Summer Reading GuideYour trusted guide to this season’s best books, CDs and DVDs

ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN 18ART 19BIOGRAPHY 8–9CDS 24–25CLASSICAL MUSIC CDS 26DVDS 27FICTION 2–6FOOD & WINE 15–17GIFT 21HISTORY 10–11KIDS 22–23LANGUAGE, POETRY & ESSAYS 7ORDER FORM BACK COVERPHOTOGRAPHY & FILM 18POLITICS, PHILOSOPHY & SOCIETY 12SCIENCE & NATURE 13–14SPORT 20STYLE & CRAFT 20

YOUR GUIDE TO TOP SUMMER READINGselected by Australia’s best independent bookseller

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PLEASE NOTEAll details were correct at the time of printing, and we will make every effort to maintain advertised prices. However, prices of imported items may change without notice due to the volatility of international exchange rates.

Hamish Hamilton PB $29.99

LOLA BENSKYLily BrettIn the summer of 1967, Lily Brett travelled to the UK and US, interviewing rock stars in London and New York for Go-Set magazine and attending the Monterey International Pop Festival. This novel draws its inspiration from this experience, and its protagonist clearly has much in common with the youthful Brett – including parents who are Holocaust survivors. Lola is a curious mix of neuroses, self-deprecation and nonchalance, and her conversations with larger-than-life characters such as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Mick Jagger are far removed from the usual question-and-answer sessions of popular rock journalism. A lighter read than Brett’s previous novels, Lola Bensky is about rock musicians, collective experience, self-esteem and the human condition.

Scribe PB $27.95

LIKE A HOUSE ON FIRECate KennedyCate Kennedy can write a mean short story, and here she’s at her incisive and beautiful best. She writes about people who are as perfectly ordinary as any one of us – which is to say absolutely extraordinary – and tells us about human weakness and strength, about love and loneliness, and about fear and bravery. Relationships between people are portrayed in all their complexity: Kennedy can flawlessly evoke tenderness, scorn, impatience, protectiveness … any of the many feelings that might rise up between people. These stories are at once contemporary and timeless – finish one and you won’t be able to decide whether to reread it or enjoy the rewards of the next.

Transit Lounge PB $29.95

LAS VEGAS FOR VEGANSA S Patric This collection of short stories well and truly lives up to the promise of its bleak and evocative front cover. Patric is based in Melbourne and has been described as one of the country’s most exciting writers of literary fiction, but the stories here defy geographical or stylistic constraints, being set across the globe and within various genres. The book draws its title from the final story, a literary doff-of-the-cap to Chandleresque crime writing but with a protagonist who is more vulnerable than hardboiled. It’s about deserts – geographical and emotional – and is as daringly and dazzlingly original as the stories it precedes. One for lovers of literary risk-taking.

Allen & Unwin PB $29.99

IN FALLING SNOWMary-Rose MacCollIris has never told her granddaughter Grace the story of when her 15-year-old brother Tom enlisted to fight in France in 1914 and she followed him across the Channel, determined to bring him home. Or how this led to her serving in a field hospital in the old abbey of Royaumont, just north of Paris. But an invitation to a reunion in France unearths memories of that time and of secrets that will affect Grace’s life – and that of her family – in unimaginable ways. This is a compelling saga about the lengths we go to for love, as well as an inspiring story about two headstrong women torn between families and demanding careers.

Text Publishing HB $29.99

HAPPY VALLEYPatrick WhitePatrick White’s first novel was released on the cusp of WWII and he never gave permission for it to be republished, apparently fearing legal action, but perhaps also because he felt it wasn’t up to the Nobel-winning standard of his later work – surely an unfair comparison! Now, finally, it has resurfaced as part of the excellent Text Classics series, an initiative to bring lost or forgotten works of Australian literature back into the limelight. It’s an involving tale of desperation, love and ambition set in the isolated Snowy Mountains town of Happy Valley, a name more ironic than affectionate. In his introduction, Peter Craven is right to call this novel ‘the exhilarating performance of a great writer in the making’.

Black Inc PB $29.99

THE HAPPINESS SHOWCatherine DevenyThere are plenty of hilarious one-liners in Catherine Deveny’s first novel, but the controversial comedian doesn’t just stick with her shtick. This is an entertaining book about serious stuff like emotion, commitment and fulfilment. And lust. Can 38-year-old Lizzie Quealy resist gorgeous Tom, the Englishman she fell in love with in her twenties, when they meet again? She loves her life in inner-city Melbourne with her husband and kids, but the temptation is huge. Which way does happiness lie? Lizzie is an authentic character, with a messy life, foibles and conflicting feelings. And if her dilemma is familiar, her solution to it is surprising. The Happiness Show will resonate with many women, and plenty of men too.

University of Queensland Press HB $29.95

THE CONVERSATIONDavid BrooksSometimes it’s easier to talk to a stranger than to someone you love. That’s what Stephen experiences one night in Trieste, Italy. Alone in a restaurant, he notices a striking woman who’s also about to dine alone. A gust of wind upsets the contents of his table, and as the waiter cleans up, the woman invites him to sit with her. In minutes he’s told her things it took him months to tell his wife – and their conversation flows from there, accompanied by delicious food. This meditative book is reminiscent of Richard Linklater’s classic film Before Sunrise, in which two strangers share a night of intense conversation. Australian author David Brooks has outdone himself here, and the melancholy and beauty of this novel linger well after the last page is read.

Allen & Unwin HB $16.99

THE AMBER AMULETCraig SilveyBy day, 12-year-old Liam McKenzie seems like an ordinary boy. To avoid any suspicion about his real identity, he sometimes acts up at school or deliberately gets himself into trouble at home. By night, Liam is the Masked Avenger, patrolling the neighbourhood and helping those in need. Whether it’s stepping in to help a neighbour who has neglected to check his tyre pressure, or clearing someone’s congested garden sprinkler, the Masked Avenger, accompanied by his sidekick Richie the Powerbeagle, is on the case. However, it’s really the lady at the end of the street that needs his help, and the only thing that can help her is the Amber Amulet. But what if, by helping one person, you hurt someone else? A big, heartfelt story presented in a small, quirky package.

Transit Lounge PB $29.95

AFTER LOVESubhash JairethVasu is an Indian architecture student studying in Moscow in the late 1960s. Full of enthusiasm for the Soviet Union and its ways, he is blind to the hardships that many of its citizens face. Then he meets and falls in love with Anna, an archaeology student and talented cellist who desperately wants to leave the city. Uncertain that a return to India would be right for Anna, Vasu takes a teaching job in Venice instead, where Anna can indulge her passion for music. But one day Anna goes missing. A sensitive and moving love story, After Love explores the realm of emotions and music in a thought-provoking way, delving into the interplay and spaces between them that cannot always be explained.

Australian fiction

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FOAL’S BREADGillian Mears Allen & Unwin PB $22.99This story set within the Australian high-jumping horse circuit prior to WWII was the winner of the 2012 Prime Minister’s Literary Award (Fiction).

THE RAGEGene Kerrigan Vintage PB $14.95Kerrigan’s hardboiled thriller set in credit-crunch Dublin won this year’s Crime Writer’s Association (CWA) Gold Dagger.

RED SORGHUMMo Yan Arrow PB $19.95The winner of this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature is best known for this novel of family and myth set in China during the turbulent 1930s.

THE SONG OF ACHILLESMadeline Miller Bloomsbury PB $19.99American academic and novelist Madeline Miller won the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction for this startlingly original rendering of the Trojan War.

ALL THAT I AMAnna Funder Penguin PB $22.95A masterful novel about bravery and betrayal, risks and sacrifi ces, set in Berlin, London and Sydney. Winner of the 2012 Miles Franklin Literary Award.

EVEN THE DOGSJon McGregor Bloomsbury PB $19.99An intimate exploration of life at the edges of society, Even the Dogs is about love, loss, despair and redemption. Winner of the 2012 International Impac Dublin Literary Award.

CHINAMANShehan Karunatilaka Vintage PB $19.95This story of modern-day Sri Lanka and its most cherished sport, cricket, was awarded this year’s Commonwealth Book Prize.

BRING UP THE BODIESHilary Mantel Fourth Estate PB WAS $32.99 NOW $27.95The second volume of Hilary Mantel’s astounding account of the life of Thomas Cromwell was the fi rst sequel to win the Man Booker Prize for Fiction.

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Fremantle Press PB $24.99

WHISKY CHARLIE FOXTROTAnnabel SmithAhh, families. They’re so hard sometimes. Charlie’s relationship with his identical twin Whisky (real name William) has moved from inseparable to estranged. They go from boys playing with their walkie-talkies and memorising the two-way alphabet, through adolescence (with Whisky getting the girls and Charlie’s confi dence withering), to adulthood, where Charlie cannot forgive Whisky his sins. Then, with Whisky lying in a coma after an accident, Charlie is fl ooded with confl icting emotions. Can he forgive? Should he forgive? What do his memories tell him? Does he need to challenge his idea of himself? Annabel Smith’s moving novel feels like it could be a true story, and her use of the two-way alphabet, from Alpha to Zulu, gives a sense of progression and focus.

Text HB $29.99

THE VOYAGEMurray BailMurray Bail’s latest novel brings together a seemingly disparate clutch of ideas, characters and scenarios – a 40-something Sydney piano manufacturer, an archetypal blonde from upper Austria, a music critic whose house has burnt down, a cargo ship returning from Europe to Australia – and spins them into a narrative whole in his usual extremely accomplished manner. Frank Delage has unsuccessfully attempted to spruik his radically designed concert grand in Europe, but by chance he encounters Amalia van Schalla, doyenne of Viennese society, and her daughter Elizabeth, with weighty implications for them all. Looping backwards and forwards in time, Bail fl eshes out intricate sketches of character and a richly embroidered tale that has an irresistible momentum.

Allen & Unwin PB $22.99

UNNATURAL HABITSKerry GreenwoodThe 19th book in Greenwood’s much-loved series of novels featuring Phryne Fisher is sure to please both long-standing fans and those who have recently discovered the glamorous sleuth through the ABC television series. The plot is the usual exhilarating mélange of fashion, fi endishness and friendship, with Phryne, Dot, Jane, Ruth and the other members of their unorthodox and extended household attempting to locate a missing journalist and a group of pregnant girls, uncover dastardly goings-on at a convent and solve the mystery of who is chloroforming men and performing forced vasectomies on them (yes, you read that correctly!). Also available: The Honourable Phryne Fisher Returns (Allen & Unwin. PB. $29.99), a second anthology of Phryne’s early adventures including Death at Victoria Dock, The Green Mill Murder and Blood and Circuses.

Scribe PB $29.95

SUFFICIENT GRACEAmy EspesethRuth and her cousin Naomi live in an isolated religious community in America. Their lives are ruled by the rhythms of nature – harsh winters, hunting seasons, harvests – and by their families’ uncompromising beliefs. As their story unfolds, it becomes obvious that beneath the surface of this closed, frozen world, hidden dangers lurk. Now resident in Australia, Espeseth was born in rural Wisconsin, and she captures the harsh beauty of that landscape extremely well in this powerful story of lost innocence and the quest for absolution.

Giramondo PB $24

STREET TO STREETBrian CastroThis novella details the tribulations of Sydney literature teacher Brendan Costa as he endeavours to fulfi l his ‘lifework’, a biography of Christopher Brennan, the great early-20th-century Australian poet and scholar. Brennan, convinced of his own genius and given to alcohol-fuelled bouts of brilliance, died penniless and dissolute. Costa’s life mirrors that of Brennan in at least two respects – his troubled marriage and his penchant for the bottle – but his academic career is singularly desultory. Sales of Costa’s fi rst two poetry collections have been minimal, but an unexpected publishing deal takes him to Amsterdam, where his fortunes take a turn. With this tightly spun narrative, Castro probes the creative impulse and the ecstasies and torments that it unleashes.

Allen & Unwin HB WAS $39.99 NOW $32.95

QUESTIONS OF TRAVELMichelle de Kretser‘What is the modern age if not movement, travel, change?’ Michelle de Kretser asks in her new novel. She then deftly weaves twin narratives detailing the trajectories of two protagonists: nomadic, artistically inclined, Australian-born Laura; and Ravi, dreamer and mathematician, who grows up in troubled Sri Lanka. From Colombo’s beaches to London bedsits and backpacker haunts in Bali and Kerala, we journey across fi ve decades, to arrive in 21st-century Sydney. De Kretser’s exquisite prose, signposted with pop culture and historical references, illuminates the grand themes and incidental details of modern life. For anyone who has lugged a backpack or bunked in a youth hostel, this novel will evoke familiar sensations and emotions as it probes the restlessness and motivations of the traveller.

Text PB $29.99

NINE DAYSToni JordanIt takes some novelists time – and a few books – to hit their stride, and in Toni Jordan’s case this would seem to have occurred with the publication of her third novel. While it shares some of the romance and humour that characterised her previous novels Addition (Text. PB. $23.95) and Fall Girl (Text. PB. $19.95), Nine Days offers the reader a lot more – an expertly orchestrated multi-voice narrative, earthy and evocative Aussie language, carefully researched historical background and an extremely moving storyline that never descends into mawkishness. Set in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond during WWII and in the present day, Nine Days was inspired by the photograph that graces its front cover, and the lives of its characters will resonate with many readers.

Text PB $29.99

THE MIDNIGHT PROMISEZane LovittWe all love to hear about masterpieces and bestsellers being discovered in publisher slush piles. The editorial staff at Text Publishing came across The Midnight Promise in this way, and in so doing they – and we – truly hit the jackpot. A collection of short stories featuring Melbourne-based private inquiry agent John Dorn, the book is described by the author as ‘a detective’s story in 10 cases’ and features edgy, conversation-driven prose that is reminiscent of the work of Peter Temple. From the twist in the tail of ‘Amnesty’ to the extraordinarily powerful ‘Troy’, this is crime fi ction of the highest quality and is one of the most exciting local literary debuts of recent times.

Fourth Estate PB $32.99

LOST VOICESChristopher KochDetermined to pay off his father’s gambling debt, Hugh Dixon asks his wealthy, estranged great-uncle, Walter, who lives in the ancestral farmhouse on the outskirts of Hobart, for help. Recognising 18-year-old Hugh’s artistic talents, Walter sees his great nephew as a kindred spirit, and a bond soon forms between the two. Listening to Walter’s tales, Hugh fi nds himself drawn into the depths of the family’s history, including a notorious encounter with Liam Dalton, a legendary gentleman bushranger who was a member of a utopian gang of outlaws who roamed 1850s Tasmania. Koch is a masterful storyteller, and this compulsively readable novel brilliantly evokes time and place.

LITERARY AWARD WINNERS

Australian fi ction 3

1. Who was photographed by David Bailey, Norman Parkinson and Helmut Newton?

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ANCIENT LIGHTJohn Banville Viking PB $29.95For ageing actor Alexander Cleave, reminiscing about his fi rst unlikely affair as a teenage boy in a small town in 1950s Ireland triggers a more recent – and devastating – memory.

CANADARichard Ford Bloomsbury PB $29.99Set in 1950s Montana, this haunting and visionary novel by one of America’s best contemporary writers is about vast landscapes, complex identities and fragile humanity.

THE CARTOGRAPHERPeter Twohig Fourth Estate PB $19.99This impressive debut novel is set in Melbourne in 1959, when an 11-year-old boy witnesses a murder. Forced to take refuge in drains and tunnels beneath the city, he creates a rather unreliable map to plot out places where he is unlikely to cross paths with the murderer.

THE CASUAL VACANCYJ K Rowling Little, Brown HB WAS $39.99 NOW $32.95The fi rst adult novel written by the creator of Harry Potter is a gritty exercise in social-realism that pours unrelenting scorn on British middle-class gentility and makes a number of pertinent political points as its page-turning narrative unfolds.

THE CHEMISTRY OF TEARSPeter Carey Penguin PB $22.99After her lover dies, museum horologist Catherine Gehrig is given the task of assembling a 19th-century automaton. Carey’s latest novel is full of familiar themes: the power of love, the process of grief and the futility of humanity’s search for order.

THE DINNERHerman Koch Text PB $29.99This dark and provocative satirical novel has been a bestseller in Europe, where it has sold more than one million copies. Its portrayal of upper-middle-class families is in turn engrossing, hilarious and horrifying.

ELEVEN SEASONSPaul D Carter Allen & Unwin PB $29.99The winner of this year’s Australian/ Vogel Literary Award for unpublished manuscripts by writers aged under 35, Eleven Seasons is a story of wayward youths, Aussie Rules football and the relationships of mothers and their sons.

THE ENGAGEMENTChloe Hooper Hamish Hamilton PB $29.99 This psychological thriller by the author of The Tall Man (Penguin. PB. $24.95) is a gothic tale of love, sex and money set in Victoria’s Western District that nods towards Charlotte Brontë one minute, Gabrielle Lord the next.

THE BAT Jo NesbøChristmas has arrived early this year for Nesbø fans! Finally, we can enjoy the fi rst Harry Hole novel, which was released in Norway in 1997 but hasn’t been published in an English edition until now. All of those references in the later books to Harry’s time in Sydney’s Kings Cross are explained, as are the genesis of his alcoholism and his skill in tracking serial killers (something that will become horribly commonplace for him in later books such as The Leopard, The Devil’s Star and The Snowman). While it’s not as polished as his more-recent novels, The Bat offers Nesbø’s trademark tight plotting, deadpan delivery and music references – plus, of course, the world-weary and incomparable Harry, one of contemporary crime fi ction’s most distinctive characters.

THE BLACK BOXMichael ConnellyIn his latest outing, Harry Bosch reopens a 20-year-old case and pursues it with his usual dogged determination. After linking the bullet from a recent crime to an unsolved fi le about a 1992 killing of a young female photographer during the LA riots, he searches for the ‘black box’, the one piece of evidence that will pull the case together. Soon, he comes to realise that the photographer’s death was not random violence, but something more personal that is also connected to a deeper intrigue. As riveting and relentlessly paced as we have come to expect from any novel featuring this professionally gifted yet emotionally fl awed character, The Black Box won’t disappoint Connelly’s myriad devotees.

Jonathan Cape PB WAS $32.95 NOW $27.95

Harvill Secker PB WAS $32.95 NOW $27.95

Allen & Unwin PB WAS $32.99 NOW $25.95

DEAR LIFEAlice MunroIn her new collection of short stories, the incomparable Alice Munro continues to explore the lives of various inhabitants of the countryside and towns around Lake Huron, illuminating the moments – some prosaic, some extraordinary – when their lives have been shaped. Suffused with Munro’s clarity of vision and unparalleled gift for storytelling, this collection features departures, beginnings and homecomings both virtual and real, painting a vivid and lasting portrait of how strange, dangerous and remarkable ‘dear life’ can be.

FLIGHT BEHAVIOURBarbara KingsolverFamily, community and ecology are familiar themes in the novels of Barbara Kingsolver, and Flight Behaviour features all three. But this slow-burning novel is also about self-fulfi lment, and its main character, Dellarobia Turnbow, is a wonderful creation. Trapped by circumstances on a failing farm in the Appalachians, Dellarobia is isolated in more than just a geographical sense. So when an aggregate of monarch butterfl ies mysteriously appears, she sees them as a possible salvation – it is only after a group of scientists arrives to study them that she realises that their arrival is instead a worrying portent for the future of the globe. With its topical theme of climate change and its affectionate treatment of the challenges facing communities in rural America, this wonderful novel is one of Kingsolver’s best.

THE HEART BROKE INJames MeekPhilip Pullman was ‘enormously impressed’ by this novel by British author James Meek (The People’s Act of Love. Canongate. PB. $19.95), describing it as a ‘moral thriller’. Whatever you call it, it’s one of those books that you just can’t put down. A brilliant modern-day family and romantic saga, it features a cast of characters led by a brother and sister – one morally bankrupt (and sleeping with an underage girl) and the other a do-gooder – who are forced to make decisions that threaten to tear their lives apart. Meek doesn’t fall back on experimental gimmicks here – like Dickens, he builds an involving, complex drama with, as the title indicates, lots of heart.

Chatto & Windus HB WAS $39.95 NOW $34.95

Faber PB WAS $32.95 NOW $27.95 Canongate PB

$29.99

THE CAPTIVE SUNIrena Karafi llyGreece’s recent hardships are just a fraction of those it has endured over the past century, and this remarkable novel follows a woman as she lives through many of these historical events. The Captive Sun begins in 1935 during an economic crisis, but compared with what lies ahead, this is a peaceful time. Schoolteacher Calliope Adham lives in the fi shing village where she has grown up, and her life seems destined for conventionality until WWII breaks out. Soon, her husband heads off to fi ght and die, and Nazis occupy the village, bringing Lieutenant Umbreit into her life. The end of the war just leads to more turmoil, in Calliope’s country and also in her heart. Already a bestseller in Greece, The Captive Sun is sure to be just as popular here in Australia.

THE CLEANER OF CHARTRESSalley VickersThis is the beguiling tale of a young woman who brings healing to a town that didn’t know it needed it, only to fi nd her own redemption among its community of lost souls. When Agnès Morel is found sleeping in the porch of the ancient cathedral of Chartres, none of the residents of the quiet French town realise what changes lie in store for them. Before long, she has a magical effect on all of their lives. But what about her own? A trauma lies in Agnès’ past, and eventually she will be forced to confront it. The Cleaner of Chartres is another great read from the author of the bestselling Miss Garnet’s Angel, with plenty of historical, mythical and religious information woven into the text.

THE DAYLIGHT GATEJeanette WintersonUsing her sly wit and ear for language, Jeanette Winterson has taken a historical event and crafted this seductive nightmare of a novel. ‘Stand on the fl at top of Pendle Hill and you can see everything of the country of Lancashire, and some say you can see other things too’, she writes. Dark magic, perhaps, is being performed on the hill. Two suspected witches have been arrested and then a magistrate stumbles into what might be a black Sabbat – 13 people gathered on Good Friday. One is Alice Nutter, a powerful woman by the standards of 1612, carrying a human tongue in her saddlebag … The infamous Lancashire trials are being set in motion, and this gothic tale about their victims is as brutal and engrossing as any episode of Game of Thrones.

Picador PB $29.99

Viking PB $29.99 Hammer HB $24.95

BACK TO BLOODTom WolfeTom Wolfe has been holding up a mirror to American society for decades. In 1987’s Bonfi re of the Vanities (Vintage Classic. PB. $12.95), New York was the perfect setting in which to do so; in 2012’s Back to Blood it is Miami, that sundried southern city where more than half of the population are recent immigrants, that takes centre stage. Wolfe dips into various ethnicities for his characters, and the palpable tensions between races and classes are more than background – they are subjects in themselves. The characters display nepotism and narcissism, hate and lust, selfi shness and corruption, and there’s even murder. Wolfe is very good at skewering we humans, and it’s this, as much as the plot, that makes Back to Blood such an engaging read.

4 Fiction

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HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THE FORRESTSEmily Perkins Bloomsbury PB $29.99New Zealand novelist Emily Perkins (Novel About My Wife) tells the story of Dorothy Forrest, who moves with her odd, disenfranchised family from New York City to Auckland aged seven and goes on to lead a life fi lled with the banal and the sublime.

THE HANGING GARDENPatrick White Knopf HB $29.95White’s unfi nished and hitherto unpublished novel is set in Sydney during WWII. It tells the story of two children who, together, negotiate the dangers of life as strangers abandoned on the far side of the world.

HARRY CURRY: THE MURDER BOOKStuart Littlemore Fourth Estate PB $29.99The renegade barrister and his elegant legal partner, Arabella Engineer, defend a series of clients charged with murder. Shades of Rumpole and Rake from the well-known barrister and media commentator.

HHhHLaurent Binet Harvill Secker PB $32.95This thrilling novel about a WWII assassination plot is based on the true story of Operation Anthropoid, when two Czechs sent by the British parachuted into Prague in 1942 planning to assassinate the head of the Gestapo, Reinhard Heydrich.

THE HYDROGEN SONATAIain M Banks Orbit PB $29.99With the publication of the ninth Culture novel, Iain M Banks confi rms his position as the pre-eminent science fi ction writer working today. ‘Epic in scope and derangingly replete in detail’ (Stuart Kelly, The Guardian).

I’LL CATCH YOUJesse Kellerman Little, Brown PB $29.99With I’ll Catch You, Kellerman (son of Faye and Jonathan and the author of 2008’sThe Brutal Art) has written a book that functions simultaneously as a thriller and a parody of a thriller.

THE INHERITANCE OFIVORIE HAMMEREdwina Preston University of Queensland Press PB $29.95This imaginative neo-Victorian epic weaves together a murder mystery, social drama and the story of a genealogical search in a colourful and humorous fi ctional package.

THE JEWELS OF PARADISEDonna Leon William Heinemann PB $29.95Set in the Venice that she describes so well in her Commissario Brunetti books, Leon’s latest novel is about the search for the lost treasure of baroque composer Antonio Sartorio.

