by Jean's first-person account, and at times I found myself wanting to read the words aloud, turning each perfectly constructed sentence into something as beautiful, flowing and audible as Holly's music. Goodwood employs a familiar setting, immediately drawing you in and comforting you, then turns everything you know and expect on its head with a mysterious discovery, a series of disappearances wand the arrival of newcomers, unusual in a town like this one. I cannot encourage you to read it enough!

$29.99

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

There’s just something about Liane Moriarty’s books! I’m not sure whether I’m drawn to their realism, their pace – the way everything unravels gradually, building up to a dramatic ending – or their vivid characters, but each and every time she releases a novel, I and many others flock to Better Read to get our hands on a copy. Truly Madly Guilty, much like Moriarty’s last novel Big Little Lies, is about parenting and relationships (and the struggle between the two), and has at its heart a mystery which will shock and divide readers. It’s also about a cellist, a hoarder and a stripper; turning an otherwise dark and challenging plot into a light and humorous story. The perfect book club read!

$32.99

The Cook’s Table by Stephanie Alexander

Stephanie Alexander is back with another comprehensive, quintessential cooking “bible”. It contains everything I loved about The Cook’s Companion and The Kitchen Garden Companion; fresh, seasonal ingredients, recipes which cater to the home cook and the perfect combination of traditional and modern methods and flavours. What sets it apart from Stephanie’s previous work is its unique format, containing 25 menus, each inspired by a different country, occasion, memory or life event. A must have in any Australian kitchen!

$69.99

Margaret Preston: Recipes for Food and Art by Lesley Harding

I remember a Margaret Preston print hanging above my grandparent’s bed and to me she was always the artist who painted the incredible native flowers. I didn’t realise, until this book was released, that Margaret also had an enormous passion for cooking or that she was also a potter and a basket weaver. Recipes for Food and Art perfectly combines her art, recipes and other insights from her daily life in one stunning little gift book.

$45.00

Kids Book of the Year

Clover Moon by Jacqueline Wilson

When an author I love releases a new book I tend to approach with caution, worried that it just won’t be as wonderful as the last. Yet with Jacqueline Wilson, for as long as I can remember, I’ve dashed to the bookshop, picked up her latest release without hesitation and devoured it by the end of the day." Steph says, "Clover Moon is Wilson's latest Victorian heroine; poverty stricken and struggling against the odds in London, she searches for a new place to call home. Wilson is renowned for her ability to tell difficult, at times confronting tales without compromising the exciting storyline and sensational characters required of every children’s novel. Interspersed with Nick Sharratt’s ink drawings, is the perfect book for an inquisitive young reader.

$32.99

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Fabienne’s Christmas Picks

Book Of the Year

Barkskins by Annie Proulx

I couldn’t put it down! Even if you are following with fierce attention two families over 300 years of History, from Canada to New Zealand, the true star in this novel is the land. This is a violent and magnificent dramatic novel about the taking down of the world’s forest. Proulx’s narrative makes this historical eco-epic about the colonisation of North America, the destruction of ancient forests by European settlers and the impact this had on the indigenous people my favourite read of the year.

$32.99

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry

Set in mid 19th century America, during the Indian wars and the Civil War, this book is the story of Thomas with his brother in arms who signed up for the army as 17 year olds.  During these brutal and tumultuous years they find their days to be vivid and searing, despite the horrors they witness and are at times complicit in. “Days without End” is a masterpiece of atmosphere and language; challenging but very rewarding.

$32.99

Under A Pole Star by Stef Penney

Under A Pole Star is set in two time frames. In the 1890s, Flora, the daughter of a whaler, led two expeditions to the Artic Circle that were surrounded by mystery and controversy.  In 1948, a young journalist, Crane, has particular reasons for wanting to investigate what happened on the last fateful journey that Flora and her lover made together.

Stef Penney has created a formidable and compelling heroine in Flora, a woman way ahead of her time in many respects.

The bleak but dazzling polar landscape is captured beautifully, as are the harsh realities of everyday survival for those who live in it. This is an engrossing and atmospheric read.

$32.99

The Good People by Hannah Kent

Once again Hannah Kent brings a gripping novel based on true events, which explore the ancient Irish folklores and their magical beliefs. Kent got an amazing talent to take you back in time, in 1825; you can almost feel the harshness of people’s life and the chill of the Irish valley where troubling event will take place.

She will give a human dimension to this case found in a old newspaper while the author was doing researches for her previous book.

$32.99

 Boy Behind the Curtain by Tim Winton

Over the course of these short true stories, Winton recalls anecdotes that influenced his view of life and fuelled his artistic vision. This intimate collection feels like a privileged peek into where and how Winton’s creative vision was formed.

The various life incidents and reminiscences develop to compelling essays, which take us beyond a linear story.

I really enjoy this insightful read.

$45.00

The Story of a Brief Marriage by Anuk Arudpragasam

Dinesh and Ganga , two Tamils pushed away by the Sri Lankan Civil War decide to marry in an attempt to reach safety.

In a situation of strange intimacy and dependence, alienated and destroyed by the atrocity that surround them, they will over the course of a day and a night try to feel human again.

This fierce debut novel is a meditation on the fundamental elements of human existence and the challenges of war on the human mind and body.

This is a deeply affecting novel; a vivid and visceral read that describe the physical experience of being alive.

Not for the squeamish - but despite the harsh subject matter, the writing is absolutely beautiful.

$27.99

Kids Book of the Year

The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield

Astronaut Chris Hadfield shares how he was afraid of the dark when he was little. This is a good book for talking about overcoming your fears and following your dreams (and reaching for the stars – literally). I whole-heartedly recommend this book. The message is great, the illustrations are fantastic, and the extra info included about Chris Hadfield adds to the overall charm.

$24.99

To read all our staff picks check out our Christmas Reading Guides below or pick up a copy in store;

https://issuu.com/betterread/docs/better_read_than_dead_christmas_rea

https://issuu.com/betterread/docs/better_read_kids_christmas_reading_

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Jane’s Christmas Reads

Book of the Year

Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer

Unfolding over four tumultuous weeks in present-day Washington D.C., Here I Am is the story of a fracturing family in a moment of crisis. It’s a novel of huge emotion, great humour, domestic psychological realism, and a geopolitical catastrophe. It effortlessly bridges the personal and the political. The themes are identity & family, religious & culture ties. It is full of lightbulb moments & gigantic ideas. The author manages to make the minutia of family life feel enormous, crucial, and powerful.

