Summer Reading Guide 2010

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In her latest novel, the bestselling author
of Water for Elephants (Allen & Unwin. PB.
$23.95) continues to explore the theme
of humankind’s complex relationship with
animals. The story starts with a family
of bonobo apes being kidnapped from a
language laboratory by a wayward animal
rights group. The plot twists and turns when
Allen & Unwin PB the animals, which share more than 98% of
the same DNA makeup as humans, fall into the
WAS $33
wrong hands and become the subject matter
NOW $27.95
of a crass reality TV show, Ape House. At the
heart of the novel is the intelligence of these
incredible apes, their unethical treatment and
their uncanny resemblance to humans. Gruen
has spent time with the bonobos and it is her
deep understanding and admiration for them
that bring Ape House to life.
PLEASE NOTE
All details were correct at the time of
printing, and we will make every effort
to maintain advertised prices. However,
prices of imported items may change
without notice due to the volatility of
international exchange rates.
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AT HOME WITH THE TEMPLETONS
Monica McInerney
Michael Joseph PB
$32.95
3-FOR-THE-PRICE-OF-2
AUDIOBOOK OFFER
George Orwell (READ BY SIMON CALLOW)
BOLINDA. 3-DISC SET. $29.95
HOW PROUST CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE
Alain de Botton (READ BY NICHOLAS BELL)
BOLINDA. 6-DISC SET. $39.95
KOKODA
Paul Ham (READ BY PETER BYRNE)
BOLINDA. 17-DISC SET. $49.95
THE WORLD BENEATH
Cate Kennedy (READ BY JULIE NIHILL)
BOLINDA. 11-DISC SET. $44.95
Buy any two of these Bolinda audiobooks and you can choose a third
for free! Stock up for summer road trips, or for listening while cooking
Christmas feasts for family and friends. You can revisit Orwell’s classic
political allegory, ponder the power and significance of literature with
Alain de Botton, follow Paul Ham’s meticulously researched history of
the Kokoda campaign and enjoy Cate Kennedy’s highly praised first
novel. Note that the title with the lowest RRP will be the one given free.
Fourth Estate PB
$28
Hachette PB
WAS $35
NOW $29.95
Arty New Yorkers Peter and Rebecca are
in their forties, parents to a geographically
and emotionally distant daughter and proxy
parents to Rebecca’s much younger brother
Mizzy, youthful, beautiful and charismatic, but
also exceptionally self-centred and addicted.
And seductive, too – especially to Peter, with
his thoughts of death and ageing, his desire
for a pure relationship with genius and beauty
(both in his personal life and in his profession
as an art dealer), and his questioning of
his entire self and his projection of it. In
this fascinating and convincing portrait
of a 20-year-old marriage on the brink,
Cunningham is, as ever, a master at writing
resonantly about modern life while asking us
to contemplate what it is to be human.
Australian author Lian Hearn’s Tales of the
Otori series, which began with Across the
Nightingale Floor (Hachette. PB. $25), has
delighted millions of readers worldwide. In
Blossoms and Shadows, Hearn continues to
write about Japan, but rather than remaining
in the feudal period, she locates this new story
in the mid-1860s – a time of violent revolution
and major upheaval. Tsuru, the main narrator,
is an unconventional woman who begins her
journey working as her physician father’s
assistant, but is soon building her own career
and taking charge of her life as she tends the
wounded on the frontline and deals with the
men in her life. Clearly, Hearn is a devoted
student of Japanese history and culture, and
with this novel she has created a captivating
tale of Japan’s bakumatsu period, and a
thoroughly likeable, interesting protagonist.
THE COUNTESSES OF CASTELLO
Milena Agus
Scribe PB $24.95
In this follow-up to her bestselling debut
novel, The House in Via Manno (Scribe. PB.
$24.95), Milena Agus returns to the Italian
island of Sardinia and its earthy and often
eccentric inhabitants. The countesses of the
title are three sisters living in a crumbling
ancestral palazzo in Cagliari. Each has a
different dream – Noemi of lost splendours,
Maddalena of having a child and the softhearted youngest, who is known as Countess
Ricotta, of love. Their bittersweet personal
stories unfold against those of their relatives,
dependents and neighbours, resulting in a
quirky, compassionate and unexpectedly
sexy narrative.
BER
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THE DEATH OF KING ARTHUR
Peter Ackroyd
A DEAD HAND
Paul Theroux
Set in Calcutta, the latest novel by Paul
Theroux concerns a travel writer with creative
block who receives a letter from a stranger.
Against his will, the narrator allows himself to
be beguiled and manipulated by the letter’s
author, sexy American ‘philanthropist’ Mrs
Merrill Unger, who holds the secrets to Tantric
massage. When an investigation is launched
into the death of a young boy, whose demise
has implicated the friend of Mrs Unger’s son,
all is not as it seems. With his reliable wit
and verbal economy, the author of travel-lit
classics including The Old Patagonian Express
(Penguin. PB. $24.95) and Ghost Train to the
Eastern Star (Penguin. PB. $26.95) explores
the loneliness of the nomadic travelling writer
and the way that off-kilter cities such as
Calcutta can get under the skin.
So perfect is this book for beach-holiday
reading that copies are fated to return home
with grains of sand lodged in the pages.
Classic McInerney, the plot features drama
and romance as well as a lovely depiction of
a nutty family – it’s light but not lightweight,
escapist but not thoughtless. The seven
Templetons, including idiosyncratic heroine
Gracie, come from England to country
Victoria to take possession of a stately home,
unsettling the locals. Their closest neighbours
are Nina Donovan and her son Tom, and
despite Nina’s reluctance to get involved, the
lives of the two very different families become
enmeshed. The plot keeps up an involving
pace, while McInerney’s perceptive writing
about change and betrayal in friendships and
families provides the substance.
BLOSSOMS AND SHADOWS
Lian Hearn
BY NIGHTFALL
Michael Cunningham
ANIMAL FARM
Penguin PB
$24.95
If, on inspection, you’re not happy with a
book selected through this guide, you can
return it (in saleable condition) within 14
days of purchase and we’ll exchange it for
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book voucher – the choice is yours.
Fiction
APE HOUSE
Sara Gruen
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ART, DESIGN & PHOTOGRAPHY
19
BIOGRAPHY
8–10
classical music
26
CRIME FICTION
6
DVDs
27
FICTION
2–5
FOOD 17–18
GIFT
21
HISTORY
11–12
KID’S
22–23
LANDSCAPES & GARDENS
14
LANGUAGE, POETRY & ESSAYS
7–8
music & film
16
music CDs & DVDs
24–25
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BACK COVER
POLITICS & SOCIETY
13
SCIENCE & NATURE
15–16
TRAVEL
20
Allen Lane HB
$49.95
Novelist and biographer Peter Ackroyd
(London: the Biography) has always been
fascinated with the history and literature of
‘the green and pleasant land’, and here he
follows up his recent retelling of Chaucer’s
The Canterbury Tales (Penguin. PB. $26.95)
with his version of the immortal legend
of the death of King Arthur. This story of
chivalry, treachery and death has retained
its appeal and popularity through the
ages, mesmerising readers with details of
Mordred’s treason, the knightly exploits of
Tristan, the quest for the Holy Grail, and
Lancelot’s fatally divided loyalties and love
for Guenevere. The result is an accessible
and extremely moving account of the knights
of the Round Table. Stirring stuff!
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Quercus PB
WAS $24.95
NOW $12.95
THE DOG OF THE MARRIAGE
Amy Hempel
This single volume brings together four
highly praised collections of short fiction by
Amy Hempel: Reasons to Live (1985), At the
Gates of the Animal Kingdom (1990), Tumble
Home (1997) and The Dog of the Marriage
(2005). Memorably minimalist, witty, tragic,
trivial, elemental and intensely personal, this
is contemporary and punchy fiction, each
sentence trimmed to the bone. Saying more
in a few words than a million could convey,
New York–based Hempel breaks your heart
on one page and makes you laugh out loud on
the next. From her moving first story, ‘In the
Cemetery Where Al Jolson is Buried’, to the
blurred fact and fiction of ‘Offertory’, runs the
underlying thread of the author’s compassion
for love’s and life’s losers.
3
Fiction Harvill Secker PB
$29.95
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Macmillan HB
WAS $50
NOW $39.95
THE ELEPHANT’s JOURNEY
José Saramago
THE EMPTY FAMILY
Colm Tóibín
FALL GIRL
Toni Jordan
This novel by the Portuguese Nobel laureate is
an enchanting mix of fact, fable and fantasy. It
tells the story of an elephant called Solomon,
brought to Portugal from the colonies in India
and then given as a wedding gift by King Dom
João III to the Hapsburg archduke, Maximilian.
The poor pachyderm travels from Lisbon to
Vienna on foot, accompanied by his quiet
keeper, Subhro, who watches while – at every
place they stop – people try to turn Solomon
into something he is not. Based on an actual
journey that occurred in 1551, the narrative
is peppered with witty reflections on human
failings and achievements, and is, in the end,
about the journey of life itself.
In nine captivating stories set in Ireland,
America and Spain, the author of Brooklyn
(Picador. PB. $23) and The Master (Picador.
PB. $22.95) delineates with a tender and
unique sensibility the lives of individuals
cast adrift from their history. From the young
Pakistani immigrant who seeks some kind of
permanence in a strange town, to the Irish
woman reluctantly returning to Dublin and
discovering a city that refuses to acknowledge
her long absence, most of these stories deal
with returning home, of family threads lost
and rarely regained – Tóibín’s characters have
inevitably postponed their life’s chances for
too long and are faced with ‘a landscape of
endings’. Powerful and poetic, this collection
by one of Ireland’s most acclaimed writers
clearly comes straight from the heart.
In her sparkling debut, Addition (Text. PB.
$23.95), Melbourne author Toni Jordan
explored the world of Grace, an OCD sufferer
who finds romance. Fall Girl is just as
romantic, but features a very different heroine
– professional con artist Della Gilmore. She’s
posing as Dr Ella Canfield, an evolutionary
biologist who’s supposedly on a quest to
prove that Tasmanian tigers aren’t extinct.
Cool, calm and collected in her fake glasses
and with her fake qualifications, Della asks
Daniel Metcalf, head of the Metcalf Trust,
to fund her ‘project’ to the tune of $25,000.
A handsome Melbourne millionaire who’s
funded a lot of oddball research, Daniel seems
like the perfect target. Of course, things get
a lot more complicated in this gripping story,
as hot-and-bothered Della finds herself
interested in more than just his money.
BER
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Text PB $32.95
FALL OF GIANTS
Ken Follett
FREEDOM
Jonathan Franzen
Usually ‘getting lost in a good book’ is just
a figure of speech, but not so when applied
to Fall of Giants, the latest historical epic by
blockbuster author Ken Follett – and the first
in the planned Century trilogy. This is perfect
holiday reading that takes you back in time to
another world: the early 20th century during
WWI, the women’s suffrage movement and
the Russian Revolution. Some real historical
figures make cameos, and there’s a huge
cast of interconnected characters – helpfully
listed at the beginning, with ‘Welsh’, ‘Russian’,
‘French’, ‘German & Austrian’, ‘American’
and ‘English & Scottish’ clans. Their children
and grandchildren will populate the next
two instalments of what is sure to be an
unforgettable journey.
GREAT HOUSE
Nicole Krauss
Yes, it really is as good as everyone says. Nine
years after The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen
is back to give us another acute dissection of
middle-class America. Seemingly perfect Patty
and Walter Berglund, their two children, and
the indie musician who is Walter’s best friend
and Patty’s symbol of the path not taken, are
simultaneously the sufferers and symptoms
of modern America. Franzen’s focus shifts
from an intensely personal portrayal of these
characters to broader social concerns, and
there are obvious but never heavy-handed
connections between the two. Depression
stalks many of the characters, but the novel
can be humorous as well as poignant. After
you’ve finished Freedom you’ll think about
it, want to talk to everyone about it, and then
read it again. Immediately.
With her bestselling and award-winning novel
The History of Love (Penguin. PB. $22.95),
New Yorker Nicole Krauss demonstrated her
ability to avoid clichés and sentimentality
while tackling romance, suspense and
tragedy – an ability she’s retained in Great
House, perhaps to even greater effect. Once
again, Krauss cleverly and gradually weaves
together a group of very different characters;
this time connected by a treasured object – a
mysterious desk with a locked drawer and
such a rich history that it’s almost a character
itself. This isn’t the kind of novel that can be
casually picked up and put down. From the
first page, Krauss captures the frailty and
beauty of love and the torment of loss through
the consistent, emotionally compelling voices
of her characters.
HAND ME DOWN WORLD
Lloyd Jones
Text PB $32.95
Picador PB $30
New Zealander Lloyd Jones – author of
the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize–winning
and Booker-shortlisted Mister Pip (Text. PB.
$23.95) – masterfully employs multiple
perspectives in this perceptive and poignant
novel. It follows the journey of an African
woman from her time as a hotel maid through
her riveting, cross-continental quest to find
her son, who was snatched from her as an
infant by her cruelly deceitful lover, Jermayne.
As perspectives shift from those of various
strangers who’ve observed and made
assumptions about the woman – ‘the truck
driver’, ‘the chess player’, ‘the alpine hunter
and guide’ – to named characters who play
more vital roles, revelations are gradually
brought to light about the woman’s situation,
her personality, her identity and the tangled,
complex, often painful ways in which she
interacts with others.
THE HUNDRED FOOT
JOURNEY
Richard C Morais
Subcontinental scents of cardamom and
cumin blended with Gallic garlic and truffles
waft from the pages of this faux-memoir
novel. The story’s narrator, Hassan Haji,
invites us into his idiosyncratic restaurateur
family as he traces their troubled journey
Allen & Unwin PB from Mumbai and Southall to a French alpine
village called Lumière. When Hassan’s father
$28
brings the flavours of India to this rural town,
in the form of his restaurant Maison Mumbai,
the family faces fierce opposition from their
neighbour, the formidable Madame Mallory,
whose Michelin-starred restaurant is all of
100 feet away. US writer Richard C Morais
deftly captures the passions, egos and
aromas of the kitchen as the talented Hassan
moves from his father’s restaurant to work in
Madame Mallory’s own kitchen, and finally to
Paris, where his own Michelin stars await.
Fourth Estate PB
$33
Q
Viking PB $32.95
1. Who got drunk in the
Roman forum?
Affirm Press PB
$24.95
BER
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HAVING CRIED WOLF
Gretchen Shirm
HOW IT FEELS
Brendan Cowell
In this impressive collection of short stories,
ordinary people in an ordinary town go
about their ordinary lives. Except, of course,
no-one is ordinary, and Gretchen Shirm has a
talent for bringing out the individuality of her
characters and making them extraordinary.
She also has an ability to convincingly and
assuredly portray a broad range of those
characters. The stories are all connected by
their links to a fictional town on the NSW
south coast, also beautifully rendered, and
many characters and events are revisited in
later stories told from different perspectives,
casting new light on what we think we already
know. Read this, and you’ll be watching out
for more from this winner of the D J O’Hearn
Memorial Fellowship for Emergent Writers.
Let’s be frank – some readers are going to
love this debut novel by actor Brendan Cowell,
but others are going to loathe it. The only thing
that’s sure is that everyone is going to be
talking about it. Harking back to the heyday of
Australian grunge-lit in the ’90s, How It Feels
is full of sex, drugs and nihilism – and enough
violence to almost warrant a warning sticker.
But it’s also about masculinity, creativity and
the path to adulthood. Neil Cronk and his
girlfriend Courtney have just finished school,
and are dreaming of a life away from Cronulla.
But their joint future is compromised by loss,
and this sets the pattern for Neil over the next
decade, as he is unable to reach out to friends
or lovers. His is a tough world, and anything
beautiful is too often compromised.
Picador PB
$33
THE INTERROGATIVE MOOD
Padgett Powell
Profile Books HB
$25
The cover of this book asks: Is this a novel?
The answer is no, at least not as you’d know
it. Is it intriguing? The answer is definitely
yes. The Interrogative Mood poses myriad
questions to get you thinking…about stuff.
Questions like: Are you happy? Is there
diabetes in your family? What period of
history most interests you? What colour
most flatters you? When was the last time
you saw an ostrich? The mix of random and
sometimes sequential questions combine to
form a kind of poetry and, yes, tell a kind of
story that’s stuffed with mental springboards
for endless cogitation, along with revealing
first-person insights from the author, who is
a regular contributor to publications including
The New Yorker, Harper’s, The Paris Review
and Esquire.
ALLEN & UNWIN
20TH BIRTHDAY EDITIONS
JOURNEY TO THE STONE COUNTRY
Alex Miller
LILIAN’S STORY
Kate Grenville
THE SLAP
Christos Tsiolkas
THE WHITE EARTH
Andrew McGahan
These fabric-covered limited editions of
award-winning Australian novels have been
produced to celebrate the 20th birthday of
Australian independent publisher, Allen &
Unwin. Each is signed by its author, and
features a striking cover illustration. Bound to
become collector’s items.
Allen & Unwin
HB $65 each
4
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Faber PB
WAS $35
NOW $13.95
Fiction
THE LACUNA
Barbara Kingsolver
Winner of the 2010 Orange Prize for Fiction,
The Lacuna is as epic and engrossing as
Kingsolver’s previous novel, The Poisonwood
Bible (Faber. PB. $23.95). The Orange
Prize celebrates excellence, originality
and accessibility in women’s writing from
throughout the world – all things that this
novel about identity, loyalty, love and betrayal
has in spades. Its central character, Americanborn Harrison Shepherd, is the offspring of
an American father and a fun-loving and
feckless Mexican mother. After a shambolic
education in Mexico City, he begins working
for artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo,
embarking on a life-long friendship with them
and with members of their revolutionary
circle, including Leon Trotsky. Returning to the
States after Trotsky’s assassination, Harrison
becomes a successful novelist, but then the
House Committee on Un-American Activities
rears its ugly head...
Jonathan Cape PB
$29.95
Fig Tree HB
$35
Fourth Estate PB
$30
Q
Picador PB
$33
PREINCARNATE
Shaun Micallef
Hardie Grant HB
$29.95
If you thought comedian and TV host Shaun
Micallef’s humour was idiosyncratic and
wide-ranging, hold onto your hats. Taking
the idea of time travel and running with it,
this imaginative sci-fi-with-a-difference
novel takes us on a romp through history
from 21st-century England to Cromwell’s
Interregnum, the London of Conan Doyle
and Outer Space circa 3050. Preincarnate’s
mild-mannered hero Arthur Prewitt had
never felt at home in his skin, and when a
seemingly straightforward trip to the doctor
leads to an injection from an alarmingly large
syringe, a sequence of events is set in motion
involving multiple bodies, Jack the Ripper and
Rosicrucian monks. Or is it? This lively and
hugely creative caper about backwards rebirth
is accompanied by crisp line drawings in the
vein of a ’30s whodunit.
A controversial literary giant, Sir Salman
Rushdie is also a dad. He wrote Haroun and
the Sea of Stories (Granta. PB. $19.95) for one
of his two sons and now he has written Luka
and the Fire of Life – a sequel of sorts – for
the other. The novel follows the adventures of
Haroun’s little brother, Luka, who accidentally
curses a terrifying circus ringmaster, and then
finds himself cursed in revenge when his
‘professional storyteller’ father falls asleep and
won’t wake up. Death is literally lurking outside
the door, and Luka knows he has to act quickly
to save his dad, journeying into the Magic
World with the help of his loyal circus-escapee
animal friends, Bear the dog and Dog the
bear. As always, Rushdie’s prose dazzles and
sparkles with wit, fantastical imagery, wordplay,
metaphor and allusion.
Jonathan Franzen begins his introduction
to this new edition of Christina Stead’s
semi-autobiographical novel with the
cheeky comment that there are any number
of reasons why you shouldn’t read it this
summer – it’s long, its language is tricky,
there’s psychological violence in spades and
it doesn’t even have a traditionally happy
ending. Nevertheless, Franzen’s introduction
goes on to inspire readers to dive into this
70-year-old modern classic. Originally set in
Australia, but switched to the US east coast
on the request of Stead’s US publisher, this
comic, compassionate and often disturbing
novel tells the story of the extraordinary,
dysfunctional Pollit family: blowhard Sam,
his harried wife Henny and their half-dozen
children. Stead’s For Love Alone and Letty Fox
will also be published as part of the series.
The period is Cromwell’s England, and
housekeeper Aerlene Ward has decided that
at the age of 70, and after 50 years’ service
to the Easton family, it’s time to share a secret
she has kept for almost a lifetime – that
she is the illegitimate daughter of William
Shakespeare. Almost blind, she enlists the
help of the youngest Easton daughter to
transcribe the story. Wonderfully evocative of
the period and filled with historical detail, this
intertwining story of love found and love lost
in Elizabethan London has as many twists and
turns as the Thames itself.
2. Which cuisine utilises saffron,
barberries and dried limes?
Miegunyah PB
$25
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NOTORIOUS
Roberta Lowing
Red threads of poetry, desert and death
run through this impressive first novel by
Australian writer and poet Roberta Lowing.
A woman walks out of the arid dunes of the
North African desert and into an asylum that
once sheltered the poet Rimbaud. Ranging
across continents and decades, Notorious
teases out the mysterious connections that
Allen & Unwin PB link the woman and Australian embassy
official John Devlin, who comes to the asylum
WAS $33
to interrogate her. Magical, metaphysical
NOW $27.95
and startlingly original, this is a novel with
many shades and nuances, at once a love
story, a political thriller page-turner and an
imaginatively realised quest for the legendary
diary written by the famous French poet 120
years before.
THE PENGUIN BOOK
OF THE OCEAN
James Bradley (ed)
NOURISHMENT
Gerard Woodward
British author Gerard Woodward made his
name with the Jones trilogy, which won him
places on the Whitbread and Booker shortlists.
His latest novel is quite simply a corker – a
WWII family drama flavoured with wry and
earthy humour. While Donald Pace languishes
as a prisoner of war, his wife Tory is a prisoner
of wartime living conditions. She’s working at
a gelatine factory and living with her quirky
mother while her three children are safe but
distant in the countryside. And straight-laced,
innocent Tory doesn’t know what to make
of Donald’s letters: he keeps asking her for
‘really filthy’ responses that will satisfy his
sexual urges. As she tries to do her wifely
duty by researching erotic language, Tory’s
life quickly becomes a lot more exciting – but
there will, needless to say, be consequences.
THE MAN WHO
LOVED CHILDREN
Christina Stead
MR SHAKESPEARE’S
BASTARD
Richard B Wright
MR CHARTWELL
Rebecca Hunt
Longlisted for this year’s Guardian First Book
Award, Rebecca Hunt’s novel is about as
original and clever as you can get. Its central
characters are an elderly and run-down
Winston Churchill; a fragile, lonely, lovelorn
library clerk, Esther Hammerhans; and
a massive black dog, Mr Chartwell, who
walks on his hind legs and makes polite
conversation. He’s not a ghost, not a Labrador,
and most certainly not a pet – he’s the
legendary, terrifying black dog of depression,
whose job it is to plague his ‘clients’ with
their deepest fears and insecurities. But
oddly enough, he’s also rather charming
and friendly. And it’s very difficult, perhaps
impossible, to escape from his influence, as
Winston and Esther are finding out…
LUKA AND THE
FIRE OF LIFE
Salman Rushdie
Hamish Hamilton
PB $35
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Knopf Australia
HB
WAS $29.95
NOW $19.95
The ocean has captured the imagination
of writers and explorers for millennia, and
this celebration of the big blue is a timely
reminder that it must be treasured and not
trashed. The diverse collection of stories and
poems also reflects the poetic sensibilities
of editor James Bradley, whose selection
is masterfully evocative in both scope and
vision. The ocean as metaphor for the human
psyche and its unexplored depths is a theme
that weaves through and informs many of
the stories featured here. Rachel Carson’s
‘The Grey Beginnings’ about the birth of the
seas sets the tone, and through the eyes of
Hemingway, Melville, Conrad, Junger, Winton
and many more, the ocean and its powerful
lure is explored in all its vastness and beauty.
THE PHILANTHROPIST
John Tesarsch
Sleepers PB
$27.95
Charles Bradshaw is one of Melbourne’s
wealthiest businessmen, born with a silver
spoon in his mouth. No Scrooge, he’s given
away a lot, and after a heart attack he starts
thinking about giving away a lot more, though
this doesn’t go down well with his emotionally
distant wife and destructively ambitious son.
Charles is a troubled man; plagued by a
nightmarish event he’s tried to forget, one that
destroyed his relationship with his first serious
girlfriend, Anna. She’s now a successful judge,
and comes back into his life after hearing of
his illness. Maybe, with their accumulated life
experience and wisdom, they can find a way
to move on before Charles’s heart gives up.
From an exciting new Australian author, this
is an insightful, tensely dramatic novel – no
wonder John Banville recommends it.
RANSOM
David Malouf
SOMEBODY TO LOVE
Steve Holden
This literary masterwork by one of Australia’s
greatest authors is a memorable take on
Homer’s Iliad. Told with David Malouf’s deft
interpretation of the characters, it reinvents
the ancient story in prose that has been
justly praised by Australian Book Review as
‘consistently fine…so sure, so unostentatious,
that we can overlook how good it is’. When
Patroclus dies in battle, Achilles exacts
revenge by killing Hector and dragging his
body from a chariot around the besieged city
of Troy. King Priam witnesses the defilement
of his son’s body until he can’t take it any
longer. He must go out into the Greek camp, to
confront Achilles. Every page expresses astute
musings on loyalty, honour, love, friendship,
and fathers and sons – it’s impossible to put
this novel down.
This debut novel is, amongst other things, a
Tasmanian gothic tale of sex, love and death.
Set in a small town, a transgender mortician
is having a busy weekend in the office, with
three recently arrived corpses awaiting
preparation for burial. As the mortician goes
about her work, we learn about the victims,
how they died, and how each cause of death
introduces a particular set of problems to
the embalming process. We also learn about
the mortician; about her childhood, her
taxidermist father and how she came to be a
she. As the embalmings near their completion,
the mortician comes to a realisation that
there is one last thing she must do for her
transformation from man to woman to be
complete…
University of
Queensland Press
PB $24.95
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Faber PB
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Fiction SUNSET PARK
Paul Auster
Paul Auster is one of the most controversial
figures in contemporary American fiction, with
reviews of his work as likely to be adulatory
as excoriating. A compelling storyteller, he
sets most of his novels in Brooklyn, where
he lives. Sunset Park is no different, with
most of its narrative centred on a group of
individuals occupying an abandoned house
in one of the borough’s more dishevelled
enclaves. The main character is Miles
Heller, a college dropout haunted by guilt
for having inadvertently caused the death of
his stepbrother. Loss, guilt and isolation are
familiar themes in Auster novels, and Sunset
Park sticks with the template – unveiling a
story of emotional frailties that is as riveting as
it is moving.
THEODORA
Stella Duffy
Virago PB
$30
Writing in the sixth century AD, the historian
Procopius gave posterity a portrait of
Theodora, empress of the Byzantine Empire,
that was as saucy as it was salacious.
According to his Secret History, Theodora
was the daughter of a bear trainer who,
before marrying the great Emperor Justinian,
had worked as an actress and whore in
Constantinople. Stella Duffy isn’t interested
in challenging the veracity of Procopius’
biography, instead giving its more colourful
assertions a full airing in this rollicking
and raunchy historical novel. Indeed, Duffy
depicts how the infant Theodora and her two
sisters are trained in the arts of the stage
by an exacting eunuch with such relish that
historian Tom Holland recently described
this book as reading like ‘Noel Streatfeild on
crack’ (intending this as a compliment rather
than an insult!).
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Orbit PB
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Michael Joseph PB
WAS $32.95
NOW $27.95
Weidenfeld &
Nicholson HB
$30
Lededje Y’breq has been coated in tattoos
(‘surface detail’) inside and out from before
she was born, making her one of the
Intagliated, born to be used as chattel with
apparently no way to hide her status. After
many attempts to escape her power-hungry,
psychopathic owner, she makes a desperate
sacrifice, and luck leads her to the Culture, a
super-benevolent society. But her involvement
with them draws her into a major war that
originated in the digital realms but looks set
to involve the real world. This is sci-fi master
Iain M Banks’s eighth Culture novel, and one
of the best – by turns thrilling, sharp-witted,
harrowing and thoughtful. And like the others,
it can be read as a stand-alone work.