Allen & Unwin PB $29.99

THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEYRichard C MoraisAnthony Bourdain, himself no slacker when it comes to writing evocatively about food, says of this novel: ‘Outstanding! A completely human story heavily larded with the lushest, most high-test food porn since Zola. Easily the best novel set in the world of cooking ever ….’ The story follows Hassan Haji and his idiosyncratic restaurateur family as they journey from Mumbai and Southall to a French alpine village called Lumière. When Hassan’s father brings the fl avours of India to this rural town in the form of his restaurant Maison Mumbai, the family faces fi erce opposition from their neighbour, the formidable Madame Mallory, whose Michelin-starred restaurant is all of 100 feet away. Morais deftly captures the passions, egos and aromas of the kitchen, delivering a charming, funny and life-affi rming novel.

LIVE BY NIGHTDennis LehaneThere are plenty of American crime writers who have built successful brands churning out annual variations on a tried and tested theme. And then there’s Dennis Lehane. Not content to limit himself to his popular Kenzie and Gennaro PI novels, Lehane has also written the powerful Mystic River, with its dark, almost Shakespearian, themes; the gothic-style thriller Shutter Island; and two meticulously researched historical novels: The Given Day and its just-released sequel of sorts, Live By Night. Set in 1920s Boston and Florida, this story of gangster Joe Coughlin has everything that afi cionados have come to expect from Lehane: evocative settings, powerful prose, compelling characters and a cracker of a storyline. A fabulous summer read.

MAY WE BE FORGIVENA M HomesThis is a novel that by any usual critical gauge shouldn’t have succeeded – but does, magnifi cently. It’s a fi ctional wild ride through contemporary America, veering off course innumerable times but arriving triumphantly at its destination. The storyline revolves around Harry, an under-achieving husband, academic and scholar specialising in the life and career of Richard Nixon. After a cataclysmic series of events leads to his older and more-successful brother George being incarcerated in a high-security facility, Harry is left in charge of George’s children, animals and house. Replete with black humour, improbable plot developments and commentary on the debasement of the American dream, May We Be Forgiven is a truly extraordinary and exhilarating read.

Little, Brown PB WAS $29.99 NOW $25.95

Granta PB $29.99

THE ORCHARDISTAmanda CoplinTalmadge is a good man. He is the orchardist of the title, tending to his trees in Northwest America at the turn of the last century, living alone for years after the disappearance of his sister. When two girls, heavily pregnant and scared, steal apples from his market stall and later appear in the orchard, he tries to provide them with shelter. Clearly he also wants to provide them with a family and with familial love. But good intentions pave the way not so much to hell as to heartache. Using language to great effect, debut novelist Amanda Coplin creates a hypnotic rhythm and pace, searingly memorable characters and a novel that provokes some profound questions.

A POSSIBLE LIFESebastian FaulksCommunal memory haunts these interconnected stories from the author of the acclaimed Birdsong (Vintage. PB. $12.95). Set across countries and over a century – from the resistance movement in WWII France, to a Victorian workhouse, to the 1970s music scene – the characters in A Possible Life risk their bodies and hearts in search of some kind of connection, some key to understanding what it is that makes us the people we become. Faulks prompts the reader to ponder the differences between historical and personal memories, and as always, his mastery of language and storytelling is apparent on every page, imbuing grace and humanity into the sometimes bleak points in time he addresses.

Weidenfeld & Nicholson PB $29.99

Orion PB WAS $32.99 NOW $26.95

MONSIEUREmma BeckerIf you’re looking for something even more deliciously erotic than Fifty Shades of Grey, don’t hesitate to grab this book for a bit of bedtime reading. Ellie and the man she calls ‘Monsieur’ share a forbidden passion. He’s a wealthy surgeon, a man of the world, a husband and father. She’s a uni student less than half his age who wants to live out her fantasy of being Nabokov’s Lolita. In notebooks, Ellie keeps a record of their sensual, steamy affair – including the kind of stuff that will make you cross your legs if you’re perusing it on a train. The author, Emma Becker, is only 22, and Monsieur has an autobiographical fl avour that gives it a wickedly sexy edge.

N-WZadie SmithThis isn’t the London featured in the tourist brochures. Instead, it’s the ungentrifi ed northwest (N-W) of the city – the London of the author’s childhood. Smith’s career kicked off in her mid-twenties with the popular and critical success White Teeth (Penguin. PB. $19.95), but now she’s well into her thirties and onto her fourth novel, the fi rst for seven years. Although her earlier work is brilliant, Smith’s style has grown up a little. The four central characters possess an incredible depth and vividness: anxious Leah and her deceptively successful best friend, Natalie; Felix, loveable and doomed; and once-handsome Nathan, who is deeply troubled. The novel’s intricate, unusual and seemingly fl awless structure could only have been constructed by an experienced, fi rst-rate novelist.

Hamish Hamilton PB $29.99

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Fiction 5

THE ONE HUNDRED YEAR OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEAREDJonas JonassonThese days, it’s a novelty to come across a best-selling Scandinavian novel that doesn’t feature serial killers. But over 2.5 million readers internationally have read Jonas Jonasson’s charming tale about Alan Karlsson, a centenarian who escapes through a nursing-home window and embarks on a picaresque journey that leads him into the orbit of bikie gang members, a hot-dog-stand operator called Benny, an elephant called Sonya and a detective chief inspector determined to track them all down. Alan’s journey is interspersed with vignettes from his past, where his Zelig-like ability to insert himself in the company of famous men during historically important moments in time supplies a second, equally quirky, storyline.

STANDING IN ANOTHER MAN’S GRAVEIan RankinTsk, tsk. It seems that Ian Rankin’s publisher told us a porky-pie when it announced that 2007’s Exit Music would be the last Rebus novel. Not that we’re complaining, as it’s always a treat to enter the whisky-and-nicotine–stained world of this maverick Edinburgh-based detective. This time around, Rebus is working in the Cold Case Unit as a civilian. Drawn into a decade-old missing person’s case, he connects it with other disappearances and establishes the existence of a serial killer. Soon, he and DI Siobhan Clarke are tracking the killer, while Malcolm Fox of the Internal Affairs Unit (The Complaints) watches Rebus’ every move.

Q 2. Which Australian impresario established Efftee Studios?

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SUTTONJ R MoehringerThis expansive, brilliantly researched page-turner by a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist re-creates the real-life story of America’s most active and most literate bank robber, Willie Sutton. Using sparse, well-honed prose, Moehringer follows Sutton’s life through the 1920s and ’30s all the way to the late ’60s, tying his story in with that of the 20th century. Figures and events from history feature on almost on every page – from WWI parades to Armstrong’s 1969 moon walk – and parallel themes run throughout: of the reporter searching for the real story of Willie Sutton; of the public’s fascination with crime fi gures and loathing of banks; and of Sutton’s futile search for the woman who initiated him into his life of crime, and who also just happened to be the love of his life.

SWEET TOOTH Ian McEwanThis novel marks Ian McEwan’s return to the spy story, a genre he last entered with 1990’s The Innocent. But like that earlier novel, Sweet Tooth is more about love, loyalty and betrayal than it is about espionage. As the plot unfolds (recounted in retrospect by the narrator, beautiful Cambridge graduate and trainee MI5 spy, Serena Frome), it becomes clear that McEwan is having a lot of fun with this book: the literary and academic pedigree of Serena’s lover, Tom Haley, bears many similarities to that of McEwan himself and there are plenty of publishing in-jokes. The story has more twists than a Chubby Checker record and is an intriguing and meticulously structured thriller, even if it is, as James Lasdun wrote in The Guardian, ‘more John Fowles than John Le Carré’.

TELEGRAPH AVENUEMichael ChabonThose who haven’t yet been inducted into the Chabon fan club should read this sprawling novel as soon as possible – like his Pulitzer-winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, it’s a funny and moving story that is told in simply astonishing prose. Larded with popular culture references (particularly American soul music and 1970s blaxploitation fi lms), the story is set in a predominantly black neighbourhood between Oakland and Berkeley and focuses on Archy Stallings, the sartorially splendid co-owner of Brokeland Records. Archie has plenty of problems: Gwen, his midwife wife, is in trouble at work; the incipient opening of a music megastore threatens the future of his shop; his troubled son from a previous relationship has appeared in his life; and his deadbeat father, a former star of martial-arts movies, is up to no good. It all makes for exciting and edgy reading.

UNUSUAL USES FOR OLIVE OILAlexander McCall SmithHow does Alexander McCall Smith keep producing such delightful novels? They’re always guaranteed to tickle people pink – the kind of thing to read while snuggled in bed with a cup of tea. This is the fourth book featuring Professor Dr von Igelfeld, who works at the Institute of Romance Philology, Bavaria, and is the distinguished author of ‘that defi nitive, twelve-hundred-page scholarly work, Portuguese Irregular Verbs’. The professor is socially awkward and doesn’t have much luck with the ladies – his last crush used his book as a stepladder – but then it seems he might get a chance with the wealthy Frau Benz. As for the book’s unusual title, let’s just say that a hilarious incident occurs involving olive oil and an academic rival’s one-legged dachshund …

WINTER OF THE WORLDKen FollettThis enthralling epic will transport you back in time and keep you there for hours. If you’ve read the fi rst in Ken Follett’s Century trilogy – 2010’s bestselling Fall of Giants (Pan. PB. $19.99) – you’ll be wanting to return to the action. But if you haven’t read the fi rst and feel like sampling the series midway, perhaps because of a particular interest in WWII, then Winter of the World can be enjoyed on its own. Follett’s characters – there are fi ve main families involved – are swept up in the events of the war and its surrounding years, while also dealing with their own personal dramas. It could be considered the literary equivalent of Downton Abbey, although Follett’s writing is more complex and satisfying.

THE YELLOW BIRDSKevin PowersKevin Powers served in the US Army in Iraq, and his powerful and haunting debut novel captures the impact of war on those who have been sent there to fi ght. John Bartle befriends the young Daniel Murphy while still training in New Jersey, and promises his mother that he will take care of him when they go to Iraq. Ten months later, Murphy, aged only 18, is dead. What were the real circumstances surrounding Murphy’s death in Iraq? How will Bartle face Murphy’s mother? And how will Bartle honour this deep bond, formed amidst violent confl ict? Moving and beautifully subtle, The Yellow Birds is also astonishingly vivid, taking the reader to the action in Iraq and into the mind of one who has seen the horror.

THE TESTAMENT OF MARYColm TóibínHere, Tóibín remains faithful to the Gospel stories but takes advantage of the lack of a narrative from Christ’s mother to deliver a thoughtful reimagining of her voice and experiences. Her son has been lost to the world, and now, living in exile and in fear, Mary tries to piece together the memories of the events that led to his brutal death. To her he was a vulnerable fi gure, living in a time of turmoil and change and surrounded by men who could not be trusted. Reviewing the book in The Observer, Naomi Alderman said ‘Tóibín’s weary Mary, sceptical and grudging, reads as far more true and real than the saintly perpetual virgin of legend. And Tóibín is a wonderful writer: as ever, his lyrical and moving prose is the real miracle.’ We can only concur.

TRAINS AND LOVERSAlexander McCall SmithUsing the words ‘charming’ and ‘endearing’ to describe a book or fi lm can often mean that one is damning it with faint praise, but that’s not what we intend here. And this is because Trains and Lovers, like most of McCall Smith’s novels, really is both charming and endearing. Philosophical questioning – What should we strive for in our lives? Is love the greatest of human characteristics, and is trust an essential component of love? To what degree does moral luck infl uence our lives? – is at the core of this tale of four strangers meeting on a train between Edinburgh and London. During the journey they share stories about how love has touched their lives, leaving behind questions – and some simple yet profound answers – to be pondered by readers who take the trip with them.

TWO BROTHERSBen EltonIt’s hard to pigeonhole Ben Elton. Though known best for his comic screenplays – particularly Blackadder and The Young Ones – he also writes lyrics and scripts for stage musicals and is the author of 13 wildly dissimilar novels, including the CWA Dagger–winning Popcorn and the dystopic Gridlock. Two Brothers is a different beast again. In it, Elton turns his considerable writing abilities to telling the story of brothers Paulus and Otto Stengel, born in Berlin on the same day that the Nazi Party was formed and forced to live through the horrors that the Nazis unleashed. The plot proceeds at a cracking pace, bringing the reader into the world of the boys, their Jewish family and their mutual love, Dagmar. Inspired by the experiences of Elton’s paternal family, Two Brothers is a moving and compelling read.

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6 Fiction

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

THE MOUNTAINDrusilla Modjeska Vintage PB $32.95This story of love, loss, grief and betrayal is set in the fascinating, complex country of Papua New Guinea, whose culture and people cannot escape the march of modernity that threatens to overwhelm them.

NORWEGIAN BY NIGHTDerek B Miller Scribe PB $32.95Sheldon Horowitz – 82 years old and irascible – disappears with a stranger’s child after hearing the boy’s mother being murdered. He’s determined to protect the child from the killer and his Balkan gang, but will he be able to do so at his age, and in a strange country?

PILGRIMAGEJacinta Halloran Scribe PB $29.95An affecting portrait of the mother–daughter relationship, this second novel by Melbourne-based Halloran follows 49-year-old Celeste as she accompanies her mother and sister to a pilgrimage site in Romania where her terminally ill mother seeks a miracle.

THE PRISONER OF HEAVENCarlos Ruiz Zafón Text PB $29.95The eagerly awaited third volume in the series of novels that began with The Shadow of the Wind (Text. PB. $24.95) returns to the world of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books and the Sempere & Sons bookshop in Barcelona.

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Q 3. Who looked to Conrad and Chekhov when devising an alias?

THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANSM L Stedman Vintage PB $19.95This international bestseller tells the story of what happens when a boat carrying a dead man and a crying infant washes ashore on a remote island off Western Australia, radically changing the lives of lighthouse keeper Tom Sherbourne and his wife Isabel.

MATESHIP WITH BIRDS Carrie Tiffany Picador PB $19.99Set in rural Australia in the 1950s, the second novel by Carrie Tiffany (Everyman’s Rules for Scientifi c Living, Picador. PB, $22.95) is a beautifully written hymn to the rhythm of country life.

THE MEMORY OF SALTAlice Melike Ülgezer Giramondo PB $27.95Shifting and cutting between different decades, continents, languages and cultures, this debut novel navigates the often treacherous waters of identity politics through cleverly interwoven twin stories.

MERIVELRose Tremain Chatto & Windus PB $29.95The sequel to Tremain’s splendid Restoration (Vintage. PB. $12.95) follows Robert Merivel, courtier to Charles II, as he heads to France in search of the Sun King and to Switzerland in pursuit of a handsome woman.

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THE NEW GRADED WORD-BOOK FOR AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLSW Foster & H Bryant Scribe PB $19.95First published more than half a century ago and now re-released in a nostalgic facsimile, this book includes spelling, grammar and pronunciation exercises.

ROSEMARY DOBSON: COLLECTED POEMSRosemary Dobson University of Queensland Press PB $27.95This volume celebrates the long and distinguished career of the late Australian poet, bringing together her vast and striking body of work.

THROUGH THE WINDOWJulian Barnes Vintage PB $19.95In these 17 essays (plus a short story) Barnes examines the British, French and American writers who have meant most to him, as well as the cross-currents and overlappings of their different cultures.

TOUCH THE BLACKChris Grierson Hunter PB $24.95In razor-sharp prose touched with poetry, Grierson uses the voices of the characters involved to brilliantly re-create the events that marked the rise and ultimate fall of one of Australia’s most notorious criminals, Squizzy Taylor.

BOOK WAS THEREAndrew Piper University of Chicago Press HB $33.95Subtitled ‘Reading in Electronic Times’, Andrew Piper’s surprising and always entertaining tribute to the endurance of books shows that the rich history of reading itself offers unexpected clues to what lies in store for books, both print and digital.

THE BURNING LIBRARYGeordie Williamson Text PB $32.99Alarmed by the increasingly marginal status of Australian literature in the academy, Williamson aims to reintroduce key writers whose works we may have forgotten or missed altogether.

A HISTORY OF BOOKSGerald Murnane Giramondo PB $26.95The major work of fi ction in this collection, ‘A History of Books’, explores the relationship between reading and writing in 29 sections, each of which begins with the memory of a book that has left an image in Murnane’s mind.

HOW TO WRITE A SENTENCE AND HOW TO READ ONEStanley Fish HarperCollins PB $19.99Outspoken New York Times columnist Stanley Fish offers an entertaining and erudite analysis of language and rhetoric in this celebration of the written word.

Language, poetry & essays 7ANTHOLOGY OF NEW ZEALAND LITERATUREJane Stafford & Mark WilliamsCovering everything from Polynesian mythology to the writing of Katherine Mansfi eld and the Yates’ Garden Guide (yes, really), this 1248-page anthology has been compiled by two prominent academics from Victoria University in New Zealand. It brings together for the fi rst time in one volume New Zealand’s major writing – novels and stories, poems and plays, letters and diaries, comics and songs – from the earliest records of exploration and encounter to the globalised, multicultural present. This essential guide to NZ’s literary culture and heritage will tell you what to read, and why.

THE BEST 100 POEMS OF LES MURRAYLes MurrayThis new collection of poems, selected by Murray himself, gives additional weight – if any was needed – to the National Trust’s description of the poet as one of our country’s National Treasures. Poems such as ‘An Absolutely Ordinary Rainbow’ with its image of the policemen ‘… longing for tears as children for a rainbow’; or ‘Driving Through Sawmill Towns’, with its landscape where ‘jammed midday brilliance crouches in clearings’, show Murray’s versatility as well as virtuosity – yes, he writes wonderful poems about the Australian bush, but he also writes about much, much more. As poet and Nobel-laureate Derek Walcott says: ‘There is no poetry in the English language now so rooted in its sacredness, so broadleafed in its pleasures and yet so intimate and conversational’.

THE BEST AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS WRITING 2012Andrew Cornell (ed)Have Baby Boomers been forced back to work since the GFC? Will pre-commitment cards for poker machines coerce the addicted gambler to think before he or she acts? Is airport security a waste of time and money? Good business writing is informative, provocative, funny, even moving. In this fi rst edition of a new annual anthology showcasing the best of Australian business writing, editor Andrew Cornell shows just how good – and how important – writing about business can be. It includes a foreword by Reserve Bank board member John Edwards and contributions by Gideon Haigh, Alan Kohler, Judith Brett, Saul Eslake, George Megalogenis and a host of other writers and commentators.

Auckland University Press HB $65

Black Inc HB $24.99

NewSouth PB $29.99

SINCERELY: FURTHER ADVENTURES IN THE ART OF CORRESPONDENCE FROM WOMEN OF LETTERSMichaela McGuire & Marieke Hardy (eds)There’s defi nitely an ‘overwhelming specialness’ (as McGuire and Hardy describe it), to this second book drawn from the Women and Men of Letters live literary events. Ita Buttrose considers alternate versions of her life and Di Morrissey confronts a fox; Kate Miller-Heidke both comforts and shocks her 12-year-old self, while Mandy Sayer’s dog treasures her Mr Bowl. And there are Men of Letters, too, all writing ‘To the woman who changed my life’. Particularly amusing is Shaun Micallef’s deceptively polite letter to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. All royalties for the book are going to Edgar’s Mission, a not-for-profi t sanctuary for rescued farmed animals (www.edgarsmission.org.au).

WELL MAY WE SAY … THE SPEECHES THAT MADE AUSTRALIASally Warhaft (ed)From Robert Menzies’ famous 1942 speech on ‘The Forgotten People’, to Australian Rules football coach John Kennedy’s stirring ‘Fight for the ball’ address to his players on Grand Final Day 1975, Well May We Say shows that the mood, character and history of Australia and its people can be defi ned by its oratory. It reminds us, too, of the power of a single voice to move and delight, to persuade and inspire. This defi nitive collection includes 124 speeches by Menzies, Keating, Alfred Deakin, Gough Whitlam, Robin Boyd, Miles Franklin, Ben Chifl ey, Michael Kirby and many more.

THE WORDS THAT MADE AUSTRALIAChris Feik & Robert Manne (eds)Drawn from books, journals, newspaper articles and speeches, the essays in this collection are about Australia – what it has been, what it is, and what it can be. In it, historians, reporters, novelists, mavericks and visionaries from the Federation era to the present day tell a story of national self-discovery (indeed, the book is sub-titled ‘How a nation came to know itself’). It includes A A Phillips on the Cultural Cringe, Russel Ward on the Australian Legend, Robin Boyd on the Australian Ugliness, Donald Horne on the Lucky Country, WEH Stanner on the Great Australian Silence and Miriam Dixson on the Real Matilda among its 30 entries.

Viking PB $29.99

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THE BEST AUSTRALIAN ESSAYS 2012Ramona Koval (ed) Black Inc PB $29.99THE BEST AUSTRALIAN POEMS 2012John Tranter (ed) Black Inc PB $24.99BEST AUSTRALIAN STORIES 2012Sonya Hartnett (ed) Black Inc PB $29.99These annual showcases of the local literary scene are essential purchases for readers who want to keep up to date with what both well-established names and up-and-coming stars are up to. This year, Essays includes pieces by writers including Peter Robb, Helen Garner, Gillian Mears, J M Coetzee and Clive James; Poems offers over 100 works by poets including Les Murray, John Kinsella, Michael Sharkey, Luke Davies, David Brooks and Robert Adamson; and Stories features loads of exciting new names as well as a few familiar ones (Alex Miller, David Astle, Chris Womersley).

BY THE BOOK: A READER’S GUIDE TO LIFERamona KovalA love of books has coloured Ramona Koval’s life. Reading was her mother’s favourite pastime, and Ramona lost her ‘literary innocence’ at the age of 10 to Kafka’s The Trial. Books have helped shape her ideas about womanhood, love and beauty, and kept her going through hard times. She has written, edited and reviewed them, and presented ABC Radio National’s The Book Show. Here, she merges memoir with her personal history of wide reading. You’re sure to have read some and you’ll be persuaded to read others – everything, in fact, from the Kama Sutra to Grace Paley’s short stories to Washington Irving’s Tales of the Alhambra. In itself, this is a book to treasure – there’s even a stylish space in which to write your name.

THE HOROLOGICONMark Forsyth This follow-up volume to Forsyth’s stroll through the hidden connections of the English language, The Etymologicon (Icon Books. HB. $29.99), stays in the spirit of his popular Inky Fool blog (inkyfool.com). This time, he offers a collection of strange and beautiful words arranged by the hour of the day (a horologicon is a book of things appropriate to each hour). You’ll fi nd unusual and forgotten words for breakfast, for commuting, for working, for dining, for drinking and even for getting lost on the way home (an act that may lead to curtain lecture, a telling off given by your spouse in bed). FREE GIFT! Buy a copy of The Horologicon and you will receive a free copy of Simon Garfi eld’s Just My Type (Icon Books. PB. Usually $24.99), a fascinating study of fonts.

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DRINK, SMOKE, PASS OUT: AN UNLIKELY SPIRITUAL JOURNEYJudith LucyHer yoga teacher in India was ‘incompetent and bored’, her years of celibacy were defi nitely not deliberate, and she spent a trip to Italy ‘constipated and sleeping in a room with [her] seventy-year-old birth mother’. Judith Lucy’s journey hasn’t been as glamorous and sexy as Elizabeth Gilbert’s in Eat, Pray Love, but it’s a tad more accessible and also laugh-out-loud funny, as you’d expect from the much-loved Aussie comedian. Judith writes openly about her lapsed Catholicism, her reliance on her career for self-esteem, her issues with booze and relationships, and how and why she became ‘less of a pain in the arse’.

THE END OF YOUR LIFE BOOK CLUBWill SchwalbeOh, what a wonderful, life-affi rming read this is! Will Schwalbe’s memoir is about his mother Mary Anne and the love of books that he and she shared. It’s also about life – how to lead a life that is worthwhile, how to make the most of the life that we are given and how to know – and accept – when life draws to an end. As Mary Anne, a university administrator and refugee advocate, undergoes chemotherapy treatments for pancreatic and liver cancer, she and her son Will, a book editor and publisher, discuss their current reading and their favourite books – everything from Wallace Stegner’s Crossing to Safety to Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Their discussions end up being about much more than the books, though – they are about life, love, fulfi lment and happiness.

EVERY LOVE STORY IS A GHOST STORY: A LIFE OF DAVID FOSTER WALLACED T MaxSince his untimely death by suicide in 2008 aged only 46, David Foster Wallace has been described by many critics as the quintessential writer for his time, and his masterwork, Infi nite Jest (Abacus. PB. $29.99), as one of the great modern American novels. This biography, written by New Yorker staff writer D T Max, sets out to chart Wallace’s tormented but ultimately triumphant battle to succeed as a novelist as he fi ghts off depression and addiction. Written with the cooperation of his family and friends, and with access to hundreds of his unpublished letters, manuscripts and audiotapes, it is a fascinating portrait of this highly infl uential fi gure.

Two Roads PB $27.99

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JOSEPH ANTONSalman RushdieOn 14 February 1989, Valentine’s Day, Salman Rushdie was telephoned by a BBC journalist and told about a fatwa that had been issued against him by the Ayatollah Khomeini. So begins this extraordinary story of how a writer was forced underground, moving from house to house, with the constant presence of an armed police protection team. Asked to choose an alias that the police could use, he thought of writers he loved and combinations of their names – hence Joseph Anton (Conrad and Chekhov). In this frank and honest memoir inspired by an important principle – freedom of speech – Rushdie writes about how he and his family lived with the threat of murder for over nine years; how he was able to keep working; how he fell in and out of love; and how despair often shaped his thoughts and actions.