“There’s a Hasidic proverb: ‘While we pursue happiness, we flee from contentment.’” - Jacob

$32.99

Escoffier Ritz Paris by Ritz Paris Culinary School

It’s so refreshing to have a cookbook that goes back to basics – classic, timeless French recipes, with easy to follow instruction and techniques. Not a buzz word or superfood in sight. Instead its recipes from the famous Paris cooking school, founded by Escoffier, the father of modern cooking as we know it. Santa, if you’re listening, I want this book for Christmas. 

$55.00

The Travelling Companion by Ian Rankin

Scottish college graduate Ronald spends a summer in Paris, working at a bookstore. He hopes to soak up the atmosphere of his literary hero, Robert Louis Stevenson.  The job leads him to a man who may have access to long-lost Stevenson manuscripts, and to other things, including Ron’s growing obsession with the man’s mysterious assistant.

This well paced and absorbing novella, part of the fabulous Bibliomysteries series, subtly draws themes from the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale of the same name. The result is part fairy tale, part ode to Stevenson, and part literary thriller. Compelling and good fun.

$9.99

The Nix by Nathan Hill

Samuel - professor, stalled writer – sees his mother on TV, in an event that takes over the country. He hasn’t seen her since she abandoned the family when he was 11. The media paints her as a radical hippie with a sordid past, but as far as Samuel knows, she was an ordinary girl who married her high-school sweetheart. Which version of his mother is true?

A dual narrative always sucks me in, and this one goes between Samuel’s mother in the 1960’s, and Samuel’s present life. They’re strangers to each other, but more alike than they realise. Superb book!

$29.99

Kids Pick

The Moonlight Dreamers by Siobhan Curham

Amber has 2 dads, and is being bullied at school. She longs for a safe space, a friendship group that she feels she belongs to. Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s theory that there has to be others out there who feel like she does, she is sets out to find “people like her’. She befriends 3 girls who are all experiencing struggles of their own, and they call themselves the Moonlight Dreamers. Together they find the strength to transcend peer pressure, dress and act how they want be true to themselves.

A beautiful upper primary read about friendship and identity.

$17.99

Kids Pick

Hiding Heidi by Fiona Woodcock

Heidi is very good at hiding, and because she likes being the best at something, it’s the only game she will play with her friends. Then at her birthday party she hides so well that nobody finds her til right at the end of the party, and she realises that being great at hiding is fine, but she could have a lot more fun if she played other games. At the end of the book we see her playing on space hoppers with her friends, and although isn’t the best at it, she has lots of fun!

$24.99

To read all our staff picks check out our Christmas Reading Guides below or pick up a copy in store;

https://issuu.com/betterread/docs/better_read_than_dead_christmas_rea

https://issuu.com/betterread/docs/better_read_kids_christmas_reading_

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Our YA Book Club Reviews...

Since June, the members of our very own Young Adult Book Club have been meeting to discuss new release YA fiction from Jesse Andrews’s The Haters to Lili Wilkinson’s The Boundless Sublime.

This month, we are sharing their thoughts with you about John Corey Whaley’s Highly Illogical Behaviour. Sixteen year old Solomon has agoraphobia. He hasn't left his house in three years, which is fine by him Ambitious Lisa desperately wants to go to a top tier psychiatry program. She'll do anything to get in. When Lisa finds out about Solomon's solitary existence, she comes up with a plan sure to net her a scholarship: befriend Solomon. Treat his condition. And write a paper on her findings.

Our YA Book Club says: “A simple, yet endearing read that raises fundamental questions about morality, ethics, and the boundaries of friendship. It’s a powerful book that breaks the stigma surrounding mental illness as the main character – Solomon, who suffers from agoraphobia – is portrayed as funny and lovable (and a little bit nerdy!) The eccentric character of Grandma made us laugh out loud and the other characters were very realistic and engaging. We wished it had been longer because we didn’t want it to end! "

If you’re a high school book fanatic and avid reader, you are welcome at this book club dedicated to discovering the next juicy young adult read! Join Better Read’s YA specialist, Mischa on the second Tuesday of each month. The pick for November is Peadar O’Guilin’s The Call. Head to www.betterreadevents.com to RSVP.

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Better Read reads the Man Booker Prize Shortlist 2016

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

Karma says: Moshfegh's anti-heroine, Eileen, offers a vivid narration the time leading up to her disappearance from the small town of X-Ville in New England in 1964. Among bleak circumstances and an atmosphere of complicated, destructive family bonds, Eileen is a tale of psychological interiors, containment, and the repression of desire, as well as an unsettling and shadowy reflection of thoughts left unsaid.

$32.99

Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien

Steph says: Thien's Man Booker shortlisted novel is a refreshing, complex novel which stood out to me on the Man Booker list; in part due to my own fascination with the Tiananmen Square protests and Cultural Revolution and in part because I was drawn to Thien's incorporation of music throughout the epic narrative she has composed. Told with wit and intimacy, this novel is unlike the many family epics I have read of late, and magnificently weaves personal narrative with national identity.

$27.99

Hot Milk by Deborah Levy

Mischa says: From the author of Swimming Home - also shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2012 - comes a hypnotic new novel about a woman's struggles to break free of her hypochondriac mother. Set in the unbearable heat of Almeria on the Spanish coast, this is a powerful and emotionally raw novel centred on the interior life and relationship between Sofia and her mother, Rose - whose legs have mysteriously stopped working. Exploring the tenderness and passion of female sexuality, and the vulnerabilities exposed by fraudulence and contradictions; Hot Milk is an intoxicatingly dream-like and compulsive page-turner.

$32.99

The Sellout by Paul Beatty

Jane says: The Sellout is literary satire at its best! Beatty ingeniously employs three main plot lines; of a man who spent his childhood as the subject of racially-based psychology studies, a modern day Los Angles high school that reinstates segregation and slavery and a police shoot out with claims the life of the protagonists father. Through these stories we are introduced to a narrative which covers far broader and much deeper ground; "the United States Constitution, urban life, the civil rights movement and the holy grail of racial equality - the black Chinese restaurant."

$26.99

All That Man Is by David Szalay

Nelson says: All That Man Is is a survey of nine different men in different stages of their lives, yet reads as a single novel tracing an arc from youth to old age. These men are from different parts of the world, lead separate lives and each experience life in heart-breaking, hilarious, shocking and sorrowful ways. Szalay portrays 21st century manhood in a refreshing, honest light and stands out on the shortlist for its unique, interwoven story line and amusing, at times shocking, subject matter.  