Picador PB
WAS $33
NOW $27.95
A TINY BIT MARVELLOUS
Dawn French
The star of The Vicar of Dibley, French and
Saunders and other beloved British comedies
has produced her first novel, and as you’d
expect, it’s a hilarious treat – told in diary
entries by a quirky and loveable dysfunctional
family. Mo is an increasingly dissatisfied
middle-aged mum, with a self-absorbed,
gutter-mouthed, painfully insecure teenage
daughter, Dora, and a Wilde-obsessed son,
Peter, who insists on being called Oscar. The
three of them aren’t exactly getting along well
(actually, that’s a huge understatement), and
each becomes absorbed in tangled affairs of
the heart. But although the family seems to
be coming apart at the seams, there’s a lot of
love, joy and hope in this unpredictable, sidesplittingly funny tale.
Vintage PB
$32.95
Australia’s outback and vast sheep stations
form more than a backdrop for Miles Franklin
Award–winner Roger McDonald’s latest
novel, and When Colts Ran is as much about
Australia as it is about its title character,
Kingsley Colts. The youth, sore about being
kept safe while others are fighting in WWII, is
being expelled from boarding school as the
novel opens. The ensuing pages follow his
fate, not only through his experiences but also
those of the people who are part of his life.
And throughout, all the characters are in and
of their country, supported and challenged by
it, many of them affected by the two world
wars. With its carefully chosen words and
carefully composed sentences, this is truly a
book to savour slowly.
THAT DEADMAN DANCE
Kim Scott
He won the 2000 Miles Franklin Award for
Benang, and now Kim Scott returns with
That Deadman Dance, which seems set to
receive similar acclaim – already it’s found
praise from Alex Miller, Rodney Hall and
Thomas Keneally. The son of an Aboriginal
man and a white woman, Scott writes of his
own ancestors, the Noongar, whose country
lies in Western Australia. It’s the early 19th
century, and the Noongar – particularly Bobby
Wabalanginy, Scott’s central character – are
friendly with the new European settlers.
Gradually, though, their mutual fascination and
amity sours, as the realities of colonisation set
in. Scott’s take on what unfolds is empathetic,
sobering and non-judgemental, full of truth
and wisdom. Also available in a hardback
edition ($50).
TO THE END OF THE LAND
David Grossman
Jonathan Cape PB
$35
WHEN COLTS RAN
Roger McDonald
THE WEEKEND
Bernhard Schlink
Translated from the German, the latest novel
by Bernhard Schlink, author of The Reader
(Phoenix. PB. $23), is another observant tale
of troubled characters struggling with guilt,
weighty secrets and loss. Christiane has
just picked up her brother Jörg from prison,
where he’s served a 24-year term for murder
and terrorism. He was part of the Red Army
Faction (RAF) or Baader-Meinhof Gang, a
real-life organisation that caused a great
deal of destruction and havoc. Jörg’s sister
and friends were once RAF sympathisers, but
while he’s been locked away, they’ve been
building new lives – even though none have
fully moved on from the past. As they spend a
weekend together, revelations emerge, leading
to a moving, thought-provoking conclusion.
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SURFACE DETAIL
Iain M Banks
5
Ora is about to celebrate her son Ofer’s
release from Israeli army service when
he voluntarily rejoins his unit for a major
offensive. In a fit of magical thinking, she
takes off to hike in the Galilee with an old
friend Avram (who also happens to be Ofer’s
natural but unacknowledged father), leaving
no forwarding information for the ‘notifiers’
who might darken her door. This is comforting
logic: if she cannot be told of Ofer’s death,
he must remain alive. Their illuminating
walk places the most hideous trials of war
alongside the quotidian business of raising
children, resulting in a rich imagining of a
family in love and crisis. A powerful and timely
anti-war novel.
THE WRONG BLOOD
Manuel de Lope
Chatto & Windus
HB $29.95
Abandoned by her parents shortly after the
outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, 16-year-old
María Antonia Extarri is left at the mercy of
soldiers who take up residence in her family’s
bar – and is raped. Isabel Cruces, meanwhile,
enjoys a blissful honeymoon with Captain
Herráiz in Biarritz, but just months later, the
valiant Herráiz is shot as a traitor. Both María
and Isabel suddenly find themselves violently
altered, alone and pregnant, and they form a
mysterious and silent pact in the loneliness
and desperation of their mutual suffering.
A creepy and compelling read from one of
Spain’s master storytellers.
literary award winners
BLACKLANDS
Belinda Bauer
Corgi PB $21.95
Winner of this year’s Crime
Writers’ Association (CWA)
Gold Dagger, this riveting
psychological suspense novel
profiles a dysfunctional family
and a psychopathic paedophile.
Note: December release.
LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN
Colum McCann
Bloomsbury PB $23
The US National Book Award
for Fiction was bestowed upon
McCann’s dazzling novel, which
is set in New York in the 1970s
and celebrates the intimacies
– ‘small beauties’ – of human
life whilst vividly capturing the
effervescent spirit of an age.
TINKERS
Paul Harding
Windmill PB $24.95
An elegiac meditation on
love, loss and the fierce
beauty of nature, Tinkers
was the deserving recipient
of this year’s Pulitzer Prize
for Fiction.
THE FINKLER QUESTION
Howard Jacobson
Bloomsbury PB $33
Two old friends and their
former teacher stage a reunion
over dinner. At this painful
evening of reminiscence, all
three remove themselves to
a time before they had prized
anything greatly enough to
fear the loss of it. Awarded
the 2010 Man Booker Prize
for Fiction.
SOLO
Rana Dasgupta
Fourth Estate PB $25
This young British novelist won
the 2010 Commonwealth
Writers’ Prize with his story of
a reclusive 100-year-old man
from Bulgaria embarking on an
epic armchair journey through
a century of violent politics,
forbidden music, lost love and
failed chemistry.
TRUTH
Peter Temple
Text PB $23.95
In last year’s SRG we said
that with this book, Temple
‘transcended genre and joined
the ranks of Australia’s greatest
writers’. We’re now thrilled to
report that the judges of the
Miles Franklin Literary Award
were of the same mind, and
awarded it Australia’s most
important literary prize.
THE TWIN
Gerbrand Bakker
Scribe PB $29.95
Ostensibly a novel about the
Dutch countryside as seen
through the eyes of a farmer,
The Twin is, in the end, about
the possibility or impossibility
of taking life into one’s own
hands. Winner of this year’s
International IMPAC Dublin
Literary Award.
WELLSPRINGS
Mario Vargas Llosa
Harvard University Press
PB $29.95
In this recently published
collection of essays, the winner
of the 2010 Nobel Prize in
Literature writes about the
search for the wellsprings of
his own work.
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Windmill PB
$24.95
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Quercus PB
WAS $32.95
NOW $27.95
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Viking PB
WAS $32.95
NOW $27.95
Crime fiction
THE BEST AMERICAN NOIR
OF THE CENTURY
James Ellroy &
Otto Penzler (eds)
BETWEEN SUMMER’S
LONGING AND WINTER’S
END
Leif Persson
In his introduction to this anthology, James
Ellroy describes noir as being ‘…the most
scrutinised offshoot of the hard-boiled school
of fiction. It’s the long drop off the short pier
and the wrong man and the wrong woman
in perfect misalliance. It’s the nightmare of
flawed souls with big dreams and the precise
how and why of the all-time sure thing that
goes bad.’ The 39 stories here were published
between 1910 and 2010 and include work by
James M Cain, Mickey Spillane, Evan Hunter,
Elmore Leonard, Dennis Lehane, Patricia
Highsmith and William Gay.
Scandinavian crime fiction has dominated the
genre over the past few years – think Fossum,
Indridason, Larsson, Mankell and Nesbø – and
this novel, originally published in 2002 but
only now translated into English, was one
of the works that kick-started the craze. A
fictional account based on the investigation
of the still-unsolved assassination of Swedish
Prime Minister Olof Palme, it begins with the
apparent suicide of a young American student
in Stockholm. What is at first an open-and-shut
case of suicide quickly leads to a complex web
of international espionage, treachery and –
ultimately – the murder of the PM. Persson was
well positioned to write about this horrifying
event in Swedish history, having worked at
the Swedish National Police Board in the years
leading up to Palme’s assassination. A dark and
disturbing journey.
Doubleday PB
$32.95
FIELD GREY
Philip Kerr
The much-anticipated follow up to A Quiet
Flame (Quercus. PB. $24.95) and If the Dead
Rise Not (Quercus. PB. $32.95) has been
worth the blessedly short wait. It’s 1954 and
Bernie Gunther finds himself in prison with a
proposition: work for the French or hang for
murder. Bernie’s job is simple: to meet and
greet POWs returning from Germany. One
of these is Edgard de Boudel, a French war
criminal and member of the French SS, who
has been posing as a German Wehrmacht
officer. The French are anxious to catch up
with this man and deal with him in their own
ruthless way. But Bernie’s past as a German
POW in Russia is about to catch up with him –
in a way he could never have foreseen.
OUR KIND OF TRAITOR
John le Carré
Left-leaning Oxford academic Perry
Makepiece and his barrister girlfriend Gail
Perkins take an off-peak holiday on the
Caribbean island of Antigua, where they
meet a Russian millionaire called Dima who
is mad about tennis. Initially, they haven’t an
inkling how the meeting – which seemingly
occurred by chance – will affect their lives.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for them to
cotton on. Inducted into the murkiest cloisters
of the City of London and its unholy alliance
with Britain’s Intelligence Establishment, they
are soon propelled on a tortuous journey
through Paris to a safe house in the Swiss
Alps where Dima and his family are under
protection. What happens next should be no
surprise to le Carré’s many fans, who have
been enjoying the master’s thrillers about the
morally bankrupt espionage game that he
once worked within ever since the publication
of his first novel, Call for the Dead, in 1961.
Highly
recommended
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A FEAST OF PHRYNE FISHER
Kerry Greenwood
Allen & Unwin
PB $30
Allen & Unwin
PB $23
MOONLIGHT MILE
Dennis Lehane
Sixteen-year-old Amanda McCready has
disappeared. Her anxious aunt contacts
Patrick Kenzie to investigate. It is not the
first time she has gone missing, as Patrick
well knows – he was the investigator
who worked on her case when she was
kidnapped before, as a four-year-old. But
this is not a simple case of a runaway girl.
In fact, nothing in Amanda’s life has been
simple: brought up by the world’s worst
mother, neglected throughout her childhood,
she has nonetheless blossomed into a
formidably intelligent young woman. The
case leads Patrick down Boston’s darkest,
most dangerous streets and into a world of
shocking secrets that will threaten not only
Amanda’s life, but also his own and that of his
partner Angie Gennaro.
Harvill Secker PB
$32.95
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THE REVERSAL
Michael Connelly
Long-time defence attorney Mickey Haller,
whom we’ve previously encountered in The
Lincoln Lawyer (Allen & Unwin. PB. $23) and
The Brass Verdict (Allen & Unwin. PB. $23), is
recruited to change sides and prosecute the
high-profile retrial of a brutal child murder.
After 24 years in prison, convicted killer Jason
Jessup has been exonerated by new DNA
evidence. Haller is convinced that Jessup is
guilty, and he takes the case on the condition
Allen & Unwin PB that he gets to choose his investigator, who
just happens to be Haller’s half-brother
WAS $33
and Connelly’s best-loved character, LAPD
NOW $27.95
Detective Harry Bosch. Together, Bosch and
Haller embark on a case fraught with political
and personal danger.
BEREFT
Chris Womersley Scribe PB $32.95
This gothic tale about love, secrets, longing and
justice set in outback NSW in 1919 is from the
author of The Low Road (Scribe. PB. $32.95).
SILENCE
Jan Costin Wagner Harvill Secker PB $29.95
Darkly interesting psychological twists and turns
characterise this assured police procedural set
in Finland.
I CURSE THE RIVER OF TIME
Per Petterson Harvill Secker PB $32.95
An honest, heartbreaking, yet humorous portrayal
of a complicated mother–son relationship by the
author of the award-winning Out Stealing Horses
(Vintage. PB. $24.95).
STARTED EARLY, TOOK MY DOG
Kate Atkinson Doubleday PB $32.95
The fourth novel in the Jackson Brodie series is
sure to be much anticipated by everyone who loved
the previous instalment, When Will There be Good
News? (Black Swan. PB. $24.95).
Quercus PB
WAS $32.95
NOW $27.95
ALONE IN BERLIN
Hans Fallada Penguin PB $26.95
First published in Germany in 1947, this
rediscovered masterpiece evokes the horror of
life in Germany during WWII through the story
of a father who, after his son is killed fighting at
the front, stages a silent campaign of resistance
against Hitler.
CAMPAIGN RUBY
Jessica Rudd Text PB $32.95
With this ripper read, the daughter of you-knowwho delivers a delightful combination of fashion,
faux pas, falling for the wrong man and the
unexpected fun of federal politics.
A DARK MATTER
Michelle Paver Orion PB $27
A terrifying 1930s ghost story set in the haunting
wilderness of the Arctic Circle. Don’t read it late
at night!
A DARKER MUSIC
Maris Morton Scribe PB $32.95
This gripping mystery, which won this year’s
Scribe Fiction Prize, takes you deep into the heart
of one family’s dark secrets.
Kerry Greenwood must be one of Australia’s
most prolific published authors, with around
50 books to her name. The best-loved of
these are those in her splendid Phryne
Fisher series, set in 1920s Melbourne and
featuring the elegant and intrepid sleuth and
her assorted associates, including maid Dot,
adopted daughters Ruth and Jane, sexy lover
Lin Chung and left-leaning wharfies Bert and
Cec. To mark the publication of the 19th book
in the series, Dead Man’s Chest, Allen & Unwin
has decided to reissue the first three titles
(Cocaine Blues, Flying Too High and Murder on
the Ballarat Train) in an introductory collection
titled Introducing the Honourable Phryne
Fisher, so providing the perfect introduction to
the world of the feisty, fearless and devilishly
dangerous Miss Fisher. Perfect beach reading.
OPERATION NAPOLEON
Arnaldur Indridason
Taking a break from his Reykjavík Murder
Mysteries featuring Erlendur Sveinsson,
Indridason presents this gripping thriller,
which moves between modern Iceland and
America, and Iceland and Nazi Germany at
the end of WWII. The story opens in Iceland,
where two young men, Elías and Jóhann,
witness something strange on the Vatnajökull
Glacier. They disappear, and Elías’ sister
Kristín, frantically worried about her brother’s
safety, is swept up in a life-and-death search
for him and for the truth behind what the boys
saw. What she uncovers takes us back to the
last days of the war in Europe and exposes
a shocking event – one that certain powerful
international parties will do anything to hide.
THREE SECONDS
Anders Roslund &
Börge Hellström
The 2009 winner of the Swedish Academy of
Crime Writers’ Award for Best Swedish Crime
Novel of the Year, Three Seconds manages
to sustain its relentless narrative pace and
action-packed plot for every one of its 501
pages, incorporating a generous allocation
of searing social criticism along the way. Piet
Hoffman is the best undercover operative in
the Swedish police force, but only one other
man is even aware of his existence. When a
drug deal he is involved in goes very wrong,
he is faced with the hardest mission of his
life: to infiltrate Sweden’s most infamous
maximum security prison. Roslund, an awardwinning journalist, and Hellström, a former
criminal, have researched their complicated
plot meticulously and it has an undeniable –
and frightening – plausibility.
A DEATH IN CALABRIA
Michele Giuttari Little Brown PB $30
The fourth outing for Chief Superintendent Michele
Ferrara sees the policeman investigating the deaths
of Calabrese citizens in New York and Italy.
GOLD BOY, EMERALD GIRL
Yiyun Li Fourth Estate PB $28
These stories are set in contemporary China,
where underneath the veneer of prosperity
and opportunity lie the struggles of characters
trying to reorient themselves in a new and
unfamiliar landscape.
HAMLET
Nicki Greenberg Allen & Unwin HB $50
Shakespeare’s great play is given a graphic-novel
treatment that is as richly imagined as Greenberg’s
previous adaptation, The Great Gatsby (Allen &
Unwin. PB. $24.95).
THE HAND THAT FIRST HELD MINE
Maggie O’Farrell Headline PB $33
A portrait of two women who are separated by 50
years but connected in ways that neither could ever
have expected, O’Farrell’s powerful novel is about
love, motherhood and the search for self.
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Language, poetry & essays Special Deal: buy the
boxed set for $69.95!
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BIBLE: THE STORY OF THE KING
JAMES VERSION 1611–2011
THE BEST AUSTRALIAN POEMS
king james bible:
400th anniversary edition
In 2011, it will be 400 years since the
publication of the King James Version of the
Holy Bible. Oxford University Press is marking
this important anniversary with the publication
of three titles about this elegantly written and
poetic volume. In Begat, David Crystal shows
how the King James Version’s words and
phrases have found independent life over the
centuries in the work of poets, playwrights,
novelists, politicians, journalists and Hollywood.
Gordon Campbell’s book offers a vivid
and authoritative history of this renowned
translation. The quatercentenary edition is an
exact reprint of the original version.
Cate Kennedy (ed)Black Inc PB $29.95
As always, these three volumes present the
very best Australian writing of the past year in
a compact and accessible form – particularly
so this year, when we are able to offer a
handsome boxed set including all three for the
special price of only $69.95! Essays includes
pieces by writers including Clive James, David
Marr and Alex Miller, while Poems showcases
work by Robert Gray, Les Murray, Jaya Savige
and John Tranter among others. Stories is
similarly rich, with contributions from familiar
names Nam Le and Michael McGirr appearing
among work by new and exciting talents.
Harper Collins HB
WAS $39.95
NOW $15.95
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Text PB $24.95
Harvard
University Press
HB $69.95
Miegunyah HB
WAS $60
NOW $29.95
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COLLINS DICTIONARY OF
THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
The Classical Tradition is a who’s who and
what’s what guide to the intellectual bequest
of the ancient Greeks and Romans, whose
language and cultural legacy permeate Western
culture in both obvious and surprising ways.
With 500 articles penned by classical scholars
from around the globe, this erudite and
entertaining collection looks at the philosophy,
history, religious beliefs, wisdom and allegories
we’ve inherited. An A to Z from ‘Academy’ to
‘Zoology’, the varied topics include the origins
of parasite (‘fellow diner’), the arts of satire,
architecture and magic, the gifts of writers
such as Horace and the legends of Apollo.
HarperCollins HB
WAS $60
NOW $49.95
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THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK –
BOOKS
Lucy Daniel (ed)
GRIFFITH REVIEW 30:
ANNUAL FICTION EDITION
Highly
recommended
This celebration of Australian children’s
book illustrations will transport readers of all
ages back to their childhood, with favourite
characters such as Snugglepot and Cuddlepie,
the Magic Pudding and Blinky Bill all featured.
Author Juliet O’Conor, who works in the
children’s collection at the State Library of
Victoria, has also included plenty of examples
of less familiar works in her quest to ‘reveal
the lesser known within a bigger picture’.
Bottersnikes also demonstrates different
stages in the development of visual signs of
national identity, evident even in simple ABC
books. Sensibly, the pictures are often left
to tell their own story while the text focuses
on history and context, making this scholarly
enterprise accessible to all readers.
THE CLASSICAL TRADITION
Anthony Grafton, Glen W
Most & Salvatore Settis
BY HOOK OR BY CROOK:
A JOURNEY IN SEARCH
OF ENGLISH
David Crystal
The highly anticipated summer-fiction edition
of this quality quarterly features sparkling
short fiction by some writers you’ll know and
others you’ll soon be hearing lots more about.
This year’s collection explores the Pacific Rim,
with stories from Australian and international
authors who are engaging with the region,
including Peter Temple, Janette Turner
Hospital, Nick Earls, Alice Pung, Luke Davies,
Eva Hornung, Danielle Wood, Chris Flynn,
Anna Krien and many more. Purchase a copy
and as a special Summer Reading Guide
incentive you’ll also receive a FREE copy
of Griffith Review 26: Stories for Today.
BOTTERSNIKES AND
OTHER LOST THINGS
Juliet O’Conor
OUP HB $120
THE BEST AUSTRALIAN STORIES
Linguist and broadcaster David Crystal –
described by the Times Higher Education
Supplement as a sort of ‘latter day Dr
Johnson’ – has combined personal reflections,
historical allusions and traveller observations
to create a mesmerising and entertaining
narrative account of his encounters with the
English language and its speakers throughout
the world. By Hook or by Crook is his Bill
Bryson–inspired attempt to capture the
exploratory, seductive, teasing and tantalising
nature of language study, an attempt that well
and truly lives up to its author’s aspiration.
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Gordon Campbell OUP HB $39.95
Robert Adamson (ed) Black Inc PB
$24.95
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David Crystal OUP HB $39.95
THE BEST AUSTRALIAN ESSAYS
Robert Drewe (ed) Black Inc PB $29.95
SPECIA
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BEGAT: THE KING JAMES BIBLE
& THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
7
Hodder PB
WAS $40
NOW $14.95
It’s not exactly a ‘little’ book, but it’s small
considering the girth of its topic. Put together
by a slew of talented international contributors
and edited by an acclaimed reviewer and
critic, this is a must-have not only for lovers
of literature, but also for anyone who wants
to know more about cultural development –
pop and otherwise – since the 19th century.
Alongside 350 glossy colour images, each page
of text discusses the key books, characters,
authors, passages and events that have shaped
our world. Some have sparked controversies,
others have fuelled conflicts, but many have
helped to inspire, entertain, heal, save and
sustain millions if not billions of people.
LOVE POEMS
Dorothy Porter
Black Inc PB
$27.95
ROOM
Emma Donoghue Picador PB $33
This story of a mother, her son, a locked room and
the outside world was shortlisted for this year’s
Man Booker prize.
HARBOUR
John Ajvide Lindqvist Text PB $32.95
The author of the bestselling Let the Right One In
(Text. PB. $24.95) serves up a masterful cocktail
of suspense laced with bizarre humour.
THE AUSTRALIAN BOOK OF ATHEISM
Warren Bonett (ed) Scribe PB $35
The first collection to explore atheism from an
Australian viewpoint brings together essays from
33 of the nation’s pre-eminent atheist, rationalist,
humanist and sceptical thinkers.
INDELIBLE INK
Fiona McGregor Scribe PB $32.95
This witty and tender suburban family drama
set in Howard-era Sydney recounts the
transformation of staid 59-year-old divorcee
Marie King.
DANTE’S DIVINE COMEDY
Seymour Chwast Bloomsbury HB $40
A graphic adaptation of Dante’s classic by one
of the most influential illustrators of the last
half-century.
LIGHTS OUT IN WONDERLAND
DBC Pierre Faber PB $33
The latest novel by the Australian-born Man
Booker–winning author takes as its central
character Gabriel Brockwell, aesthete, poet,
philosopher and disaffected 20-something
decadent.
NEW AUSTRALIAN STORIES 2
Aviva Tuffield (ed) Scribe PB $29.95
The second volume of Scribe’s eclectic anthology
of short stories showcases work by both emerging
talents and seasoned practitioners of the form
including Marion Halligan, Cate Kennedy and
Paddy O’Reilly.
Collins celebrates 175 years of dictionary
publishing by taking an in-depth and
fascinating look at the evolution and
transformation of our idiom. From the
medieval English of Chaucer and inventions
of Shakespeare to Anthony Burgess’
postmodernist Nadsat, the dictionary’s
200-plus essays leave no topic untouched
in getting to grips with our richly nuanced
language. The engaging articles delve into
the many dialects of English, including
Geordie, Chicano and Cockney, and trace
the influence of Latin, Greek, Hebrew and
Hindi. Slang, Braille and computer speak get
a look-in, along with word games such as
Scrabble and crosswords. Most interesting
are the studies on the ways writers use
English, covering a broad range of scribes
from Robbie Burns, Edward Lear and William
S Burroughs to Leonard Cohen, James Ellroy
and James Joyce.
LOVESONG
Alex Miller Allen & Unwin PB $27
Set in Paris and Melbourne, Miller’s perfectly paced
novel is about moral frailty, secret passion and
other aspects of human relationships.
Best known for her verse novels including
Monkey’s Mask, which won the National Book
Council’s Poetry Prize and was later made
into a movie, the late Dorothy Porter brought
her poetic work to a wide audience, including
fiction for young adults and libretti for
chamber opera. This collection of love poems,
song lyrics and excerpts from her verse novels
spans her career and delivers a moving,
passionate and evocative examination of love,
and what it is to be in love.
THE MAN IN THE WOODEN HAT
Jane Gardam Abacus PB $25
At the end of WWII, free spirit Elisabeth marries
Filth (Failed In London Try Hong Kong), a lawyer
who finds it difficult to express his emotions.
Problems are bound to eventuate, particularly when
Filth’s hated rival at the bar enters the picture.
AN OBJECT OF BEAUTY
Steve Martin Weidenfeld & Nicolson PB $33
An irresistible look at the glamour and subterfuge
of New York’s art world from bestselling author
and Hollywood star, Steve Martin. Note: December
release.
THE PASSAGE
Justin Cronin Orion PB $35
Optioned by director Ridley Scott for blockbuster
film treatment, and with a very public endorsement
by Stephen King, this first instalment of Cronin’s
epic post-apocalyptic vampire trilogy is sure to
have plenty of readers enthralled this summer.
ROCKS IN THE BELLY
Jon Bauer Scribe PB $32.95
A powerful novel about the destruction we wreak
on one another in the pursuit of our own happiness
and how we can never escape our upbringing.
8
Language, poetry & essays
OPENING PANDORA’S BOX
Ferdie Addis
Michael O’Mara
HB $25
English is brimming with words and phrases
inherited from Ancient Greece and Rome, but
now that ‘a classical education’ is a thing
of the past, knowledge of this inheritance is
becoming less widespread. Enter Ferdie Addis,
with succinct and engaging explanations
covering common expressions such as ‘to fall
on one’s sword’, ‘to be somebody’s muse’,
‘Achilles heel’ and ‘to cross the Rubicon’, as
well as many surprising, less-obvious words,
such as ‘mentor’, ‘echo’, ‘gymnasium’ and
‘ocean’. Addis also includes lists of important
facts on the months of the year, the Olympian
gods, the signs of the zodiac, and other
interesting aspects of classical culture that
continue to influence us. And to make the
journey even more enjoyable, the book is
sprinkled with delightfully funny cartoons.
THE PEN & THE
STETHOSCOPE
Leah Kaminsky (ed)
Scribe PB
$32.95
SAND
Robert Drewe
& John Kinsella
Robert Drewe and John Kinsella, two of the
country’s foremost writers, team up to explore
the many influences of the Western Australian
sand that has to an extent helped shape
their lives and careers. Through memoirs,
poems and stories, the elemental nature
of sand takes on a variety of shapes and
Fremantle Press PB meanings. The collection is finely balanced,
the juxtaposition of Drewe’s reflective and
$27.95
evocative childhood memories in stories such
as ‘The Sand People’ and the fast-paced style
of Kinsella’s ‘Perth Poem’ working together
well to create an overall sense of place. As
both authors are intimately linked to the
Western Australian landscape in their work,
it’s no surprise that this literary double act is a
rewarding read.
Biography
TO BE OR NOT TO BE…
Liz Evers
Michael O’Mara
HB $25
Bloomsbury PB
$24 each
Viking PB
$32.95
Admired for his poetic elegance and cultural
breadth, and mourned at his death in April
2010, Peter Porter was one of the world’s
most distinguished poets. Memorable,
beautiful and haunting, the selected poems
in this timely tribute span 50 years of Porter’s
work, from his first collection, Once Bitten,
Allen & Unwin PB Twice Bitten, published in 1961 following his
relocation from Brisbane to Britain, to 2009’s
$40
Better Than God. Porter’s poems are marked
by satire and grief, his love for European
music and culture, the isolation of dislocation
where ‘home is just a postmark’, and the
gradual reappraisal of his Australian roots. The
book’s introduction by David Malouf places
the selections in context, and an affectionate
overview of Porter’s life and work is provided
by friend and fellow expat Clive James.
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SPEAKING OUR LANGUAGE: THE
STORY OF AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH
Bruce Moore Oxford University Press PB
$32.95
Moore, the director of the ANU’s Australian
National Dictionary Centre, presents the
real stories behind some of Australia’s
unique and best-loved words in his latest
book, What’s Their Story? This fascinating
collection profiles words such as ‘battler’,
‘bludger’, ‘bogan’, ‘dinkum’ and ‘hoon’
through their histories and through thematic
and structural associations. Hot off the
presses, it’s a companion volume to his
authoritative 2008 publication Speaking
Our Language and we’re very excited to be
able to offer both books at a special price of
only $29.95 (RRP $52.90). Note: this deal is
exclusive to the Summer Reading Guide.
