Gleaner November 2021

gleebooks

gleaner Vol. 28 No. 6 November 2021

Wonderful new releases, our favourite reads of 2021, and more!

1

Australian Literature Literature How to End a Story: Diaries 1995-1998

by Helen Garner

Helen Garner’s third volume of diaries is an account of a woman fighting to hold on to a marriage that is disintegrating around her. This is a harrowing story, a portrait of the messy, painful, dark side of love lost, of betrayal and sadness and the sheer force of a woman’s anger. But it is also a story of resilience and strength, strewn with sharp insight, moments of joy and hope, the immutable ties of motherhood and the regenerative power of a room of one’s own.$30,HB

Devotion by Hannah Kent

Prussia, 1836. Hanne Nussbaum is a child of nature - she would rather run wild in the forest than conform to the limitations of womanhood. In her village of Kay, Hanne is friendless and considered an oddity . . . until she meets Thea. South Australia, 1838 A new start in an old land. God, society and nature itself decree Hanne and Thea cannot be together. But within the impossible . . . is devotion. A new novel from the author of Burial Rites and The Good People. $30,PB

The Fatal Dance by Berndt Sellheim

Redmond Campbell’s luck has just taken a turn for the worse. His dog’s dead, his wife has landed in prison, and he has to look after her sister, Lori - a wildly disinhibited woman with Huntington’s disease - who hates him. And Redmond’s nephew, Mada, a PhD student searching for a cure for the disease that’s killing his mother, doesn’t give Red the respect he deserves. But Red is about to change all that. He’s got plans to become Sydney’s leading property agent and he’s about to make a connection that will line him up a killing. It’s legal too. Well, almost. $33,PB

Seven & a Half by Christos Tsiolkas

A man arrives at a house on the coast to write a book. Separated from his lover and family and friends, he finds the solitude he craves in the beauty of nature, just as the world he has shut out is experiencing a cataclysmic shift. The preoccupations that have galvanised him and his work fall away, and he becomes lost in memory and beauty...A new novel by the author of The Slap and Damascus about finding joy and beauty in a raging and punitive world, about the refractions of memory and time and, most subversive of all, about the mystery of art and its creation. $30,PB

Cold Coast by Robyn Mundy

In 1932, Wanny Woldstad, a young widow, travels to Svalbard, daring to enter the Norwegian trappers’ fiercely guarded male domain. She must prove to Anders Sæterdal, her trapping partner who makes no secret of his disdain, that a woman is fit for the task. Over a Svalbard winter, Wanny and Sæterdal will confront polar bears, traverse glaciers, withstand blizzards and the dangers of sea ice, and hike miles to trap Arctic fox. For Wanny, the darkness hides her own deceptions that, if exposed, speak to the untenable sacrifice of a woman longing to fulfil a dream. $33,PB

Danged Black Thing by Eugen Bacon A collection of stories about love and migration, gender and class, patriarchy and womanhood, from an original voice. Traversing the West and Africa, they celebrate the author’s own hybridity.

What happens when the water runs dry? Who pays? The author captures the devastating effects on women and children of societies in which men hold all the power, and themes of being, belonging, otherness. $30,PB

2

How We Love by Clementine Ford

A deeply personal exploration of love in all its forms from a feminist icon and bestselling author of Fight Like a Girl and Boys Will Be Boys. Clementine Ford has loved deeply, strangely and with curiosity. She is fascinated by love and how it makes its home in our hearts and believes that the way we continue to surrender ourselves to love is an act of great faith and bravery. $30

Quarterly Essay 84: Australia’s #MeToo Moment by Jess Hill

This year, Australia’s #MeToo moment erupted in the national parliament. In this electrifying essay, Jess Hill, the acclaimed author of See What You Made Me Do, traces the meaning of those events and what could happen next. Hill examines how the law, the media and politics can bring about - or stall - change. She shows how when #MeToo meets patriarchy, the results are unpredictable. And she asks whether a conservative prime minister can do what is required to meet the moment. $25,PB

