FEBRUARY READING GUIDE
265 King St Newtown | 02 9557 8700 | www.betterread.com.au | books@betterread.com.au | @betterreadbookshop
OUR BOOKS OF THE MONTH
Fire in Every Direction: A Memoir | Tareq Baconi | $34.99 | Hachette Fire in Every Direction is a tender, searing and profoundly moving memoir that left me entirely undone. Tareq Baconi traces his story across generations and continents, beginning with his grandmother’s forced flight from Haifa during the Nakba, followed by his parents’ escape from Beirut at the start of Lebanon’s civil war, and finally his own coming of age in Amman and later London. Each movement carries its own form of exile, shaping an inheritance of silence, grief and resistance. Baconi’s queer awakening unfolds alongside his growing political consciousness, about the policing of queerness and the erasure of Palestinian identity, and about the disorientation of living between worlds. A deeply personal exploration of queerness, Palestinian identity, displacement and love, written with extraordinary care and clarity. – Steph
Bird Deity | John Morrisey | $34.99 | Text Publishing/Penguin Bird Deity is speculative fiction at its thought-provoking, incisive best. It follows David, a relic hunter in a remote colony, earning a living from looting the remains of an ancient alien civilisation. Presented with an opportunity to guide an anthropologist on a risky expedition, David is forced to confront his life, his choices and the impact of his actions on another world. What makes this book so striking is its atmosphere: Morrissey’s descriptions of David’s world are evocative and deeply unsettling. The book has been described as ‘cosmic horror’ and it earns this tag not through graphic violence or space monsters, but from the haunting disquiet that it leaves in its reader. Morrissey delivers poignant insight into the far-reaching impact of colonial violence. I was completely unprepared for this book, and it has floored me. – Lewis
The Wonder | Tom Percival | $24.99 | Simon & Schuster | 4+ When Daniel finds himself drenched by the rain that falls from a sky that shifts in various shades of dark grey, his shoes soaked through from wading through puddles, he feels that nothing is going to make him feel better and this may well be the worst day ever. Then something drifts on the air between the rain drops: a wistful, light and airy tune, small at first. Perhaps if he can follow it, Daniel might find there is something to brighten even the darkest day. From the incredibly talented, multi-award winning author, artist, musician and illustrator Tom Percival comes this gorgeous picture book about seeing and finding ‘The Wonder’ all around you. – Robert
Lourinhã | Matt McConnell with Jo Gamvros | $50.00 | Hardie Grant As I am yet to have the good fortune of dining at Matt and Jo’s beloved restaurant in Melbourne, established now for 20 years, I am super excited to have their new cookbook to peruse until I can taste their delectable Mediterranean food in person. In this beautiful volume you’ll find much-loved recipes for tasty, varied and fresh dishes inspired by the incredible bar food of Spain and Portugal that the duo has championed for decades. Think: Pickled Sardine Banderillas, Spiced Chickpeas & Spinach, Gambas al Ajillo, Chorizo & Apple Cider, Churros & Dulce de Leche and a fresh-fig-and-slivered-almond-topped Torta de Queso. Scrumptious! – Sylvia
STAFF PICKS
Big Kiss, Bye-Bye | Claire -Louise Bennett | $26.99 | Fitzcarraldo Editions/ Allen & Unwin It would be easy to refer to this as an epistolary novel, and reductive to call it a Me-Too novel. Instead, Bennett’s fluid interior monologues throw miscommunications into sharp relief and highlight how we rewrite relationships to make indiscretions more tolerable, and her singular voice makes for a wonderful reading experience. – Lexie
they | Helle Helle | $37.99 | Giramondo/NewSouth Books they follows a 16-year-old and her mortally ill mother as they navigate housing and constant upheaval in a provincial Danish community. Recognised Danish writer Helle presents a third-person exploration of mother/daughter relationships, and the way some of us cope with life-changing experiences through routine (and parties and kissing boys). – Lexie