AND FURTHERMORE
Judi Dench
Orion HB
WAS $45
NOW $39.95
Trained at London’s Central School of Speech
and Drama, it was Judi Dench’s performance
in Franco Zeffirelli’s memorable Old Vic
production of Romeo and Juliet that turned
her into a star. She became a household name
via television, thanks initially to a sit-com, A
Fine Romance, in which she played alongside
the actor Michael Williams, whom she married
in 1971. Her film credits include Shakespeare
in Love, in which she played Queen Elizabeth,
a role that gained her an Oscar. In this
autobiography she talks frankly about her life
and a career that has ranged from the beloved
sit-com As Time Goes By to six Bond films.
Sure to be a summer reading favourite.
BACKSTAGE POLITICS
Phillip Adams
THE BEDWETTER
Sarah Silverman
For over 50 years, broadcaster, film producer
and writer Phillip Adams has been an
observer, critic and close confidant to many of
the key figures who have shaped our political
landscape. In Backstage Politics, Adams treats
us to a trip down his personal and political
memory lane with a swag of revealing and
often hilarious anecdotes from across the
years. While Whitlam, Hawke, Keating and
Howard all play starring roles, it’s the final
chapter on Kevin Rudd that resonates most
deeply. Famous as one of our best-known
long-time lefties, Adams resigned from the
ALP when Kevin Rudd was toppled from
power. His fond recollection of Rudd and
searing criticism of those who deposed him
highlights the unwavering honesty that has
punctuated a great career.
Many people’s first introduction to Sarah
Silverman was her hilarious YouTube viral
smash hit ‘I’m ****ing Matt Damon’, sung
as a duet with Damon and winning her an
Emmy. Known by her nickname ‘Big S’, she is
often compared to Lenny Bruce and certainly
seems to leave a trail of controversy behind
her whatever she goes. The fact that she
leaves no subject matter taboo means that
she has been on the receiving end of much
criticism, but this didn’t stop her TV show
The Sarah Silverman Program from being a
ratings success. As you’d expect, her memoir
covers plenty of career highs and lows, often
with hilarious consequences. But it is also
an intriguing insight into a childhood and
adolescence plagued by bedwetting into her
teens, depression and medication abuse.
Faber HB $30
SPECIAL DEAL: BUY BOTH
FOR ONLY $29.95!
WHAT’S THEIR STORY?
A HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN WORDS
Bruce Moore Oxford University Press PB
$19.95
Some are born loving Shakespeare, some
grow to love him, and some have him thrust
upon them in high school. Whichever group
you fall into, there’s no denying that the
Bard contributed a great deal to the English
language, although it’s easy to be unaware
that many everyday words (‘new-fangled’,
‘disgraceful’, ‘cold-blooded’, ‘bandits’,
‘silliness’, and many surprising others)
originated in his work. Fortunately, Liz Evers
has put together a down-to-earth, vibrant
look at everything Shakespearean in this
gorgeously designed book, which includes
summaries of his plays in chronological order,
key biographical details, famous quotes and
misquotes (it’s ‘all that glisters is not gold’, not
‘all that glitters’!), a description of his sonnets
and the iambic pentameter, a character
glossary, and an index of famous lines.
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OPERATION MINCEMEAT
Ben Macintyre
More mind-blowing than fiction, Times
columnist Ben Macintyre’s Agent Zigzag is a
real-life spy saga of double agents and secrets
from the top. The bestselling biography regales
readers with the exploits of the caddish and
opportunistic Eddie Chapman, Nazi spy turned
MI5 double agent who parachuted into WWII
England in 1942. What follows is a real-life
thriller of cinematic proportions, reissued to
pair with Macintyre’s follow-up, Operation
Mincemeat. Another true WWII story of
deception, it reveals the Allies’ faked plans for
a European offensive that deceived Hitler and
paved the way for their successful invasion
of Sicily. The plotters’ incredible attention to
detail included the body of a deceased tramp
and countless faked documents, some of
which appear in the book’s appendix along
with photos of the protagonists.
Good writing by good doctors is often about
the art rather than the science of medicine. It
gives us insight into doctors’ minds and their
relationships with patients as thinking and
feeling individuals as much as it tells us about
their skills in dealing with patients’ bodies.
It also reveals doctors’ own vulnerabilities.
Doctors encounter life and death, hope and
despair, fear and bravery, and in their and their
patients’ reactions we can learn something
about being human. This broad-ranging
anthology features non-fiction by some of the
best doctor–writers, including Atul Gawande,
Oliver Sacks, Gabriel Weston and Irvin Yalom,
as well as fiction by authors including Nick
Earls and Peter Goldsworthy. Royalties go to
the Starlight Children’s Foundation.
THE REST ON THE FLIGHT
Peter Porter
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
MARK TWAIN: VOLUME 1
Harriet Elinor Smith et al (ed)
University of
California Press
HB $54.95
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Mark Twain first began writing his life’s story
in the 1870s, and left strict instructions that
his words should remain unpublished in their
entirety until a century after his death, which
occurred in 1910. Here then, in its uncensored
glory, is the first volume of his free-ranging
and frank recollections. This scholarly work
brings together Twain’s early dictation and
manuscripts, chronologically organised in
the order of their creation to March 1906;
three volumes will eventually be published,
taking the autobiography to October 1909.
Extensive explanatory notes provide essential
background and context to the entries, which
cover Twain’s early years and encounters
with such luminaries as Ulysses S Grant, and
offer diverting insights into the minutiae of his
much-travelled life.
BEST OF MICHAEL PALIN
BOXED SET
Michael Palin
Phoenix
WAS $70
NOW $29.95
This collection of Michael Palin’s travel writing
includes five illustrated volumes: Around the
World in 80 Days, Pole to Pole, Full Circle,
Himalaya and Sahara. Travelling because,
as he says, ‘…I’d far rather see for myself
what’s going on in the world outside, than
rely on newspapers, television, politicians
and religious leaders to tell me what I should
be thinking’, he has explored pretty well
every corner of the world in the post-Python
years and has established a well-deserved
reputation for insightful and empathetic
travel journalism. This handsome boxed set
will be an inspiring and lavish Christmas gift
for travellers of both the both the actual and
armchair variety.
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Virago PB WAS $35
NOW $29.95
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Hamish Hamilton
HB
WAS $49.95
now $39.95
Collector’s Edition
$125
Biography 9
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BLIGH: MASTER MARINER
Rob Mundle
COCO CHANEL
William Bligh has been written off by history
as the man who sparked a mutiny at sea and
hid under the bed to avoid capture during the
Rum Rebellion. In this detailed new biography,
Rob Mundle redresses the balance, tracing
Bligh’s career from seven-year-old ship’s boy
to Master, Commander and Captain. Before
the age of 40, Bligh had sailed with James
Cook and witnessed his violent death in the
Sandwich Islands, faced mutiny aboard the
Bounty, survived a perilous 47-day journey
in a tiny boat, and sailed around the world
with the young Matthew Flinders. Celebrating
Bligh’s navigational skill and courage, Mundle
deftly captures the heady sense of adventure
in this age of exploration.
DREAMING OF CHANEL
EVEN SILENCE HAS AN END
Ingrid Betancourt
In 2002, Ingrid Betancourt, a politician and
presidential candidate celebrated for her
determination to combat the corruption and
climate of fear endemic in Colombia, was
taken hostage by FARC, a terrorist guerrilla
organisation. For the next six-and-a-half
years she was held captive in the depths of
the jungle, chained day and night for most of
that time. In this powerful book she recounts
the extraordinary drama of her capture and
eventual rescue, and describes her fight to
survive, both mentally and physically. As
she confronts the horror of what she went
through, Betancourt’s story goes beyond
the specifics of her own confinement to
offer an intensely intelligent, thoughtful and
compassionate reflection on what it means to
be human.
HOW TO MAKE GRAVY
Paul Kelly
Highly
recommended
Charlotte Smith & Grant Cowan
HarperCollins HB $35
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Michael Joseph HB
WAS $39.95
NOW $34.95
R
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‘Leaps and Bounds’, ‘From St Kilda to Kings
Cross’, ‘How to Make Gravy’ – Paul Kelly
has written the soundtrack to our lives since
the 1980s. In his ‘mongrel memoir’, Kelly
provides the background stories to these
songs, revealing intimate insights into his
music and life. The idea for this singular
autobiography sprang from a series of
retrospective concerts in which Kelly played
more than 100 songs over four nights, from
A to Z. Just as there were four shows, there
are four chapters, structured like a set
list. Song lyrics are followed by musings
on the places, people or musicians that
inspired them, along with assorted lists, tour
diary entries and stories. Diehard fans will
want to buy the special collector’s edition
signed boxed set, which includes the book,
companion A–Z Recordings (eight CDs) and a
64-page booklet of colour photographs.
THE ELEPHANT TO
HOLLYWOOD
Michael Caine
Justine Picardie HarperCollins HB
WAS $45, NOW $39.95
Quercus PB
$29.95
It’s been a long journey for Maurice
Micklewhite – all the way from London’s
poverty-stricken suburb of Elephant and
Castle to the bright lights of Hollywood. In this
new autobiography, Micklewhite (or Michael
Caine, as we all know him) looks back on
a career that has spanned more than five
decades and included starring roles that
have earned him two Oscars, a knighthood
and lasting fame. Funny, warm and honest,
Caine gives an insider’s view of Hollywood,
recalling the films, legendary stars and offscreen moments with a gift for storytelling
that makes this much more than the average
star-tells-all volume.
THE SECRET OF CHANEL NO. 5
Tilar J Mazzeo HarperCollins PB $35
It’s a Chanel-fest! Three new releases
celebrate the life, career, influence and
products of the woman who conjured up
the little black dress, bobbed hair, trousers
for women and the most successful fashion
brand of all time. In Coco Chanel: The Legend
and the Life, Justine Picardie discusses all of
these achievements and looks at how Chanel
also fashioned the myth of her own life. In
The Secret of Chanel No. 5, Tilar J Mazzeo
gives us a history of Chanel’s most famous
product. Mademoiselle Coco also makes an
appearance in Dreaming of Chanel, in the
form of a few gorgeous frocks.
THE FRY CHRONICLES
Stephen Fry
The previous volume of Stephen Fry’s
autobiography was cursed with what could
well be the worst title ever given to a book:
Moab is My Washpot. In this second, far more
sensibly titled instalment, the much-loved
actor, writer and comedian reminisces at
length about his time at Cambridge University,
where he is drawn into the world of student
theatre and first meets his great friends Hugh
Laurie and Emma Thompson. His postuniversity experience working on TV series
such as Blackadder are recounted here, along
with his impressions – sometimes acerbic
but mostly fond – of famous friends and
colleagues. The book is full of Fry’s trademark
self-deprecating humour and unashamedly
indulges in arcane facts and convoluted
sentences – great stuff!
THE KING’S SPEECH
Mark Logue &
Peter Conradi
One man saved the British Royal Family
during the abdication crisis in the first
decades of the 20th century – an almost
unknown Australian speech therapist called
Lionel Logue, whom one newspaper in the
1930s famously dubbed ‘The Quack who
saved a King’. Based on Logue’s personal
diaries, The King’s Speech is the previously
untold story of how an unqualified Aussie
saved Bertie (as the man who was to
become King George VI had always been
known) from his debilitating stammer and
pathological nervousness in front of a crowd
or microphone. Read the book before the
soon-to-be-published film starring Colin Firth,
Helena Bonham-Carter and Geoffrey Rush hits
our cinema screens!
Hodder &
Stoughton PB
$35
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William
Heinemann HB
WAS $49.95
NOW $39.95
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Omnibus PB
WAS $39.95
NOW $33.95
LUNATIC IN MY HEAD
Anjum Hasan Brass Monkey PB $29.95
This lyrical novel by an exciting young writer from
the Subcontinent joins another of the author’s
recent works, Big Girl Now (Brass Monkey. PB.
$29.95), in addressing what it is to be young and
directionless in contemporary India.
SISTER
Rosamund Lupton Piatkus PB $33
When Tess is found dead, her mother, friends,
fiancée and even the police accept that she was
a suicide. But her sister Beatrice isn’t convinced,
and embarks on a dangerous journey to discover
the truth.
THE DONALD FRIEND DIARIES
Ian Britain Text PB $39.95
The first single-volume selection of the diaries
of Australian artist Donald Friend includes
material from two ‘lost’ wartime diaries recently
unearthed in America, along with handsome
sketches by Friend.
SOLAR
Ian McEwan Jonathan Cape PB $32.95
In this darkly satirical novel, McEwan shows human
frailty struggling with the most pressing and
complex problem of our time.
THE FAMILY LAW
Benjamin Law Black Inc PB $27.95
Meet the Law family – eccentric, endearing and
hard to resist. Your guide: Benjamin, the third of five
children and a born humorist.
READING BY MOONLIGHT
Brenda Walker Hamish Hamilton HB $29.95
Writer and academic Brenda Walker describes
the five stages of her treatment for breast cancer
and how different books and authors helped her
through the tumultuous process of recovery.
GUANTANAMO:
MY JOURNEY
David Hicks
THE THOUSAND AUTUMNS OF JACOB DE ZOET
David Mitchell Sceptre PB $33
From the author of the acclaimed Cloud Atlas
(Sceptre. PB. $25) comes this panoramic novel set
in 18th-century Japan.
VILLAIN
Yoshida Shuichi Harvill Secker PB $29.95
The first novel by Shuichi to be translated into
English, this story of a murder depicts loneliness
and alienation in contemporary Japan with
startling realism.
In 1999 a young man from suburban Adelaide
set out on an overseas trip that would change
his life forever. Initially, he was after adventure
and the experience of travelling the Silk Road.
But events would set him on a different path;
one that would see him deemed a terrorist,
one of George W Bush's ‘worst of the worst’.
He would be incarcerated in the world’s most
notorious prison, Guantanamo Bay, and in that
place where, according to an interrogator in
Abu Ghraib, ‘even dogs won’t live’, he was to
languish for five and a half years, suffering
horror, torture and abuse. Now, for the first
time and in his own words, David Hicks tells
the story of his incarceration. A timely and
important book.
LEONARD COHEN:
A REMARKABLE LIFE
Anthony Reynolds
Surprisingly few biographies have been
written about Leonard Cohen, the famously
reclusive and enigmatic Canadian poet, singer
and songwriter. With knowledge and insight
– but without hero worship – Welsh musician
and writer Anthony Roberts describes the
slow burn of Cohen’s early career and years
of recording and touring, followed by five
years of seclusion at a Zen Buddhist retreat.
He also details the reappraisal of Cohen’s
legacy following the many tribute albums and
shows such as ‘I’m Your Fan’ and ‘Came So
Far for Beauty’, the many cover versions of
‘Hallelujah’ and the financial mismanagement
that put Cohen back on the road in his 70s,
resulting in some of the most acclaimed live
concerts in recent years.
THE VINTAGE AND THE GLEANING
Jeremy Chambers Text PB $32.95
Set in a winemaking town, this novel is about
Smithy, a retired shearer turned vineyard worker
who seeks redemption for past mistakes.
WYATT
Garry Disher Text PB $23.95
Wyatt is back, as dangerous and as enigmatic as
ever. Involved in a jewel heist that goes wrong, he’s
not the type of man to leave loose ends untied – as
his former associates and new adversaries are
about to find out. Winner of this year’s Ned Kelly
Award for Best Australian Crime Fiction.
HUMAN CHAIN
Seamus Heaney Faber HB $30
This new collection of poems from the Nobel
Prize–winning writer comprises a series of intense
and masterfully sustained lyric pieces that are
inspired by Virgil’s Aeneid.
TALLER WHEN PRONE
Les Murray Black Inc PB $24.95
Murray’s first volume of new poems since 2006’s
The Biplane Houses (Black Inc. PB. $24.95) is
a showcase for his unique mastery of form and
matchless ear for the Australian vernacular.
10 Biography
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LIFE
Keith Richards
Over five decades, Keith Richards has lived
a rock and roll life: taking chances, speaking
his mind and making amazing music with the
Rolling Stones. Now, in this much-anticipated
autobiography, Richards tells us the story of
the crossfire hurricane that is his life. And
what a life it has been. Creating immortal
riffs such as the ones in ‘Jumpin’ Jack
Flash’, ‘Street Fighting Man’ and ‘Honky Tonk
Women’. Falling in love with Anita Pallenberg.
Coping with the death of Brian Jones. His
famously turbulent relationship with Sir Mick.
Marriage, family and the road that goes on
forever… With the disarming honesty that has
always been his trademark, Keith Richards
provides rare insights into his hard-to-believe,
totally unique life.
Scribe HB
WAS $45
NOW $39.95
REINVENTING FOOD
Colman Andrews
Phaidon HB
$39.95
Ferran Adrià’s influence on contemporary
cuisine will be felt long after his world-famous
Catalan restaurant elBulli closes next year.
For those of us who longed to experience
a 30-course meal at his perennially fully
booked table, this entertaining and insightful
biography provides an entree into the man
behind the legend. Acclaimed US food writer
Colman Andrews charts Adrià’s rise from
lowly dishwasher and army canteen cook to
the most famous and controversial chef on
the planet. It’s much more than a biography,
however, as Andrews delves behind the hype
of molecular gastronomy and alchemical
experiments with foams and spherification,
and describes his many personal experiences
of dining at elBulli.
STORYTELLER:
THE LIFE OF ROALD DAHL
Donald Sturrock
Harper Press PB
$35
Complex and often controversial, Roald
Dahl is best known as the author of classic
children’s books including Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory and Fantastic Mr Fox, but
he also wrote risky, often macabre, short
stories for adults. Biographer Donald Sturrock
first got to know Dahl while he was making
a TV documentary about him in 1986. A
friendship with Dahl’s family continued after
the author’s death, and in 2006 Ophelia Dahl
asked Sturrock if he would write her father’s
biography, granting him access to Dahl’s
private papers in the process. That Dahl was
never averse to mixing autobiographical facts
with a twist of fiction only adds to the enigma
of the man who often severely tested his
friendships but enthralled a legion of children
and adults with his marvellous tales.
Highly
recommended
THE PAPER GARDEN
Molly Peacock
REAL AND REEL
Brian McFarlane
Poet Molly Peacock first saw a travelling
exhibition of Mary Delany’s cut-paper flowers
at the Morgan Library in New York City, and
was transfixed – both by the flowers and
by the story of their creation. Dating from
1771, the 1000 pieces in the ‘Flora Delanica’
collection held in the British Museum were
the first examples of the art form we now call
mixed-media collage, produced by a woman
aged in her 70s who created close to 1000
botanically accurate renditions of flowers
in this form over a period of 10 years. This
fascinating biography, which includes 35
full-colour illustrations, weaves together the
events of Delany’s life in Georgian England
in the company of George Frideric Handel,
Jonathan Swift and the like, and spotlights
the burst of late-life creativity that led to her
remarkable artistic achievement.
In Real and Reel, local film critic Brian
McFarlane delivers a quietly ironic account
of his life-long addiction to the big screen,
particularly the films of 1940s Britain. Growing
up in a small Victorian country town with the
unfortunate name of Nhill, the aspiring cinephile
spent every available penny and moment at
the flicks, a habit that was to become one of
a lifetime. From Nhill to Melbourne University
and then eventually on to London, McFarlane
describes – almost with bemusement – how
his passion for film became a distinguished
career, leading to meetings and friendships with
stars aplenty as well as the publication of a host
of books on cinematic history, including The
Oxford Companion to Australian Film (with Geoff
Mayer and Ina Bertrand) and The Encyclopedia
of British Film.
THE ROMANTIC
Kate Holden
Text PB $32.95
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Little Brown HB
WAS $50
NOW $16.95
Her memoir In My Skin (Text. PB. $25.95)
shattered the stereotype of the drug-addicted
prostitute, revealing intimate details of her
five-year journey through heroin and sex work
in St Kilda. And now a second memoir covers
what Kate did next: a journey through Italy in
search of romance, identity, wisdom – and
sexual adventure. Told in the third person,
with sections named after different lovers,
this is a remarkably different memoir, but
just as brave, bold and absorbing. In a recent
interview with the Age, Holden said that she
now lives ‘a quiet nanna’s life’, clearly a sharp
contrast to the one she depicts in this book,
of threesomes, phone sex and dildos, but also
uncertainty, emotional upheaval, and betrayal
by a man she deeply loved.
Sid Harta PB
$29 .95
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SHAKESPEARE:
THE ILLUSTRATED EDITION
Bill Bryson
Harper Press HB
WAS $40
NOW $14.95
UNDER THE SUN:
THE LETTERS OF
BRUCE CHATWIN
Nicholas Shakespeare &
Elizabeth Chatwin (eds)
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TRUE COMPASS
Edward M Kennedy
Edward Kennedy didn’t live to see his
autobiography in print, dying at Hyannis Port
on 25 August 2009 less than two weeks
before its publication. His much-anticipated
memoir is the definitive firsthand account of
America’s first family, drawing on 50 years of
diaries and notes. Kennedy paints a picture
of family life with his parents and eight older
siblings, and recounts their profound influence
on his life and 46 years as a progressive
liberal senator. He reveals the years of
heartbreak he suffered following the deaths
of his brothers. With equal candour he tells
of his later career in the Senate, including his
endorsement of Barack Obama, and retraces
the events that occurred at Chappaquiddick in
July 1969, which closed the door on his own
place in the presidential race.
MALCOLM FRASER
Malcolm Fraser & Margaret Simons
Melbourne University Publishing PB $45
Part memoir and part authorised biography, this
substantial volume moves from the Vietnam War
to the Dismissal, covers Fraser’s years as PM and
discusses his concern for breaches in the Rule of
Law and the harsh treatment of refugees.
RAINBOW PIE: A REDNECK MEMOIR
Joe Bageant Scribe PB $35
This coming-of-age memoir from the author of
Deer Hunting with Jesus (Scribe. PB. $24.95) is set
between 1950 and 1963, and takes as its central
theme America’s most taboo subject – social class.
Jonathan Cape HB
WAS $55
NOW $49.95
AN EXCLUSIVE LOVE
Johanna Adorján Text PB $27.95
In this literary journey of self-understanding,
Adorján investigates the lives of her grandparents,
Hungarian Jews who survived the Holocaust
and together, took their own lives when one fell
terminally ill in 1991.
FRANK
James Kaplan Sphere PB $35
The definitive biography of that icon of the 20th
century, Frank Sinatra, written by a regular
contributor to The New Yorker, Vanity Fair and
Esquire.
MUST YOU GO?
Antonia Fraser Phoenix PB $30
The celebrated biographer has written a moving
portrait of her life with playwright Harold Pinter,
who died in 2008.
HITCH-22
Christopher Hitchens
Allen & Unwin PB $35
The acid, hilarious, confessional and provocative
memoirs of the journalist, polemicist and author of
God is Not Great (Allen & Unwin. PB. $26.95).
BOOK OF WAYWARD GIRLS & WICKED WOMEN
Angela Carter Virago PB $35
A new edition of Carter’s bestselling collection of
stories extolling the female virtues of discontent,
sexual disruptiveness and bad manners. Note:
December release.
A JOURNEY
Tony Blair Hutchinson HB $59.95
Blair’s memoirs provide an insight into the man, the
politician and the statesman; charting successes,
controversies and disappointments with an
extraordinary candour.
Bryson’s relentless inquisitiveness and offbeat
observations are utilised to the max in this
rollicking biographical yarn about the bard of
Avon. Sifting through the tonnes of historical
research and writing that already exists on
Shakespeare’s work and life, Bryson concocts a
lively portrait of the man and the time in which
he lived. Breathing plenty of Elizabethan life
into the story, we’re taken on a wander through
Shakespeare’s early years, the lost years, the
London years, the plays, the years of fame
and finally his death. The text is littered with a
colourful range of historical paintings, portraits
and documents that also bring the period to life.
‘There is simply no writer in England whose
work I have a greater passion for than yours,’
Bruce Chatwin’s publisher Tom Maschler
wrote – this from a man who also published
Amis, Barnes, McEwan and Rushdie. And yet
Chatwin’s work remains in relative obscurity.
This comprehensive collection of letters, edited
by his biographer Nicholas Shakespeare and
his wife Elizabeth Chatwin (her footnotes add
piquancy), seeks to bring Chatwin back into
the sun. From his earliest letters home from
boarding school to his last words in his dying
days, the impression is of an erudite man who
was ‘running away from himself by travelling’,
as one friend wrote in his diary. Devoted
husband and active homosexual; socialite
and loner; archaeologist and art collector –
Chatwin’s life was one of contradictions, many
of which are unpacked here.
MY BLOOD’S COUNTRY
Fiona Capp Allen & Unwin PB $28
An intensely personal exploration and celebration
of the life and work of one of Australia’s premier
poets, Judith Wright, through the landscape and
country she loved so much.
NOMAD
Ayaan Hirsi Ali HarperCollins PB $35
The author of Infidel (Simon & Schuster. PB. $25)
tells the story of her journey to America, where she
has built a new life an ocean away from the strife
she witnessed in Somalia and the death threats
that followed her public renunciation of Islam in the
wake of 9/11.
CHOCOLATE WARS
Deborah Cadbury HarperCollins PB $35
Historian and documentary filmmaker Deborah
Cadbury takes a journey into her family history to
uncover the rivalries that have driven 250 years
of chocolate empire building. Mouthwatering
narrative history!
THE WEST AND THE MAP OF THE WORLD
Matthew Richardson Miegunyah HB $70
This handsomely illustrated volume was inspired
by antique maps and their creators’ global vision.
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Doubleday HB
WAS $55
NOW $19.95
AT HOME: A SHORT
HISTORY OF PRIVATE LIFE
Bill Bryson
THE AUSTRALIAN PUB
Diane Kirkby, Tanja Luckins
& Chris McConville
It struck Bill Bryson one day that most of the
key discoveries for humankind can be found
in the very fabric of the houses in which
we live. This inspired him to start a journey
in book form around his own house, an old
rectory in Norfolk, moving from room to
room considering how the ordinary things in
life – things that many of us take for granted
– came to be. In the process, Bryson did a
prodigious amount of research on the history
of anything and everything, from architecture
to electricity, from food preservation to
epidemics, from the spice trade to toilets.
A worthy successor to his prize-winning A
Short History of Nearly Everything (see p16),
At Home is a fascinating look at human life
through a domestic telescope.
This book takes us on an intoxicating journey
through the history of one of Australia’s mostloved institutions, the pub. From its colonial
origins along the waterfronts and roadways
used by travellers, through to the mid-20thcentury six o’clock swill and on to the boutique
bars of contemporary cosmopolitanism, The
Australian Pub persuasively argues the case
that our pubs are, and always have been,
more than just a place to drink. The authors
trace the essential role of the pub as an
enduring provider of drink, food, entertainment,
accommodation and illegal betting; investigate
its relationship to sport and its battles with
licensing laws; and explore a wide range of
classic pub architecture.
University of NSW
Press PB $49.95
This handsome book delivers a decade in
pictures, reminding us of the faces, places,
tragedies and achievements of the turbulent
noughties. Each year is captured with an
emblematic title and graphic photojournalism,
including blasts from the not-so-distant past
such as the Y2K bug, the 2004 tsunami, the
Beaconsfield rescue, the launch of the iPhone
and the election of Barack Obama. Essays
by the likes of environmentalist Jonathan
Porritt delve into the decade-defining topics of
climate change, 9/11, science and finance.
Penguin PB
$24.95
Heart & Soul: Australia’s First Families of Wine
takes us on a journey through the history,
the people, the vineyards and the regions of
Australia’s most famous wineries. Chronicling
the trials and triumphs of the families who
pioneered the Australian wine industry over
generations (Yalumba, Tyrrell’s, Henschke,
Brown Brothers, Jim Barry and more), it is full
of stories that are as rich and varied as their
produce. The book includes an introduction
by James Halliday, maps of the major wine
regions, cellar door and accommodation
information, and sidebars filled with tips and
secrets straight from the experts’ mouths. An
essential resource for everyone interested in
Australian wine.
Highly
recommended
Popular historian James Reston, Jr is
fascinated by the turning points of history.
With his novelist’s eye for drama, he draws out
the parallels and ‘what ifs’ that foreshadow
the misunderstandings and conflicts of today
between Christianity and Islam, Protestants
and Catholics, Sunnis and Shiites. In this
page-turning sequel to Warriors of God, his
bestselling study of Richard the Lionheart and
Saladin, Reston gets to the pointy end of the
conflict. At its heart is that pivotal moment in
1529 when Süleyman the Magnificent’s army
amassed for battle on the outskirts of Vienna,
having the Europe of Charles V clearly in its
sights. Each leader was defending a different
faith and had different allies, so events
unfolded against the background power plays
of Francis I, Henry VIII, Martin Luther and the
Ottoman Janissaries.
