Better Read's Christmas Reading Guide 2016

The Best of Adam Sharp | Graeme Simsion | $29.99 | Text Publishing Nearly 50, Adam Sharp has a loyal partner and the life he wanted, but something’s missing. Then Angelina, who two decades prior had given Adam an opportunity he never seized, gets in touch. A novel about love, music and coming to terms with the past.

The Good People | Hannah Kent | $32.99 | Pan Macmillan | Fabienne’s Pick Kent once again brings us a gripping novel based on true events, exploring ancient Irish folklore and beliefs. The novel takes you back in time; you can feel the harshness of people’s lives and the chill of the Irish valley where trouble befalls three women.

AUSTRALIAN FICTION

CHRISTMAS READING GUIDE

Goodwood | Holly Throsby | $29.99 | Allen & Unwin Steph says: Goodwood is set in a small town where everyone knows everyone; where butchers are “Pleased to Meat You”. Yet this novel is far from absurd, and wittily written moments tie together perfectly with the charming, lyrical narrative that Holly has woven.

I was engrossed by the story of two disappearances in this Australian town and captivated by Jean’s first-person account of the events.

Crimes of the Father | Tom Keneally | $32.99 | Penguin Random House Keneally pulls no punches as he interrogates the damage done as the Catholic Church has prevaricated around language and law. This riveting, profoundly thoughtful novel is both an exploration of faith as well as an examination of marriage, conscience and celibacy, and one of our most controversial institutions.

Truly Madly Guilty | Liane Moriarty | $32.99 | Pan Macmillan | Steph’s Pick Truly Madly Guilty, much like Big Little Lies, is about parenting and relationships (and the struggle between the two), and has at its heart a mystery which will shock and divide readers. It’s also about a cellist, a hoarder and a stripper; turning an otherwise dark and challenging plot into a lighter and at times, humorous story. The perfect book club read!

The Best Australian Stories | Edited

by Charlotte Wood | $29.99 | Black Inc. The Best Australian Stories anthology brings together Australia’s most striking literary talents and provides a platform for those unpublished gems. This year Stella Prize–winning author Charlotte Wood takes the helm, putting together yet another enchanting collection.

The Easy Way Out | Steven Amsterdam | $29.99 | Hachette Liz says: Amsterdam, who is a palliative care nurse as well as a writer, is in top form in his latest book, which addresses the contentious issue of euthanasia. In a break from mainstream discussions on the issue, the novel is set in a contemporary city we are not told where - where assisted dying has been legalised.

The novel contains a twist with a moral dilemma that is intricate and profoundly human in its contours. The protagonist, Evan, who is a nurse, is relatable and realistic. In this area, Amsterdam is successful. A great present for a friend or loved one interested in the issue.

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FICTION

Swing Time | Zadie Smith | $32.99 | Penguin Random House | Karma’s Pick Swing Time alternates between London in the early 1980s and West Africa, between closeness and distance, and the spaces, emotional and physical, between people. This is an absorbing novel of friendship, race, class, and time.

Hag-Seed | Margaret Atwood | $29.99 | Penguin Random House | Karma & Mischa’s Pick For the Hogarth Shakespeare series, Atwood reinvents The Tempest in modern day Canada, which she populates with prisoners, politicians, and hackers. The result is a delightful, funny, and magical contemporary retelling.

Today will be Different l Maria Semple | $32.99 | Hachette Dean says: I breezed through this hilarious, contemporary gem of a novel. Eleanor Flood starts her day by trying to improve herself but each step spirals into out-of-control, into selfpity and one step further towards her own mess. The simplicity with which Semple writes is an extraordinary skill and her comedy is genius. Today will be Different will keep you deeply immersed and thoroughly entertained.

The Story of a Brief Marriage | Anuk Anudpragasam | $27.99 | Allen & Unwin | Fabienne’s Pick Dinesh and Ganga, two Tamils pushed away by the Sri Lankan Civil War, decide to marry in an attempt to reach safety. In a situation of strange intimacy and dependence, alienated and destroyed by the atrocity that surrounds them, they try to feel human again. This fierce debut is a meditation on the fundamental elements of human existence and the challenges of war on the human mind and body. This is a deeply affecting, vivid and visceral novel.

The Wonder | Emma Donoghue | $29.99 | Pan Macmillan An Irish village is mystified by what appears to be a miracle but may actually be murder. A magnetic novel written with all the propulsive tension that made Room a huge bestseller, this is a simple tale of two strangers who will transform each other’s lives, a powerful psychological thriller, and a story of love.

Nicotine | Nell Zink | $29.99 | Harper Collins | Gin’s Pick If you’ve had the pleasure of reading Zink before, you will be familiar with a wit that occasionally bites, but sometimes feels like a warm chuckle from deep inside.

There is a lot to love in Nicotine from its fiercely odd premise to its strange, painful ideas around grief and loss. This novel is worth reading for the dialogue alone, but readers will also love the unorthodox humour.

Miller’s Valley | Anna Quindlen | $32.99 | Simon & Schuster In a small town on the verge of big change, a young woman unearths deep secrets about her family and unexpected truths about herself. Filled with insights that are the hallmark of Anna Quindlen’s bestsellers, Miller’s Valley is an emotionally powerful story about a family you will never forget.

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The Nix | Nathan Hill | $29.99 | Pan Macmillan | Jane’s Pick Samuel, professor & stalled writer, sees his mother on TV, in an event that takes over the country. A dual narrative always sucks me in, and this one goes between Samuel’s mother in the 1960’s, and Samuel’s present life. They’re strangers to each other, but more alike than they realise.

Days Without End | Sebastian Barry | $32.99 | Allen & Unwin | Fabienne’s Pick Set in mid 19th century America, this book is the story of Thomas and his brother in arms, who signed up for the army as 17 year olds. During these brutal and tumultuous years they find their days to be vivid and searing, despite the horrors they witness and are at times complicit in. This is a masterpiece of atmosphere and language; challenging but very rewarding.

Transit | Rachel Cusk | $32.99 | Penguin Random House | Gin’s Pick After reading the first novel in this series, I read Cusk’s entire spectacular backlist. This novel begins with upheaval & transitions of the physical, moral and artistic. Utterly detached, yet elegant and rich, Cusk wonders at change, the self, movement and meaning in a way that challenges the reader with precision and vitality. I love it.

Moonglow | Michael Chabon | $39.99 | Harper Collins | Dean’s Pick Chabon has returned to form in an adventurous and witty tale about his grandfather, with stories ranging from cavorting with the enemy to view a rocket during WW2 to chasing a pet-eating alligator through a Florida retirement village in the name of love. Masterful storytelling, Moonglow is set to become a Chabon classic!