 $39.99

His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet

Liz says: An unconventional crime book has made it into the Booker shortlist! This is Burnet's second novel. Constructed using found objects, it reads like a good true crime thriller but revolves around the entirely fictitious story of a 17-year-old boy who brutally murdered three people in 1869. The construction of the book is refreshing. It includes the memoir he wrote while he awaited trial, and provides a good insight into its historical context. Burnet threads descriptive writing through the gripping homicide narrative in an interesting and relatively uncommon way.

$19.99

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Our YA Book Club Reviews...

Since June, the members of our very own Young Adult Book Club have been meeting to discuss new release YA fiction from Jesse Andrews’s The Haters to Tara Altebrando’s The Leaving. 

This month, we have decided to share their thoughts with you. The Boundless Sublime by Australian author Lili Wilkinson is about Ruby Jane Galbraith, an ordinary girl seeking peace in the wake of family tragedy. Her search leads her into a community that seems guided by love. And it's only after she's drawn into its web that she learns its sinister secrets.

Our YA Book Club says: "This book is so good but gruesome! The characters are well developed and you can easily relate to them despite the unusual cult situation. It showed an interesting perspective and the transition of her getting brainwashed is done really well. There is lots of tugging and conflict that makes you want to keep reading because it's so tense. Plus it has the creepiest and most grotesque villain ever who constantly tries to trick you into liking him. This book will half brainwash you!" 

If you're a high school book fanatic and avid reader, you are welcome at this book club dedicated to discovering the next juicy young adult read! Join Better Read’s YA specialist, Mischa on the second Tuesday of each month. Her October pick is John Corey Whaley’s Highly Illogical Behaviour. Head to www.betterreadevents.com to RSVP. 

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A Week in Reviews: From Lullabies for Little Criminals to Hands - What we do with them and why

Hands: What We Do With Them—and Why by Darian Leader

Fergus says: The basic experience of having hands is so close to us—is so much what we are—as to be like a forest invisible for trees. Psychoanalyst and author Leader (Introducing Lacan, Freud’s Footnotes, The New Black, What is Madness?, Strictly Bipolar...) leads us into this forest of our own familiarly yet obscurely hand-embodied lives. Between the infant’s powerful grip and the grip of constant, half-attentive, half-distracted involvement with handheld devices of all kinds, human existence is woven or knitted, as by invisible hands from beyond the world. Leader’s style is deceptively light and conversational. With exemplary finesse, he hands out examples—clinical, philosophical, popular-cultural, public, intimate…—that thread like beads onto that thought of hands which is at all times held unconsciously in the hands of thought.

$32.99

The Shore by Sara Taylor

Fabienne says: Series of linked short stories that make up a larger novel feel in which desperate characters both love and resent their isolated hometowns.

The story is driven by the women who live on the Shore- the name given to the small group of islands- over the course of 250 years, as the stories go back and forth through time, you will visit these women at different stages in their lives, their families, the consequences of their actions coming home to roost generations later.

You will witness murder, assault, poverty, addiction and everyday disappointments. But the real star of the book is the shore which Taylor masters into making you deeply feel its enduring existence.

Southern grit lit at its best! The best book of short stories I’ve read in a long time.

$22.99

Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neill

Jane says: This sublime novel is in my top 5 all-time favourites. It both broke my heart and mended it. It tells the story of a 12yo girl who raises herself on the streets of Montreal with minimal assistance from her loving but lost junkie dad, who was a child himself when he became her father.

“If you want to get a child to love you, then you should just go hide in the closet for three or four hours. They get down on their knees and pray for you to return. That child will turn you into God. Lonely children probably wrote the Bible.”

$22.95

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

Karma says: Mosfegh's anti-heroine, Eileen, offers a vivid narration the time leading up to her disappearance from the small town of X-Ville in New England in 1964. Among bleak circumstances and an atmosphere of complicated, destructive family bonds, Eileen is a tale of psychological interiors, containment, and the repression of desire, as well as an unsettling and shadowy reflection of thoughts left unsaid.

$32.99

Illness as a Metaphor AIDS & Its Metaphors by Susan Sontag

Karma says: These two essays published together demonstrate the potentials of the discourse surrounding illness, particularly at the time Sontag, herself a cancer patient, was writing. She explores how metaphors seep in to how we think, talk, and write about illness and the impact it can have on those experiencing disease and illness--from shame, frustration, to psychological harm. An engaging and insightful read at the nexus between medicine, literature, and history.

$24.99

Trying to Float by Nicolaia Rips

Dean says: This smart, snappy memoir is a coming of age story set in the infamous Chelsea Hotel. Nicolaia is a seventeen year old author penning tales of running the hotel halls as a youngster with her pet hamster Fluff ball in tow and making friends with the hotel’s various misfits as she is excluded from friendship at school. Her parents are busy with NYC coffee shops and various odd antics leaving Nicolaia to grow up in the hotels shadows with many an exciting tale to tell. The school yard titles she held were; baby murderer- from a poolside fiasco, pregnant teen- a lie rumoured with the most popular boy, stoner- from hanging with the tic-tac-toe crowd and finally talented artist- when she received a place at the LaGuardia Performing Arts School (aka the FAME academy).

$32.99

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A Week in Reviews: Regular, Special, Guilty

The Regulars by Georgina Clarke

Dean says: A feminist fairy-tale which took me by surprise! I was expecting light and faffy but this book has backbone. Fans of Girls would like this. Three friends in NYC; Evie- the journalist bitterly working at Salty a fashion mag, Willow -an artist fallen in the shadow of her famous director father & Krista- a law-school drop-out turned actress, come across a  bottle of ‘Pretty’ a tincture that turns regular girls into supermodels. But do you take this? And when you actually do- what happens, how do you get to see the world and how do your relationship & friendships change? Clarke is a television writer so the pace is sharp and the humour witty with insight.

$32.99

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Steph says: There’s just something about Liane Moriarty’s books! I’m not sure whether I’m drawn to their realism, their pace – the way everything unravels gradually, building up to a dramatic ending – or their vivid characters, but each and every time she releases a novel, I and many others flock to Better Read to get our hands on a copy. Truly Madly Guilty, much like Moriarty’s last novel Big Little Lies, is about parenting and relationships (and the struggle between the two), and has at its heart a mystery which will shock and divide readers. It’s also about a cellist, a hoarder and a stripper; turning an otherwise dark and challenging plot into a light and humorous story. The perfect book club read!

$32.99

Special by Georgia Blain

Mischa says: I have a deep-rooted passion for speculative fiction, especially when it is feminist, Australian, or chillingly dark; Special is all three! Fern Marlow is alone, datawiped and in hiding; dreaming of her past at Halston, an exclusive school for those lucky enough to be genetically designed. Her rescuers said her former life was a lie, that she can trust no one. They also said they’d come back for her, and they haven’t. Georgia Blain expertly explores how science, technology and commerce may affect our lives in the near future; the result is an alarmingly engrossing psychological thriller that is both thought-provoking and un-put-down-able with an ending that will leave you gasping for more!   