LETTERS FROM BERLINMargarete Dos & Kerstin LieffImagine fi nding a yellowed stack of paper in your mother’s desk labelled ‘Letters to my beloved’. This happened to Kerstin Lieff, whose mother Margarete had died at the age of 81. Margarete had spent most of her long life in the United States, and only in her late seventies had she opened up to Kerstin about her youth – her stifl ing years under the Nazi regime, and her gruelling post-war ordeal in a Russian gulag. Even while telling her daughter so much, Margarete never mentioned these love letters, which she’d written but hadn’t sent to a young soldier. Now Kerstin has pieced together – from those letters, interviews with her mother, and other documents and photos – the heart-rending yet hopeful story of Margarete’s resilience and survival.

MODIGLIANI: A LIFEMeryle SecrestIn this major biography, Meryle Secrest gives us a fully realised portrait of one of the 20th century’s greatest painters and sculptors. A Sephardic Jew from an impoverished but genteel Italian family, Modigliani travelled to Paris to train as an artist and make his fortune and was known for his striking good looks (‘How beautiful he was, my god how beautiful,’ said one of his models). Secrest looks closely at his artistic infl uences and debunks his reputation as a ranting, drunken, stoned womaniser, arguing that Modigliani suffered throughout his life from various illnesses (including TB) that he attempted to conceal. This comprehensive and well-rounded biography brings to life bohemian society in early-20th-century Paris and is a fascinating account of a passionate artistic life.

Vintage PB $32.95 Scribe HB

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GOOD MORNING, MR SARRAChris SarraThis is the inspiring life story of one of the most outspoken educators in the country. In the 1990s, Chris Sarra was the principal of Cherbourg State School, located in an Indigenous community three hours northwest of Brisbane. The fi rst Aboriginal teacher to be appointed to that position, he transformed the school into a national success story, but not without controversy along the way. In Good Morning, Mr Sarra he explains how he and his colleagues came to develop the ‘Stronger and Smarter’ philosophy that encourages Indigenous children to be strong, resilient, knowledgeable and proud of their Aboriginality, a philosophy that has led to the establishment of the Stronger Smarter Institute at the Queensland University of Technology.

GRACE: A MEMOIRGrace CoddingtonFor decades, Grace Coddington has designed wildly imaginative fashion spreads in American Vogue. Witty and forthright, this memoir – illustrated throughout with vintage photographs and exclusive line-drawings – discusses the designers, models, photographers, hairstylists, make-up artists and celebrities with whom Grace has created her ‘stories in pictures’, and also looks back on her own life. She writes about London in the Swinging Sixties (when she modelled for Vidal Sassoon and posed for photographers including David Bailey, Norman Parkinson and Helmut Newton), and also about becoming a fashion editor at British Vogue and then moving to New York and working with Anna Wintour. An essential read for everyone who loves fashion.

J M COETZEEJ C KannemeyerThis biography of the South African–born, Nobel Prize–winning author was written with his full cooperation. Its author, an authority on Afrikaans literature, interviewed Coetzee’s family, friends and colleagues for this project before his own death in 2011, using their insights to deal in depth with Coetzee’s origins, early years and fi rst writings; his British interlude from 1962–65; his time in America from 1965–71; his 30 years back in South Africa, when he achieved international recognition and won the Booker prize; and his Australian years since 2002, during which time he won the Nobel. Correcting many of the misconceptions about Coetzee, this biography illuminates the genesis and implications of his wonderful novels and gives an insight into the famously reclusive man himself.

DECEMBER

RELEASE

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FRANCES BIRTLES: AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURERWarren Brown Hachette PB $35The colourful story of one of Australia’s most extraordinary adventurers – a man who crossed Australia more than 70 times in the early part of the 20th century by bicycle and car.

GET WELL SOON!Kristy Chambers University of Queensland Press PB $24.95Subtitled ‘My (Un)brilliant Career as a Nurse’, Kristy Chambers’ rollicking, no-holds-barred memoir is hilarious one minute, heartbreaking the next.

GIVE ME EXCESS OF IT Richard Gill Macmillan Australia HB $49.99Gill’s humorous and opinionated memoir recounts his school days, his time teaching music in Sydney’s western suburbs and his stints directing opera companies and orchestras across the country.

GOUGH WHITLAM: HIS TIMEJenny Hocking Melbourne University Publishing HB $49.99The second volume of Hocking’s biography uses previously unearthed archival material and extensive interviews with Whitlam, his family, colleagues and foes.

Jonathan Cape PB WAS $35 NOW $29.95

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8 Biography

I’M YOUR MAN: THE LIFE OF LEONARD COHENSylvie Simmons Jonathan Cape PB $35Sylvie Simmons draws on Cohen’s private archives and on interviews with colleagues, Buddhist monks, rabbis and many of his closest associates to share stories and biographical details that have never before been revealed.

INSIDE THE CENTRE: THE LIFE OF J ROBERT OPPENHEIMERRay Monk Jonathan Cape HB $65The author of acclaimed biographies of Wittgenstein and Bertrand Russell here turns his attention to nuclear physicist J Robert Oppenheimer and the profound human dilemmas of American science and the atomic bomb.

LIFE AFTER DEATHDamien Echols Text PB $32.99This shocking story of one of America’s greatest miscarriages of justice demonstrates the triumph of patience, spirituality and perseverance over superstition, ignorance and cruelty.

LIVESPeter Robb Black Inc PB $32.95Robb profi les an eclectic cast of characters – Alex Dimitriades, Federico Fellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Ivan Milat, Marcia Langton, Peter Carey, Gore Vidal, Julian Assange – in a new light, homing in on what makes (or made) them tick.

Q 4. What is the Flynn Effect?

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HIGHLY RECOMMENDED MORTALITYChristopher Hitchens Allen & Unwin HB $26.99Courageous, insightful and candid thoughts on malady and mortality from the late, great writer.

PATRICK LEIGH FERMORArtemis Cooper Hodder & Stoughton HB $49.99A fascinating biography of the war hero and author of acclaimed travel narratives including A Time of Gifts (John Murray. PB. $24.99).

TRUE NORTHBrenda Niall Text PB $32.95A study of the Durack sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, and their closely intertwined creative lives, which were shaped by the enduring power of Western Australia’s Kimberley region.

VANISHED YEARSRupert Everett Little, Brown PB $32.99This follow-up volume to Everett’s memoir Red Carpets and other Banana Skins (Abacus. PB. $27.99) is as fascinating, witty and endlessly entertaining as its predecessor.

AS I WAS SAYINGRobert Dessaix Vintage PB $27.95A swirling conversation with the reader on everything from travel to dogs and cats, from sport and swearing to the pleasures of idleness.

THE HALL OF USELESSNESSSimon Leys Black Inc PB $24.99In this collection of essays, the eminent critic feuds with Christopher Hitchens, ponders the popularity of Victor Hugo, analyses the posthumous publication of Nabokov’s unfi nished novel, and much more.

MORANTHOLOGYCaitlin Moran Ebury Press PB $29.95Here, the outspoken feminist writer discusses everything from going to a sex club with Lady Gaga to getting drunk with Kylie, sniffi ng Sherlock Holmes’s pillow at 221b Baker Street, writing Amy Winehouse’s obituary and being snubbed at a garden party by David Cameron.

THE RED BOOKDeborah Copaken Kogan Virago PB $29.95Mary McCarthy’s The Group reprised for the modern generation, Copaken Kogan’s novel draws its title from the publication issued every fi ve years by Harvard University and is about the power and burden of privilege, the reality of being a modern woman and the lasting bonds of female friendship.

Biography 9MONTEBELLORobert DreweBack in another era, that other world of the 1950s, the British tested atomic bombs in the Montebello archipelago off the coast of Western Australia. Few people knew about this, but nine-year-old Robert Drewe did. The Montebellos became lodged in his mind and later became an obsession, part of his ‘islomania’. Drewe uses his recent visit to the islands with a group of conservationists commissioned with establishing a colony of endangered animals as a starting point for this complex and rewarding memoir. He writes not just about the Montebellos in the 1950s and now, but about much more, giving us glimpses into parts of his own life, delving into forgotten history, and meditating in so many ways on loss and renewal.

THE QUEEN OF KATWETim CrothersThere are many awe-inspiring true stories of sport rescuing young people from desperate poverty – this one has a surprising twist. Phiona Mutesi, who grew up in the Ugandan slum of Katwe, has a talent, perhaps even a genius for chess. At only 11 she was her country’s junior champion, and by 15 she was the overall national champion. She then headed overseas for the fi rst time, to compete in the world-renowned Chess Olympiad in Siberia. The Queen of Katwe begins with Phiona navigating the Olympiad and writing excited, nervous letters home to her mum. Tim Crothers then takes us through her incredible, inspirational journey and that of her tutor, Robert Katende, a fellow slum-dweller.

RAY PARKIN’S ODYSSEYPattie WrightIt’s rare that someone’s life parallels an ancient myth, but Australian sailor Ray Parkin’s journey in WWII was about as close to Homer’s Odyssey as you can get. Of course, Ray wasn’t captured by a Cyclops or lured by the sirens – his ordeal was one of real suffering and survival. His ship, the HMAS Perth, fell victim to Japanese torpedoes, and soon after he was taken as a POW. Intelligence and ingenuity helped him through all of this and the tough following years, as did his talent as an artist and writer. You’ll be amazed by the accomplished artworks – included in full-colour sections – that he created under gruelling conditions. Pattie Wright’s book takes a moving, unmissable look at Ray and the POW experience.

Hamish Hamilton PB $29.99 Scribe PB $24.95 Macmillan HB

WAS $49.99 NOW $39.95

THE TWO FRANK THRINGSPeter FitzpatrickThis dual biography recounts the fascinating lives of the Thrings, father and son, and their considerable impact on the cultural life of Australia. Although most readers will be more familiar with Frank Junior, courtesy of his Hollywood roles (Ben Hur, The Vikings, El Cid), acerbic theatre reviews and camped-up TV commercials (remember Huttons Ham and Little Lucifer Fire Starters?), his father was in many ways the more signifi cant character. In 1930, Thring Senior established Efftee Studios, the country’s fi rst ‘talkies’ motion picture studios, providing motivation and employment for the local writers, actors and production professionals who formed Australia’s nascent fi lm industry. His life barely overlapped with that of his son, and Fitzpatrick argues that this – and the vexed relationship Frank Junior had with his mother, Olive – made the younger Thring the fabulous yet tragic character that he was.

UNSTUCK IN TIME; A JOURNEY THROUGH KURT VONNEGUT’S LIFE AND NOVELSGregory D SumnerThis passionate and insightful portrait of one of America’s great 20th-century writers guides us through his best-known works, the 14 novels starting with Player Piano (1952) and including the iconic Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), all the way to an epilogue about his last book, A Man Without a Country (2005). Sumner offers a poignant portrait of Vonnegut, focusing on his resistance to celebrating the traditional values associated with the American Dream: grandiose ambition, unbridled material success, rugged individualism and ‘winners’ vs ‘losers’.

WAGING HEAVY PEACENeil YoungReviewing this book in the LA Times, David L Ulin described it as ‘A 500-page free-form series of digressions … by turns exhilarating and enervating, less a memoir than a self-portrait, with all the impressionism that implies.’ This type of format seems both expected and appropriate for one of rock and roll’s most unpredictable, distinctive and infl uential talents. Touching on everything from his youth in Canada to his fi rst band’s travels across the US seeking fame and girls, through Buffalo Springfi eld and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young to his massively successful solo career, Waging Heavy Peace is a revealing meditation on where Young has been, where he thinks he’s going and where he is right now.

Monash University Press HB $49.95

Hunter PB $29.95 Viking HB

$39.99

THE RIDDLE OF FATHER HACKETTBrenda NiallAcclaimed biographer Brenda Niall unearthed an important piece of Australian history while digging through the archives of exiled Irish Jesuit, William Hackett (1878–1954). Forced out of Ireland for his involvement with the Irish Nationalist movement, Hackett soon found himself at the centre of Australian political life through a friendship with the infl uential Archbishop of Melbourne, Daniel Mannix, and became known as a ‘meddling priest’ to politicians of the day due to his activism and convictions. As well as uncovering correspondence with BA Santamaria and revolutionary Michael Collins, Niall also offers her own refl ections on a man who was a regular visitor to her childhood home.

A SOLDIER’S SOLDIER: A BIOGRAPHY OF LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR THOMAS DALYJeffrey GreyCambridge University Press’ Australian Army History series is a wide-ranging collection of scholarly works covering some of our most important military stories, and A Soldier’s Soldier is an impressive addition. Jeffrey Grey has written a meticulously researched book about one of our greatest military fi gures, himself the son of a soldier. Daly’s career spanned 40 years, including service in WWII and as Chief of the General Staff during the Vietnam War, an incredibly diffi cult role that he performed with aplomb. Accompanied by maps and photographs, and drawing on conversations with Sir Thomas and his family, this compelling biography grants fresh insights into the life and work of an admirable Australian during a tumultuous period in our history.

THREE CROOKED KINGSMatthew CondonIn Three Crooked Kings, Terence Murray Lewis, disgraced former Commissioner of Police in Queensland, speaks for the fi rst time about the Fitzgerald Inquiry into Police Corruption in 1987, his sentence for offi cial corruption and his 10 years in prison. Condon spent two years interviewing Lewis and was given unprecedented access to his personal papers, which cover everything from his complete offi cial police diaries, previously confi dential police documents and his private prison diaries. Told decade by decade from the 1950s to the present day, the book is a grand narrative teeming with murder, pay-offs, political machinations, drug heists, assisted suicides, police in-fi ghting and a complicated system of corruption that ultimately collapsed under its own weight.

National Library of Australia PB WAS $39.95 NOW $13.95

Cambridge University Press HB $59.95

University of Queensland Press PB $29.95

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TUDORSPeter Ackroyd Macmillan PB $32.99 The second volume of Ackroyd’s History of England (after Foundation, Pan Macmillan, PB, $22.99) recounts the story of the English Reformation and the making of the Anglican Church.

RED COUNTRYJoe Abercrombie Gollancz PB $29.99Abercrombie picks up the story of one of the most popular characters from his bestselling The First Law Trilogy (Gollancz. Boxed set. $49.99) in this new tale of adventure.

SALVATION OF A SAINTKeigo Higashino Little, Brown PB $29.99This crime fi ction title from the author of the international bestseller The Devotion of Suspect X (Abacus. PB. $19.99) is just as compelling as its predecessor.

SILENT HOUSEOrhan Pamuk Hamish Hamilton PB $29.99Never before published in English, Pamuk’s second novel is the moving story of a family gathering in the summer before the Turkish military coup of 1980.

AUSTRALIA 1942: IN THE SHADOW OF WARPeter Dean (ed) Darwin was bombed. Sydney Harbour was attacked. Australian troops clashed with the enemy to our north. The whole country was mobilised, many fearing invasion. In 1942, for the fi rst time, we were truly in the direct shadow of war. John Curtin labelled this immensely diffi cult, crucial time the ‘battle for Australia’. Sixty years have passed, but that time is far from forgotten and books such as Australia 1942 are essential to the process of analysing and understanding what took place. Editor Peter Dean, director of studies at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, and a team of eminent military historians – both Japanese and Australian – have created a complex and thorough examination of Australia’s participation in the war throughout 1942, and of our enemy’s intentions.

AUSTRALIANS: VOLUME 2Thomas KeneallyThe second volume of Keneally’s history of Australia covers the years from the 1860s to WWI (‘Eureka to the Diggers’), a period in which Australia pursued glimmering visions: of equity in a promised land, of social experiment and reform, of industrial radicalism and of women’s rights. Keneally writes about immigrants and Aboriginal resistance fi gures, bushrangers and pastoralists, working men and pioneering women, artists and hard-nosed radicals, politicians and soldiers – all players in the drive towards nationhood and social maturity.

THE DEADLY SISTERHOODLeonie FriedaThis is the fascinating account of eight women who wielded huge power in Renaissance Italy. Joined by birth, marriage and friendship, Lucrezia Turnabuoni, Clarice Orsini, Beatrice d’Este, Caterina Sforza, Isabella d’Este, Giulia Farnese, Isabella d’Aragona and Lucrezia Borgia all ruled city-states for a time in place of their men-folk, building up formidable – and often unwarranted – reputations in the process. All experienced great riches and power, but many also knew banishment, poverty, the death of a husband or the loss of one or more of their children. The Deadly Sisterhood is a great read and a worthy successor to Frieda’s bestselling Catherine de Medici (Phoenix. PB. $22.99).

Cambridge University Press HB $59.95

Weidenfeld & Nicolson HB $49.99

THE GREAT RACEDavid HillHaving previously written about the First Fleet in 1788 (William Heinemann. PB. $24.95), David Hill has now turned his attention to the mapping of Australia’s coastline and the race between Englishman Matthew Flinders and Frenchman Nicolas Baudin to complete the task. In the years 1802 to 1805, Flinders and Baudin shared a quest to discover if the NSW coast and New Holland’s west coast were separated by sea. Hill also describes the achievements of precursors from Portugal, Holland, England (notably Dampier and Cook) and France (La Pérouse and D’Entrecasteaux). As it turned out, de Freycinet’s 1811 map of the Australian coastline won the race for the French, three years before that of Flinders, who died the day after his map was published in 1814.

A HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN TWELVE MAPSJerry BrottonThroughout history, maps have been fundamental in shaping our view of the world, and our place in it. But far from being purely scientifi c objects, world maps are unavoidably partial and subjective, intimately bound up with the systems of power, authority and creativity of particular times and places. Here, Jerry Brotton examines the signifi cance of 12 world maps drawn from global history – from the mystical representations of ancient history to the satellite-derived imagery of today. He vividly re-creates the environments and circumstances in which each of the maps was made, showing how they convey a highly individual view of the world, how they both infl uenced and refl ected contemporary events, and how, by reading them, we can better understand the worlds that produced them.

IRON CURTAIN: THE CRUSHING OF EASTERN EUROPE 1944–1956Anne ApplebaumReviewing this book, acclaimed British historian Anthony Beevor wrote: ‘Iron Curtain is an exceptionally important book which effectively challenges many of the myths of the origins of the Cold War. It is wise, perceptive, remarkably objective and brilliantly researched.’ This, along with equally fulsome reviews from historians Amanda Foreman and Timothy Garton Ash, indicates how important Anne Applebaum’s latest book is. Iron Curtain is a brilliant history of how Communism was imposed across a wide range of societies in the decade following WWII and a reminder of how fragile all societies are, and how vulnerable they can be.

William Heinemann PB $34.95

Allen Lane HB $49.99

EUREKA: THE UNFINISHED REVOLUTIONPeter FitzSimonsIn 1854, Victorian miners fought a deadly battle under the fl ag of the Southern Cross at the Eureka Stockade. Though brief and doomed to fail, the battle is legend in the Australian national mythology – Henry Lawson wrote poems about it, its symbolic fl ag is still raised, and most historians concur with Mark Twain’s description of it as ‘a strike for liberty’. FitzSimons investigates whether Eureka was indeed a fl edgling nation’s fi rst attempt to assert its independence under colonial rule, or whether it was an instance of rabble-rousing by unruly miners determined not to pay their taxes. In so doing, he gets into the hearts and minds of those on the battlefi eld and those behind the scenes.

EVEREST 1953Mick ConefreyBeginning with the British Reconnaissance expedition of 1951, this book details the events of 1953 that led to Sir Edmund Hillary becoming the fi rst European to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Using diaries, letters, memoirs and archival material, as well as interviews with the participants in that expedition and their families, Conefrey gives us the inside story of the expedition and shines a light on the other key players who enabled Hillary’s achievement. Perhaps even more interestingly, Conefrey also uses these sources to look at the way in which the expedition was reported at the time, and how myths and misconceptions infl uence the way we think about and remember this monumental feat.

FLINDERS: THE MAN WHO MAPPED AUSTRALIARob MundleIt must be the year of Matthew Flinders, with two books about the great navigator being released just in time to feature in our catalogue! Here, the author of Bligh: Master Mariner (Hachette. PB. $35) tells the gripping story of the man who named Australia and is often described as the fi rst to chart its coastline. Famous for his meticulous charts and superb navigational skills, Flinders was, as Mundle says, ‘a bloody good sailor’. He battled treacherous conditions in a boat hardly seaworthy, faced the loss of a number of his crewmen and, following a shipwreck on a reef off the Queensland coast, navigated the ship’s cutter over 1000 kilometres back to Sydney to get help. Journalist and competitive yachtsman Mundle has done an excellent job in bringing Flinders’ story into the limelight it deserves, providing a fascinating read in the process.

William Heinemann HB WAS $49.95 NOW $39.95

Oneworld HB $44.95

Hachette HB WAS $49.99 NOW $39.95

ANTARCTICA: A BIOGRAPHYDavid Day Knopf HB $44.95In his research, historian David Day drew upon libraries and archives from around the world to provide the fi rst large-scale history of Antarctica.

DEBT: THE FIRST 5,000 YEARSDavid Graeber Melville House PB $29.95Anthropologist David Graeber shows that humans have used elaborate credit systems to buy and sell goods for more than fi ve millennia, and ties this little-known history to the credit crisis of the present day and the future of the global economy.

THE SECOND WORLD WARAntony Beevor Weidenfeld and Nicolson HB $49.99A magisterial, single-volume history of the greatest confl ict the world has ever known, written by the author of Stalingrad (Penguin. PB. $26.95).

SHACKLETON’S WHISKYNeville Peat Longacre Press PB $34.95Subtitled ‘A Spirit of Discovery’, this is the story of Ernest Shackleton's 1907 Antarctic Expedition, and the cases of Mackinlay’s single malt whisky that he left behind.

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Allen Lane HB $49.99

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10 History

Q 5. What is prosopagnosia?

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THE SMALL HOURSSusie Boyt Little, Brown PB $29.99If you haven’t yet read any Susie Boyt, this is a great place to start. One of the UK’s most exciting literary talents, Boyt has written four previous novels and a memoir, but this stunning meditation on love, self-love and forgiveness (and their shadowy opposites) is her most impressive work to date.

TOBY’S ROOMPat Barker Hamish Hamilton PB $29.99Moving from the Slade School of Art before WWI to Queen Mary’s Hospital, where surgery and art intersect in the attempt to rebuild the shattered faces of the war-wounded, this riveting drama of identity and damage, intimacy and loss, continues the story fi rst encountered in 2007’s Life Class (Penguin PB $24.95).

THE TOE TAG QUINTETMatthew Condon Vintage PB $27.95This crime caper comprises fi ve novellas (one with the fabulous title ‘Murder, She Tweeted’) that recount the adventures of a former Sydney detective from 21 Division who retires to Queensland’s Gold Coast.

TRY THE MORGUEEva Maria Staal Norton HB $29.95This debut autobiographical novel is a cracker! The story of a young Dutch woman who becomes involved in the shadowy, adrenaline-charged world of the international arms trade but then gives it up for life in the suburbs, it’s full of tension, tragedy and irony.

THE TWELVEJustin Cronin Orion PB WAS $32.99 NOW $26.95From the author of The Passage (Orion. PB. $19.99) comes this story of 12 death-row prisoners who are infected with an ancient virus in order to create human weapons.

ZOO TIMEHoward Jacobson Bloomsbury PB $29.99The Booker-winning writer’s latest release is a humorous, sexy, rude and exhilarating novel about Guy Ableman, his vivacious wife Vanessa, and her alluring mother, Poppy.

THE AUSTRALIAN MOMENTGeorge Megalogenis Viking PB $32.95One of our most respected political and economic writers reviews the key events since the 1970s that have forged institutional and political leadership and a populace that is more farsighted than its politicians.

BEHIND THE BEAUTIFUL FOREVERSKatherine Boo Scribe PB $27.95This landmark work of narrative nonfi ction tells the dramatic and sometimes heartbreaking story of families striving toward a better life in Annawadi, a makeshift settlement in the shadow of luxury hotels near the Mumbai airport.

History 11THE KELLY GANG UNMASKEDIan MacFarlaneMuch has been written for and against Ned Kelly. The fi rst books written by retired police naturally did him no favours, but since the fi rst sympathetic title was published in the 1920s, Kelly has generally enjoyed good press. Ian MacFarlane’s The Kelly Gang Unmasked aims to counter that trend by confounding the arguments of ‘pro-Kelly writers’ and seeking to demolish public sympathy for the bushrangers, using a range of sources and the author’s own contributions. Amongst several novel new claims, MacFarlane suggests that Kelly murdered his stepfather George King and was unable to operate the Spencer rifl e he carried at Glenrowan. The book adds a fresh voice to one side of the continuing discussion about the moral territory underlying the Kelly Gang story.

ON THE MAP: WHY THE WORLD LOOKS THE WAY IT DOESSimon Garfi eldThese days, there’s no excuse for getting lost – not with what Simon Garfi eld calls ‘the instant, always-on, me-mapping of everywhere’. Map-making used to be more romantic, of course; the great explorers didn’t navigate by Google Maps. And back in the ancient days when unicorns apparently lurked around the Nile Delta, the world was being pieced together by people who really didn’t have a clue. Garfi eld discusses their efforts and those of many others, but this is more than just a history of cartography. There are also tales of frauds, gender differences, treasure hunts, thieves, Monopoly and fi ctional maps, including the Marauder’s Map of Hogwarts from Harry Potter. All accompanied by fascinating images of weird and wonderful maps.