FICTION

The Mothers | Brit Bennett | $29.99 | Allen & Unwin Liz says: This is the highly anticipated debut novel from Brit Bennett, and is a coming-of-age story about young love, laced with the complications - desire, secrecy, gossip - that come with it.

It is gripping and immersive, and Bennett’s prose is clear and refreshing as she draws us into her world. Its sophistication means its simultaneous sadness and humour work together to craft a nuanced piece of fiction. The Christmas Days | Jeanette Winterson | $29.99 | Penguin Random House Everybody loves a Christmas story. The tradition of the Twelve Days of Christmas is a tradition of celebration, sharing and giving. And what better way to do that than with a story? Give them to friends, wrap them up for someone you love, read them aloud, read them alone, read them together. Enjoy the season of peace and goodwill, mystery, and a bit of magic.

The Secret History of Twin Peaks | Mark Frost | $39.99 | Pan Macmillan Dean says: Cult series Twin Peaks finished with Palmer telling Agent Dale Cooper, ‘See you again in 25 years’.

Now 25 years later, the 3rd series will grace our screens. This book, written by series writer/creator Frost, looks at the lives of the quirky townsfolk during these past 25 years and extends on unanswered mysteries that have been bugging fans for a long time.

Autumn | Ali Smith | $29.99 | Penguin Random House | Gin’s Pick The novel is an examination of sorts of pop culture, and a meditation on what riches, harvest, wealth and worth are.

Written in a style that is almost a stream of consciousness, Smith explores connectedness to nature, to words, to contemporary issues and to each other.

Under a Pole Star | Stef Penney | $32.99 | Hachette | Fabienne’s pick Stef Penney has created a formidable and compelling heroine in Flora, a woman way ahead of her time in many respects. The bleak but dazzling polar landscape is captured beautifully, as are the harsh realities of everyday survival for those who live in it.

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FICTION / CRIME FICTION 4

The Travelling Companion | Ian Rankin | $9.99 | Harper Collins | Jane’s Pick This well paced and absorbing novella, part of the fabulous Bibliomysteries series, subtly draws themes from the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale of the same name. The result is part fairy tale, part ode to Robert Loius Stevenson, and part literary thriller.

Compelling and good fun.

Virgins | Diana Gabaldon | $24.99 | Penguin Random House | Mischa’s Pick This prequel novella to the Outlander series compiled

by George RR Martin will make fans swoon! In typical Gabaldon style, this novella is rich with history, adventure, and meticulously crafted character arcs, adding another layer to the mesmeric world of Outlander.

Transmigration of Bodies | Yuri Herrera | $24.99 | Text Publishing A plague has brought death to the city. Two feuding families with blood on their hands need their hero, The Redeemer, to broker peace.

Herrera’s novel, a response to the violence of contemporary Mexico, is a noirish tragedy and a tribute to those that violence has touched.

The Angel of History l Rabih Alameddine | $32.99 | Hachette Karma says: Allamedine’s character of Jacob is drenched in memories from his past. Scenes of poetic and devastating loss at the height of the AIDS crisis in San Francisco are interspersed with conversations between Death and Satan. Allamedine’s mordant sense of humour and beautiful, vivid storytelling had me captivated.

Dr Knox | Peter Spiegelman | $29.99 | Hachette | Dean’s Pick Edgy, cool crime in the vain of Elroy! With a vivid LA backdrop and a Robin Hood styled hero, Dr Knox operates a free medical centre for the down & out on Skid Row by day and is a no questions asked, high price tag doctor by night. The twists and kicks are thrilling and the suspense is high!

Lady Cop Makes Trouble | Amy Stewart | $32.99 | Penguin Random House Based on the Kopp sisters’ real-life adventures, Stewart introduced the sensational lives of Constance Kopp to an army of enthusiastic readers.

This second instalment, takes us further into the romping, riveting story of a woman who defied expectations, forged her own path, and tackled crime along the way.

Magpie Murders | Anthony Horowitz | $32.99 | Hachette | Morgan’s pick Editor Susan Ryeland is working alongside crime writer Alan Conway on his latest novel. Conway’s latest tale, however, deviates from his typical sleepy village crime novel. Yes, there are dead bodies and a host of intriguing suspects, but hidden in the pages of the manuscript there lies another story.

Holding | Graham Norton | $32.99 | Hachette | Liz’s pick As a long-time fan of Norton, I was not expecting his debut fiction to be crime.

However the funny man has produced a quintessential contemporary Irish crime novel. Set in a sleepy, remote village populated with intriguing characters, the towns dark past starts to be exposed after human remains are discovered on a farm.

A Closed and Common Orbit | Becky Chambers | $32.99 | Hachette | Mischa’s Pick This mesmerising literary sci-fi novel is not action packed with space explosions or intergalactic battles, yet it’s heavy with meaning; exploring issues of gender and race equality, sentience, and freedom of choice with a scalpel. Chambers has an intricate understanding of how humans are flawed, which makes for incredibly diverse and engaging characters; by the end of the book you feel as though you’ve known them and the world they live in with great intimacy.

The Witches of New York | Ami McKay | $32.99 | Hachette | Mischa’s Pick McKay has created a magical world that compares to The Night Circus. Set in 1880, Adelaide and Eleanor use their tea shop as a front for their witchy business catering to Manhattan’s high society ladies. An eerie and spellbinding read about women doing remarkable things, despite the repression enforced by their society (and their corsets).

Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them | J. K. Rowling | $39.99 | Hachette Returning to her wizarding world, the all-new adventure film marks the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling. The published screenplay will comprise of the full script of Fantastic Beasts; an exciting adventure featuring an array of magical creatures and characters.

Black Panther | Ta-Nehisi Coates | $32.99 | Hachette | Mariana’s Pick Coates’s run on the Black Panther series is not to be missed. The Black Panther, created in 1966, was the first black superhero in mainstream US comics. “[Black Panther] pulls from the very real history of society” - Coates in an Atlantic article.

Platinum End | Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata | $14.99 | Simon & Schuster | Dean’s Pick The outstanding duo that created Death Note deliver a brand-new manga, complete with snappy dialogue, a spirited story and edgy graphics. Mirai is saved by an angel only to discover that God will retire and 13 candidates have been selected for the job.

And he is one of them.

Indeh | Ethan Hawke & Greg Ruth | $49.99 | Hachette | Nelson’s Pick Indeh is a fictionalised account of the Apache wars. The art is stark and beautiful, bringing to life the violent narrative of the Apaches fighting their technologically superior adversaries, the Mexicans.

Indeh is meticulously constructed and grounded in firm historical fact.