$19.99

The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami

Liz says: Having read Kawakami’s Strange Weather in Tokyo, I was a excited to get my hands on a copy of The Nakano Thrift Shop! Once again, Kawakami’s novel evokes vivid images of Japan and engrosses you in the culture, philosophy and mystery crucial to the story. Like the work of Murakami and Ishiguro, the idiosyncrasies which present themselves in unique plot and characters in this novel make it an interesting and enjoyable read!

Dean says: A subtle, gentle beauty with the flow of a stream! Centering on a community thrift store where workers Hitomi and Takeo are shyly falling for each other, under the gaze of boss man Mr Nakano and his sister, an artist who run the store. The peculiar customers who ebb and flow through the store, buying curios, each share a surprising story of their own. This humane, philosophical story touches on the mystery of the ordinary.  For fans of Banana Yoshimoto or Yoko Ogawa.

$32.99

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty

Mariana says: This is the account of a crematorium worker’s experience as she injects herself into the US’s death industry and tries to unpack the contours of what makes death, and funeral home practices, so taboo. Doughty goes into explicit detail about embalming, cremation and the financial aspects of funeral home politics in a blunt and demystifying manner that champions the practice of talking frankly about mortality.

Doughty rose to prominence via her YouTube series, Ask a Mortician (“You got death questions, we got death answers”), which I recommend if you enjoy this book.

$22.99

[betterreader]

A Week in Reviews: From Pretty Horses to Underground Railroads

So Sad Today by Melissa Broder

Mariana says: Many dark or perverted thoughts I’ve been tempted to drown out with the self-imposed normativity dial is, in this book, blasted at a volume so loud I want to invite all my neighbours over for a body positivity/exhilarating earnestness bonfire where we all marvel at the brilliance of Melissa Broder.

Broder is behind Twitter’s popular ‘so sad today’ account, and this collection talks about Real Stuff – addiction, eating disorders, intimacy – in a tone that induces laughter and then an oddly satisfying horror/solidarity as you realise your depravity’s millimetres away from Broder’s. 

$27.99

Knocks by Emily Stewart

Fergus says: From Vagabond Press, a first volume of work by the Sydney-based poet. Her lyric-poetic signature, across a variety of traditional and experimental forms, is attunement to something distracted and intractable in present experience. Idiomatic speech from online and off is recognised and repurposed as intelligence from an obscure drive. Sensitive, smart and funny, it’s an exciting meld of keen observation, fractured tale-telling, forensic accuracy, fine ambiguity and far-seeing clairvoyance. The slightly mysterious title-word—a touch onomatopoeic (though the first ‘k’, silent, enters without knocking)—knocks to get through. ‘Who’s there’ at the threshold? The poet herself, I guess, and readers happy to get these wake-up calls, which figure alertness and openness to other arrivals at the door and shore.

$25.00

The Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy

Nelson says: I’m a big fan of McCarthy in general and to put this above Blood Meridian and The Road pains me but The Border Trilogy is possibly my favourite thing I’ve ever read. This edition collects all three of the trilogy: All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing and Cities of the Plain. The first two books introduce separate protagonists whose paths become intertwined in the third. Thematically rich and substantially a genuine epic, the story essentially centres on the twilight of the cowboy in a rapidly modernising world. Characters venture back and forth across the border into Mexico on quests but never do they come back with what they were looking for.

$39.99

The Lauras by Sara Taylor

Dean says: The Lauras is a wonderful coming-of-age story, exploring identity and the two year road-trip a mother makes, dragging her teenage kid around the country, following a map of her past mistakes. Sara Taylor is a sophisticated writer, to create the subtle change in writing from a 14-yr-old childish perspective to the 16-yr-old worldly- adult perspective is really clever. I think this will be devoured by those who enjoyed The Girls. I loved this very smart read.

$32.99

The Underground Railway by Colson Whitehead

Dean says: An extraordinary powerful read following Cora a slave on a Georgia cotton plantation and her journey by the underground railways as she risks her life heading North to freedom. The individual tales which break- up Cora’s own story are the lives of the side players making the adventure and escape all the more interesting. Heartbreaking and tender this story is contemporary in the telling and a literary winner in the making- this shines!

$32.99

Poison City by Paul Crilley

Dean says: A dark fantastical sci-fi crime series set in South Africa. This will appeal to fans of Aaronovitch but leaves Peter Grant in a very glossy light as London Tau the wizard cop and his cohorts in the Delphic Division tread a violent, dark and gritty path fighting against the orisha of Durban, the poison city. Tau’s spirit guide is a drunk and rude dog, his boss a walking dead and he works with alongside demons, vampires and fae extracting information, helping and at times fighting against humankind. When Tau discovers South Africa’s political elite are treating themselves to fetishized sins then paying a SinEater to make them disappear, a war is announced between humankind and the orisha. Tau will have to pick a side and fight for his life. Gripping and page turning fun- I can’t wait for book 2!

$32.99

[betterreader]

A Week in Reviews: From Shepherds to Salads

The Shepherd’s Life by James Rebanks

Mischa says: I saw James Rebanks at the 2016 Sydney Writers’ Festival and was inspired by his back-to-nature way of life. The Shepard’s Life recounts Rebanks’s muddy yet rather Romantic years as a sheep farmer in the north-eastern fells of the Lake District. If he didn’t write with such flowing prose that perfectly encapsulates the atmosphere of the British countryside, reading about animal auctions, and herding and shearing sheep would surely be a less engrossing experience. Rebanks brings nostalgia and beautiful yet frank observations about the world he inhabits to this gem of a book. It has become my uplifting go-to-book for refreshing lifestyle wisdom!  

$24.99

The Wrong Girl by Zoe Foster Blake

Liz says:  I’ve always been a big fan of Zoe Foster Blake’s beauty and lifestyle writing – it’s fun, witty, informative and teeming with personality. She can even make the benefits of using a zinc-based sunscreen a delightful read (read all about the pros of physical sunscreen in her latest beauty book Amazinger Face). I finally picked up one of her novels and was not disappointed. Like all of Zoe’s writing The Wrong Girl is funny, enjoyable and easy to read. Perfect for a relaxing weekend!