1001 BATTLES THAT CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY R G Grant (ed)The fi rst wars known to history were the confl icts between the Sumerian states of Lagash and Umma, which took place about 4500 years ago in southern Mesopotamia. These confl icts – along with 1000 others – are given concise and easy-to-read entries in this lavishly illustrated book, providing a fascinating record of the armed combats that have shaped the political and cultural landscape of the world over fi ve millennia. Packed with facts, the coverage is up-to-date (it ends with the Marjah Offensive of February 2010) and has been written by prominent military historians from across the globe. Offered at an amazing, bargain-basement price, 1001 Battles that Changed the Course of History will make a handsome gift for military enthusiasts of all ages.

Oxford University Press PB $29.95 Profi le Books HB

$29.99 ABC Books HB WAS $65 NOW $15.95

SOLDATENSönke Neitzel & Harald WelzerIn 2001, German historian Sönke Neitzel unearthed a cache of hitherto ignored reports in the British National Archives. The result is Soldaten, in which Neitzel mines a previously untapped source of wartime experience: the secretly recorded conversations of German prisoners of war. In his book, Neitzel has collaborated with renowned social psychologist Harald Welzer to tease out the historic context behind the conversations captured by covert surveillance, and reveal the apparent callous brutality at the heart of the German war machine. While U-boat crew, members of the Luftwaffe and on-the-ground soldiers give their views on Hitler, combat, death, rape and extermination, Neitzel and Welzer shed light on the psychology of war and the factors that sustained the Wehrmacht through its 10 long years of violent existence.

VANISHED KINGDOMSNorman DaviesNominating it one of The Guardian’s Books of the Year in 2011, political philosopher John Gray described Vanished Kingdoms as ‘Wonderfully exhilarating, civilized and graceful’. A fascinating history of the European kingdoms, duchies, empires and republics that have now disappeared but that were once fi xtures on the map of their age, it answers many questions (What happened to the once-great Mediterranean ‘Empire of Aragon’? Why do so few know about the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, for a time the largest country in Europe?) and asks one or two of its own (Which current nations are likely to one day become a distant memory?). This original and enthralling book – now released in a paperback edition – peers through the cracks of history to discover the stories of lost realms across the centuries.

THE VICTORIAN CITYJudith FlandersThe author of the critically acclaimed social histories Consuming Passions: Leisure and Pleasure in Victorian Britain and The Victorian House: Domestic Life from Childbirth to Deathbed now turns her attention to the greatest of all Victorian cities: London. In only a few decades, London grew from a Regency town to the biggest city the world had ever seen, with more than 6.5 million people and railways, street-lighting and new buildings at every turn. Judith Flanders explores the markets, transport systems, sewers, rivers, slums, alleys, cemeteries, gin palaces, chop-houses and entertainment emporia of the city, revealing and revelling in its variety, vibrancy and squalor.

Scribe PB $35

Penguin PB $26.99

Atlantic HB $49.99

PAPER: AN ELEGYIan SansomThe history of civilisation is bound up with – and bound in – the history of paper. In Paper: An Elegy, novelist and literary critic Ian Sansom argues that the creation, trade and use of paper brought about a new era in human civilisation. Tracing the history of paper-making from the papyrus used by the Egyptians to today’s billion-dollar paper industry, he offers both a cultural overview and a series of warm, personal meditations on the history and meaning of paper in all its forms. Some readers will see this book as a valediction to the paper it’s printed on; others will see it as a celebration – only time will tell which was the more accurate.

SANDAKANPaul HamIn Sandakan, respected journalist and author Paul Ham moves his focus from Hiroshima Nagasaki (HarperCollins. HB. $55) and Kokoda (HarperCollins. PB. $35) to the Japanese jungle camp of Sandakan, North Borneo. With unfl inching detail, he describes the unimaginable conditions and torture that the prisoners of war endured, and brings the words of the soldiers and their relatives to life on the page. At the book’s heart is the long unacknowledged story of the Sandakan Death Marches of 1944 and ’45, one of the worst atrocities that occurred in the Pacifi c theatre. Harrowing yet compelling reading, Sandakan also traces the post-war experience of the POWs’ loved ones as they tried to unravel the fate of those who didn’t return.

SHAKESPEARE’S RESTLESS WORLDNeil MacGregorBased on a popular BBC Radio 4 series, this book reveals the fascinating stories behind 20 objects from Shakespeare's life and times. These range from the rich (such as the hoard of gold coins that make up the Salcombe treasure) to the very humble (the battered trunk and worn garments of an unknown pedlar). Each object allows MacGregor to explore one of the defi ning themes of the Shakespearean age – globalisation, reformation, piracy, Islam, magic and many others. Throughout, the great playwright’s words are woven into the histories of the objects to suggest where his ideas about religion, national identity and human nature itself may have come from. Also available: MacGregor’s A History of the World in 100 Objects (Penguin. PB. $24.99).

HarperCollins HB $24.99

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THE GREAT DEGENERATIONNiall FergusonThe decline of the West is something that has long been prophesied. Symptoms of decline are all around us: slowing growth, crushing debts, ageing populations, anti-social behaviour. But what is the cause? The answer, Niall Ferguson argues, is that our institutions – the intricate frameworks within which a society can fl ourish or fail – are degenerating. The four pillars of Western societies – representative government, the free market, the rule of law and civil society – have deteriorated. While the Arab world struggles to adopt democracy, and while China struggles to move from economic liberalisation to the rule of law, Europeans and Americans alike are frittering away the institutional inheritance of centuries. To arrest the degeneration of the West, Ferguson warns, will take heroic leadership and radical reform.

Allen Lane PB $29.99

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Melbourne University Publishing PB $29.99

GREENWASH: BIG BRANDS AND CARBON SCAMSGuy PearseHow ‘green’ are the big brands and the celebrities endorsing them? This is the central question in Guy Pearse’s highly readable and practical book for consumers who care about the green credentials of the businesses they patronise. ‘Nothing is sacred and no-one is safe: not the Toyota Prius, not the World Wildlife Fund, not Richard Branson, not Oprah, not even Earth Hour’ writes Pearse. For four years, he collected advertising material that claimed certain products and the brands behind them were ‘climate-friendly’. Analysing these advertising campaigns, and the real-life practices and carbon footprints of the celebrities who lend their names and profi les to these products, Pearse asks what impact, if any, they have made on the fi ght against climate change.

Black Inc PB $29.99

TALES FROM THE POLITICAL TRENCHESMaxine McKewIts publisher has marketed this memoir as an essential purchase for ‘those who have followed the fratricidal events of the past few years and are still asking “what the hell happened?’’’, but in many ways this book is more about the personal than the political. Sure, McKew counters the view that Julia Gillard was a reluctant deputy who was forced to move against a chaotic and dysfunctional Kevin Rudd, offering her own, very different, version of events. But the book is as much about McKew herself as it is about how the prime minister got the top job – she writes about losing her mother to cancer; being raised by her grandparents from age fi ve; working as a journalist; winning – and then losing – Bennelong; and fi nally embarking on a new life in Melbourne.

TRAVELS WITH EPICURUSDaniel KlineDaniel Kline’s book is an amusing and uplifting meditation on fi nding the pleasures of old age and the Epicurean way of living. When the philosopher and septuagenarian goes to the dentist for a check-up, he is informed that a section of his lower teeth must be removed and replaced with either a denture plate or implants. The implants would require frequent trips to the dentist, a lot of money and a lot of pain; the denture plate would be undeniably ageing. Klein asks himself whether it is better to a spend a precious year trying to extend the prime of his life, or to live an authentic old age, toothless grin and all. To arrive at an answer, he travels to a place where people seem to know the secret to a long, happy and healthy life – Greece.

UNCOMMON SOLDIERChris MastersMoving away from our nation’s ongoing fascination with the Anzac story, Masters looks at the rich and illuminating present to write a character study of the modern Australian soldier – war fi ghter, peacekeeper, street-level diplomat and aid worker. He discusses how they are selected, how they are led, and how they are transformed from civilians to disciplined professional soldiers. And in asking if they are unique, he examines what it is that allows these young Australians to lend moral authority to communities teetering on the precipice of violence in places such as Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Text PB $29.99

Allen & Unwin HB WAS $49.99 NOW $39.95

PHILOSOPHY IN THE GARDENDamon YoungWhy did Marcel Proust have bonsai beside his bed? What was Jane Austen doing, coveting an apricot? How was Friedrich Nietzsche inspired by his ‘thought tree’? In this book, Australian philosopher Damon Young explores one of literature’s most intimate relationships: authors and their gardens. For some, the garden provided a retreat from workaday labour; for others, solitude’s quiet counsel. For all, it played a philosophical role: giving their ideas a new life. Philosophy in the Garden reveals the profound thoughts discovered in parks, backyards and pot-plants. It does not provide tips for mowing overgrown couch grass, or mulching a dry Japanese maple. Instead, it is a philosophical companion to the garden’s labours and joys.

POLITICS WITH PURPOSELindsay TannerBeginning with his inaugural speech to Parliament in 1993, and concluding with his verdict on Rudd’s dismissal, this series of articles and speeches span the entire political career of the former Federal Member for Melbourne. His fi rst book since Sideshow (Scribe. PB. $22.95) provides both an illuminating look into Lindsay Tanner’s 18 years of political life, and an earnest overview of Australia’s political and social landscape. Ranging from candid insights into the ideological workings of the ALP, to the former Minister for Finance and Deregulation’s views on Australia’s future economic trajectory, Politics with Purpose manages a profound and constructive appraisal of Australia as a complex and multifaceted nation. Given the current state of politics in Canberra, such an appraisal has arguably never been more pertinent.

SPEECHLESSJames ButtonJames Button has politics in the blood. The son of Labor legend Senator John Button, he dabbled in student politics at university, reported on politics as a Fairfax journalist and spent a year writing speeches for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Speechless draws on all of these experiences, offering a behind-the-scenes insight into the workings of the Australian Public Service, as well as a fascinating insight into Rudd’s period in offi ce. Button writes about the art of speechwriting, the substance of our national narrative, the ego of politicians, the power of bureaucrats and the future of the Australian Labor Party. But he also writes about absent fathers, neglected sons and the heartbreak that public offi ce often triggers. It’s those musings – recounted honestly and with clarity – that make Speechless essential reading.

Melbourne University Publishing PB $24.99

Scribe PB $32.95

Melbourne University Publishing PB $32.99

THE HOBBIT AND PHILOSOPHYGregory Bassham & Eric Bronson (eds)Subtitled ‘For When You’ve Lost Your Dwarves, Your Wizard, and Your Way’, this philosophical exploration ponders a host of deep questions raised in J R R Tolkien’s timeless tale. Drawing on the writing of Confucius, Plato, Aristotle, Kant and Nagel among others, it debates important questions such as whether adventures are exciting and potentially life-changing events; what duties do friends have to one another; and whether mercy should be extended even to those who deserve to die. From Chapter 1 (‘The Adventurous Hobbit’) to Chapter 7 (‘My Precious: Tolkien on the Perils of Possessiveness’) and Chapter 15 (‘The Consolation of Bilbo: Providence and Free Will in Middle-Earth’), this is a book full of wisdom and entertainment.

MURDOCH’S PIRATESNeil ChenowethReading like a blockbuster thriller, this investigation by Walkley Award–winning Australian Financial Review journalist Neil Chenoweth focuses on a secret division of News Corp based in Jerusalem that produces smart cards for use by pay TV operators. In this fi ercely competitive fi eld, one of the ways to get business is to demonstrate that the smart cards produced by your rivals can be easily pirated – and unless you are very careful, sometimes those pirated versions make their way out into the real world and damage your competitors’ businesses. In Murdoch’s Pirates, Chenoweth describes this arcane world of hackers and pirates, one that is populated by ambitious ex–Scotland Yard men and former French and Israeli secret service agents, and that has been accused of involvement in mysterious deaths, break-ins and wild chases.

THE ONE WORLD SCHOOL HOUSESalman KhanOnline education may have gone mainstream in the form of the Khan Academy, but the academy’s founder, Salman Khan himself, has turned to old-fashioned communications technology – a book, no less – to outline his vision for the future of education. Actually, Khan takes a measured approach that values some aspects of traditional education, including teachers and schools. But, having found his calling after YouTube videos he made when tutoring his cousin and another couple of kids in maths went viral, Khan asks us to think big when it comes to using technology to revolutionise education. He foresees a world in which children (and adults) are able to fulfi l their potential and learn more deeply. This chatty book is at once memoir, meditation and manifesto.

Wiley PB $22.95

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BEDTIME STORIES: TALES FROM MY 21 YEARS AT RN’S LATE NIGHT LIVEPhillip AdamsIt’s time to crack open a book, Gladys, and learn a bit more about what you’ve been listening to on LNL for more than 20 years. Phillip Adams takes a look back and behind the scenes, remembering the death threats, a prowling Robert Hughes, ‘eargasms’, a bone-chilling conversation with a murderer, and revelations about politicians, writers and other such creatures. Adams also talks about the show itself, and why he started calling you, his collective listeners, ‘Gladys’ and then ‘Gladys and Poddies’.

12 Politics, philosophy & society

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MEMOIRS OF AN ADDICTED BRAINMarc Lewis Scribe PB $29.95In this mesmerising memoir, a neuroscientist recounts his relationship with drugs from the inside out, giving a revelatory analysis of the chemical changes in his brain that sustained his addiction.

QUIET: THE POWER OF INTROVERTS IN A WORLD THAT CAN’T STOP TALKING Susan Cain Viking PB $29.95Gretchen Rubin, author of the bestselling The Happiness Project, describes Quiet as ‘an extraordinary book that will change forever the way society views introverts’.

THINKING, FAST AND SLOWDaniel Kahneman Penguin PB $22.95Kahneman reveals how our minds are tripped up by error and prejudice (even when we think we are being logical), and offers practical techniques for slower, smarter thinking.

THE WOMAN WHO CHANGED HER BRAINBarbara Arrowsmith-Young HarperCollins PB $29.99The founder of the Arrowsmith School in Toronto is a passionate advocate of neuroplasticity (the capability of nerve cells to change) and here extols its effi cacy in overcoming learning diffi culties.

BLASPHEMYAsia Bibi Virago PB $24.99A shocking but inspiring book about a Christian woman sentenced to death in Pakistan for ‘contaminating’ (ie, drinking) the water of her Muslim neighbours.

LEFT TURNAntony Lowenstein & Jeff Sparrow (eds) Melbourne University Publishing PB $32.99In this series of essays, Australian writers and thinkers who openly identify with the Left explore why they do so.

MULLAHS WITHOUT MERCYGeoffrey Robertson Vintage PB $34.95Though acknowledging (and here exposing) Iran’s crimes against prisoners and dissidents, Robertson argues that the US has no legal right to attack it, despite what Israel – hypocritically hiding its own nuclear arsenal – demands.

A NEW HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHYAnthony Kenny Oxford University Press PB $32.95Kenny tells the story of philosophy from ancient Greece through the Middle Ages and the Enlightenment into the modern world, revealing the origins of many modern ideas and issues.

Science & nature 13ANTIFRAGILENassim Nicolas TalebIn his previous book The Black Swan (Penguin. PB. $26.95), Nassim Nicolas Taleb explained the existence of high-impact rare events beyond the realms of normal expectations. In Antifragile, Taleb goes much further. He tells us how to live in a world that is unpredictable and chaotic, and how to thrive during moments of disaster. He argues that many of the greatest breakthroughs in human endeavour come from the trial and error that is part of antifragility. And that some of the best systems we know of, including evolution, have antifragility at their heart. The most successful of us, the most daring, relentless and creative, will take advantage of this disorder and invent new, more powerful opportunities and advantages beyond our expectations.

BAD PHARMABen GoldacreIn his bestseller Bad Science (HarperCollins. PB. $19.99), scientist and journalist Ben Goldacre hilariously exposed the tricks that quacks and journalists use to distort science. Now, in Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients, he exposes a $600-billion industry in which more is spent on marketing than on research and development. This is an industry in which the results of clinical trials of new drugs are massaged, distorted or suppressed, and in which new diseases are invented in order to swell profi ts. Goldacre writes about doctors being kept in the dark about which drugs are the best for their patients, and about papers, supposedly by respected academics, that are actually ghost-written by drugs companies. Truly enlightening.

THE BEST AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE WRITING 2012Elizabeth Finkel (ed) Biochemist, journalist and author Elizabeth Finkel has, along with an impressive panel of advisors, put together this second volume of the best of Australian science writing, a rarely showcased genre. She values ‘clear explanation, storytelling and passion’, and contributors include Adrian Hyland on the aftermath of the Black Saturday fi res, asking why Australia is the most fi re-prone nation on Earth; Jo Chandler on her journey to the Antarctic to experience climate science ‘in the raw’; and Wilson da Silva writing about the fulfi lment of his lifelong dream to witness a space shuttle launch. This is a wonderful collection that is suitable even for those who are not scientifi cally minded because of its emphasis on writing that connects with ordinary human lives and experiences.

Allen Lane PB $29.99

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HALLUCINATIONSOliver SacksGiant spiders, phantom fi ngers, rancid stenches and lost loved ones – our minds can conjure an infi nite variety of hallucinations, and they’re more common among the sane than you might think. In his 11 books, neurologist Oliver Sacks has recounted many of his fascinating, often bizarre case studies. Hallucinations doesn’t disappoint – and it’s oddly reassuring, in that many of us will hallucinate at some point in our lives, and this isn’t necessarily an ominous sign (if you wake to fi nd a ghost by your bed, don’t worry – it’s probably a hypnopompic hallucination!). Sacks also details his own experiences with hallucinations, including 1960s LSD trips that make fascinating case studies, indeed.

HOW THE DOG BECAME THE DOGMark DerrIt is an accepted fact of evolution and history that the dog evolved from the wolf. But the question of how wolf became dog has remained a mystery, obscured by myth and legend. Mark Derr argues that the dog was an evolutionary inevitability because humans and wolves were made for each other: both were social species that lived and hunted as family units, and cooperation was essential to their survival. The natural temperament of, and social structure surrounding, humans and wolves is so similar that as soon as they met, they recognised themselves in each other. Combining the most recent scientifi c research with stunning and original insights, this book shows that dogs made us human, just as humans changed dogs.

HUNG LIKE AN ARGENTINE DUCK John LongInterested in learning about about homosexual penguins, monogamous seahorses, the diffi culties of dinosaur romance and how sexual organs in ancient shark-like fi shes actually relate to our own sexual anatomy? Paleontologist John Long has all the answers! In Hung Like an Argentine Duck: A Journey Back in Time to the Origins of Sexual Intimacy, Long writes about his quest to uncover the paleontological and evolutionary history of copulation and insemination, in the process taking readers on an entertaining and lively tour through the sex lives of ancient fi sh and exposing the unusual mating habits of arthropods, tortoises and even a well-endowed (16.5 inches!) Argentine duck.

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A BRUSH WITH BIRDSThe Australian bird art featured in A Brush with Birds is drawn from the collection of the National Library of Australia. These works span the years from fi rst settlement to the 1970s, telling us about the times as well as the birds, and showing how bird art in this country has evolved. The book is lavishly illustrated with vibrant and luscious art, and includes the stories of the artists behind the paintings. Through it, you will be able to enter the colourful world of birds such as the king parrot, the yellow-tufted honeyeater, the satin bower bird and the red goshawk, and be inspired by their beauty.

CURIOUS MINDS: THE DISCOVERY OF AUSTRALIAN NATURALISTS

Peter MacinnisThe earliest European explorers came to Australia in search of riches and found an inhospitable, desolate land. So rather than taking treasure home, they took the fi rst specimens of Australian wildlife and plant life. Peter Macinnis has written a wonderfully informative, entertaining and affectionate historical account of the adventurers and naturalists who documented our country’s unique and sometimes bizarre fl ora and fauna. There’s something of a boy’s own adventure in the way Macinnis portrays the historical fi gures, artists and botanists of the period, but there’s also plenty of well-researched historical clout to back up such playfulness. Free Gift: Purchase a copy of Curious Minds and you’ll receive a free copy of Penelope Hanley’s Creative Lives (National Library of Australia. PB. $34.99).

FOR THE LOVE OF NATURE Christobel MattingleyEbenezer Edward Gostelow (1866–1944) began his 50-year-long teaching career at the age of 15. A keen naturalist, he took every opportunity to study the fl ora and fauna of rural NSW and would liven up his classroom blackboards with captivating chalk drawings of birds, butterfl ies and fl owers. More than 800 of Gostelow’s detailed and delicate watercolours are held in the picture collection of the National Library of Australia, and 80 are reproduced in this handsome publication, alongside a short biography of the artist.National Library

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Q 6. What event did Mark Twain describe as ‘a strike for liberty’?

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THE JOY OF XSteven StrogatzStrogatz, a professor of applied mathematics at Cornell University, has put together a witty and fascinating account of maths’ most compelling ideas and how, so often, they are an integral part of everyday life. His ‘Guided Tour of Mathematics from One to Infi nity’ answers plenty of questions: How should you fl ip your mattress to get the maximum wear out of it? How many people should you date before settling down? How does Google search the internet? Why does the stock market swing so often, and so wildly? As Strogatz makes clear, maths is everywhere – often where we don’t even realise. His explanations of the great ideas of maths – from negative numbers to calculus, fat tails to infi nity – are offered with clarity, wit and insight.

Atlantic PB $29.99

Yale University Press HB $32.95

LATIN FOR GARDENERSLorraine HarrisonMost of us just shrug our shoulders when ‘the professional gardener’ starts waxing lyrical in Latin when referring to certain plant species. Latin for Gardeners demystifi es this secret gardeners’ language, and clarifi es exactly why a knowledge of the Latin names for plants is as essential to your garden armoury as a bucket of good compost. Botanist Carl Linnaeus introduced this simplifi ed system for accuracy in identifying and naming plants in the 18th century. Today, plants may be known by a variety of names but the Latin name remains the same. The information each name holds can be the key to planning and maintaining a healthy and happy garden; for example, instantly identifying whether a plant suits arid or damp situations, prostrate or climbing positions.

Crows Nest HB $35

SUSTAINABLE FOODMichael MobbsIn 1996, sustainability expert Michael Mobbs took his inner-city Sydney home off the grid and subsequently wrote the best seller Sustainable House (Choice Books. PB. $45). In this follow-up, Mobbs takes his battle for sustainability to the gardens and streets in an effort to get communities working together with councils to focus on producing sustainable foods in roadside verges and community gardens. This how-to manual is partly based on Mobbs’ experience working with the community in his own suburb of Chippendale, which has trialled a range of sustainability options over the past four years. Practical and inspiring, Mobbs’ new book is a call to action for communities to join forces and take people power to the streets, to make our suburbs healthier, safer and better places to live – and who doesn’t want that?!

WOMEN OF FLOWERSLeonie NortonRenowned 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 refi ned English life to a bark humpy in Van Diemen’s Land in 1831) to Ida McComish (who travelled the Pacifi c with her botanist husband to collect, paint and record unique fl ora, 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.

ZOMBIE TITS, AUSTRONAUT FISH AND OTHER WEIRD ANIMALSBecky CrewScience blogger Becky Crew’s fascination with the weird and wonderful creatures that inhabit the animal kingdom led to her award-winning blog, Running Ponies, being invited into the Scientifi c American Blog Network (blogs.scientifi camerican.com/running-ponies). In her fi rst book, she continues the theme with a celebration of the remarkable, quirky and at times gruesome in-laws that inhabit the animal world. Crew’s mix of scientifi c facts, gob-smacking strangeness, witty observations and through-the-looking-glass anthropomorphic vignettes make for a light-hearted read, without straying too far from the subject matter at hand. There are no spoiler alerts here, so you’ll have to read the book to fi nd out what zombie tits and astronaut fi sh get up to, but as a teaser, we’re sure fruit-bat fellatio needs no explanation.

Choice Books PB $45

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THE MEDICAL BOOKClifford A PickoverModern medicine can astonish us with its miracles. At the same time, we take much of it for granted – having a blood test, say, or popping an antibiotic, or getting stitches. This book reminds us that medical treatment today is the result of thousands of years’ worth of discoveries and inventions, each one a major achievement in human thinking, each one contributing to medical knowledge. Author and thinker Clifford Pickover writes intelligently and lucidly about 250 of the most important milestones in the development of medicine, starting with the witch doctors of 10,000 years ago and ending with human cloning. Following the interconnections between entries makes this an enjoyable as well as enlightening read.

THE MIND’S EYE Oliver SacksNeurologist Dr Oliver Sacks has written several bestselling books of mind-boggling case histories, including The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (Picador. PB. $27). In this new collection, Sacks himself is one of the patients he discusses. He was diagnosed with a malignant eye tumour in 2005, and in ‘Persistence of Vision: A Journal’, he includes entries he wrote during his recovery process, involving musings (and fascinating sketches) on his altered perceptions, but also – poignantly – his fears and hopes. Another quite personal essay concerns his prosopagnosia, or face-blindness, while the others look at patients who are experiencing various neurological defi cits, but who’ve found amazing ways to adapt and get on with their lives.