Books That Made Us by Carl Reinecke

In this companion book to the ABC TV series, Carl Reinecke looks at the history of Australian culture through the books we have read and the stories we have told. Touching on colonial invasion, the bush myth, world wars, mass migration, the recognition of Indigenous sovereignty and the emergence of a modern, global, multicultural nation Carl examines how these pivotal events and persuasive ideas have shaped some of Australia’s most influential novels, and how these books, in turn, made us. $35,PB

Author Interview

Philippa Cullen was a pioneering Australian dancer who died in tragic circumstances at the age of twenty-five. Award-winning writer, Evelyn Juers, portrays the life of Cullen in her new biography, The Dancer.

Here, she tells us how the book came to be.

Q: What made you want to write the biography of Philippa Cullen?

A: Philippa was a friend of mine, a talented dancer and choreographer, a thinker, a talker. She once told me that she thought she would die young and if that happened I should write a book about her. I ignored her comment. That was in 1973, when we were both twenty-three. She died two years later. Writing her biography – almost half a century later – was a way of finding out what she meant.

Q: What was Philippa known for?

A: Her dance and choreographic work included three versions of Homage to Theremin, Lightless, UTTER (with George Alexander), the 24-Hour Concert, Inori (with Karlheinz Stockhausen), The Sound of Movement, and many improvisational events. She was a spellbinding performer and inspiring teacher, with groundbreaking ideas. She believed, for example, that dancers could create their own music as they danced. In this quest she harnessed the potential of the theremin, an unassuming small box with antennae that creates electromagnetic fields.

It is played gesturally, without contact, and produces haunting sounds.

Q: Even though Philippa died young, The Dancer is a large biography, as if she had lived a full life. Can you explain that?

A: Philippa made connections – between people, between the arts, historically, technologically, spiritually. Some short lives deserve big biographies.

Q: Where did you get all your material from?

A: Philippa was very open, at times alarmingly frank, a story-teller, note-maker, occasional diarist, prolific letter writer. Her family and friends gave me access to those primary sources. I contacted people who knew her, and researched widely in books and archives. Guided by my own recollection of her, I came to see dance as more than her vocation. It is also a metaphor for the way she lived her life, her bold play with possibilities.

International Literature Literature Chouette by Claire Oshetsky

When Chouette is born, Tiny’s husband and family are devastated by her condition and strange appearance.

Doctors tell them to expect the worst. Chouette won’t learn to walk; she never speaks; she lashes out when frightened and causes chaos in public. Tiny’s husband wants to make her better. But Tiny thinks Chouette is perfect the way she is. Chouette is a dark modern fable about mothering an unusual child. $33,PB

The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk

As new ideas and a new unrest begin to sweep the Continent, a young Jew of mysterious origins arrives in a village in Poland. Visited by what seem to be ecstatic experiences, Jacob Frank casts a spell that attracts a fervent following. He reinvents himself again and again, converts to Islam and then Catholicism, is pilloried as a heretic and revered as the Messiah, and wreaks havoc on the conventional order, with scandalous rumours of his sect’s secret rituals and the spread of his iconoclastic beliefs. $35,PB

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

A small independent bookstore in Minneapolis is haunted from November 2019 to November 2020 by the store’s most annoying customer. Tookie, who has landed a job selling books after years of incarceration that she survived by reading ‘with murderous attention,’ must solve the mystery of this haunting while at the same time trying to understand all that occurs in Minneapolis during a year of grief, astonishment, isolation and furious reckoning. $33,PB

The City of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

A labyrinth-maker flees Constantinople to a plague-ridden Barcelona, with plans for building a library impervious to the destruction of time. A strange gentleman tempts Cervantes to write a book like no other, each page of which could prolong the life of the woman he loves. And a brilliant Catalan architect named Antoni Gaudi reluctantly agrees to cross the ocean to New York, a voyage that will determine the fate of an unfinished masterpiece.$30,PB

