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2666
Roberto Bolaño
A week in december Sebastian Faulks
THE ANTHOLOGIST
Nicholson Baker
AMULET
Roberto Bolaño
It’s the week before Christmas, 2007, and in
London the lives of an assortment of as yet
unconnected people are drawing together.
There’s a ruthless hedge-fund manager at
the height of his game, an under-employed
lawyer, a Muslim student on a deadly mission,
a literary hack and the driver of a Circle Line
Tube train. Greed, technology, disconnection
and the stresses and strains of modern life
in the metropolis are brilliantly captured by
master storyteller Sebastian Faulks, who
draws on the ripe-for-the-picking global
financial crisis in this ‘state of the nation’
novel. The effect of reading with hindsight,
and knowledge of the coming crash that
everyone refuses to acknowledge, makes this
satirical and sardonic look at contemporary
Britain a compelling read.
Poetry is at the centre of Nicholson Baker’s
beguiling new book – its technique, inspiration
and relevance. Best known for his novel Vox
(Granta. PB. $21.95), released during the
Clinton era and famous for its racy phone-sex
theme, Baker here gives us something very
different – a love letter to poetry, written in the
form of novel. In the often-hilarious stream-ofconsciousness narration, little-known poet
Paul Chowder recounts his recent break-up
with girlfriend Roz, the dire state of his
finances and the severe case of writer’s block
that has left the introduction to his anthology
of poetry unwritten. In counterpoint to the
storyline, Chowder shares a wealth of wisdom
on poetry and poets, from the importance
of the four-beat line and the problem with
iambic-pentameter enjambments to the
history of rhyme and the central idea of poetry
as slow-motion prose.
The dual reissue of these two titles
aims the spotlight on Roberto Bolaño,
acclaimed as one of Latin America’s
greatest writers. Epic and visceral, 2666
was published following the Chilean
author’s death in 2003 at the age of 50,
and was posthumously awarded the
National Book Critics Circle Award.
The wide-ranging, five-part hyperrealist
work has links to Bolaño’s earlier novel
The Savage Detectives (Picador. PB. $25).
The more lyrical and pocket-sized novella
Amulet is told in the first-person voice of a
Uruguayan poet in Mexico City amidst the
political turbulence of 1968.
Hutchinson PB
$32.95
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In a time of texts and tweets, the long
story is a great luxury. Collected in this
weighty tome are longer stories that are
perfect for an afternoon of curling up
on the couch. Editor Mandy Sayer has
selected fiction that runs from 10,000 to
20,000 words from Australia’s greatest
contemporary names including Tim
Winton, Elizabeth Jolley and Helen Garner.
Newcomer Nam Le delivers a heartwrenching tale of a boy’s first love tainted
by his dying mother, while David Malouf
takes us hunting into Queensland’s
rainforests. While the tales themselves
vary in themes and voice, the quality of
writing is consistently impressive and
it’s reassuring to be in the company of
writers who use the longer form to such
dazzling effect.
Giramondo PB
$27.95
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THE DISAPPEARED
Kim Echlin
Little Brown PB
$30
If, on inspection, you’re not happy
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guide, you can return it (in saleable
condition) within 14 days of purchase
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Fiction
THE AUSTRALIAN LONG STORY
Mandy Sayer (ed.)
Hamish Hamilton
PB
$39.95
GUARANTEE
ART & PHOTOGRAPHY
16–17
BIOGRAPHY
8–10
classical music
26
CRIME FICTION
6
dvds
27
FICTION
2–6
FOOD
13–14
GIFT
20–21
HISTORY
10–12
KIDS
22–23
LANGUAGE, POETRY & ESSAYS
7–8
music
24-25
ORDER FORM
BACK COVER
POLITICS & SOCIETY
12
SCIENCE & NATURE
18–19
TRAVEL
15
This was one of those ‘buzz’ books at the
Frankfurt Book Fair, and it’s easy to see
why. It is achingly moving, exquisitely
written and that rare thing – an intelligent
novel with broad appeal. Anne Greeves is
only 16 when she meets and falls in love
with Serey, who is exiled in Canada when
the Cambodian borders close under Pol
Pot’s regime. When he is able to return to
his country he does so, desperate to find his
family. After years, Anne follows, desperate
to find him. As the title suggests, this book
is full of loss, but its beauty counters the
heartache it will trigger. It manages to be
both a love story and a history of Cambodia
– a magnificent achievement.
Vintage PB
Was $32.95
now $14.95
Simon & Schuster
PB
$33
BARLEY PATCH
Gerald Murnane
Gerald Murnane has been a recent recipient
of several prestigious Australian awards,
including the Australia Council Emeritus
Award for Lifetime Achievement and the 2009
Melbourne Prize for Literature. His first novel
Tamarisk Row (Giramondo. PB. $27.95) has
been reissued to a fresh wave of acclaim,
and now Barley Patch, his first work of fiction
in 14 years, has been released. Challenging,
experimental and deeply intellectual, it
follows an unnamed writer’s reflections on
his career as a writer and reader as he takes
an introspective backwards journey over his
reading life, trying to recapture the images
he has imbibed over the decades, pursuing
greater and greater clarity. Layered with
irony, the novel teases the reader with
its biographical parallels to Murnane
himself, all the while rejecting such a
straightforward reading.
BEST OF THE BEST: MODERN AUSTRALIAN
SHORT STORIES
Barry Oakley (ed.)
Five Mile Press PB
$24.95
Editor Barry Oakley has been collecting stories
for Five Mile Press’ highly regarded short-story
collections for over five years and he’s distilled
his favourites here. Best of the Best showcases
pieces from some of the brightest of Australian
literati – from Frank Moorhouse’s reflections
on meeting an ex-wife to rising star Karen
Hitchcock’s tale of a hunted father. The 25
stories demonstrate Oakley’s ability to unearth
great fiction, and include pieces by Cate
Kennedy and Thea Astley. With so many stories,
the inclusion of a tagline for each ingeniously
allows readers a taste as they search out their
favourites. Oakley is retiring as editor with this
book, and has certainly marked his legacy with
this always-intriguing collection.
DREAMS OF SPEAKING
Gail Jones
FATHER’S DAY
Tony Birch
Alice Black is from Western Australia, and
she is fascinated by modern technology:
photocopiers, neon lights, photography,
astronauts. She is a loner, detached from
the world around her, even from her sister
Norah. But then she travels to Paris and
meets 68-year-old Mr Sakamoto, who shares
her interest in inventions, in particular that
of Alexander Graham Bell – the telephone.
As their unusual friendship develops, they
discuss the book Alice is writing, movies
and countless other topics, including just a
little about Mr Sakamoto’s life in Japan after
surviving the bombing of Nagasaki in 1945.
Acutely observed and poetic in its sense of
disconnection, Dreams of Speaking is by the
author of Sixty Lights (Vintage. PB. $24.95),
awarded the 2004 WA Premier’s Prize and the
2005 Age Book of the Year.
Tony Birch won wide acclaim for his first
story collection, Shadowboxing (Scribe. PB.
$24.95), set in working-class Fitzroy in the
1960s. In Father’s Day, he revisits the fringes
of society – his characters have grown up
in poverty and recently escaped it, or still
dwell in commission flats or bedsits. Birch
is compassionate to his damaged men and
struggling women, but never sentimental. The
reader senses whole universes of submerged
feeling and hard experience beneath the
surface of the stories, the most moving
of which explore family connections: two
middle-aged brothers are fleetingly bound
by a childhood memory; a man visiting his
estranged father watches him unexpectedly
connect with his own son. Father’s Day is
about connections made and missed – and
the possibility of redemption.
Hunter Publishers
PB
$24.95
Fiction A GATE AT THE STAIRS
Lorrie Moore
Faber PB
$33
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Viking PB
Was $29.95
now $13.95
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Doubleday PB
Was $32.95
now $14.95
3
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Lorrie Moore is one of America’s most
renowned authors, admired and adored by
writers as diverse as Dave Eggers, Nick
Hornby and Jonathan Lethem. This, her first
novel in a decade, has all the hallmarks of
her short stories – wry humour, deep pathos,
detailed characterisation and an intricate
sense of place – but uses the wider canvas
of the novel to paint an arresting portrait of
post-9/11 America. College student Tassie
Keltjin works part-time as a nanny for a
middle-class couple, who hire her at the same
time as they adopt a child. Forced to tread the
same ethical and emotional tightrope as her
employers, she learns about the dangers of
engaging too much or too little with life.
A GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF EAST AFRICA
Nicholas Drayson
Don’t be put off by the title – this charming
novel by Australian-based writer and
naturalist Nicholas Drayson isn’t a handbook
for twitchers. Instead, it’s an affectionately
humorous work set in Kenya that offers a
rollicking story along with descriptions of
Kenya’s 1000 bird species. Avid birder Mr Malik
has fallen in love with Rose Mbikwa, the leader
of the Tuesday-morning bird walk. But while he
is summoning up the courage to ask her to the
Hunt Ball, he discovers that he has a rival in the
shape of Haryr Khan, his old bête noire from
schooldays. Under the auspices of club rules, the
two men agree to compete for the right to take
Rose to the ball by seeing who can identify the
greater number of Kenyan birds over the course
of a week. Perfect for fans of Alexander McCallSmith’s No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series.
Allen & Unwin
PB
$28
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Jonathan Cape PB
Was $32.95
now $27.95
Q
GOOD TO A FAULT
Marina Endicott
THE GOURMET
Muriel Barbery
We all know what it is to be good, but how
many of us really are? Clara Purdy has led a
blameless but emotionally unfulfilled life for 43
years, settling into a lonely routine of working,
gardening and reading books on spirituality.
Then one day she causes a car accident
and is forced from her somnolent state of
mild despair into taking responsibility for the
wellbeing of a family far less privileged than
she is. In doing so, she grapples with middleclass guilt and maternal yearnings, and tries
to make sense of her speck of the universe.
This thought-provoking novel deservedly won
the Canadian and Caribbean category in this
year’s Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and is as
compelling as it is compassionate.
If you’re one of the many who were seduced
by Muriel Barbery’s worldwide bestseller The
Elegance of the Hedgehog (Gallic Books. PB.
$24.95), you’re sure to be equally enamoured
with this, her first novel, which has just
been released in Australia. Its protagonist is
acerbic food critic Pierre Arthens, who, on
his deathbed, is tormented by his inability to
recall the most delicious food ever to have
passed his lips (shades of Proust here, of
course). As he looks back over the years in
order to pin down the elusive dish, Arthens
recounts his life of sensual gluttony in
chapters that alternate with accounts of the
man by people he has known, most of whom
aren’t admirers. A deliciously witty read.
Gallic Books HB
$27.95
HER FEARFUL SYMMETRY
Audrey Niffenegger
The Gothic beauty of Highgate Cemetery in
North London has inspired and entranced
generations of artists and writers. Audrey
Niffenegger, whose debut novel The Time
Traveler’s Wife (Vintage. PB. $24.95) was an
international bestseller, has used it as the
setting of her latest work, which explores the
themes of love and loss. In this ghost story
for the 21st century, mirror-image twins Julia
and Valentina Poole move from the US to the
flat they’ve inherited from an estranged aunt,
overlooking the cemetery. As they settle into
their new surroundings, their aunt’s eccentric
neighbours and hidden secrets are gradually
revealed to the twins, who are watched over
by both the living and the dead.
Bloomsbury PB
$33
How many words were coined in Shakespeare’s era?
IMPORTANT ARTIFACTS
AND PERSONAL PROPERTY
FROM THE COLLECTION OF
LENORE DOOLAN AND HAROLD MORRIS, INCLUDING BOOKS, STREET
FASHION AND JEWELERY
Leanne Shapton
Using the format of an auctioneer’s catalogue,
Leanne Shapton’s captivatingly original book
charts the relationship, from beginning to
end, of the fictional Lenore Doolan and Harold
Morris. Shapton catalogues the personal items
the couple gave to each other and were given
by friends, all of which are now being sold by
an imaginary auction house. This seemingly
unimportant bric-a-brac – a blancmange mould
or pair of John and Ringo Beatles thimbles, for
example – is in fact part of the fabric that made
up their relationship. Beautifully executed and
strangely moving, this book/artwork celebrates
the importance of the small things in our lives.
IN THE KITCHEN
Monica Ali
THE INFINITIES
John Banville
INHERENT VICE
Thomas Pynchon
This ambitious work picks up the themes
of national identity, belonging, family and
loyalty that were so masterfully explored in
Ali’s debut novel, Brick Lane (Black Swan. PB.
$24.95). The story is set in the kitchen of the
once-splendid Imperial Hotel, where executive
chef Gabriel Lightfoot wrestles (not particularly
successfully) with the demands of managing
a multinational staff, keeping his employers
happy and trying to determine what it is he
really wants out of life. When the dead body
of a hotel porter is discovered and Gordon
becomes involved with Lena, a vulnerable
Eastern European girl who is somehow
involved in the porter’s death, his life reaches
crisis point. Ali deftly portrays a nation that,
like the hotel, is losing its sense of self and
she does so in often-exquisite prose.
From the opening pages, narrated by
messenger god Hermes as he keeps a curious
eye on a contemporary English family, it’s
evident that this is no ordinary novel. But
then, John Banville – who famously writes
just 100 perfectly crafted words a day – is no
ordinary writer. Both his superb prose style
and his magnificent storytelling ability are
on show in this bittersweet comic novel. The
Infinities follows an English family gathered
at the bedside of its comatose patriarch,
an esteemed mathematician, womanising
husband and distant father. But the coma is
not what it seems – and neither are any of
these characters. Clever, bawdy and affecting,
this is an impressive work of the imagination,
woven with classical allusions and poignant
insights into the nature of being human.
It’s been a while since private eye Doc
Sportello has seen his ex-girlfriend. Then
she shows up with a story about a plot to
kidnap a billionaire land developer she just
happens to be in love with. It’s the tail end of
the psychedelic ’60s in LA, and Doc knows
that ‘love’ is another of those words going
around at the moment, like ‘trip’ or ‘groovy’,
except that this one usually leads to trouble.
Sure enough, he’s soon drawn into a bizarre
tangle of motives and passions whose cast of
characters includes surfers, hustlers, dopers,
rockers, a murderous loan shark, a tenor sax
player working undercover, an ex-con with
a swastika tattoo and a fondness for Ethel
Merman, and a mysterious entity known as
the Golden Fang. Inherent Vice is part noir,
part psychedelic romp and 100% Pynchon.
Highly recommended
Picador PB
$33
Vintage PB
$32.95
BROTHERS & SISTERS
Charlotte Wood (ed.) Allen & Unwin PB $33
Established, bestselling and award-winning writers
explore the tensions, alliances and affections
between siblings in this collection of stories.
BETWEEN THE ASSASSINATIONS
Aravind Adiga Atlantic PB $32.95
This novel by the winner of the 2008 Man Booker
Prize is set in south India in the period between the
assassinations of Indira Ghandi and her son Rajiv.
THE CHILDREN’S BOOK
A. S. Byatt Chatto & Windus PB $34.95
This panoramic novel of family secrets is set
against a backdrop of a bohemian, artistic
late-Victorian world.
THE DOG OF THE MARRIAGE
Amy Hempel Quercus PB $24.95
These short stories are populated by smart,
neurotic and somewhat damaged narrators who
speak grandly to the longings and insecurities in
us all.
THE BRADSHAW variations
Rachel Cusk Faber PB $30
An absorbing story about the harmony and discord
of family life, following a year in the life of Thomas
Bradshaw after he becomes primary carer to his
eight-year-old daughter, Alexa.
DANCING BACKWARDS
Salley Vickers Fourth Estate PB $28
In this bittersweet novel, Violet Hetherington takes
the rash step of joining a transatlantic cruise ship
to New York to visit Edwin, whose friendship she
lost many years before.
THE ESSENCE OF THE THING
Madeleine St John Text PB $29.95
Can Nicola survive the hellish end of a relationship
and overcome her heartbreak to arrive at an
understanding of the human heart?
THE BOAT
Nam Le Penguin PB $24.95
Nam Le won the 2009 Prime Minister’s Literary
Award (Fiction) for this bestselling collection of
short stories.
THE HOUSE IN VIA MANNO
Milena Agus Scribe PB $24.95
A magical novel in which a young Sardinian woman
explores the life of her romantic, beautiful and
somewhat crazy grandmother.
BREATH
Tim Winton Penguin PB $24.95
The winner of this year’s Miles Franklin Literary
Award is a powerful meditation on life, loss and the
meaning of existence.
THE DEATH OF BUNNY MUNRO
Nick Cave Text PB $32.95
Set adrift by his wife’s death, salesman Bunny
Munro hawks his wares, feeds his libido and selfdestructs on England’s south coast. A darkly comic,
heartrending novel.
AND ANOTHER THING
Eoin Colfer Michael Joseph HB $39.95
Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy:
Part Six of Three continues an Englishman’s
continuing search through space and time for a
decent cup of tea.
BROOKLYN
Colm Tóibín Picador PB $33
Young Irishwoman Eilis Lacey makes a new life for
herself in 1950s America, but then a family crisis at
home forces her to make a choice between the old
world and the new.
EVERYTHING RAVAGED, EVERYTHING BURNED
Wells Tower Granta PB $33
These startling, savagely funny stories from the
Canadian-born, US-based author were shortlisted
for this year’s Frank O’Connor Prize.
FIGUREHEAD
Patrick Allington Black Inc. PB $29.95
The concepts of guilt and memory are explored in
this powerful novel set against the backdrop of the
Khmer Rouge’s reign of power in Cambodia.
4
Faber PB
$33
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Faber PB
Was $35
now $29.95
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Michael Joseph PB
Was $29.95
now $14.95
Fiction
INVISIBLE
Paul Auster
JULIET, NAKED
Nick Hornby
Paul Auster’s 15th novel spans four decades,
beginning in 1967 at Columbia University
when 20-year-old student and would-be poet
Adam Walker is drawn into a relationship
with a charismatic older couple. Walker’s
naive fascination turns to horror when sex
and murder ensue, resulting in a lifetime of
guilt, suspicion and thwarted promise. A rite of
passage novel that examines the lost potential
of youth through older eyes, Invisible takes the
reader from New York to Paris, youth to late
middle age. Auster plays with storytelling and
narrative voices, using Walker’s unpublished
writings and the viewpoints of a Columbia
peer and Parisian acquaintance to reveal
Walker’s search for justice. A multifaceted
work of great depth and intensity.
In this comic novel about the male ego,
middle age and the peculiar world of music
obsessives, Nick Hornby returns to the territory
that he made his own in High Fidelity (Popular
Penguin. PB. $9.95). More than a decade later,
the men are firmly in mid-life crisis territory,
and the internet has transformed fandom,
enabling a small army of obsessive devotees
to seem an oppressive force to faded American
cult-rocker Tucker Crowe. When hopeless
‘Crowologist’ Duncan receives an advance
copy of Tucker’s first release in years (an early
version of his classic album Juliet), he posts a
rave interview on his website. When his longsuffering girlfriend publicly refutes him, it’s
the end of their relationship – and the start of
something between her and the distant, equally
hopeless Tucker. Dark, funny and poignant.
Viking PB
$32.95
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THE LACUNA
Barbara Kingsolver
It’s time to celebrate! The incomparable
Barbara Kingsolver has released a new novel
after a 10-year wait, and it’s just as wonderful
as The Poisonwood Bible (Faber. PB. $23.95).
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 is sent to a military school
in Virginia, only to be expelled for unbecoming
behaviour. Back 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.
Traumatised by Trotsky’s assassination,
Harrison returns to the States, nurturing
a career as a novelist and an introverted
personality. And then the House Committee on
Un-American Activities rears its ugly head…
Hutchinson PB
Was $32.95
now $14.95
THE LOST DIARIES OF
ADRIAN MOLE 1999–2001
Sue Townsend
Townsend’s much-loved comic character
Adrian Mole has entered middle age. Father
to the grammatically challenged Glenn, and
to William – who takes a ‘Big Boy Arouser’
condom to nursery school as his innocent
contribution to a hot-air balloon project –
Adrian is a single parent whose current worries
include: indestructible head-lice; his raging
jealousy when his accomplished half-brother
Brett arrives on his doorstep; moral decline
in The Archers; his desperate attachment to
two therapists; his mild addiction to Starburst
(formerly Opal Fruits); and, perhaps most
significantly, the dawn of a new millennium.
Also look out for the latest instalment in
Adrian’s neurotic life: Adrian Mole: The
Prostrate Years (Michael Joseph. PB. $32.95).
Highly recommended
SPEC
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Text
Slipcase HB
Was $70
now $29.95
LEAVING THE WORLD
Douglas Kennedy
Ever wondered what it would be like to
leave the world – cancel your credit cards,
close your email account, leave your job and
home? After a succession of letdowns and
one unimaginable tragedy, that’s just what
happens to Jane Howard, narrator of this new
novel by the bestselling author of The Pursuit
of Happiness (Arrow. PB. $24.95). The location
she chooses to start her new life is Calgary,
where she becomes drawn into solving a
monstrous crime. Jane’s narrative voice is
intriguingly matter-of-fact as she maps out
the tumultuous twists and turns of her life, and
Kennedy plays with the arbitrary nature of fate
in our lives and the far-reaching consequences
of seemingly innocuous actions. Dramatically
plotted, this lengthy novel grows slowly to
become a compelling page-turner.
LOVE AND SUMMER
William Trevor
Viking HB
$45
LITERARY
AWARD
WINNER
The eagerly anticipated new novel from the
award-winning, octogenarian author of 2002’s
The Story of Lucy Gault (Penguin. PB. $24.95)
is once again set in rural Ireland. It’s summer
in the late 1950s, and a funeral is taking place
in the small town of Rathmoye, where it’s
said that nothing much ever happens. New
vistas open for Ellie, the much younger wife
of farmer Dillahan, when a stranger arrives to
take photographs in the town. Undercurrents
of tragedy, loss, loneliness and guilt weave
a backdrop to forbidden love in Love and
Summer, though the overall effect is uplifting
rather than dark due to the writer’s subtle
craft. This lyrical and beautifully written novel
by master storyteller William Trevor effortlessly
captures the rhythms of small-town life and
the nervous exhilaration of falling in love.
Penguin PB
$24.95
Allen & Unwin
HB
Was $40
now $33.95
INCENDIARY
Chris Cleave Sceptre PB $25
A subversive, thought-provoking and beautifully
written novel about what it is to be (or not to be) a
perfect mother.
HOMER AND LANGLEY
E. L. Doctorow Little Brown PB $30
Doctorow’s new novel follows the fascinating
lives of Homer and Langley Collyer, two orphaned
brothers who live reclusively in a massive
townhouse on Fifth Avenue.
THE GLASS ROOM
Simon Mawer Little Brown PB $30
A novel about a modernist steel, glass and onyx
house built for a Jew and his gentile wife high on a
Czechoslovak hill in the 1930s. Shortlisted for this
year’s Man Booker Prize.
This haunting novel has received awestruck
rave reviews around the world. ‘A sadder
book about fathers and sons would be
impossible to imagine’, wrote The New York
Times; a sentiment almost exactly echoed
by Stephen Romei recently in The Australian
Literary Review. David Vann’s father killed
himself when he was 13. This interlinked
collection of five short stories and a central
novella, ‘based on a lot that’s true’, seems an
attempt to exorcise or come to terms with that
devastating event. Each finely etched story
is concerned with one character, Roy Fenn,
and his relationship with his deeply flawed,
dangerously weak father, a man portrayed
with astonishing and heartbreaking empathy.
‘A father, after all, is a lot for a thing to be.’
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THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL SOCIETY
Mary Ann Shaffer Allen & Unwin PB $24
The bestselling celebration of literature, love and the
power of the human spirit. Perfect holiday reading.
NEW YORK
Edward Rutherford Century PB $34.95
The bestselling master of historical fiction weaves
a grand, sweeping drama of New York from the
city’s founding to the present day.
This handsome set of Grenville’s awardwinning novels is the perfect Christmas gift
for those who appreciate quality Australian
literature. The Secret River, which won the
Commonwealth Writers’ Prize in 2006, tells
the story of William Thornhill, sentenced in
1806 to be transported to New South Wales for
the term of his natural life. With his wife and
children in tow, he arrives in the new colony
and eventually stakes his claim to a patch of
land on the Hawkesbury River near others who
are trying to make lives for themselves in a
harsh new world. In her follow-up novel The
Lieutenant, Grenville introduces us to Daniel
Rooke, a soldier and astronomer who arrives in
New South Wales with the First Fleet in 1788
and strikes up a friendship with an Aboriginal
girl, Tagaran, and her people.
LEGEND OF A SUICIDE
David Vann
THE HUMBLING
Philip Roth Jonathan Cape HB $29.95
Roth’s 30th novel is about Simon Axler, one of the
leading American stage actors of his generation
who, now in his 60s, has lost his magic, his talent
and his assurance.
LITTLE WHITE SLIPS
Karen Hitchcock Picador PB $30
Hitchcock’s short stories are deeply personal,
strikingly feminine, heart-breakingly beautiful,
fearless, confronting and frequently hilarious.
KATE GRENVILLE SET: THE SECRET RIVER AND
THE LIEUTENANT
THE HOUSEKEEPER AND THE PROFESSOR
Yoko Ogawa Harvill/Secker PB $32.95
An enchanting story about memory, affection
and the concept of family from the author of
The Diving Pool.
THE LAND OF GREEN PLUMS
Herta Müller Granta PB $24
Widely acknowledged to be the best book by the
Romanian-born winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in
Literature.
LAST NIGHT IN TWISTED RIVER
John Irving Bloomsbury PB $35
In 1950s America, a 12-year-old boy makes a tragic
mistake and he and his father are pursued across
the country by a police constable intent on revenge.
LOVESONG
Alex Miller
This sumptuously designed book showcases
the sparse but deeply resonant prose that Alex
Miller is well known for. Seeking shelter from
a sudden rainstorm, Australian tourist John
Patterner enters a modest café in Paris and is
immediately entranced by Sabiha, the Tunisian
niece of the café’s owner. Theirs becomes a
contented but unlikely partnership – a marriage
of two cultures lived in a third – but because
they are essentially foreigners to each other,
their love story sets in train a course of tragic
events. A story about human frailties and
passions that raises difficult questions of
morals and purpose, Lovesong is reminiscent of
the author’s acclaimed 2000 novel Conditions
of Faith (Allen & Unwin. PB. $23.95).
LEGACY
Larissa Behrendt UQP PB $24.95
Behrendt’s stunning debut novel is about Simone
Harlowe, a young and clever Aboriginal lawyer
straddling two lives and two cultures.
LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN
Colum McCann Bloomsbury PB $33
This extraordinary novel set in 1970s and ’80s New
York against a time of sweeping political and social
change follows the lives of eight disparate people.
THE LITTLE STRANGER
Sarah Waters Virago PB $33
A chilling ghost story set in 1940s Warwickshire
from the acclaimed author of The Night Watch
(Virago. PB. $25) and Tipping the Velvet (Virago.
PB. $23).
LOST IN TRANSLATION
Nicole Mones HarperCollins PB $30
A new title from the bestselling author of The Last
Chinese Chef (HarperCollins. PB. $30), this time set
in the remote deserts of northwest China.
LUSTRUM
Robert Harris Hutchinson PB $32.95
The new book in Harris’ stunning trilogy about
the Roman Empire is set in 63BC, when
republican Cicero is consul but Julius Caesar’s
power is growing.
5
Fiction MACQUARIE PEN ANTHOLOGY
OF AUSTRALIAN LITERATURE
Nicholas Jose (ed.)
Allen & Unwin
HB
$69.95
The book that sparked 2009’s bitchiest
debate about what qualifies as ‘Australian
literature’ has hit the shelves with an
impressive thump. At over 1400 pages it
represents an encyclopaedic study of our
national culture, unearthing Aboriginal
works, bushranging yarns and new voices of
immigration. Icons aren’t forgotten – Henry
Lawson, Ern Malley, Germaine Greer – but
surprise inclusions such as Kev Carmody’s
From Little Things Big Things Grow or Michael
Leunig’s How Democracy Actually Works
redefine our literature. Introductory essays
by Kerryn Goldsworthy and the book’s editor
Nicholas Jose are insightful overviews, but
the great reading is in rediscovering the
works themselves. A book that is as epic and
contradictory as our nation.
Faber PB
$35
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PARROT AND OLIVIER IN AMERICA
Peter Carey
Hamish Hamilton
HB
$49.95
Peter Carey may have left us, but this great
Australian author is still intrigued by the New
World and the stunning possibility it represented
to a dry Europe in the 19th century. Olivier is
a young French aristocrat who survived the
French Revolution bent on exploring America.
Sent along to look after Olivier is the servant
Parrot, an older failed artist. Carey plays with the
richness of both characters, pitting their ideas
on art, love, money and incarceration against
each other as the pair form a thoughtful and
comic friendship. The novel echoes Alexis de
Tocqueville’s journey through the United States
so democracy, individualism and the American
Dream embellish the subtext. Carey offers both a
touchingly real friendship and a witty toying with
history – great stuff.
When Katie, who is bipolar, is looking for new
flatmates, a tragic American called Adam and
a middle-aged charity worker named Graeme
join her inner-city household. As the three
disparate and dysfunctional characters connect
and disconnect with each other, the different
demons that haunt them are revealed – mental
illness, grief, depression, displacement and the
unanswered questions about life’s meaning
that can lead to suicide. This dark and gritty
novel by Australian author Emily Maguire is
set in Sydney over a long hot summer and a
sense of sultry heat infuses its pages. Maguire,
author of Princesses and Pornstars (Text. PB.