THE QUINTESSENTIAL BIRDViola Temple WattsBetty Temple Watts (1901–92) developed an interest in birds in her early married life while living in Iran and Papua New Guinea. Although she had studied art formally as a 19-year-old, it was not until she was 48 and settled in Melbourne that she decided to immerse herself in her bird art. Watts received her fi rst commission in 1952, going on to provide bird illustrations for numerous publications until she was in her late eighties. The Quintessential Bird allows readers a glimpse into Betty’s joyous world of birds, reproducing many of her works in full along with 60 close-ups of individual birds.

Sterling HB $39.99

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A LITTLE HISTORY OF SCIENCEWilliam BynumScience tells us about the infi nite reaches of space, the tiniest living organism, the human body, the history of Earth. From ancient Greek philosophers through Einstein and Watson and Crick to the computer-assisted scientists of today, men and women involved in this fi eld have wondered, examined, experimented, calculated and sometimes made discoveries so earthshaking that people were led to understand the world – or themselves – in an entirely new way. Emphasising surprising and personal stories of scientists both famous and unsung, this compact and accessible book traces the march of science through the centuries, opening a window on the exciting and unpredictable nature of scientifi c activity and describing the uproar that may ensue when scientifi c fi ndings challenge established ideas.

THE LITTLE VEGGIE PATCH CO.’S GUIDE TO BACKYARD FARMING Fabian Capomolla & Mat PemberGardening books come out of their daggy past and into their funky future with The Little Veggie Patch Co.’s follow up to last year’s bestselling The Little Veggie Patch Co.: How to Grow Food in Small Spaces (Plum. PB. $45). But the future as promoted by Capomolla and Pember is funky in an attitude-free, everyone’s-invited, you-can-do-it-with-your-kids kind of way. Readers can start with dreaming and end by doing thanks to the inspiring photos and the nicely solid information. The guide tells you what to do every month – not just planting, but harvesting and cooking, too. There are even projects to build. It’s about living sustainably, but there’s never any preaching, and the emphasis is on enjoyment.

MEASUREMENTPaul LockhartA book on the pleasures of … maths? The word itself is enough to strike fear into the hearts of many. But mathematician and teacher Paul Lockhart isn’t here to drill us with multiplication tables and the like. In fact, in his fi rst book A Mathematician’s Lament (Bellevue Literary Press. PB. $24.99), he spoke out against the way maths is taught in high school. Now he demonstrates that maths is a challenging and rewarding form of art that anyone can appreciate and enjoy. His argument is creative, logical and accessible, exactly what you’d expect from a good mathematician. And not only is Measurement delightfully written, but it’s also a hardback of a rare quality and elegance. As Lockhart says in his introduction, ‘Have a wonderful time!’

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JOHN GOULD’S EXTINCT AND ENDANGERED BIRDS OF AUSTRALIASue TaylorIn her third book about Australia’s feathered friends, Sue Taylor has selected 59 beautifully illustrated colour plates from the seven-volume work The Birds of Australia (1848) created by the father of Australian ornithology, John Gould. Taylor’s selection covers birds that are already extinct and those that are currently threatened with extinction, and she has included a historical overview detailing Gould’s fi rst encounter with each bird as well as chapters on naming, description, habitat, voice, diet, breeding and current threats. Poignant and saddening, Extinct and Endangered Birds of Australia only touches the surface of how vulnerable our birdlife is, leaving us with the hope that as many as possible on the list are saved from the fate of the aptly named paradise parrot – last seen in 1927.

14 Science & nature

Q 7. Who often writes about Lake Huron?

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ANNIE’S GARDEN TO TABLE Annie Smithers Lantern HB $49.95Smithers is a great believer in using fresh organic produce with minimal food miles. Here, she shares the ups and downs of setting up her own kitchen garden, interspersed with simple, seasonal recipes.

THE ART OF THE RESTAURATEURNicholas Lander Phaidon HB $45This guide to creating a successful restaurant covers subjects as diverse as fi nding the right location, getting the design right, choosing the best chef, deciding what food to serve, managing staff and dealing with diffi cult customers.

A COOK’S LIFEStephanie Alexander Lantern HB $39.99A very personal account of one woman’s uncompromising commitment to good food, and of how it shaped her life and changed the eating habits of a nation.

THE FOOD OF SPAINClaudia Roden Penguin HB $49.95The author of classic cookbooks including A New Book of Middle Eastern Food (Penguin UK. PB. $39.95) and The Book of Jewish Food (Penguin. PB. $45) has now written a passionate and evocative book about Spanish cuisine.

AUSTRALIAN WINE COMPANIONJames Halliday Hardie Grant PB WAS $36.95 NOW $29.95The 2013 edition of the bestselling guide on wineries and wine in Australia includes detailed tasting notes and important details about wineries.

JAMIE’S 15-MINUTE MEALSJamie Oliver Michael Joseph HB $49.99Jamie’s guide to cooking ‘super quick, tasty, nutritious food that you can eat every day of the week’.

KITCHEN GARDENS OF AUSTRALIAKate Herd Lantern PB $39.99Passionate designer and green-gardener Kate Herd profi les 18 diverse kitchen gardens, providing a detailed garden plan and a brief history for each.

KYLIE KWONG’S SIMPLE CHINESE COOKING CLASSKylie Kwong Lantern HB $59.95This long-awaited follow-up to Kylie’s Simple Chinese Cooking (Lantern. HB. $59.95) includes new recipes and master classes in classic Chinese techniques.

Food & wine 15ANTONIO & LUCIA: RECIPES AND STORIES FROM MY AUSTRALIAN-CALABRIAN KITCHENRiccardo MomessoThe story of Antonio and Lucia – the parents of Riccardo Momesso, chef and co-owner of Melbourne’s Sarti restaurant – is the story of many Italian immigrants. They started a family, bought a small farm, opened a milk bar. All along, they followed the food traditions of their home: preserving vegetables in season, raising their own meat and making smallgoods to ensure nothing was wasted, eating heartily in line with the Calabrian ‘more is more’ food philosophy. Many of the generous, simple but elegant recipes here come with childhood memories of suburban foraging: wild artichokes in Werribee, fi shing for sardines in Williamstown. Dishes such as seared yellowbelly with prickly pear salad feel like Calabria meets the Murray, while the inclusion of Sarti’s pistachio pannacotta feels like a gift.

ANTONIO CARLUCCIO: THE COLLECTION Antonio CarluccioThis is a Carluccio one-stop-shop – a compendium of 300 of his best recipes. It’s a no-fuss affair: simply and elegantly presented recipes organised like a languorous Italian meal that progresses from antipasti through zuppe and pasta primi to meat and fi sh secondi and then on to a fi nale of baked honey fi gs or – why not? – Carluccio’s super-easy tiramisu. Provenance is recognised: recipes span the country from Venetian eel baked with bay leaves to Sardinian ravioli stuffed with potato, mint and sage. Simplicity is key: pasta dishes include classics such as spaghetti with garlic, oil and chilli; orecchietti with broccoli; and a Neapolitan-style ziti (lasagne-type dish). But everything is presented as eminently achievable – there’s no one better to guide you through a culinary challenge such as il gran bollito misto.

BALANCE & HARMONYNeil PerryIt’s rare to encounter a cookbook full of recipes that look complex, but are in fact remarkably easy to follow – usually, the opposite applies. Neil Perry’s guide to the secrets of Asian cooking is divided into chapters focusing on soups, salads, braising and boiling, steaming, stir-frying, deep-frying, tea-smoking, curry and spice pastes, and we can attest (based on intensive testing!) that every dish is easy to emulate in the home kitchen. The introductory text discusses fi nding ‘balance and harmony’ in Asian cuisine and gives a handy run-down of the cooking equipment and ingredients required (all easily accessed), setting the home cook on a delicious journey of discovery. The emphasis is on Chinese cuisine (Perry’s all-abiding passion), though Thai, Malaysian and Indo-Chinese fl avours also feature. Sumptuously presented and offered at a ridiculously low price, this is an essential buy!

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GINGERBOY: CREATIVE STREET FOODTeage Ezard & Chris DonnellanAt Teage Ezard’s Melbourne restaurant Gingerboy, Asian hawker-style food meets modern Australian cooking in a Melbourne laneway – a perfect match. While adaptation is key, chefs Ezard and Donnellan never lose touch with their source, and a love of Thai, Malaysian and Chinese fl avours and dishes dominates. Cooking seasonally is also at the core of the Gingerboy philosophy, with the wintery selection focusing on braised, steamed and claypot dishes, and the summer options dominated by refreshing, crisp and cool fl avours.

GRAN COCINA LATINA: THE FOOD OF LATIN AMERICAMaricel E PresillaLatinophiles and foodie omnivores with an eye to the next big thing will lose themselves in this defi nitive reference on the cuisines of Latin America – from Mexico to Argentina and the islands of the Caribbean. Its author – a New Jersey chef born in Cuba and with a doctorate in history – spent 30 years researching it, and she enlivens the encyclopaedic text with cultural insights and snippets of personal experience in a way that’s reminiscent of food-writing pioneers like Elizabeth David. History is a strong focus, and insights into how native and Iberian traditions – along with a strong African infl uence from the Caribbean – amalgamated into a vibrant criollo cuisine are woven through the text. Five hundred recipes bring the story to life.

GREATER MEKONGLuke NguyenIn this, the book of his most recent SBS series, Luke Nguyen follows the mighty Mekong from China through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Along the way he cooks with locals and fi nds inspiration for vivid, spicy and sometimes surprising dishes such as the rice-paddy frog curry he discovers in northern Thailand, the claypot fi sh he slates back to Genghis Khan’s grandson, and the cola chicken described by an ancient Cambodian man. The river links the cuisines of this fascinating region; we learn about the lesser-known – including Myanmar’s light, delicate curries, Laos’ duck-blood and red-ant egg salad – and are also given Nguyen’s versions of classics such as green papaya salad and a tom yum soup made with Mekong catfi sh.

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EASY WEEKENDSNeil PerryThis is entry-level Perry, easy and approachable recipes for everyday cooking – specifi cally, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On Friday you’ll need ... maybe a simple late supper? Something easy for a no-fuss dinner party? Or a special dinner à deux? All covered. Saturday brings a few good brunch ideas and dinners for nights in: roast blue-eye with fennel and olives; an honest-to-goodness hamburger with thrice-cooked chips; and stir-fried pork with snake beans and black funghi. Sunday is all about breakfasts, brunch and relaxed dinners featuring decadent desserts such as peach, ginger and vanilla pudding and passionfruit tart. Yum.

THE ESSENTIALS OF CLASSIC ITALIAN COOKINGMarcella HazanFirst published in 1992 and selling steadily ever since, this new edition combines and expands two of Marcella Hazan’s seminal early cookbooks: The Classic Italian Cook Book and More Classic Italian Cooking. It includes all of the dishes that made those two books so popular, plus 35 new recipes. Hazan says that the new book ‘is meant to be used as a kitchen handbook … for cooks of every level … who want an accessible and comprehensive guide to the products, the techniques and the dishes that constitute imperishable Italian cooking’.

THE FOOD I LOVENeil PerryPerry introduces this as a ‘how to cook’ book rather than a recipe collection (although it boasts 200 of them), and in it he shares practical knowledge and tips to help us become better home cooks. He starts with basics – how to make a perfect soft-boiled egg, or an omelette – and proceeds to help us perfect sandwiches, salads, soups and so on. In sections on meat and fi sh, the focus is on technique: how to steam, roast, grill, barbecue, fry and braise. In a deviation for Perry, there’s not an Asian ingredient in sight – instead, the infl uences are from Italy, Spain and Morocco. A great kitchen staple for reference, as well as recipes.

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RELIGION FOR ATHEISTS Alain de Botton Penguin PB $22.99Non-believer Alain de Botton rejects the supernatural claims of religion, but points out just how many good ideas religions have about how we should live.

GAYSIA: ADVENTURES IN THE QUEER EASTBenjamin Law Black Inc PB $29.99Curious about how different life might have been had he grown up in Asia, the author of The Family Law (Black Inc. PB. $22.95) sets off to meet and write about his fellow ‘Gaysians’.

THE OFFICE: A HARDWORKING HISTORYGideon Haigh Melbourne University Publishing PB $45Haigh traces the institution of the offi ce from its origins among merchants and monks to the space age sweatshops of Silicon Valley, fi nding an extraordinary legacy of invention and ingenuity.

THE PEOPLE SMUGGLER Robin de Crespigny Viking PB $29.99This timely story of daily heroism brings to life the forces that drive so many people to put their lives in unscrupulous hands.

HUGH’S THREE GOOD THINGS ON A PLATEHugh Fearnley-WhittingstallHFW’s latest book is about getting back to basics, and for Hugh the basics come in threes. He claims to have uncovered an essential truth of the kitchen: that three is the magic number for fl avour combinations. And it’s hard to argue: tomato, mozzarella, basil; asparagus, egg, ham; beetroot, walnuts, feta. The simplicity of the concept makes it perfect for midweek cooking, and there’s something both rhythmic and inspiring about this approach to meal planning – the ‘three ingredients’ mantra gets under your skin. As Hugh himself admits, some of his ‘recipes’ stretch to deserve the name – toast, olive oil, honey? – but it all contributes to a creative pattern of thinking that will help you pause before reaching for that fourth ingredient and risk overcomplicating something that’s already perfect.

JERUSALEMYotam Ottolenghi & Sami TamimiAs its authors readily admit, Jerusalem is a place where culinary traditions overlap and interact in unpredictable ways, creating food mixes and culinary combinations that belong to specifi c groups but also belong to everyone else. Be it according to its culture, religion, politics or cuisine, this extraordinary city defi es the absolute. Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi grew up here – Yotam in the Jewish west and Sami in the Muslim east – but both ate many of the same dishes at the family dinner table, and still consider them the best comfort food in existence. There’s an emphasis on vegetarian choices (including a fabulous basic hummus recipe), but there are plenty of meat and fi sh options, too – we certainly vouch for their roasted chicken with Jerusalem artichoke and lemon.

THE KITCHEN DIARIES IINigel SlaterHe loves simple cooking, does Nigel, and emphatically states that he is a home cook, not a chef. A home cook, we feel obliged to note, who just happens to write wonderfully well about food, and whose recipes are blessedly easy and reliably tasty. This is the second volume of recipes and thoughts on food to be drawn from his kitchen diaries, and it’s full of gems such as ‘getting the most from a roast’, ‘eating bunny’, ‘sharing a pudding’, ‘rolling pastry’ and cooking ‘fi nger-licking chicken’. If you can’t fi nd an achievable option for every meal here, you may as well give up!

Bloomsbury HB WAS $49.99 NOW $44.95

MRS BEETON’S EVERY DAY COOKERY AND HOUSEKEEPING BOOKIsabella BeetonThis charming curio is a facsimile of the original edition, fi rst published in 1893 to provide good Victorian ‘mistresses and servants’ with everything they needed to keep house. It’s an intriguing social document of how people lived when meat was hung, brewers and milkmen had to be paid from the household accounts and decorating the table was one of the ‘most pleasant of a young housewife’s duties’.

MY ITALIAN HEARTGuy GrossiIn My Italian Heart, the genial chef who co-hosted SBS’s Italian Food Safari and who operates Melbourne’s iconic Grossi Florentino restaurant presents a collection of classic Italian dishes. Grossi takes the best and freshest ingredients and creates memorable meals – everything from simple antipasti, salads and pastas, to spectacular offerings of roast suckling pig, duck pie and doughnuts fi lled with pastry cream. The recipes draw from Italy’s diverse regional cuisines and are accompanied by plenty of colour photographs.

MY TASTE OF SICILYDominique RizzoIn her fi rst cookbook, the Brisbane-based chef and TV personality (Ready, Steady, Cook) delves into her family’s repertoire of Sicilian recipes to deliver a collection that captures the essence of what she calls ‘soul-food cooking’. Using fresh, seasonal produce, Dominique demonstrates how to cook dishes such as baked risotto with mushrooms, marsala and cream; swordfi sh stuffed with pine nuts, raisins and pecorino; and lemon meringues with limoncello crema. These simple yet seductive offerings from Italy’s sun-kissed south are perfect choices for summer feasts.

LANTERN COOKERY CLASSICSTake six of Australia’s top celebrity chefs, pull together some of their best recipes, illustrate plentifully, neatly package as an attractively simple collection, and voilà! – you’ve provided the perfect Christmas gift solution for thousands of Australians. Like the Penguin Literary Classics series, the graphic bright orange covers grab attention from the get-go, and the compact size and softback design come as a blessing after the bulkiness of the weighty bibles to modern Australian cuisine we’ve become so used to. The series kicks off by pulling out some big names: Stephanie Alexander, Matt Moran, Maggie Beer, George Calombaris, Kylie Kwong and Gary Mehigan.

THE LEBANESE KITCHENSalma HageThe proliferation of celebrity chefs – some, it must be said, whose reputations rely more on their personalities than their cooking skills – is a rapidly escalating phenomenon, so it’s refreshing to come across a book such as The Lebanese Kitchen. Written by a 50-year-old Lebanese housewife who lives in a mountain hamlet in Lebanon’s Kadisha Valley, it’s a comprehensive, unfussy guide to traditional Lebanese home cooking that brings this wonderful cuisine – generally acknowledged as the most impressive in the Middle East – to life for the home cook. As well as the expected chapters on mezze and salads, soups, fi sh, meat and vegetables, it also has alluring chapters on desserts, drinks and – best of all – pickles and jams.

LIMONCELLO AND LINEN WATERTessa KirosTessa Kiros’ latest book celebrates both her adopted homeland, Italy, and feminine domestic wisdom. It’s a beautifully packaged evocation of ‘old Italy’: laundry hanging picturesquely from wrought-iron balconies, old-fashioned roses, vintage silverware and charmingly shabby wooden tables. The recipes are proudly old-school, collected from a cohort of mammas and nonnas: Marta’s mum’s fennel, Barbara’s mum’s spinach polpettine, and a deliciously rustic, hearty and simple dish of onions stuffed with beef and tomato from Kiros’ own mother. Highlights include a collection of pantry items including giardiniera (pickled vegetables) and limoncello and celery marmalade; as well as classic cakes and biscuits, including a spectacular apple cake and Dolce di Marie, a coffee-infused Italian version of no-cook cake (à la Chocolate Ripple).

LOVE AND HUNGERCharlotte Wood Allen & Unwin PB $29.99Australian novelist Charlotte Wood explores the solitary and shared pleasures of cooking and eating in an ode to good food prepared and presented with minimum fuss and maximum love.

NIGELLISSIMANigella Lawson Chatto & Windus HB $49.95 The queen of the gastronomic double entendre presents 120 easy-to-cook recipes in this culinary tour of Italy.

SIMON BRYANT’S VEGIESSimon Bryant Lantern HB $39.99The debut cookbook from the chef who starred alongside ‘cook’ Maggie Beer in the ABC show is an inspiring collection of vegie recipes that will appeal to vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.

SUNDAY’S GARDENLesley Harding & Kendrah Morgan Melbourne University Publishing HB $45The Heide curators turn their attention from Sunday’s kitchen to her garden, focusing on its exotic and native fl ora, and its huge cottage-style kitchen garden.

Lantern PB WAS $39.95 NOW $19.95

Lantern PB WAS $39.95 NOW $19.95

Phaidon HB $59.95

Murdoch HB WAS $59.99 NOW $49.95

Fourth Estate HB $49.99Ebury Press HB

WAS $49.95 NOW $39.95

16 Food & wine

Q 8. Who worked for Go-Set magazine?

Lantern PB $19.99 each

Five Mile Press HB WAS $34.95 NOW $14.95

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QE 48: AFTER THE FUTURETim Flannery Black Inc PB $19.95In a passionate essay, Flannery argues that Australia is now on the brink of a new wave of extinctions that threaten to leave our national parks as ‘marsupial ghost towns’.

QF32 Richard de Crespigny Macmillan PB $34.99A riveting, blow-by-blow story of what can happen when things go badly wrong in the air, told by the captain of QF32 himself.

SINNING ACROSS SPAINAilsa Piper Victory Books PB $29.99Piper celebrates the mysteries of faith, the possibilities for connection and the simple act of setting down one foot after another on her 1300km solo pilgrims’ walk from Granada to Galicia.

VAGINANaomi Wolf Virago PB $29.99Feminist writer and critic Wolf investigates the cultural lineage of the ‘dark continent’ of female sexuality in her usual thought-provoking manner.

WHACKADEMIARichard Hil NewSouth PB $34.99Richard Hil lifts the lid on an Australian higher education system that’s corporatised beyond recognition, steeped in bureaucracy and dominated by marketing and PR imperatives rather than intellectual pursuit.

WHY NATIONS FAILDaron Acemoglu & James Robinson Profi le Books PB $35A provocative new theory of political economy explaining why the world is divided into nations with wildly differing levels of prosperity.

HOW MUSIC WORKSDavid Byrne Canongate PB $32.99 Byrne, the former frontman of Talking Heads, explores how profoundly music is shaped by its time and place, and explains how the advent of recording technology in the 20th century forever changed our relationship to playing, performing and listening to music.

FRENCH CHILDREN DON’T THROW FOODPamela Druckerman Black Swan PB $19.95Really? According to Druckerman, the ‘easy, calm authority’ of French parents results in well-behaved kids.

Food & wine 17NATURE: SIMPLE, HEALTHY & GOODAlain Ducasse Hardie Grant HB WAS $49.95 NOW $29.95

J’AIME PARISAlain Ducasse Hardie Grant HB WAS $59.95 NOW $29.95In Nature, restaurateur and chef extraordinaire Alain Ducasse presents interesting and easy-to-prepare recipes that are accompanied by notes from dietician Paule Neyrat. Solidly aimed at the home cook, it is grounded in Ducasse’s love for quality seasonal produce, something he celebrates in J’aime Paris, a lavishly photographed homage to his favourite Parisian foodie haunts.

ORIGIN: THE FOOD OF BEN SHEWRYBen ShewryThis deluxe piece of publishing presents food as art and recipes as biographical insights. The Melbourne-based chef tracks the formation of his food philosophy and his craft, from idyllic rural New Zealand childhood to the 105-hour weeks establishing Attica, the Ripponlea restaurant that’s feted as one of the world’s best. That philosophy – centred on sustainability, indigenous food heritage, connection with nature and the importance of passionate producers – sits beside photographs of stunning landscapes and gorgeously styled dishes (sometimes both at once). The recipes are many and detailed, but unless your kitchen equipment includes the likes of rotary evaporators, vacuum sealers and cold smokers, they’ll be primarily for purposes of wonderment.

ROSA’S FARM: COUNTRY COOKINGRosa MitchellIf you’ve cooked from Rosa Mitchell’s fi rst book, My Cousin Rosa (Murdoch. PB. $39.99), you’ll know what to expect from this, her follow-up volume: simple, rustic Italian food with big fl avours. The recipes here are inspired by her property in rural Victoria: what she and her husband Colin grow on the farm and forage from nearby countryside, and what’s produced locally (a good example is the Bullboar, the northern Italian beef and pork sausage introduced by early settlers to the region and now a local food hero). Rosa’s signature is understated simplicity, and this is apparent in the recipes: oxtail ragu, lamb with potatoes and peas, sour cherry and walnut cake, quinces baked with Marsala and honey.

Murdoch HB WAS $95 NOW $79.95

Murdoch HB WAS $49.99 NOW $19.95

WHAT KATIE ATEKatie Quinn DaviesThose of you who aren’t already fans of Katie Quinn Davies’ ‘foodie photography’ blog whatkatieate.blogspot.com.au will be in for a pleasant surprise with this title. The Irish-born Sydney resident has built up an international reputation for her stunning food photography and styling, and also for her simple, ever-delicious recipes. This is Comfort food with a capital C (for Chic) – everything looks as good as it tastes. We’ve tested a good percentage of the recipes the book contains, and the results have been universally pleasing – a rare phenomenon indeed. Whether you choose stay-at-home-on-the-weekend shepherd’s pie, slow-cooked lamb with fetta, perfectly cooked steak with extra-crispy roast potatoes or easy-peasy raspberry friands, What Katie Ate is bound to hit the spot when you want to hit the kitchen.

YOU AREN’T WHAT YOU EATSteven PooleCultural critic Steven Poole is fed up with gastroculture – and who’s to blame him? His acerbic polemic questions when and why the basic human imperative to eat mutated into such a multitude of anxieties about provenance, ethics, health, lifestyle and class status. Along the way, he comments on and takes broadsides at foodies (Poole prefers ‘foodists’), nutritional therapists (he would probably say ‘charlatans’), celebrity chefs (Heston Blumenthal certainly doesn’t comes through unscathed) and every chef who ever featured a lone raviolo on a restaurant menu. It’s hilarious, informative and ever-so-slightly uncomfortable for all of us who like to fancy that it’s the food – rather than fashion and a hefty dose of media manipulation – that drives our restaurant visits, cookbook collections and gourmet grocery forays.

