Easter Long Weekend Reading Guide 2022

EASTER LONG WEEKEND READING GUIDE 2022 265 KING ST NEWTOWN NSW 2042 | 02 9557 8700 | BOOKS@BETTERREAD.COM.AU

Love Marriage | Monica Ali | $32.99 | Hachette You will fall into Love Marriage, and without even realising it you’ll be 100 pages in. Yasmin and Joe are both doctors and engaged, but when their parents get involved in the wedding planning, obviously shenanigans ensue. Exploring themes of arranged marriages and being on the cusp between two cultures, this book has something for everyone.

- Lexie

Son of Sin | Omar Sakr | $29.99 | Affirm Press I love novels written by poets. It’s my favourite niche genre. So naturally, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this debut novel.We follow the protagonist, Jamal, over a number of years as he navigates what it is to grow up Muslim and queer in contemporary Australia.

Exquisite, heartbreaking and urgent, it’s not an easy book, but it is extraordinary.

Absolutely captivating.

- Tahlia

The Candy House | Jennifer Egan | $32.99 | Hachette A culturally-rich story, set in the tech world where social media is inauthentically passe and authenticity is everything as human consciousness is mined.

The Candy House is a sibling book to Goon Squad which follows a similar format as characters loosely overlapped take on each chapter.

Clever and full of electricity. - Dean

BOOKS OF THE MONTH

The Dreaming Path | Paul Callaghan with Uncle Paul Gordon | $32.99 | Pantera Press For those who will listen, this is an insightful look into living a contented life guided by Indigenous thinking and an understanding of “the old ways”. Each chapter opens with a Dreaming story then shares Callaghan’s perspective and Elder Uncle Gordon’s knowledge on topics from love, truth to leadership.

- Dean

The First Astronomers | Duane Hamacher | $34.99 | Allen and Unwin Uncle Ghillar Michael Anderson, John Barsa, David Bosun, Father Ron Day, Segar Passi and Alo Tapim - these are the six First Nations elders who contributed their knowledge to this ground-breaking work. The First Astronomers reminds us of the vital role the stars, sky and seasons play in First Nations epistemology and provides significant guidance on solving contemporary issues.

- Steph

Am I Black Enough for You? | Anita Heiss | $34.99 | Random House Wiradjuri woman Heiss’ memoir is an insightful and funny personal narrative of growing up in Sydney, and also a broader exploration of Aboriginal identity in contemporary Australia. She works to address stereotypes prevalent in our society and suggests a reconciled way forward. - Steph

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AUSTRALIAN FICTION

Sadvertising | Ennis Cehic | $32.99 | Penguin Books Clever little shorts about workplace dramatics and the life of a creatives, designers and advertising dearies.

I was entertained and humoured by these witty shorts, including a story about a man who grows tired of his open-plan office and builds a fort made of stationery, and could relate to the workplace dynamics that are described to a tee. This is fabulous!

- Dean

The Furies | Mandy Beaumont | $32.99 | Hachette

This scorching, relentless novel takes the Furies of Greek mythology and bursts them into the blistering heat of rural Queensland. Protagonist Cyn is effectively orphaned as a teen, out in the dust, and she works at an abattoir where her treatment by male colleagues is nothing short of repulsive.

Beaumont is concerned with female rage, with what men do to women.

This is a debut novel that screams.

- Maddy

The Mother | Jane Caro | $32.99 | Allen and Unwin

Recently widowed, Miriam Duffy is a respectable North Shore real estate agent and devoted mother and grandmother. She was thrilled when her younger daughter Ally married her true love, but as time goes by Miriam wonders whether all is well with Ally.

From a Walkley awardwinning journalist, social commentator and author comes a gripping domestic thriller with a moral dilemma at its core.

A Great Hope | Jessica Stanley | $32.99 | Macmillan

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Gripping, propulsive and ambitious, A Great Hope untangles the mystery of a great politician’s fall through the eyes of those who knew him best - or thought they did.