HOLY WARRIORS
Jonathon Phillips
HEART & SOUL
Graeme Lofts
Wiley PB $39.95
D-DAY: THE BATTLE
FOR NORMANDY
Antony Beevor
Bestselling military historian Antony Beevor
pretty much has the pivotal moments in
WWII history sewn up. Having captured the
drawn-out horror of Stalingrad, the home-front
horrors of Berlin and the liberation of Paris, he
turns his famously in-depth and meticulous
scrutiny to one of the war’s most resonant
events: the Allies’ Normandy invasion of June
1944. Beginning with the planning involved in
this immense undertaking, Beevor provides
an almost blow-by-blow description of the
horrendous battles and skirmishes that
erupted as the fronts merged on the town of
Caen and on to Paris. He captures the human
experience of the D-Day battles, in which
almost 20,000 French civilians died, and the
terrible suffering experienced by Normandy,
whose scars would linger into the postwar era.
Viking HB
WAS $59.95
NOW $16.95
DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH
James Reston, Jr
DECADE
Terence McNamee
Phaidon HB
$59.95
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Pimlico PB
$29.95
This timely and revealing study demonstrates
that crusading has proven to be a remarkably
adaptable and long-lasting phenomenon,
embedded in the actions and consciousness
of the West for centuries. Jonathon Phillips
traces the crusading impulse from the bloody
conquest of Jerusalem in the First Crusade
right up to George W Bush’s declaration in
2001 that ‘…this crusade, this war on terror,
is going to take a while’. Phillips covers a lot
of ground – from the First Crusade in 1095,
through the Second Crusade, the Fall of
Jerusalem in 1187, the epic clashes between
Richard the Lionheart and Saladin during the
Third Crusade, the Sack of Constantinople in
1204, Frederick II’s Recovery of Jerusalem in
1229, the 1492 fall of Granada, the conquest
of the New World and finally, in our own time,
to the West’s offensive against radical Islam.
THE FIRST LADIES OF ROME
Annelise Freisenbruch
Jonathan Cape HB
$55
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Welcome to the extraordinary world of the
first ladies of the Roman Empire, legendary
women who were born or married into
the imperial houses of Rome. From the
scandalous (Augustus Caesar’s daughter Julia,
who was disowned by her father after getting
drunk in the Roman forum and then having
sex with strangers on the speakers platform)
to the scheming (Poppaea, Nero’s mistress,
who persuaded the emperor to kill his mother
Agrippina in order that he might marry her)
and the saintly (Helena, Constantine’s mother,
who was known for her Christian piety and
proselytising), these and other powerful
woman were both assets and liabilities to
their imperial fathers, husbands, lovers and
sons. Annelise Freisenbruch uses the most
up-to-date literary, artistic, archaeological and
epigraphic evidence to bring them vividly to
life in this fascinating and accessible book.
special deal: buy all
three for only $59.95!
IN SEARCH OF SYDNEY
Delia Falconer
IN SEARCH OF BRISBANE
Matthew Condon
IN SEARCH OF HOBART
Peter Timms
University of
NSW Press HB
$29.95 each
Three well-known local writers take us on
a journey through their home cities, using
interviews, personal recollections and
historical narrative to evoke the unique spirit
of each. These beautifully presented volumes
can be purchased individually or – in a
Summer Reading Guide exclusive offer –
for a bargain price of $59.95 for all three.
ATLANTIC
Simon Winchester Harper Press PB $35
Simon Winchester delivers a mixture of history,
science and reportage in this masterful work about
the Atlantic Ocean.
THE FLIGHT OF THE INTELLECTUALS
Paul Berman Scribe PB $29.95
Berman delivers a powerful commentary about
the media’s inability to detect dangerous ideas in
contemporary society.
ILL FARES THE LAND
Tony Judt Allen Lane PB $29.95
In this polemic, the late historian and essayist
challenges us to confront our societal ills and to
shoulder responsibility for the world we live in.
EUROPE’S TRAGEDY: A NEW HISTORY OF THE
THIRTY YEARS WAR
Peter H Wilson Penguin PB $29.95
A fascinating, brilliantly written attempt to
explain the horrific series of conflicts known as
the Thirty Years War (1618–48), which tore the
heart out of Europe.
FROM THOSE WONDERFUL FOLKS
WHO GAVE YOU PEARL HARBOR
Jerry Della Femina Text PB $35
This advertising classic, first published in the
US in 1971, was an inspiration for the Mad Men
TV series.
ILLUSTRATED superFREAKONOMICS
Steven D Levitt & Stephen Dubner
Allen Lane HB $39.95
This new, illustrated edition of the worldwide
bestseller looks deeper, questions harder and
uncovers even more hidden truths about our
world.
GERMANIA
Simon Winder Picador PB $35
This ‘personal history of Germans ancient and
modern’ is an enthusiastic, amusing and startlingly
vivid introduction to the wonders of Germany.
THE SS: A NEW HISTORY
Adrian Weale Little Brown PB $35
Drawing on new research, this history argues
that as the ideological ‘engine room’ of National
Socialism, a study of the SS is the best way of
gaining insight into how Nazism would have
evolved if Germany had not lost the war.
GOD IS NOT ONE
Stephen Prothero Black Inc PB $34.95
Subtitled ‘The Eight Rival Religions that Run the
World & Why Their Differences Matter’, Prothero’s
thought-provoking work shows that the differences
between the major religions are far greater than
most of us think.
THE IDEA OF JUSTICE
Amartya Sen Penguin PB $26.95
Is justice an ideal, forever beyond our grasp, or
something that may actually guide our practical
decisions and enhance our lives? Here, Sen
argues that public reason can indeed make
societies less unjust.
INTO THE WOODS
Anna Krien Black Inc PB $29.95
An intimate and intrepid journey into the Tasmanian
forest wars, written by one of the country’s most
exciting new writers.
THEM AND US
Will Hutton Little Brown PB $35
Hutton argues that reconstructing a broken
financial system (ie, capitalism) cannot be
done without a wholesale revision of the wider
system and the values on which it is based,
the most important of which is fairness.
Note: December release.
12 History
MI6
Keith Jeffery
Bloomsbury HB
$60
Often glamorised in TV series such as Spooks,
the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), or MI6 as
it’s better known, has always been shrouded
in mystery and intrigue. Professor of British
History Keith Jeffery has been granted full
access to the MI6 archives, though due to
security reasons the book only covers the
years between its foundation in 1909 to the
early years of the Cold War in 1949. There’s
an enormous amount of information crammed
into the 800 pages, with MI6 turning its
hand to everything from helping prevent
a Communist revolution in Brazil in 1935
to monitoring the development of German
V-weapons. James Bond fans won’t be
disappointed either: one agent is set ashore in
front of a Dutch casino during WWII wearing
full evening dress and a rubber oversuit.
SAVAGE OR CIVILISED?
Penny Russell
University of NSW
Press PB $34.95
In colonial Australia, manners marked the
difference between savagery and civilisation,
between vulgarity and refinement. Colonists
recoiled in shock and confusion at the
customs of Indigenous Australians, but they
also sensed the savagery lurking in white
society. Manners mattered, to individuals and
to society. In Savage or Civilised?: Manners
in Colonial Australia, Penny Russell, associate
professor of history at the University of
Sydney, has written an original and compelling
account of behaviour, respect and manners in
our early society.
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Picador PB
WAS $35
NOW $29.95
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Norton HB
WAS $52.95
NOW $49.95
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Fig Tree PB
$24.95
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Hachette Australia
PB
WAS $35
NOW $29.95
PARISIANS
Graham Robb
Following the success of his award-winning
The Discovery of France (Picador. PB.
$27), Graham Robb has produced another
wonderfully engaging and erudite book, this
one focusing on the world’s most romantic
city. Like its subject, Parisians is far from
conventional and staid – being a travelogue,
a history, a series of biographies and a
short-story collection all in one. Its sections
deal with different historical figures and
their actions in Paris, often treating them like
fictional characters but drawing on a wealth
of detail from Robb’s numerous sources.
There are relatively straightforward essays,
such as the depiction of Marie Antoinette
becoming lost in the then-unmapped Left
Bank, along with more adventurous creative
pieces including one that has Miles Davis
and Julie Greco conducting a love affair in
screenplay format.
Showtime is a scholarly and enjoyable journey
through the history of the Broadway musical
from its early beginnings to the present day,
lauded in the Washington Post as a book that
is ‘large in spirit as well as scope’. Stempel
took 30 years to research his subject, and
it tells. He separates out the threads that
have been woven into the modern musical
theatre, journeying from the 18th-century
French, German and English influences of
European-trained professional musicians
to the crude realities of the ethnic theatre
of immigrant Irish and Italians, and also
tracing the influence of African-American
culture, vaudeville and Tin Pan Alley. Along
the way he puts a cast of colourful characters
and formidable talent under the spotlight,
including Irving Berlin, the Gershwins, Cole
Porter, Rodgers and Hart, Oscar Hammerstein
II, Lerner and Loewe, Harold Prince, Leonard
Bernstein, Bob Fosse, Andrew Lloyd Webber
and the great Stephen Sondheim.
THREE FAMINES
Tom Keneally
It’s a perennially interesting quirk of history
that the three rulers embroiled in WWI were
cousins, linked by marriage and Queen
Victoria’s entwined family tree. Carter’s
enthralling history of the years leading up
to 1914 probes into the childhood, inept
statesmanship and many foibles and quirks
of Victoria’s eldest grandson, the unhinged
Kaiser Wilhelm, and look-alike cousins
George V and Tsar Nicholas. Written with an
entertaining contemporary eye, this accessible
history is a period page-turner with a terrific
choice of photographs of the royals at work
and play. Reading with the knowledge of
the inexorable changes waiting in the wings
adds to the drama and sense of foreboding
as the last years of Europe’s imperial era
are played out.
Acclaimed author Tom Keneally sets out to
untangle the history of what appear to be
three very different famines: the Irish famine,
which began in 1896; the Bengal famine of
1943; and the Ethiopian famine of the 1970s
and ’80s. While each famine is associated
with overwhelming shortages of staple foods
(in particular potatoes, rice and the cereal
grain teff), Keneally eloquently places much
greater blame on governments, administrative
mismanagement and racial preconceptions.
Challenging and debunking the questionable
truths that the Irish relied too much on one
staple food crop, the Bengalis were victims of
a caste system and the Ethiopians refused to
plough without oxen, his searing indictment
of the root causes of famine is as thought
provoking as it is timely.
National Library
of Australia PB
$39.95
This richly illustrated book offers a fascinating
insight into the early history of European
settlement through the first encounters
with our native fauna. Naturalists regarded
Australia as a ‘land of contrarieties’, with
oddly built creatures and a topsy-turvy
landscape. Olsen gives a brilliant account
of their reaction and includes many of
the important first illustrations as well as
documented accounts, attitudes and first
impressions. The chapter on koalas includes
the story of their first discovery, eight of the
earliest (and rather peculiar) renderings,
ill-informed descriptions and some of the
mammal’s original appellations (sloth, colo,
cooloo, even monkey). There are hundreds of
similar accounts, all carefully documented for
academic reference or for those with a keen
interest in our early natural history.
Napoleon’s 1812 invasion of Russia still
stands as one of history’s most acute lessons
in hubris and the reversal of fortunes. Delving
into archives of Russian military history only
recently unlocked, Lieven goes behind the
legends and historical bias to shine a new
light on Russia’s experience in the Napoleonic
era, proving once and for all that Russia’s
victory over the French emperor wasn’t
entirely due to the weather. Lieven’s magisterial study of the campaigns and battles
of 1807 to 1814, told from the Russians’
perspective, doesn’t stint on the details in
describing the barbarity of war, in particular
the central battles of Leipzig and Borodino.
Meticulously researched and possessing great
narrative verve, Lieven’s book puts a new
perspective on European history.
STREET FIGHT IN NAPLES
Peter Robb
Allen & Unwin
HB $50
Like his 1996 bestseller Midnight in Sicily
(Duffy & Snellgrove. PB. $22.95), Peter Robb’s
Street Fight in Naples is an unconventional
and engrossing history set in the Mezzogiorno.
Subtitled ‘A Book of Art and Insurrection’,
it ranges across nearly 3000 years of
Neapolitan life and art, from the first Greek
landings in Italy to his own less auspicious
arrival 30-something years ago. Robb lived
in Naples for most of the 1980s, and his
personal stories add a contemporary edge to
the fascinating history that he recounts here.
One of the book’s narrative threads is the
story of how, in 1606, the painter Caravaggio
fled from Rome after a fatal street fight and
made his way to Naples, finding in its teeming
streets an image of the age’s crisis. It’s a
not-unexpected diversion, seeing that another
of Robb’s award-winning books, M (Duffy &
Snellgrove. PB. $35), dealt with that enigmatic
painter’s extraordinary life.
TRANSPORT:
AN AUSTRALIAN HISTORY
Robert Lee
University of NSW
Press HB $49.95
BER
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More than the story of trains, boats and
planes – and trams, ferries and automobiles
– Lee’s history of Australia’s varied modes
of transport puts a different spin on social
history. Beginning with the steamers and
liners that sailed here from Britain, the author
moves to the legendary Cobb & Co era,
drovers and the Afghan camel trains. From
the stunning changes wrought by the coming
of the railways, and the urban transport
revolution that saw trams trundle across
our capital cities, this entertaining history is
packed with evocative images of our changing
cityscapes and commuters. Underscoring
what is predominantly a history of government
enterprise is the author’s sense of rage at
our current governments’ failure to deliver on
transport policy and the largely woeful state of
Australia’s public transport systems.
A WORLD ON FIRE
Amanda Foreman
UPSIDE DOWN WORLD
Penny Olsen
UNSUNG ORDINARY MEN
Sally Dingo
Like many returning WWII POW’s, Max Butler
never spoke about his experiences of the
horrors of war. The psychological scars that
burned deep were hidden away. He died when
his daughter Sally was just 12 years old,
and Unsung Ordinary Men is her celebration
of him and many other men like him, who
served their country and then suffered in
silence. Max Butler served in the doomed
2/40th battalion and spent over three years in
prisoner-of-war camps, including the virtual
death sentence of being held in camps along
the Thai–Burma Railway. Sally Dingo’s search
for understanding is a moving account of the
legacy of war and how it impacts on both
families and future generations.
Penguin Press PB
$32.95
SHOWTIME
Larry Stempel
THE THREE EMPERORS
Miranda Carter
Knopf Australia
HB
WAS $49.95
NOW $39.95
RUSSIA AGAINST
NAPOLEON
Dominic Lieven
Allen Lane PB
$35
In this epic history of the American Civil War,
Amanda Foreman recounts the titanic struggle
between North and South and looks at British
involvement in the war through the lives of
over 100 participants – soldiers, mercenaries,
politicians, spies, journalists, diplomats,
doctors and nurses. More British citizens
fought in the Civil War than in any other nonBritish war, and it’s refreshing to read nonUS-centric takes on the conflict, made even
more enthralling in the capable hands of a
British-American historian. Acclaimed military
historian Antony Beevor says about her
achievement: ‘Amanda Foreman’s magnificent
book provides a completely fresh perspective
on the first great modern conflict. Weaving
together a vast panoply of people and events,
it dramatically brings alive this extraordinary
period of British and American history.’
Politics & society 23 THINGS THEY DON’T
TELL YOU ABOUT
CAPITALISM
Ha-Joon Chang
Allen Lane PB
$29.95
BER
DECEM
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Many of us watched the unfolding events
of the global financial crisis of 2008 with
bewilderment at how it could all go so wrong.
Ha-Joon Chang, specialist in development
economics at Cambridge University and
the author of two previous books on global
economics, gives us a no-holds-barred,
full-frontal attack on free market capitalism
in an enlightening and somewhat scary
economics page-turner that documents how
the meltdown came about. The 23 things
in the title are responses to so-called free
market truths, which the author systematically
dismantles and then tears to pieces. Chang
is no anti-capitalist, but his forthright and
entertaining approach to economic theory and
free-market practices is sure to make this a
love-it-or-loathe-it book for many. A cracking
great read.
BEST AUSTRALIAN
POLITICAL CARTOONS 2010
Russ Radcliffe (ed)
See what Australia’s wittiest and most
perceptive political cartoonists made of 2010
in Scribe’s annual and essential alternative
guide to Canberra’s political year. The downfall
of Kevin Rudd, anointing of our first female
prime minister and ascendency of Tony Abbott
to lead the Opposition are covered in depth,
showcasing the political expediency that
ran riot on both sides of politics during this
election year. Budgie-smugglers, dumped
promises and political assassinations –
they’re all here.
Scribe PB
$29.95
Q
Scribe PB $35
Bantam PB $35
University of
Queensland Press
PB $34.95
University of WA
Publishing HB
WAS $49.95
NOW $16.95
HAMLET’S BLACKBERRY
William Powers
Scribe PB $29.95
We seem to spend most of our waking hours
online rather than off these days, and terms
like crackberry have jokingly been thrown
around to describe our digital addictions.
Journalist William Powers’ first book, part
memoir part self-help guide, aims to bring
some balance to our online and offline
worlds. Along the way he argues that what
is perceived to be a particularly modern
disorder has its antecedents in the past. Great
thinkers from Plato to Shakespeare, Thoreau
to McLuhan theorised over the social impact
of the written word, the printing press, TV
and the mass media. Powers doesn’t exactly
advocate a turn off, tune out and drop in
approach; instead, his prescription for a bad
case of digital addiction is as simple as pulling
out the plug.
BER
DECEM
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WHERE GOOD IDEAS
COME FROM
Steven Johnson
THE MORAL LANDSCAPE
Sam Harris
Like Christopher Hitchens and Richard
Dawkins, Sam Harris ignited a worldwide
debate about the validity of religion through a
recent bestseller (Letter to a Christian Nation.
Bantam. HB. $29.95). In the aftermath, he
discovered that most people, from secular
scientists to religious fundamentalists, agree
on one point: science has nothing to say
on the subject of human values. Indeed,
the failure of science to address questions
of meaning and morality has become the
primary justification for religious faith. In
this controversial new book, Harris tears
down the wall between scientific facts and
human values, arguing that we know enough
about the human brain and how it reacts to
events in the world to say that there are right
and wrong answers to the most pressing
questions of human life.
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birthday in 2011?
GRIFTOPIA
Matt Taibbi
Gonzo Rolling Stone journalist Matt Taibbi
dishes the dirt on the financial world’s
smokescreen of legislation and insider
deals to get at the truth behind the GFC
and subsequent government bailouts. His
boisterously scathing reflections on the state
of America place the blame firmly at the
feet of the ‘grifter class’, America’s financial
leaders and their political sidekicks, and in
particular former Federal Reserve Chairman
Alan Greenspan. Like many commentators
who believed in the dream that Obama could
‘make a difference’, Taibbi’s disillusionment
is fuelled by anger at Wall Street and ‘the
mechanics of this fiendish labyrinth of theft’.
Pulling no punches, Griftopia is a refreshingly
commonsensical rant, providing truly scary
insights into an ongoing story of corruption
and intrigue.
13
Allen Lane HB
$29.95
In his seventh book, popular-science author
Steven Johnson takes a look at the ideal
conditions for stimulating good ideas, and
comes to some enlightening conclusions.
Rather than concentrating on individual
thinkers and their brainwaves, as so many
books on innovation do, Johnson focuses on
the environments in which these brainwaves
happen. He points out that the more we’re
connected – be it through cities or the internet
– the more we’re confronted by fresh material
to feed our minds. And good ideas often need
the allowance of a long time to develop (‘slow
hunches’), as in Tim Berners-Lee’s creation
of the World Wide Web. Ideas can also be
stimulated by error, serendipity and other
circumstances that Johnson delves into. He
demonstrates how cultivating the right place
and the right time is essential to inspiring
important discoveries.
WISDOM
Stephen S Hall
THE ZEROES
Randall Lane
Award-winning science writer Stephen S Hall
has that wonderful gift of being able to take
on the big subjects and write about them in an
engaging and readable way. In Wisdom: From
Philosophy to Neuroscience, Hall takes up a
challenge that lesser science writers might
find too big to wrestle with. His search for the
meaning of wisdom takes us back to the great
philosophical teachers and thinkers, before
heading at warp speed through the millennia
to explore how neuroscience is at the cutting
edge in the search for the meaning of wisdom
today. There are plenty of thought-provoking
ideas and loads of research along the way to
get you thinking about just what it means to
be wise.
What does a Wall Street insider do when
the stock market crash of 2008 sends his
business down the gurgler? Write a tell-all
memoir about it, of course! And that’s just
what Randall Lane, cofounder and editor
of the now defunct Trader Monthly and
Dealmaker magazines, has done. Aimed
at the greed-is-good mob, Lane’s editorial
mantra for his magazines was ‘See It, Make
It, Spend It’, and his target market lapped it
up. The Zeroes details the decade’s excesses
with outlandish tales of big-spending traders
and the circus that surrounded them. It’s a
gossip-filled roller-coaster ride made up of a
cast of characters whose lives are fuelled by
multimillion-dollar deals and by chasing the
trading dragons of addiction.
Scribe PB $35
CONVERSATIONS
WITH THE MOB
Megan Lewis
Over a period of five years, former Australian
photojournalist Megan Lewis lived with the
Martu people of the Great Sandy Desert,
capturing their day-to-day experiences
against the outback palette of blue skies
and red earth. Amongst the last Aboriginal
people to come into contact with white
Australia, the Martu live in an unforgiving
environment where summer highs can reach
50°C. Dramatic, moving and beautiful, Lewis’s
photographs are interspersed with voices
from the desert, speaking on such topics
as the Dreamtime, health, whitefellas, footy
and community, underscoring the tensions
between old and new ways. With subtlety and
respect, she successfully treads that fine line
between friend and photojournalist, revealing
the world of the Martu not only to outsiders
but also to themselves, and bridging the
cultural divide in the process. Images from
this collection won a 2005 Walkley Award.
MONSOON
Robert D Kaplan
Black Inc PB
$34.95
L
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Profile HB
WAS $60
NOW $49.95
Like many global observers, US journalist and
academic Robert D Kaplan believes that this
is the Asian Century. His controversial mix
of travel, politics and polemics posits that
the rise of Asia’s superpowers – China and
India – has moved the geopolitical focus from
the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. From the
Horn of Africa to Indonesia, the region’s 37
countries are home to a third of the globe’s
population, characterised by a volatile cocktail
of weak governments, dissatisfied youth and
the threat of extremism. Highlighting the
intertwined religious, political, economic and
environmental challenges facing the region,
Kaplan explores ethnic rivalry in Sri Lanka,
climate change in Bangladesh, democracy in
Indonesia and naval expansionism in China.
WHY THE WEST RULES –
FOR NOW
Ian Morris
Why has the West dominated the globe for
the past 200 years, and will its power last?
Describing the patterns of human history, the
archaeologist and historian Ian Morris offers
surprising new answers to both questions. It is
not, he reveals, differences of race or culture,
or even the strivings of great individuals, that
explain Western dominance. Rather, it is the
effects of geography on the everyday efforts
of ordinary people as they deal with crises of
resources, disease, migration and climate. And
as geography and human ingenuity continue to
interact, the world will change in astonishing
ways, transforming Western rule in the process.
Brilliantly argued, Why the West Rules – for
Now not only explains why the West came to
rule the world, but also predicts what the future
will bring in the next 100 years.
ZOMBIE ECONOMICS:
HOW DEAD IDEAS STILL
WALK AMONG US
John Quiggan
Princeton
University Press
HB $34.95
Cue eerie music. Deregulation, market
forces, the trickle-down effect…in Zombie
Economics, John Quiggan, Professor of
Economics at the University of Queensland,
argues that entrenched economic principles
such as these caused the GFC, and that
although they’ve been resolutely discredited,
they refuse to die. Quiggan believes that the
only way of avoiding another financial crisis
is by killing the ideology of market liberalism
once and for all. He describes how the various
ideas behind economic rationalism were born
in the form of Thatcherism and Reaganism,
how they developed and how they were
brought undone. And refreshingly, he also
provides some answers, including taking a
new approach to risk and regulation, and
improving social risk-management policies.
14 Landscapes & gardens
BEST AUSTRALIAN GARDENS
& LANDSCAPES
BEST AUSTRALIAN INTERIORS
BEST AUSTRALIAN
ARCHITECTURE
Gary Takle (ed)
In these three lavishly illustrated books,
the publisher of Abode and Winning Design
magazines has compiled his choice of the
best in contemporary architecture, interior
design, and landscape and garden design
from around the country. Each book profiles
around 50 projects and includes text, plans
and stunning photographs.
Images Publishing
HB $60
Think Publishing
PB $39.95 each
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University of WA
Publishing HB
WAS $59.95
NOW $49.95
This scholarly and exhaustive study gives
a full account of the omnipresent eucalypt
in Australian life. Naturally, we think of the
landscape, park or garden. But as this book
aptly demonstrates, eucalypts are a central
part of our culture: our art, music, literature,
and commercial and social history. The book
uses photographs and text to examine every
facet of these uniquely Australian trees. We
learn of the tree’s biology, classification and
cultivation; its rare and endangered species;
and of iconic individual trees. And we also
learn that it isn’t, in fact, uniquely Australian
– there are a few species found naturally
elsewhere that are also documented. The
book ends with a checklist of all species and
includes the meaning of their botanical names.
Fremantle Press
HB $49.95
The rich volcanic soil and cool climate of the
Dandenong Ranges just east of Melbourne
have made it a haven for horticulturalists and
gardeners for well over a century. Prior to
Francis purchasing the 2-hectare Cloudehill
property in 1992, it had been in the same
family since the first rural land divisions of
the 1890s. Francis saw the potential in the
overgrown acreage with its sweeping views
and fine collection of specimen trees lost
in the undergrowth. Like all great gardens,
Cloudehill is a labour of love and the story of
its transformation into one of the country’s
finest landscaped properties in the arts and
crafts style makes great reading.
Best known as one of the presenters of
ABC TV’s Gardening Australia, the laconic
and very knowledgeable Angus Stewart is a
strong advocate of changing our European
garden practices in favour of an Australian
native garden style. Creating an Australian
Garden is an all-you-need-to-know guide to
planning, building and planting with Australian
native plants. A number of native gardens are
featured, highlighting a variety of different
garden styles from bush block to suburban
back garden. With a comprehensive plant
guide of over 450 different varieties to choose
from, there’s plenty of scope to think outside
the box and go native, with ideas aplenty for
tropical, cottage, formal or bush gardens.
Stretching from Broome to Kununurra and
covering an area that Victoria could squeeze
into twice over, the Kimberley is one of
Australia’s most remote and enigmatic
wilderness regions. It’s also one of the
world’s most ecologically diverse regions,
with pristine marine ecosystems and more
than 100 recently discovered plant species
adding to its floral bounty. Packed with vibrant
photographs, this pictorial takes us inland
along the Fitzroy River to Geikie Gorge, deep
into the interior at Halls Creek, and up to
Broome and the islands and reefs offshore.
With the focus on the area’s natural wonders
and beauty, this celebration of the region’s
bountiful biodiversity argues that, rather than
being exploited, the Kimberley should be
protected with World Heritage status.
Husband and wife team Neil and Jenny
Delmage have been designing and planting
gardens for over 20 years. From large-scale
rural properties to much more intimate
projects, they have always had a strong
focus on waterwise garden design. Here, the
authors revisit many of the Western Australian
gardens they have created, discussing
the principles behind each design and the
individual challenges thrown up by location
and environment. Whether turning a 2-hectare
patch of sand into a parkland garden or
making the most of minimal space to create
a restful garden space out of a shoebox, From
Coast to Country: Waterwise Gardens for
Australian Living offers plenty of advice and
inspiration on how to approach designing and
creating an enduring garden.
Allen & Unwin
HB $50
L
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Miegunyah HB
WAS $65
NOW $54.95
RURAL AUSTRALIAN
GARDENS
Myles Baldwin
THE KIMBERLEY
Victoria Laurie
Highly
recommended
CREATING AN
AUSTRALIAN GARDEN
Angus Stewart
FROM COAST TO COUNTRY
Neil & Jenny Delmage
EUCALYPTS:
A CELEBRATION
John Wrigley &
Murray Fagg
Jacana HB $65
CLOUDEHILL:
A YEAR IN THE GARDEN
Jeremy Francis
Murdoch HB
$89.95
Landscape designer Myles Baldwin heads off
on a state-by-state jaunt through Australia’s
alpine, arid and subtropical regions in
search of our best rural gardens. This chatty
and informative tour, rich in photographic
inspiration, will have urban garden lovers who
fantasise about escaping to a bucolic lifestyle
frantically searching for acreage on realestate.
com. From the perennial walled garden of
Possumwood in the NSW Southern Highlands
to the more arid landscape of Boat’s End in
South Australia, Baldwin supplies detailed
explorations of each garden and an overview
from the property owners themselves. Of
course, properties on a grand scale don’t
come easy, especially when set in difficult
locations, and there’s plenty of detailed
knowledge and sound advice here to make
this a practical as well as inspirational tour of
18 beautiful gardens.