Bugger | Michael Mohammed Ahmad | $34.99 | Hachette In this devastating stand-alone novel, Ahmad’s writing is as sharp as ever, marked by a gritty tenderness that refuses to look away from the hardest truths. What unfolds is a deeply affecting and uncompromising exploration of abuse, power and betrayal, and the way a single moment can fracture a life. A confronting, painful and necessary novel. – Steph
She Made Herself A Monster | Anna Kovatcheva | $34.99 | Penguin Dripping in Slavic folklore and feminine rage, She Made Herself A Monster is an exploration of the ties that hold us together and the monsters we create in order to survive. There were moments that made my skin crawl, and I was captivated from the start. I’ve been on a feminine-rage historical-fiction kick at the moment, so this one really hit the spot. – Ruby
Palaver | Bryan Washington | $34.99 | Allen & Unwin This quietly powerful, emotionally precise novel is about a mother and son navigating decades of silence and pain amid the bustling streets of Tokyo. The two struggle to bridge generational trauma, homophobia and old wounds during the mother’s unannounced visit. Palaver’s tenderness and subtle insights into human connection make it a deeply affecting read. – Angus
How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates | Shailee Thompson | $34.99 | Simon & Schuster This wildly fun, witty and fast-paced slasher rom-com has movieobsessed Jamie going speed-dating with her bestie. While nothing sounds more horrifying, things get worse when the lights go out and people start dying. Jamie, though, is determined to be both the Final Girl and the leading lady. Gory, funny and surprisingly cute! – Arabella
FICTION HIGHLIGHTS
How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder | Nina McConigley | $32.99 | Hachette Summer, 1986. Tween sisters Georgie and Agatha welcome their Indian aunt, uncle and cousin to rural Wyoming to live with them. That is, until the sisters decide it's time for their uncle to die. According to Georgie, the British are to blame, and to understand why, you need to hear her story – one of violence and history, of being an Indian-American girl in the heart of the West. Her account is cheeky, unflinching and is either: a) a portrait of an extended family; b) a moving story of sisterhood; c) an ode to the 80s; d) a murder mystery; e) a ruthless meditation on history and language, trauma and healing, and the meaning of independence … or maybe it's really: f) all of the above.
Greedy | Callie Kazumi | $34.99 | Penguin Random House Ed is in trouble with the yakuza. He's gambled away his money and his family is at risk. But then he receives an offer he can't refuse. A reclusive billionaire is looking for a private chef. The only catch: she has unusual tastes. As he prepares delicious dishes, he realises that each meal is a test, a challenge to satisfy an insatiable appetite. Ed soon finds himself entangled in another debt. As the stakes grow, he must make a choice. Will he stay hungry? Or will he be greedy? Dinner is served. Eat Up. Pick a Color | Souvankham Thammavongsa | $39.99 | Bloomsbury Ning is a retired boxer, but to the customers at her nail salon, she is just another worker named Susan. The Susans buff, clip and polish, listen and smile. But Ning is a woman of rigorous intellect and profound depth; a woman enthralled by the rhythms of her work but haunted by memories of opportunities lost. The friction between Ning's two identities gathers crackling force, and demand a reckoning with the way the privileged look at a woman like Ning. Told over a single day with razor-sharp precision and wit, Pick a Colour confirms Thammavongsa's place as literature's premier chronicler of the immigrant experience, in its myriad, complex and slyly subversive forms.
Bad Bad Girl | Gish Jen | $39.99 | Allen & Unwin Growing up in an affluent neighbourhood in 1930s Shanghai, Loo Shu-hsin is told that it is 'no good for a girl to be smart' – and yet when rumours of the revolution reach their enclave, she is the one sent abroad for an education. In New York, she meets Chao-Pei, a Chinese engineering student, and they set out to make a life together. By the time their daughter – Gish Jen – is born, her parents have only sporadic contact with their families, who are locked in repressive Maoist China. And in her struggle to discipline her American daughter, Loo Shu-hsin finds herself repeating the punishing refrains – 'Bad bad girl! You don't know how to talk!' – that punctured her own childhood.