Last Look | Charles Burns | $49.99 | Penguin Random House | Nelson’s Pick Author of one of my favourite graphic novels (Black Hole), Charles Burns this time collects all three volumes of Doug’s epic tale. The story is strange, mind-bending and heartbreaking where the fragments of the past collide with the nightmarish reality of the present.

SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY / GRAPHIC NOVELS

The Hanging Tree | Ben Aaronovitch | $29.99 | Hachette Dean says: The handsome PC Grant is back on the streets of London to solve his sixth crime. A body has been found, and blood has mixed with magic. Grant is called to solve this supernatural case. With help and hindrance from the Rivers of London, his boss the ancient Nightingale, Molly the ghoul, his ex-sidekick Lesley and a bunch of ghosts, Aaronovitch has written another hilarious urban fantasy bestseller.

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OUR BOOKS OF THE MONTH 2016ELS

OUR BOOKS OF THE MONTH 2016 February Pick | The Noise of Time | Julian Barnes | $32.99 | Penguin Random House James says: Julian Barnes is an author who’s enjoyed immense acclaim. Three of his novels have been shortlisted for the Man Booker and in 2011 The Sense of an Ending finally claimed the prestigious award. Barnes’ newest novel, The Noise of Time, is a gripping fictionalised account of the life of the brilliant composer Shostakovich under Stalin. This book swept me away at once, and the portrayal of Shostakovich himself was so intimate and full of humanity that I felt like I really knew him. It’ll leave you breathless.

April Pick | The Bricks that Built the Houses | Kate Temest | $27.99 | Bloomsbury Circus Dean says: This is the most exciting book I have read in the last few years. Kate Tempest will become a much sort after author for festivals and hit the big time resting upon the strength of this debut.

Rolling, rhythmical, lyrical it reads as her spoken word presents. The story is fresh and ethical; the characters are contemporary and gripping; and Tempest tells a multi-generational tale of drugs, desire and belonging in a whole new way. There is nothing like this book out there. Winner of the Ted Hughes Prize for innovation in poetry, in my opinion she is also an innovator in fiction and a major new literary voice to watch out for.

March Pick | The Painted Ocean | Gabriel Packard | $22.99 | Hachette Dean says: This is a challenging read, in a great way. The challenge lies in the riveting way this novel was executed – it feels as though you are reading two different novels at once. One story travels along emotionally rich and literary lines: an Indian family in London is falling apart through language and a cultural clash. Shruti, the protagonist, loves her mother unconditionally – to the point where her lies to defend her mother lead to troubles with the authorities. Once Shruti leaves school, she travels abroad and winds up in a very intense and obsessive situation led by Meena, her apparent best friend. Reading their journey makes you hold your breath and want to squeeze your eyes closed, only you can’t stop reading and really need to find out what happens. Although I’ve read several books since finishing The Painted Ocean, my thoughts keep returning to it. Think ‘Brick Lane’ meets ‘Lord of the flies’; a literary feat that is extremely intense and will definitely challenge your reading sensibility.

May Pick | Everyone Brave is Forgiven | Chris Cleave | $29.99 | Hachette Steph says; When Dean handed me the proof copy of this book I thought I’d be spending my evening trudging through yet another conventional WWII novel. It had all the usual tropes; London in the Blitz, soldiers at the battlefront, nurses, bomb shelters, strict rations and dwindling ammunition. But Cleave didn’t stop there. Everyone Brave is Forgiven is about a school of children deemed not desirable enough to be evacuated, about the hunger, desperation and comradery on the frontline, and about what can only be described as a love quadrangle. The narrative is punctuated by some of the wittiest dialogue I’ve ever read and the epistolary romance made me ache (out of a strange combination of envy, devastation and elation). Each and every moment gripped me, to the point where I did end up spending my entire evening reading a WWII novel cover-tocover!

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July Pick | The Girls | Emma Cline | $32.99 | Penguin Random House Jane says: Though set in 1969, and loosely based on the Manson gang murders, this is a very current, visceral portrait of what it means to be a girl in this world. The powerlessness, and often the subsequent snatched pseudo-power conjured by sexual currency. The destruction and total sacrifice of self that young girls put themselves through in an effort to be relevant in any way. This book will stay with you for a long time.

Steph says: Emma Cline’s narrative is raw, but her narration is anything but; with each perfect sentence forming a thoroughly engrossing and haunting read. The Girls makes all the unbelievable, far-fetched stories that we hear about cults seem far more real and plausible. You can’t help but get sucked into life at the ranch; you can’t help but fall for Suzanne and the Girls, and rather than rushing through this novel, I read it one chapter at a time, wanting very much to stay in Evie’s world, even knowing what was coming.

August Pick | The Hate Race | Maxine Beneba Clarke | $29.99 | Hachette Mariana says; Unputdownable - I read this in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed Clarke’s immersive style of creative non-fiction that wove social critique with a personal narrative.

Nelson says; Powerful and gut-wrenching, Clarke perfectly instils the prolific othering that occurs in Australia of those that lie outside the white hegemony.

Gin says; Maxine Beneba Clarke’s memoir is a moving testimony to story and survival. I read this book in frank recognition.

Mischa says; The Hate Race is electrifying, poignant and devastating; everyone needs to read it!

Dean says; The powerful story Clarke weaves of a familiar Australia childhood is abruptly shattered with sweeping smears of hatred.

Clarke writes with magnetism and the ability to deliver a thought provoking punch to the chest.

OUR BOOKS OF THE MONTH 2016ELS

June Pick | Wood Green | Sean Rabin | $26.95 | Giramondo Dean says: Atmospheric, unsettling and claustrophobic, this Australian literary debut was a wonderful surprise! It is intelligent yet reads with an easy charm and familiarity through its small town Australian characters. The unpredictable plot offered a twist that darted out from nowhere and took this story to another level. Michael takes a job with recluse author Lucien Clarke sorting through his papers to compile a biography. Hidden away in a damp Tasmanian town Wood Green, Michel’s life changes beyond recognition when he begins writing his own Magnum Opus. A compelling portrait of literary ambition and a tribute to the keen eye of small publishers like Giramondo!

September Pick | The Easy Way Out | Stephen Amsterdam | $29.99 | Hachette Dean says; A strong, topical read; The Easy Way Out takes a look at assisted dying through a unique perspective. From the very first page I knew that this was going to be a very strong book! Amsterdam writes with depth, flow and strength that makes for a light and very moreish read. Evan is a nurse reluctant to open up to anyone in his life until he works as an assistant to those dying. When Evan is confronted by his own mothers disintegration, it is interesting to see what is exposed emotionally beneath his closed exterior.

This book will make you question your own views on mortality, life and the legality surrounding assisted dying. A must-read!