SHACK
Simon Griffiths Lantern PB $39.95
Photographer Simon Griffiths has travelled the
countryside to bring us images of that great Aussie
icon, the shack.
DOG EAR CAFE
Andrew Stojanovski Hybrid Publishers PB
$34.95
This inspirational book about the Mt Theo Petrol
Sniffing Program is a true-life adventure story
about how one Aboriginal community beat the odds
and put an end to petrol sniffing.
LA BELLA LINGUA
Dianne Hales HarperCollins PB $30
A joyous, funny and warmly affectionate celebration
of Italy, its history, literature, food, music, movies,
people and – most of all – language.
A FIELD GUIDE TO THE MAMMALS OF AUSTRALIA
Peter Menkhorst & Frank Knight
Oxford University Press PB $39.95
A significantly updated and redesigned edition of
this classic guide to identifying all 382 species of
mammals known in Australia.
THE GARDEN OF IDEAS
Richard Aitken
The origins, history and preservation of our
parks and gardens is a much-less researched
and documented subject than, say, Australian
architecture. More quixotic in nature, gardens
are easily lost in time yet they tell us much
about ourselves, where we came from and
where we’re going. Covering four centuries
of Australian garden style, Richard Aitken’s
sweeping history of garden design is a
ripper of a book, painstakingly researched
and magnificently illustrated. From our early
colonial days and establishment of parkland
through to our current need for a waterwise
approach to gardening, Aitken traces how
our cultural development and thinking has
shaped and re-shaped the design of our
gardens and landscape.
WILDFLOWER COUNTRY
Stanley & Kaisa Breeden
Fremantle Press
HB $75
A NEW HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY
Anthony Kenny Oxford University Press HB
$79.95
Now available as a single volume, this magisterial
and easily accessible history will appeal to anyone
interested in the people and ideas that shaped the
course of Western thought.
THE GRAND DESIGN
Stephen Hawking & Leonard Mlodinow
Bantam PB $32.95
Hawking and Mlodinow argue their case that
scientific obsession with formulating a single
theory on the origins of the universe may be
misplaced.
THE HAPPINESS PROJECT
Gretchen Rubin HarperCollins PB $35
Soon after her 36th birthday, Gretchen Rubin
realised that she wasn’t as happy as she would
like to be. So each month for the following year,
she pursued a different set of resolutions and
formulated her own definitions of happiness and
how to achieve it.
THE LEGACY
David Suzuki Allen & Unwin HB $27
The internationally renowned scientist,
environmentalist and broadcaster shares his vision
about how we can create a sustainable future.
The image that comes to mind when we
think of Western Australian wildflowers
is fields of colour stretching as far as the
eye can see. Digital photographers Stanley
and Kaisa Breeden’s astonishingly detailed
close-up work turns this image on its head.
Their method of digitally recording a series
of identical images with different depths of
field and then combining them into a single
image results in botanical photographs
that have an almost hyper-realist feel to
them. Travelling from Shark Bay to the
Fitzgerald River, the Breedens zero in on
some of the whopping 5800 different plants
that grow in the area sometimes referred
to as the Southwest botanical province
and recognised as one of the world’s 39
International Biodiversity Hotspots.
SEX AT DAWN
Christopher Ryan & Cacilda Jethá
Scribe PB $35
An explanation of how our promiscuous past
haunts our contemporary struggles, addressing
why many people find long-term fidelity so
difficult and why sexual passion tends to fade
even as love deepens.
TEACH US TO SIT STILL
Tim Parks Harvill Secker PB $35
A thought-provoking and improbably entertaining
story of Parks’ quest to overcome ill health; one
that led him to confront hard truths about the
relationship between the mind and the body, the
hectic modern world and his life as a writer.
CUSTOM BICYCLES
Christine Elliott & David Jablonka
Images Publishing HB $40
Passionate cyclists Elliott and Jablonka present a
wonderful collection of expertly honed, humanpowered machines built by some of the most
creative bicycle makers in the world.
THE AUSTRALIAN UGLINESS
Robin Boyd Text PB $34.95
This 50th-anniversary edition of Boyd’s highly
influential book of architectural and social criticism
includes a foreword by Christos Tsiolkas.
Science & nature
THE ARTIST AND
THE SCIENTISTS
Peter Trusler,
Patricia Vickers-Rich
& Thomas H Rich
Cambridge
University Press
PB $59.95
Talented science artists such as Peter
Trusler draw on fossil evidence to produce
stunning depictions of life before humanity.
For three decades, he’s been working with
a husband-and-wife palaeontologist team
– Monash University’s Professor Patricia
Vickers-Rich and Museum Victoria’s senior
curator Thomas H Rich – on adventurous digs
around the world. This engaging collaborative
book is part-memoir, part-scientific fact and
part-artwork (with nearly 200 imaginationcapturing illustrations), as the artist and
the scientists discuss the amazing projects
they’ve completed together.
CYCLES OF TIME
Roger Penrose
Jonathan Cape HB
$55
In his first book since the bestselling The Road
to Reality (Vintage. PB. $55), Penrose offers a
radical new theory of the origin – and ultimate
end – of the universe, offering a completely
new perspective on cosmology and providing
a quite unexpected answer to the oftenasked question, ‘What came before the Big
Bang?’ Two key ideas underlie his argument:
a penetrating analysis of the Second Law
of Thermodynamics – according to which
the ‘randomness’ of our world is continually
increasing – and a thorough examination
of the light-cone geometry of space-time.
Penrose is able to combine these two central
themes to show how the expected ultimate
fate of our accelerating, expanding universe
can actually be reinterpreted as the ‘Big Bang’
of a new one.
HERE ON EARTH
Tim Flannery
Text
HB $49.95*
PB $34.95
* Limited number of
copies signed by the
author available
Tim Flannery’s sweeping biography of
the earth and the human species that
have inhabited it for the last couple of
hundred thousand years is as brilliant as
it is ambitious. With his scientist/explorer
sensibility, this love letter to the planet is filled
with scientific fact, rich in biographical detail
and observation. Subtitled ‘An argument for
hope’, the book is also in many ways about
Flannery and his vision of the future, and he
imbues the text with a spiritual, almost cosmic
sensibility. The chapters covering ecology and
environment are at the heart of his argument,
and though much of what is covered here
makes for painful reading, Flannery sees a
possible eleventh-hour escape route from the
environmental devastation we have created.
humour
A BOOK FOR EVERY WOMAN
MEN AND HOW TO MANAGE THEM
National Library of Australia HB
$14.95 each
For retrospectively hilarious tips on how to
manage the housekeeping budget, maintain
feminine grace and rear children, one needs
go no further than these facsimiles of two
locally published books, one published in
1885 and another in 1924. Our favourite
tip? ‘Man is a manageable animal – to be
reached through his stomach’.
THE CHASER ANNUAL 2010
Text PB $29.95
Parodying Elizabeth Gilbert, Tiger Woods,
Malcolm Turnbull, Justin Bieber and many
others, the Chaser’s 2010 annual is, as it
proudly claims in its publicity material, ‘an
essential read for anybody who can’t be
arsed watching the news’.
15
ATLAS OF SCIENCE
Katy Börner
MIT Press HB
$39.95
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Allen Lane HB
WAS $49.95
NOW $15.95
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Norton HB
$22.95
Cartographic maps have guided our
explorations for centuries, allowing us to
navigate the world. Science maps have the
potential to guide our search for knowledge
in the same way, assisting us to navigate,
understand and communicate the dynamic
and changing structure of science and
technology, and helping us to make sense
of the avalanche of data generated by
contemporary scientific research. This
handsome volume features more than 30
full-page science maps and 50 data charts
– everything from Claudius Ptolemy’s 1482
Cosmographia World Map to a globe showing
the worldwide distribution of patents – plus a
timeline of science-mapping milestones and
500 colour images.
THE EERIE SILENCE:
ARE WE ALONE IN THE
UNIVERSE?
Paul Davies
To celebrate 50 years since the establishment
of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence),
the acclaimed physicist, cosmologist and
chair of SETI’s post-detection task-group, Paul
Davies, gives us the lowdown on where we’re
at and where we’re headed in the search for
extraterrestrial life. If there’s anyone listening
in, they’re certainly playing hard to get. After
more than a million hours of astronomers on
the lookout, there hasn’t been so much as a
peep on the airwaves so far. As to our chances
of discovering intelligent life, there are plenty
of scientific ifs and buts, of which there are
seemingly endless permutations. One thing’s
for sure; If ET does decide to pick up the phone
you can bet that Paul Davies would like to be
around to answer it.
THE INSTANT PHYSICIST
Richard A Muller
Richard Muller, professor of physics at the
University of California, turned his university
course for non-science students, Physics for
Future Presidents: The Science Behind the
Headlines, into a book of the same name
(Norton. PB. $22.95). Sourcing the anecdotes
in his new book from the same course,
Muller gives non-physics types a leg up with
easily understood explanations of many of
the scientific facts and physics theories that
are part of our everyday lives – think global
warming, nuclear bombs, spy satellites and
tsunamis. While it might sound like a book for
dummies, after a read through (and with the
aid of humorous illustrations by Joey Manfre),
you might be surprised to find yourself more
than able to wax lyrical about supernova,
thermal nuclear fusion and how we really are
just made up of stardust.
SEXUALLY, I’M MORE
OF A SWITZERLAND
David Rose (ed) Picador HB $30
Notoriously funny, rude and outthere, the London Review of Books’
personal ads have been entertaining
readers since 1998. These hilarious,
quirky, enraged, honest and
horny cries from the heart make
addictive reading. Note: December
release.
FIRST DOG ON THE MOON’S
THE STORY OF THE CHRISTMAS
STORY
Andrew Marlton Text HB
$29.95
Crikey cartoonist Andrew Marlton
turns his gaze on the Christmas
story, or rather the story of the
Christmas story. This light-hearted
retelling of one of the greatest stories ever told covers all the bases, from
Mary and Joseph’s surprise impending parenthood through to the birth
of Jesus in a stable – according to Marlton, there were no vacancies at
Crazy Isaiah’s Wine Bar and Grill.
THE BUTTERFLIES OF
AUSTRALIA
Albert Orr & Roger Kitching
Jacana PB $45
L
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Norton HB
WAS $52.95
NOW $49.95
BER
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Few who enjoy the outdoors could miss the
magic and allure of butterflies. Now we have
a remarkable book that allows for a deeper
appreciation of these exquisite creatures:
their habits, habitats, flight behaviour, mating
patterns, lifespan, ecology, conservation and
much more. This scholarly work on Australia’s
nearly 400 species offers superb illustrations
of mounted specimens. But unlike other
reference books, it also includes life-like
studies of their appearance in the wild, their
larvae, pupae and host plants – delivering
a blend of biology, nature and art that will
delight not only butterfly enthusiasts, but
everyone who appreciates the presence of
these beautiful jewels of the landscape.
FROM SO SIMPLE
A BEGINNING
Charles Darwin &
Edward O Wilson (ed)
Never before have the four great works of
naturalist Charles Darwin – The Voyage
of the HMS Beagle (1845), The Origin of
Species (1859), The Descent of Man (1871)
and The Expression of Emotions in Man
and Animals (1872) – been collected under
one cover. Undertaking this challenging
endeavour, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner
Edward O Wilson has written an introductory
essay for the occasion, while providing new
introductions to each of the four volumes
and an afterword that examines the fate of
evolutionary theory in an era of religious
resistance. The volume, which is presented
in an attractive slipcase, also includes
restored versions of the original illustrations.
THE LEAFCUTTER ANTS
Bert Hölldobler &
Edward O Wilson
Bert Hölldobler and Edward O Wilson’s
academic tome The Ants, which won the
Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction, was later
shortened and popularised under the title
Journey to the Ants. Their new work, The
Leafcutter Ants, provides remarkable insights
into one of the world’s most evolved animal
Norton PB $27.95 societies. Sounding a little like a scene from
Alien, the leafcutters are described as one of
the earth’s ultimate superorganisms, with the
mother queen producing up to 200 million
female offspring in her lifetime. Sadly for
the leafcutter males, they are only reared
seasonally to inseminate virgin queens and
then die. While the text can sometimes be a
tad technical, there is enough mindboggling
research here to keep the less scientifically
minded reader enthralled.
THINGS BOGANS LIKE
Hachette Australia PB $25
Based on the popular website
thingsboganslike.wordpress.com, this
hilarious manifesto lifts the lid on the
ever-evolving and expanding sect of
the modern Australian bogan, here
dubbed the ‘nouveau-bogue’.
WHY MEN ARE NECESSARY
Richard Glover
ABC Books PB $28
Glover’s vivid, magical and laughout-loud stories of everyday life
– ‘The News from Nowhere’ – as
heard on ABC Radio’s ‘Thank God
It’s Friday’.
16 Science & nature
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WAS $35
NOW $29.95
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Doubleday HB
WAS $85
NOW $39.95
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Hardie Grant HB
WAS $59.95
NOW $49.95
THE MIND’S EYE
Oliver Sacks
NATURAL HISTORY BOOK
David Burnie (ed)
NONSENSE ON STILTS
Massimo Pigliucci
Neurologist Dr Oliver Sacks has written several
bestselling books of mind-boggling case
histories, including The Man Who Mistook
His Wife for a Hat (Picador. PB. $27). In this
new collection, Sacks himself is one of the
patients he discusses. He was diagnosed
with a malignant eye tumour in 2005, and
in ‘Persistence of Vision: A Journal’, he
includes entries he wrote during his recovery
process, involving musings (and fascinating
sketches) on his altered perceptions, but also –
poignantly – his fears and hopes. Another quite
personal essay concerns his prosopagnosia,
or face-blindness, while the others look
at patients who are experiencing various
neurological deficits, but who’ve found amazing
ways to adapt and get on with their lives.
Produced in association with the
Smithsonian Institution, this monumental and
extraordinarily beautiful guide to the earth’s
natural wonders covers over 5000 species
and claims to be ‘the ultimate visual guide
to everything on earth’. A useful reference
source for nature lovers of every age, it
introduces and explains each geological and
biological grouping in an engaging and highly
informative way. Contributions by a worldwide
team of natural history experts are divided
into six sections: Living Earth; Minerals, Rocks
and Fossils; Microscopic Life; Plants; Funghi;
and Animals (Invertebrates, Chordates, Fish,
Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals).
Best of all, every entry is accompanied by
stunning colour photographs.
Subtitled ‘How to tell science from bunk’,
professor of philosophy Massimo Pigliucci
takes us on the grand tour of groups who turn
their noses up at scientific fact in favour of
pseudoscientific belief. Of course, it’s a little
more complicated than creationists dismissing
Darwinism or climate change deniers who
think that global warming is pie in the sky.
Running the gamut from pseudoscience and
non-science to near-science and ‘established’
science, Pigliucci charts a course through
these treacherous waters. String theory and
the search for extraterrestrial intelligence
are examples of what he refers to as almost
science – not pure science but definitely not
bunk. Certain to shake some cages, Nonsense
on Stilts is an illuminating study of science,
pseudoscience and society.
Dorling Kindersley
HB $59.95
ILLUSTRATED SHORT
HISTORY OF NEARLY
EVERYTHING
Bill Bryson
Proving that Google isn’t the only wideranging source of answers to life’s questions,
the enormously likable and erudite Bill
Bryson makes textbook ‘ologies’ (cosmology,
palaeontology, geology – you name it)
accessible for lay readers in this whirlwind
journey through popular science, now
released in a version packed with full-colour
photographs, drawings, portraits and cartoons.
Along the way he reveals the accidents and
foibles of scientists and raids all manner of
sources of information to provide clarity as
well as a rattling good, Brysonesque read.
THE TIGER
John Vaillant
Sceptre PB $35
Music & film
THE 100 BEST
AUSTRALIAN ALBUMS
John O’Donnell, Toby
Creswell & Craig Mathieson
It’s a big ask to come up with the 100
best albums from the last 50-odd years
of Australian rock music. Co-author Toby
Creswell is no stranger to big lists; his 2005
run-down of the 1001 great songs of all time
makes this challenge look easy. ‘Best of’ lists
are always going to be controversial, and
compiling a 100 best Aussie album list is sure
to provoke plenty of discussion. Each entry
is accompanied by an overview of the work
in relation to the artist’s career, interviews,
a behind-the-scenes look at the making
of the album and its impact locally and
internationally. Regardless of who comes top
and who didn’t make the list, the authors have
pulled together a diverse collection of classic
Australian albums. Let the debates begin!
Aurum PB $35
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MASTERS OF CINEMA
Various authors
Phaidon PB
$12.95 each
Commissioned and published by the
influential French film magazine Cahiers du
Cinéma, these authoritative and accessible
introductions to the life and work of the
world’s greatest film directors are devoted to
the auteur, with individual volumes dedicated
to Woody Allen, Pedro Almodóvar, Tim Burton,
Clint Eastwood, Francis Ford Coppola, Alfred
Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch,
Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. Each
book provides the keys to understanding a
director’s career, from their earliest projects to
their most recent films, alongside a complete
filmography, film stills, on-set pictures
and film posters. Authors include Florence
Colombani, Bill Krohn, Thierry Jousee, Thomas
Sotinel and Bernard Benoliel.
Hachette HB
WAS $70
NOW $59.95
This non-fiction adventure is set in a remote
area of northeastern Russia in 1997, where
an endangered and protected Siberian tiger
has been acting out some kind of revenge
on humans. Two men have already met with
gruesome ends at the claws of a tiger that
Vaillant describes as ‘what you get when you
pair the agility and appetites of a cat with
the mass of an industrial refrigerator’. Yuri
Trush, head of one of six Inspection Tiger
units, a government initiative to protect the
tigers from poachers, is enlisted to track down
the big cat and put a stop to the carnage.
Mesmerisingly well written, combining
historical research and gripping storytelling,
this tale of man, nature and conservation is
reminiscent of Melville’s Moby Dick moved to
the inhospitable Russian landscape.
University of
Chicago Press PB
$29.95
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Bloomsbury HB
WAS $30
NOW $17.95
Taking a break from gazing at the sky, the
author of The Cloudspotter’s Guide (Sceptre.
PB. $25), described by many critics as the
most entertaining textbook ever written, has
turned his formidably enquiring mind to the
ocean, researching waves – where they come
from and to what extent our lives depend on
them. Pretor-Pinney explains the relationship
between waves and the beating of our hearts,
the movements of food down our digestive
tracts and the signals in our brains. He also
investigates the many types of waves there
are in the modern world ­– brain waves, radio
waves, infrared waves, microwaves, shock
waves, light waves, even Mexican waves. If
you’ve ever wondered why snakes slither,
suspension bridges collapse, butterfly wings
shimmer, saucers fly and traffic jams, The
Wavewatcher’s Companion has the answer.
ROCK AND HARD PLACES
Andrew Mueller
LEGENDARY GUITARISTS
AND THEIR GUITARS
Dom Kiris
Guitarists have long been associated with
their instrument of choice – Jimi Hendrix and
his Gibson flying V or David Gilmour and his
Fender Stratocaster spring to mind. Of course,
some prog-rock axe masters took it too far;
Jimmy Page and his double-neck Gibson
SG is a good example of rock god excess.
Legendary Guitarists looks at the world’s
biggest and best guitar manufacturers and
the guitar heroes who went on to become
flag bearers of the brands. Gibson, Fender,
Rickenbacker and Epiphone are just a few of
the companies who perfected models that
became the indispensable weapons of rock
war over the years. Amps and effects pedals
also get a mention – after all, where would
we be without the Wah-Wah and the Big Muff
fuzz pedal?
THE WAVEWATCHER’S
COMPANION
Gavin Pretor-Pinney
Affirm Press PB
$29.95
What do you get if you put a rock journo,
foreign correspondent and travel junkie into a
bag and give it a good shake? Andrew Mueller
is the most likely answer. This collection of
articles, ranging from a hilarious on-tour
encounter with the Cure to an expedition to
Beirut to find out what the road to Damascus
is like, covers 20 years of on-the-road
adventure and misadventure. Hailing from
Wagga, the London-based Mueller has
written for a swag of publications, including
Uncut, the Guardian and Monocle. Whether
stumbling into war zones, reporting on a rock
extravaganza like U2’s PopMart tour (Bono
supplies an endorsement on the book’s back
cover) or reflecting on his own career choices,
this is a riotous and often guffaw-inducing
collection of stories.
MUSIC
Andrew Zuckerman
THE SOUND OF PICTURES
Andrew Ford
Building on the huge success of his previous
project Wisdom (Hachette Australia. HB.
$75), a photographic study and series of
interviews with a diverse range of over-65ers,
photographer Andrew Zuckerman now brings
together a group of artists from different
musical backgrounds – rock, rap, dance, soul,
R&B, classical, country, reggae, pop, jazz,
world and more – and allows them to reflect
on their career and approach to making
music. Zuckerman’s striking images, where
the subject is always photographed against a
trademark stark white background, convey a
sense of revealing intimacy. The portraits are
crystal clear, with an unnerving under-themicroscope quality. The roll call of the 50
artists who are portrayed here includes Philip
Glass, Yoko Ono, Iggy Pop, Ozzy Osbourne and
Kenny Rogers.
Writer, composer and broadcaster Alan Ford
is the host of the Music Show on ABC Radio
National. In The Sound of Pictures, he takes us
on an illuminating journey looking at how film
directors use music and sound in their movies,
interweaving it with image and narrative
on the big screen to create atmosphere,
emotion and tension or often simply to push
the plot along. Examining the work of a range
of directors from Alfred Hitchcock to Peter
Greenaway, Ford’s immaculately researched
and in-depth study also features interviews
with a host of directors and composers
including Bruce Beresford, Ennio Morricone,
Peter Weir and Howard Shore. Moviegoers
and music lovers alike should enjoy finding
out just how much the sound of pictures
influences and informs what they watch on
the cinema screen.
Black Inc PB
$32.95
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Food L
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Murdoch Books
HB WAS $79.95
NOW $69.95
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365 GOOD REASONS
TO SIT DOWN TO EAT
Stéphane Reynaud
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Reynaud is a well-known advocate for rustic
French cooking, and his previous books
Ripailles (Murdoch Books. HB. $79.95) and
Rôtis (see p18) were easy and entertaining
guides to creating delicious traditional dishes.
This latest book offers more of his winning
formula, based around the concept of a
different, seasonally driven dish for every
day, each one photographed in colour. One of
the joys of using Reynaud’s recipes is their
easy-to-follow format – preparation time and
cooking time are made clear, measurements
are both metric and imperial, and handy
practical hints are provided for every dish
(how to crush hazelnuts, why it’s best to add
cold milk in a béchamel sauce). He even
includes warning notes on what can go
wrong, so that cooks can be on their guard
throughout the process.
Hardie Grant PB
WAS $34.95
NOW $29.95
Murdoch Books HB
$69.95
Lantern HB
$49.95
Q
Phaidon HB
$69.95
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Murdoch HB
Was $59.95
NOW $39.95
Australian Chef Tobie Puttock, the local face
of Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurant, continues
his affair with Italian cuisine in this, his third
cookbook. This time, Tobie heads off on a
six-week trip to Bella Italia, immersing himself
in the country and its food. Cook Like an
Italian focuses on regional cities and their
cuisine, with dishes from Venice, Genoa,
Florence and Rome, amongst others. Cultural
traditions, seasonal produce and simplicity
are the keys to many of his recipes, Tobie’s
philosophy being that while the recipe of a
great dish might not be rocket science, it can
be perfect just the same. Rich in photographs
and suitably glossy, the book also contains
information on recipe variations for those with
food intolerances.
AT ELIZABETH DAVID’S
TABLE
Elizabeth David
Elizabeth David is the woman who changed
the face of British cooking, introducing a
dreary post-war Britain to the sun-drenched
culinary delights of the Mediterranean – olive
oil and pasta, artichokes and fresh herbs,
saffron and garlic. Her recipes brought
colour and life into kitchens everywhere, yet
her bestselling books never contained any
photographs. Sixty years after the publication
of her first book, Mediterranean Food, this
beautiful new collection has been released,
celebrating her most inspiring everyday
recipes in glorious colour photography.
Twelve chapters guide the reader from tasty
soups and starters through to meat, fish and
desserts, showcasing simple and tasty recipes
including baked eggs, gratin dauphinois,
moules marinière and chocolate mousse.
A FOOD LOVER’S
PILGRIMAGE TO SANTIAGO
DE COMPOSTELA
Dee Nolan
Lantern HB
$100
This extraordinarily beautiful book traces
Dee Nolan’s pilgrimage as she walks along
the Camino through Southern France and
the north of Spain. Following in the footsteps
of Christian pilgrims, Dee visits medieval
pilgrimage sites, food producers and ancient
vineyards along the way. The story of her
journey is illustrated by hundreds of colour
photographs by Earl Carter – so inspirational
that you are sure to immediately want to do
the walk yourself – as well as recipes for the
delicious meals Dee enjoyed in restaurants,
farms and homes along the route. This is a
book about the very heart of things: why we
should care about what we eat and how it is
produced, and why we need escape valves
like the pilgrimage in our busy modern lives.
LA CUISINE
Françoise Bernard
LA CUCINA
ITALIAN FOOD SAFARI
Maeve O’Meara
& Guy Grossi
Hardie Grant HB
$55
MOVIDA RUSTICA
Frank Camorra &
Richard Cornish
Here, chef and restaurateur Frank Camorra
returns to his native Spain in a welcome
follow-up to his bestselling first cookbook,
MoVida (Murdoch Books. PB. $54.95). Full
of recipes that have been inspired by his
travels and perfected for the home cook,
Movida Rustica is a truly mouth-watering
read. Moving from sophisticated Madrid to
the Basque seaside towns and then on to the
Andalucían Sherry Triangle, Frank highlights
the pillars of Spanish cooking and the culture
in which the food is grown, prepared and
eaten. Along the way, he looks at what defines
traditional Spanish food and shares his zeal
for seasonal produce.
Michael Joseph HB
$49.95
4. Who had a father who
worked as a bear trainer?
INDIA: THE COOKBOOK
Pushpesh Pant
Till now, it’s been difficult to find an Indian
cookbook that adequately covers all the
bases. With a whopping 1000 recipes,
Pushpesh Pant’s India is the one we’ve been
waiting for. Sixty centimetres thick and light
as a feather, this is the book you wouldn’t be
without in an Indian cook-off at 50 paces.
Including a brief and jaunty history of Indian
cuisine, Ayurvedic philosophy and food
regions, it is an informative introduction to
what’s on offer in the Subcontinent. Userfriendly recipes cover spice mixes and pastes,
breads, snacks and appetisers, pulses, mains
and desserts. There’s also a nice selection of
signature dishes from Indian chefs working
around the world. A breezy back-to-basics
cookbook that makes cooking Indian food
at home as accessible as visiting your local
Indian cafe.
Firm friend of the Working Dog crew (see the
travel spoof Molvanîa), bossy cook Audrey
Gordon discovers the tastes and traditions of
Tuscany as she eats her way through central
Italy. Reflecting Audrey’s stern, no-nonsense
approach to cooking, and crammed with useful
instructions which you are advised to follow
at all costs, her Tuscan cookbook includes
over 50 recipes along with insights from her
travel diary. Recipes range from the traditional
(Melanzane con Pomodori al Forno) to classic
trifle and rustic rabbit pie. Notes on dinner
party etiquette are scattered throughout, along
with Audrey’s aphorisms (‘if you can’t get
fresh garlic, use a clove of ordinary garlic and
slightly lower your expectations’). Warning: Add
a huge pinch of salt when reading this book!
BER
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COOK LIKE AN ITALIAN
Tobie Puttock
BENTLEY:
CONTEMPORARY CUISINE
Brent Savage
Young chef Brent Savage receives rave
reviews for his Sydney restaurant Bentley
Restaurant & Bar, a recipient of two chefs
hats and the ‘Favourite vegetarian’ award in
the most recent SMH Good Food Guide. This
handsome book reveals the secrets behind
his creations (described by more than one
critic as art on a plate) in an accessible
and engaging manner. Step-by-step
photography and instructions on modern
cooking techniques help the home chef
replicate Brent’s dishes with professional
flair. Recipes include tapas, entrées, mains,
desserts and cocktails.
AUDREY GORDON’S
TUSCAN SUMMER
Audrey & Phillip Gordon
Norton HB
$44.95
Acclaimed Melbourne chef Guy Grossi and
infectiously enthusiastic SBS presenter Maeve
O’Meara celebrate the food and culture that
has become such an integral part of our cafe
and restaurant scene in this book version
of their popular TV series. A feast of Italian
regional cooking, it covers everything from
preserving, fishing and cheese-making, to
harvesting from the wild and, of course, the
home garden. Everyday Australian-Italians
share their stories and the trade secrets that
have been passed down from generations.