Lost Lambs | Madeline Cash | $34.99 | Penguin Random House For the three Flynn daughters, it's been disastrous since their parents opened up their marriage. Abigail is dating an ex-soldier; Louise, corresponds with an online terrorist; and Harper is sent to a reform camp due to her insistence that the town is being monitored. Then there’s nefarious local billionaire Paul Alabaster … Rumours of corruption circulate, but no one dares dig deep – except Harper, whose obsession with Alabaster's machinations sends the family hurtling into a criminal conspiracy – one that may just, finally, bring them closer together.
Half His Age | Jennette McCurdy | $32.99 | Harper Collins Waldo is endlessly wanting, and the thing she wants most of all is her creative writing teacher, Mr Korgy. With the wife, mortgage and paunch. Is it his passion? His life experience? Or are they kindred spirits? Or, perhaps, it’s enough that he sees her when no one else does. Startlingly perceptive and mordantly funny, this is an incisive study of a yearning 17-year-old.
Operation Bounce House | Matt Dinniman | $34.99 | Penguin All Oliver wants is to run the family’s ranch and tend to their aging agriculture bots. But when travel is restored between Earth and New Sonora, there's a complication: the Apex Corporation commences an ‘eviction action’. They charge bored Earthers to design war machines and remotely pilot them in a deadly game. Oliver, determined to defend his home, must now fight for his life.
Departure(s) | Julian Barnes | $34.99 | Penguin Random House Departure(s) is a work of fiction – but that doesn't mean it's not true. It is the story of Stephen and Jean, who fall in love when they are young and again when they are old. It is the story of an elderly Jack Russell oblivious to his own mortality. It is the story of how the body fails us, and how experiences fade into anecdotes, then into memory. It begins at the end of life – but it doesn't end there. Ultimately, it's about the only things that ever really mattered – how we find happiness in this life, and when it is time to say goodbye.
The Ferryman & His Wife | Frode Grytten | $26.99 | Allen & Unwin On his last day, Nils heads out onto the fjord, and a lifetime of passengers join him from beyond the grave. But Nils is waiting for just one passenger: his beloved wife Marta, whose absence has marked each day since her passing. Nearing the end of his journey, his expectation grows – will he be reunited with her, too? Timeless and heartbreaking, this is a contemplative celebration of life.
Staged | John M. Green | $34.99 | Pantera/ Hardie Grant A Sydney Opera House stage show ends in tragedy when a prop kills Hollywood star Dane Cooder in a spectacularly fashion. The whole theatre, including his wife and co-star Angelique, watch in horror. The death is ruled an accident, but audience member and disgraced journalist Dick Sonntag disagrees. He launches a podcast about the death and the case is reopened. At the same time, a small boy is kidnapped. Detective Harry Stiles, who despises Sonntag, is brought in to lead both cases. Will Harry’s AI skills help them pin down the culprits this time?
FICTION HIGHLIGHTS
Meet The Newmans | Jennifer Niven | $34.99 | Macmillan For 20 years, Del and Dinah Newman and their sons, each playing flawless TV versions of themselves, have been America’s Favorite Family. But now it’s 1964: their ratings are in free fall, as are the Newmans. After a mysterious accident, Dinah hires reporter Juliet to help her write the final episode. Can the Newmans hold it together to change television history?
NON-FICTION HIGHLIGHTS
Righting My World | Dennis Altman | $39.99 | NewSouth Books Dennis Altman AO has been a leading voice in gay liberation movements in Australia and beyond. For over 50 years, Altman has written about gay rights alongside other currents in Australian politics and society, identifying cultural shifts and exploring their impacts, as well as US politics, including under Trump. Now his books are being embraced by a new generation of queer theorists worldwide. This collection of his favourite nonfiction captures the sense of Australia as it was and as it is, charting the course of a conversation about civil rights and cultural change, while at the same time illuminating the persistence of prejudice.