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COOKING

The Cook’s Table l Stephanie Alexander | $69.99 | Penguin Steph says: Stephanie Alexander is back with another comprehensive, quintessential cooking “bible”. It contains everything I loved about The Cook’s Companion and The Kitchen Garden Companion; fresh, seasonal ingredients, recipes which cater to the home cook and the perfect combination of traditional and modern methods and flavours. What sets it apart from Stephanie’s previous work is its unique format, containing 25 menus, each inspired by a different country, occasion, memory or life event. A must have in any Australian kitchen!

Smith & Daughters: A Cookbook | Shannon Martinez & Mo Wyse | $48.00 | Hardie Grant | Liz’s Pick Wyse and Martinez, the brains behind Melbourne’s successful Smith & Deli, have finally released a cookbook full of delicious vegan recipes! It features almost 90 favourite Smith recipes, including their famous aioli. The book is an enjoyable read and has serious character - a departure from the idea that cookbooks simply contain a bunch of glossy photos to accompany deadpan recipes. This might be the best way to enjoy a slice of the Deli here in Sydney!

Escoffier Ritz Escoffier | $55.00 | Thames & Hudson | Jane’s Pick It’s so refreshing to have a cookbook that goes back to basics – classic, timeless French recipes, with easy to follow instruction and techniques.

Not a buzz word or superfood in sight. Instead its recipes from the famous Paris cooking school, founded

by Escoffier, the father of modern cooking as we know it. Santa, if you’re listening, I want this book for Christmas.

Provence to Pondicherry | Tessa Kiros | $49.99 | Hardie Grant | Mischa’s Pick This beautiful book combines both my love of travel and love of cooking! I have been a Kiros fan for a long time, and I dare say that this is her best book yet! It will take you on a fascinating journey across the globe to explore French culinary influences in far-flung destinations; from the Caribbean to Vietnam to Pondicherry. Bringing out the rich history and culinary traditions of each country, this exquisite book is as much an ode to culture as it is to food!

Samarkand | Carolin Eden & Eleanor Ford | $49.99 | Simon & Schuster | Dean’s Pick A gorgeous cookbook showcasing a unique cuisine! The seven cultures that have left their mark on Samarkland have all shared and influenced each other’s cuisine over time. Recipes from this region have been collected and adapted for the home cook, and are presented together with stories and a useful cupboard of essential ingredients.

Australian Fish & Seafood Cookbook | Susman, Huckstep, Swan & Hodges | $79.99 | Allen & Unwin | Nelson’s Pick Seafood is possibly the most impressive part of a kitchen repertoire, yet is notoriously difficult to master. Compiled by some of the most respected authorities on seafood in the country, Australian Fish & Seafood is biblical in its presentation, containing all you need to know about selecting and preparing fish and seafood.

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Time Machine | Adam Spencer | $34.99 | Newsouth Books Starting with the Big Bang and ending in the present day (with a few glimpses of the future for good measure), Time Machine is a history book like no other. Jampacked with quotes, quizzes, anecdotes and trivia it’s a full-colour treasure trove for ages 8 to 108!

SCIENCE

The Wasp that Brainwashed the Caterpillar | Matt Simon | $29.99 | Hachette | Liz & Fergus’ Pick Wired magazine’s ‘Science’s Absurd Creature of the Week’ columnist has put into one book some of evolution’s most tellingly funny-but-true solutions to the problems of everyday life. Fans of popular science will love this wellwritten, witty read.

Reality Is Not What It Seems l Carlo Rovelli | $39.99 | Penguin Random House Mariana says: Rovelli’s latest book is his first since last year’s hugely popular Seven Brief Lessons on Physics. This time, he deals more explicitly with the subject of quantum gravity. Although Rovelli is wellknown for his pop physics writing, he has written more rigorous academic texts. This book is his accessible discussion of questions of matter and gravity, and it’s the perfect choice for your science nerd friends or family members – however knowledgeable they may be on the subject area broadly. Rovelli’s writing is philosophical and contemplative, and leaves us with that particular hunger for more knowledge.

A Day in the Life of the Brain | Susan Greenfield | $32.99 | Penguin Random House | Mariana’s Pick Prominent neuroscientist Greenfield situates consciousness as a central framework for understanding how our brains engage with, and are influenced by, the stimuli we encounter.

Greenfield draws the question of personal experience and our internalised narrative into the study of consciousness.

I recommend this for fans of Norman Doidge’s work.

How Long is Now? | New Scientist | $22.99 | Hachette | Fergus’ Pick How long is ‘now’? The 2-second answer is ‘2-to-3 seconds’. The longer answer involves fascinating journeys through neuroscience and the margins of time-consciousness. Why isn’t Pluto a planet?

What happens when one black hole swallows another? These and many other questions you never thought to ask, answers that will change the way you see everything, are given here by the good people at New Scientist.

The Hidden Life of Trees | Peter Wohlleben | $29.99 | Penguin Random House Forester and author Peter Wohlleben draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to reveal the ways in which trees are like human families and communities: tree parents live together with their children, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick & even warn each other of impending dangers.

Time Travel | James Gleick | $29.99 | Harper Collins Fergus and James say: The concept of time travel is a fascinating ‘mode of thought’ that itself evolves and diversifies through time. Gleick - brilliant historian of ideas and author of the influential bestsellers Chaos and Information - here tracks the life of a concept now intrinsic to imagination and culture.

From Marcel Proust to Doctor Who, from HG Wells to JL Borges and beyond, he investigates inevitable looping sci-fi paradoxes and the porous boundaries between historical thinking, speculative fantasy and modern physics. Finally, he addresses a temporal shift unsettling our own moment—the instantaneous wired world.

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HISTORY

Revolution | Peter Ackroyd | $34.99 | Pan Macmillan Revolution, the fourth volume of Peter Ackroyd’s enthralling History of England, begins in 1688 with a revolution and takes readers from William of Orange’s accession following the Glorious Revolution to the Regency, when the flamboyant Prince of Wales ruled in the stead.

The Tunnels | Greg Mitchell | $34.99 | Penguin In the summer of 1962, the year after the rise of the Berlin Wall, a group of young West Germans risked prison, Stasi torture, and even death to liberate friends, strangers and lovers. A thrilling Cold War narrative of superpower showdowns, media suppression, and two escape tunnels beneath the Wall.

Victoria: The Queen | Julia Baird | $49.99 | Harper Collins Mischa says: Having read my fair share of Victorian history books, I have to say I’ve come across very few written about the influential Queen Victoria that bring her stolidness to such rich life. Australian journalist Baird writes from a unique perspective and paints a very human picture of the longest reigning monarch in English history, all the while delving into the idiosyncrasies of the era and shedding new light on our own era.