$19.99

Portraits by Man Ray

Morgan says: Man Ray was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in France, contributing significantly to the Dada and Surrealist movements. He initially taught himself photography in order to reproduce his own works of art, but it became one of his preferred mediums. He was perfectly placed to photograph his avant-garde contemporaries through his career, including Jean Cocteau, Peggy Guggenheim, Lee Miller, Ava Gardner and Catherine Deneuve. With over 200 beautifully reproduces images, an introduction by Terence Pepper and an essay by Marina Warner exploring the artist’s creativity and appetite for innovation and experimentation, this book is an essential survey of portraits from one of the most inventive photographic artists of the 20th century. 

$90.00

The Course of Love by Alain de Botton

Fabienne says: The creator of “pop philosophy” offers an exploration of how love works-and may even survive- through ordinary situations.

The love story of Rabih and Kirsten unfolds while dissected by philosophical annotations. Anyone who’s been in a relationship will be urged to deeply identify with these characters as their experiences reflect on our own.

With this fictional, philosophical, psychological novel, de Botton succeed into producing the most entertaining textbook on the rationalisation of Love.

$32.99

LEON Happy Salads by Jane Baxter 

Steph says: I recently discovered Leon’s cookbooks and was completely won over! Their recipes are straight-forward, healthy and full of flavour, their design is bright and refreshing and their books are peppered with anecdotes, images and advice from their London restaurants. Covering an enormous range of cooked and raw salads from all over the world, Happy Salads deserves a spot on any kitchen bookshelf, right next to Hetty McKinnon's Community.

$24.99

[betterreader]

Our August Book of the Month: The Hate Race by Maxine Beneba Clarke

The Hate Race by Maxine Beneba Clarke

$32.99

Mariana says; Unputdownable - I read this in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed Clarke’s immersive style of creative non-fiction that wove social critique with a very personal narrative. It broadened my understanding of the experience of racism in Australia and is one of my favourite books of the year.

Mischa says; The Hate Race is electrifying, poignant and devastating; everyone needs to read it!

Dean says; The powerful story Clarke weaves of a familiar Australia childhood is abruptly shattered with sweeping smears of hatred. This is a must read for all Australians and leads to the question; Why do we live in such a hateful country? Clarke writes with magnetism and the ability to deliver a thought provoking punch to the chest.

Nelson says; Powerful and gut-wrenching, Clarke perfectly instils the prolific othering that occurs in Australia of those that lie outside the white hegemony. Not relentlessly harrowing, moments of humour and poignancy make this a truly great read.

Gin says; Maxine Beneba Clarke’s memoir is a moving testimony to story and survival. I read this book in frank recognition. The brutal horror of the ethnic cleansing of the school playground is in marked contrast with Clarke’s warmth and determination. 

Liz says; Deservedly our book of the month! 

[betterreader]

August New Releases

FICTION

Heroes of the Frontier by Dave Eggers

In his latest book Eggers explores relationship breakdown, the pitfalls of mundane suburbia and a road trip filled with aspects of discovery and self-reflection . All set to a backdrop of the Alaskan wilderness. He combines elements of a physical journey with the inner journey of the main character. A riveting juxtaposition.

He explores new ground as a writer and thus keeps true to form, offering the reader uncharted territory and an all-new immersive experience. A very exciting fresh work from a major voice in contemporary fiction.

$32.99

Dear Mr M by Herman Koch

The gripping new literary thriller from the bestselling author of The Dinner. Koch’s latest offering draws the reader into a dystopian critique of the literary world. Dear Mr M is narrated from five different perspectives and blends elements of a crime thriller with social critique. Fans of Koch’s breed of black humour and incisive wit will enjoy Dear Mr M – a story of retribution. “When faced with reality, a writer has no choice but to stick the knife in.”

$29.99

A Boy Made of Blocks by Keith Stuart

A Boy Made of Blocks is a charming and timely tale of learning to connect in the digital age. This beautiful, funny and surprising story of family, love and autism is perfect for fans of The Rosie Project, David Nicholls’ Us and Nick Hornby’s About a Boy. 8yo Sam’s diagnosis of autism signals a crisis for his father Alex, whose life now goes somewhat off the rails. But then Alex gradually discovers that Sam’s supposedly ‘inward’ obsessions—e.g., with Minecraft—actually lead outward and back into a complex and better real world.

$29.99

Augustown by Kei Miller

A most wonderful tale of metafiction! Set in the ghetto Augustown Jamaica where Ma Taffy a blind old lady who trades tales of the old days smells a shift in the air, an autoclapp. On this day, evil takes over, Kaia her 6-yr-old grandson’s dreads are cut off by a school teacher with a mean streak and what ensues makes for an extremely wicked and dreamy tale. With a cast of vivid characters true to the most wonderful magical realism; a flying preacherman, a songtress whose voice can raise people to the heavens, a school mistress with backbone and a gang leader with a soft silent walk- they call him Softpaws. This is a story unlike any other, written in the style alike to traditional verbal storytelling, Augustown is a real dazzling treat!

$32.99

The Countenance Divine by Michael Hughes

With echoes of Cloud Atlas but heavily influenced by the works of Milton and Blake, The Countenance Divine is an ambitious debut from Hughes. The book follows four characters, each highly individualised with a distinct voice and each belonging to a completely different time period stretching from 1666-1999. One moment we’re with Chris, a computer programmer trying to thwart the Millenium Bug and next we are following the semi-literate letters of the deeply troubled man Jack in 1888 London. Visionary and macabre this is a captivating bit of apocalyptic fantasy.

$32.99

To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey

Set against Alaska’s icy wilderness this beautifully researched historical novel charts the perilous emotional and physical journey of a young couple. At first delighted to lead a team in an attempt to open the impassable Wolverine River, a key to linking resources to the outside world, Forrester must also leave his (poor!) pregnant wife Sophie for an entire year in the barracks. As the crew travel to beyond the edge of the known world they encounter more than they expected.

$32.99

Christodora by Tim Murphy

While Garth Risk Hallberg's City On Fire offered a New York-centric focus on 1970’s punk culture, Christodora reads like its streamlined sibling. Centred on the titular apartment building in the east-end, to simplify it as an ‘AIDS novel’ would do it a disservice as it delves deep into the thematic extensions of this such as addiction, struggle and relationships whilst maintaining a broad scope, spanning several decades and employing multifaceted characters whom develop throughout.

$29.99

The Apartment by S.L. Grey

When intruders donning balaclavas break into the happily married Mark and Steph’s house they are left traumatised and whilst unharmed, constant fear shatters any attempts to regain normalcy. When they come across an idyllic apartment in Paris on a popular house swapping website it offers not only an irresistible romantic getaway but also a chance to restore and heal. Once they arrive however, nothing is as advertised, and as violence and trauma ebbs into the waking nightmare the cracks in their relationship widen while dark secrets bubble to the surface.   