$32.95), never steers away from controversy
and important issues of social justice and
consumerism underpin the book’s narrative.
Highly recommended
ORDINARY THUNDERSTORMS
William Boyd
If you’re one of those people who have long
intended to read Pamuk but have been put off by
his reputation for writing inaccessible and – dare
we say it – self-indulgent prose, this is the novel
to start with. The winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize
in Literature once again sets the story in his
beloved Istanbul, this time in the mid-1970s. But
this is not the melancholic city of Istanbul (Faber.
PB. $24.95) or the alienating, labyrinthine city of
The Black Book (Faber. PB. $24.95). This is the
Istanbul of Pamuk’s own early adulthood, filled
with the scions of the city’s wealthy elite who are
desperately trying to prove themselves modern
and Western. All of Pamuk’s familiar themes are
here – obsession, collecting, the quest for love
and identity – and are instilled in the riveting and
moving story of wealthy Kemal’s obsessive love
for shopgirl Fusun.
The many fans of William Boyd’s previous
novel, Restless (Bloomsbury. PB. $24), which
won the Costa Novel of the Year in 2006, will
be happy indeed with his latest thriller. When
a chance encounter leads to murder, Adam
Kindred is forced to go on the run from both
the law and a contract killer. Leaving his
identity and former existence behind him, he
begins a strange new life with an unsavoury
cast of characters in the underworld. Set in
the grimy underbelly of London – and as in
all good London novels, the city assumes the
role of a character – this intelligent conspiracy
thriller by popular Scottish writer William Boyd
takes Kindred the everyman from Chelsea to
the East End. An increasing sense of unease
builds, as ‘even ordinary thunderstorms are
capable of mutating into super-cell storms’.
3-FOR-THE-PRICE-OF-2
AUDIOBOOK OFFER
Bloomsbury PB
$33
BER
DECEM
SE
RELEA
PENGUIN CLASSICS DELUXE EDITIONS
PARROT AND OLIVIER IN AMERICA
SMOKE IN THE ROOM
Emily Maguire
Picador PB
$30
THE MUSEUM OF INNOCENCE
Orhan Pamuk
Peter Carey (read by Humphrey Bower)
Bolinda. 14-disc set. $49.95
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
Jane Austen
THE SCARLET LETTER
Nathaniel Hawthorne
WUTHERING HEIGHTS
Emily Bronte
THE SLAP
Christos Tsiolkas (read by Alex Dimitriades)
Bolinda. 13-disc set. $49.95
TRUTH
Peter Temple (read by Michael Carman)
Bolinda. 10-disc set. $39.95
These new editions of three classic novels
feature original cover art in watercolour,
pencil or ink by Cuban-born, world-renowned
fashion designer Ruben Toledo.
WATKIN TENCH’S 1788
Tim Flannery (ed.) (read by Grant Cartwright)
Bolinda. 8-disc set. $39.95
Buy any two of these Australian classics on audiobook and you can choose a
third title free! From controversial The Slap to gritty Truth, these Bolinda titles
are perfect for those who like to listen to books as well as read them. Stock
up for summer road trips, or for listening while cooking Christmas feasts for
the family. Note that the title with the lowest RRP will be the one given free.
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Picador HB
Was $40
now $33.95
SONS OF THE RUMOUR
David Foster
Age Book of the Year and Miles Franklin
winner David Foster has been too long
between books. His return is dazzling. In part,
Sons of the Rumour is a re-imagining of The
1001 Arabian Nights, as King Shahrban is
charmed from murdering his wives by the
beguiling story-spinner, Scheherazade. Woven
into this myth are the contemporary travails
of Al Morrisey, a former British jazz drummer
escaping his failed marriage in an attempt to
relive his youth. The interplay between stories
makes each more powerful as Foster eruditely
hops between them with wit and intrigue.
Sprawling in its themes and ambitious in its
humanity, this is a masterful work by one of
Australia’s best living writers.
Penguin PB
$19.95
SPECIAL
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Y
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AWARD
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Chatto & Windus
HB
Was $49.95
now $39.95
TOO MUCH HAPPINESS
Alice Munro
Alice Munro won this year’s Man Booker
International Prize for her lifetime body of
work, and her new volume of short stories
has been much anticipated. This is especially
so in light of the fact that only three years
ago the then 75-year-old author intimated
her intention to stop writing fiction altogether.
Thankfully, she hasn’t, and readers captivated
by her flawless and effortless style and
superlative gift for storytelling can once again
delve into an enthralling collection from one
of our greatest short story writers. With novellike depth and range, familiar Munrovian
themes of love, loss, death, husbands, wives
and children are intricately woven through the
10 unsettling and haunting stories that make
up Too Much Happiness.
NOAH’S COMPASS
Ann Tyler Chatto & Windus PB $32.95
Tyler’s affecting new novel tells the story of a year
in the life of Liam Pennywell, a man in his 61st year
who is adrift in his own life.
NOCTURNES
Kazuo Ishiguro Faber PB $30
Ishiguro ponders the struggle to keep alive a sense
of life’s romance, exploring ideas of love, music and
the passing of time.
PILGRIMS
Garrison Keillor Faber PB $33
The good folk of Lake Wobegon head to Italy,
in this hilarious, modern-day Canterbury Tales.
Vintage Keillor.
STARDUST
Joseph Kanon Simon & Schuster PB $33
Hollywood, 1945. Returned serviceman Ben Collier
investigates the mysterious death of his filmmaker
brother, Daniel.
OLIVE KITTERIDGE
Elizabeth Strout Simon & Schuster PB $23
Olive, a retired schoolteacher, struggles to make
sense of the changes in her life and the lives of
those around her. Winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize
for Fiction.
THE QUICKENING MAZE
Adam Foulds Jonathan Cape HB $34.95
Based on real events in the High Beach Private
Asylum in 1840, Foulds’ brilliantly imagined novel
centres on the first incarceration of nature poet
John Clare.
THE PAGES
Murray Bail Text PB $23.95
A beguiling meditation on friendship and love, on
men and women, on landscape and the difficulties of
thought itself, by one of Australia’s greatest novelists.
RANSOM
David Malouf Knopf Australia HB $29.95
The great Australian writer revisits Homer’s Iliad in
his first novel in more than a decade.
SUMMERTIME
J. M. Coetzee Knopf Australia HB $39.95
Shortlisted for this year’s Man Booker Prize,
Summertime completes the majestic trilogy of
fictionalised memoir begun with Boyhood (Vintage.
PB. $24.95) and Youth (Vintage. PB. $24.95).
THE WORLD BENEATH
Cate Kennedy Scribe PB $32.95
The first novel by acclaimed short-story writer
Cate Kennedy is set in the Tasmanian wilderness
and explores the vast terrain of contemporary
relationships and family ties.
THE PAPERBARK SHOE
Goldie Goldbloom FAP PB $32.95
The Toads have a marriage of convenience: Gin to
escape a mental institution, Toad the censure of a
country community. Then everything changes with
the arrival of two Italian POWs.
MELTDOWN
Ben Elton Bantam PB $32.95
City trader Jimmy and his family are forced to
confront financial meltdown in this hilarious and
pertinent domestic drama.
PIANO LESSONS
Anna Goldsworthy Black Inc. PB $27.95
Goldsworthy recalls her first steps towards a
life in music, from childhood piano lessons to
international success as a concert pianist.
THE REHEARSAL
Eleanor Catton Granta PB $30
An exhilarating and provocative novel revolving
around a school sex scandal. Shortlisted for the
2009 Montana New Zealand Book Award for
Fiction.
REMARKABLE CREATURES
Tracy Chevalier HarperCollins PB $28
Chevalier has stated that her aim was to ‘make
fossils sexy’ in this tale of female friendship amid
the fossil digs of the 19th century in Lyme Regis.
Based on a true story.
6
Little Brown PB
$33
Fiction
TRANSITION
Iain Banks
TRUTH
Peter Temple
THE UMBRELLA CLUB
David Brooks
Iain Banks has two parallel careers as a
novelist. This disquieting book melds his
literary and sci-fi personae, perhaps fittingly
exploring a version of our world in which
multiple parallel realities exist. Most remain
unaware of the existence of other worlds, but
a select few (‘transitionaries’) move between
them, directed by a secret organisation, the
Concern, who plot their interventions – and
assassinations. Assassin Temudjin Oh is
growing concerned about the morality of his
actions – and as his doubts grow, so too does
his knowledge of the Concern’s sinister true
purpose. In Transition, Banks employs his dark
humour, roving imagination and powers of
characterisation to explore the responsibilities
of power and the dubious morality of
intervening in other societies.
Peter Temple’s recently released companion
volume to 2007’s The Broken Shore (Text. PB.
$23.95) is more than a cracking good crime
read. Like its predecessor, it is an important
work of Australian literary fiction – with
evocative imagery, masterful characterisations
and finely honed, distinctively Australian
prose. Set in Melbourne during a hellish
bushfire season, Truth is about Homicide
Inspector, Stephen Villani. Villani lives for
his job – and has sacrificed his family in
the process. During an investigation into an
unidentified young girl’s death, he must deal
with corruption within the police force and
government, and also with the mess he has
made of his personal life. With these two
books Temple has transcended genre and
joined the ranks of Australia’s greatest writers
– essential reading.
Axel and Edward are a pair of Englishmen
bonded through their service in WWI. Intrepid
Axel is determined to take his balloon over
New Albion (a fictionalised Papua New Guinea)
and Edward is along for the ride. But when
Axel disappears on his latest adventure,
Edward becomes a detective, following his
friend’s last journey through a disappearing
world. In The Umbrella Club, the fascinating
pursuit of dirigible travel, the stiff upper
lips of the heroes and the mythical locales
collide in an adventure story that glides
over colonial politics and cultural clashes.
Brooks has a light touch with his very British
characters – sometimes amusing, sometimes
heartbreaking – that vividly takes readers
along on this great expedition.
Text PB
$32.95
THE WILD THINGS
Dave Eggers
Hamish Hamilton
HB
$35
Seven-year-old Max likes to make noise, get
dirty, ride his bike without a helmet and howl
like a wolf. His home life is problematic – his
parents are divorced; his father, immature
and romantic, lives in the city and his mother
has taken up with a younger man who steals
quarters from the change bowl in the foyer.
Driven by a series of pressures internal and
external, Max leaves home, jumps in a boat
and sails across the ocean to a strange island
where giant beasts reign – the Wild Things
from Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s
book. This is an all-ages adventure, full of wit
and soul, that explores the chaos of youth
while Max explores the chaos of the world
around him. Read it before you see the muchanticipated film, which was co-written by
Eggers and director, Spike Jonze.
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From grunge godfather to the author of the
Miles Franklin–winning The White Earth (Allen
& Unwin. PB. $23.95), Andrew McGahan is
a writer always changing direction. Here, he
gives us a grown-up fable of a silent orphan
residing peacefully in a Gothic hospital until
the admission of a strange foreigner. Their
Allen & Unwin PB curious friendship takes them around the
world but begins to affect other patients as
$33
sadistic murders occur and a nearby volcano
bubbles into life. Wonders of a Godless World
balances between insanity and imagination,
the bizarre and the mundane, with pageturning panache. This quixotic, creepy and
utterly fascinating work marks another
direction for McGahan – an exciting one that’s
on-course for award nominations in 2010.
Orion PB
Was $33
now $27.95
THE ANNIVERSARY MAN
R. J. Ellory
BLACK WATER RISING
Attica Locke
Move over Michael Connelly – R. J. Ellory is
here and he’s staking a persuasive claim to
your territory. The Anniversary Man is the
best offering yet from this talented storyteller,
comparable to Connelly’s masterful The Poet
(Allen & Unwin. PB. $23.95). Twenty years
ago, John Costello and his girlfriend were
attacked by the ‘Hammer of God’ serial killer.
John’s girlfriend died but he survived, albeit
with massive psychological scarring. Working
as a crime researcher with the New York City
Herald, he and journalist Karen Langley are
drawn into a murder investigation being run
by lonely Homicide Detective, Ray Irving. They
soon realise that a serial killer is on the loose,
one who commits his crimes in the style and
on the anniversaries of past crimes. A ripper
of a read (so to speak).
Former college radical Jay Porter is not the
lawyer he set out to be, but he’s long since
made peace with the American Dream. Then
one night he impulsively saves a woman
from drowning in the bayou – and opens a
Pandora’s box. Her secrets put Jay in danger,
ensnaring him in a murder investigation that
could cost him his practice, his family and
even his life. But before he can get to the
bottom of the tangled mystery that reaches
into the upper echelons of Houston’s corporate
power brokers, Jay must confront the demons
of his past. Locke is a screenwriter best
known for her work on The Wire, and in this,
her first novel, she has delivered a taut crime
novel-cum-political thriller with a strong and
sympathetic African-American protagonist.
Crime fiction for the Obama era.
THE COMPLAINTS
Ian Rankin
Malcolm Fox works with the Complaints – the
cops who investigate other cops. He’s just
had a result, and should be feeling good
about himself. But he’s a man with problems.
Middle-aged, lonely and still craving a drink
after years of sobriety, he worries about his
increasingly frail father and his sister, who
persists in an abusive relationship. Then
he’s given a new task – to investigate Jamie
Breck, a cop who may be a paedophile. As
Fox takes on the job, he starts to have doubts
about Breck’s guilt and then comes under
suspicion of misconduct after the murder of
his sister’s partner. Suspended from duty,
he finds himself working with Breck to solve
the murder and uncovers a deep seam of
corruption within the local government,
business community and police department.
Classic Rankin.
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WONDERS OF A GODLESS WORLD
Andrew McGahan
Crime fiction
Orion PB
$33
UQP PB
$32.95
Serpent’s Tail PB
$33
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Random PB
Was $34.95
now $29.95
Bloomsbury HB
Was $45
now $39.95
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Century PB
Was $32.95
now $27.95
BER
DECEM
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The new novel by the prolific Canadian writer
Margaret Atwood, winner of the 2000 Booker
Prize for The Blind Assassin (Virago. PB. $25),
is inspired by the precarious state of our
world. Atwood imagines a believable future
where the planet’s many imbalances have led
to the formation of environmentalists, gardenlovers and vegetarians into God’s Gardeners,
who appeared in Atwood’s previous novel,
Oryx and Crake (Virago. PB. $25). The novel
traces the survival of two women who
are isolated after a pandemic dubbed the
‘waterless flood’ has wiped out life across the
globe. The women contemplate their turbulent
former lives and current predicament in a
work that is visionary, darkly humorous,
seriously thought provoking – and could easily
lead to a third instalment.
BLOOD’S A ROVER
James Ellroy
It’s been eight years since the publication
of The Cold Six Thousand (Arrow. PB.
$24.95), the second instalment in Ellroy’s
persuasively pessimistic ‘Underworld USA’
trilogy. This final volume is set in 1968.
Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King are
dead and the Mob, Howard Hughes and J.
Edgar Hoover are engaged in a murderous
struggle for America’s soul. Ellroy introduces
us to Wayne Tedrow Jr., assassin and dope
cooker; Dwight Holly, Hoover’s enforcer and
hellish conspirator in terrible crimes; and Don
Crutchfield, a wheelman and private detective
who stumbles upon an ungodly conspiracy
from which he and the country may never
recover. Described by one critic as ‘revisionist
history that roars off the page’, this political
noir will be eagerly embraced by Ellroy’s
many fans.
QUEENPIN
Megan Abbott
HYPOTHERMIA
Arnaldur Indridason
In the latest Reykjavík Murder Mystery,
Erlendur Sveinsson embarks on an unofficial
investigation into the apparent suicide of
a university lecturer, Marìa. Soon, he finds
himself unearthing facts about a tragedy in
the dead woman’s past and is drawn into her
obsession with life after death. At the same
time, the taciturn detective reopens two of
his ubiquitous missing persons cases – a
young man who went missing 30 years ago
and whose father is still hoping for some type
of resolution, and a girl who went missing at
the same time. Could their disappearances be
related? And if he solves the cases and can
tell the long-grieving father what happened to
his son, will Erlendur himself attain some kind
of resolution to the tragic event in his own
childhood?
THE YEAR OF THE FLOOD
Margaret Atwood
Simon & Schuster
PB
$23
The garish cover of Queenpin resembles a
trash-and-slash novel from the ’50s, but its
story is reminiscent of Raymond Chandler,
James M. Cain and Jim Thompson at
their very best. The third in Megan Abbot’s
acclaimed series of noir novels (following
Die a Little and The Song is You, both Simon
& Schuster, $23, and preceding Bury Me
Deep, Simon & Schuster, $30), Queenpin is
narrated by its unnamed central character, a
pretty young bookkeeper who is taken under
the wing of Gloria Denton, a notorious and
hardboiled moll who works as a mob courier.
Before she knows it, our narrator is ushered
into a glittering demimonde of late-night
casinos, racetracks, betting parlours, inside
heists, grifter lovers and big, big money. And
in this morally ambiguous world, a girl has to
do what a girl has to do…
Language, poetry & essays BER
DECEM
SE
A
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Michael O’Mara
Books HB
$24.95
Q
AN APPLE A DAY
Caroline Taggart
THE BEST AUSTRALIAN ESSAYS
Does absence really make the heart grow
fonder? Can beggars be choosers? Is it always
better late than never? In An Apple A Day,
Caroline Taggart explores the truth behind our
favourite proverbs, their history and whether
they offer any genuine help to the recipient.
Did you know that the Old Testament has an
entire book devoted to proverbs? Or that ‘a
bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’ is a
proverb from falconry that dates back to the
Middle Ages? Light-hearted but authoritative,
this nifty little book is the perfect stocking
filler for Christmas.
THE BEST AUSTRALIAN POEMS
Black Inc. PB $29.95
Robert Adamson (ed.)
Black Inc. PB $24.95
THE BEST AUSTRALIAN STORIES
Delia Falconer (ed.)
Black Inc. PB $29.95
Now a highly anticipated annual publishing
event, Black Inc.’s three ‘Best of’ volumes are
essential summer reading. This year’s Essays
showcases pieces as diverse as Annabel Crabb
on Julia Gillard, David Marr on Christmas Island
and Peter Conrad on Michael Jackson. Poems
features work by Clive James, Robert Gray,
Les Murray, Dorothy Porter and other notables.
Stories offers quality short fiction by writers
including Mandy Sayer, Steven Amsterdam and
Peter Goldsworthy.
BER
DECEM
SE
RELEA
CHANGING MY MIND
Zadie Smith
How did George Eliot’s love life affect her
prose? Why did Kafka write at three in the
morning? In what ways is Barack Obama like
Eliza Doolittle? Can you be over-dressed for
the Oscars? What is Italian Feminism? Is Date
Movie the worst film ever made? In Changing
My Mind, Zadie Smith, author of the awardwinning White Teeth (Penguin. PB. $24.95)
and On Beauty (Penguin. PB. $24.95), casts
an acute eye over material both personal and
cultural. The pieces – some published here for
the first time – reveal her as a passionate and
precise essayist, equally at home in the world
of great books and bad movies, family and
philosophy, British comedians and Italian divas.
OUP HB
$47.95
This unique two-volume work is the world’s
first historical thesaurus. Compiled over
40 years by a dedicated team of scholars
within the English Language Department of
the University of Glasgow, it takes almost
every word in the 20-volume Oxford English
Dictionary and maps them on to a vast
classification structure, so that words with
similar meaning are grouped together. In
addition, words are also arranged according
to their history: oldest words appear first,
while those that have entered the language
most recently are shown last. An essential
reference for scholars, language professionals
and anyone interested in language, history
and culture.
Highly recommended
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Scribe PB
$32.95
Miegunyah HB
$59.95
A DICTIONARY OF MODERN
ENGLISH USAGE
H. W. Fowler
Since the first edition of this influential guide
to the English language was published
in 1926, the shortest and best answer to
any dispute over the use of prepositions,
split infinitives and word usage has been
‘look it up in Fowler’. Later editions toned
down the prescriptive nature of the famous
lexicographer’s work: some of Fowler’s
famously dry humour was removed, along
with the idiosyncratic, opinionated voice that
gave the book its charm. Freshly evaluating
the place of Fowler in linguistic studies, this
reissue of the classic first edition includes an
enlightening introduction by language expert
David Crystal, who also provides notes on
around 300 entries, highlighting the linguistic
changes that have occurred since 1926.
IN CONVERSATION
Ben Naparstek
HISTORICAL THESAURUS
OF THE OXFORD ENGLISH
DICTIONARY
OUP HB
$550
BOTTERSNIKES AND OTHER
LOST THINGS
Juliet O’Conor
Robyn Davidson (ed.)
Who famously writes just 100
perfectly crafted words a day?
Hamish Hamilton
HB
$45
7
In Conversation reproduces interviews with 39
international writers conducted by the editor of
The Monthly magazine, Ben Naparstek. Some
interviews were conducted face-to-face while
Naparstek lived in the US, some took place over
the phone when he was back in Melbourne,
and five were held via translators and email.
The interviews are divided into fiction and
non-fiction writers, leading off with literary lion
Paul Auster and closing with English literary
critic and author James Wood. Presented as
insightful and illuminating author profiles rather
than Q&As, Naparstek’s book reminds us of
the work great writers such as Toni Morrison,
Jay McInerney, Tobias Wolff, Rick Moody and
Umberto Eco have produced, and inspires by
providing fascinating glimpses into the different
life paths each writer has followed.
THE BEE HUT
Dorothy Porter Black Inc. PB $24.95
Porter’s 15th book brings together the poems she
wrote in the last five years of her life.
THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST
Stieg Larsson Quercus PB special price WAS $32.95, NOW $27.95
Exclusive offer to celebrate the release of the third
book in the trilogy! You can also buy The Girl with
the Dragon Tattoo or The Girl Who Played with Fire
large-format size at the small-format price of $24.95!
IF THE DEAD RISE NOT
Philip Kerr Quercus PB $32.95
The latest instalment in Kerr’s fabulous Bernie
Gunther novels swings from 1936 Berlin to
1950s Havana.
PRESENT DANGER
Stella Rimington Quercus PB $32.95
The latest fast-paced thriller from Rimington, a
former head of MI5, sees MI5 intelligence officer
Liz Carlyle despatched to Northern Ireland.
REUNION
Andrea Goldsmith Fourth Estate PB $33
Four friends are drawn back to Melbourne for a
reunion 20 years after they met at university, facing
issues of love, power, friendship and betrayal.
This rich treasury of children’s book
illustrations will transport readers of all
ages back to their childhoods, with favourite
characters such as Snugglepot and Cuddlepie,
the Magic Pudding and Blinky Bill all featured.
But 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. O’Conor often leaves the pictures to
tell their own story while focusing the text
on history and context, making this scholarly
enterprise accessible to all readers.
Faber modern poets
JOHN BETJEMAN: POEMS SELECTED BY HUGO WILLIAMS
SYLVIA PLATH: POEMS SELECTED BY TED HUGHES
TED HUGHES: POEMS SELECTED BY SIMON ARMITAGE
T. S. ELIOT: SELECTED POEMS
W. B. YEATS: POEMS SELECTED BY SEAMUS HEANEY
Faber HB
$25 each
L
SPECIA
PRICE
HB
Was $129.95
now $99.95
These collectible editions of the work of
some of the great poets of the 20th century
have been published to mark Faber’s
80th anniversary. They feature specially
commissioned covers by artists Clare Curtis,
Joe McLaren, Mark Hearld, Peter Lawrence
and Nick Morley. Gorgeous Christmas gifts!
MACQUARIE DICTIONARY:
FIFTH EDITION
Since the Macquarie Dictionary was
first published in 1981, its reputation as
Australia’s national dictionary has gone from
strength to strength. It is now nationally
and internationally regarded as the
standard reference on Australian English. A
comprehensive and up-to-date account of
our variety of English, it not only includes all
those words and senses peculiar to Australian
English, but also those common to the whole
English-speaking world. Also available:
Macquarie Concise Dictionary: Fifth Edition
(HB. $50).
SACRED HEARTS
Sarah Dunant Virago PB $33
Ferrara, 1570. Sixteen-year-old Serafina has
been sent to the convent of Santa Caterina,
but is determined to escape.
THINGS WE DIDN’T SEE COMING
Steven Amsterdam Sleepers PB $25
Nine connected episodes follow an unnamed
protagonist from childhood to adulthood in a
dystopic world.
SEA OF POPPIES
Amitav Ghosh John Murray PB $25
A brilliant historical adventure spanning the lush
poppy fields of the Ganges, the rolling high seas
and the exotic backstreets of China.
THIS IS HOW
M. J. Hyland Text PB $32.95
The story of Patrick Oxtoby, an outsider longing to
fit into a world he doesn’t understand. From the
author of Carry Me Down (Text. PB. $23.95).
SECRETUM
Rita Monaldi & Francesco Sorti Polygon HB $39.95
Rome, 1700. Former castrato soprano Atto Melani, a
spy in the service of Louis XIV, launches a conspiracy
to promote Louis’ ambition to inherit the Spanish throne.
TOM IS DEAD
Marie Darrieussecq Text PB $29.95
A still-grieving mother tries to write the story of
her young son Tom, dead for 10 years. A powerful
meditation on loss and mourning.
THE SPARE ROOM
Helen Garner Text PB $23.95
‘How is it that she can enter this heart-breaking
territory – the dying friend who comes to stay –
and make it not only bearable, but glorious and
funny?’ Peter Carey
SUM: FORTY TALES FROM THE AFTERLIVES
David Eagleman Canongate PB $22.95
These wonderfully imagined tales about the
afterlife are at once funny, wistful and unsettling.
THE TRUE STORY OF BUTTERFISH
Nick Earls Vintage PB $32.95
With his chart-topping band, Butterfish, Curtis
Holland lived the clichéd rock dream – but back in
Brisbane, he now has to work out what things in
life really matter.
THE VIRTUOSO
Sonia Orchard Fourth Estate PB $28
London, November 1945. A young music
student embarks on an affair with a charismatic
concert pianist.
8
Language, poetry & essays
100 AUSTRALIAN POEMS
YOU NEED TO KNOW
Jamie Grant (ed.)
Hardie Grant PB
$29.95
This engaging and affectionate book brings
together 100 Australian poems, both classic
and contemporary, chosen because of their
capacity to move, delight and inspire. The
editor cheerfully confesses in his introduction
that this is a highly subjective selection,
every poem being here because he loves it.
He cannily points out that the great pleasure
of a selection such as this, which may leave
out some of the obvious choices in favour
of the obscure, is its capacity to surprise, to
introduce the general reader to poems they
may not otherwise encounter. Poets include
Marcus Clarke, Mary Gilmore, C. J. Dennis,
Vincent Buckley, Amy Witting, Clive James and
Kate Jennings. With an emphasis on humour
and contemporary relevance, this entertaining
collection is perfect for poetry buffs and
novices alike.
BER
DECEM
SE
A
E
L
E
R
OUP HB
$79.95
THE PUNCHER & WATTMANn ANTHOLOGY OF AUSTRALIAN POETRY
John Leonard (ed.)
Puncher &
Wattmann PB
$35
UNSW Press PB
$29.95
ALZHEIMER’S: A LOVE STORY
Vivienne Ulman
Scribe PB
$32.95
Penguin Classics
HB
$49.95
Picador PB
$30
CUP PB
$39.95
Here are poems to take you on a journey from
the ‘suddenly’ of love at first sight to the ‘truly,
madly, deeply’ of infatuation and on to the
‘eternally’ of love that lasts beyond the end of
life, along the way taking in flirtation, passion,
fury, betrayal and broken hearts. Bringing
together the greatest love poetry from around
the world and through the ages, ranging from
W. H. Auden to William Shakespeare, John
Donne to Emily Dickinson, Robert Browning
to Roger McGough, this new anthology will
delight, comfort and inspire anyone who has
ever experienced love – in any of its forms.
Hannah Rachel Bell met indigenous lawman
and artist Bungal (David) Mowaljarlai on
the ‘speaking circuit’ in the 1970s and the
feminist activist and indigenous spokesperson
went on to form an unlikely friendship. Her
growing knowledge of indigenous culture also
sparked a communication and friendship with
West Australian literary icon Tim Winton after
she recognised an indigenous way of being
and seeing in his novels. Blending memoir,
literary criticism, cultural analysis and travel
writing, this curiously genre-bending book
is an extraordinary journey into Australian
storytelling (‘the way in which we make sense
of the world’), and the convergence in the
‘cosmologies’ of two very different artists
from different cultures on the same continent,
both drawing on the same landscape.
Name the recently published book that sparked a
debate about what qualifies as Australian literature.
Tony Martin’s first book, Lolly Scramble (Pan
Australia. PB. $24.95), revealed that his
mastery of the comedic anecdote translates
as beautifully on the page as it does on the
radio and screen. A Nest of Occasionals
delivers another serving of hilarious memoir,
in bite-size chapters that spin seemingly
ordinary experiences from childhood and
beyond into touchingly funny entertainment.
He recalls being crowned ‘Poof of the
Century’ after declaring his hero as the guy
who ‘did all the sound effects for Star Wars’;
trying to meet girls in a series of amateur
drama productions; and having his braces
(which he got aged 17) repossessed by the
government. A Nest of Occasionals confirms
that Tony Martin is infectiously likeable – and
infectiously readable, too.