Timekeepers l Simon Garfield | $32.99 | Penguin Random House Not so long ago we timed our lives by the movement of the sun. These days our time arrives atomically and insistently. How have we come to be dominated by something so arbitrary? The compelling stories in this book explore our obsessions with time.

Timekeepers is a vivid exploration of the ways we have perceived, contained and saved time over the last 250 years, narrated in the highly inventive and entertaining style that bestselling author Simon Garfield is fast making his own.

Passchendaele | Paul Ham | $45.00 | Penguin Random House Passchendaele epitomises everything that was most terrible about the Western Front. The photographs never sleep of this four-month battle, fought from July to November 1917, the worst year of the war: blackened tree stumps rising out of a field of mud, corpses of men and horses drowned in shell holes, terrified soldiers huddled in trenches awaiting the whistle.

The Riviera Set | Mary S. Lovell | $35.00 | Hachette The Riviera Set is the story of the group of people who lived, partied, bed-hopped and politicked at the Chateau de l’Horizon near Cannes, over the course of forty years from the time when Coco Chanel made southern French tans fashionable in the twenties to the death of the playboy Prince Aly Khan in 1960.

Hidden Figures | Margot Lee Shetterly | $32.99 | Penguin Random House The phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA at the leading edge of the feminist and civil rights movement, whose calculations helped fuel some of America’s greatest achievements in space. Soon to be a major motion picture.

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The Book | Keith Houston | $42.95 | W.W. Norton We may love books, but do we know what lies behind them? In The Book, Keith Houston reveals that the paper, ink, thread, glue, and board from which a book is made tell as rich a story as the words on its pages— of civilizations, empires, human ingenuity, and madness.

A Single Tree | Don Watson | $45.00 | Penguin Random House A Single Tree assembles the raw material underpinning Don Watson’s award-winning The Bush. These diverse and haunting voices span the four centuries since Europeans first set eyes on the continent. Each of these varied contributors – settlers, explorers, anthropologists, naturalists, stockmen, surveyors, itinerants, artists and writers– represent a particular place and time. A Single Tree is an essential companion to its brilliant predecessor.

The Story of Australia’s People Vol. 2 | Geoffrey Blainey | $49.99 | Penguin Random House Continuing his account of the history of this country from the Gold Rush to Land Rights and the Digital Age, Blainey brings to life the key events of more recent times that have shaped us into the nation and people we are today.

Compelling, groundbreaking and brilliantly readable.

AUSTRALA STUDIES

True Girt | David Hunt | $29.99 | Penguin Random House Steph says: I remember the enormous hype when David Hunt’s Girt was released in 2013 and later won the 2014 Indie Award for Non-Fiction. Like Keneally’s & Blainey’s multi-volume histories of Australia, Hunt delves deep into our colonial past and the personalities who shaped our nation. What sets his work apart however is the focus on the unconventional, ridiculous and often hilarious elements. This series is popular history at its absolute best!

Grog | Tom Gilling | $32.99 | Hachette Grog is a colourful account of the unique beginnings of a new nation, and a unique insight into the history of Australia’s long love affair with the hard stuff. Gilling presents a compelling bottled history of the first three decades of European settlement: how the men and women of New South Wales transformed the colony from a squalid and starving convict settlement into a prosperous trading town with fashionable Georgian street names.

The Curious Story of Malcolm Turnbull the Incredible Shrinking Man in the Top Hat | Andrew P Street | $29.99 | Allen & Unwin The sequel to The Short and Excruciatingly Embarrassing Reign of Captain Abbott, this is a tale of a muddling and middling prime minister and his attempts to steer his inertiaheavy government away from electoral disaster.

Under Full Sail | Rob Mundle | $45.00 | Harper Collins | James’s Pick Mundle’s latest book describes how the invention of Clipper Ships changed Australian society; transforming the unimaginably arduous journey to Australia from Europe and totally diversifing the social landscape.

What Do We Want? | Clive Hamilton | $39.99 | NewSouth Books Hamilton explores the colourful, enthralling and stirring forms of protest used in the big social movements that define Australia with chapters on the peace movement, women’s liberation, Indigenous rights, gay rights and the environmental movement.

Australians | Thomas Keneally | $49.99 | Allen & Unwin Australians, Keneally’s widely acclaimed three volume history of the Australian people, comes together in Australians: A Short History and reintroduces us to the rich assortment of contradictory, inspiring and surprising characters who made a young Australia. This is a truly masterful history.

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POETRY & PROSE

I Must Be Living Twice | Eileen Myles | $32.99 | Allen & Unwin This collection brings together selections from Eileen’s previous work with a set of bold new poems that reflect her sardonic, unapologetic and fiercely intellectual literary voice. Steeped in the culture of New York, this is a prism refracting a radical world.

Envelope Poems l Emily Dickinson | $22.95 | New Directions Fergus says: Among the makeshift and fragile manuscripts of ED’s later writings we find the poems gathered here. These manuscripts on envelopes, recycled by the poet with marked New England thrift, were written with the full powers of her late, most radical period. Intensely alive, they are charged with a special poignancy— addressed to no one and everyone at once.

Full-colour facsimiles are accompanied by transcriptions of Dickinson’s handwriting.

Let Them Eat Chaos | Kate Tempest | $22.99 | Pan Macmillan Tempest’s new long poem, written for live performance and heard on the album release of the same name, is both a powerful sermon and a moving play for voices.

Seven neighbours inhabit the same London street, but are all unknown to each other. The clock freezes in the small hours, and, one by one, we see directly into their lives: lives that are damaged, disenfranchised, lonely, broken, addicted, and all, apparently, without hope. Let Them Eat Chaos is a cri de coeur and a call to action.

The Best Australian Poems 2016 | Edited by Sarah Holland-Batt | $29.99 | Penguin Random House What and who makes good poetry? The Best Australian Poems anthology enters its sixteenth year with exciting young poet and critic Sarah Holland-Batt presenting her picks of this year’s standout work.

Float | Anne Carson | $39.99 | Penguin Random House Anne Carson consistently dazzles with her inventive, shape-shifting work and the vividness of her imagination.

Float reaches an even greater level of brilliance and surprise. Presented in an arrestingly original format, this collection conjures a mix of voices, time periods, and structures to explore what makes people, memories, and stories “maddeningly attractive” when observed in spaces that are suggestively in-between. Exquisite, heartbreaking, disarmingly funny.

Paul Muldoon Selected Poems 1968-2014 | $34.99 | Allen & Unwin A thrilling new selection of Muldoon’s poetry, drawn from over four decades and twelve individual collections.

This selection, chosen by the poet himself, will serve new readers an indispensable introduction to his trademark combination of intellectual high jinx and emotional honesty.

