Bibliophile | Bram Connolly teaches us ‘The Commando Way’
The Commando Way by Bram Connolly Allen & Unwin Bram Connolly spent 20 years in the armed forces from the age of 17. After rigorous training, he was deployed to Somalia at the age of 19 and also served several tours of duty in East Timor and Afghanistan. As a commander for the Australian Special […]
Bibliophile | Holly Watt considers the journalist’s role in ‘The Dead Line’
The Dead Line by Holly Watt Raven Books Casey Benedict works as an investigative reporter for the Post newspaper in London. When the fashion editor presents her with a taffeta and tulle skirt for a high end fashion shop, she sees there is a piece of white silk folded among the petticoats. Embroidered on the […]
Bibliophile | ‘Olive’ faces the mother of all choices in Emma Gannon novel
Olive by Emma Gannon HarperCollins Olive is the same age as her mother was when she gave birth to her and she faces the “mother of all choices”. The number one conversation of everyone around her, including her boyfriend of 9 years, is – when is she going to consider having a baby? Olive finds […]
Bibliophile | Mia Walsch tries to find balance in ‘Money for Something’
Money for Something by Mia Walsch Echo It was a relief when nineteen year old Mia Walsch was fired from her job in the windowless room full of filing cabinets. Pretending to be ‘normal’ for eight hours a day was sucking at her soul. So she answered a newspaper ad – “Erotic Massage, Good Money. […]
Bibliophile | ‘Enid’ is the new biography from Robert Wainwright
Enid by Robert Wainwright Allen & Unwin Enid’s grandfather Dr Henry Lindeman was a Hunter Valley pioneer in establishing Australia’s wine industry. Her father and his brothers carried on the business, with her father buying hotels to stock Lindeman wines in their cellars. Enid, born in 1892, was the fifth child after four sons. Her […]
Holden Sheppard’s ‘Invisible Boys’ shortlisted for Premier’s Prize
Western Australian author Holden Sheppard continues to rack up accolades for his debut novel, Invisible Boys, taking a place on the shortlist for the Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards. The multi-award winning novel tells the story of three young gay men learning to understand their sexuality in rural WA, and has now been nominated for the Premier’s […]
Bibliophile | Chris Flynn looks to the lessons of the past in ‘Mammoth’
Mammoth by Chris Flynn University of Queensland Press The inspiration for Chris Flynn’s wacky novel was an auction that was held in New York in 2007. Included in the 345 lots that were bought by the rich and famous was a 67 million year old skull of a Tyrannosaurus bataar, the severed hand of an […]
Bibliophile | Deaf detective Caleb Zelic returns in ‘Darkness for Light’
Darkness For Light by Emma Viskic Echo Publishing A bout of meningitis left Caleb Zelic deaf when he was 5 years of age so he became proficient at watching body language and picking up tell-tale signs that people try to hide. Lip reading can be full of hazards – beards, swollen lips and people looking […]
Review: Hollywood Wants to Kill You
Hollywood Wants to Kill You by Rick Edwards and Dr Michael Brooks Allen & Unwin Threatening to kill is how to get people’s attention and perversely it makes us feel alive to have a brush with death. According to the authors of this book, “that’s what makes us better people and encourages make the most […]
Bibliophile | ‘I Miss You When I Blink’ blends the absurd with the profound
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 […]
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