I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott Murdoch Books Mary Laura Philpott has written for The New York Times, The Paris Review and O The Oprah Magazine, examining the overlap between the absurd and the profound in her life. In this memoir-in-essays, she shares the humour of her life’s more memorable moments […]
In the Closet of the Vatican: Power, Homosexuality, Hypocrisy by Frederic Martel Bloomsbury Publishing This timely book has been published simultaneously in 8 languages and 20 countries. The result of a 4 year investigation where 1500 people were questioned at the Vatican and in 30 countries, it reveals “fifty shades of gay” in the men […]
Rolling with the Punchlines by Urzila Carlson Allen & Unwin Comedian Urzila Carlson has made a big splash in Australia and New Zealand where she lives with her wife and two children. Originally from South Africa, she did her first stand-up gig did as a dare from her workmates in 2008. She now has regular […]
Without A Doubt by Fleur McDonald Allen & Unwin Esperance farmer and writer Fleur McDonald has written a succession of books that allow her readers to get to know rural Australia much better. In Without A Doubt, she continues the adventures of Detective Dave Burrows, who has been posted to the remote country town of […]
Thirty Thousand Bottles of Wine and a Pig Called Helga By Todd Alexander Simon & Schuster Australia Todd and Jeff had had enough of the city. Todd was a high-flying marketing executive “living the classic city lifestyle of hard work and even harder play”. He lived with Jeff, who worked for a cancer charity, in […]
How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee Oneworld When Wang Di was born in Singapore, she wasn’t really wanted by her family as it was a time when girls weren’t valued. In fact, her name means “to hope for a brother”. She was 16 years old when the Japanese army invaded Singapore during WW II and […]
Painting in the Shadows by Katherine Kovacic Bonnier Echo Formerly a veterinarian, Katherine Kovacic is now an art historian who works in a wide range of galleries, museums and private houses. Living in Melbourne with a Scottish Deerhound, she has created art dealer Alex Clayton who finds herself at the centre of a murder mystery […]
Lonely Planet’s The Vanlife Companion by Ed Bartlett and Becky Ohlsen Lonely Planet Vanlife originated in 1950 when Vox Wagon launched its iconic ‘Splitscreen’. Then in the 1960s and 1970s the hippies and surfers used the VW campervan to live in away from the hectic metropolis. Now the internet allows people to connect with stories […]
Man at the Window by Robert Jeffreys Echo A crack of thunder echoes across the night-time quadrangle of an exclusive boys’ school where dormitory windows are crammed with eager, noisy boys. A teacher known as Captain Edmund is also at his window while a ten-year-old boy stands in his pyjamas outside his door, barefoot and […]
Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots by Kate Devlin Bloomsbury Sigma This book that connects intimacy and technology is about being human in a world of machines, now that robots and artificial intelligence that have become integrated into many aspects of our lives. Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana (all female) can do all […]