THE BLAZE OF OBSCURITY:
THE TV YEARS
Clive James
Picador PB
$35
DREAMING OF DIOR
Charlotte Smith
HarperCollins HB
$35
PENGUIN’S POEMS FOR LOVE
Laura Barber (ed.)
STORYMEN
Hannah Rachel Bell
A NEST OF OCCASIONALS
Tony Martin
THE CELLO SUITES
Eric Siblin
Subtitled ‘J. S. Bach, Pablo Casals and the
search for a baroque masterpiece’, the first
book by Canadian journalist and filmmaker
Eric Siblin pays homage to Bach and his six
suites for the cello. Having closed the chapter
in his life as a pop music critic, Siblin attended
a recital of Bach’s suites in 2000. The result
Allen & Unwin PB was a new obsession, as he fell in love with
the music and became increasingly intrigued
$30
by the story behind the suites’ composition
and their later revival by Catalan cellist,
Pablo Casals. Like the six suites, each of the
six chapters has six movements, moving
from past to present, biography to music
history, Barcelona to Brussels as the author
travels across the globe in pursuit of a lost
manuscript and the source of his passion.
Running amok from argy-bargy to zany,
linguist Christopher Moore delves into the
mysteries of the English race by focusing
on the endlessly diverting inventiveness of
their language. Balderdash, load of cobblers,
humbug, naff – the English language is
riddled with hidden meanings and traps
for the unwary, and according to Moore it’s
currently undergoing a transformation as
rapid as that of Shakespeare’s era, when
30,000 new words were coined. The A to Z
entries in this entertaining little book cover a
range of topics, including the importance of
chips in the national diet and the link between
Oxbridge and the old school tie.
Q
Biography
Vivienne Ulman’s memoir is an often painfully
personal, autobiographical account of a
daughter coming to terms with the death of
her mother from Alzheimer’s disease. The
themes of family history, memory, love and
loss are explored through short, episodic
chapters which move back and forth in time,
creating a collage-like family portrait that
revolves around her parents’ love for each
other and their children. Central to the story
is Vivienne’s father, who selflessly dedicated
his life to caring for his wife during her slow
disintegration from Alzheimer’s. Just as
central is the way in which we deal with grief,
and how as individuals we create a system
of coping when faced with the challenges of
losing a loved one.
Long before we had Google, the ODQ was
there to help answer those niggling ‘who said
that?’ questions. This major new edition of
the home library stalwart is the seventh to
be printed since 1941, and its coverage has
been extended to include around 1000 new
quotations from print and online sources. A
thorough review of classic works also expands
the coverage of quotations from the past, and
extensive and detailed sourcing is provided
for each quotation. From Peter Abelard (c.
1142), ‘For we do not easily expect evil of
those whom we love most’, to Émile Zola (d.
1902), ‘J’accuse’, there are more than 20,000
quotations from more than 3500 authors and
a comprehensive index to help those looking
for a half-remembered line.
BER
DECEM
SE
A
E
L
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R
THE QUEEN’S ENGLISH
C. J. Moore
BER
DECEM
SE
RELEA
This new anthology of Australian poetry is
edited by John Leonard, Australia’s foremost
anthologist. It ranges from European
settlement to the present, with an impressive
array of poets new and familiar, as well as
a translation from an older indigenous song
cycle. It confirms the belief, stated by many,
including Les Murray, that Australia is indeed
currently enjoying a ‘golden age’ of poetry.
OXFORD DICTIONARY OF QUOTATIONS
When Blue Mountains–based Charlotte Smith
inherited a priceless collection of vintage
clothing from her American godmother,
couture collector Doris Darnell, she became
the custodian of more than 3000 pieces
dating from 1790 to 1995. In Dreaming
of Dior, these special-occasion outfits are
brought to life in classic fashion illustrations
by Grant Cowan. Along with the ultimate
dress-up box of jewelled cocktail gowns,
micro minis, taffeta crinolines and designer
ensembles, Darnell also bequeathed detailed
catalogue notes on the collection to her
goddaughter. Smith’s text and Cowan’s
brightly coloured sketches combine to capture
a moment in time, shedding light on the
outfits and the women who wore them.
Clive James’s fifth memoir begins in 1982,
with his departure from Fleet Street and
the world of print journalism to ‘the madly
glamorous medium of television’. He writes
thoughtfully about the mechanics of this new
world – how television was made – including
details like the editing of footage, writing
of scripts and business of interviewing.
There are also encounters with lions and
elephants in Africa, observations and gossip
on various celebrities (he lunched with Roman
Polanski and found it ‘hard to admire’ him)
and reports on his ongoing Friday lunches
with the likes of Martin and Kingsley Amis,
Christopher Hitchens and Julian Barnes. This
seamless memoir is James at his raconteur
best: witty, incisive, dryly self-deprecating
and marvellously entertaining. An absolute
pleasure.
FINDING FRIDA KAHLO
Barbara Levine
Princeton
Architectural Press
HB
$95
Fifty-five years have passed since the death
of Frida Kahlo, and the legends and mystique
surrounding the iconic Mexican artist continue
to grow. Adding fuel to the fire, Finding Frida
Kahlo reproduces a previously undiscovered
cache of letters, drawings, paintings,
notebooks and ephemera that curator and
collector Barbara Levine found stored in five
dusty suitcases in a Mexican antique shop.
Dealers and art experts alike have queried
the authenticity of this fascinating haul of
artworks, erotica and knick-knacks, but a
Q&A with the antique-dealer custodians
reveals how the collection came to be in their
possession and details the steps they have
taken to prove its provenance.
L
SPECIA
E
C
I
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Hardie Grant HB
Was $59.95
now $29.95
L
SPECIA
E
C
PRI
MUP HB
Was $35
now $26.95
Scribe PB
$27.95
9
Biography FLORENCE BROADHURST
Helen O’Neill
GRAND OBSESSIONS
Alasdair McGregor
I BLAME DUCHAMP
Edmund Capon
From vaudeville performer to London couturier
and Australian landscape painter, the many
lives of Florence Broadhurst were as varied
and extravagant as the flamboyant wallpaper
patterns that eventually gave her fame. Her
graphic swirls, peacocks and flowers are
cropping up in hotels and restaurants around
the world, as well as on designer couture
and accessories. Sporting a bold silver and
black cover, this new edition of the bestselling
2006 biography is lavishly illustrated with
reproductions of her famous designs. The
book unravels Broadhurst’s compelling life
story, from her roots in rural Queensland and
the establishment of her wallpaper business
in 1960s Sydney to her vicious murder in
1977, a crime which remains unsolved. A
fascinating biography and gorgeous design
resource in one.
Almost a century after the international design
competition for the national capital, Walter
Burley Griffin’s design – and its implementation
– is still hotly debated. Who was this man and
what was his vision? How did he come to
Canberra, what happened once the Australian
establishment tore him to shreds, and what
was the role of his wife, helpmate, fellow
architect and creative partner, Marion Mahony
Griffin? In this definitive new biography,
Alasdair McGregor delineates the role each
played in the production of their greatest works
– Canberra, Castlecrag, Newman College and
the rest – and charts their lives, from their
childhoods and meeting in Chicago in the
employ of the larger-than-life Frank Lloyd
Wright, to their battles in Canberra, Melbourne
and Sydney, and their swansong in India.
Rather than writing a conventional
autobiography, the charismatic director of the
Art Gallery of New South Wales reveals insights
into his passions, opinions and life experience
by reflecting on his long-time fascination with
art and artists. Capon touches on a diverse
range of topics, including the contemporary art
world’s fascination with conceptual art. There
are personal encounters with artists including
Henry Moore and Sidney Nolan, his top 10
museums, his love for football and Chinese art
(not necessarily in that order), and studies on a
diverse range of artists from Bellini to Henson
that make compelling reading. More than 50
artworks are reproduced, and the book itself is
packaged as a clever homage to Duchamp’s
readymade art.
Lantern HB
$69.95
MY NAME IS CHARLES
SAATCHI AND I AM AN ARTOHOLIC
Charles Saatchi
MOZIPEDIA
Simon Goddard
THE LOST MOTHER
Anne Summers
When feminist writer and commentator Anne
Summers inherited a childhood portrait of
her late mother, her curiosity about how the
portrait came to be painted took her on an
unexpected journey of detection into the
lives of the painter, Constance Stokes, and
her patron, Lydia Mortill. It would also force
Summers to confront the true nature of her
often-troubled relationship with her mother.
With accompanying black-and-white and
colour illustrations to help tell the story,
this enthralling book is at once a memoir,
art history and detective story as the lives
of the women unfold and the mystery of a
lost second painting of Summers’ mother
starts to emerge.
Ebury Press HB
$69.95
Pop icon Morrissey is as revered as he is
reviled by music fans and aficionados around
the globe. Music journalist and author Simon
Goddard is widely accepted as one of the
foremost experts on the artist, and this new
tome-like world according to Morrissey
and The Smiths is as close to the last word
as you’ll find on Mozza and Co. Although
unauthorised and hindered by a continued
refusal from Morrissey to speak to Goddard,
this obsessively researched work would
surely impress the great man himself. With
entries covering everything from the complete
back catalogue of Morrissey/Smiths songs
to his vegetarianism and love of the Carry
On movies, it’s a truly eccentric and eclectic
portrait of the boy with the thorn in his side.
NOTHING WAS THE SAME
Kay Redfield Jamison
DIARIES
George Orwell
Moving, instructive and more compulsively
readable than any book about death has a
right to be, this memoir is both a meditation
on the nature and experience of grief and a
tribute to the author’s late husband, who died
of lung cancer. Kay Redfield Jamison is a
professor of psychiatry, author of four books
on brain chemistry, including a lauded memoir
about her manic depression (An Unquiet
Mind. Picador. PB. $22.95) and a recipient of
a Macarthur ‘genius grant’. Her husband and
partner of nearly 20 years, Richard Wyatt,
was a renowned scientist and expert on
schizophrenia. This intelligent and accessible
book is reminiscent of Joan Didion’s The
Year of Magical Thinking (Harper Perennial.
PB. $25) in celebrating a close marriage and
mourning its passing in an insightful and
heartfelt fashion.
George Orwell was an inveterate keeper of
diaries. Eleven of these are presented here
in one volume, providing a new insight into
Orwell’s character and understanding of his
great works. Covering the period 1931–49,
Diaries follows Orwell from his early years as
a writer up to his last literary notebook. The
hop-picking diary covers some of Orwell’s
time spent down and out; and the notes from
his travels through industrial England, which
formed the basis of The Road to Wigan Pier,
show the development of the gifted young
novelist and impassioned social commentator.
His trademark acute power of observation is
evident in his diaries from Morocco, and the
wartime diaries make fascinating reading,
from descriptions of events overseas to the
daily violence closer to home and his astute
perspective on the politics of both.
Highly recommended
Lantern HB
$49.95
Harvill/Secker HB
$59.95
Phaidon PB
$14.95
This witty, well-designed and keenly priced
book brings together the answers to almost
200 questions put to Charles Saatchi, founder
of global advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi
and probably the most influential art collector
of our time. Whether the questions are related
to art or his personal life, Saatchi answers
them all with disarming and sometimes
brutal frankness, creating an entertaining and
enlightening portrait of a famously publicityshy man and offering a unique insight into
today’s art world. We learn of his frappaccino
habit, his views on Damien Hirst’s plummeting
career, what he thought about the National
Gallery of Australia’s action in cancelling the
2000 ‘Sensation’ exhibition, his reaction to the
assertion that painting is dead and what it’s
like being married to a domestic goddess.
OUTSIDE OF A DOG
Rick Gekoski
Peribo PB
$32.95
In this saucy and scintillating memoir (or
bibliomemoir – a term and genre he has more
or less invented), dealer in rare books and
BBC broadcaster Rick Gekoski takes us on a
fascinating literary journey in which he reveals
the intricate relations between his reading
and his life. Gekoski’s wide knowledge of
literature, psychology and philosophy is
cheerfully enlivened by his enthusiasm,
humour and frankness. Tracing the role books
have played in his life, Rick selects 25 that
are special to him and trains the same ironic
and analytic eye on these chosen few (and
their authors) as he does on himself. The
result is unique – a sustained and witty work
dedicated to the proposition that reading is
one of life’s great formative influences.
A LIFE LIKE OTHER PEOPLE’S
Alan Bennett Faber HB $27
This family memoir by the author of the muchloved Untold Stories (Faber. PB. $27.95) is both
heartrending and at times irresistibly funny.
WETLANDS
Charlotte Roche Fourth Estate PB $25
This raunchy German novel has renewed the
debate over women’s roles and image in society.
NB: December release.
THE WOMEN IN BLACK
Madeleine St John Text PB $29.95
A charming novel set in 1960 about the staff of
the ladies cocktail frocks section at the F. G. Goode
department store in Sydney.
CITY BOY
Edmund White Bloomsbury PB $35
A memoir of the social and sexual lives of New
York City’s cultural and intellectual in-crowd in the
tumultuous 1960s and ’70s. NB: December release.
THE WHOLE DAY THROUGH
Patrick Gale Fourth Estate PB $28
In this bittersweet love story, 40-something Laura
Lewis abandons a life of stylish independence in
Paris to care for her elderly mother in Winchester.
88 LINES ABOUT 44 WOMEN
Steven Lang Viking PB $32.95
A former rock star deals with the accidental
death of his beautiful wife 20 years earlier in this
meditation on the true definition of masculinity.
EVER, DIRK
John Coldstream (ed.) Phoenix PB $35
A collection of actor Dirk Bogarde’s frank, gossipy,
funny and often malicious letters.
THE WINTER VAULT
Anne Michaels Bloomsbury PB $33
A novel about the devastation of loss and the
restorative power of love set against the relocation
of the great temple of Abu Simbel in Egypt.
THE ANGEL’S GAME
Carlos Ruiz Zafón Text PB $34.95
This prequel to the best-selling The Shadow of
the Wind (Text. PB. $24.95) is a tale of lost souls
and haunting shadows set in Barcelona during the
turbulent 1920s.
FOR RICHER, FOR POORER: A LOVE AFFAIR WITH POKER
Victoria Coren Text PB $34.95
The winner of the 2006 European Poker
Championship describes her 20-year-long
obsession with the game.
WE ARE ALL MADE OF GLUE
Marina Lewycka Fig Tree PB $32.95
An eccentric elderly Jewish émigré and her
depressed neighbour forge an unlikely friendship in
modern-day London.
WOLF HALL
Hilary Mantel Fourth Estate PB $33
This great English novel tells the story of the
manipulative and ambitious reformer Thomas
Cromwell, advisor to King Henry VIII. Winner of the
2009 Man Booker Prize.
A WOMAN OF SEVILLE
Sallie Muirden Fourth Estate PB $28
This novel about wonder, love and art is set in 17thcentury Seville, when the eyes of the Inquisition are
everywhere. NB: December release.
BLOOD MOON
Garry Disher Text PB $23.95
The fifth in Disher’s celebrated series of novels
featuring Hal Challis and Ellen Destry. NB:
December release.
FEVER OF THE BONE
Val McDermid Little Brown PB $33
Tony Hill is back, this time investigating a brutal
and ruthless campaign of terror against a
seemingly unconnected group of young people.
10 Biography
National Library
of Australia PB
$39.95
THE RIDDLE OF FATHER HACKETT
Brenda Niall
RIFLING THROUGH MY DRAWERS
Clarissa Dickson Wright
Brenda Niall, who so magnificently captured
an Australian arts dynasty in The Boyds (MUP.
PB. $45), has unearthed an important piece
of Australian history while digging through
the archives of this exiled Irish Catholic.
Forced out of Ireland for his involvement
with the Irish Nationalist movement, Father
Hackett soon found himself at the centre of
Australian political life through a friendship
with the influential Archbishop of Melbourne,
Daniel Mannix. Hackett became known as a
‘meddling priest’ to politicians of the day for his
activism and convictions. As well as uncovering
correspondence with B. A. Santamaria and
revolutionary Michael Collins, Niall also brings
her own reflections on a man who was a
regular visitor to her childhood home.
The surviving member of the Two Fat Ladies,
Clarissa Dickson Wright could never be
accused of not telling it like it is. Rifling
Through My Drawers is no less forthright,
honest and entertaining than her previous
autobiographical musings, Spilling the Beans
(Hodder. PB. $25). Taking the form of a
month-by-month diary over the course of one
year, Clarissa heads off on an entertaining
journey around the British countryside. Along
the way she covers all manner of rural events
and traditions close to her heart, and includes
recipes for such idiosyncratic fare as venison
Scotch eggs and Bath buns. Never one to
be politically correct, there are plenty of
anecdotes told in the author’s down-to-earth,
jolly hockey sticks voice that will raise more
than a few eyebrows.
SOURCE: NATURE’S HEALING ROLE IN ART AND
WRITING
Janine Burke
Allen & Unwin
HB
$55
Janine Burke is renowned for her engrossing
books exploring and explaining the lives
of artists, illuminating their work with her
investigations into their psyches. While writing
The Heart Garden (Vintage. PB. $24.95), one
of her series of books on the Heide circle
of artists, she was inspired to explore the
beloved landscapes and locations of other
artists and writers, to gauge the connection
between art and place. Her investigations led
her all over the world, to locations such as
the New Mexico desert of Georgia O’Keefe,
Jackson Pollock’s Long Island, Hemingway’s
Key West and the Sussex of Virginia Woolf and
Vanessa Bell. The result is a deeply thought,
passionately explorative look at creativity
through the ‘beautiful, memorable’ locations
that inspired major works by these creators.
Hodder &
Stoughton PB
$35
L
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PRICE
William
Heinemann PB
Was $32.95
now $14.95
A SWINDLER’S PROGRESS
Kirsten McKenzie
New South PB
$34.95
Seemingly minor episodes in history can, in
retrospect, reveal much about the societies in
which they took place. In May 1835, a Sydney
man was charged with impersonating the
long-vanished Edward, Viscount Lascelles,
heir to one of Britain’s greatest fortunes. He
was accused of being a serial trickster and
conman, and his case of questioned identity
drew much interest in a fledgling Australian
society racked with divisions between the
free and ex-convict classes. Meanwhile, the
Lascelles family, made rich on the spoils of
the West Indies, personified a similar divide in
Britain. This compelling narrative, played out
by a fascinating cast of characters, spans two
continents – and two societies in transition.
HarperCollins PB
$25 THE ATLAS OF LEGENDARY LANDS
Judyth A. McLeod
Pier 9 HB
$65
In equal parts an erudite, entertaining read
and richly illustrated picture book, The Atlas
of Legendary Lands presents ‘a history of the
world as it never was, but as map makers
once envisioned it’. Celebrating cartography’s
bizarre inaccuracies before exploration
revealed the true nature of our planet, there
are depictions of sea monsters, treasure
islands, oceanic black holes and other
extraordinary aspects of our world imagined
by early mapmakers. McLeod discusses
historical maps of the world and mapped
ideas of paradise, including Thomas More’s
Utopia, fabled kingdoms such as Camelot
and lost continents like Atlantis. She also
reveals the geographical misconceptions that
cast California and Florida as islands and
led Columbus to believe his landing on Cuba
placed him in China.
Iranian author Azar Nafisi garnered readers
around the world with her bestselling memoir
Reading Lolita in Tehran (Hachette. PB. $25).
In her new, more personally revealing, memoir
she takes us back to her childhood in Iran to
chronicle her troubled relationship with her
complex mother and womanising father. Now
that her parents are dead, she looks back
over their turbulent lives and considers the
gift of storytelling they gave her despite their
estrangement, and the foibles and failings that
inspired her to follow a different path in life.
Personal photographs sprinkled throughout
add poignancy to this moving account of
family life in a time and place of political and
social upheaval.
L
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C
I
R
P
Little Brown HB
Was $50
now $44.95
Anne Manne’s memoir depicting ‘scenes
from a country childhood’ is told in a series of
vignettes, focusing on a particularly emotional
time in her life. Following the break-up of her
parents’ marriage, Anne travelled with her
mother and sisters to rural Victoria to start
a new life, leaving her father and brother
behind in Adelaide. Lucidly and keenly, she
teases out the pain and confusion of this
traumatic yet vibrant time, when her love for
rural Australia and its people and animals was
formed. In doing so, she scans the literary
landscape of writings on memory and loss,
from Proust to Woolf, Helen Garner to Clive
James, identifying the colours, tastes, sounds
and smells that conjure up the past. Manne’s
previous book was Motherhood (Allen &
Unwin. PB. $29.95).
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
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.
For the first time, 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.
To what does Sophia Loren owe her figure?
THE AGE OF WONDER
Richard Holmes
THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
John Keegan
In The Age of Wonder, acclaimed biographer
Richard Holmes looks at the early scientific
movement in Britain at a time when the
distinction between the arts and sciences
had yet to be established, and when religious
faith and scientific endeavour worked hand
in hand in pursuit of answers to life’s more
ineffable questions. Holmes shows how, as
18th-century Britain teetered on the cusp of
modernity, a series of remarkable friendships
between astronomers William and Caroline
Herschel, the chemists Humphry Davy and
Michael Faraday and their contemporaries
came to define an age, nurturing ideas that
challenged assumptions about identity,
morality and religious belief.
This magisterial history of the first modern
war is on the scale of Keegan’s classic
A History of Warfare. In a sweeping,
unputdownable narrative he highlights the
geography, leadership and strategic logic at
the heart of the conflict. Keegan describes
his challenge with this book as being ‘…
to relate the landmarks of the war to its
events, chronology, strategy and logic…The
Civil War is certainly a story of the struggle
of man against man; it is equally a story of
the struggle of man against geography, in
which those who had a feel for the country
eventually succeeded because they knew how
to work with the landscape instead of ignoring
or defying it.’
COMMANDO TO COLDITZ
Peter Stanley
Murdoch PB
$34.95
MUP HB
$35
THINGS I’VE BEEN SILENT ABOUT
Azar Nafisi
Q
History
SO THIS IS LIFE
Anne Manne
Books written by military historians usually
concentrate on the battles, strategies and
actions of war. Here, the focus is on the
emotional experience and consequences of
war, both for the men who fight and their
families at home. In 1942, Micky Burn led
his commando troop of 28 men on one of the
most daring raids of WWII, the assault on St
Nazair. Only seven men came home; the rest
were killed or captured, held in the notorious
Colditz prison. The book grew out of a cache
of letters Micky had asked his parents to
write to the families of his men if they didn’t
return – resulting in this extraordinary archive.
This is a moving and important book about the
consequences and costs of war.
Hutchinson HB
$69.95
BER
DECEM
SE
RELEA
Little Brown PB
$35
CONQUEST
Juliet Barker
This well-paced history by the best-selling
author of Agincourt takes an in-depth look
at a fascinating yet neglected slice of French
and English history: the final 30 years of the
Hundred Years’ War. From 1417 (two years
after Agincourt), there existed an English
kingdom of France. At its height, this creation
of Henry V extended from the Normandy coast
to the Loire and Burgundy. Barker unwinds
the tangled web of power struggles, alliances,
conspiracies, murders, battles and sieges that
led to the crowning and ultimate undoing of
Henry’s son, Henry VI. The narrative includes
a chronology of key events, noting the role
of Joan of Arc, who died six months before
Henry VI’s coronation.
11
History SPECIAL
PRICE
Y
LITERAR
AWARD
WINNER
Abacus PB
Was $35
now $15.95
THE FORSAKEN
Tim Tzouliadis
During the economic hardship of the Great
Depression, boatloads of Americans left the US
for the USSR, hoping to swap the unemployment
and poverty of capitalism for the Five Year Plan of
communism. Betrayal and tragedy awaited these
forgotten immigrants to Stalin’s Russia, leading
to executions and exile in labour camps as the
years of terror proceeded. Tzouliadis highlights
the failure of the American administration to
provide assistance to its former citizens, and
notes the political and economic links between
the two countries despite US knowledge of the
source of Russia’s forced labour. This disturbing,
grim and very human history draws upon the
memoirs of two of the very few survivors, and
was awarded the 2009 Longman-History Today
Book of the Year.
GOLDEN MILES: SEX SPEED & THE AUSTRALIAN
MUSCLE CAR
Clinton Walker
Wakefield Press PB
$39.95
HOW TO WRITE HISTORY
THAT PEOPLE WANT TO READ
Ann Curthoys & Ann McGrath
UNSW Press PB
$34.95
L
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Little Brown PB
Was $35
now $15.95
This practical book, drawn from decades of
experience, is an indispensable guide to writing
history. Aimed at all kinds of people who write
history – academic historians, public historians,
professional historians, family historians and
students of all levels – the book includes a
wide range of examples from many genres and
styles. It advises writers on how much research
is necessary, how to manage notes and files,
when you should start writing, whether to
use the first person and whether to structure
your work chronologically or thematically. It
also offers tips on how to write a compelling
narrative, discusses dialogue and how much to
include, and gives guidance on referencing.
In this accessible jaunt through the first
millennium to the tumultuous 11th century,
historian Tom Holland, award-winning
author of Rubicon and Persian Fire, sheds
light on the so-called Dark Ages and the era
of change that set the Western world on a
trajectory towards modernity that continues
to this day. Vikings, knights, crusaders and
bloody campaigns fill the pages of this
action-packed history, which begins with the
conversion of Constantine in 312 and ends
with the crusaders’ capture of Jerusalem in
1099. Holland identifies Pope Gregory VII as
godfather to the future, setting in place the
division of power between Church and state
that would transform a group of scattered
kingdoms into the powerful entity that would
become Western Europe.
Highly recommended
JAZZ
Gary Giddins & Scott DeVeaux
Norton HB
$59.95
BER
DECEM
SE
RELEA
MILLENNIUM
Tom Holland
Thinking man’s petrolhead Clinton Walker
resurrects a uniquely Australian icon in this
full-colour salute to the muscle car. A music
and pop culture journalist, Walker takes his
eyes off the road as he looks at how cars like
the Holden Monaro, Torana, Falcon GT and
Super Bird represented a cultural awakening
for 1960s and ’70s Australia. The book traces
the revving engines from origins in Detroit to
the evolution of Australia’s own Holden, from
the Oil Crisis of the late ’70s to the retrofuturism of the Monaro’s re-release in 1998.
It’s pedal to the metal with an adrenaline
chaser as Walker takes Billy Thorpe, Mad Max
and Ivan Milat along for the joyride. More than
glossy images, this is a thoughtful celebration
of a cultural phenomenon.
Portobello PB
$35
Jazz is not an encyclopaedia or conventional
musical history. Written by US music critic
Gary Giddins and jazz historian Scott DeVeaux,
it’s different because it places the music and
its protagonists against a broader cultural,
political and social background. In order to help
novices understand the technique behind jazz
improvisation, the book also includes chapters
on basic musical elements and provides
listening guides to 78 recordings, from classics
to more obscure pieces. Classic 1940s portraits
by legendary jazz photographer Herman
Leonard introduce each chapter and complete
the story.
MIRRORS: STORIES OF ALMOST EVERYONE
Eduardo Galeano
History has never been so enthralling,
surprising and disturbingly enchanting
as it is here, in this provocative collection
of 600 vignettes that tell a refreshingly
different version of world history. Eduardo
Galeano, long revered in Latin America,
shot to worldwide prominence earlier this
year when Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez
publicly presented Barack Obama with a
copy of Galeano’s classic history, Open
Veins of Latin America (see p17). History is
traditionally written by the victors, but Galeano
writes primarily from the point of view of
the defeated, oppressed and betrayed. This
is history as storytelling, written with the
lyricism and charm of a poet, the caustic wit
of a Jon Stewart or Michael Moore, and the
encyclopaedic knowledge and sheer passion
of Robert Fisk. Brilliant.
AUSTRALIANS
Thomas Keneally Allen & Unwin HB $59.95
The first volume of this unique history of Australia
brings to life the vast range of characters who have
formed our national story.
D-DAY: THE BATTLE FOR NORMANDY
Antony Beevor Viking HB $59.95
Another gripping military history by Beevor. This
time he gives a vivid and meticulously researched
account of the Battle of Normandy.
THE IRREGULARS
Jennet Conant Simon & Schuster PB $29.95
The full story of how author Roald Dahl became
involved in a massive, secret campaign of
propaganda to weaken isolationist sentiment in
America in 1940.
THE SHORTEST HISTORY OF EUROPE
John Hirst Black Inc. PB $24.95
The celebrated historian offers a fascinating
exploration of the qualities that made Europe a
world-changing civilisation. Clear, humorous and
thought-provoking.
FORBIDDEN FRUIT
Kerry Greenwood Allen & Unwin PB $23
Corinna Chapman returns in her fifth adventure, as
witty and wise as ever.
THE GOOD SOLDIERS
David Finkel
In 2007 Washington Post editor and Pulitzer
Prize–winning journalist David Finkel
travelled to Iraq with the soldiers of the 2-16
battalion and their commander, Colonel
Ralph Kauzlarich (who would become known
by his soldiers as ‘Lost Cause’). From their
deployment from Fort Riley, Kansas, as part
of George W. Bush’s ‘surge’ into Baghdad,
to their return from the dust and death of
Iraq in April 2008, Finkel pulls no punches in
delivering his grim firsthand report from the
front lines. Combining the unflinching facts
of reportage and the compelling rhythm of a
well-told narrative, The Good Soldiers brings
the personalities and experiences of the
soldiers to life on the page as he chronicles
the battles, near misses and fatalities that
occurred during their tour of duty in Iraq.