ZENBU ZEN Jane LawsonJane Lawson fl ed to Kyoto to repair from stress-related fatigue and near-breakdown by immersing herself in Japanese cuisine. The resulting book (pre-planned – she clearly wasn’t up for total escape!) is equal parts cookbook, travelogue and self-help memoir. Lawson recounts every aspect of her new life in Kyoto: every meal eaten (including recipes); every strange, exotic, delicious-sounding item purchased; every step on the journey towards her more relaxed self. Her immersion necessitates making her own tofu and eating raw sea slug guts (more than once!), but she also provides crystal-clear recipes for accessible dishes such as seared scallops with butter and shoyu. Lawson admits that she only skims the surface of this complex cuisine, but for Japanophiles this beautiful book will both fuel and justify their obsession.

Lantern HB $49.99

Scribe PB $19.95

Murdoch HB $69.99

A SARDINIAN COOKBOOKGiovanni Pilu & Roberta MuirHow do you transform a cucina rustica of bread, pasta, boiled mutton and dried fi sh innards into the stuff of a Sydney destination restaurant? In this – surely the fi rst Sardinian cookbook Australia has produced – chef Giovanni Pilu demonstrates. It’s clearly a labour of love: Sardinian-born Pilu is intimate with, and passionate about, his subject matter. He takes us through the staples, including the famous crisp fl atbread pane carasau and bottarga (dried mullet roe), which has been made in Sardinia for over 3000 years. Pilu evokes a real sense of this rugged island where mint grows wild like weeds, hare and boar are hunted, and chestnuts are foraged and served with rabbit; before you know it, you’ll be stuffi ng squid, boiling mutton or spit-roasting some offal.

SWEET STUDIODarren PurcheseThose with a few spare days up their sleeves may want to try cooking something from this book. The amazing creations each have up to 11 separate recipes hidden within (macaroons used as garnish – get the idea?). First Purchese whams you with 16 blockbuster desserts – and they are both gob- and lip-smacking – then he deconstructs them into individual components: the small, manageable recipes that combined, make something spectacular. Having the recipe for Sweet Studio’s salted caramel spread feels like holding a dangerous weapon – and all of a sudden these outrageous desserts seem within reach. Perched delectably between art and science, this is an essential handbook for the adventurous and committed dessert freak.

THEO & CO. TAKE 2 Theo KalogeracosHow does pizza topped with kangaroo, crème fraîche and pomegranate sound? Or how about roast chicken, sweet potato, cinnamon and sultana pizza? Kalogeracos is a World Champion Pizza Maker; this book recounts the Las Vegas championship where he won the title, and his tour of the USA’s great pizzas – clam pizza from Lombardi’s in New York, Chicago’s deep dish, and a sourdough pizza from San Francisco. Kalogeracos pushes the pizza envelope; if you’re in a pizza rut, this book might pull you (or scare you) out of it. As well as out-there toppings, Kalogeracos provides various dough recipes to experiment with, as well as a ‘masterclass’ that has some great, simple tips for making better pizza.

Lantern HB $49.99

Murdoch HB $49.99

University of WA Press PB $34.95

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PHAIDON ARCHIVE OF GRAPHIC DESIGN Five hundred graphic designs created since the advent of mechanical reproduction and identifi ed by an international panel of experts are showcased in this archive. The ultimate reference guide for graphic design professionals and enthusiasts, it contains examples of the newspapers, magazines, advertisements, typefaces, logos, corporate design, record and CD covers and moving graphics that have created the benchmarks for excellence and innovation in the graphic design industry and helped to shape our culture. Designed as a giant box of cards rather than a book, the format allows the visuals to speak for themselves – they’re on one side of the card, and information about their creator, context and history is on the reverse.

Murdoch HB WERE $79.95 each NOW $29.95 each

ICONIC AUSTRALIAN HOUSES 50/60/70ICONIC AUSTRALIAN HOUSES 70/80/90 Karen McCartneyArchitectural journalist Karen McCartney presents signifi cant examples of Australian domestic architecture in each of these lavishly illustrated volumes, reviewing each project and providing historical, social and architectural context. All of the houses are brilliantly photographed inside and out – providing plenty of opportunities for wishful thinking. Why can’t we all live in houses like these?!

Phaidon Boxed set WAS $260 NOW $229.95

Phaidon HB WAS $225 NOW $199.95

RETHINK: THE WAY YOU LIVE Amanda TalbotAs our world changes, so too must our living arrangements. Trend forecaster Amanda Talbot aims to both inspire and challenge us to adapt to new social and environmental behaviours by redesigning our homes – and rethinking the very notion of ‘home’ itself. Profi ling innovative residential projects from around the globe, she questions standard domestic arrangements: Now that we all have laptops, are home studies redundant? Can a kitchen become an edible farm? Is a bedroom only for sleeping in? Is portable housing practical? Presented in a scrapbook format that’s chock-full of photographs, Rethink may well lead you to change your personal space and how you live in it.

Murdoch HB WAS $69.99 NOW $59.95

EDIBLE SELBYTodd SelbyPhotographer, blogger and fashion maven Todd Selby (theselby.com and The Selby is in Your Place) is back behind the lens, this time profi ling the kitchens, gardens, homes and restaurants of more than 40 of the most creative and dynamic fi gures working in the culinary world today. He takes us behind the scenes with Noma chef René Redzepi in Copenhagen; to Tokyo to have a slice with pizza maker Susumu Kakinuma; and to London to sample some nose-to-tail eating with Fergus and Margot Henderson. Many of the photographic profi les are accompanied by a handwritten questionnaire completed by the chef. Celebrity, food and fashion – it’s a truly Selby-esque celebration!

THE LOST PHOTOGRAPHS OF CAPTAIN SCOTT David M WilsonDuring the fi nal months of his fateful expedition to the Antarctic, Robert Falcon Scott took a series of breathtaking photographs: panoramas of the continent, superb depictions of mountains and formations of ice and snow, and photographs of the explorers on the polar trail. Never before published – they were initially fought over, then neglected, then lost – they have now been resurrected and showcased in this handsome volume.

Abrams HB $45 Little, Brown HB WAS $55 NOW $19.95

Allen & Unwin PB WAS $39.99 NOW $16.95

AROUND THE SHEDSAndrew ChapmanThe photographer who gave us Woolsheds (Five Mile Press. HB. $39.95) now turns his attention to what’s around the sheds – the people, the dogs, the dunnies, the spirit. Chapman travelled to every state so that he could document places where much has changed from the days of Australia’s early settlement, yet so much remains the same. The shearers, roustabouts, farmhands, cooks and woolgrowers he encountered all share a common link – their passion to preserve this unique aspect of Australian life. Around the Sheds is an invaluable historical record of an Australian way of life that may well be drawing to a close.

THE BIG SCREEN: THE STORY OF THE MOVIESDavid ThomsonAt fi rst, fi lm was a waking dream, the gift of appearance delivered to huddled masses sitting in the dark. Then, movies began transforming our society and our perception of the world. Now, although still richly entertaining, do they still have the same power? What have they done to our lives? In The Big Screen, David Thomson, one of fi lm’s greatest living experts, tells the enthralling story of the movies, and how they have shaped our society.

CAPTURING TIMEEdwin BarnardCapturing Time: Panoramas of Old Australia covers the period between the 1820s and 1930s, and features 23 painted and photographic local panoramas. This fascinating peek into our developing nation’s major cities while still in nappies is highlighted by Samuel Jackson’s painting of Melbourne in 1841, a bucolic village scene where the Paris end of Collins Street is nothing more than a couple of trees and a dirt track. In contrast, a photographic panorama of Sydney in 1880 shows a recognisable and picturesque harbour city. Each panorama is supported with plenty of background anecdotes and information, including detailed listings of historic buildings and sights to help you fi nd your bearings when seeking to recapture the original view.

Five Mile Press HB $39.95

Penguin HB $49.99

National Library of Australia HB $49.99

REVIVING GREAT HOUSES FROM THE PASTStephen CraftiThis showcase of remodelling, extending and adaptively reusing houses and other spaces shows what wonders a good architect, a clear brief and (it must be said) a hefty budget can achieve. Twelve residential projects in Sydney and Melbourne – some renovations and some conversions – are photographed in detail, providing plenty of inspiration for readers planning on embarking on a restoration project of their own. Environmental, heritage and social issues are discussed, but the overriding theme here is liveability – cleverly matching the house to its occupant while showing respect to its past. Architects represented include Douglas Snelling and Leslie Wilkinson (original buildings), and Tzannes Associates, Denton Corker Marshall and Kerstin Thompson (remodels).

RURAL AUSTRALIAN HOMESLeta KeensLeta Keens pulls on her gumboots and goes bush in search of 18 homes that, to her, epitomise the Australian country home. It’s an eclectic mix, and indeed much of the appeal comes from Keens’ idiosyncratic choices. Marchmont, a classic Queenslander with a ballroom-sized living room and majestic verandah, is in stark contrast to the monastic style of the appropriately named Permanent Camping in NSW, a 3 metre by 3 metre city getaway that’s as stripped back a living space as you’ll fi nd. A sheep station, a converted general store, a Mies van der Rohe–inspired modern home and a whacky 1950s one-off add to the list. The text is engaging, and the wonderful photographs by Simon Griffi ths capture the essence of what makes this a very personal selection of rural Australian homes.

20TH CENTURY WORLD ARCHITECTURE From prestigious art publisher Phaidon comes this monumental – in size as well as content! – overview of the fi nest built architecture from around the world completed between 1900 and 1999. The unprecedented global scope of this collection of over 750 key buildings juxtaposes architectural icons with regional masterpieces, and highlights the international fl ow of architectural ideas and architects. The entries were selected by 150 specialists from around the world and each is fully illustrated and described by a short text. One for practitioners and serious architect buffs.

Images Publishing HB $59.99

Murdoch HB WAS $89.99 NOW $79.95

18 Architecture & design

Photography & fi lmQ 9. What is a

curtain lecture?

TARKINERalph Ashton (ed)The Tarkine is one of the largest temperate rainforests on Earth, covering an area of 4500 square kilometres in Tasmania’s northwest. A wilderness wonderland of wild rivers, dramatic coastal heathlands, button grass plains, bare mountains, ancient Huon pines, giant eucalypts and other fl ora, it is also home to Aboriginal sites, rare and endangered birds and countless animals. Despite this, it’s not currently protected as a national heritage location. In this book, some of Tasmania’s most celebrated photographers capture the Tarkine’s haunting landscape – from the most delicate and detailed of subjects to sweeping aerial views – and their images are reproduced alongside brief inspirational passages from leading local writers.

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BEST AUSTRALIAN POLITICAL CARTOONS 2012Russ Radcliffe Scribe PB $29.95The year in politics as seen by Australia’s funniest and most perceptive political cartoonists.

BUILDING STORIESChris Ware Jonathan Cape Boxed set $65This new, innovatively presented graphic novel from comic book artist and cartoonist Chris Ware (Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth) is set in a Chicago apartment building and deals with the themes of social isolation, emotional torment and depression.

BRETT WHITELEY CALENDARArt Gallery of NSW Calendar $27The 2013 calendar from the Art Gallery of NSW showcases the collection of the Brett Whiteley studio in Sydney’s Surry Hills.

CÉZANNE: A LIFEAlex Danchev Profi le HB $55Danchev profi les the revolutionary painter who would ‘astonish Paris with an apple’ and assesses his ongoing infl uence through artistic imaginations in our own time.

WILDERNESS SOCIETY CALENDARWilderness Society Calendar $25This nature calendar produced by the Wilderness Society features 12 stunning full-colour photographs carefully chosen to represent Australia’s most beautiful and iconic landscapes, and is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper using plant-based inks.

BLUEPat Grant Giramondo PB $20Part autobiography and part science fi ction, Pat Grant’s graphic novel addresses issues of difference, fear and change through its tale of three teenagers who decide to skip school to go surfi ng.

JUKURRPA 2013 DIARIES & CALENDAR IAD Press PB diary $22.95, HB diary $29.95, calendar $24.95Produced by the Institute for Aboriginal Development (IAD) in Alice Springs, these diaries and a calendar feature colour reproductions of Central Australian art.

THE RED BOOK: A READER’S EDITIONC G Jung Norton HB $47.95A complete facsimile and translation of one of the most infl uential unpublished works in the history of psychology. Edited and with an introduction by Sonu Shamdasani, professor at the UCL Centre for the History of Medicine at University College London.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Art 19THE ART BOOKThis updated edition of Phaidon’s bestselling reference work presents 100 new artists, including – for the fi rst time – photographers and performance artists. Following the successful format (and maintaining the fantastic price point) of the original edition, it offers an A–Z guide to 600 great artists from medieval to modern times. Each artist is represented by a full-page colour plate of a defi nitive work, accompanied by explanatory information about the image and its creator. Glossaries of artistic movements and technical terms are also included.

ART IN OCEANIA: A NEW HISTORY Peter Brunt et alThe arts of Oceania are astonishing: great statues, daunting tattoos, dynamic carvings, dazzling woven and painted fabrics, intricately carved weapons, and a bewildering variety of ornaments and ritual objects. This book breaks new ground by setting the art of Oceania in its full historical context and capturing an up-to-date understanding of the fi eld. From archaeological fi ndings of prehistoric art to the impact of pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial historical processes, Art in Oceania explores infl uences such as migration, trade, missionaries, pacifi cation, tourism, nationalism and contemporary market factors, offering abundant new interpretations and addressing signifi cant gaps in other publications.

ARTISTS IN CONVERSATIONJanet HawleyOver her many years interviewing luminaries of Australian art for the Good Weekend and other publications, Janet Hawley clearly earned a strong degree of trust from artists, their families and their friends. This has led to her being invited into both their studios and their minds for this book project, and the results are fascinating. As Hawley writes in her introduction: ‘The more I’ve interviewed the full gamut of artistic talents … the more the similarities stand out. All are driven by an inscrutable curiosity about the world … along with this comes the burning compulsion to express a personal vision of this curiosity.’ Interviewees include Jeffrey Smart, John Brack, Rosalie Gascoigne, Adam Cullen, Arthur Boyd and Bill Henson.

Phaidon HB WAS $75 NOW $69.95

Th ames & Hudson HB $99

Slattery HB $39.95

GLOBAL MODEL VILLAGE: THE INTERNATIONAL STREET ART OF SLINKACHUSlinkachuIn the four years since the publication of his fi rst book Little People in the City (Boxtree. HB. $32.99), London-based street installation artist and blogger Slinkachu (little-people.blogspot.com) has travelled to cities around the globe, placing his tiny models of people on the city streets in various scenarios and then photographing them before leaving them in situ. These remarkable works featuring remodelled and painted train-set fi gures can be both amusing and poignant, as their underlying theme is the loneliness of big-city living. Each scene in the book is photographed both up close and from a distance, where the fi gures become barely visible, highlighting their sense of isolation even further.

NGURRA KUJU WALYJA: ONE COUNTRY ONE PEOPLEMacmillan Art Publishing HB $120TJANPI DESERT WEAVERSPenny Watson Macmillan Art Publishing PB $79.95These books are wonderful showcases of contemporary Indigenous art. Ngurra Kuku Walyja is a captivating, diverse mosaic of Aboriginal artworks, glorious photography, scholarly essays and the poignant voices of oral history. Tjanpi Desert Weavers is a an artistic initiative of the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women’s Council, whose artists take their name from Tjanpi (grass) and harvest and weave local grasses for use in the creation of woven objects.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?Will GompertzRefreshing, irreverent and always straightforward, What Are You Looking At? 150 Years of Modern Art in the Blink of an Eye cuts through pretentious art speak and answers the basic questions about the history and importance of modern art that many of us are too embarrassed to ask. From Monet’s water lilies to Van Gogh’s sunfl owers, from Duchamp’s readymades to Warhol’s soup cans, and from Hirst’s pickled shark to Tracey Emin’s unmade bed, Gompertz – an arts journalist, broadcaster and former Director of London’s Tate Gallery – recounts the stories behind the masterpieces, profi les the artists and does an excellent job of convincing even staunch traditionalists that viewing modern art is one of the great pleasures of life.

Boxtree HB $19.99

Viking HB $39.99

THE COLOUR REVOLUTIONRegina Lee BlaszczykRemember Meryl Streep’s character Miranda Priestly dressing down her assistant Andy (Anne Hathaway) in The Devil Wears Prada? ‘That blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs, and it’s sort of comical how you think that you’ve made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry…’ This is what Regina Lee Blaszczyk’s fascinating book is about – the psychology of colour, and how professional colourists have become an invaluable cog in the machinery of commerce. Focusing on the years between 1850 and 1970, Blaszczyk charts the rise and rise of the role that colour has played in the design of everything from automobiles to haute couture, kitchen appliances to interior decor. Brilliantly researched, and featuring terrifi c illustrations, this in-depth study of colour, commerce and consumerism is an insightful and enthralling read that will make you think twice about your future colour choices.

DRAWN TOGETHERAline & Robert CrumbThis collection showcases autobiographical comics that the talented but undeniably kooky husband-and-wife team of Robert and Aline Crumb have created together since the late ’70s. For a précis of the book, we can’t top the review that Glen Weldon, a commentator on comics and comic culture, recently posted on National Public Radio’s website: ‘Drawn Together reveals how static their writerly obsessions have remained over the decades, from the ’70s (Timothy Leary, Aline’s body, sadistic sex) through the ’80s (the birth of their daughter, Aline’s body, sadistic sex), the ’90s (their move to a small French village, their dissatisfaction with Terry Zwigoff’s documentary about Robert’s family and career, Aline’s body, sadistic sex), and the ’00s (covering New York Fashion Week and the Cannes Film Festival for The New Yorker, Aline’s body, sadistic sex).’ Gosh.

FRANCIS BACON: FIVE DECADESAnthony Bond (ed)Francis Bacon (1909–92) is one of the great fi gurative painters of the 20th century. Marking 20 years since the artist’s death, this publication provides a timely account of the life and work of this complex and confl icted artist, whose paintings certainly retain their visceral impact and relevance today. Essays by international scholars provide new insights into Bacon’s art and life, and some 50 artworks show Bacon’s unique representations of the human body through his mastery of paint. Over 150 additional illustrations reveal the diversity of his source materials – from Velázquez to the motion photos of Eadweard Muybridge – as well as his studio, friends and lovers.

MIT Press HB $49.95

Norton HB $37.95

Art Gallery of NSW PB $65

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RACING BICYCLES: 100 YEARS OF STEELDavid Rapley Images HB $69.99One hundred Australian and European beauties are profi led here, with histories and descriptions placed beside high-quality glossy photos.

MALTHOUSE: A FOOTBALL LIFEChristi Malthouse Allen & Unwin HB WAS $49.99 NOW $39.95A biography of the successful coach, inspirational leader and tough and uncompromising competitor, written by his daughter Christi.

THE SECRET RACETyler Hamilton & Daniel Coyle Bantam PB $34.95Inside the hidden world of the modern Tour de France – doping, cover-ups and a prevailing ‘win at all cost’ philosophy.

SURFING AUSTRALIAPhil Jarratt Hardie Grant HB WAS $59.95 NOW $49.95The defi nitive guide to Australia’s surfi ng history, published in conjunction with Surfi ng Australia and including forewords by champions Mark Richards and Layne Beachley.

BOWERBIRD: CREATING BEAUTIFUL INTERIORS WITH THE THINGS YOU COLLECTSibella CourtBottles, buckles, birds’ nests, bones … Sibella Court makes fossicking a fi ne art as she catalogues her collections. This treasure trove of objets trouvés and what to do with them is lushly presented, with full-page, detailed photographs and elegant typography. Court outlines different ways of displaying all manner of objects, offering interesting combinations. Brief essays explicate her vision of collecting, saving and treasure hunting, as well as exploring theories of collecting and the art of more formal collections (ie museums). A list of some of her favourite things – books, libraries, shops, markets, museums from around the world – is a nice touch, offering more inspiration for both the armchair collector and the globetrotting bowerbird.

CHASING A DREAMCarla CoulsonEleven years ago, Carla Coulson swapped a corporate job and a cushy life in Sydney for an old camera, an uncertain future and a way of living that would ignite her soul. She recorded the fi rst part of her journey – her new life in Florence and, later, Paris – in her books Italian Joy and Paris Tango and now offers this impressionistic volume, which includes photographs taken in Australia, Greece, Britain, India, Italy and France. These range from unadorned portraits to carefully styled fashion shoots, and from photographs of Indian chai wallahs at work to bizarre shots of pampered pooches attending a haute couture show for dogs at Paris’ Hotel Bristol.

FASHION: THE ULTIMATE BOOK OF COSTUME AND STYLESumptuous on the outside, detailed on the inside, this guide covers fashion from pre-history through to ‘1980 Onwards’. Using DK’s signature abundance of photos, Fashion deliciously illustrates women’s and men’s fashion throughout the ages. Each epoch is divided into sections featuring double-page spreads highlighting particular styles or movements. A focus on designers, houses, labels and fashionistas of each time is supplemented by the cultural, political and social context of the clothing of the era. Timelines and pull-out boxes on particular items, accessories or people add great detail, while entertaining quotes from literature and people in the know are a playful complement to the fabulous images. This is an indispensable handbook for the sartorialists on your Christmas list.

LESSONS FROM MADAME CHICJennifer L ScottHave you ever wondered what everyday life is like inside a modern, aristocratic Parisian household? Or how the women of Paris always looks so chic? In Lessons from Madame Chic: 20 Stylish Secrets I Learned While Living in Paris, Jennifer Scott reveals some insider secrets behind the seemingly effortless style and passion for life that Parisians are known for. Each chapter reveals a valuable lesson the then innocent-abroad author learned while living in the exclusive 16th arrondissement in Paris, and includes a handy checklist of tips and musings on how to translate the lesson to your own life. Learn how to cultivate an air of mystery, adopt ‘le no makeup’ look with élan, hone your elegance to a 10-item wardrobe and much, much more. Formidable!

SECRET GIRLS’ BUSINESSMaggie HamiltonThis creative compendium is full of tips about love, fashion, craft, food, fun, imagination and friends – everything a girl needs to navigate that complicated process that is life. It’s particularly strong when it comes to vintage fashion – including profi les of bloggers in this fi eld – but it’s also full of sensible advice for teenage girls coping with bullying, family breakups and the diffi culty of ‘saying no’. Craft, cookery and fashion projects are scattered throughout the text, accompanied by photographs galore. Grandmas, this will make a fabulous Christmas present for teenage granddaughters – it even includes regular ‘Grandma Magic’ tips!

THINGS I LOVEMegan MortonIn her fi rst book, Home Love (Lantern. PB. $35), top-notch Aussie stylist Megan Morton gave us a whopping 100 ideas for putting together gorgeous rooms. Things I Love is even more ambitious. There’s a section on drool-worthy, inspirational homes, a stylist’s glossary, profi les of intriguing creative types, and insider tips on everything from judging found objects to creating the ‘Kate Spade’ wall of pictures. Meanwhile, there are quirky photos of things Megan loves that double as gift tags. A huge amount of energy and love has obviously been poured into this fun, creative and eye-catching book.

FASHIONABLEBarbara Cox et alSubtitled ‘An Illustrated History of the Bizarre and Beautiful’, this book is an affectionate look at the extreme, absurd and often cruel dictates of fashion. It documents weird and wonderful trends over the centuries – some fl ashes in the pan (what were they thinking!) and others that have endured and evolved over the years. From farthingales, fascinators and fl ares, to codpieces, corsets and catsuits, Fashionable is an entertaining record of the fads and styles that were heralded as delightful innovations in their time, but with the benefi t of hindsight can appear wacky, foolish, grotesque and even downright dangerous.

FIND & KEEPBeci OrpinMelbourne-based designer Beci Orpin creates clothing, homewares and stationery-based products. Here, she discusses the creative process and offers a step-by-step guide to 26 DYI craft projects – including dying pillowcases, making mobiles and kites, creating faux leadlight and customising bike baskets. Sure to bring out your inner creativity!

KILLER SLIPPERS AND HOW TO MAKE THEMNick GodleeWild and wacky but wickedly wearable, the 15 slippers projects here supply a challenge alongside a liberal dose of laughter for all crafters. Devised by Australian-born, New York–based Nick Godlee, who makes a living designing costumes for Broadway musicals, these slippers will enable you to slink around your home taking on a different persona every day. All are made with easy-to-fi nd materials and the book includes fully illustrated instructions that are simple and clear to follow.

BLACK CAVIAR Gerard Whateley HarperCollins HB WAS $45 NOW $37.95Written by journalist and broadcaster Gerard Whateley, this book documents the career of the racehorse that transcended the track to become an Australian icon.

BRADMAN’S WARMalcolm Knox Viking HB $39.99Knox’s portrait of Bradman before he became ‘The Greatest Australian’ is revelatory and powerful, the tale of an obsessive captain who put winning above all else, despite the recent ravages of war.

FIXEDMatthew Benns Random House PB $34.95Subtitled ‘Cheating, Doping, Rape and Murder – The Inside Track on Australia’s Racing Industry’, this exposé makes riveting reading.

LEGENDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL HALL OF FAMEGeoff Slattery (ed) Slattery HB $39.95Profi les of the 24 footballers who have been inducted into the AFL’s Australian Football Hall of Fame, written by some of the country’s leading football journalists.

DECEMBER

RELEASE

Lantern HB $49.99

Viking PB $19.99

HarperCollins PB $24.99

Weldon Owen HB $49.95

Hardie Grant HB $39.95

Michael O’Mara PB $19.95

Dorling Kindersley HB $59.99

Lantern HB WAS $59.95 NOW $19.95

ABC Books HB WAS $59.99 NOW $49.95

20 Style & craft

Q 10. Who’s back from retirement and chasing a serial killer?