Trials of Hope | Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes | $35.99 | Freemantle Press/Penguin In this profound narrative, Ethiopian-born Yirga weaves together stories of heritage and heartache in a unique memoir that celebrates the beauty of Ethiopian culture while mourning its erosion from colonial forces and internal conflict. Framing his work via the Ethiopian belief in the four elemental stages of human experience – water, fire, soil and wind – Yirga's story celebrates and honours the voices that fight to preserve his culture. This is an essential exploration of the human condition, urging us to connect with a nation of people whose sagacity and spirit have endured through generations.
poyums annaw | Len Pennie | $29.99 | Allen & Unwin There isn't a timescale for how you should heal • Your bad days are valid, your heartache is real • But so is the day that your smile will return • That fire within you continues to burn • You will overcome this and continue to thrive • You are here, you are loved, you are whole, you're alive. A formidable follow-up to her award-winning debut poetry collection, Len Pennie's poyums annaw is just like her: defiant, angry and trailblazing. These poems, written in Scots and English, are a call to arms, confronting ideas of patriarchy, gender-based violence and societal injustice with equal parts tenderness, quick-wit and righteous fury. Incisive and fiercely honest, poyums annaw firmly underscores Len's place as a defining voice in contemporary poetry. Stolen Man on Stolen Land | Tyree Barnette | $36.99 | Affirm Press When Barnette moved to Sydney from North Carolina, he was pleasantly surprised: the police treated him with respect and Black American culture seemed widely celebrated. But in time, Barnette saw the darker side to Australia’s relationship with African American culture, one that often tipped from admiration into fetishisation. The undercurrents of racism and the struggles of Indigenous Australians against injustice came into view. Balancing the insistent tug of home with his new life, Barnette explores his experience with nuance, self-awareness and kindness. This is the perspective that has been missing from the race discussion in Australia, one that considers how privilege and race can shift across time and borders
Queer Georgians | Anthony Delaney | $36.99 | Random House Mother Clap's coffee house is a place for community, until it is raided one midnight. Two women set up homestead in a remote Welsh cottage, inspiring a generation of Romantic poets. The celebrated Chevalier d'Eon challenges a rival to a fencing match – to settle whether the they are a man or a woman. In this dazzling restorative history, Dr Delaney traces the stories of people daring to challenge society's expectations, using archives and court records to reveal the tragedies and the joys of queer life three centuries ago.
The Mother is Restless and She Doesn't Know Why | Gemma Parker | $34.99 | Simon & Schuster Parker’s parents were impulsively itinerant, and her literary heroes were utterly committed to following their muse. To write properly about nihilism, she herself surely needs to go to Paris! But she’s stuck – by a job, by children, then by Covid. As Parker reads Nietzsche’s work, and that of other celebrated nihilists, she discovers a way of being free, even at home.
A Sicilian Man | Caroline Moorehead | $36.99 | Penguin Corruption, sleaze and violence became ingrained in the fabric of 20th-century Sicilian life as the Mafia rose to dominance. Renowned Italian writer Leonardo Sciascia witnessed the scale of corruption and violence, predicting its spread north. In 1986, the largest Mafia trial in Italy's history – the maxi-processo – took place in Sicily. Sciascia, seen by Italians as a true moral figure, looked on.
The Musical Lives of Charles Manson | Nicholas Tochka | $36.99 | Bloomsbury Did the guitar-playing Manson personify the violence that the rock counterculture inflicted on America? Or did his music diagnose the dehumanising effects of that society's broken institutions? For over 50 years, commentators have debated the meaning of Charles Manson and the Tate-LaBianca killings. In this first comprehensive examination of the Manson Family's music, Nicholas Tochka writes with, against and alongside the many who have told and retold the story of ‘the Manson murders’.
Where the Light Gets In | Ben Crowe | $35.99 | Harper Collins Mindset coache Ben Crowe reveals nine perspective shifts that will change the way you see the world and yourself. He demonstrates how self-compassion, imagination and appreciation can turn adversity into possibility, remove pressure and help us find that elusive balance between confidence and happiness, achievement and fulfillment.