Scribe PB
$35
L
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LOST AND FOUND IN HISTORY
The titles in Pier 9’s ‘Lost and Found in
History’ series are beautifully produced,
boasting eye-catching design, copious fullcolour illustrations and engaging, detailed
storytelling. Cast Away tells 24 true stories
of shipwreck, piracy and mutiny on the high
seas, including Alexander Selkirk (the real-life
model for Robinson Crusoe). First Encounters
describes the details and experience of those
moments when two cultures encounter each
other for the first time – and the far-reaching,
often tragic consequences. Lost Explorers tells
80 stories of explorers whose risks did not pay
off, resulting in their deaths or disappearances
Pier 9 PB
in far-flung lands. Ghost Colonies brings to
Were $45 each light the fascinating but rarely told stories of
now $29.95
history’s lost colonies.
each
THE NEW YORK TIMES: THE COMPLETE FRONT
PAGES 1851–2009
Black Dog &
Leventhal HB &
DVD ROMs
$99.95
This impressive book-and-DVD ROM set
provides access to world history as reported
in one of its most influential and respected
newspapers. More than 300 of the most
significant NYT front pages have been
carefully selected and beautifully reproduced
in the book, and news summaries throughout
highlight the most significant events of each
era and put the front pages into a historical
context. There are also 17 insightful essays by
prominent Times writers on pivotal moments,
including ‘The End of Slavery’ by William
Safire, ‘Women’s Suffrage’ by Gail Collins and
‘The Age of Television’ by Frank Rich. The
three DVD ROMs include each of the 54,266
front pages printed by the Times over the past
157 years and are completely searchable.
THE GOLDEN MOUNTAIN MURDERS
David Rotenberg Nero PB $22.95
Shanghai-based detective Zhong Fong finds
himself investigating a blood-trafficking racket
and a massive outbreak of AIDS in a sleepy rural
province of China.
THE SUSPICIONS OF MR WHICHER OR THE MURDER AT ROAD HILL HOUSE
Kate Summerscale Bloomsbury PB $25
Writers of the status of John le Carré and Sarah
Waters have given rave reviews to this account of a
real-life 1860s country-house whodunit.
THE MONSTER IN THE BOX
Ruth Rendell Hutchinson PB $32.95
Rendell takes us back in time, not only to resolve a
series of crimes, but also to show Chief Inspector
Wexford at the start of his career.
HOWARD’S END IS ON THE LANDING
Susan Hill Profile HB $35
Crime fiction writer Susan Hill embarks on a year-long
reacquaintance with her book collection.
NINE DRAGONS
Michael Connelly Allen & Unwin PB $33
Harry Bosch’s latest case sees him embroiled with
the triads in LA and Hong Kong.
RAIN GODS
James Lee Burke Orion PB $33
In his latest novel, the creator of Dave Robicheaux
introduces Sheriff Hackberry Holland, a former ACLU
attorney and Korean War prisoner who has washed
up in a broken-down border town in south Texas.
THE REDEEMER
Jo Nesbø Vintage PB $25
The latest novel by one of the most exciting
Scandinavian crime-fiction authors writing today.
NB: December release.
BREWER’S DICTIONARY OF PHRASE & FABLE
John Ayto (ed.) Chambers HB $69.95
Ayto has revised and updated one of the world’s
best-loved reference books, adding 1500 new
articles, including words and phrases.
IN THE COMPANY OF RILKE
Stephanie Dowrick Allen & Unwin PB $35
Dowrick reveals how Rilke’s transcendent poetry
can help us connect with our inner life.
NB: December release.
THE OXFORD COMPANION TO ENGLISH LITERATURE
Margaret Drabble (ed.) OUP HB $99.95
Written by a team of more than 140 contributors,
the Companion is the best guide to English
literature available. NB: December release.
12 History
L
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Allen Lane HB
Was $59.95
now $16.95
REPORTING AMERICA:
THE LIFE OF THE NATION
1946–2004
Alistair Cooke
Alistair Cooke was the greatest of all 20thcentury reporters and interpreters of America.
This book presents the cream of his writings
on the events that shaped modern American
history, from the end of WWII through to the
assassination of John F. Kennedy and of
Bobby Kennedy (Cooke was actually present),
the moon landings and the Monica Lewinsky
scandal. Almost all the material is previously
unpublished in book form – transcripts
of his legendary BBC Radio ‘Letters from
America’ broadcasts, long-forgotten reports
in the Guardian (he was the senior New
York correspondent for 30 years) and other
freshly discovered writings. The book is
illustrated throughout in full colour with iconic
photographs of the events Cooke is describing.
SYDNEY HARBOUR: A HISTORY
Ian Hoskins
UNSW Press HB
$49.95
BER
DECEM
SE
RELEA
Former Keating speechwriter and lover of
language Don Watson has already given
us Death Sentence (Vintage. PB. $24.95)
and Watson’s Dictionary of Weasel Words
(Vintage. PB. $24.95), and his crusading
satire once more has management in its
sights as he gathers baffling language from
real workplaces and contemporary media.
Or should that be synergising documentary
substantiation from actual venues of labour
and real-time media events? From ‘building
the brand’ of universities, mosques and even
hockey teams to euphemisms for sacking
including ‘right sizing our business’ or ‘down
balance with personnel implications’, nothing
escapes Watson’s wit. With recent banking
collapses and business questioning its ethics,
his reflections on the hilarious hypocrisy of
our era have never been more timely.
Scribe PB
$29.95
Famously snippy columnist, writer and
comedian Catherine Deveny takes a swing at
swine flu, TV, marriage, sexy billboards, plastic
surgery, financial meltdown and much more
in Free to a Good Home. Following It’s Not My
Fault They Print Them (Black Inc. PB. $19.95)
and Say When (Black Inc. PB. $24.95), this
third collection of Deveny’s Age columns is
perfect for lovers of her insightful, opinionated
and hugely funny writings. As outrageously
irreverent as ever, and covering just about
every topic you can think of, the collection
promises a rant for everyone on the left side
of the fence. See how far you get down the
‘You know you’re from Melbourne if ...’ list
before breaking into a smile. Perfect pick-up,
put-down and pick-up-again holiday reading.
SUPERFREAKONOMICS
Stephen Dubner &
Steven Levitt
Allen Lane PB
$32.95
Here at last is the long-awaited sequel to the
international bestseller Freakonomics (Penguin.
PB. $24.95). Steven Levitt, the original rogue
economist, and co-author Stephen Dubner
have been working hard, uncovering the hidden
side of even more controversial subjects, from
charity to terrorism and prostitution. And with
their inimitable style and wit, they take us on
another gripping journey of discovery. They
reveal, among other things, why you are more
likely to be killed walking drunk than driving
drunk; how a prostitute is more likely to sleep
with a policeman than be arrested by one; why
terrorists might be easier to track down than
you would imagine; how a sex change could
boost your salary; and how there really is a
cheap fix for climate change.
Princeton HB
$14.95
BER
DECEM
SE
RELEA
Black Inc. PB
$24.95
Australia’s funniest and most perceptive
political cartoonists are always on the
job, pencils sharpened and eager to
draw fresh blood. The seventh edition of
this bestselling series features the work
of editorial cartoonists from all around
Australia including: Alston, Brown, Davidson,
Dyson, Katauskas, Knight, Kudelka, Leahy,
Leak, Moir, Nicholson, O’Farrell, Petty,
Pope, Rowe, Spooner, Tandberg, Weldon,
and many more. Not just a collection, more
a subversive first draft of history, Best
Australian Political Cartoons 2009 is the
essential guide to the current Labor era.
VENICE
Peter Ackroyd
Peter Ackroyd, author of London (Vintage.
PB. $45), is unrivalled in the art of evoking
place in print. Now this masterful biographer
and historian turns his attention to Venice,
that city of myth, mystery and beauty.
Venice is at once evocative and packed with
facts. He leads us through the city’s history,
from the first refugees navigating the mists
of the lagoon in the fourth century to the
rise of a great trading empire, the wars
against Napoleon and the tourist invasions
of today. Everything is here: the merchants
on the Rialto and the Jews in the Ghetto; the
mosaics of St Mark’s and the glass blowers
of Murano; the doges and the destitute.
There are wars and sieges, scandals and
seductions – and, always, a dark undertone
of shadowy corners and dead ends, prisons
and punishment.
THE CAPITALISM DELUSION
Bob Ellis
BEST AUSTRALIAN POLITICAL CARTOONS
2009
Russ Radcliffe (ed.)
FREE TO A GOOD HOME
Catherine Deveny
Black Inc. PB
$24.95
Chatto & Windus
HB
Was $69.95
now $59.95
Politics & society
BENDABLE LEARNINGS
Don Watson
Knopf HB
$32.95
Sydney Harbour doesn’t just dominate the
city of Sydney – it’s also integral to Australia’s
self-image. Historian Ian Hoskins tells the
story of the waterway, from the days when the
Gamaragal people fished its waters to its postindustrial future now that its days as a working
harbour seem numbered. Filled with details
capturing moments in time, the book traces
the harbour’s history as a source of leisure,
employment, inspiration and wealth. A case in
point is Lavender Bay, defaced by a railway line
in the 1890s, painted by Brett Whiteley in the
1970s and resurrected by Wendy Whiteley as a
reclaimed public garden in recent times. This is
an absorbing and original work that sheds light
on Sydney, its history, people and geography by
focusing on its greatest asset, that exhilarating
blue harbour.
L
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Penguin PB
$24.95
Bob Ellis is one of Australia’s leading political
wits, a kind of antipodean Michael Moore.
This provocative series of 345 arguments
against free-market capitalism is in many
ways a sequel to his prophetic 1988 book on
economics, First Abolish the Customer. He
equates the idea at the core of The Capitalism
Delusion to Richard Dawkins’ The God
Delusion: ‘if you simply surrender your heart
to the Deity, his Invisible Hand would look
after you’. But, as Ellis pointedly (and often
humorously) shows, the free markets, far
from taking care of everything, have created
the gross inequalities in our society that
enable the likes of Osama bin Laden to build
a following among the disenfranchised. Ellis
builds a damning case, but also offers a range
of startlingly sensible solutions.
SCROOGENOMICS
Joel Waldfogel
THE 700 HABITS OF HIGHLY
INEFFECTIVE PARENTS
Jonathan Biggins
Joel Waldfogel first encountered Christmas
after he’d become an economist. Seeing it
through fresh (and specifically trained) eyes,
he was horrified by what he saw: ‘a large and
organised institution for value destruction’.
He argues (and proves, with detailed social
research) that most of our gifts miss the
mark – it’s rare that anyone receives a gift
that is exactly what they would have chosen
themselves. Yet, seasonal gift exchange is
firmly entrenched in cultures around the
world. What to do? After a curiously intriguing,
highly informative journey through the
economics and social value of gift giving,
liberally spiced with humour, this book offers
a handful of helpful and sane solutions,
including gift cards and charity donations.
Following on from his The 700 Habits of
Highly Ineffective People, funnyman Jonathan
Biggins turns his attention to parenting. In
describing the habits of the ineffective, he is,
of course, actually providing advice. Given
Philip Larkin’s premise that they f@#$ you up,
your mum and dad, Biggins partly tells parents
to relax about their effect on their children,
but also gives common sense suggestions
with a good dash of humour. And he’s so often
right. Herbal lice treatments DO NOT WORK.
Read in conjunction with Robin Barker’s nononsense approach, this will be a useful guide
for soon-to-be parents. Those who already
have progeny will enjoy recognising their own
anxiety about their inadequacies, and even
their anxiety about that anxiety.
MUP PB
$28
WHAT THE DOG SAW
Malcolm Gladwell
THE VALUE OF NOTHING
Raj Patel
Oscar Wilde put it perfectly: ‘people know the
price of everything and the value of nothing’.
Leading off with this much-quoted aphorism
from The Picture of Dorian Gray, Raj Patel
discusses the thinking that led to the global
recession and the economics lesson we all
had to have. Conversational, discursive and
engaging, he dips into economics, history
and philosophy to analyse the true cost of
the way we live now. The author of Stuffed
and Starved (Black Inc. PB. $27.95), a study
of the global food system, Patel argues that
the price we pay for goods and commodities
reflects neither their true value nor their
real cost. His call for new thinking and a
fairer, more compassionate and sustainable
future exposes the truth behind free market
economics, carbon trading and globalisation.
Allen Lane PB
$32.95
No stranger to the New York Times bestseller
list, author and New Yorker columnist Malcolm
Gladwell’s previous books The Tipping
Point (Abacus. PB. $25), Blink (Penguin. PB.
$24.95) and Outliers (Penguin. PB. $26.95)
have all been runaway successes. Like
Oliver Sacks and Alain de Botton, Gladwell’s
greatest ability is to popularise sociology and
psychology through essays covering a wildly
varied assortment of themes and events. In
What the Dog Saw, the range of subjects
examined under the Gladwell microscope
include choking and panic, criminal profiling,
dog training and an adventure through
the American postwar years via a theme
as apparently uninteresting as hair dye.
Inquisitive, thought-provoking and thoroughly
entertaining, What the Dog Saw has pop
psychology page-turner written all over it.
13
Food
CAKE WRECKS
Jen Yates
Andrews McMeel
Publishing HB
$19.95
Pies have always been synonymous with
humour (what would Charlie Chaplin have
done without them?). But cakes? The
moment you see the pink-iced baby shower
cake picturing Darth Vader cradling a baby
girl, you’ll get the joke. And when you see
symmetrical rows of naked mohawked babies
astride lurid icing carrots, you’ll be hooked.
Jen Yates’ Cake Wrecks blog, documenting
disastrous professionally made cakes, is
an internet phenomenon, gaining her a cult
following to rival Christian (Stuff White People
Like) Lander. Here, she gathers over 150 of
the best (or rather, worst) of her finds – some
unintentionally suggestive, some grotesque,
many just plain bizarre. A simple idea,
perfectly executed. Pity we couldn’t say the
same about the cakes...
COCO
Phaidon HB
$75
EXTREME CUISINE: EXOTIC TASTES FROM
AROUND THE WORLD
Eddie Lin
Lonely Planet PB
$15
If your dinner parties have lost that mystery
ingredient, this latest offering from Lonely
Planet may spice up your menu. You could
start with basic oddballs like haggis or our
very own Vegemite then progress to Sweden’s
fermented herring or Cambodia’s deep-fried
tarantulas. Or perhaps your dish is missing
fish sperm or a healthy dash of chicken
knee? Make mine an extra-large serve of the
enticingly named ‘pure pork fat’ all the way
from the Ukraine. There are more than 50
dishes to choose from, including tips on how
they’re cooked. To whet your appetite, each
dish is detailed with an impressive image and
tips on where to sample a bite of the world’s
most challenging nosh. It’s the ideal stocking
filler for gallivanting gastronomes.
Hamlyn HB
$145
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Hardie Grant PB
$39.95
Murdoch HB
Was $59.95
now $49.95
Jane Kennedy is best known as a member of
Working Dog, a collaborator (and often actor)
on smash-hit projects such as Frontline and
The Panel. Here, she confesses her long,
seesaw battle with her weight (including the
‘starvation and fags’ diet that enabled her
to fit into her tiny Funky Squad costumes)
and shares her long-term recipe for losing
it – literally. Here are 80 simple, familyfriendly dishes she’s honed through lots of
experimentation in the kitchen. They’re packed
with figure-friendly flavour (fresh herbs,
spices, good olive oil, sea salt) rather than fatty
creams and sugars and, importantly, they’re
not boring. Jane loves food – she just loves the
idea of wearing Bettina Liano jeans, too.
MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING
Julia Child, Louisette
Bertholle & Simone Beck
Penguin PB
$39.95
Who has a frappaccino habit?
The recent release of Nora Ephron’s film Julie
& Julia is bound to re-ignite interest in this
classic cookbook, which was first published
in 1961. This affordable new edition includes
each of the original’s 524 recipes as well
as the introduction Julia Child wrote for
the anniversary edition in 2003, and it will
delight both seasoned cooks and enthusiastic
novices. When it was published, Mastering the
Art of French Cooking took the revolutionary
approach of leading the aspiring cook stepby-step from the buying and handling of
fresh raw ingredients, through each essential
step of the recipe (however simple) to the
final creation. It helped people produce really
wonderful food – food that tasted good,
looked good and was a delight to eat.
Also available: Mastering the Art of French
Cooking Vol. 2 (PB $39.95).
MY GREEK FAMILY TABLE
Maria Benardis
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. In
MoVida Rustica, Frank delivers many traditional
as well as innovative recipes that are inspired
by his travels and have been perfected for the
home cook. From the nation’s bustling capital,
Madrid, to the Basque seaside towns and the
Sherry Triangle of rustic Andalucía, MoVida
Rustica highlights the pillars of Spanish cooking
and the culture in which the food is grown,
prepared and eaten. Follow Frank as he gets
to know matriarch Herminda, strolls across the
Santiago Market and visits the kitchen gardens
of Salamanca to understand what defines
traditional Spanish food.
Miegunyah HB
$60
FABULOUS FOOD, MINUS THE BOOMBAH
Jane Kennedy
LAROUSSE GASTRONOMIQUE
This is the world’s classic culinary reference
book, known and loved for its authoritative
and comprehensive collection of recipes.
Here it is brought up to date for 2009 in an
attractive edition containing over 900 new
colour and black-and-white photographs. All
chapters have been read and edited by field
specialists, 85 biographies of chefs have been
added and entries have also been regrouped
for increased accessibility. Originally created
by Prosper Montagne and published in 1938,
this essential addition to any kitchen has
withstood the test of time and become an
invaluable source of information for every
enthusiastic cook.
Coco presents 100 of the best emerging
chefs from around the world selected by 10
superstar chefs: Ferran Adrià, Mario Batali,
Shannon Bennett, Alain Ducasse, Fergus
Henderson, Yoshihiro Murata, Gordon Ramsay,
René Redzepi, Alice Waters and Jacky Yu.
Local talents Mark Best (Sydney’s Marque
Restaurant), Robert Marchetti (Sydney’s
Icebergs and Melbourne’s Giuseppe Arnaldo
& Sons), Andrew McConnell (Melbourne’s
Cutler & Co and Cumulus Inc) and Ben Shewry
(Melbourne’s Attica) join 96 global peers
in being profiled with a sample menu and
signature recipes accompanied by colour
photographs of their restaurant and dishes.
Part cookbook, part guide to the world’s best
new restaurants and part who’s who of the
international food scene, Coco is the perfect
Christmas gift for serious foodies.
EATING WITH EMPERORS
Jake Smith
Lantern HB
$59.95
The Greeks seem to have a word for
everything, and Greek-Australian Maria
Benardis’ fabulous book highlights one that
hasn’t yet gained prominence: kerasma, the
sharing of food with loved ones. As well as
a great range of recipes, this tome is full of
recollections of Hellenic life, family snaps and
snippets of epicurean lore that make clear
the important roles that food preparation and
communal dining play in Greek culture. All the
usual culinary suspects are here – dolmades,
calamari, moussaka and baklava – but also
lesser-known traditional fare from Easter
treats to spoon sweets, and earthy recipes
with wild greens, goat or rabbit. Featuring
Alan Benson’s delectable photography, My
Greek Family Table will have you salivating
and hankering for a Greek island.
Jake Smith takes a light-hearted look at
the changing tastes of royalty over the
past 150 years to expose the excesses and
idiosyncratic fancies of true high-end dining.
There are elaborate menu cards from such
events as the dinner Queen Victoria hosted for
the future Tsar Nicholas II and the 12-course
feasts prepared by her kitchen of 45 staff.
It’s a chatty read, covering wartime rationing,
cooking for presidents in the White House and
Buckingham Palace’s modern-day F-Branch
(the royal kitchens), revealing the little-known
fact that Prince Charles enjoys a boiled egg
with Vegemite after a spot of hunting or polo.
Perhaps avoiding the stuffed boar’s head and
spit-roasted songbirds, home cooks can try
their hand at reproducing Edward VII’s cherry
tart or Tsar Nicholas II’s roast venison.
I KNOW HOW TO COOK
Ginette Mathiot
Phaidon HB
$69.95
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Murdoch PB
Was $45
now $39.95
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Murdoch HB
Was $79.95
now $39.95
Je Sais Cuisiner (I Know How to Cook) is to
French cuisine what Stephanie Alexander’s
The Cook’s Companion is to Australian – the
definitive guide to quality home cooking. A
bestseller for three generations, it was first
published in 1932 and is still a fixture in most
French kitchens. Mathiot guides the reader
through all the basics of her national cuisine,
and her instructions are clear, practical and
comprehensive. More than 1200 recipes
mean that the book can rightfully claim to
be an authoritative compendium of every
classic French dish, from croque monsieur to
cassoulet, crêpes suzette to crème caramel.
All have been carefully updated to suit modern
readers and their kitchens, while preserving
the integrity of the original book and the
authenticity of the recipes.
MOVIDA
Frank Camorra & Richard Cornish
Frank Camorra runs Melbourne’s most popular
Spanish restaurant, and has titled this book in
its honour. Like the food served up at MoVida,
there’s an emphasis here on simplicity;
Camorra encourages home cooks to buy the
best local produce available, be led by the
season and enjoy the cooking process. There’s
a huge array of tapas dishes to prepare as
well as loads of mains, including a chapter
on rice (if you’ve ever wanted to cook paella,
this book will show you how to do it properly)
and one on smallgoods (you can even impress
guests with some home-made chorizo).
With plenty of information about Spanish
ingredients, cooking methods and culinary
traditions, MoVida captures the essence and
exuberance of Spanish cuisine.
RIPAILLES: TRADITIONAL
FRENCH CUISINE
Stéphane Reynaud
After building a cult following with the quirky
and utterly irresistible Pork & Sons (Phaidon.
HB. $59.95), Stéphane Reynaud has followed
up with Ripailles (Feasts), a homage to the
types of dishes served at the traditional
Sunday lunches of his French childhood. Like
its predecessor, this book is both gorgeous
to look at and very practical to use. Users
will love the twin indexes – one by ingredient
and one by type – and appreciate the useful
charts throughout (how best to cook particular
cuts of meat, how to open oysters, how to
recognise types of mushrooms etc). Forget
fussy dishes that take hours to prepare; this
book is full of terrines, tarts, stews, salads
and roasts that are as easy on the eye and the
palate as they are to cook. Bon appétit!
14 Food
Michael Joseph HB
$59.95
THE RIVER CAFÉ CLASSIC
ITALIAN COOK BOOK
Rose Gray & Ruth Rogers
RÔTIS: ROASTS FOR EVERY
DAY OF THE WEEK
Stéphane Reynaud
This book is Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers’
celebration of the classic food of Italy – the
traditional, regional dishes they both love
to eat on their travels, and which they are
inspired to cook at their famous London
restaurant, The River Café, on their return. The
11 chapters focus on every part of the Italian
menu: soups, pasta and gnocchi, risotto and
polenta, breads and pizza, fish, meat, poultry
and game, sauces and stocks, vegetables and
salads, sorbets and ice-creams, and cakes.
Recipes are simple, relying on felicitous
combinations of fresh ingredients for their
wow factor (which they have in spades).
Handsomely presented with full-page colour
photographs galore, this is an essential
addition to every home cook’s kitchen.
Anyone left doubting Stéphane Reynaud’s
devotion to meat after reading his bestselling
debut Pork & Sons need only flick through
his latest offering, 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. These
aren’t the overcooked, stringy, Gravox-coated
roasts of the traditional Australian kitchen.
Instead, delights such as roast rack of lamb
with pistachios or slow-cooked pork loin with
ginger are offered for our delectation.
THE SILVER SPOON BOOK
OF PASTA
Phaidon HB
$59.95
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Hardie Grant PB
Was $39.95
now $16.95
Following on from the international bestseller
The Silver Spoon (Phaidon. HB. $69.95)
– considered by many experts to be the
definitive Italian cookbook – The Silver Spoon
Book of Pasta presents a collection of 350
pasta recipes for lovers of the iconic Italian
dish. From favourites such as spaghetti alla
carbonara and tagliatelle Bolognese to more
unusual offerings such as spaghetti with
bottarga (roe) and chestnut flour taglierini
with onion butter, this is the ultimate pasta
reference work – if you can’t find a tempting
pasta recipe in these pages, you may as well
give up. Use it regularly and you may even
end up looking like Sophia Loren (‘Everything
you see I owe to spaghetti’).
Murdoch HB
$49.95
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Murdoch HB
Was $69.95
now $59.95
Sticks, Seeds, Pods &
Leaves: A COOK’S GUIDE TO CULINARY SPICES AND HERBS
Ian and Elizabeth Hemphill
Ian Hemphill’s name has long been
synonymous with herbs. His parents
established a herb and spice business back
in the 1950s, and today Ian runs the Herbie’s
Spice specialty shop with his wife, Elizabeth,
in Sydney. The Hemphills’ cook’s guide is
both a manual to selecting, using and storing
culinary herbs and spices, and a compendium
of more than 150 recipes featuring the A to
Z of aromatic leaves, powders and seeds
that can transform a dull meal into a taste
sensation. Essential background on herbs
and spices is provided, along with cook’s
notes and tips on growing herbs. A handy
addition to any cook’s library, complete with
flavoursome recipes.
Highly recommended
Murdoch HB
Was $65
now $39.95
This vibrant visual and culinary essay follows
Luke Nguyen, owner-chef of Sydney’s Red
Lantern Vietnamese restaurant, as he travels
to Vietnam to discover the best of the country’s
regional cooking. Luke visits family and friends,
and is invited into the homes of local Vietnamese
food experts and cooks to learn more about
one of the richest, most diverse cuisines in the
world. His trip takes him from the villages and
hills around Sapa, in the northwest, to Hanoi,
renowned for its French-Vietnamese cuisine. He
explores the imperial cooking of Hue, discovers
the famed cau lau noodles of Hoi An, tastes a
host of simple seafood dishes along the coast
and finishes his journey in Saigon. Along the
way, Luke collects over 100 regional and family
recipes, which are presented here with stunning
full-page photographs.
Lantern HB
$125
Lantern HB
$100
BUON RICORDO
Armando Percuoco & David Dale
Allen & Unwin HB $65
A mouth-watering collection of easy-to-cook
recipes from the much-loved Sydney restaurant.
SHANNON BENNEtT’S PARIS
Shannon Bennett Miegunyah HB $45
The chef and owner of internationally renowned
restaurant Vue de Monde takes us on a personal
tour of Paris. NB: December release.
TREK!
Claes Grundsten Simon & Schuster HB
special price WAS $70, NOW $39.95
A lavishly illustrated tour of the 40 trekking routes
that Grundsten, a renowned Swedish nature
photographer, rates as the best in the world.
SHOULD YOU JUDGE THIS BOOK BY ITS COVER?
Julian Baggini Granta PB $30
Unpick glib aphorisms and root out cliché with the
author of the bestselling The Pig That Wants to be
Eaten (Granta. PB. $24.95).
With Secrets of the Red Lantern: Stories
and Vietnamese Recipes from the Heart,
Sydney chef Pauline Nguyen has written
an unusual and very moving cookbook/
memoir. Nguyen’s family came to Australia
as refugees from Vietnam in the late 1970s,
and here she recounts the story of forging
her new life in Cabramatta. Growing up with
emotionally distant restaurateur parents was
clearly difficult, but Nguyen acknowledges
the influence her mother and father have
had on her life and career, and in many ways
this book is a tribute to them. If you’re a
devotee of Vietnamese cuisine and are keen
to emulate some of the classic dishes in your
own kitchen, this richly designed book will
show you how.
If you’ve ever dreamed of picking fresh
salad leaves for the evening meal, gathering
vine-ripened tomatoes or pulling up your own
sweet carrots, this is the book for you. Follow
in the footsteps of one of Australia’s bestloved cooks and food writers as she reveals
the secrets of rewarding kitchen gardening.
Be encouraged by detailed gardening notes
that explain how adults and children alike
can plant, grow and harvest 73 different
vegetables, herbs and fruit, and try some of
the 250 recipes that will transform your fresh
produce into delicious meals. Whether you
have a large plot in a suburban backyard or a
few pots on a balcony, you will find everything
you need to get started in this inspiring and
eminently useful garden-to-table guide.
Why Italians Love to Talk about Food
Elena Kostioukovitch
THAI STREET FOOD
David Thompson
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 markets, curry
shops and stir-fry stalls of Thailand – and
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 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.
SECRETS OF THE RED LANTERN
Pauline Nguyen
KITCHEN GARDEN COMPANION
Stephanie Alexander
THE SONGS OF SAPA
Luke Nguyen
MY COUSIN ROSA
Rosa Mitchell Murdoch HB $59.95
Italian-born, Melbourne-based chef and cooking
teacher Rosa Mitchell presents easy-to-cook and
delicious Sicilian recipes.
SPECIAL
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Picador PB
$35
ANNE FRANK: THE BOOK, THE LIFE, THE AFTERLIFE
Francine Prose Harper HB $35
Prose considers the artistry, ambition and enduring
influence of Anne Frank’s beloved classic, The Diary
of a Young Girl.