Rizzoli HB WAS $29.95 NOW $12.95

FIFTY SHEDS OF GREYC T GreySitting in his offi ce, businessman Mr Grey’s thoughts turn to Lady Christina Mellor and how his life was changed forever when he went to work in the grounds of her manor. This ‘nudge nudge, wink wink’ parody of that book is also a celebration of the bloke’s garden shed. There’s enough sexual tension here to give Lady Chatterley’s Lover a run for its money: ‘As she manually adjusted my sprinkler, my inner gardener did a Morris dance of delight’. The book is small, hard and illustrated with an assortment of sheds in different tones of grey.

GREAT ADVENTURESLonely Planet was writing about iconic destinations and essential travel experiences long before Patricia Schultz came up with the gimmick and snappy title that became the global bestseller 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. Fans of LP’s ever-reliable and entertaining guidebooks will also enjoy this pictorial showcase of the world’s most thrilling adventures – journeys by boot, pedal and paddle to awe-inspiring natural spectacles and on adrenalin-charged feats of endeavour. Organised by theme (hike, dive, bike, climb, animals, water etc), it includes 75 adventures of a lifetime and is sure to encourage you to head out to experience the world at its breathtaking best.

HOW TO BE A MAN Glenn O’BrianWitty, sardonic and always insightful, Glenn O’Brien’s sartorial and etiquette guide draws from his years writing style coverage for GQ and Interview magazines and working as the creative director of advertising at New York department store, Barneys. O’Brien dispenses well-honed knowledge on matters ranging from how to throw a cocktail party (a diverse guest list is a must) to when it is appropriate to wear fl ip-fl ops in public (never). It includes over 40 chapters on style and fashion (and the difference), on dandies and dudes, grooming and decorating, on how to dress age-appropriately and on how to age gracefully.

Boxtree HB $19.99

Lonely Planet HB WAS $49.99 NOW $39.95

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28 DAYS IN PROVENCEShannon BennettIn his latest book, the owner-chef of Melbourne’s Vue de Monde immerses himself in the food and life of Provence, exploring village markets, cooking with local and seasonal produce, learning classic food techniques and soaking up the culture. What began as a diary has become a beautiful record of regional food, and more than 60 original recipes are included: from slow-cooked duck with honey and thyme to lamb cassoulet with preserved lemons. To round out this luscious feast, the book includes many other tips and treasures, including overviews of the region’s wines and a personal guide to the best restaurants and hotels.

THE OOPSATOREUM: INVENTIONS OF HENRY A. MINTOXShaun TanArtist, author and Academy Award–winning animated short fi lm director Shaun Tan pairs his sense of the absurd and gift for storytelling to create the wonderfully eccentric Henry A. Mintox – a failed Australian inventor whose enormous collection of impractical inventions never saw the light of day. A series of doodles, drawn on the back of postcards, is all that remains of Mintox’s vast collection of improbable inventions. In The Oopsatoreum, Tan weaves a hilarious tale around each patent idea, and accompanies them with the doodled postcard and prototype for each invention.

PU PU HOT POTBen BruseyWhat’s the wisest way to choose a restaurant? Don’t waste time with online reviews – just grab a copy of this hilarious book, and you’ll be aware of the best-named restaurants wherever you travel. Why worry about quality when you can eat at South Korea’s Born to Be Chicken or France’s B.O. Café? Some names are deliberate, like Melbourne’s Lord of the Fries, while others are clearly unfortunate accidents – Amy’s Winehouse, for instance. A restaurant by any other name might smell the same, but it would certainly sound a lot sweeter.

Black Dog & Leventhal HB WAS $65 NOW $59.95

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR MINDJames R FlynnCommercials, political soundbites, tweets, blogs, 24-hour news channels, dinner party conversations – how can we take it all in? Or maybe the question should be ‘how do we sort the wheat from the chaff?’ James R Flynn, professor emeritus at the University of Otago, is here to help. He’s the world-renowned psychologist and intelligence researcher who discovered the Flynn Effect – the fact that IQs are rising around the world – so it’s safe to say his views on critical thinking can be relied upon. His ‘twenty keys’ will help you fi gure out what you need to know about the modern world – from morality and tolerance, to the GFC and market forces – and how to function amidst the information overload.

LOST AT SEAJon RonsonJon Ronson is a man who is used to putting himself in unusual situations. The popular British journalist and professional sceptic has defi ed physics and entered the world of madness in previous books, and now he shares a series of encounters and adventures with believers in the unbelievable. Melding humour with the disturbing, the quirky with the dark side, he goes behind the scenes on Deal or No Deal, meets a child who sees dead people, travels into the desert with Robbie Williams to meet UFO abductees and much more, revealing in the process the weird obsessions and compelling stories that give the lie to the normality of everyday life.

MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS: COMPLETE AND ANNOTATEDLuke DempseyHere are the complete scripts for every one of the 45 episodes of Monty Python’s Flying Circus – every silly set-up, every clever conceit, every snide insult and saucy aside. This celebration covers the plethora of cultural, historical and topical references touched upon by this landmark series, and sidebars include profi les of the principals and interviews with cast and crew. Each episode is highlighted with fascinating facts about technical concerns and shooting locations and with insider stories from the set, including arguments, accidents, practical jokes, goofs and gaffes.

Wiley-Blackwell PB $29.95

Powerhouse Publishing HB $16.95

Picador PB $29.99

Viking HB $19.99

COCO: AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MY DOGMandy SayerA chihuahua’s witty and astute refl ections on love, sex, motherhood, family and, of course, training humans. Not that Mandy Sayer was very diffi cult to train – she’d never owned a dog before, so she was a bit of a soft touch. Coco writes affectionate and hilarious anecdotes about Mandy, her husband Louis Nowra and their human friends in Kings Cross. And she also muses on the dogs and other animals in her life. Humans and dogs alike will love this book and its adorable yet chic illustrations – cats may be less amused.

THE ESSENTIAL LEUNIG: CARTOONS FROM A WINDING PATHMichael LeunigCartoonist, poet and duck enthusiast, Michael Leunig is one of our most beloved public fi gures. If you want to own a beautiful hardback collection of 400 Leunig cartoons – often whimsical, always thought provoking and never heavy-handed – then you must get your hands on The Essential Leunig. Covering fi ve decades of his insights on matters such as love, faith, politics and, of course, ducks, this book is certainly essential to both Leunig fans and ... well, is there anyone else?

EXPERT COMPANIONS: AT HOMEEXPERT COMPANIONS: OUTDOORSWeldon Owen PB $19.95 eachYou’ll acquire skills and tips galore from the Expert Companions series of handbooks explaining the how, where, what and why of your favourite activity. Both volumes feature a blend of real advice and beguiling illustrations that will inspire a generation of enthusiasts.

Th e Five Mile Press HB $24.95

Viking HB $49.99 limited edition $250

BETTER THAN FICTIONDon George (ed)Perfect to read at the beach, in bed or on a plane, the original travel stories in this collection are full of humour, wonder, passion and revelation. Though exhilaratingly varied in place, plot and voice, they share a passion for the precious gifts that travel confers, from its unexpected but inevitably enriching lessons about other peoples and places to the truths – sometimes uncomfortable but always enlarging – it reveals about ourselves. Contributors include Isabel Allende, Steven Amsterdam, M J Hyland, Pico Iyer, Peter Matthiessen, Frances Mayes, Alexander McCall Smith, Jan Morris, Joyce Carol Oates, Téa Obreht and DBC Pierre.

AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIALNola AndersonThe Australian War Memorial in Canberra was opened in 1941 and has grown to become one of the most important symbols of our national identity. This book tells the story of the memorial and its artefacts – one of the most signifi cant collections of military history in the world. Drawn from the battlefi elds of Europe to peacekeeping operations and the current confl icts in the Middle East, these artefacts are brought to life here through both colour photographs and Nola Anderson’s accounts of the rich personal stories behind them.

BRAZIL Michael PalinComedian, writer and compulsive traveller Michael Palin took a trip around this vast and disparate nation for his latest BBC television series, and here recounts his journeys by river to the headwaters of the Xingu, by plane over huge tracts of forest and by road along the Trans-Amazonica. Along the way he encounters a kaleidoscopic mix of peoples: the indigenous hunter-gatherers of the interior, the descendants of African slaves with their vibrant culture of rituals and festivals and music, the large community of German descent who celebrate their patrimony at the biggest beer festival outside Munich, and the wealthy guachas of the Pantanal amongst them.

Pier 9 HB WAS $89.99 NOW $69.95

Lonely Planet PB $24.99 Weidenfeld &

Nicolson HB WAS $45 NOW $39.95

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Melbourne University Publishing HB $39.99

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Penguin Classics HB $40

GRIMM TALESPhilip Pullman (ed)This collection of fairy tales is the real deal – full of weirdness and violence. In his retellings, revered children’s author Philip Pullman refuses to sanitise the stories collected by the Brothers Grimm, instead focusing on their essence: narrative. The collection is, of course, replete with the wicked stepmothers, beautiful princesses and brave heroes that junior readers love, but Pullman also follows each story with notes about its background and history, making Grimm Tales as much for adults as children. 10+

Scholastic HB $19.99

GOOD NIGHT, SLEEP TIGHTMem Fox (text) & Judy Horacek (illus)From the partnership that brought us Where is the Green Sheep? comes this tale of getting to bed. Bonnie and Ben put babysitter Skinny Doug through his paces, demanding story after story before they will go to sleep. He obliges with a bunch of much-loved kids ditties and nursery rhymes. Mem Fox’s clever verse and Judy Horacek’s delightful illustrations breathe life into these old rhymes, delivering a book that is bound to have little ones asking for it to be read ‘just one more time’! 1+

Phaidon Board Book $14.95

THE GAME OF SCULPTUREHervé TulletPreschoolers will love popping out pieces of card from this book and inserting them into slots and holes to create colourful imaginative sculptures. Designed by acclaimed French illustrator Hervé Tullet and produced by prestigious art book publisher Phaidon, it combines learning and play in a truly delightful manner. Other titles in the series include The Game of Red, Yellow & Blue ($11.95), which explains the basics of colour mixing, and The Game in the Dark ($14.95), a glow-in-the-dark introduction to astronomy. 4+

Text PB $19.99

FRIDAY BROWNVikki Wakefi eldSouth Australian writer Vikki Wakefi eld pulls no punches in a gritty novel that is half social realism, half thriller. After her mother dies, Friday Brown fi nds herself living in an inner-city squat with Silence, a mute boy; the moody and unpredictable Arden, undisputed head of the squat; and six other teenagers. When Arden decides they should move to an abandoned town in the outback, Friday has to make some tough decisions and fi nd independence and strength. 14+

Allen & Unwin HB $19.99

FIGARO AND RUMBA AND THE CROCODILE CAFÉAnna Fienberg (text) & Stephen Michael King (illus)Sweet as honey, and without a hint of saccharin, this gentle adventure tale features a Cuban cat called Rumba and a fl oppy dog called Figaro. When they fi nally board the Very Fast Train, having had a few misadventures in getting there, they encounter a smooth-talking, music-loving crocodile who seems to just adore cats. What could he be up to? Written by Anna Fienberg of Tashi fame, this is the perfect fi rst chapter book for ages 5+.

Penguin PB $16.99

THE FARMEmily McKayDystopic speculative fi ction with vampires – what’s not to love? Lily and her twin Mel are kept on a farm to produce blood for a scourge of vampirish mutated humans called Ticks. Determined to protect her autistic sister, Lily has an escape plan, a kick-ass attitude and some cool moves, but will that be enough to keep them safe? Can she trust the boy from her past who suddenly reappears? And is she really the only person who can save the world? Action and plot twists aplenty, with a hint of romance. 13+

Walker Books PB $19.95

LIAR & SPYRebecca SteadWow. Wow. Wow. This book is just so good! Rebecca Stead won the Newberry Medal in the US for her previous novel When You Reach Me (Text Publishing. PB. $16.95), and Liar & Spy is just as intelligent and moving. Georges (named after pointillist artist Seurat) reluctantly becomes the fi rst member of a spy club headed by an odd boy named Safer. Unhappy at school and missing his mum, Georges soon becomes involved in Safer’s world. There are some genuinely gasp-out-loud moments as the dots come together to bring the whole picture into focus. 10+

MADDY WEST AND THE TONGUE TAKERBrian FalknerMaddy West is a charming young heroine with a mysterious ability to understand and speak any human language. The Tongue Taker is an evil witch who wants to steal every human’s ability to speak or understand their own language. The two are destined to lock horns in this quirky adventure story that sees Maddy and her best friend Kazuki fi nd bravery deep within. Glorious fun for kids aged 8+.

MONSIEUR ALBERT RIDES TO GLORYPeter Smith (text) & Bob Graham (illus)Albert Larousse, ‘cyclist extraordinaire’, takes up the challenge of a bike race from Paris to Nice. It’s not giving anything away to say he does ride to glory, but not without some embarrassing rest stops, punctures and wardrobe malfunctions along the way. Bob Graham’s characteristic cheeky and detailed illustrations bring Paris and the route alive, and author Peter Smith’s rhymes – ‘café au lait’ / ‘breakfast one day’ – deserve gold! 6+

Text Publishing PB $16.99

Allen & Unwin HB $24.99

Weldon Owen HB WAS $29.95 NOW $22.95

THE CONVENTMaureen McCarthyFilled with every emotion imaginable, The Convent will have readers staying up into the wee hours, and, at intervals, indulging in a pleasurable cry. The characters here feel like friends, especially Peach, who has never wanted to fi nd her birth mother but whose past is chased down one summer when she discovers a matriarchal line of family all linked to Melbourne’s Abbotsford Convent. 14+

THE DIVINERSLibba Bray A darkly entertaining horror story set against the dazzling whirl of 1920s New York, this fi rst book in a promised series of four introduces us to Evie, a 17-year-old escaping rural Ohio. While eager to make the most of the city’s glittering offerings, she fi nds herself in the midst of a far-from-glamorous hunt for a supernatural serial killer, and discovers her own unusual talent. With The Diviners, Libba Bray, author of the award-winning Going Bovine (A&U. PB. $24.99), creates a genuinely scary sense of evil as well as a fabulous rendition of both city and era. 15+

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCARY THINGSBarbara Cox & Scott ForbesHave you heard of hinkypunks, grindylows, dokkaebis and tupilaks? If not, never fear! This fully indexed and illustrated encyclopedia of scary stuff profi les these and many other supernatural creatures, providing plenty of shivers and a fair few sniggers along the way. Zombies, vampires, ghosts, witches, wizards, dragons and werewolves receive extended – but never too scary – treatment. 10+

Allen & Unwin PB WAS $22.99 NOW $19.95

Allen & Unwin PB $24.99

Hardie Grant Egmont HB $16.95

ALL THE WRONG QUESTIONS: WHO COULD THAT BE AT THIS HOUR?Lemony SnicketFantastically crazy stuff, this, as Lemony Snicket gets more ‘autobiographical’ in the fi rst in a series of prequels to his Unfortunate Events series. An adolescent Snicket fi nds himself apprenticed to a truly useless detective in Stain’d-by-the-Sea, a town dying as its octopi-reliant ink industry peters out. The highly eccentric characters, clever wordplay and black humour that characterised the early series are here again in spades, but this one is for slightly older children. 9+

AN ANTHOLOGY OF UNWITTING WISDOM: AESOP’S ANIMAL FABLESHelen WardNever have morals been so exquisitely explained! Helen Ward’s reworking of these enduring tales features warm, precise illustrations that match the wry humour of Aesop. Her retellings capture the spirit of the originals while making them accessible, witty and ever beautiful

CHARLES DARWIN AND THE BEAGLE ADVENTUREA J Wood & Clint TwistTHE LIFE AND TIMES OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEAREKristen McDermott & Ari BerkOpening envelopes, unfolding pages and peering behind fl aps gives kids a satisfying sense of discovery and make these handsome books feel like fun rather than a lesson. 9+

Five Mile Press PB & CD WAS $19.95 NOW $10.95

Five Mile Press HB WERE $29.95 each NOW $14.95 each

KANGAROO FOR CHRISTMASJames FloraAdelaide is little Kathryn’s Christmas gift from Uncle Dingo, but oh what havoc she wreaks! Because she’s more used to the bush than the city, the honks, toots and beeps on the street cause her to hop, hop, hop all the faster, taking Kathryn for a somewhat scary – and extremely destructive! – ride. There’s lots to notice along the way, too. 4+

HERMAN AND ROSIEGus GordonHerman – lover of pot plants and wild boysenberry yoghurt – and Rosie – adorer of pancakes and teeth-sticking toffees – navigate the wilds of busy city life, intersecting here and there but not meeting until their mutual love of Jacques Cousteau and jazz brings them together. This is a sweet and quirky story about fi nding out what moves you and grabbing onto that tune. 6+

LEGO HARRY POTTER: BUILDING THE MAGICAL WORLDParents of young children know full well that collector mania isn’t limited to elderly devotees of Antiques Roadshow, with the obsession pre-schoolers boys have with Thomas the Tank Engine being a good case in point. Slightly older children tend to feel the same way about Harry Potter, and their collector instinct is catered for with the extensive collection of boy wizard–related Lego sets. This book includes a colourful and detailed visual guide to every set. 5+

Viking HB $24.99

Hardie Grant Egmont HB $19.95

Dorling Kindersley HB WAS $39.95 NOW $14.95

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AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN’S CLASSICSViking HB $19.99 each I CAN JUMP PUDDLESAlan MarshallPICNIC AT HANGING ROCKJoan LindsayPLAYING BEATIE BOWRuth ParkSEVEN LITTLE AUSTRALIANSEthel TurnerRediscover the magic of our country’s most memorable children’s books in this handsomely presented series. 10+

BROTHERBAND 3: THE HUNTERSJohn Flanagan Random House PB $17.95A showdown between the Pirates and Skandians seems inevitable at the start of the third instalment of Flanagan’s hugely popular Viking series. But will Hal be up to the task? 10+

INFINITY RING: A MUTINY IN TIMEJames Dashner Scholastic Books PB $14.99There’s barely time to draw breath while reading the exciting fi rst book in this new series, which follows the adventures of Zak and Sera as they use time travel to save the world by fi xing up mistakes in human history. 8+

NOT FOR PARENTS: EXTREME PLANETLonely Planet HB $29.99NOT FOR PARENTS: HOW TO BE A WORLD EXPLORERLonely Planet HB $24.99This engaging series from our favourite travel publisher was a huge hit last Christmas, and these follow-up volumes supply plenty more astounding facts of the biggest, longest, hottest, coldest, noisiest, smelliest, wildest variety. 8+

RUBY REDFORT: TAKE YOUR LAST BREATHLauren Child HarperCollins HB $19.99The feisty girl detective is back for a second adventure featuring the same off-the-wall humour, action and friendship that made its predecessor, Ruby Redfort: Look into My Eyes (HarperCollins. PB. $14.99), such fun. 9+

TERRY DENTON’S BUMPER BOOK OF HOLIDAY STUFF TO DO!Puffi n PB $16.99Just in time for Christmas comes a second fantastic activity book from Terry Denton that is packed with drawing activities, cartoons, maps, lists and games. 7+

THAI-NO-MITE!Oliver Phommavanh Puffi n PB $16.99The follow-up volume to the bestselling Thai-riffi c! (Puffi n. PB. $16.95) provides more hilarious adventure, as Albert (Lengy) Lengviriyakul and his parents go on a family holiday to Thailand. 8+

THE THIRD WHEEL: DIARY OF A WIMPY KIDJeff Kinney Puffi n PB $14.95 HB $17.95Love is in the air – but what does that mean for Greg Heffl ey? Will he and his best friend Rowly fi nd dates for the Valentine’s Day dance at Greg’s middle school? 8+

THE 26-STOREY TREEHOUSEAndy Griffi ths (text) & Terry Denton (illus) Pan Australia PB $12.99The new Treehouse collection provides a double dose of enjoyment, with Griffths and Denton delivering 13 new and terribly silly stories. This modern Magic Faraway Tree will delight children aged 8+.

UNDER WILDWOODColin Meloy (text) & Carson Ellis (illus) Viking PB $19.99Ever since Prue McKeel returned home from the Impassable Wilderness after rescuing her brother from the malevolent Dowager Governess, life has been pretty dull. But soon, she and Curtis must embark on an adventure as epic and exciting as the one that intrigued the many readers of Wildwood (Viking. PB. $17.99). 10+

Viking HB $24.99

TODAY WE HAVE NO PLANSJane Godwin (text) & Anna Walker (illus)Another sublime and whimsical read from the creators of All Through the Year (Viking. HB. $24.95), this gorgeous picture book takes us through the busy week to a luxuriously lazy Sunday. It will strike a chord with all the busy Australian families out there who long for the simplicity of a day with no plans. 5+

Th ames & Hudson HB WAS $25.95 NOW $9.95

TIMMY THE TUGTed Hughes (text) & Jim Downer (illus)The tale behind Timmy the Tug is as delightful as the story itself. Originally illustrated by designer Jim Downer in post-war Britain, the words – penned by his housemate and poet laureate-to-be Ted Hughes – were not discovered until 52 years later, in the Hughes archive. As to the story itself: Timmy escapes to adventure the high seas, at fi rst struggling, but soon saving a ship and restoring his pride. 4+HarperCollins HB

$24.99

THIS MOOSE BELONGS TO MEOliver JeffersWilfred’s pet, Marcel the moose, is mostly good at obeying the rules of How to be a Good Pet, although he struggles with Rule 7: ‘Going whichever way Wilfred wants to go’. However, this turns out to be the least of Wilfred’s problems. An old woman claims that Marcel is actually Rodrigo the Moose – calling into question his role as Wilfred’s pet. In true, clever Oliver Jeffers’ style, solutions are found, and Marcel/Rodrigo proves himself with Rule 73: ‘Rescuing your owner from perilous situations’. 4+

Scholastic HB $24.99

THE RAVEN BOYSMaggie StiefvaterMaggie Stiefvater’s most recent novel is a worthy successor to those in her bestselling Wolves of Mercy Falls series and is sure to be a huge hit with fans of the Twilight series, too. Stiefvater writes well, and this book’s female protagonist, Blue Sargent, is a strong and likeable character. When she is drawn into the orbit of the rich boys from the prestigious Aglionby Academy, sparks (some carrying a tinge of romance and others a supernatural frisson) fl y. The fi rst in a series of four books, The Raven Boys will be enjoyed by girls and boys aged 13+.

HarperCollins PB $19.99

RATBURGERDavid Walliams Little Britain’s David Walliams is as absurdly funny in his writing for kids as he is on TV. The unlikely plot of Ratburger involves an evil stepmother of epic proportions and a rat-catching, burger-making villain. Both are out to get the gentle Zoe, who is also fending off the school bully and protecting her new pet rat. The plot may be improbable, but Zoe’s story has the ring of truth: a girl looking for affection and trying to reclaim her dad from his despairing days in the pub. 8+

Walker Books HB $17.95

PRINCESS BETONY AND THE UNICORNPamela Freeman (text) & Tamsin Ainslie (illus)Princess Betony is the daughter of a human king and a dryad queen, and longs to learn about the magic world her mother comes from. In her fi rst adventure, she follows her mother into the forbidden Dark Forest, discovers its magical secrets and learns some important truths. The book’s gorgeous illustrations and small hardback format lend it an old-fashioned feel, but Betony is a true modern-day heroine. 7+

National Library of Australia HB $29.95

TOPSY-TURVY WORLDKirsty MurrayIn a land that was utterly foreign, European explorers and settlers thought Australia’s animals amongst the strangest things they encountered. This richly illustrated book, which draws on treasures from the National Library, describes Europeans’ fi rst encounters with 15 different native creatures, explains early misconceptions, and counters these with more accurate information. Koalas, kangaroos and emus look particularly hilarious as European artists tried to capture these confounding beasts. 8+

Templar HB $29.99

Five Mile Press HB WAS $24.95 NOW $12.95

READY, STEADY, GROW!Published in association with Britain’s Royal Horticultural Society, this lavishly illustrated, easy-to-follow book aims to get kids into the garden, courtyard or balcony to grow vegies, fl owers and fruits. Step-by-step instructions for a variety of projects make acquiring a green thumb easy and loads of fun. 7+

ROCKET INTO SPACE!Ragbir Bhathal & Johanna DavidsMaddy and Jack are fl ying into space, and preschoolers are invited along for the ride! There are plenty of ways they can help, including turning the countdown wheel from 10 to zero and helping the rocket ‘lift-off’ by pulling the tab. On the way into the solar system, they can lift the fl aps to let the planets reveal their secrets, spot the ‘happy face’ on Mars and rotate Jupiter’s moons. 4+

SOUNDS OF THE WILD: BIRDSMaurice PledgerEntertaining and educational, this clever ‘paper art’ book looks at birds from all regions and shows off their calls. As you fl ip through the pop-up panoramas, you are transported to wetlands, desert, rainforest and more through the sounds of the birds. The bright pop-ups and audio will capture littlies’ imaginations, and older kids will enjoy the keys containing details and facts about the birds and their habitat. 4+

Dorling Kindersley HB WAS $24.95 NOW $12.95

National Library of Australia HB $19.95

Kids 23SERIES & SEQUELS

WHAT BUMOSAUR IS THAT?Andy Griffi ths (text) & Terry Denton (illus)Why was the Tyrannosore-arse Rex so angry? Where did Bogasauruses live? Was the Bumheaded idiotasaurus the most stupid bumosaur? Find the answers to these and many other questions in this fully illustrated guide to prehistoric bumosaur life, as created by Australia’s most hilarious children’s publishing partnership.