$29.99

AUSTRALIAN FICTION

Their Brilliant Careers by Ryan O’Neill

Ryan O’Neill’s hilarious novel invents the biographies of made up Australian writers. Their Brilliant Careers is a playful set of stories, linked in many ways, which together form a memorable whole. It is a wonderful comic tapestry of the writing life, and a large-scale parody in which every detail adds to the humour of the overall picture. Unpredictable and intriguing, Their Brilliant Careers takes Australian writing in a whole new direction.

$27.99

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Six responsible adults. Three cute kids. One small dog. It’s just a normal weekend. What could possibly go wrong? In Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty takes on the foundations of our lives: marriage, sex, parenthood, and friendship. She shows how guilt can expose the fault lines in the most seemingly strong relationships, how what we don’t say can be more powerful than what we do, and how sometimes it is the most innocent of moments that can do the greatest harm.

$29.99

Barbed Wire and Cherry Blossoms by Anita Heiss

Over 1000 Japanese soldiers break out of the No.12 Prisoner of War compound on the fringes of Cowra. In the carnage, hundreds are killed, many are recaptured, and some take their own lives. But one, Hiroshi, manages to escape. At a nearby Aboriginal mission, Banjo Williams, discovers Hiroshi, distraught and on the run. Unlike most of the townsfolk who dislike and distrust the Japanese, the people of Erambie choose compassion and offer Hiroshi refuge. Mary, Banjo’s daughter, is intrigued by Hiroshi and charged with his care. Love blossoms them and they each dream of a future together. But how long can Hiroshi be hidden safely and their bond kept a secret?

$29.99

The Regulars by Georgia Clark

This cheeky tale of wit follows three best friends struggling along in their NYC life, with average looks, average love and average crisis until they are confronted their wildest fantasy: to be pretty. Evie, Krista and Willow discover Pretty a tincture that changes their looks to supermodel pretty and suddenly doors open and they are living the life. That is until their gloss fades and they are left to question: What would I sacrifice to be pretty again?  Fresh, funny; The Regulars questions the beauty myth and presents a witty, bright new voice on this feminist topic.

$29.99

CRIME FICTION

I See You by Clare Mackintosh

Quite the cracker of a debut novel, one that showcases another major talent in the emerging vanguard of female crime writers. This is the definition of a page-tuner and will leave you on the edge of your seat.

Zoe Walker sees a picture of herself in a newspaper and is intrigued as to why and how it got there. Her family are convinced it’s just someone else who looks like her. Each day a new photo pops up, of a new woman, and the mystery becomes increasingly elusive. If you like Gillian Flynn, Paula Hawkins, and Mary Kubika, make sure you don’t miss out on this fascinating new read.

$29.99

The Trespasser: Dublin Murder by Tana French

Antoinette Conway, the tough, abrasive detective from The Secret Place, is still on the Murder Squad, but only just. She’s successfully partnered up with Stephen Moran, but the rest of her working life isn’t going so well. She doesn't play well with others, and there’s a vicious running campaign in the squad to get rid of her. She and Stephen pull a case that at first looks like a slam dunk lovers’ tiff, but gradually they realise there’s more going on: someone on their own squad is trying to push them towards the obvious solution, away from nagging questions.

$29.99

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

From the author of the hit series Wayward Pines comes another dark, mind-bending thriller. Jason wakes one day and his life is not the one he knows. Is it this world or the other that's the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could've imagined - one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe. A cool, brilliantly plotted thriller about the choices we make.

$29.99

SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet

The first book in a new urban fantasy series the Kingfisher Chronicles; Cat Fisa lives disguised as a soothsayer with a travelling circus avoiding danger until Griffin an ambitious warlord from the magic deprived South upsets her illusion of safety forever. Griffin knows Cat is the Kingmaker, the woman who divines the truth through lies. He wants her as a powerful weapon for his newly conquered realm and for a little more. Cat fights him at every turn, but Griffin's fairness, loyalty, make him increasingly hard to resist.

$29.99

Lord of the Darkwood by Lian Hearn

This is book three of the popular Tales of the Shikanoko series. Lian Hearn is a fantasy powerhouse and one of the most interesting writers working in the genre today.  

Lian Hearn is the pseudonym of a writer with who has a longstanding interest in Japan, has lived there, and studies Japanese. She is the author of the bestselling Tales of the Otori series. This drama is complex and compelling, and weaves a narrative using forests and battlefields. A perfect choice for those interested in experimental fantasy writing.

$29.99

Poison City by Paul Crilley

A dark fantastical sci-fi crime series set in South Africa. This will appeal to fans of Aaronovitch but leaves Peter Grant in a very glossy light as London Tau the wizard cop and his cohorts in the Delphic Division tread a violent, dark and gritty path fighting against the orisha of Durban, the poison city. Tau’s spirit guide is a drunk and rude dog, his boss a walking dead and he works with alongside demons, vampires and fae extracting information, helping and at times fighting against humankind. When Tau discovers South Africa’s political elite are treating themselves to fetishized sins then paying a SinEater to make them disappear, a war is announced between humankind and the orisha. Tau will have to pick a side and fight for his life. Gripping and page turning fun- I can’t wait for book 2!

$32.99

The Last Days of New Paris by China Mieville

The wait for Mieville’s latest masterpiece is over! Mieville’s latest novel showcases his talent for fusing elements of different genres - in this case, sci-fi, historical fiction and speculative fiction - and tells the story of a 1940s Paris with an alternative history - one where Nazis are engaged in ongoing conflict with Resistance forces. Thibaut, a lone fighter, walks the turmoiled streets of Paris and joins forces with an American in order to navigate the conflict and survive - for he is being hunted, and  the mysteries of this dystopia slowly begin to unravel.

$29.99

COOKING

Simplissime by Jean-Francois Mallet

Learn to cook classic French cuisine the easy way. Each of the 160 recipes here requires 6 or less ingredients, and the preparation time is short. The steps are precise and simple, accompanied by clear photographs of each ingredient and finished dish. Cooking has never been so easy! It’s no surprise that this book has been selling a copy every ten seconds in France. Apple Tart with Cinnamon, Spaghetti with Asparagus and Orange, Mussels in Curry…!

$39.99

The Natural Cook by Matt Stone

Maximum taste, zero waste! This is the cookbook written by Matt Stone, the head chef of the Oakridge Wines restaurant in Victoria,  who been the recipient of Gourmet Traveller's Best New Talent award and West Australia's Good Food Guide's Best Young Chef. Stone emphasises cooking with a minimal amount of wastage and this emphasis on sustainability sets him and his approach to food apart from other well-known chefs working today.