Deftly displaying the clash of the political and the personal, this is a novel for our times.

Australiana | Yumna Kassab | $32.99 | Ultimo Press Kassab’s first novel is a carousel of rural Australian lives. The novel is focalised through many characters in turn: every one of them is living in the same small town, and is linked to everyone else through their shared histories, frustrated desires, and nosiness. In a town where everyone knows everyone else’s business, who’s to say whose version is right?

The Very Last List of Vivian Walker | Megan Albany | $32.99 | Hachette Vivian Walker’s life is exceptionally ordinary.

Everything is thoroughly and frustratingly routine, even being terminally ill.

In preparation for D-day, self-professed control freak Viv has made a list of essential things to do.

This books will make you ugly cry, snort tea out your nose with laughter and want to embrace humanity in all its selfishness, beauty and awkwardness.

- Maddy

Loveland | Robert Lukins | $32.99 | Hachette Following up his acclaimed debut The Everlasting Sunday, Lukins returns with Loveland, a striking tale of mothers and daughters, strained relationships, domestic violence, and the secrets that bind and break families – all against the backdrop of a burned down amusement park in Nebraska.

Atmospheric and bursting with tension, a gripping read.

- Maddy

Where the Light Gets In | Zoe Coyle | $32.99 | Ultimo Press Everything is is going well for Delphi.

She’s living in London, getting her dream job at an art gallery and meeting Orlo. Except for the fact her mum has a degenerative brain disease and needs her to come back to Australia to help her euthanise herself. This is a searing book on the power of homecoming and the meaning of family.

- Lexie

FICTION

The Sorrow Stone | Kári Gíslason | $32.99 | UQP After committing an audacious act of revenge for her brother’s murder, Disa flees with her son through the fjords of Iceland. Dramatic and urgent in its telling, The Sorrow Stone celebrates one woman’s quest, against the dramatic backdrop of the Icelandic countryside.

Booth | Karen Joy Fowler | $32.99 | Allen and Unwin Fowler explores the idea of familial love through the story of a historical, monstrous figure John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Lincoln. We learn about this villain through three of his nine siblings.

Clever, fascinating and sharply written, Fowler is an author that does not put a foot wrong. - Dean

Careering | Daisy Buchanan | $32.99 | Hachette Imogen has always dreamed of writing for a magazine. But infinite internships later, Imogen dreams of any job.

And then she meets Harri, her fairy godmother. Hilarious and unflinchingly honest, Careering takes a hard look at the often toxic relationship working women have with their dream jobs.

Young Mungo | Douglas Stuart | $32.99 | Pan Macmillan Young Mungo is an extraordinary, harrowing second novel from the author of Shuggie Bain. It is a gutwrenching portrayal of working-class life and a suspenseful story of the first love of two young men: Protestant Mungo and Catholic James, growing up in a Glasgow housing estate.

Cleopatra and Frankenstein | Coco Mellors | $29.99 | Scribe This is one of those beautiful novels which charts a relationship and Mellors does such a breathtaking job of articulating both sides of the marriage. Interspersed with the vignettes of the characters who Cleo and Frank spend their lives with, lovers of Lauren Groff and Meg Wolitzer will eat this up.

- Lexie

Shit Cassandra Saw | Gwen E. Kirby | $27.99 | Penguin

Black Cake | Charmaine Wilkerson | $32.99 | Penguin

In this ebullient collection, virgins escape sacrifice, witches refuse to be burned, whores aren’t ashamed, and every woman gets a chance to be a radioactive cockroach warrior who snaps back at catcallers. Margaret Atwood meets Buffy in these funny, warm, and furious stories.

Eleanor won’t let her own death get in the way of the truth. So when her children attend her funeral, they discover a puzzling inheritance.

Crossing continents and juggling lives, Black Cake is a moving and powerful debut which spans sixty years in the life of one Caribbean/American family.