Covering the four seasons, the book includes
recipes from top chefs including Rosa
Mitchell, Stefano Manfredi and Guy Grossi,
as well as culinary gems from home kitchens
around the country.
The Italian Academy of Cuisine
Rizzoli HB
$75 each
These tributes to the regional and rustic
cooking of France and Italy are so
encyclopaedic in size and scope that it’s
difficult not to wield the word ‘bible’ when
describing them. Celebrating everyday French
home cooking, La Cuisine is a compendium
of 1000 classic, unfussy recipes compiled by
French culinary doyenne Françoise Bernard.
Reducing complex dishes such as roast goose
stuffed with chestnuts to simple, numbered
steps, its recipes are made even easier to
emulate by the inclusion of useful tips such as
suggested accompaniments and techniques.
Even more exhaustive, La Cucina presents
more than 2000 authentic regional Italian
dishes. For all of us who yearn to have an
Italian nonna in the kitchen, this authoritative
and accessible guide to Italian cooking is as
close as we’re likely to get.
MY CALABRIA
Rosetta Costantino
with Janet Fletcher
NOMA: TIME AND PLACE
IN NORDIC CUISINE
René Redzepi
Rosetta Costantino grew up in Calabria,
the region at the southern tip of the Italian
mainland. She describes it as ‘a land of
fragrant citron and bergamot orchards,
ancient olive groves and terraced vineyards;
a place of persistent tradition and ritual,
where the annual swordfish catch and hot
pepper harvest are celebrated with elaborate
festivals, and where women still roll pasta
dough around knitting needles’. Now a
Californian, Rosetta harks back to the land of
her childhood in this celebration of traditional
Calabrian cuisine, presenting recipes that
make the most of the region’s staple products
(most of which are also Aussie staples). There
are chapters dedicated to antipasti, pasta and
seafood, as well as a guide to making some
of the dolce (sweets) that the region is so
famous for.
Recently crowned the world’s best restaurant
in the San Pellegrino Awards, René Redzepi’s
Noma showcases sophisticated cooking
techniques, stunning presentation and
ingredients foraged from the forest or
seashore – a seductive mixture indeed. And
though most of us will never be lucky enough
to eat at this temple of gastronomy, all of
us can garner an appreciation of Redzepi’s
revolutionary cooking style and unorthodox
food pairings by delving into this newly
released cookbook, which features over 90
recipes that have featured on the Noma menu
since the Copenhagen restaurant first opened
in 2003. Like the food that it profiles, the book
has a strong Nordic aesthetic, with striking
colour photographs followed by recipes
printed on textured paper. It’s a perfect gift for
serious foodies and aspiring superchefs.
Phaidon HB
$69.95
18 Food
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QUAY: FOOD INSPIRED
BY NATURE
Peter Gilmore
SPECIAL DEAL: GET BOTH
FOR ONLY $49.95!
OMG! I CAN EAT THAT?
Jane Kennedy Hardie Grant PB $39.95
FABULOUS FOOD MINUS
THE BOOMBAH
Jane Kennedy Hardie Grant PB $39.95
Calorie-counters can take heart. Here are the
cookbooks of your dreams – gorgeously styled,
lavishly photographed, and filled with enticing
and indulgent dishes that look and taste terrific
but will stay within the realms of your diet.
Following on from last year’s Fabulous Food
Minus the Boombah, which was jam-packed
with flavoursome low-fat recipes, Jane
Kennedy’s new book OMG! I Can Eat That?
focuses on those creamy and rich comfort
foods that dieters are usually forced to refuse.
Get both of these guilt-free cookbooks for only
$49.95 – a special offer that’s exclusive to the
Summer Reading Guide.
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Murdoch HB
WAS $49.95
NOW $29.95
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Pavilion HB
WAS $60
NOW $16.95
Murdoch Books HB
$95
SRI OWEN’S
INDONESIAN FOOD
Sri Owen
Sri Owen is one of the world’s foremost
authorities on Indonesian cookery. Her
book Indonesian Food and Cookery was
first published in 1976 and has long been
acknowledged as an essential resource for
lovers of this mouth-watering cuisine. This
updated and expanded version of that book
provides a valuable insight into the ancient,
exotic and varied cuisine of the Indonesian
archipelago. Organised into recipe-laden
chapters covering staples and methods, it
has plenty of colour photographs and a handy
two-way glossary of Indonesian ingredients.
Though born in Indonesia, Owen has spent
the past 40 years living in Britain, and here
she gives useful tips about substituting
hard-to-access Indonesian ingredients and
accommodating non-Indonesian palates.
Lantern HB
WAS $55
NOW $19.95
See the back cover for details of
our competition to win a meal for two
worth $600 at Quay!
SALADES
Damien Pignolet
RÔTIS: ROASTS FOR EVERY
DAY OF THE WEEK
Stéphane Reynaud
Anyone left doubting Stéphane Reynaud’s
devotion to meat after reading his bestselling
debut Pork & Sons need only flick through
his follow-up volume, Rôtis, to be thoroughly
convinced. Boldly asserting that roasts aren’t
just for Sundays, Reynaud gives us 100 good
reasons to turn up the heat with meat, giving
step-by-step instructions and loads of recipes
for roasting beef, chicken, game, lamb, veal
and pork. He even makes some concessions
to non-carnivores, with chapters on roasting
fish and on vegetables and side dishes.
Yes, the guava snow egg recipe is here.
And yes, every dish in Peter Gilmore’s new
cookbook looks as exquisite as the dishes
he demonstrated in MasterChef. Buy a copy
of Quay and you’re sure to be whipping up
delectable dishes such as crisp-pressed
cinnamon spiced duck confit and wowing
guests at your next dinner party. Though
not for beginners, the recipes are clearly
constructed, split into three sections:
Ingredients, Method, and To Finish and Plate.
We gave the 12-hour slow-braised milk-fed
lamb shoulder recipe a go, and are chuffed
to report that it was relatively easy, looked
gorgeous when plated and tasted wonderful.
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Lantern HB
$59.95
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Lantern HB
WAS $100
NOW $29.95
Rarely has the humble salad been so
lavishly pampered as in Sydney chef Damien
Pignolet’s follow-up to his award-winning
debut, French (Lantern. HB. $69.95).
Guaranteed to be a favoured volume on the
cookbook shelf, Salades not only inspires you
to get into the kitchen, it opens up a wide
range of possibilities for the amateur cook to
prepare easily accessible ingredients in new
and exciting ways. From classics through to
side, warm, winter and sweet salads, Pignolet
showcases his knowledge of French cuisine
with recipes such as raw cauliflower with
coddled egg and watercress, and cooked
witlof with shaved celery and Roquefort.
Handsomely bound and illustrated throughout,
Salades also includes a handy glossary of
ingredients, equipment and techniques.
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Hardie Grant HB
WAS $79.95
NOW $69.95
THE REALLY USEFUL
COOKBOOK
David Herbert
You won’t find foams and liquid nitrogen
in this new cookbook by David Herbert,
the popular Weekend Australian culinary
writer. What you will find is more than 200
basic, foolproof recipes for dinner party and
everyday dining. There are classic sponge
cakes and winter-warming fruit crumbles,
Sunday roasts and Friday-night pizzas, the
recipe to ban gluggy steamed rice forever,
and plenty of Herbert’s tips and tricks.
Once you’ve mastered the basics there are
variations to try, inspiring timid cooks to
overcome their kitchen fears and providing
more experienced cooks with the tools to
experiment a little with confidence. Chapters
are ordered alphabetically, from Biscuits,
Breads and Cakes to Soufflés, Soups and
Stuffed Vegetables.
SARABAN
Greg & Lucy Malouf
Having previously explored Middle Eastern
cuisines from Turkey and Syria to Morocco,
Australian-Lebanese chef Greg Malouf shines
a light on the less familiar tastes of Iran, ably
assisted as always by his ex-wife and creative
partner, Lucy Malouf. This inspirational mix
of travel writing, photography and recipes
moves from Tehran to Kerman, Persepolis to
Isfahan, revealing Persia’s festive, generous,
sophisticated and well-balanced cuisine. A
mix of authentic centuries-old recipes and
more modern interpretations of the classics,
Saraban cover staples, small dishes, soups and
stews, grills and roasts, sweets and preserves.
The recipes could accompany other Middle
Eastern or even Western dishes, or provide
the inspiration for a truly memorable Persian
banquet of your own – just make sure you have
saffron, barberries and dried limes on hand.
THAI STREET FOOD
David Thompson
WHAT TO COOK
AND HOW TO COOK IT
Jane Hornby
It’s hard to imagine a more knowledgeable
and inspiring guide to the vibrant world of Thai
street food than internationally renowned chef
and Thai food expert, David Thompson. Join
him on a whirlwind tour of the curry shops,
stir-fry stalls and markets of Thailand – then
try your hand at cooking the fast, fresh and
irresistible food that sustains a nation. Recipes
include crunchy prawn cakes, pat thai, sweet
banana roti, steamed fish curry and pork
hocks braised with star anise – yum! Earl
Carter’s stunning photo essays of Thai street
life and exquisite food photography make Thai
Street Food as much an art reference as it is
a culinary one – a stunning gift for lovers of
food, travel and photography.
Welcome to the ultimate step-by-step
cookbook for beginners. It takes 100 easy
and delicious recipes back to basics, with
clear colour photographs accompanying
both the ingredients list and every clearly
explained method step. Our 12-year-old guest
reviewer used it to whip up a dinner of lamb
chops and ratatouille with barely a question,
no accidents and not too much mess – so
the book gets a big tick from us! There are
popular, accessible and tasty recipes for every
occasion, from breakfast muffins to omelettes,
tasty roast chicken to classic lemon tart. The
clear cooking instructions and tips on what to
buy will guide the reader all the way from the
supermarket to the dining table.
Phaidon HB
$59.95
stocking fillers
BALI BIKE BELLS
The sound of paradise! $8.95
Shaped like a miniature Hindu
stupa, these bells give off a
sonorous and distinctive sound
that gently yet firmly alerts
pedestrians and traffic alike to your
presence. The bells are exclusive
to the Summer Reading Guide,
and we will be donating $1 from each sale
to the Indigenous Literacy Project (www.
indigenousliteracyproject.org.au).
COLOUR, RHYTHM, DESIGN:
2011 CALENDAR
Art Gallery of NSW $27
This stunning calendar has been inspired
by Australian wood and lino cuts of the
1920s and ’30s. It includes work by artists
including Margaret Preston, Ethel Spowers
and Thea Proctor.
THE FOODIES’ DIARY 2011
Allan Campion & Michele Curtis
Hardie Grant $29.95
This inspirational diary incorporates a
seasonal calendar, an easy and delicious
recipe for every week, wine profiles and
details of fresh produce markets across
the country. There’s enough room for
you to record both appointments and
shopping lists.
THE FRENCH COUNTRY DIARY 2011
Linda Dannenberg & Guy Bouchet
Hardie Grant $29.95
A colourful Provençal fabric embellishes the
cover of this diary, which is full of charming
photographs of Brittany, Burgundy and
Provence.
JUKURRPA DIARIES & CALENDAR 2011
IAD Press
PB diary $24.95
HB diary $34.95
Calendar $24.95
Contemporary Aboriginal art from 15
communities in the central and western
desert regions of Australia is profiled in
these diaries and calendar produced by
the Institute for Aboriginal Development
(IAD) in Alice Springs.
POSTCARDS FROM PUFFIN
Puffin Boxed set $39.95
A unique collection of 100 postcards,
each featuring a different and iconic
Puffin book cover. Seventy years of
outstanding British design and illustration
in one sturdy little box!
Art, design & photography
777 WORKS OF
MODERN ART
Frechmann Kolón
HB $49.95
Q
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Miegunyah HB
WAS $90
NOW $75.95
Piper Press HB
$69.95
University of NSW
Press PB $39.95
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The full title of this book is 777 Works of
Modern Art You Must Know, You Should
Know and You Really Impress If You Know.
It highlights important works that trace the
fascinating and revolutionary development
of art from the late 19th century up to global
art experimentations in the Post-Modern
Age, and is a great tool if you want an
authoritative but accessible overview of this
endlessly fascinating period of art history.
5. Who was ‘The Quack
who saved a King’?
ART + SOUL
Hetti Perkins
The flourishing of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander art in Australia over the
past 30 years has been the inspiration
for this book and its companion ABC
television series. Subtitled ‘A journey
into the world of Aboriginal art’, the book
follows Hetti Perkins, a senior curator at
the Art Gallery of NSW, as she travels to
the landscapes of remote Arnhem Land,
saltwater country and the desert heartlands
of Central Australia to visit the homelands
of many major artists, documenting their
remarkable energy and diversity along the
way. Illustrated with over 150 artworks
as well as photographs by Warwick
Thornton, director of the award-winning
film Samson and Delilah, the book profiles
influential artists including Destiny Deacon,
Judy Watson, Rover Thomas, Emily Kam
Ngwarray, Michael Riley and Richard Bell.
Lothian Boxed Set
WAS $90
NOW $79.95
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Viking HB
WAS $49.95
NOW $19.95
19
THE ARRIVAL AND
SKETCHES FROM A
NAMELESS LAND
BOXED SET
Shaun Tan
This special boxed set of Shaun Tan’s graphic
novel The Arrival and its new companion
volume of commentary and developmental
drawings Sketches from a Nameless Land
offers a revealing insight into the art of
one of Australia’s most acclaimed authorillustrators. In Sketches, Tan discusses
themes in The Arrival – Belonging, Journeys,
The City, Language – and includes sources
of inspiration, his early concept sketches
and some finished illustrations that didn’t
make it through to the final version. Together,
they offer a fascinating insight into the
origins of ideas, connections with real-life
experiences, artistic techniques and sheer
hard work that underpin the creative process,
adding another layer of meaning to Tan’s
mesmerising tale of migration.
ARS SACRA
Rolf Toman et al
Tandem Verlag
GmbH HB $350
BER
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ATLAS OF REMOTE ISLANDS
Judith Schalansky
THE ART OF GRAEME BASE
Julie Watts
This highly engaging book profiles Graeme
Base, creator of Animalia, The Eleventh
Hour, The Waterhole, Enigma and many
other bestselling children’s picture books.
It explores the acclaimed illustrator’s life
and work, looks closely at what went on
behind the making of each of his books and
includes more than 200 exquisitely detailed
illustrations, many of which have never been
seen before. Base himself supplies lively
reflections, and his caption commentaries on
each illustration offer fascinating clues as to
how he creates his imaginary worlds. Few
Australian authors are as well known as Base
(Animalia alone has sold nearly three million
copies worldwide), and this book is a fitting
tribute to his amazing artistic talents.
Mindboggling in its scope, achievement and
sheer size, Ars Sacra is a survey of Christian
art and architecture of the Western world from
its very beginning up until today. Superbly
researched texts by a team of European
academics take the reader on a tour through
the epochs and highlight the specific changes
that have occurred in sacral art, architecture
and culture. Separate chapters are devoted
to periods and artistic styles including Late
Antiquity, the Early Middle Ages, Romanesque,
Gothic, Renaissance, Mannerism, Baroque,
Rococo, Art Nouveau, Expressionism and
Modernism, accompanied by more than 2000
breathtaking photographs. A volume for the
true aficionado or scholar.
Particular Books
HB $39.95
Born on the wrong side of the Berlin Wall,
the only way Judith Schalansky could travel
as a child was through the pages of an
atlas. Now she has created her own, which
takes us across the oceans of the world
to 50 remote islands – from Iwo Jima to
Tristan da Cunha and from Easter Island to
Disappointment Island. On one page are her
perfect maps, on the other unfold cryptic
stories from the islands. Rare animals and
strange people abound: marooned slaves and
lonely scientists, lost explorers and confused
lighthouse keepers, mutinous sailors and
forgotten castaways. Armchair explorers who
undertake these journeys will find themselves
in places that exist in reality, but only come to
life in the imagination.
EUAN MACLEOD
Gregory O’Brien
EVERFRESH: BLACKBOOK
Everfresh Studio
JUST MY TYPE
Simon Garfield
Sydney-based artist Euan Macleod paints
from the core of his being, taking us into
innermost regions of the human condition.
His works explore states of youth and aging;
the relationship between the human body
and the environment; and the processes of
memory and forgetting that shape both people
and places. In this book, poet and curator
Gregory O’Brien looks at the origins of these
works in the artist’s life, and in the many
strands of Australasian art and history that
have shaped them. Released to coincide with
the exhibition ‘Surface Tension: Euan Macleod’
at Sydney’s S H Irvin Gallery, this lavishly
illustrated volume is a great introduction
to the artist’s tempestuous yet strangely
luminous canvases.
Melbourne has a much-celebrated and
ubiquitous street art culture, the popularity of
which seems at times to divide and confuse
the city’s populace. Unfortunately, the recent
accidental painting over of a Banksy stencil
by council workers hasn’t done much to help
our understanding or appreciation of the
movement. This up-close look at the work
and artists who operate under the collective
known as Everfresh is a good starting point
to get a handle on what street art is all
about, profiling the studio, the artists behind
the work and the culture of the elusive
underground art world.
Arial, Bembo, Palatino and Helvetica – once
upon a time only a printer would have
recognised the significance of these words.
Fonts haven’t been this fashionable since
Gutenberg was in business, but while we
can spot the difference between Comic Sans
and Gill Sans, we’re probably not aware
of their history and psychological impact,
and the insights they provide into printing
and computers. Just My Type takes a fun
look at centuries of fonts, some of which go
back more than 550 years, while others like
Microsoft’s ubiquitous Calibri aren’t yet five
years old. Packed with interesting facts and
trivia – like the woman who was sacked for
sending an admin email in full caps – it will
make you think twice before selecting your
own default font.
Miegunyah PB
$40
ONCE UPON A TIME
IN PAPUNYA
Vivien Johnson
STILL LIFE
Jane Ussher &
Nigel Watson
The thousands of small panels now known as
the Papunya boards were painted between
1971 and 1972 by a group of Aboriginal
men from the Northern Territory, mostly
senior initiated lawmen in their own society.
Western Desert art expert Vivien Johnson’s
fascinating book looks into the history of the
Papunya movement, how it evolved and why
the Aboriginal artists chose to reveal sacred
symbols in their works. This is a compelling
history of the Indigenous Australian art
movement that spread the popularity of the
so-called dot paintings and which, by the late
1990s, took the world art market by storm.
In this extraordinary photographic study,
photographer Jane Ussher has turned the eye
of her trusty digital Hasselblad camera on
the huts that served as the base camps for
explorers Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Sir
Ernest Shackleton between 1895 and 1917.
Virtually untouched, the huts have withstood
the ravages of time due to the sub-freezing
conditions. Exterior shots highlight the region’s
beautiful but cruel conditions, but it is the
truly haunting interior images of daily life that
capture the imagination. Clothes still hang on
hooks, a newspaper is discarded on a table
and tins of food are still stacked on shelves.
Introductory essays by Nigel Watson from
the Antarctic Heritage Trust and diary entries
from the expeditions accompany this richly
illustrated and beautifully conceived work.
Murdoch HB
$79.95
Profile Books HB
$30
L
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Century HB
WAS $55
NOW $35.95
WALL AND PIECE
Banksy
Combining the mischievousness of the
surrealists and the pop art sensibilities of
Warhol, the stencilled graffiti images created
by the antiestablishment street artist Banksy
have become some of the most recognisable
street artworks of today. Wall and Piece
is a photo-document of much of Banksy’s
work before it was removed by authorities.
While his anti-capitalist, anti-war and
antiestablishment images featuring monkeys,
rats, policemen and soldiers often carry an
overtly political message, they also have a
distinctively humorous or ironic edge. Musings
from Banksy himself help to outline the
development of his style, but as you’d expect
there’s no mention of the true identity behind
the Banksy mask. In the words of this global
street art phenomenon, ‘a wall has always
been the best place to publish your work’.
20 Travel
L
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Watkins HB
WAS $45
NOW $39.95
ABC Books PB
$40
100 JOURNEYS
FOR THE SPIRIT
Michael Ondaatje et al
BHUTAN HEARTLAND
Robert van Koesveld
& Libby Lloyd
This escapist journey through sublime places
on every inhabited continent shows that
despite increased urbanisation and pollution,
magic and mystery haven’t been sapped
from the world. Whatever your beliefs, these
places are undeniably sacred. Explore the
Spanish mystical stone structures, Talatí de
Dalt; the Zimbabwean rocky Matobo Hills;
the Chinese Yungan Cave Shrines; the Indian
sacred Bodhi Tree; the Tibetan town of Lhasa;
and many more. Awe-inspiring images are
accompanied by more than just historical and
geographical facts: much of the text is poetic
and evocative. Not surprisingly, because
the list of contributors writing first-hand
experiences is impressive – including Booker
Prize–winner Michael Ondaatje and the muchloved Alexander McCall Smith.
DRAWING PARIS
DRAWING ITALY
David George Holm
Bhutan is one of the planet’s most
inaccessible and beautiful mountain
kingdoms, a Buddhist realm that measures
GNP in Gross National Happiness and
restricts access from the outside world.
This pictorial introduction to the Land of the
Thunder Dragon goes beneath its famously
intact cultural heritage to chart the country’s
transition from semi-feudal society to today’s
constitutional monarchy, with its democratic
trappings of healthcare and internet
access. Combining Lloyd’s words and van
Koesveld’s stunning photography, shot
during springtime journeys through Bhutan’s
Himalayan heartland, the book introduces
us to the country’s people – rural farmers
and Buddhist monks, urban schoolgirls and
elderly village weavers – as they move from
the traditions of the past to the globalised
world of today.
Australian architect David George Holm
explores the architectural history of these
two great European cities armed only with
a pencil, paper and eagle eye. His drawings
feature quick-fire lines and detailed, often
minute, observations, managing to evoke a
sense of place with great success. It’s often
the case that we don’t linger long enough
to take in the architectural splendour of
historic buildings and monuments when we
visit cities – these informative, educational
and inspirational books show what a
mistake that can be.
FROM HERE TO THERE
Jack & John Faine
GREEK PILGRIMAGE
John Carroll
In April 2008, radio broadcaster Jon Faine
and his son Jack closed the door on their
Melbourne home, leaving jobs, studies, family
and friends to travel overland to London in
their trusty four-wheel drive. This intelligent
and entertaining account of their six-month
journey through countries including Indonesia,
Mongolia, Iran, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
tells about the people they met, the things
they saw and the trouble they got into. It’s also
the story of a tender father–son relationship,
albeit one that seems to involve lots of
squabbling over food and farting, snoring
and sneezing!
This meditation on classical Greece takes
us on a journey through its great sites,
monuments and cultural works. Along the
way, it examines the country’s pivotal role
in the foundation of the modern world.
Philosopher and sociologist John Carroll
reminds us of how the ancient Greeks
invited us to think about who we are,
and consider the best ways to organise
ourselves, to build institutions and to make
our cities beautiful. They bequeathed to us
science and philosophy, drama and sport,
our engagement with nature, and much
else that graces our modern world. Greek
Pilgrimage is also designed to serve as a
practical guide for the modern traveller to
Greece, providing two itineraries complete
with maps and illustrations.
THE TITANIC AWARDS:
CELEBRATING THE WORST
OF TRAVEL
Doug Lansky
Perigree PB
$16.95
Anyone who’s ever had an airline lose their
luggage or who’s been forced to drive in Italy
knows that the perfect holiday shouldn’t be
taken for granted. The Titanic Awards takes a
different approach to these often-spectacular
travel underachievements, instead celebrating
them. From worst airport layout to the most
overrated tourist attraction, Lansky looks at
these flawed travel destinations with a gimlet
eye and an infectious sense of the absurd. Our
favourite categories include Most Unfortunate
IATA Airport Code (Doha Airport in Qatar is
DOH and Pocos de Caldos Airport in Brazil is
POO) and Most Unfortunate City Name (Dildo,
Newfoundland and Mianus, Connecticut).
Among the many belly laughs are some
serious gripes that all of us are likely to share
(Most Hated Airport – Heathrow).
TRAVELLING WITH
POMEGRANATES
Sue Monk Kidd
& Ann Kidd Taylor
Penguin PB
$22.95
Fremantle Press
HB $59.95
In Travelling with Pomegranates: A Mother
and Daughter Journey to the Sacred Places
of Greece, Turkey & France, the author of
The Secret Life of Bees (Headline. PB. $23)
joins with her daughter to present a dual
memoir of pilgrimage and metamorphosis.
This modern day Demeter and Persephone
chronicle their travels together in Europe at
a time when each was on a quest to redefine
herself and rediscover each other. As Sue
struggles to enlarge a vision of swarming
bees into a novel, and recently graduated Ann
ponders the classic question of what to do
with her life, they explore an array of inspiring
figures and sacred sites, as well as their own
mother–daughter relationship.
Scribe PB $29.95
Jane Curry
Publishing PB
$49.95 each
IS THAT THING DIESEL?
Paul Carter
Ex oil-rig worker, author and general gadabout
Paul Carter is holed up in suburban Perth
with a boring day job. Married life and
a newborn baby haven’t dampened the
recklessly adventurous spirit that saw him
journey across the world from oil rig to oil rig,
penning two tell-all books (Don’t Tell Mum
I Work on the Rigs and This is Not a Drill)
during his travels. With the go ahead from his
Allen & Unwin PB saintly wife, Carter heads off on a mad dash
$25
around Australia riding a bio-fuel bike with a
documentary cameraman in tow. Irreverent,
laugh-a-minute and packed with a cast of
characters that includes a cat with attitude,
Diesel is a tale of how one man discovers that
home really is where the heart is.
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THE TRAVEL BOOK 2:
DELUXE EDITION
Lonely Planet
Slipcased HB
WAS $100
NOW $79.95
The new, fully revised edition of Lonely
Planet’s pictorial journey through every
country in the world offers inspiration and
information in equal measure. Organised in
an easy to navigate A–Z format, each of the
229 countries is given a punchy introductory
overview accompanied by stunning
photographs, factual information, listings of
essential experiences, and cultural pointers on
books to read, movies to watch and music to
listen to. This deluxe edition is presented in a
handsome case and comes with a set of fullcolour A3-sized travel posters – it will make a
splendid gift for anyone interested in visiting
the cultures and countries that make up our
world, either in person or as an armchair
traveller. There’s also a standard edition (HB.
$80) in stock.
THE TRAVELLER’S GUIDE
TO PLANET EARTH
In recent years, guidebook publisher Lonely
Planet has moved into the pictorial and
inspirational book publishing market, a
trend continued with The Traveller’s Guide.
This collaboration with parent company
BBC’s Planet Earth TV series pulls together
content from both the documentaries and
Lonely Planet/BBC the guidebook company’s wealth of travel
Earth PB $35
information. Lonely Planet co-founder Tony
Wheeler and Planet Earth producer Mark
Brownlow kick-start proceedings with
their own travel highlights, and the book is
structured to reflect the episodic nature of
the series. Chapters covering mountains,
deserts, caves, jungles and the ocean are all
rich in images, lively and inspirational text,
and factual information. For anyone dreaming
of or planning a travel adventure, this book
and the BBC series of the same name offer
a wet-your-whistle taste of destinations to
choose from.
L
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Lonely Planet HB
WAS $55
NOW $15.95
THE WELL AT THE
WORLD’S END
A J Mackinnon
USA
This full-colour reference guide to the USA
draws together the history, culture, politics,
trademarks and essential experiences of
America. Few countries can offer as many
sights, sounds, tastes and lifestyles under
the one banner – and few publishers could
do them all justice. Fortunately, Lonely Planet
does. From alligator swamps and buffalo
ranges to Mississippi juke joints and Texan
honky tonks, this celebratory book takes the
reader on a grand tour through the 50 states.
With a stunning collection of photographs
and the informative text that Lonely Planet is
known for, USA is sure to make you want to
book an airfare and head Stateside as soon as
you’ve read it.
Black Inc PB
$32.95
When A J Mackinnon quits his job in Australia,
he knows only that he longs to travel to the
Well at the World’s End, a mysterious pool
on a remote Scottish island whose waters,
legend has it, hold the secret to eternal youth.
Determined not to fly (‘It would feel like
cheating’), the author of The Unlikely Voyage
of Jack de Crow (Black Inc. PB. $27.95) sets
out with a rucksack and a map of the world
and trusts chance to take care of the rest. By
land and by sea, by train, truck, horse and
yacht, he makes his way across the globe –
and through a series of hilarious adventures.