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Multiple Choice | Alejandro Zambra | $24.99 | Granta Books | Gin’s Pick Written by Chilean poet and writer extraordinaire Zambra, in the form of a standardized test, Multiple Choice invites the reader to complete language exercises and engage with the writing via multiple-choice questions that are often unanswerable, and often absurd.

Forever Words | Johnny Cash | $29.99 | Allen & Unwin In this collection of poems and song lyrics that have never been published before, we see the world through Johnny’s eyes and view his reflection on his own interior reality, his frailties and his strengths alike. Forever Words confirms Johnny Cash as a brilliant literary figure.

Darling Days | iO Tillet Wright | $32.99 | Hachette | Dean’s Pick An intense and extremely well-written biography of iO, a child living without constraint on the Lower East Side NYC through the 80’s & 90’s. i0’s mother was a glamourous, erratic amphetamine addict, dragging her kid all over town well past midnight. Living in a junk-filled apartment, forced to perform as a child star this is iO’s lonely search for acceptance, love and guidance while growing up.

Forty Autumns | Nina Willner | $32.99 | Hachette | Gin’s Pick I’d recommend this memoir for anyone interested in the history of the Cold War. Willner, a former US Army intelligence officer based in Berlin, explores the ideological and physical divisions within East and West Germany that caused her family to be forced apart and the experiences of three generations of mothers in her family.

Captivating, valuable, and insightful!

Signed, Sealed, Delivered | Women of Letters | $32.99 | Penguin Random House In this all-new anthology, Australia’s queens of correspondence Marieke Hardy and Michaela McGuire have engaged our finest, sharpest minds to pen missives of courage, humour and wisdom.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered gives an entertaining and heartfelt insight into some of our brightest Australian stars.

BIOGRAPHY

The Boy Behind the Curtain | Tim Winton | $45.00 | Penguin Random House Fabienne says: Over the course of these true short stories, Winton recalls anecdotes that influenced his view of life and fuelled his artistic vision.

This intimate collection feels like a privileged peek into where and how Winton’s creative vision was formed.

The various life incidents and reminiscences develop into to compelling essays.

Tomboy Survival Guide | Ivan Coyote | $22.99 | New South Books Coyote is a celebrated trans storyteller whose previous books include Gender Failure and One in Every Crowd, a collection for LGBT youth. Tomboy Survival Guide warmly recounts Ivan’s transformation from a diffident yet free-spirited tomboy into a confident, self-assured trans person.

These heartfelt, funny, and moving stories are about the culture of difference.

The Voyeur’s Motel | Gay Talese | $29.99 | Allen & Unwin Fergus says: In 1980 Talese met Gerald Foos, owner of the Manor House Motel near Denver, and saw the secret viewing platform that Foos had installed above some of the guestroom ceilings. The book intersperses Talese’s account with extracts from the earnestly amateur-sexological ‘Voyeurs Journal’ in which Foos kept a record of his observations, and which he entrusted to Talese.

Songs of a War Boy | Deng Thaik Adut | $32.99 | Hachette | Steph’s Pick Deng Adut was conscripted in Sudan at the age of 6.

After years of fighting he came to Australia as a refugee. His autobiography tells the inspiring story of how he overcame deadly adversity to become a refugee lawyer. It is both a moving and topical read!

Get a Life | Vivienne Westwood | $34.99 | Allen & Unwin Vivienne Westwood began Get A Life, her online diary, in 2010 with an impassioned post about Native American activist Leonard Peltier. Since then, she has written two or three entries each month, discussing her life in fashion and her involvement with art, politics and the environment.

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MUSIC / SPORT

Working Glass Boy | Jimmy Barnes | $45.00 | Harper Collins Working Class Boy is a powerful reflection on a traumatic and violent childhood, which fuelled the excess and recklessness that would define, but almost destroy, the rock’n’roll legend.

This is the story of how James Swan became Jimmy Barnes.

Cured | Lol Tolhurst | $32.99 | Hachette Cured is a memoir by one of the founding imaginary boys. Lol threads the genesis of The Cure through his schoolboy years with Smith, the iconic leader of the group, and the band’s most successful era in the 1980s. He takes us up to the present day, a riveting forty years since the band’s inception.

Absolutely On Music l Haruki Murakami & Keiji Ozawa | $32.99 | Hachette Dean says: A moving and insightful read; where popular writer Murakami & world-class composer Ozawa talk about music. No matter what your musical taste, this book will move you and further explores genre, artistic process, human behaviour, Japanese and Western culture.

I absolutely loved its calm rhythm and joyous sentiment, bringing tears to my eyes.

Born to Run | Bruce Springsteen | $49.99 | Simon & Schuster In 2009, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed at the Super Bowl’s half-time show. The experience was so exhilarating that Bruce decided to write about it. That’s how this extraordinary autobiography began. Born to Run is much more than a legendary rock star’s memoir. This is a book for workers and dreamers, lovers and loners, artists, freaks, or anyone who has ever wanted to be baptized in the holy river of rock and roll.

Ah Well, Nobody’s Perfect | Molly Meldrum | $34.99 | Allen & Unwin There was a once a boy from Quambatook called Ian Meldrum, who moved to the big city, got a job in a bank, and then became Molly, a music legend. This book tells the funny, eye-opening and larger-than-life untold stories that happened along the way: the parties, the fights, the celebrity interviews, the madness and the music.

Set the Boy Free | Johnny Marr | $35.00 | Penguin Random House From roaming the streets of Manchester to constantly pushing musical boundaries as the most loved guitarist Britain has ever produced, Johnny Marr’s memoir is the true history of music - told by one of its very own legends.

Good Vibrations | Mike Love | $29.99 | Allen & Unwin | James’ Pick This collection of letters by two renowned Scandinavian authors uses football as a glass in which to reflect on life and death, art and literature, politics and class, and the effects of globalisation.

It makes a great gift for anyone interested in sport, writing, or the state of the world.

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Coach | Darren Lehmann | $39.99 | Random House Australia’s head ICC Cricket World Cup coach details what his job involves and explains his coaching philosophy; fashioned both during his playing career and through two significant, shattering brushes with tragedy – the deaths of David Hookes and Phillip Hughes.

Things That Can and Cannot Be Said | Arundhati Roy & John Cusack | $12.99 | Penguin Arundhati Roy, John Cusack, and Daniel Ellsberg travelled to Moscow to meet with Snowden. The result was a series of essays and dialogues.

Roy and Cusack discuss the nature of the state, empire and surveillance in an era of perpetual war; the meaning of flags and patriotism; the role of foundations in limiting dissent; and the ways in which capital but not people can freely cross borders.