Wahala | Nikki May | $32.99 | Penguin Ronke, Simi and Boo are inseparable mixed-race friends living in London.

Everyday racism has never held them back, but now in their thirties, they question their future. A cutting edge and bitingly subversive take on love, race and family, you’ll be laughing, crying and gasping in horror. Sex and the City with a killer edge.

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CRIME / SCI-FI / FANTASY

Daughters of Eve | Nina D. Campbell | $32.99 | A&U

The Paris Apartment | Lucy Foley | $29.99 | Harper Collins

Detective Hart investigates a series of murders, all committed against men who were perpetrators themselves.

Then a manifesto emerges, taking credit for the crimes, writen by the “Daughters of Eve”. An unputdownable feminist revenge thriller.

Welcome to No.12 rue des Amants, a beautiful old apartment block, far from the lights of the Eiffel Tower.

Here nothing goes unseen, and everyone has a story to unlock. Even when someone is murdered. Who holds the key to this gripping thriller?

Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone | Benjamin Stevenson | $32.99 | Penguin Everyone was dreading the Cunningham family reunion, even before the first murder.

This family’s only got one thing in common: they’ve all killed someone. A fiendishly clever blend of a classic and modern murder mystery.

The Good Mother | Rae Cairns | $32.99 | Harper Collins Sarah is a regular Sydney soccer mum, but she’s keeping terrifying secrets from everyone she loves. Her past is about to catch up with her when she must go to Belfast to testify at a murder trial. This fast-paced, explosive thriller with a gripping finale.

The Atlas Six | Olivie Blake | $32.99 | Pan Macmillan Libby and Nico are two students recruited to the Alexandrian Society a super secret group that only accepts the best medians. Too bad they can’t stand each other. The world building?

Incredible. Characters? Complex, unlikeable, and totally loveable. The Atlas Six has me guessing right up until the end.

- Lexie

Even the Darkest Night | Javier Cercas | $32.99 | Hachette

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When Melchor goes to investigate the horrific double-murder of a rich printer and his wife in rural Cataluna nothing quite adds up. He tracks the clues that will reveal the larger truth behind what appears at first to be a cold-blooded, professional killing.

Winner of Spain’s Premio Planeta!

Gallant | V. E.Schwab | $32.99 | NewSouth Books Olivia has grown up both without a family and a voice. Raised at Merilance School for Girls, all she has of her mother is a diary that chronicles her descent into madness. She travels to Gallant, her family estate, to uncover the mystery of her past. A gothic work reminiscient of Jane Eyre.

- Lexie

House of Sky and Breath | Sarah J. Maas | $29.99 | Bloomsbury Bryce and Hunt have made a pact; they will keep thing platonic until the Solstice. And they’re not out of danger yet either... In this sexy, action-packed sequel to the House of Earth and Blood, Maas weaves a captivating story of a world about to explode – and the people who will do anything to save it.

Sundial | Catriona Ward | $32.99 | Allen and Unwin Rob fears for her daughters. For Callie, who collects tiny bones and whispers to imaginary friends. For Annie, because she fears what Callie might do to her. A stunning, gothic thriller exploring the toxicity of the motherdaughter bond, and the power of the past to twist the present.

After the Romanovs | Helen Rappaport | $35.00 | Scribe

One to read if you’re an Atwood fan this tome is a collection of Atwood’s misc. occasional writings over the past 18 years. Book introduction, keynote speeches, op-eds; on topics as diverse as the climate crisis, abortion, the craft of writing and Canadian deforestation. Witty, alarming, but welcoming. - Maddy

The story of the aristocrats, artists and intellectuals who sought freedom and refuge in the City of Light. Prepare to become immersed in the glittering, indulgent world of the Russian elite during the Parisian Belle Époque. Rappaport’s books embody both excellent scholarship and fascinating reading. - Lucy

NON-FICTION

Burning Questions | Margaret Atwood | $42.99 | Penguin

The Opera House | Peter Fitzsimons | $39.99 | Hachette On a sacred site on the land of the Gadigal people, Tubowgule, a place of gathering and storytelling for over 60,000 years, now sits the Sydney Opera House. In this fascinating and impeccably researched biography, Peter FitzSimons exposes these secrets, marvels at how this magnificent building came to be, details its enthralling history and reveals the dramatic stories about the people whose lives were affected by its presence.