The Dust Never Settles by Kareina Likorish Quinn The yellow walls of Anas’ family home loom over the sprawling city of Lima. When she left Peru and moved to London, she dared to hope she might have left the echoing voices of her ancestors behind. But now she must return to Peru to organise the sale of the house, submerging herself once more in the constant whispers of her deceased relatives. What begins as an uneasy homecoming soon becomes a reckoning with secrets that refuse to stay buried. $30,PB

Something Out of Place: Women & Disgust by Eimear McBride In this subversive essay, Eimear McBride unpicks the contradictory forces of disgust and objectification that control and shame women. From playground taunts of ‘only sluts do it’ but ‘virgins are frigid’, to ladette culture, and the arrival of ‘ironic’ porn, via Debbie Harry, the Kardashians and the Catholic church - she looks at how this prejudicial messaging has played out in the past, and still surrounds us today. $20 ,PB

The Every by Dave Eggers

When the world’s largest search engine / social media company merges with the planet’s dominant e-commerce site, it creates the richest and most dangerousand, oddly enough, most beloved-monopoly ever known- The Every. Delaney Wells charms her way into an entry-level job with one goal in mind - to take down the company from within. $30,PB

Murakami T: The T-Shirts I Love

by Haruki Murakami

The famously reclusive novelist shows us his T-shirts - including gems found in bookshops, charity shops and record stores. Accompanied by short, frank essays that have been translated into English for the first time, these photographs reveal much about Murakami’s multifaceted and wonderfully eccentric persona. $53, HB

These Precious Days by Ann Patchett

Any story that starts will also end.’ As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this as she explores family, friendship, marriage, failure, success, and what it all means. $30, PB

Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket

by Hilma Wolitzer

In this collection, Hilma Wolitzer invites us inside the private world of domestic bliss, seen mostly through the lens of Paulie and Howard’s gloriously ordinary marriage.

Including stories first published in magazines in the 1960s and 1970s alongside new writing from Wolitzer, now in her nineties, Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket reintroduces a beloved writer to be embraced by a new generation of readers. $30,PB

Paradise by Kae Tempest

Philoctetes lives in a cave on a desolate island: the wartime hero is now a wounded outcast. Stranded for ten years, he sees a chance of escape when a young soldier appears with tales of Philoctetes’ past glories. But with hope comes suspicion – and, as an old enemy emerges, he is faced with an even greater temptation: revenge. This bold new translation of Sophocles’ Philoctetes comes from Kae Tempest, widely acknowledged as a revolutionary force in contemporary British poetry, music and drama. $20, PB

Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson

Neal Stephenson’s prescient new novel transports readers to a near-future world where the greenhouse effect has inexorably resulted in a whirling-dervish troposphere of superstorms, rising sea levels, global flooding, merciless heat waves, and virulent, deadly pandemics. One man has a Big Idea for reversing global warming, a master plan perhaps best described as “elemental.”

But will it work? $35, PB

Femlandia by Christine Dalcher

Miranda Reynolds has lost her home, her job and her husband – all thanks to an economic collapse that has brought America to its knees. The shops are empty; the streets no longer safe.

Miranda and her daughter Emma have nowhere left to turn.

There is one final hope: a self-sufficient haven for women who want to live a life free from men called Femlandia. $30, PB

The Black Locomotive by Rian Hughes

London is built from concrete, steel and the creative urge. Old technology gives way to the new. Progress is inevitable - but is it more fragile than its inhabitants realise? A strange anomaly is uncovered in the new top-secret Crossrail extension being built under Buckingham Palace. It is an archeological puzzle, one that may transform our understanding of history - and the origins of London itself. And if our modern world falls, we may have to turn to the technology of the past in order to save our future. $33,PB