Run for your Life | Kondrad Marshall | $36.99 | Hardie Grant Journalist Konrad Marshall explores the mindset of those who voluntarily run regularly, both by taking up running himself and talking to – and running with – some of Australia’s most interesting runners. In the process, he discovers what tested these runners’ resolve, the relationships they developed and the importance running is to their lives. Konrad also shares the collective wisdom of people who run in this deeply considered first-person account of a year in constant motion.
NON-FICTION HIGHLIGHTS
Don't Burn Anyone at the Stake Today | Naomi Alderman | $39.99 | Penguin The internet has flooded us with more knowledge, opportunities and misinformation than ever before. We can learn faster, be brought together and divided. Yet this is humanity's third information crisis: the invention of writing and the invention of the printing press also drastically reshaped us. Alderman asks, what can we learn from the past to better understand our present and future?
KIDS HIGHLIGHTS Bun | Hana Kinoshita Thomson | $19.99 | Allen & Unwin Bun and her friends are getting ready for a big event … a carrot cake party! Spot vegetables in the garden, find baking ingredients in the kitchen, and don't forget to check out the carrot details in Bun's bedroom – plus keep an eye out for Bun's snail friend, Gary, who has a tiny cameo on every page. Children and adults alike will delight in this outrageously cute picture book. A classic in the making.
Robin | Sarah Ann Juckes | Illustrated by Linde Faas | $17.99 | Simon & Schuster Eddie’s sister isn't well, and nobody seems to remember that he's here. Out in the forest, the world is quiet. But there's a monster growing with every angry thought Eddie says out loud. When a little red bird takes him to meet Mari, she shows Eddie how to enjoy life again – but can he put the monster to rest? This is a powerful exploration of child illness and the joy of finding hope.
The Sunbird | Sara Haddad | Illustrated by Baraa Awoor | $14.99 | UQP It's 1948 and Nabila lives a happy life in Palestine. She plays in the hills with her friend and climbs the olive trees to pick the sweetest fruit. But when bombs start falling, Nabila and her family are forced to leave. Where will they go? With beautiful illustrations by Palestinian artist Baraa Awoor, The Sunbird is the poignant story of a little girl who just wants to go home.
They Own the Night | Amy McCaw | $19.99 | Allen & Unwin Siblings Mia and Johnny have looked after each other since their serial-killer dad went to prison. Mia's coping mechanisms are hiding behind sarcasm and horror writing, while sensitive Johnny keeps her out of trouble. But when Johnny goes off to interview a reclusive mega rock star, Mia is stuck on their Uni campus when two students are found dead. As Johnny realises that something about the star's nocturnal habits doesn't add up, Mia's investigation takes her to the most unexpected places – including her dad's prison. Ludicrous Legends | Jol Temple & David Conley | $16.99 | Harper Collins Hector and his best friend Hylo, a centaur, are about to be tested on Greek mythology by their teacher Mr Socrates. Join them as they come to grips with the mighty Minotaur, the famous Trojan Horse/Cow, and the terrifying Medusa (whose definitely not keen on a haircut). A ludicrous and loose retelling of three classical legends.
Amid Stars and Darkness | Chani Lynn Feener | $26.99 | Macmillan By the time anyone believes that she’s not missing alien princess Lissa Olena, Delaney’s been kidnapped by the princess’ bodyguard Ruckus and imprisoned in an alien palace far away … And until Olena can be found, Delaney’s secret has to stay hidden or alien war and a takeover of Earth will eventuate. If she could stay with Ruckus, the ruse might hold, but Trystan, the princess’ cruel betrothed, is taken with his ‘bride’s’ new attitude. To keep herself and her planet safe, Delaney will need to stay out of his way and off of his mind.