Bob Hawke: Demons and Destiny | Troy Bramston | $49.99 | Penguin

Soundings | Doreen Cunningham | $32.99 | Hachette Living in a refuge with her baby, Doreen embarks on an extraordinary adventure: mother and son following the grey whale migration. Intrepid, brave and breathtaking, their journey will take you to the ends of the earth, alongside the whales that call it home.

This is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch | Tabitha Carvan | $32.99 | Harper Collins Drawing upon her experience of falling for the Cumberbatch while stuck at home with two young children, Carvan challenges the reader to stop instinctively resisting the possibility of experiencing pleasure.

Funny, intelligent, and liberating, this memoir is a total joy.

The Idea of Australia | Julianne Schultz | $34.99 | Allen and Unwin What is the ‘idea of Australia’? Are we an egalitarian, generous, outward-looking country?

Or have we retreated into silence about the past and become selfish and insular? Schultz challenges our notions of what it means to be Australian and asks timely and urgent questions about the Aussie identity.

The definitive full-life biography of Australia’s 23rd prime minister; this book is about the real Hawke, chronicling the stunning triumphs and shocking failures, a life riddled with huge flaws and great virtues marked by redemption and reinvention, which changed Australia and shaped the world. Revelatory and compelling, it will shock and surprise those who think they know the story of Australia’s most popular prime minister.

Shelias: Badass Women of Australian History | Eliza Reilly | $34.99 | Pan Macmillan This book had me laughing out loud, which is not what I was expecting from a book that’s here to teach me about women in Australian history. As soon as I started reading, I couldn’t put it down, I wanted to learn everything there is to know about these sheroes. Incorporating tweets, personal anecdotes, and lots of fun trivia. Eliza Reilly’s debut book is a great introduction to the badass women of Australian history that many of us have never heard of.

This is the type of history book I wish I had when I was in high school. Loved it! - Reem

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COOKING / LIFESTYLE

Mabu Mabu | Nornie Bero | $45.00 | Hardie Grant In Mabu Mabu, charismatic First Nations chef Bero champions the tastes of native flavours in everyday cooking by unlocking the secrets of Australian herbs, spices, vegetables and fruits. This cookbook is simple, accessible, delicious, and colourful; so mabu mabu (help yourself)!

Wild and Witchy | Allira Potter | $35.00 | Simon and Schuster I found myself thinking whilst reading this book, this is what it would be like to have a sister.

Sharing personal experiences, giving me advice and guiding me through life. A beautifully curated guidebook for those who are ready to bring in their most abundant life.

- Reem

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Saka Saka | Anto Cocagne & Aline Princet | $45.00 | Murdoch Books In this vibrant and generous celebration of food, friendship and conviviality, Princet and Cocagne invite musicians, writers, artists and creatives from all over African, south of the Sahara, to share their recipes and bring the spotlight to focus on the rich diversity of African food.

Cinnamon and Salt | Emiko Davies | $40.00 | Hardie Grant Cicchetti are little morsels; think of them as appetisers, aperitivo or hors d’oeuvres – but cicchetti are undeniably, distinctly Venetian.

This is a collection of recipes, stories and photographs that invites you to beautiful Venice through its beloved food.

The Feminist Film Guide | Mallory Andrews | $29.99 | Smith Street Your ticket to becoming a film buff and enjoying your nights in with feminist approved films. If you want the films you invest your time in to be of great cinematic quality; ranging in subject matter, era, and country of origin, and representative of strong, diverse, unique female characters then this book is for you!