BLUE PLATEAU: A LANDSCAPE MEMOIR
Mark Tredinnick UQP PB $26.95
Poet Mark Tredinnick has written a lyrical natural
history of the Blue Mountains and a memoir of his
attempt to belong there.
BRIEF ENCOUNTERS: LITERARY TRAVELLERS IN AUSTRALIA 1836–1939
Susannah Fullerton Picador PB $35
Looks at famous literary visitors to Australia, telling
us what they did when they got here and what their
opinion was of Australia and Australians.
CHANEL
Edmonde Charles-Roux Quercus PB $29.95
The book that inspired the film starring Audrey
Tautou. A fascinating look at the life and world of
fashion’s ultimate icon.
CHINA CUCKOO
Mark Kitto Pier 9 PB $24.95
The true story of a witty and eccentric Sinophile
Englishman and his Chinese tree-change.
Take an imaginary journey across Bella Italia
with Elena Kostioukovitch as she identifies the
diverse dishes and ingredients associated with
Italy’s 20 regions. A rich mélange of history,
travel, culture and food, the book identifies
the regions’ various gastronomic emblems –
bistecca Fiorentina, risotto Milanese, radicchio
Trevisano, insalata Caprese – along with the
cheeses, wines, breads and other staples
that make travelling through Italy such a
gastronomic delight. Packed with anecdotes,
evocative photos and insightful snippets
of information about Italy, Italians, recipes,
restaurants, traditions and celebrations,
Kostioukovitch’s diverting and well-researched
book is sure to have food-loving Italophiles
reaching for their pasta pot and passport.
COOKING WITH BAZ
Sean Dooley Allen & Unwin PB $28
A moving memoir about fathers and sons, filled
with great characters, plenty of hilarity and some
quiet tears.
CREATIVE LIVES
Penelope Hanley NLA PB $39.95
Hanley presents papers of 22 well-known
Australian literary and artistic figures, giving
an insight into their creative lives.
halfway to hollywood: DIARIES 1980–1988
Michael Palin Hachette HB $55
The second volume of the affable Python’s diaries
covers events including the making of A Fish Called
Wanda and the first of his celebrated journeys for
the BBC.
HE KNEW HE WAS RIGHT
John & Mary Gribbin Penguin PB $26.95
An authorised biography of James Lovelock, an
iconic figure in British science and the father of
Gaia theory. NB: December release.
IN TWO MINDS: TALES OF A PSYCHOTHERAPIST
Paul Valent UNSW Press PB $39.95
Paul Valent, Holocaust survivor and retired
psychiatrist, describes the struggles and
discoveries in his varied four-decade career.
L
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Lonely Planet HB
Was $55
now $29.95
15
Travel THE AFRICA BOOK
Part of Lonely Planet’s continent series of
pictorials, The Africa Book is an informative
and inspirational call to travel. Highlighting the
multifarious cultures, wildlife and landscapes
of Africa, the book is divided into five regions,
with the list of countries ordered according
to the most logical travel routes. As we’ve
grown to expect from Lonely Planet, The Africa
Book is beautifully illustrated with vibrant
photographs and jam-packed with pertinent
facts, information and plenty of insider tips for
potential travellers or stay-at-homers content
to see the world from their armchair. Adding to
the wealth of contributions from Lonely Planet
authors and photographers, firsthand ‘from the
traveller’ listings are also dotted throughout the
text, highlighting the sense of place and wonder.
ARABESQUES: A TALE OF DOUBLE LIVES
Robert Dessaix
Picador PB
$35
FRENCH ESSENCE
Vicki Archer
Lantern HB
$59.95
Having told the story of how she restored
her 17th-century home in Provence in My
French Life (Lantern. HB. $59.95), fortunate
Francophile Vicki Archer continues her
French romance with French Essence.
Archer identifies Provence as the source of
that classic French ambience and style we
all covet, and the lyrical text and evocative
images by Carla Coulson featuring artfully
styled photographs of the author’s gorgeous
Provençal home and garden make it hard
to disagree. With chapters focusing on the
seasons and the backstreet beauty of Aixen-Provence and Avignon, there’s oodles of
inspiration for those who wish to emulate the
lifestyle and much-copied decorating style of
the famous French region.
Q
Dorling Kindersley
HB
$69.95
LONELY PLANET’S BEST IN TRAVEL 2010
Lonely Planet PB
$25
Where are deep-fried
tarantulas eaten?
THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED
This guide to the world’s unspoilt sights and
experiences is an indispensable resource
for travellers – both actual and armchair.
The book’s team of experts tell us why we
should avoid the holiday clichés, escape the
everyday and embrace the new. After delving
into its lavishly illustrated pages you’ll be
convinced to visit Fez rather than Marrakesh
when in Morocco, to cruise Lake Nasser
in Egypt instead of the Nile and to make a
pilgrimage to Rome rather than follow the
Camino de Santiago in Spain. Destinations
are presented by theme and include Ancient
and Historical Sights, Festivals and Parties,
Great Journeys, Architectural Marvels, Natural
Wonders, Beaches, Sports and Activities, Art
and Culture, and Cities.
Highly recommended
You can count on Robert Dessaix’s books to be
perfectly weighted mixes of travelogue, lively
storytelling, reminiscing and contemplation.
With Arabesques he doesn’t let us down.
Ambling from North Africa to the Cévennes, to
Naples and Oporto, Dessaix ponders parallels
between his own life and that of André Gide,
another great literary traveller and thinker.
Dessaix’s concise prose brilliantly evokes
the lesser-known landscapes and cityscapes
of the Mediterranean littoral; he has an eye
for minute and telling detail and an ear for
conversation. Continually chancing upon the
wraith of Gide, and parleying with old friends
and new, Dessaix gives shape to his thoughts
on love, religion and the very nature of travel.
A magazine-style spin-off from ubiquitous
guidebook publisher Lonely Planet, Best in
Travel 2010 is a lively globetrotting snippet
of what’s hot and what’s not in world travel
for the coming year. As always, Lonely Planet
likes to inspire travellers to get under the skin
of a destination, and this title stays true to
the publisher’s independent traveller ethos
with plenty of left-of-field recommendations
and suggestions. As well as listing the top 10
countries, regions and cities to visit, the editors
have also supplied a comprehensive travel list
of quirky best-ofs from around the world – a
Virgin Galactic space flight made it into the top
10 things to do for 2010, but at US$200,000,
it’s unlikely to be on many to-do lists!
THE CITIES BOOK
Lonely Planet HB
$45
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NINE LIVES
William Dalrymple
William Dalrymple is one of the world’s great
travel writers. His writing is engaging, erudite
and eternally curious. Nine Lives explores his
country of residence, India, at a time of great
transition, as it stands at a crossroads between
developing nation and world superpower. He
interviews nine people, each taking a different
religious path, and draws out their individual
stories, as well as news of how their religion
is faring in the new India. Dalrymple describes
this as ‘the Indian equivalent’ of his acclaimed
book on the Middle East, From the Holy
Mountain (HarperCollins. PB. $24.95). Here,
he takes a deliberately different tack from his
early travel writing, putting himself ‘firmly in the
shadows’ and ‘bringing the lives of the people I
have met to the fore’.
Bloomsbury PB
Was $35
now $29.95
UNDER THE HUANG JIAO
TREE: TWO JOURNEYS IN CHINA
Jane Carswell
SLOW JOURNEYS: THE PLEASURES OF TRAVELLING BY FOOT
Gillian Souter
Stretching your legs is a better way to see
the world than from a tour bus. As the author
of several walking guides, Gillian Souter is
the perfect advocate for strolling in the slow
lane. She ambles through every aspect of
travel on foot with comprehensive advice on
how to choose your perfect walk, health along
the trail and how to prepare yourself for the
hike. Part guide for ramblers, part argument
Allen & Unwin PB for travel that benefits health and the
environment, Souter’s literate voice highlights
$28
great writers and thinkers who improved their
lives and minds through perambulation. She
also provides tips on photography and writing
a journal, plus lists of clubs, web resources
and even packing lists to plan the next jaunt.
Before you strap on your boots, don’t forget
this wise travel companion.
THE HACIENDA: HOW NOT TO RUN A CLUB
Peter Hook Simon & Schuster HB $50
The co-founder of Joy Division and New Order has
written an entertaining memoir about the Hacienda
club in Manchester.
THE SECRET LIVES OF SOMERSET MAUGHAM
Selina Hastings John Murray HB $70
Documents the writer’s concealment of his
homosexuality, disastrous marriage, escape to the
Far East and WWII work with British Intelligence.
THE SNOWBALL
Alice Schroeder Allen & Unwin PB $35
A personally revealing and complete biography of
‘The Oracle of Omaha’, legendary businessman
Warren Buffet.
LONELY PLANET’S GUIDE TO TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY
Richard I’Anson Lonely Planet PB $35
The third edition of this useful reference has been
fully updated for the digital photographer and has
an all-new section on the art of travel photography.
JANE’S FAME: HOW AUSTEN CONQUERED THE WORLD
Claire Harman Text PB $34.95
Harman traces the growth of Jane Austen’s fame
and its influence on chick-lit, romantic comedy, the
heritage industry and film.
This ‘tempting cocktail for the urban
adventurer’ selects the world’s top 200 cities,
nominated by travellers from around the
globe. From Abuja to Zanzibar Town, each
double-page entry features photographs, basic
statistics, layout, idiosyncrasies and must-dos.
Lonely Planet co-founder Tony Wheeler selects
his personal top 10, including the Falklands’
Stanley and motor city, Detroit, plus there’s
an overview of cities from the past, present
and future. The glossy reference joins a series
of other Lonely Planet destination-focused
pictorials on the USA, Europe, Africa and Asia.
And in case you’re wondering which cities
made it to the top 10, here they are: 1. Paris;
2. New York City; 3. Sydney; 4. Barcelona;
5. London; 6. Rome; 7. San Francisco; 8.
Bangkok; 9. Cape Town; and 10. Istanbul.
Transit Lounge PB
$29.95
New Zealand music teacher Jane Carswell
thinks she’s relaxed into her middle years
until she begins yearning for something
more – a personal longing that takes her
to Chongqing in China. Hardly a religious
person, Carswell finds herself teaching
English at a Christian school and developing
an interest in the writings of St Benedict. In
China she begins her own monastic journey
and strongly bonds to her new community.
Writing as Western capitalism is questioning
itself, Carswell’s meditative memoir suggests
another way of living. She poignantly observes
China during its own cultural shift away from
tradition towards capitalism, and struggles
with returning home after a life-changing
time working and living in abroad. Spiritual,
powerful and thought-provoking.
THE KING OF VODKA
Linda Himelstein HarperCollins PB $33
Traces the life of vodka pioneer Pyotr Smirnov,
recounting the personal lives of the Smirnov family
against the backdrop of events leading up to the
Russian Revolution.
RAISING MY VOICE
Malalai Joya Macmillan PB $35
The story of Afghani women’s rights activist and
politician Malalai Joya, whose outspoken criticism
of war lords in her country has led to several
assassination attempts on her life.
LETTERS HOME
Doug & Margot Anthony Allen & Unwin HB $35
The war experiences of a very young man – and
the relationship between a son and his mother –
during the horrors of Gallipoli and its aftermath
ROCKY & GAWENDA
Michael Gawenda MUP PB $25
Michael Gawenda is one of Australia’s best-known
journalists and writers. Rocky is his small furry dog
of indeterminate breeding. This is their story.
LIVING LARGE
Harold Mitchell MUP HB $50
The story of media-buyer Harold Mitchell’s
remarkable personal journey from son of a saw
miller to owner of a $100 million business.
ZEITOUN
Dave Eggers Hamish Hamilton PB $32.95
An account of Hurricane Katrina through the eyes
of long-time New Orleans residents Abdulrahman
and Kathy Zeitoun.
LOWSIDE OF THE ROAD
Barney Hoskyns Faber PB $35
Acclaimed music critic and historian Hoskyns
has written the definitive biography of enigmatic,
gravel-voiced musician, Tom Waits.
THE ACCIDENTAL GUERRILLA
David Kilcullen Scribe PB $35
Military strategist Kilcullen takes us on the ground
to uncover the face of modern warfare, discussing
both the global ‘War on Terrorism’ and small wars
across the world.
MANHOOD FOR AMATEURS
Michael Chabon Fourth Estate PB $33
Chabon presents his autobiography and vision
of life in the form of a series of insightful and
provocative essays.
BALIBO
Jill Jolliffe Scribe PB $29.95
An updated edition of the book that was originally
published as Cover-Up, and on which the film
Balibo is based.
16
Power Publications
PB
$59.95
Art & photography
A SINGULAR VOICE
Joan Kerr
ART AND TEXT
Various authors
A Singular Voice celebrates the remarkable
contribution to Australia’s cultural life and
legacy made by the prolific art historian
and curator Joan Kerr, who died in 2004.
Reproducing her essays for a new generation
of art lovers, the book focuses on the themes
of ‘Art and Life’, ‘Art and Artists’ and ‘Art and
Architecture’ to reveal Kerr’s wit, acute eye for
detail and scholarly research. The essays also
highlight her important work as a feminist
art historian, and her role in reassessing
the place of women in art and the work of
little-known Australian artists. The book
includes a short biography of Kerr and a list
of her essential writings, which includes her
groundbreaking publication, The Dictionary of
Australian Artists.
The use of both word and image in artistic
practice has become a defining feature of
contemporary art. From typographers to easel
painters to video artists, text has become
a larger part of artistic practice ever since
Modernism, with practitioners pushing the
boundaries of their discipline to incorporate an
increasing variety of expression and meaning.
Art and Text investigates the use of text in
contemporary artistic practice, showcasing the
most innovative and groundbreaking examples
of how word and image have come to occupy
the same artistic terrain. Lavishly illustrated
with the work of contemporary artists including
Cy Twombly, Robert Indiana, Roy Lichtenstein,
Barbara Kruger and Bruce Nauman.
Black Dog HB
$75
L
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BEYOND REASONABLE
DROUGHT: PHOTOGRAPHS
OF A CHANGING LAND AND
ITS PEOPLE
Five Mile Press
HB
$39.95
BER
DECEM
SE
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H.F. Ullmann HB
$79.95
Water is modern Australia’s biggest challenge.
As bushfires and dust storms occur more often,
Australians are coming to terms with the way our
continent is changing and how our lives will have
to adapt. Many Australian Photographers (MAP)
Group is a collective of photographers who have
been documenting this change with powerful
images that vividly realise this dryness and
deprivation. Their lenses capture the heartbreak
of erosion, the toughness of ordinary Australians
and the melancholy of closed-down main streets.
But they also show that there is still hope in
photo essays such as that on Ngarringdjeri elder,
George Trevorrow, who talks about ‘the difference
between greed and need’. Few Australians could
look on these images and not hear the urgency of
its environmental call to arms.
Sustainable design is the common thread
that links the items illustrated in this
handsome and important book. From
household appliances to means of transport,
from clothing to home fittings to packaging,
more than 100 products divided into eight
categories demonstrate the incredible results
achieved at the international level by stateof-the-art design in pursuing sustainability.
Ecodesign presents a fascinating range of
products in 352 richly illustrated pages:
from stylish energy savers for everyday life
and multifunctional furniture systems, to the
natural clothing and cosmetics of the future.
The new green approach showcased here
reflects a dynamic lifestyle that imaginatively
brings together design, innovation and the
responsible use of resources.
Highly recommended
Running Press PB
$24.95
CAZNEAUX: THE QUIET OBSERVER
OLIVE COTTON: PHOTOGRAPHER
National Library
of Australia PB
Were $34.95
each
now $14.95
each
L
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R
P
ECODESIGN
Silvia Barbero & Brunella Cozzo
BENT OBJECTS: THE SECRET
LIFE OF EVERYDAY THINGS
Terry Border
Norton HB
Was $54.95
now $19.95
This pair of National Library of Australia
pictorials celebrates the work of two
important Australian photographers, prefaced
by essays by curator Helen Ennis. A leader
of the Australian Pictorial Movement, Harold
Cazneux’s evocative portraits, Sydney views
and landscapes captured the changing face
of Australia during the early decades of the
20th century, and helped create an Australian
school of photography. Olive Cotton took a
modern rather than pictorial approach to
photography, experimenting with dramatic
studio lighting and capturing the windswept
patterns of the countryside, trees and flowers.
Q
CHARLEY HARPER: AN ILLUSTRATED LIFE
Todd Oldham
Ammo HB
$95
What blog won the inaugural Blooker prize?
E. O. HOPPÉ’S AUSTRALIA
Graham Howe & Erika Esau
E. O. Hoppé was once the most famous
photographer in the world. He snapped
celebrities and royalty in Britain, and chronicled
America over two years of travel. In 1930, he
travelled around Australia, spending 10 months
intrepidly trekking between Melbourne, Perth,
Adelaide, tropical Queensland, central Australia,
Sydney (where the Harbour Bridge was being
constructed) and newly built capital Canberra
(where his photographs captured the irony of a
few grand buildings emerging from paddocks
and bush). The wonderful images here have
been buried in archives for more than 60 years.
Browsing them now, the reader is struck by the
relics of the past (Depression-era tin shanties,
horses and carts on city streets), the exotic
(a camel train in the outback, Aborigines in
ceremonial dress) and the familiar (Flinders
Street Station, Penfolds vineyards).
Blog to book is a growing trend in publishing
– think ‘Julie & Julia’, winner of the inaugural
Blooker Prize for books born of blogs. Terry
Border’s Bent Objects is a great example
of how blogging can open the door to book
publishing. From picking up a piece of wire
and bending it into shapes and letters, Border
honed his wire-bending skills to include objects
like pencils and brushes to form the bodies
of bugs and creatures. Gradually, all manner
of foodstuffs and throwaway small objects
became integrated into the construction of his
wire figures participating in comical vignettes.
Border’s internet blog allowed him to share his
wiry artworks with the outside world, and its
success has resulted in a very unusual coffeetable pictorial.
Wow. This is a truly magnificent book – a
handsome hardcover devoted to showcasing
the paintings and illustrations of Charley
Harper, now destined to become far better
known and appreciated. Renowned designer
Todd Oldham grew slowly obsessed with
Charley Harper’s work after encountering a
pile of old Ford Times magazines in a thrift
shop and being deeply struck by some of
Harper’s illustrations. His find led to extensive
research and hunting for long-lost examples
of the artist’s book and magazine work – and
eventually, meeting Charlie himself. Oldham’s
long interview with Harper, at the beginning
of the book, is a joyous, exuberant journey
through a long and satisfying career and a
pleasure to read. Also available: a stunning
collector’s edition ($385).
LOOKING AT PAINTINGS
Richard Cottrell
Internationally acclaimed theatre director
Richard Cottrell takes a journey through 600
years of art with a look at 50 of his favourite
paintings by 20 of his favourite artists.
Cottrell’s selection isn’t so much a lesson on
art history as an exploration of the human
Murdoch Books HB condition, and how the timeless and enduring
$69.95
popularity of great works of art is directly
linked to our shared emotions. With an at
times light-hearted and conversational tone,
Cottrell brings together an eclectic mix of
greats such as Tintoretto, Goya, Caravaggio,
Rembrandt, Picasso, Seurat and Manet, along
with homegrown favourites Drysdale and
Nolan. Looking at Paintings is an engaging,
informative and accessible look at the
richness of Western art, and how one man in
particular enjoys it.
THE ART OF GRAEME BASE
Julie Watts Viking PB $49.95
A lavishly illustrated exploration of the life and
work of the acclaimed Australian artist who created
Animalia (Puffin. PB. $19.95). NB: December release.
DARWIN’S ARMADA
Iain McCalman Viking HB $49.95
This gripping work portrays the Darwinian revolution
as a collective enterprise forged in Australasia by
Darwin and three other 19th-century naturalists.
GREAT AUSTRALIAN SPEECHES
Pamela Robson (ed.) Pier 9 PB $34.95
A diverse and often moving collection of over
50 speeches ranging from colonial times to the
present day.
THE BEST OF PUNCH CARTOONS
Helen Walasek (ed.) Prion PB $59.95
A collection packed with magnificent gags and
beautiful artwork by some of the finest cartoonists
and illustrators of the past two centuries.
DESPERATE ROMANTICS: THE PRIVATE LIVES OF
THE PRE-RAPHAELITES
Franny Moyle John Murray PB $28
The Pre-Raphaelites’ bohemian lifestyles and
intertwined love affairs broke19th-century class
barriers and bent the rules governing the roles of
the sexes.
THE GREAT CITIES IN HISTORY
John Julius Norwich (ed.) Thames & Hudson HB $69.95
A portrait of world civilisation told through the
stories of 70 of the world’s greatest cities.
CROOKS LIKE US
Peter Doyle Historic Houses Trust PB $49.95
A fascinating photographic glimpse of Sydney’s
criminal class in the 20th century, complete with
accounts of their crimes – an antique Underbelly.
RAFT
Howard Goldenberg Hybrid PB $29.95
Physician Howard Goldenberg’s account of
his interactions with Aboriginal Australians in
remote communities balances understanding,
shame and hope.
BEERSHEBA: A JOURNEY THROUGH AUSTRALIA’S
FORGOTTEN WAR
Paul Daley MUP PB $40
Daley travels from Australia to Israel, from the
battlefields to the archives, and discovers an episode
that sits at odds with the Anzac myth and legend.
THE DREAMING AND OTHER ESSAYS
W. E. H. Stanner Black Inc. PB $32.95
A collection of work by Stanner, one of Australia’s
finest essayists and a superb anthropologist.
Selected and introduced by Robert Manne.
THE HEMINGSES OF MONTICELLO: AN AMERICAN FAMILY
Annette Gordon-Reed Norton PB $29.95
The story of the Hemingses, a slave family
with close blood ties to President Thomas
Jefferson. Winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize
for History.
FINEST YEARS: CHURCHILL AS WARLORD 1940–45
Max Hastings HarperCollins PB $35
A wonderfully vivid image of Churchill through the
eyes of British, American and Russian soldiers,
civilians and newspapers.
A HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY
Diarmaid MacCulloch Allen Lane HB $59.95
The story of Christianity, starting with its origins
in Judaism and Greek culture and forward to its
expansion in the contemporary world.
THE GRAND INQUISITOR’S MANUAL
Jonathan Kirsch HarperCollins PB $25
Kirsch presents a sweeping history of the Spanish
Inquisition and the ways in which it has served as
the chief model for torture in the West to this day.
IN OUR TIME
Melvyn Bragg Hodder & Stoughton PB $35
A selection of episodes reflecting the diversity of
the BBC’s In Our Time radio programmes about the
history of ideas.
Art & photography
MCCUBBIN: LAST IMPRESSIONS 1907–17
Anne Gray
National Gallery
of Australia PB
$49.95
CIA L
S PEIC
PR E
Hodder HB
Was $70
now $59.95
Along with Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and
Charles Conder, Frederick McCubbin was at
the vanguard of Australian impressionism. In
contrast to earlier bush narratives such as
Lost, the ethereal paintings he produced in the
final decade of his life were inspired by the
Turners and Impressionists he saw on his sole
trip to Europe at the age of 52. Resplendent
with atmospheric light and colour, these ‘last
impressions’ were the focus of an exhibition
held at the National Gallery of Australia in
Canberra in late 2009, for which this book
was produced. Meticulously researched to
provide an updated biography of the artist,
the publication contextualises the colour
reproductions of works including Moonrise
and Golden Sunlight that made him one of
Australia’s best-loved artists.
L
SPECIA
PRICE
HarperCollins HB
Was $75
now $63.95
Christopher O’Doherty, aka Reg Mombassa,
has infiltrated our culture for more than 30
years with a unique, laconic view of the world.
His wit, sense of mischief and larrikin energy
resonated in the music of popular ’80s band
Mental As Anything, and his eye for the absurd
captured another generation with his irreverent,
frequently macabre and always distinctive
designs for the original Mambo label. Yet long
before he became a Mental or transformed
shirts into collectors’ items, Mombassa was
first and foremost an artist. Illustrated with
almost 300 original artworks and packed with
photographs, posters and band memorabilia,
this stunning book showcases everything
from his idiosyncratic pop art to the delicately
realised landscapes and images with which he
celebrates the suburbs.
THE SARTORIALIST
Scott Schuman
Through its selection of outstanding images
and revelatory interviews, Photo-Wisdom:
Master Photographers on Their Art provides
an unrivalled exploration of the richness of
contemporary photographic practice. The
purpose and the technique of photography
is explained and discussed with many of the
greatest photographers of our time. These
luminaries share their visions, their challenges,
their motivations and their methods through
original and highly accessible ‘in-their-ownwords’ commentaries. The photographers
featured range from award-winning photojournalists to celebrity shooters; from politicised
environmentalists to elusive artists; from
timeless veterans to new visionaries; and from
great storytellers to the makers of lasting icons.
Four years ago fashion photographer Scott
Schuman launched a blog. His aim was to
connect the fashion runway with the street and
show the world what real people are wearing.
The Sartorialist is now one of the most popular
blogs on the Net, and Schuman has been
named one of Time magazine’s top 100 design
influencers. This book brings together a large
selection of Schuman’s street photography
from around the world (though mainly from
style capitals New York, Paris, London and
Milan), with non-judgemental, minimal text
providing a little background to a theme, place
or protagonist. Voyeuristic and compelling,
The Sartorialist is sure to get you thinking
about style, fashion, self-expression, identity
and what you should wear tomorrow. Also
available: limited collector’s edition ($250).
SUMO
Helmut Newton
Taschen HB
$349
THE MIND AND TIMES OF REG MOMBASSA
Murray Waldren
PHOTO-WISDOM
Lewis Blackwell
Penguin PB
$49.95
The biggest, most lavish book production of
the 20th century is back! Sumo was a titanic
book in every respect: a 35.4kg, 480-page
masterwork by one of the 20th century’s
most influential, intriguing and controversial
photographers, Helmut Newton (1920–2004).
This spectacular compendium of images
reproduced to exceptional page size and
to state-of-the-art origination and printing
standards emerged from an open, exploratory
dialogue between photographer and publisher.
Originally published in an edition of 10,000
signed and numbered copies, it sold out
soon after publication and quickly multiplied
its value. This new, more-affordable edition
will bring Newton’s unique vision to a wider
audience and comes complete with a
specially designed stand for displaying the
book at home.
Highly recommended
WOMEN OF FLOWERS
Leonie Norton
National Library
of Australia PB
$34.95
17
Renowned botanical artist Leonie Norton
pays tribute to those who came before her
in this beautiful full-colour book, illustrated
with over 100 exquisite botanical paintings.
Ten Australian women artists are showcased
here, their lives and work dating from Mary
Morton Allport (who moved from a refined
English life to a bark humpy in Van Diemen’s
Land in 1831) to Ida McComish (who travelled
the Pacific with her botanist husband to
collect, paint and record unique flora and
died in 1978). The paintings are accompanied
by biographical essays on each artist
documenting their lives and their approach
to art – all of them have been little known
until now. This book has clearly been a labour
of love, as shown in its stunning production
values and depth of research.
PAINTING TODAY
Tony Godfrey
Photo-realism, abstraction, portraiture,
installation painting and neo-expressionism
are just some of the areas of the thriving
medium explored in Painting Today. This
comprehensive survey of contemporary
painting presents the broad range of styles,
materials and methods that comprise the
contemporary art form, extending the tradition
of Phaidon’s trail-blazing Art Today, which
surveyed the scene from the 1960s to 1999.
Since the proclaimed ‘death of painting’
in 1968, artists around the globe have
nevertheless continued to expand its imagery,
techniques and meanings, and in over 500
full-colour illustrations this book presents the
work of both famous and emergent painters
active around the world, including Australia’s
Michael Jagamara Nelson, Doreen Reid
Nakamarra and Imants Tillers.
Phaidon HB
$120
SMALLTOWN
Martin Mischkuling & Tim Winton
Hamish Hamilton
HB
$75
L
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Miegunyah HB
Was $59.95
now $26.95
Tim Winton last collaborated with a
photographer for Land’s Edge, which looked
at our national obsession with the beach. Here
the lens and the pen move inland to look at
a regional Australia airbrushed from tourist
brochures. Winton’s essay opens the book with
raw personal observations of towns in decay or
overrun by tack. The haunting photography by
Martin Mischkuling strikes notes of melancholy
and loneliness – few images feature people,
as Winton notes that less than 14% of us
live outside major coastal cities. Names that
speak of mythical road trips – the Oodnadatta
Track, Fitzroy Crossing and the Great Northern
Highway – are re-imagined with an eye for
what Winton calls ‘built ugliness’. A potent
testament for forgotten Australia.
The World of the Book
Des Cowley & Clare Williamson
This lavishly illustrated history of the book
draws on the rare collections held by the State
Library of Victoria for its content. Highlighting
the collectability of beautiful and rare books,
Cowley and Williamson reflect on the unique
place of books in our lives, as transmitters
of our shared cultural memory and as
touchstones on our life journey. Starting with
illuminated manuscripts, the book moves on
to Gutenberg’s Bible and other early examples
of printing. Also included are the scientific and
political books that changed the world, from
Darwin and Freud to Marx and Greer, works
of literature that captured the imagination,
the gloriously trashy covers of pulp fiction
and examples of bookbinders’ and book
designers’ artistry.
MY PEOPLE’S DREAMING
Max Dulumunmun Harrison Finch HB
$39.95
Through stunning photos and words, Harrison
reveals the significance of the Creation Dreaming,
bush lore, ways of healing, laws and spirituality.