KIDS PICKS
My Name is Jodie Jones | Emma Shevah | $19.99 | Affirm Press Jodie Jones is one of the most complex, interesting, funny, unique characters in any YA book I’ve read. She plays an intricate game with those trying to control her, and slowly discloses the story behind her PTSD. An ode to individuality, friendships and the transformative power of language, this is a clever and sophisticated mystery with a twist! – Mischa
WANTED: The Cutest Baby in the World | Davina Bell & Sarah Zweck | $24.99 | Thames & Hudson This book is fun because of the ending. My favourite character is the baby. The stripy cat is cool. The picture of the daddy wrapped in toilet paper is silly. I love the last page. – Raine, 5 yrs
Pocket Bear | Katherine Applegate | $18.99 | Scholastic In WWI, tiny stuffed teddy bears were given out to soldiers as good luck charms. This is the story of Pocket, from when he was first made, to his time in the war, to 100 years later, where he lives at the ‘Second Chances Home for the Tossed and Treasured’. I really enjoyed this book. It was moving and sad but also joyful. The drawings are beautiful and make the story real. – Maxine S, 8 yrs
The Fox Hunt | Caitlin Breeze | $16.99 | Harper Collins Pagan rituals and human sacrifice in an ancient University? Yes, please! The Fox Hunt is dark academia done really well, with a stunning twist. When introverted student Emma lands among secret societies and privileged students, she falls for Jasper – and into a trap. After meeting an unfortunate end, she’s seeks revenge. A thrilling ride, with themes of sisterhood and female liberation. – Emily
Make Me a Monster | Kalynn Bayron | $19.99 | Bloomsbury Meka works in her family's funeral home as a mortician’s assistant. Not weird or creepy at all, right? Luckily Noah, her boyfriend, doesn't mind. But the business may be more complicated than Meka thought – the dead don’t seem to stay dead. This is a great reimagining of the Frankenstein story: gripping, well-paced, very funny but also with a lot of depth. – Rhani S, 15 yrs
A Murder of Rogues | Joe Heap | $22.99 | Scholastic In Regency-era England, Cascabel Grey is denied education and freedom. Adopting the identity of her twin brother Pom, she enters Oxford. While trying to conceal their true nature, ‘Pom’ becomes the prime suspect after a blackmailer is murdered. With dark academia, secret societies, hidden identities, clandestine meetings and scandal, this witty, edgy and clever novel is deliciously satisfying. – Robert
STAFF PICKS Enshittification | Cory Doctorow | $44.99 | Bloomsbury ‘Enshittification’ – Macquarie Dictionary's 2024 Word of the Year – refers to the process in which genuinely useful tech services become indispensable and are then relentlessly made worse in order to squeeze every crumb of profit from them. This is cultural critic Doctorow’s definitive call to action against the rapacity of the big tech vampire squid. – Connor
Vigil | George Saunders | $32.99 | Bloomsbury Jill ‘Doll’ Blaine, a spirit tasked with helping the dying transition to their destination, plummets to Earth to aid her next charge, a former oil tycoon. But KJ Boone flatly refuses to acknowledge that morality exists. In less than 200 pages, Saunders confronts some of the most profound issues of our time – capitalism, corporate greed, agency and absolution – with humour and wit. – Caro
Tamarin | Priya Hein | $29.99 | NewSouth Books Captivating, but also heartwrenching, Tamarin is framed around the travels, betrayals and delicate familial and romantic relationships of protagonist Anita Ram, told on her return home to Maurituis. Behind Hein’s gorgeous writing about the island, Anita brings a constant unease to every page as she opens up about her restless past. A truly beautiful read, even in its struggle. – Francesca
Two Women Living Together | Kim Hana & Hwang Sunwoo | $36.99 | Penguin Random House These short reflections follow two women who decide to rewrite the norms of being a family. Their different living styles create rifts and catalysing arguments, but they learn to compromise and soon realise the importance of having a friend close by. Warm and real, this memoir is about forging your own path and rejecting conformity. – Adina
Trad Wife | Saratoga Schaefer | $34.99 | Penguin Random House What is preventing Camille from reaching her full trad-wife influencer potential? Easy: a baby. So when Camille stumbles across a decrepit well in the forest she naturally makes a deal with the devil. This wild horror ride is full of gore but also explores motherhood and female rage. It takes the world of trad-life influencers and really twists it on its head. – Vevie
Room 706 | Ellie Levenson | $34.99 | Hachette This is one of those thrillers that takes up all your time because you’re dying to know how it ends. Two people (married to others) having an affair get trapped in a London hotel under siege, and the protagonist Kate has to reckon with her choices, her past and her potential dark future. Switching between flashbacks and the present, this is a gripping debut. – Meabh
Love | Edited by Shirley Le | $24.99 | Sweatshop/ NewSouth Books Love. It is a beautiful mess of complex, confusing and interconnecting emotions. For some, it means romance, for others, family. There are those who understand love as empowerment, resistance and existence; those who say it is created from nothing; and those who believe it is always there, binding the universe together, waiting for us to find it and grab on tight. In this mesmerising collection of stories, poems and essays from the award-winning team of Sweatshop Literacy Movement, you are invited to take a journey through dingy streets and pristine sunsets, delve deep into the tormented soul, and attempt to make sense of that big crazy thing called the human heart.