– Lucy

Rewild Your Home | Neil Perry | $35.00 | Hardie Grant

At the Bookshop | Kim Siew | $24.99 | Thames and Hudson

From maximising natural views and greening up windowsills, to the use of wild colours, materials and patterns, interiors expert Harrison looks at creative ways to link your living spaces to the outdoors. There are quick and fun projects sprinkled throughout, and plenty of practical ideas to inspire.

Eating vegan doesn’t mean missing out on the flavour, texture and diversity of food that meat eaters love. Armed with this book of 130 recipes, you’ll discover how to create the perfect plant-based meats – sure to sate the most dedicated carnivore.

Margarita in Retrograde | Vanessa Li and Bowen Goh | $29.99 | Thames and Hudson Why shouldn’t we let the movements of the heavens rule how we drink?

Unique and dangerously drinkable cocktail recipes for every astrological sign, so the stars can guide your imbibing as much as they do the rest of your life.

Only a Monster | Vanessa Len | $22.99 | Allen and Unwin | 13+ What happens when a monster is maybe one of the good guys? Joan has no idea she’s half monster, until her family is attacked and she is forced to pair up with sworn enemy Aaron Oliver on a journey to to the magical underworld. Totally engrossing, entirely magical, and with the most bad ass heist I have ever read. - Lexie

Whisper on the Wind | Claire Saxby and Jess Racklyeft | 24.99 | Allen and Unwin | 3+ With its lyrical, cumulative text and whimsical, richly imagined artwork, Whisper on the Wind is a celebration of the wonders of the ocean and the power of love to find us - wherever we are. A stunning picture book about separation, connection and reunion.

When You’re Older | Sofie Laguna and Judy Watson | $24.99 | Allen and Unwin | 3+ Beautiful, warm and evocative, this stunning picture book reveals an older brother’s hopes for the amazing experiences he will share with his new baby brother - when he’s older. A triumph of illustration and storytelling from two awardwinning creators!

Bugs: A Day in the Life | Jessica L. Ware and Chaaya Prabhat | $14.99 | Pan Macmillan | 6+ Set over a 24-hour period, meet busy honey bees, transforming caterpillars, and an army of leafcutter ants. Bug expert Dr. Ware introduces characters in the style of a nature documentary.

Following the lives of bugs as they fly, hunt, hide, and scuttle their way through their day.

Mary and Marcus: The Crazy Dance and Other Stories | Ursula Dubosarsky and Andrew Joyner | $16.99 | Harper Collins | 4+ Mary is the happiest panda in the world. But sometimes things get out of hand! Lucky she has her best friend, Marcus the snake, to help her out. Five hilarious, madcap and fully illustrated tales!

Hedgewitch | Skye McKenna | $22.99 | Allen and Unwin | 9+ When Cassie runs away from her dreary boarding school, in search of her missing mother, she ends up in the magical village of Hedgely and discovers she comes from a family of witches who protect Britain from the denizens of frightening Faerie. The first in a magical new series!

The Wearing of the Green | Claire Saxby | $18.99 | Walker Books | 10+ When Biddy arrives in Melbourne from Ireland in 1850, she knows exactly what she’s going to do – find her rebellious big brother. But her plans are unexpectedly derailed. A powerful historical novel exploring themes of racism, classism and gender expectations in a growing nation.

AUSTRALIAN BETTER READFICTION KIDS

Dear Greta | Yvette Poshoglian | $16.99 | Penguin Books | 8+ When Alice is assigned Greta Thunberg as her fictional pen pal, she is totally disappointed. Her year is already not off to a good start, with her grandma coming to stay and her sister always outshining her. However, Alice soon learns that she can make a difference! An empowering, epistolary novel. - Steph

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The books featured in the Better Read Than Dead Easter Long Weekend Reading Guide have all been hand-selected and many have been reviewed by our Better Read Than Dead and Better Read Kids booksellers. Prices, publication information, event dates and event details are correct at time of publication.