Where You Come From by Sasa Stanisic

This is a novel about a village where only thirteen people remain, in a country that no longer exists, with a shattered family that Stanisic’s own. Blending autofiction, fable, and chooseyour-own-adventure, Stanisic explores a family’s escape during the conflict in Yugoslavia, and the years that followed as they built a life in Germany. He examines what it means to learn a new language, to find new friends and new jobs, to build an identity between countries and cultures. $30,PB

3

International Literature New York Times Book Review: 125 Years of Literary History

Since its first issue on October 10, 1896, The New York Times Book Review has brought the world of ideas to the reading public. Now the editors have curated the Book Review’s dynamic 125-year history, which is essentially the story of modern American letters. Brimming with remarkable reportage and photography, this beautiful book collects interesting reviews, never-before-heard anecdotes about famous writers, and spicy letter exchanges. Here are the first takes on novels we now consider masterpieces, including a long-forgotten pan of Anne of Green Gables and a rave of Mrs. Dalloway, along with reviews and essays by Langston Hughes, Eudora Welty, James Baldwin, Nora Ephron, and more. With scores of stunning vintage photographs, many of them sourced from the Times’s own archive, readers will discover how literary tastes have shifted through the years-and how the Book Review’s coverage has shaped so much of what we read today. $75, HB

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult

Diana O’Toole is perfectly on track. She will be married by thirty, done having kids by thirty-five, and move out to the New York City suburbs, all while climbing the professional ladder. But now she is stranded, alone on what was planned to be a romantic idyll with her fiance.

A near-death experience brings Diana abruptly back to familiar city surroundings, where she tries to pick up the threads of her old life. She’s no longer prepared to be just a follower. $33,PB

Harsh Times by Mario Vargas Llosa

Guatemala, 1954. A CIA-supported military coup topples the government. Behind this violent act is a lie passed off as truth, which forever changed the development of Latin America: that those in power encouraged the spread of Soviet communism in the Americas. Harsh Times is a drama of international conspiracies and conflicting interests in the time of the Cold War, the echoes of which are still felt today. $30,PB

The Goddess Chronicle by Nasuo Kirino

On an island in the shape of a teardrop live two sisters. One is admired far and wide, the other lives in her shadow. One is the Oracle, the other is destined for the Underworld. But what will happen when she returns to the island? Based on the Japanese myth of Izanami and Izanagi, The Goddess Chronicle is a fantastical tour de force about ferocious love and bitter revenge. $20,PB

The Woman from Uruguay by Pedro Malral Lucas Pereyra, an unemployed writer in his forties, embarks on a day trip from Buenos Aires to Montevideo to pick up fifteen thousand dollars in cash. An advance due to him on his upcoming novel, the small fortune might mean the solution to his problems, most importantly the tension he has with his wife. A tender, thought-provoking exploration of the nature of relationships, this international bestseller has been published in fourteen countries. $30, PB

satire

Betoota-isms

A deep dive into Australian culture, invention and creativity.

Identify, with confidence, our nation’s leaders: Scotty from Marketing, Dictator Dan and Hot Mess Gladys. Ask your mate to pick you up a Bachelor’s Handbag and some bread rolls on his next run to Coles. A round up of the grandeur of the great Australian vernacular. $30,PB

Sh*t Towns of Australia: the Great Aussie Road Trip

Aussies love a road trip. Slogging for hours or days to get to some town that’s only slightly less sh*t than where you came from is just part of living on the sprawling expanse of mediocrity that is Australia. From the authors of the ridiculous bestseller Sh*t Towns of Australia, this book covers dozens more crap towns and sh*tty city suburbs, as well as quintessential events, regional foods and other nuggets of knowledge.$20,PB

4

Politics

The Accidental Prime Minister by Annika Smethurst In this first biography of the 30th prime minister of Australia, multi-award-winning political journalist Annika Smethurst examines the fundamental question about Morrison: is his success a case of being in the right place at the right time, or is he one of the most strategic and shrewd political operators to ever hold the office? $40,HC