POMPEII: LIFE IN A ROMAN TOWN
Mary Beard Profile PB $25
Beard uses the relics buried by the famous
eruption in AD79 to bring everyday Roman
culture alive. Winner of the 2008 Wolfson Prize
for History.
THE WOLF
Richard Guilliatt & Peter Hohnen Heinemann PB $34.95
The true story of The Wolf, a formidable German
warship that terrorised Australia and the Southern
Ocean during WWI.
UP FROM THE MISSION: SELECTED WRITINGS
Noel Pearson Black Inc. PB $34.95
Charts the life and thought of Noel Pearson, from
his early days as a native title lawyer to his position
today as one of Australia’s key thinkers.
SISSINGHURST: AN UNFINISHED HISTORY
Adam Nicolson HarperCollins PB $25
Both a biography of the great Kent estate
with its famous garden, and Nicolson’s story
of taking an inheritance and steering it in a
new direction.
FIT TO PRINT
Joris Luyendijk Scribe PB $29.95
Dutch journalist Joris Luyendijk demonstrates the
ways in which the media gives us a filtered, altered
and manipulated image of reality in the Middle East.
THE INFORMANT!
Kurt Eichenwald Scribe PB $29.95
A real-life thriller that features deadpan FBI agents,
crooked executives, idealistic lawyers and shady
witnesses with an addiction to intrigue.
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF DEMOCRACY
John Keane Simon & Schuster HB $50
Keane confronts readers with a fresh and irreverent
look at the past, present and future of democracy,
posing tough and timely questions along the way.
OVER THE TOP: A DIGGER’S STORY OF THE WESTERN FRONT
H. G. Hartnett Allen & Unwin PB $35
Never before published, Harnett’s book takes the
reader on an eye-opening tour of life in and behind
the trenches on the Western Front in WWI.
THE THIRD REICH AT WAR
Richard Evans Penguin PB $29.95
The author of The Third Reich in Power gives us a
chilling history showing how the Nazis led Germany
from conquest to disaster.
THE TRIUMPH OF MUSIC
Tim Blanning Penguin PB $26.95
An engaging study of composers, musicians and
their audiences from 1700 to the present.
THE WATER DREAMERS
Michael Cathcart Text PB $34.95
An environmental and cultural history recounting
the story of the settlement of Australia and how our
culture has been shaped by the scarcity of water.
OPEN VEINS OF LATIN AMERICA
Eduardo Galeano Scribe PB $35
Has set a new standard for historical scholarship of
Latin America since its US debut 25 years ago. With
a new introduction by Isabel Allende.
THE POLITICS OF SUFFERING
Peter Sutton MUP PB $35
Sutton asks why, after three decades of liberal
thinking, the suffering and grief in so many
Aboriginal communities has become worse.
WHY YOU ARE AUSTRALIAN: A LETTER TO MY CHILDREN
Nikki Gemmell Flamingo PB $30
In this honest, provocative and uplifting treatise,
expatriate Nikki Gemmell writes about what it
means to be Australian right now.
Science & nature
18
Kales Press PB
$37.95
AMAZING RARE THINGS
David Attenborough
ART OF NATURE
Judith Magee
AS EASY AS PI
Jamie Buchan
This extensively illustrated book showcases
and explores a selection of the best art of the
‘Age of Discovery’, drawn from a collection held
in the Royal Library in Windsor Castle. From
the 15th century onwards, European explorers
were encountering exotic plants and wildlife
in places such as Africa and the Americas.
Specimens were shipped back home, providing
intriguing material for artists, some of whom
were then inspired to travel to these new
places and capture the wonders first-hand.
These intricately observed illustrations
and watercolours have been selected with
help from the contemporary world’s most
famed observer of the natural world, Sir
David Attenborough, who also contributes a
thoughtful and engaging introduction.
Compiled by the art collections manager of
the library of the Natural History Museum in
London, Art of Nature traces the depiction of
the natural world by naturalists, botanists and
artists over the past 300 years. All the talented
names in natural history art are here, including
Audubon, Gould and present-day artists
including New Zealander Bryan Poole. Magee’s
informative text reveals the compulsions that
led naturalists and artists to study the natural
world and embark on potentially hazardous
journeys to do so. Packed with beautifully
drawn and detailed illustrations of familiar
and unfamiliar animals, birds, insects, reptiles,
flowers, plants and people, the book is
divided thematically into the continents of the
Americas, Australasia, Asia, Africa and Europe.
Numbers, said Pythagoras, rule the universe,
and author Jamie Buchan sets out to prove
the point with a light-hearted investigation
into ‘stuff about numbers that isn’t (just)
maths’. Numbers in language, religion,
mythology, maths and science are all covered,
and thankfully there’s plenty of irreverence
and playfulness to balance out the more
weighty themes. If you do feel a flashback
of school maths-induced panic coming on,
just head for the numbers in fiction chapter
and read up about 007 and Hawaii Five-0, or
discover why buses have the annoying habit
of coming in threes in the culture chapter. If
you’ve never previously given much thought
to numbers, this book will have you viewing
the world of digits and numerals in a very
different light.
AUSTRALIA’S REMARKABLE TREES
Richard Allen & Kimbal Baker
Miegunyah HB
$60
Q
Scribe PB
$32.95
BER
DECEM
SE
RELEA
Writer Richard Allen and photographer Kimbal
Baker take us on a tour of Australia’s 50 oldest,
largest and most unusual trees. The result of
what must have been a difficult choice is a
marvellous collection covering every type of
tree, from Australian natives and introduced
exotics to privately owned and historically
significant specimens. Full-colour photographs
capture the magnificence of the trees included
in the selection (for example, the Wollemi pine,
described as one of the greatest living fossils
discovered in the 20th century) and just as
captivating are the accompanying stories,
anecdotes and background text.
Which rock star has the best moustache?
Michael O’Mara
Books PB
$24.95
THE BEDSIDE BOOK OF BEASTS
Graeme Gibson
This companion volume to the bestselling
Bedside Book of Birds blends the best writing
about animals and their prey with a wealth of
extraordinary illustration. Among the writers
included are Simon Armitage, Margaret
Atwood, Walter Benjamin, Italo Calvino, Angela
Carter, Bruce Chatwin, Gerald Durrell, Henri
Fabre, E. M. Forster, Jean Giono, Zbigniew
Herbert, W. H. Hudson, Ted Hughes, Franz
Kafka, Galway Kinnell, Rudyard Kipling, Barry
Lopez, Konrad Lorenz, Haruki Murakami,
Robert Musil, Theodore Roosevelt, Leo Tolstoy
and Laurens van der Post. Illustrations include
prehistoric cave paintings, outstanding wildlife
photography and works by Audubon, Robert
Bateman, William Blake, Mark Catesby,
Francisco de Goya, Thomas Landseer, Rene
Magritte, Peter Paul Rubens and Henri
Rousseau.
CATCHING FIRE: HOW
COOKING MADE US HUMAN
Richard Wrangham
Profile Books PB
$35
Miegunyah HB
Was $75,
now $26.95
Subtitled ‘a botanical bible’, The Constant
Gardener is the holy grail of gardening books
– the trusted bookshelf friend for gardeners.
From tips for beginners through to providing
inspiration for garden features and design, it
includes everything the basic gardener and
beyond needs in the one book. Features include
an A to Z of Holly’s favourite plants; the use
of garden elements such as climbers, hedges
and lawns; and a chapter covering garden
maintenance: soil, mulch, pruning, propagation,
pests and weeds. Kerr Forsyth, whose stunning
garden photography is featured throughout the
book, is the author of four books on gardening,
including the recently released Gardens of Eden
(Miegunyah. HB. $60), and has been the Weekend Australian garden columnist for a decade.
FABULOUS FOOD FROM EVERY SMALL GARDEN
Mary Horsfall CSIRO PB $39.95
Horsfall shows how to grow food at home, giving
advice on growing plants from seeds, making
fertiliser and efficient watering methods.
THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH: THE EVIDENCE FOR EVOLUTION
Richard Dawkins Bantam PB $35
The fiery science/religion debate continues as
Dawkins, world-renowned evolutionary biologist
and famous atheist, takes on the Creationists.
KILLING THE BLACK DOG
Les Murray Black Inc. PB $24.95
The great Australian poet gives a courageous
account of his struggle with depression,
accompanied by especially selected poems.
SLICING THE SILENCE: VOYAGING TO ANTARCTICA
Tom Griffiths UNSW Press PB
SPECIAL PRICE! Was $34.95, now $19.95
Antarctic history, science and culture presented in
a gripping and poetic narrative. Joint-winner of the
2008 PM’s Prize for Australian History.
Cravat-a-licious
Matt Preston William Heinemann PB $34.95
A collection of the cravat-wearing food critic’s
irreverent, intelligent and amusing writings.
In Catching Fire, anthropologist and
chimpanzee-expert Richard Wrangham
poses the idea that humanity’s breakthrough
from monkey to mankind wasn’t due to the
development of language or the importance
of having an opposable thumb – instead, it
was the invention of fire and the creation
of cooking. The book begins by debunking
the usefulness of raw food, outlining our
failure to thrive on a raw-food diet and our
vulnerability to bacteria in uncooked foods.
Wrangham goes on to trace the beginnings
of cooking with fire, and posits the belief that
using fire led to an increase in the size of
our brains by freeing up time for things other
than hunting and chewing. It’s a fascinating
and controversial theory of evolution that also
sheds light on the traditionally accepted role
of women as homemakers.
THE CURSE OF THE LABRADOR DUCK
Glen Chilton
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
Holly Kerr Forsyth
US neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta chronicles the
death-defying medical achievements made
possible by modern-day science. Focusing on
the dramatic stories of several case studies,
Gupta reveals that severe cold can save rather
than take a life, and that performing chest
compression on cardiac arrest patients can be
more successful than mouth-to-mouth CPR.
He discusses the REM nature of near-death
experiences, and the facts and fiction of ‘brain
death’. Using uncomplicated, accessible
language, he analyses the role of prayer in
health and medicine, and the truth behind
medical miracles. Ultimately, Gupta sees death
as a process rather than a single moment that
ends life, hence the opportunities to ‘cheat’
that final outcome.
CIAL
SPEC
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Bloomsbury HB
$50
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CHEATING DEATH
Sanjay Gupta
Highly recommended
Hardie Grant HB
$55
Simon & Schuster
PB
$35
FOOD SAFARI
Maeve O’Meara Hardie Grant/SBS HB $55
Adventure into 34 diverse and fascinating
cuisines with the presenter of SBS’s popular
cooking programme. Delicious discoveries and
foolproof recipes.
MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA: THE COOKBOOK
Various authors Ebury PB $39.95
The top 20 contestants from MasterChef share
recipes they created on the show, accompanied
by recipes and tips from top chefs.
NB: December release.
RISOTTO WITH NETTLES
Anna Del Conte Chatto & Windus HB $39.95
A mouth-watering memoir from food writer Del
Conte, author of revolutionary books that inspired
today’s generation of British cooks.
Ornithologist Glen Chilton describes himself as
having been an obsessive child who grew into
an equally obsessive adult. The proof of the
pudding is in this quirky boy’s own adventure,
the part travelogue, part kooky detective tale
of one man’s obsession to track down each
and every stuffed specimen and egg of the
extinct Canadian Labrador duck in existence.
The hapless Labrador duck became extinct in
the late 19th century and only 55 specimens
remain in museums scattered around
the world. Chilton’s tale is peppered with
anecdotes, comical character studies and an
offer of US$10,000 to the first person who can
point him in the direction of a genuine Labrador
duck specimen he hasn’t yet seen. Get looking!
CULTURE WARRIORS
Brenda Croft (ed.) NGA PB $55.95
This full-colour book presents the work of 30
artists who demonstrate the incredible range of
contemporary Indigenous art practice.
THE HEART OF THE GREAT alone
David Hempleman-Adams
Thames & Hudson HB $75
A stunning, full-colour book presenting the ill-fated
Antarctic explorations of Scott and Shackleton
through the eyes of their official photographers.
MORE THINGS LIKE THIS
Editors of McSweeney’s Chronicle HB $59.95
This unconventional book explores the intersection
of text, humour and illustration in art created by
cartoonists, writers, musicians and fine artists.
the RED HIGHWAY
Nicolas Rothwell Black Inc. PB $32.95
Foreign correspondent Nicolas Rothwell embarks
upon an exploration of the deserts and towns, sleepy
coastline and hidden worlds of Australia’s north.
A WORLD WITHOUT BEES
Alison Benjamin & Brian McCallum Guardian Books PB $24.95
Honeybees are dying. Here, two keen amateur
apiarists investigate the situation and ask whether
there is any possible way of saving the species.
SAHARA
Paula Constant Bantam PB $34.95
When her marriage breaks down, Paula Constant
tries an unusual therapy: walking across the
Sahara to Cairo.
ALEX AND ME
Irene M. Pepperberg Scribe PB $27.95
The story of how a scientist and a parrot
discovered a hidden world of animal intelligence –
and formed a deep bond in the process.
Science & nature FIREFLIES, HONEY AND SILK
Gilbert Waldbauer
University of
California Press
HB
$44.95
When many of us think of insects, we think of
pests. But entomologist Gilbert Waldbauer has
been enthralled by the insect world ever since,
as a schoolboy, he watched a spectacular moth
emerge from a cocoon he’d found and hoarded.
That schoolboy enthusiasm and wonder are
still at the core of his passion for insects,
and – along with his mastery of his subject
– infuse every page of this delightful book.
Fireflies, Honey and Silk is a celebration of the
insect world, the pleasure we take from it and
the ways in which human culture has been
enriched by it over the centuries. Enlivened
with personal anecdotes and interwoven with
history, mythology, literature and medicine, this
book details the products insects have given
us, their discovery, and their uses.
HYBRID: THE HISTORY AND SCIENCE OF PLANT
BREEDING
Noel Kingsbury
Chicago University
Press HB
$62
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THE METAMORPHOSIS OF PLANTS
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
MIT Press HB
$38.95
BER
DECEM
SE
RELEA
OUP PB
$29.95
It will surprise many to learn that Goethe,
one of Germany’s foremost literary figures,
considered his most significant life
achievement to be his scientific research and
writing. This short book, first published in 1790,
was his attempt to explain ‘the truth about the
how of the organism’. It was to prove deeply
influential – Charles Darwin cited Goethe’s
theories of ‘morphology’, developed here,
in many works, including The Origins of the
Species; and it was also a crucial influence on
Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Thoreau. This
beautiful illustrated edition has been carefully
and methodically matched with exquisite
photographs taken to illustrate Goethe’s points,
as well as his own early sketches, and a
selection of illustrations from previous editions.
Ebury Press HB
Was $55
now $24.95
Highly recommended
Disheartened by the shrink-wrapped state
of contemporary supermarket fruits and
vegetables, many shoppers hark back to a
time when foods were naturally produced
rather than processed – and tasted different
as a consequence. But in this book, Noel
Kingsbury draws on anecdotal, historical and
scientific accounts to reveal that those foods
of our childhood memories were themselves
far from natural; rather, they represent the
end of a millennia-long history of selective
breeding and hybridisation. Starting his story
at the birth of agriculture, Kingsbury traces
the history of human attempts to make plants
more reliable, productive and nutritious.
THE LOTUS QUEST
Mark Griffiths
Chatto & Windus
HB
$59.95
NAMING THE ROSE
Roger Mann
You’re in the local garden centre and you
come across a Baronne Prévost rose with its
large lilac-pink flowers, prompting you to ask
yourself, ‘Who on earth was Baronne Prévost?’
Well, thanks to gardening writer Roger Mann’s
Naming the Rose, now you can find out. This
pictorial is a rose-lover’s journey through the
history of the rose, with biographical portraits
of the men and women who gave the blooms
their names. Lavishly photographed, this
who’s who in the rose world covers everyone
from Napoleon and Edna Walling to Handel
and the Princess of Wales. Surprisingly,
Picasso has his own rose and happily
accepted the honour. Even more surprisingly,
Gertrude Stein, famous for her quote ‘a rose is
a rose is a rose’, is still waiting.
UQP PB
$34.95
The premise is straightforward: expose yourself
to a variety of chemicals encountered in
everyday life and compare the results with a
series of before and after blood and urine tests.
Canadian environmentalists Rick Smith and
Bruce Lourie take a Super Size Me approach,
playing guinea pigs to expose themselves
to a mixed bag of toxic chemicals we are
regularly exposed to in and around the home.
Test results show that levels of chemicals
all increased in the body after short-term
exposure, sometimes dramatically so. Scary,
when you consider that the range of potential
side-effects include cancer and testicular
dysfunction in children. This controversial
work is a must-have for anyone interested in
knowing about (and seeking to avoid) the toxic
chemicals we encounter in our daily life.
THE CASE FOR GOD
Karen Armstrong Bodley Head PB $32.95
Armstrong suggests that if we draw creatively on
the insights of the past, we can build a faith that
speaks to the needs of our polarised world.
THE MARCH OF PATRIOTS
Paul Kelly MUP HB $59.95
Political commentator Paul Kelly portrays Paul
Keating and John Howard as conviction politicians,
tribal warriors and national-interest patriots.
AUSTRALIAN STORY: KEVIN RUDD AND THE LUCKY COUNTRY
Mungo MacCallum Black Inc. PB $16.95
The latest Quarterly Essay investigates political
leadership in Australia, past and present. Also
available on audiobook (Bolinda. $16.95).
Leading British plant expert Mark Griffiths fell
in love with the lotus after receiving a gift of
3000-year-old seeds from a Japanese visitor.
(‘You’re obsessed,’ his wife told him. Soon after,
he decided to embark on this biography – thus
legitimising his obsession.) Here, he traces the
plant’s history, unearthing a wealth of fascinating
information about the plant’s meaning in various
cultures (Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, India) by
immersing himself in lotus lore in museums and
libraries – and then embarks on a literal journey
to trace the origins of the lotus in Japan. Once
there, he finds himself amidst a 12,000-year
epic ‘populated with as many princes and poets
as plant people, set in restaurants and DIY
superstores as well as temples and wetlands’.
NO SMALL MATTER: SCIENCE ON THE NANOSCALE
Felice C. Frankel & George
M. Whitesides
Belknap Press HB
$59.95
SLOW DEATH BY RUBBER DUCK
Rick Smith & Bruce Lourie
THE OXFORD BOOK OF MODERN SCIENCE WRITING
Richard Dawkins (ed.)
Dawkins’ absorbing anthology of the best
writing penned by professional scientists
since the 20th century unites science and
literature to brilliant effect. Accessible and
enlightening, the collection follows a roughly
thematic rather than chronological structure,
divided into four parts: what scientists study,
who scientists are, what scientists think and
what scientists delight in. Contributions are
preceded by illuminating introductory notes
by Dawkins and cover a wealth of subjects
from astronomy to quantum mechanics.
Authors include Rachel Carson, Stephen Jay
Gould, Francis Crick, Primo Levi and Carl
Sagan. Dawkins is the author of The Selfish
Gene (OUP. PB. $32.95) and The God Delusion
(Black Swan. PB. $27.95).
19
No Small Matter takes an imaginative, intimate
and often metaphorical look at nanoscience
– structures so tiny they’re invisible to
a microscope’s lens. Living cells, DNA,
microprocessors, quantum dots, nanotubes
– the uses and possibilities, applications and
implications of micro- and nanotechnology
touch a wealth of areas, including computing
and biomedicine. In elucidating concepts that
are on the very frontier of modern science,
the authors are particularly interested in the
often-alien forms that nano-sized mechanisms
can take at such a tiny scale. The images
by scientific photographer Felice C. Frankel
help us to envisage the invisible, while text
by George M. Whitesides, who directs a
research group into nanoscience, describes the
unseeable. A picture book with a difference.
TERRA: TALES OF THE EARTH
Richard Hamblyn
Picador HB
$50
BIRD AUSTRALIA
Dorling Kindersley HB $69.95
This celebration of our amazing bird varieties
features stunning full-colour photographs.
NATURAL ACTS
David Quammen Norton PB $24.95
A revised and expanded edition of the popular book
of David Quammen’s lively writings about science
and nature.
ON GUERRILLA GARDENING
Richard Reynolds Bloomsbury PB $24
An activist’s call to arms to all citizens – greenfingered, green-thinking or just curious – to
transform public spaces into oases of colour and life.
SHRINKING THE WORLD
John Freeman Text PB $34.95
This fascinating history of correspondence
tells the 4000-year story of how email came to
rule our lives.
OUR CHOICE: A PLAN TO SOLVE THE CLIMATE CRISIS
Al Gore Bloomsbury PB $35
The author of An Inconvenient Truth (Bloomsbury.
PB. $35) proposes solutions to the problems
of climate change – personal, political and in
international law.
BAD SCIENCE
Ben Goldacre Harper Perennial PB $25
A hilarious and informative journey through the
world of the wrong or misleading science that
regularly appears in advertising and the media.
THE SECRET LIFE OF BIRDS
Colin Tudge Penguin PB $26.95
A lifelong bird enthusiast explores the lives of some
of our most extraordinary fellow creatures with
authority and wry humour.
This engrossing book draws on history and
science – and employs the narrative force of
a novel. Richard Hamblyn tells the stories of
four large-scale natural disasters: the Lisbon
earthquake of 1755, the weather-panics of
the summer of 1783, the eruption of Krakatau
in 1883 and the Hilo tsunami of 1946. He uses
historical sources and eyewitness accounts to
report the damage they wrought, and follows
the journey of scientists and policy-makers
in tracing the probable causes, rebuilding
the damaged societies and taking valuable
lessons from the disasters. The settings of
each disaster are sharply alive, from the
‘aromas of burning tobacco and caramelised
sugar’ that pervaded the fires of the Lisbon
earthquake to the corpses piled in an
icehouse after the Hilo tsunami.
SNOOP: WHAT YOUR STUFF SAYS ABOUT YOU
Sam Gosling Profile Books PB $25
A fascinating book about what our everyday actions
and possessions really say about us. Packed with
original research and fascinating stories.
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KELVIN
Marcus Chown Faber PB $30
An accessible exploration of the science of the
everyday world from New Scientist writer, Marcus
Chown. NB: December release.
BETWEEN THE MONSTER AND THE SAINT
Richard Holloway Text PB $24.95
In his thought-provoking new book, Richard
Holloway holds a mirror up to the human condition.
Provocative, wide-ranging and full of wisdom.
BREAKFAST WITH SOCRATES
Robert Rowland Smith Profile Books PB $33
A commentary on what history’s greatest
philosophers have said about the meaning behind
our day-to-day actions. NB: December release.
HOW TO LOVE
Gordon Livingston Hachette Australia PB $25
Psychiatrist and bestselling author Gordon
Livingston offers a meditation on who best (and
who best not) to love – and how best to love.
20 Gift
THE ART OF CONVERSATION:
LITERARY EDITION & TRAVEL EDITION
THE CHASER ANNUAL 2009
Keith Lamb & Louise Howland
TAOC Cards
$19.95 each
Packed with hundreds of entertaining and
thought-provoking ideas to get discussions firing,
these two sets of card games are just the thing to
reinvigorate the dying art of conversation. Ideal for
book clubs, writing groups and social gatherings,
the aim is to help articulate opinions, exchange
views and stimulate conversation rather than
play a competitive quiz. The literary edition asks
open-ended questions like ‘Is there a book that
took you out of your comfort zone?’ or ‘What book
best describes your relationship?’ to get readers
thinking about the books that matter to them.
Similarly, the travel edition promotes discussion
about culture, language, travel experiences and
tips, posing intriguing questions like ‘Where is
your ideal pristine wilderness?’ and ‘When have
you felt yourself to be an innocent abroad?’.
Text PB
$29.95
L
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HANDLING EDNA: THE UNAUTHORISED BIOGRAPHY
Barry Humphries
Hachette HB
$50
Motorbooks HB
$50
Devoted possums of the Dame from Moonee
Ponds will love Barry Humphries’ unauthorised
and salacious biography of a certain housewife
superstar. Barry Humphries and Edna Everage
first crossed paths via an innocent postcard
(what collectors now call Ednabilia) in the mid
1950s, and their lives have been inextricably
linked ever since. Humphries charts Edna’s
course from shy housewife to megastar and
beyond with disdain and scant disregard for
privacy. From his revealing opening line ‘I
wish I’d never met Edna Everage’ to Dame
Edna’s threat to sue over this controversial
and unauthorised biographical work, their
relationship seems set to continue to be a very
public and potentially even more volatile one.
Faber HB
Was $29.95
now $14.95
Despite the demands of successful ventures
in stage, screen and their own richly
rewarding fantasy lives, the Chaser team
have found time to put together a new
annual. As always, it will cause controversy.
Critics will certainly wonder how grown
men can continue to churn out offensive
undergraduate claptrap at their age. But, as
Australians have discovered over the years,
no one can really understand current events,
politics, popular culture or indeed anything
else without a Chaser Annual at hand to help
them appreciate its inherent stupidity. Sure to
provide a good laugh and to aid informed (and
laughter-filled) discourse.
HANG THE DJ: AN ALTERNATIVE BOOK OF MUSIC LISTS
Angus Cargill (ed.)
Lists, top 10s and best-ofs have become de
rigueur in recent years. Angus Cargill, fiction
editor at Faber & Faber and self-confessed
pop music junkie, has rounded up a posse of
writers, journalists, musicians and friends, and
asked them to compile a top 10 pop list that
illustrates how and why music is important to
them. The result is as disjointed, kaleidoscopic
and anarchic a collection as any music
list worth its salt should be. Contributors
including photographer Kevin Cummins and
music journalists and writers Nick Kent and
Jon Savage delve into their own musical
pasts with lists as diverse as the 10 greatest
moustaches in rock (top rating goes to Nick
Cave), 10 songs of heartache, misery and
woe, and 10 songs about chickens.
LEGENDS OF SURFING
Duke Boyd
PARLOUR GAMES FOR MODERN FAMILIES
Myfanwy Jones & Spiri Tsintziras
Who better to compile a who’s who of surfing
than the founder of Hang Ten surfwear, Duke
Boyd? From the Hawaiian father of surfing,
Duke Kahanamoku, to today’s legends Kelly
Slater and Layne Beachley, Boyd introduces us
to the surfing world’s pantheon of heroes from
around the globe. We meet the pioneers of the
first half of the 20th century, and surfers like
Australia’s Midget Farrelly and Nat Young from
the golden era of the 1950s to ’70s. Innovative
manoeuvres and radical new equipment have
been the hallmarks of more-recent decades,
bringing the focus to the changing design of
surfboards and the board builders who made
them – many are included here. Jeff Divine’s
dramatic images throughout the book convey
the thrill of catching that perfect wave.
Keeping the kids entertained on wet
weekends and holidays won’t be a problem
with this amusing book of games at the
ready. Nostalgic for a return to the family
entertainment of pre-TV days, when a night
at home meant board games, cards and
wordplay rather than CSI, NCIS and TMZ,
authors Jones and Tsintziras have brought
together a panoply of parlour games for a
modern audience. You’ll find Consequences,
Hangman, Dictionary and other paper
and pen games with pictures, words and
numbers; action games like Hide and Seek
and Blind Man’s Buff; card and dice games
from Go Fish to Pig Dice; and word games
like 20 Questions involving guesses, words
and stories.
Highly recommended
Scribe PB
$35
THE ART OF HAPPINESS IN A TROUBLED WORLD
Dalai Lama Hachette Australia PB $35
Filled with wisdom and practical help from one
of the great thinkers of our time.
WOMAN AS DESIGN
Stephen Bayley Conran Octopus HB $79.95
An eclectic mix of design, cultural history, erotica,
fashion and fetishism focusing on the female body.
THE CRAFTY MINX
Kelly Doust Murdoch PB $39.95
This clever book shows how to make gorgeous
things from pre-loved, remnant and vintage items.
STRINE
Afferbeck Lauder Text PB $29.95
Here, collected in one volume, are Lauder’s
groundbreaking studies of Australian speech.
L
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ENIGMA 2: THE BIG BOOK
OF BRAIN-TEASERS AND
GAMES OF LOGIC
Fabrice Mazza
Murdoch Books HB
$39.95
Question: What has 360 pages, more than 170
number, word, picture and logic conundrums,
and looks like a secret medieval manuscript?
Answer: Enigma 2. With its authentically
smudged and aged pages, grainy textured
paper, illuminated drop capitals and softly
padded cover, Enigma 2 is not only an
absorbing book of puzzles and riddles – it’s
also lovely to look at and hold. Like the
bestselling Enigma 1, its puzzles range from
the silly and straightforward to ‘move three
matches and make a square’ brain-teasers,
‘choose a number between one and 63’
dilemmas and curious, exasperating and
infuriating quizzes that will have you whiling
away the wettest of afternoons. Special offer:
Buy Enigma 1 with Enigma 2 (total RRP
$79.90) for only $49.95!
JUKURRPA DIARIES & CALENDAR
HB diary $34.95
PB diary $24.95
Calendar $24.95
This year’s Jukurrpa Aboriginal art diary
is illustrated with examples of the finest
contemporary Aboriginal art from 15
communities in the central and Western
Desert regions of Australia. Art centres and
communities represented include Balgo
Ernabella, Hermannsburg, Papunya Tula
Artists, Irrkerlantye Arts, Keringke Arts, Spinifex
Arts, Tjungu Palya Artists, Tjala Arts and
Warlukurlangu Artists. The calendar features
high-quality reproductions of 13 different
artworks by established and emerging artists
from central Australia, stretching from the
far Western Desert to the southern Anangu
Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara Lands.