22 Fictions | Various | $32.99 | NewSouth Books A curated selection drawn from the first five years of two indie bookseller-run projects, Madrid's Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize and London's Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize, 22 Fictions feature Purim celebrations, multiple Stuart Halls, a kidnapping, an aeroplane fleeing a volcano, gender injustice, a chicken-shop menu, climate change, activism and much besides, all the while roaming from a Cornish farming village to a Paris basement, a hotel bar, an island with a steep hill, a location deep within the internet, a family dinner table and further. Featuring work from Shola Von Reinhold, Leeor Ohayon, Alice Haworth-Booth, Danielle Giles,Melody Razak, Giovanna Iozzi and many more.
Pulse | Cynan Jones | $32.99 | Granta/Allen & Unwin From the award-winning author Cynan Jones comes a collection of viscerally powerful short stories in which man is pitted against nature, against circumstance and against himself. A man heads into the snow to hunt down the bear that has been taking stock from farms in the valley. A father tries to make something go right for the son he no longer lives with. A partner is called to help when a cow's labour goes horribly wrong. Fear, vulnerability, tension and resolve course through these arresting and indelible stories from one of the finest British writers at work today. Teenage Girls Can Be Demons | Hailey Piper | $21.99 | Simon & Schuster A vicious group of college upperclassmen prey on the freshman girls. Across the world, something is mutating adolescents into bizarre creatures. A girl on a night out realises a bizarre cop is hunting her. And a Halloween prank goes horribly wrong when a murderous ghost steps out of an urban legend and into the real world. These stories take our most difficult years of transformation and twist them into new and terrifying shapes, where the monsters are real and you'll do whatever it takes to get away … or get even.
ANTHOLOGIES AND SHORT STORIES
Vegan Asian Street Food | Yang Liu | $45.00 | Hardie Grant From the creators of Vegan Chinese Food comes a vibrant exploration of vegan Asian street food that goes beyond the familiar bowl of steaming noodles. This enticing cookbook offers recipes from various regions across China, as well as other Southeast and East Asian countries. With dishes ranging from Thai iced tea and Vietnamese bánh mì to Indonesian nasi goreng and Japanese okonomiyaki, each recipe reflects the rich culinary traditions of Asia. Whether you're a dedicated vegan or simply a lover of flavourful food, this book provides a treasure trove of delightful recipes so you can embrace the simplicity, versatility, and bold flavours of plant-based Asian street food.
UPCOMING EVENT HIGHLIGHTS The First Law of the Bush Launch Geoff Parkes in-conversation with Darcy Tindale Friday 6th February at 6.30pm The Stronger Sex Launch Starre Vartan in-conversation with Bianca Nogrady Friday 13th February at 6.30pm How to Dress for Old Age Launch David Carlin and Peta Murray with Catherine McKinnon and Kathryn Millard Thursday 26th February at 6.30pm For more information, to find out what else is on this month and to RSVP, head to www.betterreadevents.com
Cover Art by Sylvia Balog