Doing Politics by Judith Brett

Doing Politics brings together the finest essays by the author of The Enigmatic Mr Deakin, From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage and the Quarterly Essay ‘The Coal Curse’. Since the 1980s Judith Brett has been helping to shape Australians’ conversations about politics, bringing a historian’s eye to contemporary issues and probing the psychology of our prime ministers. $35,PB

Unbound by Tarana Burke

From the founder and activist behind one of the largest movements of the twenty-first century, the me too movement, Tarana Burke debuts a memoir about her own journey to saying those two simple yet infinitely powerful words and how she brought empathy back to an entire generation. $33,PB

How We Can Win by Kimberly Jones

A breakdown of the economic and social injustices facing Black people and other marginalised citizens, inspired by political activist Kimberly Jones’ viral video following the murder of George Floyd. Through her personal experience, observations and Monopoly analogy, she illuminates the economic disparities Black Americans have faced for generations and offers ways to fight against a system that is still rigged. $30,PB

The Digital Silk Road: China’s quest to wire the world & win the future by Jonathan Hillman

China is wiring the world, and, in doing so, rewriting the global order. As things stand, the rest of the world still has a choice. But the battle for tomorrow will require America and its allies to take daring risks in uncertain political terrain.

Jonathan Hillman reveals what China’s digital footprint looks like on the ground, and explores the dangers of a world in which all routers lead to Beijing. $33,PB

The Darker Angels of Our Nature edited by Philip Dwyer & Mark Micale Studying the history of violence from Japan and Russia to Native America, Medieval England and the Imperial Middle East, seventeen scholars debunk the myth of non-violent modernity and refute the Pinker Theory. $40,PB

Time for Socialism by Thomas Piketty

This collection of essays offers a first draft of history from one of the world’s leading economists and public figures, detailing the struggle against inequalities and tax evasion, in favor of a federalist Europe and a globalization more respectful of work and the environment. From the author of Capital in the Twenty First Century. $34.95,HB

Strong Female Lead by Arwa Mahdawi

Women have been taught to ‘lean in’ and act like men to get ahead. But as the financial, environmental, and social systems crumble, isn’t it time we had a different plan? Here, Arwa Mahdawi investigates the qualities demonstrated by female leaders who show us how it’s done, including original research and interviews with Madeleine Albright, Mary Robinson, Audrey Tang and more. $33,PB

Viral by Alina Chan & Matt Ridley

Genetic engineering expert Dr Alina Chan and renowned science writer Matt Ridley examine the origins of the virus responsible for Covid-19. Set in the caves and mineshafts, food markets and wildlife smugglers’ stores, laboratories and databases of China and elsewhere, Viral is a page-turner that reads like a detective novel and goes deeper into the deepest mystery of the day than any other work. $35, PB

Biographies Whole Notes by Ed Ayres

This book is an ode to music, and a celebration of humanity’s greatest creation. It is not a call to arms, but a call to instruments. In music, Ed Ayres finds answers to the big questions life throws at us. Using personal anecdotes - including those relating to his transition from Emma to Ed - and observations from teaching and learning music, Ed finds hope in our desire to become whole, with some simple music lessons along the way. $30,PB

Leonard Cohen: the Mystical Roots of Genius

by Harry Freeman Leonard Cohen’s music is studded with allusions to Jewish and Christian tradition, as well as Kabbalah and Zen. This book is about the ethos, origins and traditions in Cohen’s lyrics. His grandfather was a Rabbi. His Irish catholic nanny took him to Church. He was as familiar with Christian traditions as he was Jewish. A new look at a loved musician. $30,PB

My Life in Dire Straits by John Illsley

Dire Straits filled giant stadiums around the world and sold hundreds of millions of records. Throughout the eighties they were one of the biggest bands on the planIn My Life in Dire Straits, John Illsley - founder member, bassist and mainstay - evokes the spirit of the times and tells the story of one of the great live acts of rock history. $35,PB

Orwell’s Roses by Rebecca Solnit

From Solnit, the author of Hope in the Dark, comes this fresh reading of one of the biggest names of 20th century literary and political life. This biography examines the optimism that countered Orwell’s dystopian vision - and opens up a profound mediation on our relationship to plants, trees and the natural world.Tracking Orwell’s impact on political thought over the last century, Solnit journeys toEngland and Russia, Mexico and Colombia, exploring the political and historical events that shaped Orwell’s life and her own. $28, PB

Leaping Into Waterfalls by Bernadette Brennan

In her award-winning novels and short stories, Gillian Mears wrote fearlessly of the dark undercurrents of country and family life, always probing the depths and complexity of human desire.