Stone has a passion for ethical, zero-waste cooking and is one of Australia’s finest young chefs.

$39.99

N’Ice Cream by Virpi Mikkonen & Tuulia Talvio

A cookbook for vegan ice-cream - what more can we ask for? This book is a best-seller in Finland and it’s just been translated into English. The mouth-watering photographs are enough to inspire even the laziest wannabe ice-cream makers to whip up a sweet, delicious morsel. Boasting over 80 recipes with natural ingredients, this cookbook will open your mind to the possibilities of the vegan ice cream world. It includes recipes for creamy ice creams as well as soft serves, sorbets, ice pops, ice cream cakes and toppings.

$45.00

Halliday Wine Companion 2017 by James Halliday

Your bible’s here! The 2017 edition has been revised. Halliday shares his knowledge of wine through detailed tasting notes, each with vintage-specific ratings and advice on optimal drinking as well as each wine’s closure, alcohol content and price. He provides information about the wineries, winemakers and other important details such as vineyard sizes, opening times, contact details and website addresses.

$39.99

GRAPHIC NOVELS

Becoming Andy  Warhol by Nick Bertozzi

A graphic novel biography about Andy Warhol, the most celebrated artist of the pop art era. Written by Nick Bertozzi (Shackleton, Jerusalem) and illustrated by Pierce Hargan (BFA 2012), this graphic biography focuses on a major turning point in Warhol’s career – his painting of a mural in 1964 and the struggle he had with the urban planner and architect involved. This is the story of how Warhol challenged the establishment and eventually made a name for himself in the world of art and society as a whole.

$35.00

Stardust Nation written by Deborah Levy & illustrated by Andrzej Klimowski

This exciting and genre-bending adaptation of a short story from Levy’s Black Vodka collection is not to be missed by fans of the graphic medium! This graphic novel follows Nikos Gazidis, a man suffering from a nondescript psychiatric illness. It’s interesting to see mental illness, the psychiatric industrial complex and notions of empathy drawn together to create a vivid and raw

$27.99

BIOGRAPHY

Hate Race by Maxine Beneba Clarke

Gin says: Maxine Beneba Clarke’s memoir is a moving testimony to story and survival. I read this book in frank recognition. The brutal horror of the ethnic cleansing of the school playground is in marked contrast with Clarke’s warmth and determination. 

Mariana says: Unputdownable - I read this in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed Clarke’s immersive style of creative non-fiction that wove social critique with a very personal narrative. It broadened my understanding of the experience of racism in Australia and is one of my favourite books of the year. 

$32.99

BIOGRAPHY

Brett Whitley by Ashleigh Wilson

Whitley was one of Australia’s best-known artists, and his influence in the art world is ongoing. This is a new book that showcases some of Whiteley’s best work. It grants us a look into the life and work of the artist using rare photos and sketches. Ashleigh Wilson is a Walkley-Award-winning journalist who is currently the Arts Editor of The Australian. He has been working as a journalist for twenty years.

$49.99

In the Darkroom by Susan Faludi

In 2004 the author received an email from her elderly father, whom she had hardly seen since her parents’ divorce in the 1970s, containing photos of him in blouses, skirts and wigs. The subject line read ‘Changes’ and the message was breezy: ‘I’ve got some interesting news for you. I have decided that I have had enough of impersonating a macho aggressive man.’ The person she had known as Steven had undergone gender-reassignment surgery in Thailand and was now Stefánie. There begins the fascinating story.

$32.99

My Year Without Meat by Richard Cornish

Food journalist Cornish documents his experience with cutting out all meat products from his life for a year. This is a really interesting take on the oft-explored ‘foray into vegetarianism’ trope, and makes for an interesting addition to the literature that deals with the ethics of meat consumption from a culinary rather than social or political perspective. Cornish makes the point that abstaining from the consumption of meat is a unique and valuable experience that’s worth trying – even if it’s only temporary.

$29.99

Saltwater by Cathy McLennan

'Everyone knows that some of those kids are innocent . . . your dilemma is not whether the kids are innocent, but which of the kids are innocent.'

When Cathy McLennan first steps into Townsville's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service as a young graduate she isn't expecting a major murder case to land on her desk. The accused are four teenage boys whose family connections stretch across the water to Palm Island. Cathy realises that the truth is far more complex than she first thought. Saltwater tells the compelling story of one lawyer's fight for justice.

$32.95

ESSAY

Rebellious Daughters by Maria  Katsonis & Lee Kofman

In Rebellious Daughters, some of Australia’s most talented female writers share intimate and touching stories of rebellion and independence as they defy the expectations of parents and society to find their place in the world. Powerful, funny and poignant, these stories explore everything from getting caught in seedy nightclubs to lifelong family conflicts and marrying too young. Beautifully written, profoundly honest and always relatable, every story is a unique retelling that celebrates the rebellious daughter within us all.

$32.99

HISTORY

Ghost Empire by Richard Fidler

Stemming from his 2014 visit to Istanbul with his son, Ghost Empire blends the rich history of the dazzling Byzantine Empire navigated through a father-son adventure. The legendary Constantinople centres around much of the book with the clash of civilisations, the fall of empires, the rise of Christianity and all the betrayal, lust and revenge that went along with it brought vividly to life whilst unfolding changes occur with Fidler’s relationship with his son. A captivating combination of the historical and contemporary is realised through a charmingly written ode to civilisation.

$39.99

Les Parisiennes by Anne Sebba

Anne Sebba examines the lives of women in Paris over a ten year period ending in 1949. These were years of fear, power, aggression, courage, deprivation and secrets until - finally - renewal and retribution. In fascinating detail Sebba explores the aftershock of the Second World War and the choices demanded. In a beautifully detailed and well researched book,  Anne Sebba shows, life for Parisian women was a deeply ambiguous affair with experiences that can be ‘turned in any number of ways to produce a different image’. This history is a treat for fashion lovers, Francophiles and history lovers.

$32.99 

REFERENCE

The Writer’s Room by Charlotte Wood

Charlotte Wood's online journal The Writer's Room has become essential reading for writers at all stages of their careers, and also pure reading pleasure for book lovers everywhere. Charlotte's interviews with a wide range of well-known writers range in topic from the subject matter of the writers' work to quite intricate - and intimate - revelations about the ways in which they work. Charlotte's subjects are frank about the failures and successes, the struggles and triumphs of the writing life, and extremely generous in their revelations. A must-read for writers and readers.