This true story of an old-fashioned quest by a
modern-day adventurer is utterly delightful –
don’t miss it.
BER
DECEM
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RELEA
Black Inc PB
$24.95
Gift AUSTRALIAN ENCOUNTERS
Shane Maloney
& Chris Grosz
Inspired by Edward and Nancy Sorel’s
illustrated vignettes that appeared in the
Atlantic magazine in the 1980s, the quirky
‘Australian Encounters’ page in The Monthly
magazine profiles true encounters – public
and private, ill-fated and fortuitous – between
a renowned Australian and an international
mover and shaker. This book includes 50 of
these encounters, brought humorously to life
by Chris Grosz’s energetic cartoons and Shane
Maloney’s sharp humour and observation skills.
Viking PB $32.95
Jonathan Cape
HB $35
THE PEANUTS COLLECTION
Nat Gertler
Cameron House
HB $60
Charles M Schulz’s ‘Peanuts’ cartoon strip first
appeared in 1950 and went on to become one
of the most successful comic strips in history.
The Peanuts Collection is a fun-packed album
of all things Peanutsian and features rarities
from the Schulz Museum and family archive.
Pull-outs, inserts and bits and bobs make
for plenty of interactive entertainment, and
there’s a swag of other stuff including original
sketches, photographs and frameable prints
of your favourite characters.
Faber PB $20
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Cambridge
University Press
HB WAS $29.95
NOW $14.95
Ten Speed Press PB
$27.95
This action-packed account of the players
who have captained the Australian team
since the early days of test cricket makes
fascinating reading. Get in quick and you will
also receive a copy of The Greatest: The Glory
Years of Australian Cricket (Malcolm Knox.
Hardie Grant. HB. RRP $49.95) absolutely free!
Note: only while stock lasts.
SEEKING THE SACRED
Stephanie Dowrick
Psychotherapist, interfaith minister, popular
newspaper columnist and bestselling author
Stephanie Dowrick encourages the reader
to go beyond cultural divisions and religious
clichés in order to discover what makes one’s
life sacred, satisfying and meaningful. Seeking
the Sacred is a provocative and accessible
read for those making up their own minds
about God, faith, spirituality and the nature of
Allen & Unwin PB belief in 21st-century life.
$33
SIMPLE TIMES
Amy Sedaris
Grand Central
Publishing HB
$45
BER
DECEM
SE
RELEA
Particular Books
HB $29.95
Setting out to debunk the theory that ugly
people craft and attractive people have sex,
Amy Sedaris demonstrates that anyone with
a couple of hours to kill and access to pipe
cleaners can join the elite society of crafters.
Her book is full of tips to make crafting both
pleasurable and easy, including where to look
for inspiration (buy fruit and let it get old, what
shapes does it turn into?) and ways to avoid
the most common crafting accidents (sawdust
fires, feather asphyxia, pine cone lodged in
throat). Definitely not for serious crafters!
WHAT CAESAR DID
FOR MY SALAD
Albert Jack
Hardie Grant HB
$49.95
THE NEEDLECRAFT BOOK
Maggi Gordon, Sally
Harding & Ellie Vance
Harper Perennial
PB $23.95
Dorling Kindersley
HB $49.95
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OFF
The Word Made Flesh: Literary Tattoos
from Bookworms Worldwide is a guide to
the emerging subculture of literary tattoos.
It includes more than 150 full-colour
photographs of human epidermis indelibly
adorned with quotations and illustrations from
Dickinson to Pynchon, from Shakespeare to
Plath. With beloved lines of verse, literary
portraits and illustrations – as well as
statements from the bearers on the personal
significance of the chosen literary work – this
fascinating publication is part collection
of photographs and part literary anthology
written on skin.
From the intricacies of lace knitting to
patchwork matching and star quilting, this
needlecraft bible provides more than 500 tips
and instructions for mastering the needle arts.
The key crafts – knitting, crochet, embroidery,
needlepoint, quilting and appliqué – are
covered in depth, starting with the basics and
progressing to more advanced techniques and
embellishments for more-experienced sewers.
In true DK style, the step-by-step illustrations
and diagrams are colourful, crystal clear and
easy to follow.
SPECIAL DEAL: GET BOTH
FOR ONLY $69.95!
SEW LA TEA DO
Pip Lincolne Hardie Grant PB $49.95
MEET ME AT MIKE’S
Pip Lincolne Hardie Grant PB $45
The popular return to making crafty stuff
shares many of the same green credentials
as the slow movement or growing your own
veggies – it’s ethical, it’s fun, it recycles and
it brings folks together over a cup of tea and
a natter. Each of Pip Lincolne’s books offers a bumper mix of projects,
including clothes for kids and adults, and things to make for the home.
The easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions are accompanied by plenty
of tips and pictures to whet your crafty DIY appetite.
SQUIRREL SEEKS
CHIPMUNK
David Sedaris
Little Brown HB
$27
BER
DECEM
SE
RELEA
Did you know that the Cornish pasty was
developed to protect tin miners from arsenic
poisoning, or that the word ‘salary’ comes
from Roman soldiers being paid their
wages in salt? What Caesar Did for My
Salad is crammed with fascinating insights,
characters and events that show our history
is surprisingly full of food-related incidents.
It’s sure to provide enough bizarre stories to
entertain a hundred dinner parties.
THE WORD MADE FLESH
Eva Talmadge
& Justin Taylor
WHEN FRENCH
WOMEN COOK
Madeleine Kamman
As a young woman, Madeleine Kamman
developed her passion for food by working
in the kitchens of France’s most respected
regional cooks. This memoir-cookbook
is dedicated to each of these remarkable
women, who nourished her appetite for the
tradition, rigour and deeply personal nature
of cooking. Originally published over 30 years
ago, When French Women Cook includes
over 250 recipes and is required reading for
anyone who wants to know more about la
cuisine française.
Nothing unites or divides people as much as
the tribal loyalty of AFL supporters. Combining
passion for the game with a talent for words,
17 writers explore the full range of supporters’
emotions, from the fervour of a convert to the
weariness of the long-term sufferer, the guilt
of the turncoat to the joy of the flag-winner.
Every club gets a guernsey – and every writer
is a true fan of what the editors proudly call
‘our greatest game’.
Scribe PB $29.95
TALES OF HI AND BYE
Torbjörn Lundmark
Sniffing one another’s breath in Polynesia,
sticking out your tongue in Tibet, patting each
other’s behinds in New Guinea, exchanging
air-kisses in LA – this thought-provoking
and entertaining book studies the many
welcoming and farewelling gestures, customs,
behaviours and forms of address found
around the globe. Filled with little-known facts
and witty asides, Tales of Hi and Bye is sure
to make you think twice about your telephone
manner, hat-doffing technique and choice of
everyday greetings.
THE CAPTAINS
Malcolm Knox
In her seventh cartoon collection, the popular
Australian illustrator and writer Judy Horacek
turns her whimsical and pithy observations to
climate change and, as always, the absurdity
of modern-day life.
THE SECOND BOOK OF
GENERAL IGNORANCE
John Lloyd &
John Mitchinson
The QI team is back with another lorry-load
of mistakes and misunderstandings. This
new compendium of popular misconceptions,
misapprehensions and common mistakes is
culled from the hilarious BBC show hosted
by Stephen Fry and is the perfect gift for
everyone who’s proud to admit that they don’t
know everything. It’s also an ideal stick with
which to beat people who think they do!
BEST ON GROUND
Peter Corris & John Dale
IF YOU CAN’T STAND
THE HEAT
Judy Horacek
CYCLOPEDIA
William Fotheringham
Everything you ever wanted to know about
cycling will be found in this essential bicycle
bible. A miscellany of facts, figures, interesting
snippets and quirky characters from the world
of cycling, it has all the gear, the equipment,
the races, the chases, the faces, the places,
the drugs, the sex and the scandals to convert
any amateur cyclist into a fully fledged BMX
bandit. Go on, ­get on yer bike!
21
IFT
FREE G
Viking HB
$29.95
On the surface, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk
appears to be a collection of 16 Aesop-like
fables. The majority of the stories collected here
don’t conclude with a cosy moral outcome,
though, because things are much darker in the
world of humorist and satirist David Sedaris
While there are bags of astute observations and
plenty to chuckle at, this collection is definitely
more David Lynch than Disney.
WHAT ON EARTH
ARE YOU WEARING?
Michi Girl
A companion volume to Michi’s first book,
Like I Give a Frock (Viking. HB. $29.95),
this encyclopaedia to the world of Michi
is the perfect gift for girls of all ages. This
‘Michipedia of fashion’ contains a glossary of
the fashion world from Michi’s always-unique
point of view. (‘A’ is for ‘acid wash reflux
disease’, which affects 1 in every 4 people…)
and brings a sense of joy, sophistication,
surprise and subversion to all things fashion.
ZOMBIE FELTIES
Nicola Tedman
& Sarah Skeate
Penguin PB
$19.95
The zombie craze has been gnawing at our
brains for a while, and now it’s found a way to
our hearts. Here are 16 imaginative patterns
to make everything from the traditional
‘Classic Zombie’ and ‘Zombie Bride’, to the
more contemporary ‘Surfer Zombie’ and
‘Thrilla’ pop sensation zombie. With helpful
tips for beginners, and easy-to-follow
instructions and diagrams, you’ll soon be
surrounded by creatures from beyond the
grave: drooling threads, spilling sequined
brains, and watching you with beady eyes…
22 Kids
ALL THROUGH THE YEAR
Jane Godwin
& Anna Walker
Viking HB
$24.95
A journey through the Australian year, seen
through the eyes of a child. Gorgeous fullpage spreads illustrated by Anna Walker
show us summer at the beach, the start of
school in February, Easter egg hunts in April,
football grand finals in September and other
milestones. Each month is described in verse,
and there are lots of bits that children will
relate to (My brother thinks that he’s the boss/
He changes things and makes me cross!). 3+
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Angus &
Robertston HB
WAS $40
NOW $19.95
CAMILLE AND MADELEINE
THE HOLIDAYs
SOPHIE’S MISFORTUNES
Sophie Rostopchine, Comtesse de Ségur
These modern English-language editions of
the French children’s classics will delight
young readers as much today as they did on
their original publication between 1857 and
1872. 8+
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GREEK MYTHS
Ann Turnbull
& Sarah Young
Walker Books
Boxed Set
WAS $39.95
NOW $19.95
Walker Books HB
$37.95
BER
DECEM
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RELEA
GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE
YOU BOARD GAME
Sam McBratney
& Anita Jerum
The classic picture book is brought to life in
a board game for all the family. For up to four
players, the pack contains a board game with
spinner, four character stands and character
pieces, and 28 activity cards. Also included
are a hardback edition of the picture book
and an animated DVD of the story, narrated by
Kevin Whately. What a bargain! 5+
Gecko Press HB
$35
BER
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THE KEEPERS:
MUSEUM OF THIEVES
Lian Tanner
Allen & Unwin
PB $23
In the city of Jewel, where people have
reacted to danger by becoming exceedingly
protective of their children, young Goldie Roth
makes a bid for independence. As trouble
threatens, Goldie finds herself in the city’s
museum with its eccentric band of ‘keepers’,
protectors of both city and museum. Just as
Goldie gets drawn into the museum, so will
readers aged 10+ find the first book in this
imaginative trilogy totally irresistible.
MAUDIE AND BEAR
Jan Ormerod
& Freya Blackwood
Little Hare HB
$29.95
Maudie tests love to its limits, and Bear
passes the test every time. In fact, Maudie is
so confident of Bear’s love that sometimes
she makes demands, throws tantrums and
lets Bear do all the work, knowing he will love
her unconditionally. And he does…right to the
end. A charming book for toddlers and their
long-suffering parents. 3+
Reading this thrusts you into the Jazz Age in
New York, with its flappers, speakeasies, and
all-round decadence. In the summer of 1929
best friends Cordelia Grey and Letty Larkspur
escape their stultifying lives in small-town
Ohio. Cordelia goes to the city to find her
father, a notorious bootlegger, while Letty
seeks fame and fortune as a singer. This vivid
drama will be irresistible to teenage girls with
a penchant for historical fiction. 13+
Puffin PB $19.95
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DIARY OF A WIMPY KID:
the ugly truth
Jeff Kinney
Puffin PB $14.95
We’re thrilled to offer three Australian
children’s classics – Blinky Bill (1933), Blinky
Bill Grows Up (1934) and Blinky Bill and Nutsy
(1937) – in one handsome, bargain-priced
volume. Little ones will love to be read these
stories about the adventures of the larrikin
koala and his mates, which come complete
with Dorothy Wall’s original illustrations in
colour and black-and-white. Watch out Miss
Pym and Farmer Smifkins – Blinky’s here! 5+
Ruth Craze thinks life can’t get any worse.
She fights with her brothers, her parents
drive her mad, her friends are mean and
no-one ever listens to what she says. So when
Rodney the Rat suggests a way out, Ruth is
ready to risk everything. But as she soon finds
out, you need to be careful what you wish for.
Allen & Unwin PB And sometimes, the ideal life is closer than
you think. 10+
Simon & Schuster
HB $17 each
They’ve read the first four books, seen the
film and begged for more. Fortunately, Jeff
Kinney hasn’t made your children wait too
long without an instalment of this fabulously
successful series about Greg Heffley, his best
friend and sidekick Rowely, and his older
brother Rodrick. This LOL gem is perfect for
young readers (especially boys) who find too
much text off-putting. 8+
BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS
Anna Godberson
CAREFUL WHAT YOU
WISH FOR
Maureen McCarthy
BER
DECEM
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RELEA
the fleurville trilogy
BLINKY BILL
Dorothy Wall
Hodder &
Stoughton PB $23
This collection of 17 Greek myths is truly
something to treasure. Beautifully written
by Ann Turnbull and illustrated by Sarah
Young, it includes the timeless stories of
Theseus and the Minotaur, Persephone, King
Midas, Ariadne, Orpheus and Eurydice, and
Echo and Narcissus. The stories are told
with great freshness and there is a good
balance between the gentler myths and the
ones packed with battles and monsters. It’s
a wonderful introduction to the fascinating
world of Greek mythology. 7+
Scholastic HB $25
THE CLOCKWORK THREE
Matthew J Kirby
In 1870s New York, three children are forced
to fend for themselves. Talented Giuseppe
has been stolen from his native Italy to busk
for his padrone; orphaned Frederick has been
placed as an apprentice clockmaker; smart
Hannah must earn her family’s keep after her
father’s stroke. All have a quest to fulfil, and
when their lives intersect by chance, they
work together to achieve their own ends, with
the help of just a little magic. 10+
GRUG
Ted Prior
Simon & Schuster
Boxed Set $30
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Grug, that unforgettable hero of the
Australian bush, began life as the fallen
top of the native Burrawang tree. This new
set of a board book, CD and plush toy will
introduce your pre-schooler to this muchloved character, giving them hours of fun
and showing how everyday problems can be
solved creatively and without fuss. 2+
H.O.U.S.E.
Aleksandra Machowiak
& Daniel Mizieliński
IN THE NIGHT KITCHEN
OUTSIDE OVER THERE
Maurice Sendak
Have you ever seen a house without walls?
Is it possible to pack a house into a suitcase?
Can a house behave like a turtle? This book
about contemporary domestic architecture
is full of vivid illustrations and cool facts.
Profiling amazing projects from around the
world, H.O.U.S.E. (Habitable Objects Unique
Spatial Extraordinary) includes 35 weird and
wonderful shelters – including a sand house,
UFO house, egg house, nut house, inflatable
house and house for the homeless. 9+
The second and third books in Maurice
Sendak’s famous Wild Things trilogy
feature the same dream-fantasy
storylines and magnificent illustrations
that made Where the Wild Things Are
one of the most beloved picture books
of all times. 3+
Red Fox PB
WERE $19.95
NOW $7.95 each
THE LAST DRAGONSLAYER
Jasper Fforde
LEGO BRICKMASTER:
STAR WARS
Fifteen-year-old Jennifer Strange runs an
employment agency for soothsayers and
sorcerers, but she’s finding that it’s hard to
place her clients – these days, drain cleaner
is cheaper than a spell, and the only call for
magic carpets is for pizza delivery. But are
things about to change? Jasper Fforde’s first
work for younger readers is as hilarious as it
is exciting. 10+
LEGO and Star Wars – a match made in
heaven! Young fans will love this set, which
comes complete with 140 bricks and minifigures of a clone trooper and battle droid.
The detailed instruction book shows how to
make eight models – great value for money.
Watch as your junior engineer makes a battle
tank, attack shuttle, personal gunship, mobile
missile platform and sand-speeder bike –
everything needed to take on Darth Vader and
the Sith. 7+
Dorling
Kindersley
Activity Set
$39.95
MR BADGER AND
THE BIG SURPRISE
MR BADGER AND
THE MISSING APE
Leigh Hobbs
Mr Badger is the Special Events Manager of
London’s Boubles Grand Hotel. He loves his
job, even the parts that see him having to
cope with Miss Sylvia Smothers-Carruthers,
the spoiled seven-year-old granddaughter of
the hotel’s owners. These entertaining books
Allen & Unwin PB by the creator of Old Tom and Horrible Harriet
$14 each
are perfect for junior readers aged 6+.
MY ISLAND HOME
Neil Murray, Peter Hudson et al
SOLID ROCK (SACRED GROUND)
Shane Howard, Peter Hudson et al
TOOK THE CHILDREN AWAY
Archie Roach, Ruby Hunter
& Peter Hudson
One Day Hill PB
$19.95 each
These vibrant and inspirational picture books
are based on three iconic songs from the
heart of Indigenous Australia. A percentage
of the profits from sales goes towards
Ian Thorpe’s ‘Fountain for Youth’ literacy
empowerment initiative. 6+
23
Kids THE NIGHT BEFORE
CHRISTMAS
Clement C Moore
& Eric Puybaret
Koala Books HB
$27
This beautiful hardback edition of the famous
poem ‘’Twas the Night before Christmas’,
written by Clement C Moore in the 1820s,
comes with a musical and narrative CD
recorded by legendary folk trio, Peter, Paul
and Mary. ‘Merry Christmas to all, and to all a
good night!’ 3+
NOAH BARLEYWATER
RUNS AWAY
John Boyne
David Fickling
Books HB $27.95
NONI THE PONY
Alison Lester
Allen & Unwin
HB $25
A delightful rhyming story for young children
by the popular Australian author and
illustrator, Alison Lester. Noni is the nicest
pony any little child could ever hope to meet.
She loves to entertain the cows and hens and
ducks on the farm by the sea. And one of her
favourite games is to play hide and seek with
her best friends, Dave Dog and Coco the Cat.
Children aged 1+ will love her!
OTTO: THE
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
OF A TEDDY BEAR
Tomi Ungerer
Phaidon HB
$24.95
THE QUIET BOOK
Deborah Underwood &
Renata Liwska
Houghton Mifflin
HB $17.95
This gentle picture book explores the many
types of quiet that can fill a child’s day from
morning to night. Hide-and-seek quiet,
last-one-to-get-picked-up-from-school quiet,
sleeping-sister quiet, story-time quiet – all of
these moments are evoked in Renata Liwska’s
adorable illustrations. It’s a wonderful book
to share with a child, and yes, it’s certain to
grant a quiet moment or two! 2+
BER
DECEM
SE
RELEA
Puffin PB $16.95
Little Hare HB
$24.95
David Fickling PB
$24.95
Penguin PB
$17.95
Walker Books HB
$19.95
Persimmon, a beautiful young florist with long
red locks, is an outcast from her family thanks
to her love of flowers. Epiphany, an inquisitive
grey mouse, is regarded with suspicion by
her mother for her desire to know what lies
beyond their subterranean home on Platform
One in the same station where Persimmon
has her shop. The two misfits’ destinies
collide in an enchanting and highly original
fairy tale that will appeal to dreamy middle
readers and young adults, too.
UP AND DOWN
Oliver Jeffers
HarperCollins HB
$25
VIOLET MACKEREL’S
BRILLIANT PLOT
Anna Branford
& Sarah Davis
Violet Mackerel spends every Saturday at the
market, where her mum has a craft stall. On
another stall, run by a man called Vincent,
there is a blue china bird that Violet really
wants. Unfortunately, she has no money. Violet
realises that she needs a brilliant plot to make
some cash, and maybe work some magic
for her mum and Vincent in the process. This
endearing first instalment in a new Australian
series is perfect for girls aged 7+.
Stone the crows! Here’s a beaut illustrated
cookbook for little Aussies, full of top tucker
like pikelets, Anzac biscuits, dinky-di icy
poles, Auntie Bev’s rissoles and Pam’s pav.
The recipes aren’t quite as tricky as those on
Junior MasterChef (phew!), but they’re sure
to be well received at the dinner table. We’re
not too sure about the roo doo in a patty case,
though… 8+
THE THREE LOVES
OF PERSIMMON
Cassandra Golds
TRASH
Andy Mulligan
Dumpsite boys Raphael, Gardo and Rat scrape
a living by picking through their city’s rubbish.
One day, 14-year-old Raphael finds money, a
map and a key in the rubbish, and enlists his
friends to help him find the hidden treasure
these will lead to. The three are soon on the
run in a compelling adventure. Compelling
too is the confrontingly realistic depiction of a
developing country, riven by corruption, where
filth exists alongside luxury. 11+
The third in Phaidon’s series of award-winning
children’s books by one of the world’s bestloved author-illustrators, Otto is a powerful
and beautiful book told first-hand by a
German-made teddy bear who is separated
from his owner, lives through WWII, emigrates
to America and is reunited with his original
owner 50 years later. 7+
STEW A COCKATOO:
MY AUSSIE COOKBOOK
Ruthie May & Leigh Hobbs
TERRY DENTON’S
BUMPER BOOK OF SILLY
STUFF TO DO!
Terry Denton
Packed with hours of holiday fun, this
fantastic activity book is full of drawing
activities, cartoons, maps, lists and games to
entertain children at home or on holiday. Terry
Denton has an uncanny ability to tap into all
the funny, crazy, yucky, weird and downright
silly things that children love, and they are
sure to lose themselves for hours in this
interactive compilation. 7+
Eight-year-old Noah Barleywater runs away
from home into a magical world that is both
eerie and hilarious. He finds a toyshop full of
beautifully crafted puppets owned by an old
man with stories to tell and life’s lessons to
share. Noah is disinclined to share the reason
behind his flight from a loving home, but it
gradually becomes clear, as does the identity
of the old man. Another wonderful book by the
author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. 9+
Highly
recommended
Once there were two friends, and they
always did everything together. Then one day
the penguin decides it’s time to spread his
wings. But will the boy be there to catch him
if he falls? This heart-warming, beautifully
illustrated story by Oliver Jeffers (Lost and
Found, How to Catch a Star and The Way Back
Home) is about friendship, love and reaching
for your dreams. 3+
ZOG
Julia Donaldson
& Axel Scheffler
Scholastic HB $28
Zog is a dragon who is learning the necessary
dragonish arts, including capturing princesses
and battling knights. But the princess has her
own ideas about her fate, and the knight’s
passion isn’t for fighting. Kids will love the
story and Gruffalo-ish illustrations; adults will
appreciate the subversion of the dominant
paradigm! 4+
EJ12: GIRL HERO
Susannah McFarlane Scholastic PB $13 each
A new series featuring a female superhero created especially to get
girls aged 9+ reading. We also stock a gift box that includes the first
four books for a special price of only $30!
THE ROBOT BOOK
Heather Brown Accord Publishing Board Book $24.95
This robot has two eyes, two arms and two legs, but what really
makes him tick? Look inside the book for the answer. Features
actual working – and moving – parts. 4+
SIX IMPOSSIBLE THINGS
Fiona Wood Pan Australia PB $17
Fourteen-year-old nerd-boy Dan Cereill isn’t quite coping with
moving house, new school hell, a just-out gay dad and an
impossible crush on the girl next door. His life is a mess, but for now
he's narrowed it down to just six impossible things…13+
THE BIRD KING AND OTHER SKETCHES
Shaun Tan Windy Hollow HB $39.95
A journal of drawings and doodles from the acclaimed artist, author
and illustrator. 11+
CHILDREN MAKE TERRIBLE PETS
Peter Brown Hachette Children’s HB $29
A quirky, laugh-out-loud story about a bear and her ‘pet’ boy. 4+
A GIRAFFE IN THE BATH
Mem Fox, Olivia Rawson & Kerry Argent
Viking HB $24.95
A giraffe in the bath – does that make you laugh? An owl with the
flu? Or a roo on the loo? This very funny picture book suggests
increasingly silly and hilarious possibilities. 3+
KIMONOS
Annelore Parot Hardie Grant HB $24.95
This visually stunning picture book about Japanese culture involves
the junior reader in lots of activities while reading. 4+
LINGER
Maggie Stiefvater Scholastic HB $30
The sequel to Stiefvater’s bestselling Shiver (Scholastic. PB. $20)
continues the story of Grace and the wolves of Mercy Falls. 13+
LITTLE ELSE
Julie Hunt & Beth Norling Allen & Unwin PB $14 each
This funny, entertaining three-book series (Trick Rider, On the Run,
Ghost Hunter) about a bushranger and her gang will delight girls and
boys aged 6+.
THE MAZE RUNNER
James Dashner Chicken House PB $17
This exciting adventure for readers is full of action and tension and
is sure to appeal to fans of books such as The Hunger Games. 11+
SEASONS
Blexbolex Gecko Press HB $30
Acclaimed French illustrator Blexbolex has created a book about
the seasons, featuring thick art-paper pages, rich colour and
superb illustrations. 3+
THERE’S GOING TO BE A BABY
John Burningham & Helen Oxenbury Walker Books HB
$29.95
These pages brim with love, excitement and reassurance as the
child in the story imagines all kinds of colourful futures for the
brother or sister he is waiting to meet. 2+
THIS IS SHYNESS
Leanne Hall Text PB $19.95
A guy who howls. A girl on a mission to forget. Leanne Hall’s
powerful young adult novel evokes a darkly magical world that is
both familiar and completely original. 13+
WHEN YOU REACH ME
Rebecca Stead Text PB $16.95
This story about friendship and time was this year’s winner of the
prestigious Newbery Medal. 11+
YELLOW IS MY FAVOURITE COLOUR
Judy Horacek Picture Puffin Board $14.95
From the acclaimed cartoonist and illustrator of Where is the Green
Sheep? (Picture Puffin. PB. $14.95) comes this joyous celebration
of colours in a board book for preschoolers. 1+
24 Music
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AFROCUBISM
BAND OF JOY
CD. $29.95
Robert Plant. CD.
WAS $26.95 NOW $21.95
This incredible jam between the top musicians
in Cuba (led by Buena Vista Social Club founder
Eliades Ochoa and Grupo Patria) and Mali’s finest
(led by Toumani Diabate and Bassekou Kouyate)
is the completion of a long-frustrated plan
hatched before BVSC. The Cubans’ rock-solid
rhythms and the Malians’ incredible virtuosity are
simply intoxicating.
The latest offering from the legendary Robert
Plant sees him showcasing his love of Americana.
Featuring an eclectic collection of relatively
obscure covers – bar one original co-written by
Buddy Miller – it’s perhaps a million miles from
Zeppelin, yet better than expected. Backing vocals
by Patty Griffin add a wonderfully lush texture.
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THE BEATLES 1962–1966
THE BEATLES 1967–1970
CAR TAPE 2
The Beatles. CDs.
WERE $39.95 each
NOW $24.95 each
Both this and Miller’s first Car Tape album will
make you want to hole up in a small dark place
so that you can listen without outside distractions
to her haunting, beautiful and rollicking renditions
of timeless and hidden classics. Folksy and just
plain wonderful, it deserves to be in your car…
er…CD player.
These two ‘greatest hits’ collections complement
the recent reissues of the Beatles’ studio albums.
Masterfully restored, the Red Album (1962–66),
as it has become known, offers an emphasis on
the hit single as was popular in the early years,
whilst the Blue Album (1967–70) concentrates on
a burgeoning interest in album tracks from Sgt.
Peppers to Let It Be.
Lisa Miller. CD. $24.95
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GLIMJACK
DOWN THE WAY
COME AROUND SUNDOWN
Kings of Leon. CD.
WAS $26.95 NOW $21.95
The world’s most impossibly skinny-hipped band
is back this summer to saturate your airwaves
with their now-stadium-sized riffs. Fans of these
southern-fried scamps won’t be disappointed
as the Followill boys rock a steady boat towards
world domination. All hail the kings!
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Glenn Richards. CD.
WAS $26.95 NOW $21.95
Angus & Julia Stone. CD.