Mears’ sensuality and sexuality were the driving forces of her life and writing. She was a prolific correspondent with significant figures of the cultural landscape and this biography reads her life and work within that broader cultural community to celebrate her. $35,PB

The Contrarian, The: Peter Thiel & silicon valley’s pursuit of power by Chafkin Max

Few individuals have done more to shape Silicon Valley than billionaire venture capitalist and entrepreneur Peter Thiel. In the first major biography of Thiel, Max Chafkin traces the trajectory of the innovator’s singular life and worldview, from his upbringing as the child of immigrant parents to his founding of PayPal and Palantir, early investment in Facebook and SpaceX, and relationships with fellow tech titans Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Eric Schmidt. $30,PB

Second Hand Rows Gleebooks Secondhand has been thrust into the present century with the creation of the Instagram page: oldgleebooks. Here you will find some of the weird and wonderful items that have newly arrived at our shop in Glebe (Blackheath soon to follow). Bursting with gift ideas for that annoying person in your life who has got everything, oldgleebooks celebrates the curious, the collectable, the commendable and the downright silly from the extraordinary world of secondhand books. Sample offerings include:

Bird Shooting the Hard Way by A David. ($10)

For obsequiousness Major A. David is hard to beat. Expressing his thanks to the Maharaja of Bikaner, who contributed the foreword to the author’s slim guide to bird shooting in India, David writes: “His Highness comes from a family of towering personalities, who are amongst the illustrious sons of this country, responsible for bringing laurels to us in many fields.” And so, the gushing tribute goes on.

While H.H notes he has given up game for clay, Major David remains hell-bent on clearing India’s airspace of every living thing that strays into his sights.

Le Français Pour Les Jeunes – Book 1: La Vie de Madame Souris ($20) Très charmant! Learn French with Madame Souris and her adorable family of rats. Alas Papa Souris “est mort” and “trios petites Souris” are running amok.

The Red Pony: The Book of the Film by John Steinbeck. ($7) Films with Robert Mitchum and children rarely end well and The Red Pony is no exception. Throw John Steinbeck into the mix and the chances of a heart-warming crowd pleaser lengthen considerably.

This well-thumbed 1949 edition comes with a number of creepy stills from the film.

Decca/Atlantic/Columbia ($50/70/50)

From Aretha to Zappa and all points in between, the soundtrack of our lives over the last century has largely been supplied by these three giants of the US recording industry. Richly illustrated and exhaustively researched these handsome doorstoppers will surprise and delight music fans of every taste and level. (NB. The dust jacket of the Atlantic volume has suffered minor damage to the top back edge).

Ludwig Bemelmans: The Illustrators

by Quentin Blake and Laurie Britton Newell (Thames and Hudson) 2019 ($25, HC) Ludwig Bemelmans (1898-1962) is perhaps most widely known to the public as the author and illustrator of the beloved Madeline books – six were written between 1939 and 1961. The American-Austrian illustrator’s work was far wider than that. This beautiful, compact volume includes his travel illustrations, magazine art, artist’s sketches, autobiographical work. His drawings exhibit and relaxed and joyful spontaneity that were in fact, the end product of numerous versions and careful reworking. Illustrated boards, 111pp., b/w and colour illustrations, notes, bibliography, chronology, index. Some adhesive sticker residue to back board. Slight wear to corners. Very Good.