PERFUMES: THE A–Z GUIDE
Luca Turin & Tania Sanchez
Profile Books PB
$30
THE PLEASURES AND SORROWS OF WORK
Alain de Botton Hamish Hamilton HB $45
De Botton explores the joys and perils of the
modern workplace, and what makes our jobs either
fulfilling or soul-destroying.
THE POCKET BOOK OF BOOSH
Julian Barratt & Noel Fielding Text PB $29.95
Join Howard Moon, Vince Noir, Naboo, Bollo, Bob
Fossil, Old Gregg, the Moon and all your other
favourite characters.
POSTCARDS FROM PENGUIN
Postcard Set $39.95
A collection of 100 postcards, each featuring
a different and iconic Penguin book jacket.
NB: December release.
MEET ME AT MIKE’S
Pip Lincolne Hardie Grant PB $45
Twenty-six quirky craft projects with easy-to-follow
instructions and full-size fold-out patterns.
THIS IS NOT A BOOK
Keri Smith Penguin PB $16.95
Engages readers in having them define all the
different things a book can be: an experience, a
diversion, an illusion, a game or a puzzle.
THE LOST ART OF SLEEP
Michael McGirr Picador PB $33
McGirr muses on the many benefits of sleep
and makes acquaintance with some of the great
sleepers and wakers of history.
THIS IS WATER
David Foster Wallace Little Brown HB $25
Wallace seeks an answer to the deceptively simple
question ‘What is the actual, real-life value of
education?’
This must-have perfume guide has been
hailed as a masterpiece of criticism and
invective ever since its original publication
in 2008, and over 400 new fragrances have
been added to the original 1500 in this
updated paperback. Perfumes: The A–Z Guide
is the culmination of Luca Turin’s lifelong
obsession and rare scientific flair and Tania
Sanchez’s stylish and devoted blogging
about every scent that she’s ever loved and
loathed. Together they make a fine and utterly
persuasive argument for the unrecognised
craft of perfume-making. Perfume writing has
certainly never been this honest, compelling
or downright entertaining.
VAGABOND HOLES
Chris Coughran & Niall Lucy (eds.) FACP PB $35
Nick Cave, Robert Forster, John Kinsella and Mick
Harvey are among the contributors to this illustrated
collection about post-punk band, The Triffids.
WADDLE
Rufus Butler Seder Workman HB $24.95
The latest in Butler Seder’s hugely successful
scanimation series.
WHAT WOULD KEITH RICHARDS DO?
Jessica Pallington West Bloomsbury PB $20
Sage advice and insights from the legendary
Rolling Stone and Rock’n’Roll survivor (‘I’ve never
had a problem with drugs, only with policemen’).
WOMEN, WORK AND THE ART OF SAVOIR FAIRE
Mireille Guiliano Atria HB $35
A book about life, how to make the most of it and to
how to find your balance when you are trying to be
happy and fulfilled while working long days.
YOU BETTER NOT CRY
Augusten Burroughs Hachette PB $30
In this caustically funny, nostalgic, poignant and
moving book, Burroughs (Running with Scissors.
Hachette. PB. $25) recounts Christmases past
and present.
L
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Viking PB
was $29.95
now $14.95
Lantern HB
$49.95
Gift READING THE OED
Ammon Shea
Have you ever considered reading the Oxford
English Dictionary? It’s 20 volumes and
weighs 62 kg – so perhaps not. But now
there is no need, since veteran dictionary
reader Ammon Shea has read it for you,
and ferreted out the best of it. You can now
discover the meaning of ‘mysophobia’ (an
irrational fear of being dirty), ‘sesquihoral’
(something that lasts an hour and a half), and
congratulate chefs on their ‘gramaungere’ (a
superb or great meal). Do you ‘balter’? (dance
clumsily). Are you ready for anything? (you’re
‘panurgic’). If so, you won’t need a ‘salvo’ –
an intentionally bad excuse – for what you
might otherwise have wanted to get out of!
Filled with arcane and undeservedly forgotten
words, this is one for enthusiasts for the
English language.
IFT
FREE G
Allen & Unwin
HB
$35
If you’ve never heard of the piratey lass with a
sewn-up grin, this is your chance to catch up.
This nearly wordless graphic novel launched
the international phenomenon of toys,
collectibles, video games and comics. Follow
Scarygirl’s first meeting with her companions,
the super-intelligent octopus, Blister, and the
wise, carrot-chewing Bunniguru. To discover
where Scarygirl comes from, the band set
out for the city, but what lurks within the
monster-like skyscrapers? The rich illustration
style has become iconic, but here the original
story is broken in two by a fascinating
‘intermission’ interview with Jurevicius on how
he conceived this magical world. Buy a copy
of Scarygirl and you’ll receive a copy of
Nicki Greenberg’s graphic adaptation of
The Great Gatsby (RRP $24.95) totally free!
TALES OF HI AND BYE
Torbjörn Lundmark
Familiar from Better Homes and Gardens,
TV presenter Monica Trápaga put together
this collection of ‘favourite family recipes for
a daughter to take on her own life journey’
when her own daughter flew the nest. To
get things started in the first-timer’s kitchen
there are pantry essentials, a guide to cooking
utensils, favourite herbs to grow, plus recipes
for easy standards such as zucchini and
corn fritters, spag bog, roast beef, chocolate
brownies and lemon slice. She’s Leaving
Home also includes more unusual recipes
from the author’s travels around the globe,
party food, comfort food and family recipes
inspired by Trápaga’s Spanish heritage. The
book has a cheerful scrapbook design and is
colourfully illustrated with collages, pen and
ink drawings, doodles and family photos.
Sniffing one another’s breath in Polynesia,
sticking out your tongue in Tibet, patting
each other’s behinds in New Guinea, rubbing
noses in New Zealand, exchanging air-kisses
in LA – this engaging book studies the many
welcoming and farewelling gestures, customs,
behaviours and forms of address found around
the globe. From the 12 types of Japanese
bow and the Chinese kowtow to the various
handshakes and kissing of hands, cheeks
and lips we encounter, Lundmark reveals the
cultural, historical and sociological impulses
behind this most basic of human interactions.
Filled with little-known facts and witty asides,
his thought-provoking and entertaining little
book will make you think twice about your
telephone manner, hat-doffing technique and
choice of everyday greetings.
Cambridge
University Press
HB
$29.95
SENSE AND SENSIBILITY
AND SEA MONSTERS
Jane Austen & Ben H. Winters
Quirk PB
$24.95
Adopting Jean-Paul Sartre’s dictum, ‘Hell is
other people’, Andrew Fuller takes us on a
voyage through a rogues’ gallery of weird,
nasty and not-so-loveable types. These are
people whom we may have the misfortune
to meet at breakfast, at work, at a family
reunion, or even (horrors!) in bed at night.
Tricky People profiles the whole scary range of
‘difficult’ types: back-stabbers, white-anters,
blamers, whingers, bullies, tyrants, controllers,
charmers, know-it-alls, perfectionists,
competitors and the seriously self-obsessed.
It offers imaginative yet practical ways to
deal with these dangerous and frustrating
creatures, and identifies the slippery
techniques they employ to get their way.
VISUAL AID 1 & 2
Draught Associates
Do you sometimes find yourself pondering
basic general-knowledge questions? If
quizzed, would you be able to name all of the
Italian wine regions or the sky’s constellations,
explain what reflexology is or name the
country where Xhosa is spoken? Subtitled
‘Stuff You’ve Forgotten, Things You Never
Thought You Knew and Lessons You Didn’t
Quite Get Around to Learning’, these small
and handy volumes are the perfect resource
for those who don’t always know the answers
and are too embarrassed to ask. Both volumes
provide the answers to the little questions in
life in a simple, colourful and engaging way.
Their eclectic collections of illustrations and
diagrams will get you up to speed on life’s
basics without the need for extensive reading
– or even your utmost attention.
TWITTERATURE: THE
WORLD’S GREATEST BOOKS
RETOLD THROUGH TWITTER
Alexander Aciman & Emmett Rensin
Penguin PB
$16.95
BER
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Atlantic Books PB
$16.95
Twitterature presents 75 of the greatest
works of Western literature – from Beowulf
to Bronte, from Kafka to Kerouac, and from
Dostoevsky to Dickens – each distilled
through the voice of Twitter to its purest,
pithiest essence. Including a full glossary of
online acronyms and Twitterary terms to aid
the amateur, Twitterature provides everything
you need to master the literature of the
civilised world, while relieving you of the
burdensome task of reading it. Our favourites?
From Oedipus: PARTY IN THEBES!!! Nobody
cares I killed that old dude, plus this woman is
all over me. Total MILF. Or from Paradise Lost:
OH MY GOD I’M IN HELL.
Messing with the classics used to be frowned
upon…until the smash-hit success of Pride
and Prejudice and Zombies (Quirk. PB.
$24.95), a ‘mash-up’ version of one of the
world’s favourite romances. This sequel of
sorts is even more bizarre, with man-eating
octopi, two-headed sea serpents and the
like turning up on almost every page –
interspersed, of course, with Austen’s classic
text and the story of the much-beloved
Dashwood sisters and their romantic tangles.
At the centre is Marianne’s passion for Colonel
Willoughby, who, clad in a wetsuit, rescues her
from a puddle where an octopus had attached
itself to her face, and her pursuit by the tragic,
tentacle-faced Colonel Brandon. This hilarious
pastiche retains the essential emotions and
storyline of Austen’s original, while plunging it
into a literally fabulous Otherworld.
THE 10 RULES OF ROCK
AND ROLL
Robert Forster
Black Inc. PB
$27.95
What did Hugo Chavez give Barack Obama?
TRICKY PEOPLE
Andrew Fuller
Black Dog
Publishing PB
$24.95 each
SCARYGIRL
Nathan Jurevicius
SHE’S LEAVING HOME
Monica Trápaga
Q
Finch PB
$24.95
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Here, former Go-Between Robert Forster
takes us on an exhilarating trip through the
past and present of popular music. Drawn
from his music criticism for The Monthly
magazine, the pieces here swerve from The
Monkees, The Rolling Stones, Nana Mouskouri
and Neil Diamond to Cat Power, Antony and
the Johnsons, Franz Ferdinand and The Yeah
Yeah Yeahs as well as Australian mainstays
such as Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Mark
Seymour and Paul Kelly. Best of all, Forster
has also included new pieces in which he
outlines the 10 Rules of Rock and Roll, reflects
on the influence of The Velvet Underground
and movingly remembers his partner in The
Go-Betweens, Grant McLennan.
UNPACKING MY LIBRARY:
ARCHITECTS AND THEIR
BOOKS
Jo Steffens (ed.)
Yale University
Press PB
$34.95
Unashamedly voyeuristic, Unpacking My
Library takes us into the personal libraries of
14 of the world’s leading architects. Providing
an interesting take on both reading and
collecting, the book includes a conversation
with each architect about the significance
of certain books in their collection, revealing
different tastes and interests. Evocative
glimpses of the libraries and their groaning
bookshelves are provided, along with
each architect’s 10 most influential titles.
Common to many bookshelves are books by
Robert Venturi, Corbusier and that massive,
seminal architectural tome S, M, L, XL. Other
suggestions are more surprising, including
Proust, Hugo, Pynchon, Musil and Faulkner,
providing insights into the mind and library, if
not the belly, of an architect.
WHY STEVE WAS LATE
Dave Skinner & Henry Parker
YARN BOMBING
Mandy Moore & Leanne Prain
Comedian Dave Skinner and cartoonist/standup comedian Henry Parker have joined forces
to create this pocket-sized book of cartoons
about the habitually late Steve and his 101
exceptional excuses for terrible timekeeping.
From the surreal ‘waking up with Magritte
Syndrome’ (Steve at the bathroom mirror with
an apple for a head) to having to attend a
police line-up or accidentally selling himself
on eBay, Steve’s excuses for being late and
accompanying scratchy pen-and-ink cartoons
are laugh-a-minute absurdist reasons for
being late that you’d better not try at home.
On city street corners, around telephone
posts, through barbed-wire fences and over
abandoned cars, a quiet revolution is brewing.
Knit graffiti is an international guerrilla
movement that started underground and
is now embraced by crochet and knitting
artists of all ages, nationalities and genders.
Its practitioners create stunning works of
art out of yarn, then ‘donate’ them to public
spaces as part of a covert plan for world yarn
domination. Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet
and Knit Graffiti is the definitive guidebook to
covert textile street art.
Arsenal Pulp Press
PB
$29.95
22 Kids
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Bloomsbury HB
Was $26.95
now $12.95
ABC3D
Marion Bataille
Reciting the alphabet has never been so
tactile, multidimensional or intriguing! Marion
Bataille has created a masterpiece of origami,
manuscript engineering and paper mechanics
that really brings the alphabet to life. Through
ingenious paper tucks, folds and levers the
letters leap up from the page. Among others,
C does a pirouette to become D, V is reflected
in mirrored paper to become W, and X loses its
tail to become Y. This will be a useful learning
device for pre-schoolers and will have many
an adult intrigued as well. Ages 4+
THE BATTLE FOR RONDO
Emily Rodda
Omnibus HB
$35
This is classic Emily Rodda. As in the Rowan
and Deltora Quest series, there’s a quest, an
ordinary child who must find the bravery and
intelligence within themselves to overcome
the many perils and trials they face, and
riddles and mysteries for readers. The third
book in the Rondo series sees cousins Leo
and Mimi return to their friends in the world
inside a music box. Can they stop the Blue
Queen from spreading her evil? Well, yes, but
the fun is in finding out how. Also available:
a handsome three-volume Rondo boxed
set ($89.95). Ages 9+
AMAZING TASHI ACTIVITY BOOK
Anna Fienberg &
Barbara Fienberg (illus. Kim Gamble)
Tashi’s colourful activity book is full of fun
for 5–8 year olds! They can make a dragon,
a boat, a pop-up tiger card and a diorama.
Allen & Unwin PB Or they can have lots of fun playing a special
board game. After investigating the treasure
$20
chest of words and the tricky word puzzle,
it’s time to help Tashi rescue the children in
the Warlord’s maze and find the Baron’s gold
with the treasure map. There’s even a brandnew Tashi adventure story, ‘Tashi and the
Strangers’, to read.
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Viking HB
Was $24.95
now $14.95
Scholastic PB
$10
IT’S USEFUL TO HAVE A DUCK
Isol
Allen & Unwin
Board
$15
Puffin PB
$14.95
Q
Puffin PB
$24.95
Get to the end of this novel, and you’ll turn
straight back to the first page to reread it.
New York teenager Micah is a compulsive liar,
lying even to the reader she promises she is
telling the truth to. The book seems to revolve
around the identity of the murderer of her
sort-of-boyfriend, but there is another deeper
secret at the book’s heart. But is even that
Allen & Unwin PB secret true? Complex and utterly seductive,
Liar is for readers at the upper end of the
$23
young adult age range who are as smart as
the book itself.
Celebrate the Chinese tradition of storytelling
with this enchanting volume of 18 fairytales.
Taken from all over China and spanning
centuries of folklore, these classic stories
reflect the culture of an ancient, exotic land.
Children will delight to hear such magical
tales as ‘The Red Pearls’, ‘Lover Cloud’ and
‘The Invisible Bird’. There are emperors and
dragons, princes and princesses, kings,
wizards, fairies and more. Certain to become
a favourite for bedtime reading for children
aged 8+.
It’s the summer holidays, the weather’s great,
and all the kids are having fun outside. But
where’s Greg Heffley? Inside his house, playing
video games with the shades drawn. Greg, a
self-confessed ‘indoor person’, is living out his
ultimate summer fantasy: no responsibilities
and no rules. But Greg’s mum has a different
vision for an ideal summer…one packed with
outdoor activities and ‘family togetherness’.
Whose vision will win out? The latest volume in
this extraordinarily popular series is perfect for
early readers, particularly boys who need a bit
of encouragement to pick up a book. Ages 9+
Little Hare HB
$25
Pan Australia PB
$16.95
Told through blogs, exam answers, diaries
and reports written as part of a gothic fiction
elective in the HSC English exam, this riveting
young adult novel is about school life, ghosts,
burgeoning sexuality, secrets, madness,
passion, dysfunctional families, difference,
relationships – and that terrifying moment in
the final year of high school when you realise
that the future’s come to get you. This fourth
– and perhaps last – volume in Moriarty’s
popular Ashbury High series set in a Sydney
private school will appeal to girls and boys
aged 15+.
LEVIATHAN TRILOGY: BOOK 1
Scott Westerfeld (illus.
Keith Thompson)
Penguin HB
$29.95
It’s the cusp of WWI, and all the European
powers are building arms. Aleksandar
Ferdinand, prince of the Austro-Hungarian
Empire, is on the run from his enemies when
he meets Deryn Sharp, a girl disguised as a
boy in the British Air Service. Both children
end up on the Leviathan, a massive whale
airship, on a fantastical, around-the-world
adventure – one that will change both
their lives forever. Superb magical realist
storytelling accompanied by intricate and
evocative illustrations make this essential
summer reading for children aged 10+.
THE MAGICIAN’S ELEPHANT
Kate DiCamillo
LITTLE BOOKS BOXED SET
Amy Krouse Rosenthal (illus. Jen Corace)
There’s no escaping the fact that when you
are little your parents make you do stuff you
really don’t want to do. For Little Pea that
is eating candy, for Little Hoot the owl it’s
staying up late and for Little Oink the pig it’s
being messy. This charming trilogy of tales in
Chronicle Books HB a topsy-turvy world will delight children of all
$34.95
ages, and may even prompt your little ones
to eat spinach, go to bed early and tidy their
rooms! Ages 4+
Moving house can be traumatic for children,
and so it is for Clancy. He has moved from
a home of cosy spaces to a large house of
shadows and dark corners that has a yard
with nothing but a snail and a pile of empty
boxes. But soon Clancy builds a cardboard box
tower that attracts Millie from over the fence.
Then their adventures begin. Libby Gleeson’s
delightful artwork brings life to this story
illustrating how imagination and newfound
friendship light up a child’s world. Ages 4+
DREAMING OF AMELIA
Jaclyn Moriarty
Who said that numbers
rule the universe?
From the exuberant to the moving, from bum
jokes to metafiction, Kids’ Night In! has it all.
The third anthology of kids’ bits and pieces
published to raise money for aid agency War
Child not only has a great range of stories, but
also cartoons, recipes and poems, as well as
a sprinkling of true stories that will give kids
insights into the contributors’ minds. As well
as providing encounters with familiar authors,
Kids’ Night In! 3 is a great way for children to
meet new favourites. Ages 8+
It’s not just people who have busy days –
baby wombats have a lot to do, too! Sleeping
is BORING, so Baby Wombat heads out to
play, explore and meet new friends. The week
fills up quickly when you have to dig holes,
eat flowers and scratch your rump on fence
posts. This follow-up to the Diary of a Wombat
(HarperCollins. Board. $15) features the same
combination of minimalist text and engaging
images and is sure to have youngsters
chuckling as they ponder life as a dumpy
marsupial. Ages 2+
CLANCY & MILLIE AND THE VERY FINE HOUSE
Libby Gleeson (illus. Freya Blackwood)
CHINESE FAIRYTALES
Le Uyan Pham (illus.)
KIDS’ NIGHT IN! 3
Jessica Adams & Anna Fienberg
Any child who has ever had a bath will realise
that the title of this book is manifestly true. In
fact, this book folds out into a single almighty
centrefold to reveal just how many uses of
rubber ducks there are besides floating in a
bath. And flipping the pages over will reveal
something that most children won’t have
realised: rubber ducks actually find it useful to
have a child as well. A delightful, whimsical,
double-sided tale for ages 2+.
LIAR
Justine Larbalestier
HarperCollins HB
$25
DOG DAYS: DIARY OF A WIMPY KID 4
Jeff Kinney
CONSPIRACY 365: JANUARY
Gabrielle Lord
Action, action, action. Readers will barely
draw breath as they race through Cameron
Ormond’s adventures as a fugitive from
unknown enemies, needing to solve a series
of genuinely puzzling mysteries. In the first
few pages there is a deathly warning from
an enigmatic man, a boat accident, a shark
attack and a helicopter rescue. And things get
even more dangerous from there. Be warned,
there’s a cliff-hanger ending and there are 11
more books to come in the series (one each
month from February). Ages 11+
BABY WOMBAT’S WEEK
Jackie French (illus. Bruce Whatley)
Candlewick PB
$24.95
In her highly awaited new novel, the author
of The Tale of Despereaux (Candlewick. PB.
$24.95) conjures a haunting fable about
trusting the unexpected – and making the
extraordinary come true. When a fortune
teller’s tent appears in the market square of
the city of Baltese, orphan Peter Augustus
Duchenne knows the questions that he needs
to ask: Does his sister still live? And if so,
how can he find her? The fortune teller’s
mysterious answer (An elephant! An elephant
will lead you there!) sets off a remarkable
chain of events. Ages 8+
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Workman
Activity Set
Was $24.95
now $14.95
MY MUMMY’S BAG
P. H. Hanson
Here’s a way to let your kids rifle through
your stuff without risking them losing your
credit cards, leaving fingerprints on your
photos or tipping out your expensive perfume.
This book/bag contains all sorts of die-cut
cardboard objects that fold up, slip out and
flip open. Here are all the accoutrements
of everyday life – from handkerchiefs to
hairbrushes, from postcards to passports.
The clock with movable hands and spinning
wheel for learning numbers and the alphabet
make it an educational as well as entertaining
ensemble. Ages 3+
OLD POSSUM’S BOOK OF PRACTICAL CATS
T. S. Eliot (illus. Axel Scheffler)
Faber HB
$28
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Kids In the 1930s, T. S. Eliot composed a series of
poems about cats for his godchildren. First
collected and published under the moniker
of Old Possum in 1939, the poems were later
set to music to become the musical Cats.
Here, we are privy to the full measure of
catly behaviour: stealing roasts from ovens,
dancing in the moonlight and miscellaneous
caterwauling. The ragamuffin artwork of Axel
Scheffler, familiar to readers of the Gruffalo
series, perfectly complements the cast of
wily, boisterous and cheeky feline characters.
Ages 4+
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Granta PB
Was $29.95
now $14.95
Viking HB
$29.95
The Red Piano is a retelling of the story of
Zhu Xiao-Mei, a concert pianist who was ‘reeducated’ as a child in the camps of China’s
Cultural Revolution. After long days toiling in the
fields and undertaking self-criticism classes,
Wilkins Farago HB the small girl slips away to illicitly practise
the piano. Music brings some humanity into
$28
her life, in a system that has none. It brings
happiness and a hint of freedom. Barroux’s
stark artwork highlights the poignancy of
this tale of human resilience in the face of
oppression. Published in association with
Amnesty International. Ages 9+
THE SILVER SPOON FOR CHILDREN
Amanda Grant (illus. Harriet Russell)
Phaidon HB
$29.95
STORYWORLD
John and Caitlin Matthews
Five Mile Press
HB Boxed Set
$29.95
Much more than a run-of-the-mill fantasy
novel, Storyworld is a toolkit for telling
stories that bids its readers to unlock their
imaginations. Elaborately decorated cards
provide the building blocks, but with no rigid
rules the story is in the eye of the beholder:
there are myriad ways to connect, shape
and flesh out a narrative based on the cards
and the teller’s imagination. Individual tales
can go wherever the storyteller takes them.
An accompanying book contains hints,
suggestions and some sample stories to get
things started. Ages 9+
TRAIN YOUR BRAIN TO BE A GENIUS
John Woodward (illus. Serge Seidlitz & Andy Smith)
Dorling Kindersley
HB
$39.95
This book tells us that our brain contains
billions of nerve cells – and we reckon reading
it will get plenty of them buzzing! Bright
sparks will love the heady(!) combination
of scientific explanations of the functioning
of the brain and senses, discussion of the
lives of various geniuses throughout history,
and countless nuggets of information that
they discover here. With its fistful of optical
illusions, puzzles and quizzes, this book offers
hours of learning and fun for those aged 10
to 110.
This book presents a selection of 40 favourite
Italian recipes adapted from the famous
Silver Spoon cookbook by Amanda Grant,
an expert on healthy eating for children. The
recipes have been chosen for their simple
instructions, fresh and healthy ingredients
and delicious flavour, and are guaranteed
to appeal to the fussiest of children.
Fully illustrated throughout, with colour
photographs of the finished dish, The Silver
Spoon for Children will appeal to aspiring
MasterChefs in every household. Ages 10+
THIS IS AUSTRALIA
M. Sasek
Universe HB
$34.95
The re-issue of this children’s classic will
appeal as much to anyone who grew up in
the ’70s as to today’s kids. Part of Sasek’s
much-loved series on the countries and great
cities of the world (This is Paris, This is Rome,
This is New York), it provides a time-capsule
snapshot of Australia, portrayed in distinctive
artwork and described with wry humour.
Kids will delight in the colourful portrayals
of Australia’s architecture, landscape and
wildlife, while parents are likely to get lost in
wistful reverie at images of the Australia of
yesteryear. Ages 6+
WHO WANTS TO BE A
POODLE? I DON’T!
Lauren Child
Puffin HB
$24.95
Highly recommended
Does your child love maths? Pop The Number
Devil in their Christmas stocking. Does your
child loathe maths? Pop The Number Devil
in their Christmas stocking. Robert is the
second kind of child. He hates both maths and
dreams until the quirky Number Devil forces
his way into Robert’s sleep. Using dialogue
to explain mathematical concepts, this book
takes maths away from rote learning and into
guided discovery. Adding warmth are the lush
colour illustrations; a charming mix of oldfashioned and contemporary styles. Ages 10+
THE RED PIANO
André Leblanc
(illus. Barroux)
RUNNING WITH THE HORSES
Alison Lester
Nina lives with her father above the stables of
the Royal Academy of Dancing Horses. When
war looms, Nina’s father decides that they
must take the parade stallions and flee to
safety across the border. Nina is determined
not to leave Zelda, a friendly cab horse that
has been abandoned. But will the old mare be
a help or a hindrance when danger awaits and
they must cross the high mountain passes?
A heart-warming tale about friendship and
loyalty that will appeal to readers aged 8+.
THE NUMBER DEVIL: A MATHEMATICAL
ADVENTURE
Hans Magnus Enzensberger
Trixie Twinkle Toes is bored with the routines
of perfuming and preening, posing and
prancing that fill up her uneventful life. She
may be a pampered poodle but she wants
nothing more than to run through puddles.
But will her owner, Verity Brulée, who does
nothing more than sit inside whenever
the weather is vaguely inclement, ever
understand? Can Trixie change her image
and get in touch with her inner dog? Another
colourful, idiosyncratic and captivating tale
from the author of the much-loved Charlie &
Lola series. Ages 5+
THE BILLIONAIRE’S CURSE
Richard Newsome Text PB $19.95
The world’s most valuable diamond has been stolen and
Gerald Wilkins must solve the mystery. An irresistible adventure
story and engrossing whodunit for readers aged 9+.
BOOM!
Mark Haddon David Finkling PB $24.95
An explosive, highly charged and hilarious adventure from the
author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
(Vintage. PB. $24.95). Ages 9+
FOR JUST ONE DAY
Laura Leuck & Mark Boutavant (illus.) Chronicle HB $26.95
After imagining the fun of being a variety of animals from around
the world, a sweet ending – and an attached mirror – remind little
ones that the very best thing they can be is exactly who they are.
THE ART OF CONVERSATION GAME: CHILDREN’S EDITION
Louise Howland & Keith Lamb Cards $19.95
Hot on the heels of the bestselling adult edition comes this version
for kids, which helps them put complex ideas into words, share and
develop their ideas and feelings, and have fun too! Ages 5+
CATCHING FIRE: HUNGER GAMES SERIES 2
Suzanne Collins Scholastic PB $19
Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone fighting
against you? Twenty-four enter the televised reality game, but only
the winner survives. Will Katniss make it through? Hugely exciting
reading for ages 12+.
CAUTIONARY TALES FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
John Hay-Mackenzie Pier 9 HB $29.95
This deliciously dark illustrated children’s book full of morals
and lessons will appeal to both adults and kids. Ages 6+
CROCODILE TEARS
Anthony Horowitz Walker PB $17.95
The eighth instalment in the mega-popular Alex Rider series sees
the junior operative kidnapped and whisked off to Africa. Thrilling
reading for ages 11+.
EDIE AMELIA AND THE MONKEY SHOE MYSTERY
Sophie Lee Pan Macmillan PB $13
Edie Amelia Sparks is a neat girl with very messy parents.