Fight Like A Girl | Clementine Ford | $29.99 | Allen & Unwin | Mariana’s Pick Ford’s book exemplifies exactly the sort of lucid analysis capable of invigorating contemporary feminism. In Fight Like a Girl, Ford addresses the weak premises and disturbing quasi-logic underpinning sexist language, behaviours, and violence. Her nuanced approach to issues elucidates the extent to which women’s behaviours and conduct are policed and stigmatised even by those who purport to be allies to the movement.

The Best Australian Essays | Keggie Carew | $32.99 | Black Inc. Agile, hard-hitting, symphonic – Australia has much to celebrate in its nonfiction writing. Geordie Williamson gathers the best Australian essays in his role as editor for a second year. Expect an enthralling mix of evocation and ideas, politics and culture.

A Woman Looking At Men Looking at Women | Siri Hustvedt | $32.99 | Allen & Unwin As well as being a prizewinning, bestselling novelist, Hustvedt is widely regarded as a leading thinker in the fields of neurology, feminism, art criticism and philosophy. The essays in this volume together form an extremely stimulating, wide-ranging exploration of some of the fundamental questions about human beings.

CULTURAL STUDIES & ESSAY

Frantumaglia | Elena Ferrante | $29.99 | Text Publishing Mariana says; The mysterious, the indelible, the anonymous one and only: Elena Ferrante’s mind is opened up and unpacked in this collection of 30 years’ worth of her letters and interviews with journalists. The subject content ranges from feminism to her feelings about her characters. Of particular interest if Ferrante’s discussion of her choice to remain anonymous.

$2.00 a Day | Kathryn Edin & Luke Shaefer | $22.99 | Peribo James says: The book contains compelling, and sometimes harrowing, interviews with various American households who live way below the poverty line and the strategies that they employ to survive.

Nelson says: This book is much more than a sobering expose, it’s an important and humanising contribution to the discourse.

Psychogeography | Will Self | $35.00 | Allen & Unwin Provocateurs Self and Steadman join forces in this post-millennial meditation on the vexed relationship between psyche and place in a globalised world, bringing together for the first time the very best of their ‘Psychogeography’ columns for the Independent.

Shrinking Violets | Joe Moran | $34.99 | Allen & Unwin | Gin’s Pick Moran explores the world of shyness, providing ideas around these worlds, from timidity in lemon sharks to the role of texting in Finnish love affairs. As he seeks answers to the questions that shyness poses, he uncovers stories of the men and women who were ‘of the violet persuasion’.

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OUR FAVOURITE BOOKS OF 2016ELS 14 16

OUR FAVOURITE BOOKS OF 2016 FOR THE FULL REVIEWS HEAD TO http://betterreader.tumblr.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/betterreadthandead/ AMELIA’S PICK | The Island Will Sink | Briohny Doyle | $29.99 | The Lifted Brow The Island Will Sink is set in a not too distant, but disconcertingly familiar future where the impact of global warming has taken its toll & highly developed technology has reduced the public’s need to engage with reality on a day-to-day basis.

FABIENNE’S PICK | Barkskins | Annie Proulx | $32.99 | Harper Collins Proulx’s narrative makes this historical eco-epic about the colonisation of North America, the destruction of ancient forests by European settlers and the impact this had on the indigenous people my favourite read of the year. I couldn’t put it down!

FERGUS’S PICK | The Mare | Mary Gaitskill | $29.99 | Allen & Unwin 11-year-old Velvet lives with her mother in testing circumstances in NYC. The novel wonderfully honours a recognisable coming-of-age/ girl-on-a-horse story format, & is a moving and successful experiment in the fictional deep-mapping of emotion.

SOPHIE’S PICK | The Last Mortal Bond | Brian Staveley | $19.99 | Pan Macmillan One of the best fantasy books of 2016! Not only does it wrap up one of the best fantasy series to come out the past decade, it’s also the perfect blend of magic, politics, character conflict and sibling rivalry.

JAMES’ PICK | Nutshell | Ian McEwan | $32.99 | Penguin Random House Tracy and her lover have hatched a plot, but there is a witness to their treachery in Tracy’s nearly born child; the narrator of the novel.

McEwan’s newest novel is full of the incisive, ultra detailed, insight that we’ve come to expect from him.

JANE’S PICK | Here I Am | Jonathan Safran Foer | $32.99 | Penguin Random House Unfolding over 4 weeks in present-day Washington, this is the story of a fracturing family in a moment of crisis.

It’s a novel of huge emotion, great humour, domestic psychological realism and a geopolitical catastrophe.

DEAN’S PICK | LaRose | Louise Erdrich | $32.99 | Hachette A haunting novel, rich in character, gentle in rhythm and deep in spirit! I was taken by the beauty and strength of its language, Erdich’s descriptions are unique. LaRose is five generations of healer, joining with the spirit of the land.

JAMES’ PICK | The Blade Artist | Irvine Welsh | $32.99 | Penguin Random House The Blade Artist lays bare Begbie’s return to Edinburgh for the funeral of a murdered son he’s long abandoned. This is Irvine Welsh in dazzling form. His writing is lean and lyrical, and critically, has lost none of its savage truth which first exploded in Trainspotting.

LIZ’S PICK | The Moonstone | Sjón | $32.99 | Hachette A dazzling poetic fable set in 1918 when the Spanish flu washes over Iceland. Mani Steinn is obsessed with cinema, he watches every film that arrives and dreams fractured versions of the film in his sleep.

This miniature historical epic is a delight .

KARMA’S PICK | Eileen | Ottessa Moshfegh | $22.99 | Penguin Random House Among bleak circumstances & an atmosphere of destructive family bonds, Eileen is a tale of psychological interiors, containment and the repression of desire, as well as an unsettling, shadowy reflection of thoughts left unsaid.

MARIANA’S PICK | Queer: A Graphic History | Meg-John Barker & Julia Scheele | $24.99 | Allen & Unwin Barker chronologically documents the development of queer thought, theory, and identities. Julia Scheele’s sharp illustrations lighten the content, engaging us with the complex theories of these thinkers.

AVA’S PICK | Deep South | Brad McDonald | $45.00 | Quadrille McDonald is a Southern-bred chef running a restaurant in London, and takes the reader, or amateur chef, back to his roots in his debut cookbook.

With a wide range of recipes he presents classic dishes with an urban twist.

MORGAN’S PICK | The Swimming Pool | Deanna Templeton | $99.99 | Um Yeah Arts Intertwining black and white and colour film in a magical dream-like sequence, Deanna Templeton’s The Swimming Pool evokes memories of long summer days by the pool and of skinny dipping with friends.

GIN’S PICK | The Vegetarian | Han Kang | $19.99 | Allen & Unwin Perhaps not only a polemic on vegetarianism, this novel is about freedom, family, violence and desire. The diction is not comparable to any author I have read previously; and at times there are dreamscapes so immersive as to be dizzying.