Theroux the Keyhole by Louis Theroux

Step inside Louis’ life like never before as he turns his critical eye on himself, his home, and family and tries to make sense of our weird and sometimes scary world. Louis details his experiences of lockdown, and explores the behind-the-scenes of some of his biggest stories. He describes his dealings with Joe Exotic, discusses his Grounded podcast, jumps back into the world of militias and conspiracy theorists as he catches up with past interviewees and more. $35,PB

My Body by Emily Ratajkowski

Rocketing to world fame at age twenty-one, Ratajkowski sparked both praise and furor with the provocative display of her body as an unapologetic statement of feminist empowerment.

My Body is a personal exploration of feminism, sexuality, and power, of men’s treatment of women and women’s rationalizations for accepting that treatment. $33,PB

The Gauguin Atlas

Nienke Denekamp (Yale University Press) 2019 ($30, HB) The peripatetic life of French artist and traveller, Paul Gauguin (18481903). Presented in a strikingly unique format. Maps, letters, photographs, stamps, postcards – even steamship tickets - and Gauguin’s vibrant artwork are all clearly and cleverly arranged along a chronological timeline tracing his life and travels. So eye-catchingly creative, handsomely presented with all manner of collected ephemera.

An illuminating text to accompany it all. It also serves as one of the best, most entertaining biographies of Gauguin that you will read.

Illustrated boards, illustrated endpapers, 179pp., b/w and colour illustrations, chronology, maps, family tree, bibliography. Translated

by Laura Watkinson. Fine.

5

Crime Fiction Canticle Creek by Adrian Hyland

When Adam Lawson’s wrecked car is found a kilometre from Daisy Baker’s body, the whole town assumes it’s an open and shut case. But Jesse Redpath isn’t from Canticle Creek. Where she comes from, the truth often hides in plain sight, but only if you know where to look. When Jesse starts to ask awkward questions, she uncovers a town full of contradictions and a cast of characters with dark pasts, secrets to hide and even more to lose. $33,PB

The Way It Is Now by Gary Disher

Charlie is living in his family’s holiday shack, on forced leave since he made a mess of things at work. Things have never been easy for Charlie. Twenty years earlier his mother went missing in the area, believed murdered. His father has always been the main suspect, though her body was never found. Until now- the foundations are being dug for a new house on a vacant block. The skeletal remains of a child and an adult are found-and Charlie’s past comes crashing in on him. $28,PB

Crocodile Tears by Alan Carter

Detective Philip ‘Cato’ Kwong is investigating the death of a retiree found hacked to pieces in his surburban Perth home. The trail leads to Timor-Leste, with its recent blood-soaked history. There, he reunites with an old frenemy, the spook Rory Driscoll who, in Cato’s experience, has always occupied a hazy moral terrain.

Now Rory needs to chaperone a motley group of whistleblowers with a price on their heads. And there’s one on his, too. $33,PB

Death on the Trans-Siberian Express by CJ Farrington Welcome to Roslazny - a sleepy Russian town where intrigue and murder combine to disturb the icy silence. Olga Pushkin, Railway Engineer (Third Class) and would-be bestselling author, spends her days in a little rail-side hut with only Dmitri the hedgehog for company. But Roslazny doesn’t stay sleepy for long. Poison-pen letters, a small-town crime wave, and persistent rumours of a Baba Yaga - a murderous witch hiding in the frozen depths of the Russian taiga - combine to disturb the icy silence. $33,PB

Murder Isn’t Easy by Carla Valentine

While other children were devouring the works of Enid Blyton and Beatrix Potter, Carla Valentine was poring through the pages of Agatha Christie novels - and that early fascination lead to her job as a pathology technician working in mortuaries and trained in forensics. Nearly every Agatha Christie story involves at least one dead body, and for a young Carla these stories and these bodies were perfect puzzles. $33,PB