When she discovers that her red monkey shoe is missing,
she sets out to solve the mystery. Ages 7+
ISABELLA’S GARDEN
Glenda Millard & Rebecca Cool Walker HB $27.95
A comforting and wonderfully illustrated story about the cycle
of life in its many forms. Ages 2+
MANNIE AND THE LONG BRAVE DAY
Martine Murray & Sally Rippin (illus.) Allen & Unwin HB $23
This delightful picture book about a little girl going on a big
adventure celebrates friendship, courage and the wonder of
a child’s imagination. Ages 2+
NANNY PIGGINS AND THE WICKED PLAN
R. A. Spratt Random House PB $14.95
Mr Green decides to get married so that he can get rid of the
children’s beloved carer, Nanny Piggins. But neither the children
nor their flying pig of a nanny will allow that to happen! Ages 7+
SHIVER
Maggie Stiefvater Scholastic HB $30
Loved Twilight? If so, you’re bound to enjoy Stiefvater’s novel about
the romance between Minnesota schoolgirl Grace and teenage
werewolf Sam. Ages 13+
SHOW OFF
Sarah Hines Stephens & Bethany Mann Murdoch PB $29.95
Show Off is part comic book, part activity guide, part secret
manual and 100% kid-friendly. Packed with easy, fun and highly
visual step-by-step activities. Ages 10+
SWAN LAKE BALLET THEATRE
Jean Mahoney & Viola Ann Seddon Walker Novelty $34.95
Help junior ballet dancers bring Tchaikovsky’s best-loved ballet
to life with their very own ballet theatre, complete with dancers,
music and story booklet. Ages 6+
TO THE TOP END
Roland Harvey Allen & Unwin HB $25
The story of a trip from Tassie to the very tip of the Top End, with a
hidden football to find in every colourfully illustrated page! Ages 4+
24 Music
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A FRIEND OF A FRIEND
Dave Rawlings. CD.
Was $25.95, now $21.95
As both the long-time musical and life partner of
Gillian Welch, Rawlings has lived in her immense
shadow. Now, years after she emerged, he delivers
his debut album. A lovely get-to-know-me-slowly
affair, it’s a delicate work of quiet depth and stakes
his claim as an artist of note in his own right.
A NOT SO SILENT NIGHT
Kate & Anna McGarrigle with Rufus
& Martha Wainwright & special guests.
DVD. $24.95
The familial get together at The Knitting Factory
in New York is a yearly institution. Last year’s
concert featured special guests Emmylou
Harris, Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson, and is
now available on DVD. The artists perform both
original and classic Christmas songs in a truly
magical concert.
THE ASTOUNDING EYES OF RITA
Anouar Brahem. CD. $32.95
This Tunisian oud (Arabic lute) master is an all-time
Readings staff and customer favourite to rank with
Dylan, Cohen or Waits. Brahem’s sublime fusion of
the Arab classical and Western jazz traditions here
expresses itself in a languid tangle of oud, bass,
percussion and seductive bass clarinet: a more
robust sound, as beautiful as ever.
A STRANGE ARRANGEMENT
Mayer Hawthorne. CD. $29.95
Influenced by the classic soul of Curtis Mayfield
and the Motown hit factory, this young singer/
songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist with
a gorgeous falsetto has set the music world
abuzz with a seductive pop/soul debut. No it’s
not Prince, it’s the new phenomenon Mayer
Hawthorne: call him retro, call him a pastiche –
whatever he is, he’s the real deal.
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JACK THOMPSON READS AUSTRALIAN POETS
BEATLES REMASTERED
The Beatles. Stereo boxed set. $364.95
The Fab Four in all their glory, beautifully packaged
and flawlessly remastered. This project was four
years in the making and from the very first chiming
chord of ‘Hard Day’s Night’ to the quiver-inducing
finale of ‘A Day in the Life’ it’s abundantly clear
that it was worth the wait. Features every studio
album plus the Past Masters collection of nonalbum tracks. Limited availability.
BELIEVE
Katherine Jenkins. CD.
Was $29.95, now $22.95
She may have started her music career as a
classical vocalist, but here Katherine Jenkins is
taking a whole new direction into the pop world
under the guidance of top-notch producer David
Foster. Included is a stunning version of some
contemporary pop anthems and a beautiful duet
with Andrea Bocelli.
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COLOUR ME FREE
Joss Stone. CD.
Was $29.95, now $21.95
After many delays due to contractual problems
with EMI, Joss finally gets to let out all her
frustrations on this great, gutsy album. Here to
help are Jeff Beck and Dave Sanborn among
others and they add depth to a very funky
collection of original songs from a voice that is
a blessing to R&B.
Was $29.95, now $21.95
A slight change of direction for this phenomenally
successful singer as producer Jacquire King (Tom
Waits/Modest Mouse) introduces new elements and
a move towards pop-rock instead of pop-jazz. Jones
is also using guitar instead of piano as the main
backing instrument. Her beautiful voice still stands
out and her song writing is getting better and better.
CDs. $19.95 each
Australia’s most enduring and loved actor
Jack Thompson lends his iconic voice to the
work of these famous Aussie poets. Titles
include Banjo Paterson’s’ ‘Clancy of the Overflow’,
‘The Man from Snowy River’ and ‘The Man from
Ironbark’; Henry Lawson’s ‘The Loaded Dog’ and
‘The Drover’s Wife’; and C. J. Dennis’ classic,
‘The Sentimental Bloke’.
The Daptone label has long been a hidden gem,
releasing cool soul and funk albums to the
delight of those in the know. Then Sharon Jones
came along and all of a sudden it has become
the hippest imprint around. Daptone Gold is a
fantastic compilation of rarities, classics and
previously unreleased tracks featuring Jones,
Naomi Shelton, Budos Band and the Menahan
Street Band.
JACQUES LOUSSIER PLAYS BACH: THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY RECORDING
Jacques Loussier Trio. CD. $29.95
A long-time Readings favourite celebrates
both his own (75th) birthday and that of his
revolutionary Play Bach trio with his liveliest
session yet. Loussier plays the piano with the
panache of an old master and the fire of a
young man, and his is the first and best group to
seriously synthesise classical and jazz traditions.
CRAZY LOVE
Michael Bublé. CD.
Was $29.95, now $22.95
Don’t let the scruffy face on the cover fool you –
Bublé is back and is as smooth as ever! There
are some new original songs, but the backbone
of this album is supplied by the big-band
anthems and jazzy serenades that Bublé does
so well. A fresh perspective also sees him cover
an Eagles classic and work in collaboration with
Sharon Jones.
DISTANCE
Grigoryan Brothers. CD. $29.95
DAPTONE GOLD
Various Artists. CD. $24.95
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FALL
Norah Jones. CD.
Bush Poems of A. B. (Banjo) Paterson
Campfire Yarns of Henry Lawson
The Sentimental Bloke: The Classic Poems of C. J. Dennis
DARK EYES
Tomasz Stanko Quintet. CD. $32.95
With this album, the greatest living trumpeter
unveils a new group and an explosive new sound.
Stanko’s singular trumpet bursts like fireworks
across a darkened sky of bubbling electric bass,
minimal piano and even more minimal guitar.
Like his hero Miles Davis, Stanko is a singular
figure combining musical serenity with almost
shamanic intensity.
GLITTER & DOOM LIVE
Tom Waits. 2-CD set. $29.95
Recorded over the course of his 2008 tour,
this is perhaps the closest that those of us
who have never been lucky enough to see
the great man live will get to the experience.
Taking in performances from Dublin, Barcelona
and more, it’s a fantastic collection of mostly
later-period tracks that have been personally
selected by Waits.
Australia’s favourite guitarists reunite after
a slew of solo projects to give us their first
improvisational recording. Distance has the
technical mastery we have come to expect from
them, but favours texture and mood. With just
four hands, 12 strings and new pieces by Ralph
Towner and Nigel Westlake among others, Slava
and Leonard produce a lush aural landscape.
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POWDERFINGER
Golden Rule. CD.
Was $29.95, now $24.95
With its seventh studio album, Australia’s premier
rock band deviates from the signature sound
that characterised its early success. Fortunately,
a listen to the first single, ‘All of the Dreamers’,
makes it clear that they’re not deviating too far
– the killer vocals and riffs remain. Nonetheless,
there’s a new and exciting energy as the band
heads in a new direction.
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I DREAMED A DREAM
Susan Boyle. CD.
Was $29.95, now $24.95
The global YouTube phenomenon (300 million hits
and counting) who was discovered on Britain’s
Got Talent makes her recording debut with I
Dreamed a Dream. Whether you see Boyle as
proof that dreams can come true or as a pawn
in the media’s gaze, you can’t escape two facts:
she has a great voice and this album of diverse
covers is going to be HUGE.
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LIVE AT THE ISLE OF WIGHT 1970
Leonard Cohen. CD/DVD.
Was $29.95, now $24.95
Nearly 40 years ago Leonard Cohen performed
in front of 600,000 people at the third Isle of
Wight Festival. Finally, all these years later, a
CD and DVD of the concert see the light of day.
Amazingly, Cohen performed immediately after
a blistering set by Jimi Hendrix yet managed
to soothe and win over the crowd with his very
different quiet poetry in the guise of folk songs.
SENSES
Monique diMattina. CD. $29.95
With Senses, Melbourne pianist Monique
diMattina has created a truly beautiful album of
solo piano pieces. The 16 meditative pieces bring
to mind Philip Glass, Gabriel Fauré and Keith
Jarrett. It’s the perfect album for a quiet Sunday
morning, or for any time a reflective mood strikes.
Gentle, calm and soothing music for the soul.
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IF ON A WINTER’S NIGHT
Sting. CD. Was $29.95, now $21.95
As with his last album (Songs from the Labyrinth),
Sting mines some classic folk songs from the
British Isles in this new release. He presents an
arc of songs that conjure the season of spirits,
featuring a collection of carols and lullabies
spanning the centuries. The result is a haunting,
spiritual and reflective musical journey.
Two complete solo concerts (he no longer
enters the studio) show Readings’ top-selling
instrumental jazz artist at his peak. Building short
pieces into ecstatic chains of improvised genius,
Jarrett traverses a dozen moods while building
the same transcendent, communal ecstasy of
the legendary Koln Concert and Carnegie Hall
performances.
The hilarious, beloved-of-televisionviewers-around-the-world Flight of the
Conchords have released their second album,
a glorious pastiche of songs from the second
season. This Kiwi duo plunders every genre
possible with fabulous results... ‘Sugalumps’,
anyone? Or how about ‘Too Many Dicks (On the
Dance Floor)’? Pure gold.
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MY ONE AND ONLY THRILL
Melody Gardot. CD.
Was $29.95, now $22.95
On the slow burn for most of the year, My One
and Only Thrill is a gorgeous jazz album featuring
lush strings and Gardot’s emotive vocals. A singer
with a tragic life story, Gardot wowed Australian
audiences a few months ago on her promo tour
and – lucky for us – is coming back in February.
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REALITY KILLED THE VIDEO STAR
Robbie Williams. CD.
Was $29.95, now $21.95
He’s BACK! The lead single on this album, ‘Bodies’,
is catchy, classic Robbie Williams pop and despite
his problem with stage fright, rave reviews flooded
the media after his Electric Proms concert in
October – his first live show in three years and the
airing of new material from Reality Killed the Radio
Star. Listen and you’ll believe the hype.
LITTLE KASEY CHAMBERS & THE LOST MUSIC
Kasey Chambers, Poppa Bill & The
Little Hillbillies. CD. $19.95
This new album of children’s songs and
accompanying hardcover kids storybook has
clearly been a project of great love for Kasey
Chambers. Writing the book was inspired by the
birth of her first son, and the album features her
father Bill and husband Shane – both very good
artists in their own right – as well as a bunch of
kids known as ‘The Little Hillbillies’.
SANS FUSILS, NI SOULIERS, À PARIS
Martha Wainwright. CD. $29.95
Martha Wainwright stamps her je ne sais quoi
on a selection of rare and acclaimed Edith Piaf
songs, passionately sung and romantically
interpreted on this stunning live album. Recorded
over three nights at a theatre in New York earlier
this year with esteemed producer Hal Wilner
in charge, it is a highly emotional, non-clichéd
homage to France’s leading lady of song.
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SO FRENCHY SO CHIC 2009
Various artists. 2-CD set.
Was $35.95, now $29.95
A love affair with all things French never goes
out of fashion: stay hip with the latest trend –
imagine the Champs-Élysées, sip your vin, nibble
on your fromage and groove out to the latest
instalment of this très chic collection of indie pop.
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TESTAMENT: PARIS/LONDON
Keith Jarrett. 3-CD set. $51.95
I TOLD YOU I WAS FREAKY
Flight of the Conchords. CD. $27.95
VERY BEST OF ENYA
Enya. CD. Was $29.95, now $22.95
Enya’s blend of folk melodies, synthesised
backdrops and classical motifs helped her
popularise New Age music with a wider audience
and she became a global star as a result. This
new collection showcases the immense talent of
one of the most successful female artists of the
past two decades perfectly.
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SOULBOOK
Rod Stewart. CD.
Was $29.95, now $21.95
Rod Stewart says this is the album he has been
waiting his whole life to record. He credits these
classic ’60s and ’70s soul favourites with giving him
the passion to sing by introducing him to the talents
of artists including Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Jackie
Wilson, James Brown and The Four Tops. Soulbook
features duets with Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson,
Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder.
SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS
Pink Martini. CD $24.95
With their fourth release, Pink Martini again
blend jazz, latin and lounge music. The result
is a record with multiple personas, including
upbeat, contemplative and seductive tunes sung
in various languages – it’s obvious to the listener
why they label themselves the ‘United Nations
house band’. A modern take on a vintage sound.
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WALKING ON A DREAM
Empire of the Sun. 2-CD set.
Was $29.95, now $22.95
Released just on a year ago, Luke Steele’s side
project has become the biggest pop-dance act in
Australia. Walking on a Dream comes with a bonus
disc featuring 12 songs, including remixes, a new
song and live favourite ‘Breakdown’, which isn’t on
the original album.
WE’LL MEET AGAIN: THE VERY BEST OF VERA LYNN
Vera Lynn. CD.
Was $29.95, now $24.95
The ‘Forces Sweetheart’ warmed the hearts
and minds of many during WWII with songs
such as ‘We’ll Meet Again’ and ‘White Cliffs
of Dover’. Proof that everyone loves a bit of
nostalgia resulted in a UK #1 for this CD.
Australia missed out on it for Father’s Day,
but we’ll have plenty for Christmas!
26 Classical music
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ADÍO ESPAÑA: ROMANCES, VILLANCICOS & IMPROVISATIONS
FROM SPAIN CIRCA 1500
The Baltimore Consort. CD. $30.95
The Baltimore Consort weaves magic on this
recording featuring early 16th-century Spanish
music, with countertenor José Lemos creating
a harmonious blend between the compositions’
classical and folk elements. Beautiful melodic lines
interweave with skilful lute accompaniment, and
sharp percussive elements add colour and style.
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ISTANBUL: DIMITRIE CANTEMIR 1673–1723
Jordi Savall, Hespèrion XXI & Guests.
Was $34.95, now $29.95
Based on an 18th-century Moldavian prince’s
transcriptions of Turkish music, this ravishing
recording features the cream of Turkish and
Armenian players. A worthy expansion on the
themes explored in the classic Orient –
Occident, and a disc that only those without a
soul could find unmoving.
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PABLO CASALS: THE COMPLETE PUBLISHED EMI RECORDINGS 1926–1955
Pablo Casals. 9-CD set.
Was $49.95, now $43.95
The release of this boxed set has been timed to
coincide with the publication of Eric Siblin’s book
The Cello Suites (see p8). Pablo Casals was the
cellist who brought the Bach Cello Suites out of
obscurity. His complete and definitive recording of
these works is included in this wonderful set.
BALLET MASTERPIECES
35-CD Set.
WAS $119.95, NOW $99.95
The Masterpieces collection is an unashamed
ode to the masters behind the music of ballet in
the form of a strictly limited edition, 35-CD set. It
features all of our favourite musicians and every
major ballet you can think of, and will cause
ballet and music lovers alike to swoon with the
quality and quantity of each and every work.
FAMOUS COMPOSERS
40-CD set. $39.95
This ambitious 40-CD collection has taken just
about every composer you have ever heard of,
alphabetised them, highlighted some of their
most famous works and presented them all
for your enjoyment. This is the perfect way to
introduce someone to classical music – give
them this set and a CD player, and watch their
eyes light up with delight!
This collection of popular classics has been
selected by the much-loved former Gardening
Australia presenter, Peter Cundall. He has
selected both the works and the particular
recordings that have personal meaning for
him, going back to his childhood and through
to the present day.
BRAHMS: the SYMPHONIES
Berliner Philharmoniker with
Simon Rattle. 3-CD set. $29.95
With his deft touch, Simon Rattle has brought
Brahms back to life. This clear and beautiful new
recording from the Berliner Philharmoniker will
have you transfixed – if you don’t already love
Brahms’ Symphonies, it will show you how to
appreciate their true magnificence.
Those who still fondly remember the first
ballet they saw will understand that this
collection is a must for all children who long
to dance. Filled with favourite dances from
Swan Lake, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle,
The Nutcracker and more, this compilation
features the top tier of dancers currently
gracing the stage.
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Was $119.95, now $69.95
This amazing boxed set includes 50 CDs featuring
key recordings from the EMI classical catalogue.
Performers include Yehudi Menuhin, Jean-Pierre
Rampal, Geoffrey Parsons, Lucia Popp, Radu Lupu
and many more. This is the closest to a complete
set of Schubert’s works that you’ll find and is
brilliant value at this special price. A great gift idea!
111 YEARS OF DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON
55-CD set. Was $159.95, now $139.95
What an achievement! 111 years in recording is
certainly something to boast about, and DG is doing
just that by releasing 55 of its landmark recordings.
All are as they were in the beginning, featuring DG’s
stunning quality. From Boulez performing Stravinsky
to Abbado’s Brahms Hungarian Dances, this is a
truly exciting collection.
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SACRED MUSIC: CORNERSTONE
WORKS OF SACRED MUSIC
30-CD set.
Was $149.95, now $74.95
SACRIFICIUM
Cecilia Bartoli & Il Giardino Armonico
with Giovanni Antonini. 2-CD set &
limited-edition HB book.
From a very early Ambrosian chant of the second
century right through to Bernstein’s Mass,
this 30-CD set covers sacred music from the
Catholic faith to the Orthodox style through to the
Reformation Church and has Bach’s music as its
centre point. Anyone who loves choral music or
simply adores sacred music must listen to this
beautiful anthology.
Cecilia Bartoli takes us on a guided tour of the
Neapolitan School of castrati, which included
such greats as Farinelli and Caffarelli. Bartoli
sings her way through some of the most virtuosic
and sublime repertoire ever written for the human
voice. Includes a 108-page illustrated ‘Castrato
Compendium’ profiling leading castrati and the
composers who wrote for them.
WAS $39.95, NOW $34.95
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SCHUBERT: the COLLECTOR’S EDITION
Various Artists. 50-CD set.
Savall and Co. top last year’s lavish Jerusalem set
with both an extra disc and an extra 100 pages – at
the same price! This time they uncover the gorgeous
and eclectic religious music of the Cathars, a 13thcentury French Catholic sect exterminated on orders
of the Pope. You have to see this set to believe it!
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MY FIRST BALLET COLLECTION
DVD. $25.95
Peter cundall: MUSIC THAT MOVES ME
Various Artists. CD. $29.95
LE ROYAUME OUBLIÉ
Jordi Savall & Hespèrion XXI.
3-CD set & 500pp HB book. $74.95
SUBLIME MOZART
Paul Dean, The Queensland
Orchestra with Guillaume Tourniaire
& the Grainger Quartet. CD. $29.95
The stunning orchestral opening with simplicity
and grace introduces our main musician,
Queensland’s awesome Paul Dean. Featuring
the Clarinet Concerto with The Queensland
Symphony Orchestra and the Clarinet Quintet
with the Grainger Quartet, this is a recording that
every Mozart aficionado simply must have.
TURBULENT HEART: MUSIC OF VIERNE & CHAUSSON
Steve Davislim & The Queensland
Orchestra with Guillaume Tourniaire.
CD. $29.95
Australia’s internationally renowned tenor Steve
Davislim sings superbly in this programme
of rarely heard French romantic music by
composers Louis Vierne and Ernest Chausson.
This is the aural equivalent of a cherry clafoutis –
rich, sumptuous and satisfying. The super audio
compact disc/hybrid is playable on all CD players
and offers sound quality that scores 10 out of 10.
VERISMO
Renée Fleming.
CD. Was $29.95, now $21.95
The stunning aria ‘Senza mamma’ from Puccini’s
Suor Angelica opens this delightful new offering
from American soprano Renée Fleming. With
well-loved favourites including ‘Mi chiamano
Mimi’ from La Bohème and lesser-known arias
such as the fiery ‘Ier dalla fabbrica a Triana’ from
Zandonai’s Conchita, this recording gives all
opera lovers something to enjoy.
27
DVDs BABETTE’S FEAST
DVD $19.95
This Danish masterpiece enchants with its
subtlety and depth. Babette, a maid for two
religious sisters, spends her lottery winnings
creating an extravagant feast for the town. You’ll
be dazzled well after the film’s close.
ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $39.95
Werner Herzog, accompanied only by his
cameraman, travels to Antarctica to document
the experiences of the men and women who risk
their lives and sanity in search of cutting-edge
science. A raw and beautiful meditation on nature
and humanity.
BALIBO
DVD $39.95, Blu-ray $44.95 Available 11 December
1975. As Indonesia prepares to invade the
tiny nation of East Timor, five Australian-based
journalists go missing. Four weeks later, veteran
foreign correspondent Roger East arrives in East
Timor to investigate the fate of the missing men.
A tense and important political thriller.
I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG
DVD $29.95
Kristin Scott Thomas stars in Philippe Claudel’s
film about two siblings who reconnect after 15
years when the elder sister, played by Scott
Thomas, is released from prison. A beautifully
acted and well-directed French drama.
BASTARDY
DVD $39.95
Provocative, funny and profoundly moving,
Bastardy is the inspirational story of one man’s
journey into the light. Filmmaker Amiel CourtinWilson follows Jack Charles over seven years as
he juggles two careers – criminal and actor. And
then the law finally catches up with him…
the COMPLETE SHERLOCK HOLMES COLLECTION
14-DVD boxed set $99.95
Collected here, in chronological order and of
spectacular quality, are all 14 of the famous
Basil Rathbone (Holmes) and Nigel Bruce
(Watson) performances made between 1939
and 1946, including the rarely seen The Hound
of the Baskervilles.
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
DVD $29.95
MAD MEN: SEASONS 1 & 2
DVDs $39.95 each
SAMSON & DELILAH
DVD $39.95
SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS
DVD $39.95, Blu-ray $49.95
Our pick for the best film of 2009. This chilling
Swedish horror is unlike any vampire film to date.
Stark and gritty, it remains faithful to the novel by
John Ajvide Lindqvist and portrays an exceptional
love story between two outcast children looking
for comfort and friendship.
This show draws the viewer in on many levels
– visually, emotionally and intellectually. Don
Draper the ad man seems to have everything,
but something darker lurks under the surface of
his American dream. A super-stylish snapshot of
Kennedy-era America.
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NORTH BY NORTHWEST
DVD $19.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Available 2 December
Cary Grant stars in a film that has so many
memorable scenes that it’s impossible to
single out only one or two for mention. A
new widescreen print and an entertaining
accompanying documentary make this 50thanniversary edition of one of Hitchcock’s most
beloved films indispensable.
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TRUE BLOOD: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON
DVD was $59.95, now $39.95
Blu-ray was $79.95, now $59.95
Available 2 December
In Bon Temps, Louisiana, vampires exist amongst the
townsfolk, surviving on synthetic bottled ‘True Blood’.
When dead bodies start piling up, Sookie Stackhouse
(Anna Paquin) begins to uncover the locals’ dark
secrets in an attempt to find out what’s going on.
This fresh, sexy HBO series is truly addictive!
THE PERSUADERS: COMPLETE SERIES
DVD was $39.95, now $34.95
Available 9 December
Roger Moore and Tony Curtis not only look
good in this groundbreaking 1971 series, they
also drive sexy cars and are filmed in beautiful
locations across the globe. It’s even got a great
theme tune by John Barry. Brilliant.
WAKE IN FRIGHT
DVD $34.95, Blu-ray $44.95
Painstakingly restored and presented in its
original, uncompromising form, this release of
Ted Kotcheff’s 1971 film Wake in Fright is aweinspiring, brutal and stunning. Stars Gary Bond,
Donald Pleasence, Chips Rafferty, John Meillon
and Jack Thompson.
This thought-provoking, touching and original
Australian film from first-time writer-director
Warwick Thornton follows two Aboriginal kids
struggling to find happiness in their constrained
lives in remote Central Australia. Brilliantly acted
and lovingly filmed.
This much-loved 1937 film based on the classic
fairy tale from the brothers Grimm has been
released from Disney’s vaults and lovingly
restored. It features the classic songs ‘Whistle
While You Work’, ‘Some Day My Prince Will Come’
and ‘Heigh-Ho’, and is a film that all ages will enjoy.
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the WIZARD OF OZ: 70TH ANNIVERSAY ULTIMATE
COLLECTOR’S EDITION
DVD, 52pp production history book &
memorabilia $69.95, Blu-ray $84.95
Join Dorothy and her band of loveable rogues
along the yellow brick road as she tries to find
her way back home to Kansas. This timeless
classic has loads of great characters, but the Tin
Man seeking a heart and the Wicked Witch of the
West and her flying monkeys are our favourites!
THE WIRE: Seasons 1, 2, 3 & 4
DVDs were $59.95 each
now $29.95 each or $99.95 for a boxed set
Believe the hype. The Wire is a slow-burn
masterpiece of TV drama that has the courage
to depict urban America with a moral truth and
epic scope reminiscent of great literature. Also
available: Generation Kill ($39.95) by The Wire
writers/producers David Simon and Ed Burns.
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Readings has been described as Melbourne’s ‘treasured bookshop’ by
the Good Weekend, and this year celebrates its 40th birthday. To mark the
occasion we have published Readings and Writings: Forty Years in Books
(ed: Jason Cotter. PB. $24.95), which contains new short fiction by writers
– established and new – who have had an association with Readings.
These include Christos Tsiolkas, Elliot Perlman, Alex Miller, Cate Kennedy
and many more. This year we also established The Readings Foundation
to support the arts, literacy and the community.
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well as the most recent addition, a compact shop in the foyer of the State
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FREE GIFTWRAP
WIN AN INSTANT LIBRARY!
FIRST PRIZE
To win a library of books worth more than $5000,
a collector’s edition of the Macquarie PEN Anthology
of Australian Literature worth $295 or one of six
$100 gift vouchers:
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
SECOND PRIZE
•answer the questions scattered throughout the guide
A collector’s edition copy of the recently
published Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian
Literature, edited by Nicholas Jose and published
by Allen & Unwin.
2.
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READINGS
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OF VICTORIA
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Closed 25 December–2 January
Note: All printed opening hours are valid
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Mail orders to: Readings, PO Box 1066, Carlton VIC 3053
THIRD PRIZE
One of six $100 book vouchers.
I’d like to enter the competition to win more than $5000 worth of great books. My answers are:
1.
185 Glenferrie Road,
Malvern VIC 3144
Tel: (03) 9509 1952
Fax: (03) 9509 4957
Email:
malvern@readings.com.au
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MAIL ORDER: Order online: www.readings.com.au Fax orders: (03) 9347 1641
Our gift wrapping is free, but you might like to add a small donation to the Readings Foundation; we suggest
$2 per item. Donations over $2 are tax deductible. On a separate sheet, clearly indicate which books are to
be wrapped, where they are to be delivered and what greeting you would like written on the card. The delivery
charge will apply to each separate delivery address.
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READINGS
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•fill in the form below with your answers
READINGS
MALVERN
READINGS
HAWTHORN
subtotal
plus delivery (Melbourne metro)
or plus delivery (Elsewhere in Australia)
or plus delivery (New Zealand – one to three items)
or plus delivery (New Zealand – four items or more)
READINGS
CARLTON
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10.
Entries must be received by 5pm on Monday, 1 February 2010. The prize will be drawn at Gleebooks, 49 Glebe Point
Road, Glebe, NSW, at 5pm on Wednesday, 10 February 2010. 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 12, 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. Tel: (02) 9660 2333.
NSW Permit No. LTPS/09/08974.
READINGS GIFT IDEAS
Stuck for gift ideas? Readings has a selection of items that make perfect gifts, including
Penguin mugs ($24.95) and wooden book rests ($55). The wooden book rest is adjustable to
hold books of all sizes and folds flat for easy storage and transportation. It is ideal for holding
cookbooks and other large-format books, and can sit on your bookshelf as a display unit.
Readings also has a wide range of stylish calendars and diaries. The ever-popular Moleskine
diaries are back again and this year Moleskine has added a desk calendar ($36.95) to its range.
Our selection of calendars and diaries includes Rodney Hyatt’s beautiful Above Melbourne ($32.95)
and the Foodies Diary ($29.95), a stunning diary for food lovers.
PROJECT MANAGER: VIRGINIA MAXWELL. book SELECTION: DAVID GAUNT, KATHY KOZLOWSKI, MARK RUBBO,
CATHERINE SCHULZ & MARTIN SHAW. MUSIC & CD SELECTION: Dave Clarke, Lou Fulco, Catherine Koerner
& Phil Richards. REVIEWS: JANET AUSTIN, JO CASE, GEORGE DUNFORD, WILL GOURLAY, LORIEN KAYE,
DAVID MCCLYMONT & VIRGINIA MAXWELL. EDITING: VIRGINIA MAXWELL. PROOFREADING: JANET AUSTIN.
COVER ILLUSTRATION: MICHAEL LEUNIG. DESIGN: MARY CALLAHAN. PRINTING: HANNANPRINT VICTORIA.