Macmillan Australia HB WAS $19.95 NOW $9.95

WHERE MY WELLIES TAKE MEClare and Michael Morpurgo (text), Olivia Lomenech Gill (illus)Aunt Peggy gave Pippa a love of poems, and Pippa introduces them to us as she tramps through the countryside. A wealth of poems from the likes of Ted Hughes, Rudyard Kipling, Edward Lear and Christina Rossetti are set against a mixed-media backdrop full of hidden panels, pop-up postcards and fold-out maps. 8+ Also available: Not Bad for a Bad Lad (text Michael Morpurgo, illus. Michael Foreman, Templar, PB, $11.99), a moving story about a boy and horses. 9+

SPECIALPRICE

THE BEATLES: REMASTERED Th e Beatles Vinyl boxed set WAS $549.95 NOW $499.95The wait is fi nally over! Three years after the CD releases, the Fab Four’s entire catalogue has been remastered on glorious vinyl the way it was meant to be heard and is presented in a beautifully packaged boxed set. The albums are available individually, but these sets are super-limited, so get in early to avoid disappointment!

BABELMumford & Sons $21.95Less of a follow-up to 2009’s Sigh No More than a natural extension, Babel fi nds Mumford & Sons still singing and chanting about the perils of sin and ultimate salvation and everything in between. Folk revivalists? More a sermon from the mountain aimed at the masses. Wonderful!!

BROKEN BRIGHTSAngus Stone $21.95Angus Stone has delivered big time in this solo debut, which is a little rockier than the folky albums made with his sister Julia. The tracks nod to Neil Young and LA’s Laurel Canyon, and the opener, ‘River Love’, is bound to be song of the year on many playlists.

BORN TO DIE:THE PARADISE EDITIONLana Del Rey $24.95The hotly tipped and eagerly awaited album Born to Die delivered in spades earlier this year, and now it’s being re-released with a new cover and eight brand-new songs. After emerging from nowhere, Del Rey has quickly become one of the biggest-selling recording artists in the world – listen to this fabulous pop album to see why!

GRRR

CHARLIE IS MY DARLINGTh e Rolling Stones 2-CD set $24.95, 3-CD deluxe set $34.95, DVD $24.95Ladies and gentlemen, the Rolling Stones…are 50! To celebrate the band’s anniversary we have the superb anthology Grrr, available in various formats and containing up to 80 tracks including some all-new material. Also available is the fascinating DVD Charlie Is My Darling, which documents their 1965 tour of Ireland.

I AWAKESarah Blasko $21.95Australian singer Sarah Blasko took on the role of producer for her fourth studio album, which was again recorded at Atlantic Studios in Stockholm. This time, she is teamed with the 52-piece Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra and, as the fi rst single ‘I Awake’ demonstrates, is in fi rm control of her talents. A great artistic leap from her much acclaimed previous release, As Day Follows Night.

THE HAUNTED MANBat for Lashes $21.95After bringing us the acclaimed albums Fur and Gold (2006) and Two Suns (2009), Natasha Khan returns under her guise of Bat for Lashes to bring us this remarkable, highly anticipated new album. Like her previous releases, it’s an intriguing and beautifully delivered fusion of musical styles that is full of songs imbued with poetry, energy and otherworldliness.

HARD TO HANDLE: BLACK AMERICA SINGS OTIS REDDING Various artists $24.95The third album in the ‘Black America sings…’ series honours the King of Soul, Otis Redding. Not only was Redding a great singer, he was a gifted songwriter – one whose life was cut short in 1967 at the age of 26, when he was at the height of his career. The Staples, Aretha Franklin and Percy Sledge are among the 25 artists featured in this great collection.

DON BURROWS: A TRIBUTE TO BENNY GOODMAN2-CD set $29.95Don Burrows is a legend of the Australian jazz scene. This recording showcases a Benny Goodman tribute performed in the Melbourne Concert Hall (Hamer Hall) in 1984. The sound is fantastic and the performances are fi rst rate, including a guest slot from a very young James Morrison. A welcome addition to Burrows’ oeuvre.

GLAD RAG DOLLDiana Krall $21.95The jazz vocals of accomplished Canadian musician Diana Krall predate those of fellow chanteuses Norah Jones, Madeleine Peyroux and Melody Gardot. On this, her 11th studio album, Krall delivers a daring, bright and brash vaudevillian-style song-and-dance production. Produced by T-Bone Burnett and featuring Marc Ribot and Elvis Costello.

A FINE ROMANCEVarious artists 3-CD set $14.95This handsomely packaged boxed set includes 60 classic songs recorded in the 1950s and ’60s. Artists include Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis and Doris Day. A great collection of some of the best songs of all time!

ELECTION SPECIALRy Cooder $19.95Cooder is at his sarcastic and entertaining best in this release, which features his son Joachim on drums. The veteran musicologist lets fl y at the state of US politics in an election year; something we should encourage from musicians here in due course. It’s melodic, upbeat and so full of passion that it works wonderfully.

BYE BYE MANCHESTERMélanie Pain $24.95The lead singer of French indie-pop outfi t Nouvelle Vague returns with a second album of personal pop and acoustic delights. Three years after the release of her acclaimed solo album My Name, Mélanie has produced a musical tribute to Manchester full of haunting visions and brilliantly crafted, multi-layered music.

COME HOME TO MAMAMartha Wainwright $19.95The wonderful Ms Wainwright has put together a collection of folk ballads both raw and passionate for her fi rst studio album in four years. Recorded in Sean Lennon’s New York home studio, Come Home to Mama features guest musicians Jim White from the Dirty Three and Nels Cline from Wilco, and is full of grace and power.

COLDPLAY LIVE 2012Coldplay CD/ DVD set $21.95As the biggest band in the world hits our shores, so, too, does this brand-new live CD and DVD of the acclaimed Mylo Xyloto tour, which has already attracted audiences totalling three million. Capturing Coldplay at their peak, it was recorded in Paris, Montreal and Glastonbury.

CELEBRATION DAY Led Zeppelin 2-CD & 2-DVD set $39.95On 10 December 2007, the surviving members of Led Zeppelin reformed for a special one-off performance. Two million people applied for tickets in a lottery; 18,000 got lucky. Celebration Day documents what happened that night, featuring over two hours of Zeppelin’s trademark blues-infused, barnstorming, monster rock performed before an adoring audience.

24 Music

LEAVE YOUR SOUL TO SCIENCESomething For Kate $21.95After six years away, Something For Kate return with arguably their best release, a gorgeous album full of intelligent songs. Paul Dempsey has always been a deeply reflective songwriter and here he reveals a humorous side on many songs (not that you would notice straight away!). Let’s give a warm welcome back to one of Australia’s premier acts!

INTO THE BLOODSTREAMArchie Roach $24.95Archie Roach’s music has reflected the sadness and dark times of his life. For a man who has suffered so much and who has endured a particularly tough past two years (his wife Ruby Hunter died, and he has his own health issues), he has delivered a remarkably uplifting album with Into the Bloodstream. He describes the process of putting the album together as: ‘Letting go of the pain and the bad stuff and holding onto something good and strong’.

LUXBrian Eno $21.95Eno is the godfather of ambient music – a sought-after producer, fine collaborator and assured artist in his own right. Lux is his first solo album in seven years, featuring a lush textural landscape of sound that is reminiscent of his 1993 release Neroli.

LONERISMTame Impala $21.95The eagerly awaited second album from Perth’s Tame Impala is a monstrous slab of fuzzed-out, psychedelic, desert-space rock. By turns incredibly beautiful and deeply trippy, this fantastic record is sure to cement the outfit’s reputation as one of the best young bands in the country.

TEMPESTBob Dylan $19.95This epic production proves that the great man’s renaissance shows no sign of slowing. The sheer breadth of Dylan’s creative artistry still manages to astonish, as he adds another late-period classic to a truly monumental body of work. Put simply, this is a songwriting master class and a must-buy.

THE WINTER I CHOSE HAPPINESSClare Bowditch $21.95The fifth album from Melbourne singer-songwriter Clare Bowditch is a themed affair focusing on that elusive pursuit, happiness. In lesser hands we would be wary, but Bowditch, who collaborates here with co-writers Gotye and Eddie Perfect and whose voice is in fine form, has delivered another beguiling album worthy of our affection.

WIND IN THE WILLOWSHush Collection Volume 12 $24.95This new musical interpretation of the Kenneth Grahame classic comes from composer and pianist Mark Isaacs and features a narration by Andrew Ford. The much-loved story has been given a new layer, with performances by many outstanding soloists from the various symphony orchestras around Australia. Peaceful for all the right reasons.

TRAVELERJerry Douglas $21.95‘Traveler’ is an apt title for this release by the master of the dobro. Although he is more commonly pigeonholed as a country and bluegrass artist, this release finds Douglas working his way through blues, R & B, jazz, world and Celtic influences. Guests include Eric Clapton, Dr John, Paul Simon and Alison Krauss.

SPRING AND FALLPaul Kelly $21.95Spring and Fall is the 17th studio album from the incomparable national treasure that is Mr Paul Kelly. Recorded in Gippsland, it is everything one hopes a Paul Kelly album to be, with a twist. The sound is warm, the arrangements beautiful and the musicianship from several guests is, as always, impeccable.

THE TEL AVIV SESSIONThe Touré-Raichel Collective $24.95Malian Vieux Farka Touré and Israeli Idan Raichel have created an inspired musical moment that brings to mind two classic albums: Talking Timbuktu by Ali Farka Touré (Vieux’s father) with Ry Cooder; and Keith Jarrett’s The Köln Concert. World-music album of the year!

SUNCat Power $21.95She may have started out playing insecure grunge, but Chan Marshall (aka Cat Power) has developed enough confidence to inject new sounds including electronica, rap and a nod to Bat for Lashes into her latest album, endowing it with sincerity and style. The music is fresh and honed, her voice filled with depth of sound and maturity.

SUGARING SEASONBeth Orton $21.95Harvesting the most wonderful moments from her previous albums and shaping them into tracks that resonate with the new and the old, this new release from Beth Orton is a delight. On the lead track ‘Magpie’, her slightly cracked voice draws the instrumental thread of the song into a tight bundle, as precious as a newborn and just as beautiful.

MEET THE MISSESLisa Miller $21.95Meet the Misses is Lisa Miller’s seventh album. Though it reprises songs from her long-unavailable first two albums (all of which were written by Lisa herself), it is not an attempt at re-creation – rather, it’s an exercise in reinterpretation. The result is an album of great Australian songs.

SO FRENCHY SO CHIC 2013Various artists 2-CD set $29.95As fabulous and diverse as ever, So Frenchy So Chic 2013 delivers a compilation of the best new music to come out of France over the past year. Featuring old favourites Émilie Simon and Barbara Carlotti alongside new discoveries Lescop, Lou Doillon and Carmen Maria Vega, it’s a must-have for fans, or for those who are yet to discover the delights of this annual release.

SHIELDSGrizzly Bear $21.95This is the band we will look back on and say, ‘Oh, so THAT was the 2010s, huh?’ With a sophisticated layering of guitars, synth, drums, reverb and high-pitched indie-rock affectations, the tracks on Shields thrum with hints of Thom Yorke and Fleet Foxes but are all unmistakably Grizzly.

PRIVATEERINGMark Knopfler 2-CD set $24.95This album is like a comfortable old shirt – just slide it on and relax. The 20 new songs have Knopfler’s familiar folk-blues slant and are simply superb.

Music 25

SPECIALPRICE

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THE ART OF DIETRICH FISCHER-DIESKAUDietrich Fischer-Dieskau 2-CD set $24.95Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau made his name in the performance of lieder, and here you can see why. The dates of these recordings range from 1949 to 1981, but every consonant is crisp and every phrase beautifully infl ected regardless of age.

THE ALL-BAROQUE BOX: FROM MONTEVERDI TO BACHVarious artists 50-CD boxed set $134.95The baroque era is considered to be the beginning of classical music as we know it, and the music included in this boxed set would appear to prove this point. It includes the grand works of the choral tradition and more-delicate solo works. The recordings come from the vault of Deutsche Grammophon's Archiv label.

BEETHOVEN: COMPLETE PIANO TRIOS Trio Wanderer 4-CD setWAS $69.95 NOW $49.95The members of Trio Wanderer have been playing together for 25 years, collaborating with artists including Yehudi Menuhin and Christopher Hogwood along the way. Their latest release is a dazzling display of the genius of Beethoven and provides an aural treat of rare quality.

ARVO PÄRT: ADAM’S LAMENTTonu Kaljuste/ Riga Sinfonietta/ Latvian Radio Choir/ Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir/ Tallinn Chamber Orchestra $24.95Arvo Pärt’s music melds early European polyphonic styles with the creative licence of the 20th century, and has infl uenced musicians in every genre – pop, alternative, rock and classical. His latest work premiered in Istanbul in 2010 and has been released on the highly regarded ECM label with Pärt’s active participation.

MOZART 111 MASTERWORKSVarious artists 55-CD boxed set $149.95Where would the world be without the delight, irreverence, heartbreak and comedy of Mozart’s varied works? Opera, orchestral pieces and chamber music are all represented here, and it’s wonderful to rediscover old favourites and even fi nd some new ones. An essential buy for all Mozart fans!

WAGNER: DER RING DES NIBELUNGENGeorg Solti 17-CD limited-edition deluxe boxed set $299.95Solti outdid himself on this complete Ring Cycle, which is often described as the greatest recording ever made. Created between 1958 and 1965, it still triumphs today and this new remastered edition has a clarity and beauty that can’t be denied. This set includes The Golden Ring, a DVD of the acclaimed 1965 BBC documentary.

PUCCINI: THE GREAT OPERASVarious artists 13-CD boxed set $39.95The performances featured in this set are of legendary status, featuring such artists as Maria Callas, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Tito Gobbi, Victoria de los Ángeles, Giuseppe Di Stefano and Jussi Björling. A perfect introduction to the operas of the great Italian composer!

PHILIPS: ORIGINAL JACKETS COLLECTIONVarious artists 55-CD limited-edition boxed setWAS $139.95 NOW $119.95This collection is a wonderful present for anyone who has a hankering after good music, but doesn’t know where to start. Celebrating the famous Philips heritage, it embraces everything from solo piano and chamber music through to large-scale choral works and opera.

KATHLEEN FERRIERDir: Diane Perelsztejn DVD & CD set $24.95Her genius, beauty and tragic death aged just 41 have made English contralto Kathleen Ferrier a legend of classical music. Produced to celebrate the centenary of her birth, this DVD draws on previously undiscovered material and is accompanied by a CD featuring unreleased live performances of Brahms, Bach and Gluck.

MISSIONCecilia Bartoli Deluxe edition WAS $34.99 NOW $29.95Cecilia Bartoli’s powerful new album is full of world-premiere recordings that pluck the music of Italian composer Agostino Steffani (1654–1728) out of obscurity. As well as solo arias, Bartoli performs a selection of duets with French counter-tenor Philippe Jaroussky accompanied by the Swiss period orchestra I Barocchisti.

MISSA SOLIS: REQUIEM FOR ELINigel Westlake/ Melbourne Symphony Orchestra & Chorus $19.95The death of Eli Westlake was a tragedy that struck his father deeply, and the Missa Solis is both an outpouring of grief and a celebration of Eli’s life. Performed with great feeling and delicacy, this lyrical work contributes a new cornerstone for Australian classical music.

LUGANO CONCERTOSMartha Argerich 4-CD set $34.95There is something truly special about live concerts, and this CD showcases some of the best live recordings currently available. Martha Argerich is a consummate performer, and her rapport with the other musicians on these never-before-released performances is sure to delight.

BALLET FOR CHILDREN4-DVD boxed set $54.95This unique collection brings together four jewels of the Royal Ballet’s repertoire. Prepare to be enchanted by the timelessly colourful characters who feature in the Tales of Beatrix Potter; swept up in the magical world of Clara in The Nutcracker; dazzled by the weird and wonderful adventures in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; and spellbound by Prokofi ev’s classic Peter and the Wolf.

IMAGINARY LANDSCAPES: SOUNDS OF AMERICAVarious artists 20-CD boxed set $79.95This boxed set offers a comprehensive overview of 20th-century classical, Broadway and jazz music composition in the USA. The composers featured are Gershwin, Copland, Barber, Carter, Glass, Reich, Adams, Bernstein, Grofé, Cage (from whose work the title is drawn), Ives, Joplin, Kern and Sousa.

A CHANGE OF WORLDSEnsemble Galilei $29.95An exciting grouping of classically trained and traditional musicians, Ensemble Galilei melds technical virtuosity and an abiding passion for ancient music with brilliant results. The vibrancy of this ensemble captivates the listener, from the downbeat fi rst tune to the fi nal chord on the album.

BIZET: CARMENBerlin Philharmoniker conducted by Simon Rattle 2-CD set $24.95There are so many versions of Bizet’s masterpiece available that it’s hard to choose which one to listen to. Fortunately, this new recording, which was made to celebrate the 10-year partnership of the Berlin Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle, is sure to make the decision easier!

26 Classical music

DECEMBER

RELEASE

DECEMBER

RELEASE

BOARDWALK EMPIRE: SEASONS ONE & TWO$69.95Set in New Jersey during the prohibition era, this HBO series is based on real-life characters and events. Steve Buscemi plays Enoch ‘Nucky’ Thompson, Atlantic County’s corrupt treasurer and its most powerful political fi gure. A great cast and an amazing series!

THE BRIDGE: SEASON ONE$39.95This Scandinavian crime drama follows a police investigation after a body is found on the bridge that connects Denmark and Sweden. The investigation is jointly led by a female Swedish offi cer and a Danish male offi cer. If you enjoy complex and intelligent storytelling, The Bridge is for you.

BORGEN$44.95Borgen, which means ‘the castle’ in Danish, is the nickname of Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, seat of the three branches of Danish government. Suffi ce it to say that this political drama series (which is produced by the same people who made The Killing) tells the story of a woman who unexpectedly becomes the fi rst female Prime Minister of Denmark.

THE SAPPHIRES$39.95Adapted from the successful stage show of the same name, The Sapphires is set in the 1960s and tells the story of four female singers from a remote Aboriginal mission who were plucked from obscurity by a soul-loving manager and ended up performing for troops in Vietnam. A combination of comedy and romance blessed with a great soundtrack.

YOUNG MONTALBANO$49.95The most recent series of Inspector Montalbano is the fi nest yet. The producers have decided to go back in time, using some of Andrea Camilleri’s earlier books to paint a picture of Salvo in his younger days. The humour, the food and the instinctive detection skills are all on display, and Michele Riondino is totally charming as the younger inspector. A real treat for fans of the quirky Sicilian crime series.

TWO GREEDY ITALIANS: SERIES ONE & TWO$29.95 each or $49.95 for bothThose genial ambassadors of Italian cuisine, Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo, head to Italy to remember their own pasts and discover how this food-obsessed country is changing the way it cooks and eats. Carluccio and Contaldo create dishes using recipes, ingredients and infl uences they discover along their gastronomic journey, as well as some of their own favourite traditional meals.

PAUL KELLY – STORIES OF ME$29.95For almost 40 years, in over 350 songs, Paul Kelly has been mapping out the Australian landscape and its people. This feature-length documentary charts the life of one of Australia’s most gifted and beloved singer-songwriters and includes candid interviews with Kelly, rare archival footage, never-before-seen live performances, and interviews with family members, former and current band members and music contemporaries.

RAKE: THE COMPLETE SECOND SERIES$49.95In the second season of Rake, Cleaver Greene (Richard Roxburgh) is once again at the epicentre of chaos – most of which, of course, is of his own making. Roxburgh is superb as the disarmingly dissolute barrister, and the storylines are as pertinent as they are hilarious. Also available: Rake: the Complete First Series (our special price $34.95).

PROHIBITION$39.95Ken Burns has directed some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made. His new project, Prohibition, looks at the rise, rule and fall of the prohibition movement in the US. Comments from historians and other experts are interspersed with evocative music, a wealth of photos and fi lm footage, and wonderfully rich personal stories.

GIRLS$39.95Based in New York, this HBO show follows the trials and tribulations of four girls in their early twenties trying to make their way in the world and encountering assorted humiliations, disasters and rare triumphs along the way. But don’t expect another Sex and the City – there’s no sugarcoating here, and not everything goes according to plan for these girls.

MISS MARPLE: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION$99.95Agatha Christie’s much-loved spinster sleuth has her own techniques to solve mysteries – observation, polite questioning, a keen insight into the human mind…and the reassuring click of knitting needles. Oozing period atmosphere, sporting star-studded casts and swimming with red herrings, this 12-disc collection includes every episode from the original BBC series.

MAD MEN: SEASON FIVE$49.95More adventures of Don Draper and the staff of a New York advertising agency in the 1960s. Season fi ve takes place between 1966–67 and explores Don’s new marriage to Megan. Without giving too much away, there is much soul searching and quite a few revelations to be had in this great new season of a landmark TV show.

DVDs 27

ARRIETTY WAS $29.95 NOW $19.95

The latest masterwork from Studio Ghibli is based on Mary Norton’s much-loved children’s fantasy novel series, The Borrowers.

DOUGLAS SIRK: KING OF HOLLYWOOD MELODRAMAWAS $69.95 NOW $39.95

Armed with the visual vocabulary of German Expressionism and a healthy dose of

sardonic irony, director Douglas Sirk was able to turn otherwise pedestrian romances into incisive indictments of the great post-war American dream. Features nine fi lms, including Magnifi cent Obsession, All That Heaven Allows and Imitation of Life.

JANE AUSTEN: COLLECTOR’S EDITIONWAS $39.95 NOW $19.95

Three classic Jane Austen stories (Northanger Abbey, Mansfi eld Park and Emma) are brought to life in these ITV adaptations.

KUROSAWA: SAMURAI CLASSICSWAS $59.95 NOW $34.95

Includes four classic fi lms by legendary Japanese director, Akira Kurosawa: Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo and Sanjuro.

MIDNIGHT IN PARISWAS $39.95 NOW $19.95

Woody Allen’s best fi lm in years is set in Paris, a city that lends itself to daydreaming, walking the streets and imagining all sorts of magic.

PRIME SUSPECT: COMPLETE COLLECTION SEASONS 1–7WAS $99.95 NOW $34.95

Helen Mirren endows the character of Jane Tennison with authority, intelligence and a touch of overachieving desperation in this

compelling TV adaptation of Lynda La Plante’s police procedural. Superb performances, excellent writing and understated direction.

YASUJIRO OZU BOXED SETWAS $69.95 NOW $39.95

Ozu’s fi lms are known for their meditative tone, languid camerawork and narratives focusing on the themes of family, honour and societal expectations.

Features seven fi lms, including his masterwork, Tokyo Story.

THE TRIP: COMPLETE SERIESWAS $39.95 NOW $24.95

In an attempt to impress his American girlfriend Mischa, Steve (Steve Coogan) accepts a commission to take a restaurant tour around the north of England and write

about it for The Observer. When Mischa calls their relationship off just before the trip, Steve is faced with a week of meals for one. Reluctantly, he asks Rob (Rob Brydon) to accompany him in Mischa’s place. Michael Winterbottom’s six-episode series is utterly hilarious.

WALLANDER: SEASONS 1–4WERE $49.95 EACH NOW $29.95 EACH

Based upon the fi ctional character created by Henning Mankell, this series is another top-quality crime adaptation created in Scandinavia. Moody and cool

in equal measure, it’s superbly acted (Krister Henriksson is perfectly cast as the troubled detective) and beautifully shot.

THE WAYWAS $29.95 NOW $14.95

Martin Sheen plays Tom, an American doctor who travels to France to collect the remains of his adult son, killed in the Pyrenees while walking the Camino de Santiago. Written and directed by

Sheen’s son, Emilio Estevez.

WEST WING: COMPLETE SET WAS $199.95 NOW $99.95

This extraordinarily intimate look at an American president and the inner workings of government allows the viewer to experience all the crises, triumphs,

lofty idealism and hard realities of day-to-day life in the White House. 44-DVD set covering the entire seven seasons.

THE WIRE: COMPLETE SERIESWAS $149.95 NOW $89.95

Candid and intense, The Wire has been hailed as one of the great achievements in television artistry. Viewed from the perspective of

the police and their targets, it captures a world where easy distinctions between good and evil and crime and punishment are challenged at every turn. 24-DVD set covering series 1–5.

TREME SEASONS ONE & TWOWERE $39.95 EACH NOW $24.95 EACH

From David Simon, creator of The Wire,

comes this series set in post-Katrina New Orleans. Treme is one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods, a historically important source of African-American music and

culture, and the series chronicles its rebuilding after the devastation wrought by the 2005 hurricane.

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FIRST PRIZEA huge selection of the titles featured in this catalogue – the very best of this summer’s fiction, cookery, history, politics, biography and much more. Total value more than $5000!

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