WAS $26.95 NOW $22.95
This is a stunning album. Fans of the Australian
brother-and-sister duo’s first album, 2007’s A
Book Like This, have held great expectations
for this new release – fortunately, Angus and
Julia have well and truly delivered, creating a
collection of beautifully minimal, emotional and
refined songs that they take turns to vocalise.
There is a tranquil, nostalgic and wistful spirit to
this album that you will find yourself wanting to
immerse yourself in again and again.
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THE GIFT
Susan Boyle. CD.
WAS $29.95 NOW $24.95
After the enormous worldwide success of I
Dreamed a Dream, Boyle returns with a new
album that is equal parts Christmas music
and inspirational interpretation of classic
contemporary songs such as Lou Reed’s ‘Perfect
Day’, Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ and the
Crowded House classic, ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’.
For his first outing in eight years, Phil Collins
faithfully re-creates the Motown and soul sound
that has played such a huge role in his creative
life. The 18 tracks on offer here are performed
with Collins’ trademark exuberance and
enthusiasm, and it is hard not to get swept along
with toe-tapping, hip-swinging hits including
‘Heatwave’, ‘Uptight’ and ‘Girl (Why You Wanna
Make Me Blue)’.
GRINDERMAN 2
Grinderman. CD.
WAS $26.95 NOW $21.95
There is great big raucous fun to be had with the
newest Grinderman album, where everything’s
slightly dark, pretty sleazy, but always listenable.
Gritty, rocking good times brought to you by Nick
Cave’s newest, pared-back project, and arguably
one of his finest achievements because of it.
HARLEM RIVER BLUES
Justin Townes Earle. CD. $24.95
If country-roots with a touch of gospel is your
thing, then look no further. This incredibly
talented young man has produced two of the
very best records from the genre in recent years,
and with Harlem River Blues he has delivered yet
again. Justin Townes Earle is the real deal. Yessir!
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HEART THAT’S POUNDING
I BELIEVE YOU LIAR
Sally Seltmann. CD. $22.95
Washington. CD.
WAS $26.95 NOW $21.95
This is the third full-length release by the artist
previously known under the alias of ‘New Buffalo’
– a gorgeous album filled with intimate, quaint
sing-a-long songs including the single ‘Harmony
to My Heartbeat’. Reminiscent of the sounds of
Belle and Sebastian and the upbeat, harmonious
elements of ’60s pop, it’s well worth adding to
your collection.
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HE WILL HAVE HIS WAY – THE SONGS OF TIM & NEIL FINN
GOING BACK
Phil Collins. CD.
WAS $26.95 NOW $21.95
Augie March frontman Glenn Richards has
recorded an impressive solo debut with Glimjack,
demonstrating once again that he is one of our
finest song-writing talents. All of his trademark
lyrical and melodic gifts are here in spades, with
the added benefit of a couple of Drones in his
backing band to provide muscle.
The opening track of Megan Washington’s debut
album 1997 immediately confirmed that this
Australian singer-songwriter was going to live
up to all the hype. I Believe You Liar offers more
of the sophisticated songwriting and quirky
nostalgia sound that has made her a big hit with
both indie and pop fans worldwide.
Various artists. CD.
WAS $26.95 NOW $21.95
Following on from the massive success of 2005’s
She Will Have Her Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil
Finn, now it’s the men’s turn to pay homage to
the glory of the brothers Finn. Each artist brings
their unique musical perspective to reinterpreting
a Finn classic, along with the odd hidden gem
from the brothers’ extraordinary catalogue.
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JASMINE
Keith Jarrett & Charlie Haden. CD.
$32.95
Two of the elder statesmen of jazz reunited in
Jarrett’s home to reminisce, and the conversation
led them to play through some of their favourite
standards. No album was planned, but the
tapes demanded an airing. In a change from
Jarrett’s usual extended improvisations, Jasmine
showcases the finest ballad playing you’ll ever
hear, bass and piano conversing like old friends.
LITTLE BIRD
Kasey Chambers. CD.
WAS $26.95 NOW $21.95
After a series of side projects and collaborations,
Chambers has returned to what she does best,
releasing a solo album of her own songs recorded
just the way she wants them. Little Bird is a
return to form for an artist who, frankly, seemed
to have lost her way a little. Confident and full of
optimism, it’s her best work in a long time.
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LUCY & THE WOLVES
MALK
Martha Tilston. CD. $24.95
Saltwater Band. CD. $29.95
Being the daughter of beloved British folk singer
Steve Tilston, Martha would eventually find her
way into the family business, yet she’s always
wanted to do it on her own terms. The first track
on her fifth album finds Tilston’s beautiful voice
gliding over an impressive musical landscape
and is reminiscent of her early influence, Joni
Mitchell. This record will grow in stature because
it improves on each listen.
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After the runaway success of his solo
album, Gurrumul Yunupingu took time out
to complete a third album for the Saltwater
Band. All the ingredients that made Gurrumul
such a spine-tingler are here, as well as lush
harmonies, percussion, reggae vibes, brass
and strings – giving the album a much more
varied feel. Beautiful.
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MODERN DAY ADDICTION
THE MAN IN BLACK
Tex Perkins & the Tennessee Four. DVD.
WAS $26.95 NOW $21.95
A DVD release of the critically acclaimed show
that toured the country recently and earned Tex
a Helpmann award. Filmed at the Palais Theatre
in September, it weighs in at a little over two
hours. Also includes a stack of bonus features.
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Clare Bowditch & The New Slang. CD.
WAS $26.95 NOW $21.95
From its up-tempo opening track, it is clear that
Clare Bowditch has a point to make with her
latest record. Modern Day Addiction suggests
that our desires for new technologies and our
thirst for surgically enhanced looks outweigh
our desire to spend time with family and loved
ones. This is Clare’s best collection yet, both
brave and engaging.
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Ô HOURIA
MODERN FOLK
Vince Jones. CD.
WAS $29.95 NOW $24.95
If there is one voice in Australian jazz more
recognised than any other, it would have to
be that of Vince Jones. Our leading vocalist,
interpreter, trumpet player and composer has
entertained and informed us for decades with
his ever-evolving elite group of musicians. Now,
after a wait of six years, comes this new album.
Recorded live around Australia, it includes
originals and some beautiful contemporary
versions of jazz standards.
NEIL YOUNG ARCHIVES: VOL. 1
DVD boxed set.
WAS $499.95 NOW $149.95
We have a very limited number of this awesome
10-DVD boxed set. Spanning the years 1963
through to 1972, it will be an essential addition
to every serious fan’s collection. If you want one,
be quick – they won’t hang around long at this
special price!
Souad Massi. CD. $24.95
The latest album by Algerian-born Souad Massi
is a mixture of folk song, toe-tapping country and
western, husky jazz and ’60s-style French pop.
Sung in French, Arabic and English, the tracks
feature acoustic guitars and vocals recorded
up close – highlights are ‘Ô Houria’, a hymn to
liberty; ‘Nacera’, a lament for a battered woman;
and ‘Let Me Be in Peace’, sung with Paul Weller.
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RECOLLECTION
K D Lang. 2-CD set.
WAS $29.95 NOW $19.95
With Recollection, the four-time Grammy winner
and long-time Readings favourite releases her
first career retrospective, 25 years after her
debut. This is a terrific reminder of just why she
is one of the most respected female artists today
and includes all of her major hits and duets with
Roy Orbison, Tony Bennett and Jane Siberry.
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SWANLIGHTS
SONGS FROM THE ROAD
ROCKWIZ NATIONAL TOUR 2010
Various artists. CD and DVD set. $29.95
Earlier this year, the enormously popular SBS
program Rockwiz left its comfy home at the
Espy and went national. This CD/DVD package
documents the tour, and includes the entire
Toowoomba show, a behind-the-scenes
documentary and extra footage from other
shows. There’s also a full CD of performances
recorded on the road by many notable guests.
Leonard Cohen. CD & DVD set.
WAS $29.95 NOW $21.95
In 2008, Leonard Cohen embarked on his first
world tour for 15 years, playing stadiums,
festivals and auditorium halls from Tel Aviv to
London. Anyone who saw him in Australia last
year is still raving about his performance. If
you missed out then or if you’re keen to own
a reminder of what a magic event it was, this
release is for you.
WELCOME STRANGER
WE ARE BORN
Sia. CD. $24.95
Renowned for her involvement with Zero 7 and
her single ‘Breathe Me’, the Adelaide-born singer
has diverged from her down-tempo past to create
her fifth studio album, We are Born. This is a
bright, vibrant collection of bold and catchy pop
songs that clearly exhibit Sia’s vocal diversity,
confidence, individuality and talent.
Monique diMattina. CD. $29.95
Clearly no stranger to songwriting or singing,
diMattina recorded this album after years
living in New York City, working with artists
as diverse as Lou Reed, Björk and a who’swho of jazz greats. Stylistically, Welcome
Stranger draws from melodious country blues
and sweet New Orleans roots. The result is
a catchy jazz-pop journey that will delight
existing fans and hook newcomers.
Antony and the Johnsons. CD.
WAS $26.95 NOW $21.95
Both timeless and modern, Swanlights is a
piece of atmospheric sweetness. Some songs
are stripped of all but vocals and delicate piano,
while others are almost orchestral in feel, full of
swelling strings and lovely keyboard melodies. All
quaver with Antony Hegarty’s echoing chamberpop vocals.
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TUMBLING INTO THE DAWN
Lior. CD. $24.95
The very likeable and talented Lior returns with
another impressive collection, confirming him
as one of our best singer-songwriters. He opens
with the Beatles-flavoured ‘Shadow Man’, follows
up with ‘I Thought I Could Sing on My Own’,
where he sounds like Wings, and saves his more
subdued and reflective tracks for last.
THE WITMARK DEMOS 1962–1964
Bob Dylan. 2-CD set.
WAS $34.95 NOW $29.95
YOU ARE NOT ALONE
Between 1962 and 1964, Dylan recorded 47
demos of songs for presentation to his first two
music publishers, now presented as Volume 9
of the Bootleg Series. Tracks including ‘Hey Mr.
Tambourine Man’, ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ and ‘The
Times They are a-Changin’’ are recorded here on
solo acoustic guitar, piano and harmonica, along
with 15 tunes that have never seen the light of day.
Includes deluxe booklet and rare photographs.
Uplifting? Joyous? There really are not words
enough to describe this wonderful collaboration
between gospel soul queen Staples and Wilco
main man Jeff Tweedy. This is a record deeply
rooted in Mavis’ spiritual beliefs and when given
room to soar, it’s clear that hers is a voice that
comes from somewhere very special – exactly
where this album will take the listener.
Mavis Staples. CD. $25.95
26 Classical music
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THE BALLETS: TCHAIKOVSKY
111: THE COLLECTOR’S EDITION 2
Various artists. 56-CD set.
WAS $159.95 NOW $139.95
Deutsche Grammophon’s 2009 celebration of 111
years in recording was marked by the release of
a 55-CD boxed set of DG’s landmark recordings,
and it was so popular that the iconic label has
released a second instalment: 111 Years of
Deutsche Grammophon: The Collector’s Edition 2.
Fabulous repertoire and superb performances!
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Royal Ballet/Royal Swedish Ballet.
4-DVD set. $69.95
Every ballet lover’s dream – three fabulous
productions of Tchaikovsky’s ballets (Swan Lake,
The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty) presented
together in a boxed set. All are from Sir Peter
Wright’s choreographic workshop and each
includes interviews with the main players as well
as documentaries about the ballets.
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BORGIA DYNASTY: CHURCH AND POWER DURING
THE RENAISSANCE
Montserrat Figueras, La Capella Reial de
Catalunya, Hespèrion XXI & Jordi Savall
3-CD, DVD & 400pp book set. $74.95
What would Christmas at Readings be like
without a deluxe Alia Vox doorstopper? The theme
this year is the centuries-spanning soap opera
of Italy’s bloodthirsty Borgias, and the stellar
music runs from Arabic and Sephardic Spain
to the grandest glories of Josquin des Prez and
Cristobal de Morales. Includes a making-of DVD.
THE CELTIC VIOL II
Jordi Savall, Andrew Lawrence-King
& Frank McGuire. CD.
WAS $34.95 NOW $29.95
Last year, Readings customers thrilled to Jordi
Savall’s viol and harp take on the ancient jigs,
airs and reels of Scotland, Ireland and Wales. This
sequel is even more energetic, thanks in large part
to the inspired addition of Irish bohdran drummer
Frank McGuire. The performances are matched by
Alia Vox’s usual lavish sound and packaging.
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THE CLASSIC 100 – TEN YEARS ON
Various artists. 8-CD set.
WAS $89.95 NOW $74.95
Ten years ago, ABC Classic FM asked its listeners,
‘What is the one piece of classical music you
cannot live without?’ and gave birth to the Classic
100 phenomenon. Following a successful series
of spin-offs (opera, chamber music etc), the
original question was recently posed anew and
here’s the result – 10 hours of wonderful music.
Various artists. 2-CD & book set. $49.95
Vladimir Horowitz with various artists.
7-CD set.
WAS $69.95 NOW $59.95
MAHLER: THE COMPLETE WORKS
Though the great Vladimir Horowitz died in
1989, he has never left the public’s favour. This
new boxed set presents all of his recordings on
Deutsche Grammophon and is a feast for any
discerning listener.
To mark his 150th birthday, EMI has released
Mahler’s complete works in a boxed set. Drawing
on recordings from 60 years of EMI’s prodigious
catalogue and featuring some of the world’s
greatest conductors, singers and orchestras (both
past and present), this specially priced set is
exceptional value. A must-have.
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IFT
FREE G
MICHAEL NYMAN COLLECTIONS
HOROWITZ: COMPLETE RECORDINGS ON DEUTSCHE
GRAMMOPHON
Various artists. 16-CD set.
WAS $57.95 NOW $44.95
RECEIVE A
FREE GIFT
WITH EVERY
PURCHASE!
MOZART: THE
COMPLETE
OPERAS
Various artists. 33-DVD set. $199.95
Some of the finest directors of our time worked
on this huge audio-visual Mozart project, which
comprises 51 hours of music and 33 DVDs. This
boxed set also includes Mozart rarities, many of
which are now appearing for the very first time
on DVD. And as a special Summer Reading Guide
offer, you’ll receive a 35-CD boxed set of Violin
Masterworks on the Decca label valued at $121.95
with every purchase! Note: only while stock lasts.
Various artists. 40-CD set. $59.95
This boxed set will make Russophiles feel right
at home! As well as including major works by
giants such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and
Rimsky-Korsakov, it also includes their lesserknown works and comes with a bonus disc about
Russian musical art. Exclusive to Readings.
IFT
FREE G
RECEIVE A FREE GIFT WITH
EVERY PURCHASE!
THE NUTCRACKER
Simon Rattle & the Berliner
Philharmoniker. CD with booklet.
WAS $29.95 NOW $24.95
Tchaikovsky’s beautiful ballet as performed
by one of the world’s favourite conductors and
orchestras! Presented in a stunning limited
edition with booklet, this will be a lovely gift for
lovers of ballet everywhere.
SACRED MUSIC IN THE RENAISSANCE
RUSSIAN MASTERS
This new collection showcases Nyman as a
mature composer, filmmaker and photographer.
Beautifully presented in a slimline box, this
evocative and inspiring set is exclusive to
Readings in Australia.
The Tallis Scholars. CD boxed sets.
Each volume $34.95
For over three decades, The Tallis Scholars have
produced highly acclaimed recordings of sacred
music from the Renaissance on their own label,
Gimell Records. Each of these three boxed sets
(Volumes 1, 2 and 3) collects recordings from a
particular decade of their career, featuring music
from all over Europe that spans 150 years of
music history.
OFFICIUM NOVUM
Jan Garbarek & The Hilliard Ensemble.
CD. $32.95
Fifteen years after Officium, one of the best-loved
recordings of modern times, the Norwegian
saxophonist and English choir reunite for
another unique experience: songs by Pärt,
Pérotin and many pieces by Armenian mystic
Komitas Vardapet. Garbarek’s saxophones weave
spontaneous filigrees around the four voices,
resulting in music that manages to be both lush
and austere. Timeless, unearthly beauty.
O SOLITUDE
Andreas Scholl & Accademia Bizantina. CD.
WAS $26.95 NOW $21.95
Returning to the Decca label, Andreas Scholl
lends his superb countertenor voice to the music
of Purcell. Including the famous soprano aria
‘When I am Laid in Earth’ from Dido and Aeneas,
this collection comprises music for the stage as
well as sacred and chamber music. As a special
Summer Reading Guide offer, we’ll also give you
a copy of Scholl’s Arias for Senesino with every
purchase! Note: only while stock lasts.
SOSPIRI
Cecilia Bartoli. 2-CD prestige edition.
$34.95
SOUVENIRS OF RUSSIA
The title (Sigh) hints at the mood evoked by this
album. Featuring a selection of mostly gentle
arias, it will appeal to novices and opera fans
alike. Bartoli fans are sure to want this beautifully
packaged prestige edition, which contains
additional arias plus a second disc featuring a
gorgeous selection of sacred music.
Presented by virtuosos John Schneiderman and
Oleg Timofeyev, this homage to the guitar music
of Russia features music from the romantic
period of Russian masterpieces. Lovingly put
together, it’s an album that will please any guitar
or music lover.
Czar’s Guitars. CD. $30.95
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BIRD ON A WIRE
ANIMAL KINGDOM
ART + SOUL
DVD $39.95, Blu-ray $44.95
DVD. $39.95
With this assured debut, local filmmaker David
Michod demonstrates a startling directorial
confidence. 2010’s Australian film to beat is torn
from the annals of Melbourne’s recent history,
inducting us into a pride of backbiting crims.
See it before its inevitable AFI awards sweep.
Art + Soul is an intimate look at the art and
life of Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander
peoples. Spanning the period from ancient
times to the multi-media world of today, this
documentary follows Hetti Perkins as she takes
a personal journey to reveal a complex, diverse
and enduring art form that retains a deep
appreciation of its heritage.
DVD. $29.95
Restored and re-edited from recently discovered
footage, Bird on a Wire follows Leonard Cohen
on his 1972 world tour. A showcase of one of the
world’s most enduring, creative and respected
singer-songwriters through his performance in
song and poetry, the documentary also records
conversations during ‘down-time’ on the tour. A
testament to a bygone and bohemian time.
THE HEDGEHOG
EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP
Special edition DVD. $39.95
The term ‘prankumentary’ was coined to describe
Banksy’s movie debut – and with good reason.
Is it for real? To what extent? Or is it a wile? In
the end, it doesn’t matter – Banksy’s angle on
the commodification of counter-culture eclipses
all conjecture in this outlandish ‘account’ of a
passion monstrously mischannelled.
DVD. $34.95
THE GRUFFALO
DVD. $19.95
Can a lone mouse outfox a forest full of hungry
predators with tall tales of an imaginary monster?
An all-class roster of British talent (Helena
Bonham Carter, John Hurt, Robbie Coltrane) voice
a miscellany of cute woodland critters in this
vibrant animated telling of the adored children’s
picture book.
Adapted from Muriel Barbery’s bestselling novel,
The Elegance of the Hedgehog, this film tells the
story of Paloma, a precocious 11-year-old who
records her observations of her barely functional
family and other inhabitants of a Parisian
apartment block on her movie camera. A touching
and intelligent film.
THE CONCERT
DVD. WAS $39.95 NOW $19.95
Farce and human drama play in harmony in
this ebullient tale of an orchestra of misfits
who seize one last unlikely chance to complete
a performance cut short 30 years ago. The
culminating sequence set to Tchaikovsky’s ‘Violin
Concerto in D Major’ is sublime.
HUMPHREY BOGART: THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION
7-DVD set. $59.95
In six classic films of the 1940s – Casablanca, The
Big Sleep, Key Largo, The Maltese Falcon, To Have
and Have Not and Treasure of the Sierra Madre –
Bogart set the gold standard of the wisecracking
tough guy, playing characters including Sam
Spade and Philip Marlow and making on-screen
alchemy with Lauren Bacall. Of all the box sets in
all the world, you have to own this one.
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THE LOST THING
DVD. $29.95
IN SEARCH OF BEETHOVEN
IN SEARCH OF MOZART
2-DVD set. $44.95
These two documentaries reveal insights into
the lives of Beethoven and Mozart through the
greatest orchestras, musicians and experts ever
assembled. A two-disc set that takes you beyond
the myth and into the heart of genius itself.
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LIFE
DVD & Blu-ray. $89.95 each
It took the BBC’s Natural History Unit four years of
filming in high definition to capture what Darwin
called nature’s ‘struggle for existence’. Written
and narrated by David Attenborough, the 10
episodes of Life are a breathtaking narrative of
the predatory strategies and survival techniques
used by mammals, insects, fish and plants.
Author-illustrator Shaun Tan directed this short
film of his widely praised book of the same name.
While collecting bottle tops, an odd young boy
stumbles upon the Lost Thing, and takes it on an
eventful journey to find its way back home. The
film has a charming and nostalgic 1950s look,
and will make a very special gift for film-lovers
of every age.
LOVE LUST & LIES
DVD. WAS $29.95 NOW $24.95
This is the fifth instalment of Gillian Armstrong’s
documentary series capturing the lives of three
women from Adelaide. As Michael Apted did in his
7 Up series, Armstrong records her subjects’ lives
with great honesty.
PETER GREENAWAY COLLECTION
MASTERS OF AMERICAN MUSIC
10-DVD set. WAS $99.95 NOW $79.95
This fabulous boxed set of DVDs charts the
lives and works of the musicians who defined
the course of America’s musical history.
Combining period performance footage and
vintage photographs, artists are brought to life
through conversations with their contemporaries.
Episodes include Bluesland, Armstrong, Basie,
Coltrane, Parker, Vaughan and The Story of Jazz.
THE PACIFIC
6-DVD set $79.95, Blu-ray $99.95
This multi-award-winning, 10-part drama
filmed in Melbourne follows members
of a US infantry division in the Pacific as
they battle against Japan. It moves from
epic to intimate as seamlessly as did its
predecessor, Band of Brothers. Cinematic
television of the highest calibre.
8-DVD set. $79.95
Visionary, visual stylist, painter with light,
eroticist, 21st-century Cocteau – there are many
ways to describe director Peter Greenaway.
This boxed set contains The Draughtsman’s
Contract, A Zed & Two Noughts, Drowning by
Numbers, Prospero’s Books, Baby of Macon, The
Pillow Book and 8½ Women, and demonstrates
Greenaway’s trademark mix of the sumptuous
visual style of Renaissance paintings with
minimalist modern soundtracks.
STEPHEN FRY LIVE AT THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE
DVD. $29.95
The comedian, actor, director and TV host
seems to be loved by everybody. Why is this?
This recording of his recent live show in Sydney
provides the answer – Stephen Fry is someone
we are immediately at home with. In the first half,
Fry converses with the crowd and in the second
he is in conversation with Jennifer Byrne.
✁
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has six shops around Melbourne, each with their own distinct
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newly renovated shop in St KIlda – as well as the most recent
addition, a new shop in Palmer Hall at the State Library of Victoria.
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WIN AN INSTANT LIBRARY!
To win a library of books worth more than $5000 or one of six $100
Readings gift cards:
✁
•fill in the form below with your answers
•attach the form to a receipt from the purchase of an item from this
guide (NB: your purchase must be from one of our shops)
SECOND PRIZE
•return to one of our shops by MONDAY, 31 JANUARY 2011
One of six $100 Readings gift cards.
•answer the questions scattered throughout the guide
READINGS
MALVERN
READINGS
ST KILDA
309 Lygon Street,
Carlton VIC 3053
Tel: (03) 9347 6633
Fax: (03) 9347 1641
Email:
[email protected]
Open:
Mon–Fri: 8am–11pm
Sat & Sun: 9am–11pm
Christmas Eve: 8am–9pm
Closed Christmas Day
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Malvern VIC 3144
Tel: (03) 9509 1952
Fax: (03) 9509 4957
Email: [email protected]
Open:
Mon–Fri: 9am–7pm
Sat: 9am–6pm
Sun: 10am–6pm
Christmas Eve: 9am–6pm
Closed Christmas Day
and Boxing Day
112 Acland Street,
St Kilda VIC 3182
Tel: (03) 9525 3852
Fax: (03) 9534 0444
Email:
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Open:
Mon–Sat: 10am–10pm
Sun: 10am–9pm
Christmas Eve: 10am–9pm
Closed Christmas Day
READINGS
HAWTHORN
READINGS
PORT MELBOURNE
701 Glenferrie Road,
Hawthorn VIC 3122
Tel: (03) 9819 1917
Fax: (03) 9815 0649
Email:
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Open:
Mon–Fri: 8am–8pm
Sat & Sun: 9am–6pm
Christmas Eve: 9am–6pm
Closed Christmas Day
253 Bay Street,
Port Melbourne VIC 3207
Tel: (03) 9681 9255
Fax: (03) 9681 9797
Email:
[email protected]
Open:
Mon–Fri: 9am–7pm
Sat & Sun: 9am–6pm
Closed Christmas Day
and Boxing Day.
FIRST PRIZE
A selection of the titles featured in
this catalogue – the very best of this
summer’s fiction, travel, history, politics,
biography and much more. Total value
more than $5000!
•pay close attention as you read the reviews in this guide
READINGS
CARLTON
READINGS
STATE LIBRARY
OF VICTORIA
328 Swanston Street,
Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: (03) 8664 7540
Email: [email protected]
Open:
Mon–Sat: 10am–6pm
Sun: closed
Closed 25 December–3 January
Note: All opening hours are valid for 1–24
December 2010 only (inclusive) and are
subject to change. Call ahead or check online at www.readings.com.au for updates.
Looking for the perfect gift?
Readings has a wide range of unique items that will fit the bill:
I’d like to enter the competition to win more than $5000 worth of great books. My answers are:
1.
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5.
Entries must be received by 5pm on Monday, 31 January 2011. The prize will be drawn at Gleebooks,
49 Glebe Point Road, Glebe, NSW, at 5pm on Wednesday, 9 February 2011. To be eligible to enter, you
must purchase an item from this catalogue at a participating shop, attach the proof of your purchase to
your completed entry form and return it to a participating shop. The winners will be notified by post and
announced in The Australian newspaper on Friday, 11 February 2010. Prizes are not transferable and may
not be exchanged for cash. Titles are selected for first prize at the discretion of the promoter. Employees of
participating bookshops (and their immediate families) are not permitted to enter the competition. Promoter:
Gleebooks, 49 Glebe Point Road, Glebe, NSW 2037. Tel: (02) 9660 2333. NSW Permit No. LTPS/10/10220.
We are proud to stock a wide
range of Lamy pens, including
ballpoint and fountain pens plus
refills (pens from $19.95, refills
from $6.95). Available at all shops
except Malvern.
Mark your books with Brilliant
Book Buddies from Izzi Inc.
Each bookmark is handcrafted
in Melbourne and each one is
unique! Assorted designs,
$9.95 each.
For the creative person on your
Christmas list we have Milini
hard-bound drawing journals and
12-pastel packs at $19.95 each –
these special sets are exclusive to
Readings.
Your name
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Tel (BH)
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oYES! I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ENTER THE DRAW TO WIN A MEAL AT SYDNEY’S QUAY RESTAURANT
To win a lunch or dinner for two worth $600 at Sydney’s acclaimed
Quay restaurant, purchase a copy of Quay (Peter Gilmore, Murdoch
Books, $95) and attach your receipt to the entry form above. You will
then go into the draws to win both the main competition prize and the
special Quay prize. Note that you must have purchased a copy of the
book to enter this second competition.
Two great books about Melbourne: Melbourne
Remade: The Inner City Since the 70s ($20) by
Seamus O’Hanlon and First People: The Eastern
Kulin of Melbourne, Port Phillip & Central Victoria
($24.95) by Gary Presland.
For a fashionable and socially conscious gift, we have
a variety of unique and colourful carry bags made from
recycled materials ($19.95). These are the work of SEW
(Supporting and Empowering Women), a development
project that employs HIV+ women in Tanzania.
PROJECT MANAGER: VIRGINIA MAXWELL. BOOK SELECTION: DAVID GAUNT, KATHY KOZLOWSKI,
MARK RUBBO, CATHERINE SCHULZ & MARTIN SHAW. CD & dvD SELECTION: DAVE CLARKE, LOU FULCO &
PHIL RICHARDS. REVIEWS: JANET AUSTIN, KATE GOLDSWORTHY, ROBERT HOLLINGWORTH, LORIEN KAYE,
DAVID MCCLYMONT & VIRGINIA MAXWELL. EDITING: VIRGINIA MAXWELL. PROOFREADING: JANET AUSTIN.
COVER ILLUSTRATION: SHAUN TAN. DESIGN: MARY CALLAHAN. PRINTING: HANNANPRINT VICTORIA.