$32.99

AUSTRALIAN HISTORY

44 Days by Michael Veitch

44 Days recounts the unlikely defence of Port Moresby against the Japanese during World War II. Comprised of raw recruits and improbable heroes, time and time again they were hurled into battle and overcame all odds and logic against a vastly superior enemy, succeeding in their mission but paying a terrible price. Veitch gives mouthpiece to a largely untold facet of Australian history, bringing to life the incredible exploits and tragic sacrifices of these soldiers.

$32.99

The Battle of Long Tan by David W. Cameron

On the afternoon of 18 August 1966 a rubber plantation near Long Tan, in Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam, became the stage for one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War involving Australian troops. Marking the battle’s 50th anniversary, and drawing on unpublished first-hand accounts from servicemen at all levels of command, critically-acclaimed military historian David Cameron brings to life blow-by-blow the events of this famous battle as it unfolded—minute by minute, hour by hour—and reveals the deeds of heroism and mateship now part of Australia's Vietnam War story.

$35.00

Hamilton Hume by Robert Macklin

Born in Australia, Hamilton Hume, a man with a profound understanding of the Aboriginal people and the bush, led settlers from the surrounds of Sydney Town to the vast fertile country of NSW and Victoria. Hume began exploring with his brother John and an aboriginal boy at the tender age of seventeen.  It is now 200 years since Hume and Hovell made their historic trek from Gunning to Corio Bay and back. Robert Macklin loans his exceptional style to a new biography of Hamilton Hume.

$32.99

[betterreader]

A Week in Reviews: Graphic Novels, Crime &  Contemporary Fiction

Megg and Mogg (In Amsterdam/Megahex) by Simon Hanselmann

Mariana says: One of the funniest comics I’ve ever read. Somewhere in the deluge of stoner humour, crass jokes and anthropomorphised nihilism, we find ourselves reading consistently sincere and relatable narratives about domestic issues, friendships and romance. Megahex is the first collection of Megg and Mogg (and Owl and occasionally Werewolf Jones) comics, and In Amsterdam is the highly anticipated follow-up. The stoner humour genre has never been appealing to me, but Hanselmann’s wit and timing ensure this transgresses the bounds of that otherwise limiting

$39.99

Zero K by Don DeLillo

Fergus says: The title refers to 0°Kelvin, which is as cold as anything can get. A relatable family romance is nested within the cold desert of DeLillo’s excellent planetary-existential inquiry of a novel. The thematic premise is the pseudo-scientifically informed practice of cryonics—the long-term preservation, by freezing, of recently deceased human beings in the hope of their eventual revival by means of advanced medical techniques. Jeffrey Lockhart’s (the name, readers may notice, holds the ‘heart’ as in a cryonic chamber) dying stepmother Artis (Art is… what?) is readying herself for the frozen ‘journey’, which looks technically viable thanks to his enterprising father Ross’s extreme wealth. A pang of memory haunting the story is the previous demise—a normal passage to unfrozen oblivion—of Jeffrey’s mother Madeline (whose name, btw, echoes that of Poe’s Madeline Usher, undead in that other literary family crypt).

 $29.99

Moonstone by Sjon

Dean says: A dazzling poetic fable set in 1918 when the Spanish flu washes over Iceland. Mani Steinn is obsessed with cinema, he watches every film that arrives and dreams fractured versions of the film in his sleep. As a prostitute, he comes into contact with many men, all suffering sickening degrees of the Spanish flu which is believed to be spread through the cinema. He falls in love at a distance with a Sola G, a town girl with a red scarf and is fortunate enough to travel with the local doctor as his assistant, Sola G is the driver. They ride together silently in the doctors automobile, falling in love. Stunning landscapes, mesmerising prose, this miniature historical epic is a delight.

$29.99

Don’t You Cry by Mary Kubica

Jane says: Mary Kubica is shaping up to be a reliable crime writer. Don’t You Cry is a clever psychological thriller. Suspenseful and character driven, this could also cross over into the Young Adult genre, as it’s central characters are university aged, and the themes are not as grisly as its counterparts. A really solid read.  

$29.99

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A Week in Reviews: Cultural Studies, Novels & Art

The Lonely City by Olivia Laing

Morgan says; Part essay, part biography, part memoir, part art criticism, Olivia Laing’s ‘The Lonely City’ explores the connection between loneliness, creativity and art. Moving fluidly between works and lives – from Edward Hopper’s Nighhawks and Andy Warhol’s Time Capsules to Henry Darger’s hoarding to the depredations of the AIDS crisis – Laing reflects on what it means to be alone and illuminates not only the causes of loneliness but how it might be resisted and redeemed. An absorbing read for anyone who knows what its like to feel alone in a big city.

$34.99

Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman

Mischa says; Having previously devoured all of Robin Wasserman’s Young Adult fiction, I picked up Girls on Fire - Wasserman’s first dive into contemporary fiction -  with high expectations. I was completely blown away! Part crime thriller, part love story, part coming-of-age, there are undertones of True Detective’s Southern Gothic and The Virgin Suicides’ intoxication of female friendship in this haunting and captivating read. At times I was so much part of the words on the page that I myself was caught up in the obsessive intensity of Dex and Lacey’s friendship; I wanted to shake them and hug them close at the same time. Wasserman has the rare power to cast a spell over the reader with her beautifully harrowing prose. But be warned, once you pick this book up, you won’t want to put it back down, and you certainly won’t forget it. 

$32.99

Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera 

Gin says; I found myself anxious, and gasping for air in the rough, brilliant terrain of this dark novel. The book starts with the literal end of the world for a man, a dog, and a cat, who are swallowed by a sinkhole. The novel is plotted around a woman’s perilous border crossing, Mexico to the USA and back. The language creates a sense of uncertainty through close up detail and grim observations made by Martika, the protagonist, whose damp physicality grounds the novel while offering a suspended psychological journey that occasionally rises to mythological depths.

$25.99

Portraits: John Berger on Artists by John Berger & Edited by Tom Overton 

James says; John Berger is beloved for his fiery charisma as much as for his unparalleled insight. This collection is a spectacular display of both of those characteristics.  It’s comprised of essays, letters, and dialogues that explore the works of a huge variety of artists from around the globe and across time, but they’re presented here in historical order.  This approach makes the book read narratively. It’s the story of art, but revealed through examinations of the artists themselves. Berger’s forthright, engaging, and sometimes quite direct style make for a very compelling read. 

From the first pages I was struck by Berger’s ability to write clearly but almost totally without jargon.  His passion for painting is incendiary, not only did the book light many new works and artists that I hadn’t heard of before, it inspired me to revisit many old favourites with new eyes and find things there that I wouldn’t have believed existed before. 

$39.99