MISCHA’S PICK | Girls on Fire | Robin Wasserman | $32.99 | Hachette Australia Part crime thriller, part love story, part coming-of-age, there are undertones of True Detective’s Southern Gothic and The Virgin Suicides’ intoxication of female friendship in this haunting and captivating read. I was completely blown away!

DARCY’S PICK | Mr Splitfoot | Samantha Hunt | $22.99 | Hachette A delightfully mysterious contemporary American Gothic, charting two parallel occult adventures in New York State.

Orphans Nat and Ruth develop an affinity for talking to the deceased, and are promptly whisked away by a conman.

STEPH’S PICK | Everyone Brave is Forgiven | Chris Cleave | $29.99 | Hachette Everyone Brave is Forgiven is about a school of children deemed not desirable enough to be evacuated in WWII, about the hunger, desperation and comradery on the frontline, and about what can only be described as a love quadrangle.

OUR FAVOURITE BOOKS OF 2016ELS

NELSON’S PICK | Homo Deus | Yuval Noah Harari | $35.00 | Penguin Random House Author of Sapiens, Harari shifts his focus away from the origins of humanity and reaches into an imminent dystopian future where we are at more risk of obesity than starvation, war is becoming obsolete and immortality is plausible.

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ART & DESIGN

Intimate Distances l Todd Hido | $90.00 | Apeture Morgan says: Well-known for his photographs of landscapes and suburban housing across the United States, and for his use of luminous colour, Todd Hido casts a distinctly cinematic eye across all that he photographs, digging deep into his memory and imagination for inspiration. Seven years have passed since his last book, so my expectations were high. Intimate Distances did not disappoint - it is a beautifully organised book championing the very best from one of my favourite photographers.

Margaret Preston: Recipes for Food and Art | Lesley Harding | $45.00 | Murdoch Books | Steph’s Pick I remember a Margaret Preston print hanging above my grandparent’s bed and to me she was always the artist who painted the incredible native flowers. I didn’t realise, until this book was released, that Margaret also had an enormous passion for cooking or that she was also a potter and a basket weaver.

Recipes for Food and Art perfectly combines her art, recipes and other insights from her daily life in one stunning little gift book.

Magnum Photobook | Fred Ritchin & Carole Naggar | $100.00 | Penguin | Morgan’s Pick This fascinating in-depth survey of world renowned photo agency Magnum brings together the history of its members and the books they published. This book contains illustrated bibliography of 1,000 iconic photobooks, unpublished material, as well as ephemera from the photographers’ archives about the making of their books.

Detroit After Dark | Nancy Barr | $49.95 | Yale University | Morgan’s Pick This book is the first to explore photographic representations of Detroit, and features work Robert Frank, Leni Sinclair, Steve Shaw, Russ Marshall, and Dave Jordano, among others. The city’s streets, architecture, vast industrial complexes, night clubs, and unique subcultures are captured here in otherworldly visions of the nighttime urban landscape from the 1950s to the present day. A unique interpretation of Detroit, its industry, culture, and turbulent history.

The Landscapes of Reg Mombassa | $75.00 | Murdoch Books Mombassa’s work has been a part of Australia’s pop culture for nearly 40 years with his irreverent take on life down under, but it is his unique landscapes that have earned him a place as one of Australia’s most influential and prolific fine artists. Now over 200 of his iconic landscapes have been brought together for the first time.

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The You Beaut Country | John Olsen | $39.99 | National Galley of Victoria The You Beaut Country offers an unparalleled opportunity to examine Olsen’s consummate place in Australian art history. His You beaut country series began what would be a lifelong interest in representing the landscape and Australian identity. The exhibition catalogue beautifully captures the spirit of the exhibition at NGV.

Food Trails | Lonely Planet | $34.99 | Murdoch Books For everyone who loves travel and trying the local delicacies, this beautifully illustrated hardback is the must-have handbook to a year’s worth of perfect weekends around the world for food lovers. Each food trail is an itinerary, detailing when and where to indulge in the local specialities.

Clay l Amber Creswell Bell | $60.00 | Thames and Hudson Ceramics is back in a big way, experiencing a steady surge of interest and popularity not seen since the 1970s. The return to the handmade, driven by our increasingly digital lives, means there are now more makers, sellers, and collectors than ever. There is also a new desire for unique objects made by hand and the imperfections associated with the marks of the maker. From decorative pieces to the beautiful but functional, to sculptural works pushing the boundaries of the medium, Clay surveys the rich creative output of fifty of the top studio potters from around the world.

Disobedient Gardens | Michael Cooke & Brigid Arnott | $59.99 | Allen & Unwin Landscape designer Michael Cooke presents five of his superbly designed gardens, including his own, which are illustrated by the lyrically beautiful photographs of coauthor Brigid Arnott. The selected landscapes encapsulate the characteristics he considers vital in the making of a truly beautiful, liveable garden.

Each has a distinct voice.

LIFESTYLE & TRAVEL

Atlas Obscura | Foer, Dylan & Morton | $69.99 | Penguin | Morgan’s Pick Atlas Obscura is the book of wanderlust, revelling in the weird, the unexpected, the overlooked, the hidden and the mysterious wonders of the world. This book is as perfect for the armchair traveller as the die-hard adventurer. You’re sure to spend hours marvelling at how weird our world is.

Hygge | Charlotte Abrahams | $32.99 | Hachette Candlelight is hygge; the smell of freshly brewed coffee is hygge; the feel of crisp, clean bed linen is hygge; dinner with friends is hygge. ‘Hygge’, pronounced ‘hoo-ga’, is a Danish philosophy that roughly translates to ‘cosiness’. It’s a way of life that encourages us to be kinder to ourselves, to take pleasure in the modest, the mundane and the familiar. It is a celebration of everyday things.

The Art of Dinosaur Designs | Louise Olsen & Stephen Ormandy | $79.99 | Penguin Random House From its humble beginnings as a stall at Sydney’s Paddington Markets, Dinosaur Designs has become a beloved Australian brand that has attracted international acclaim. This book celebrates the innovation and inspiration that have, over thirty years, produced a covetable body of homewares and jewellery.

Koala | 19.99 | Thames & Hudson Dean says: A stunning collection of illustrations featuring the lovable, cuddly, iconic Australian marsupial- the koala!

Each artist has offered an original depiction of the koala through a range of mediums and expressions. No koala is the same! This is a perfect gift for your love one that has everything or a beautiful keepsake to travel abroad representing what is unique and wonderful about Australia.

“With the support of the Australian Koala Foundation, this book hopes to bring to light that we can all play a part in protecting the native environment of the koala and that koalas are important cultural icons that need our help.”

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