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 […]
A Beer in the Loire by Tommy Barnes Muswell Press This is the record of a brave man, the author Tommy Barnes, who left his office job in London to settle in rural France and tries to establish a boutique brewing business. Unfortunately he had a couple of obstacles to overcome – he had never […]
Brutally Honest by Melanie Brown with Louise Gannon Quadrille Responding to a 1994 advertisement for a girl band, Melanie Brown became one of five wannabe nobodies screaming and yelling for girl-power. Mel B was Scary Spice, the cheeky, loud, fearless one who soared to fame and fortune with the Spice Girls. Unfortunately this did not […]
Never Grow Up by Jackie Chan with Zhu Mo HarperCollins Publishers After 200 films in 56 years, Jackie Chan received an honorary Academy Award in 2016. From a junior stuntman on Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon to the voice of Kung Fu Panda, generations of moviegoers know him for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing […]
Life on the Leash by Victoria Schade Allen & Unwin Cora Bellemy gave up a fast-track corporate job run Top Dog, her own dog training business. The 28 year old thrives on organization and has a knack for predicting doggy behaviour. Recovering from a recent break-up, her skills at predicting human behavior are not as […]
Enigma Variations by André Aciman Faber & Faber The author of Call Me By Your Name has put together a collection of linked stories about love in a book named after English composer Edward Elgar’s orchestral composition featuring variations on a theme. The five stories are first person accounts from Italian man Paul who starts […]
Long Road to Mercy by David Baldacci Pan Macmillan Australia Former lawyer, David Baldacci, is a prolific writer. He has published 36 novels for adults (as well as 6 novels for younger readers). All have been bestsellers and several have been adapted for film and television. This book is the first in a series featuring […]
Melmoth by Sarah Parry Serpent’s Tail Helen Franklin is living in exile in Prague, hoping to eventually find redemption. She is 42 years old and has a simple life, denying herself all pleasures because she has imposed upon herself a penance for a crime she committed twenty years previously. A crime for which she “fears […]
In Pieces by Sally Field Simon & Schuster Sally Field has an infectious charm that has captivated audiences for five decades. She has stunned audiences and won the highest awards with her artistic range – from the complexity of Sybil to the ferocity of Norma Rae and the beleaguered Mary Todd Lincoln. Yet there is […]
Western Australian author Holden Sheppard is one of six writers nominated for the prestigious Hungerford Award for his latest work exploring the experience of growing up gay in regional WA. Invisible Boys follows four gay teenagers living in present day Geraldton, alternating between their different viewpoints as they struggle with the issues that surround coming […]