Game on by Janet Evanovich

When Stephanie Plum is woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of footsteps in her apartment, she wishes she didn’t keep her gun in the cookie jar in her kitchen. And when she finds out the intruder is fellow apprehension agent Diesel, six feet of hard muscle and bad attitude whom she hasn’t seen in more than two years, she still thinks the gun might come in handy. Turns out Diesel and Stephanie are on the trail of the same fugitive: Oswald Wednesday, an international computer hacker as brilliant as he is ruthless. $33,PB

The Hideout by Camilla Grebe

When 18-year old Samuel finds himself at the centre of a drug deal gone wrong, he is forced to go underground to escape the police and an infamous drug lord. Seeking refuge in a sleepy town in the Stockholm archipelago, he takes a job as a personal assistant to a disabled boy. Meanwhile, the bodies of young men have been washing ashore in the archipelago and investigator Manfred Olsson fears that they have a killer on the loose. $30,PB

The Hush by Sara Foster

Lainey’s friend Ellis is missing. And she’s not the only one..In the six months since the first case of a terrifying new epidemic - when a healthy baby wouldn’t take a breath at birth - the country has been thrown into turmoil. The government has passed sweeping new laws to monitor all citizens. And several young pregnant women have vanished without trace. $33,PB

6

Bruno’s Challenge & Other Dordogne Tales

by Martin Walker

A bumper collection of delightful stories featuring Bruno, Chief of Police and France’s favourite cop, all set in the beautiful Dordogne valley and the ravishing Perigord region of the south west of France. With titles like ‘The Chocolate War’; ‘The Birthday Lunch’; ‘Oystercatcher’; ‘A Market Tale’ and ‘Fifty Million Bubbles’, you may be sure that champagne and gastronomy will feature! $33,PB

The Second Woman by Louise Mey

Sandrine lives alone, rarely speaking to anyone other than her colleagues. She is resigned to her solitary life, until she sees on TV a man despairing for his wife who has mysteriously disappeared. Sandrine is drawn to him and eventually the two strike up a relationship. When the man’s wife reappears, Sandrine is forced to confront the truth about him. $28,PB

Dolphin Junction by Mick Herron

When a wife leaves her husband under suspicious circumstances, he sets off in search for her, unprepared for the guilty secrets he’s about to drag back into the light.. A couple go on a hike through the Derbyshire countryside, to ignore the fact their marriage is on the rocks. And there is a peek into the past of Jackson Lamb, the boss of Slough House, as well as stories featuring the shrewd detective Zoe Boehm and her hapless partner Joe Silvermann. $30,PB

culture + communication Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: The Story of Schitt’s Creek by Daniel Levy This beautifully produced, lavishly illustrated book is the ultimate celebration of the series, the town, the characters, and the state of mind that is Schitt’s Creek. Included are character profiles, major moments and special features (like illustrated catalogs of David’s knits and Moira’s wigs), and behind-thescenes moments from Dan and Eugene Levy and the cast of Schitt’s Creek. $40,HB

Writing in the Sand by Matt Garrick

The epic story of one of Australia’s most original bands and how ‘Treaty’ gave voice to Indigenous Australia’s hard-fought struggle for recognition. Featuring photos from the band’s archives never previously published, the book is based on extensive interviews with current and former band members, including mainstays Witiyana Marika, Stu Kellaway and Jodie Cockatoo, as well as family members such as Yalmay Yunupiu, Mandawuy’s widow, and collaborators. $40,HC

The Art of Communicating by Thich Nhat Hanh How do we say what we truly mean? Celebrated Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh shares the five steps to truly mindful communication. Drawing on his experience working with couples, families, colleagues and even on international conflict, the world’s most famous monk has created a simple guide to communicating with yourself, others and the world. $28, PB

The Importance of Being Interested: Adventures in Scientific Curiosity by Robin Ince

Comedian Robin Ince quickly abandoned science at school, bored. Twenty years later he now presents one of the world’s most popular science podcasts. Here, Robin reveals why scientific wonder isn’t just for the professionals. Filled with interviews featuring astronauts, comedians, teachers, quantum physicists, neuroscientists and more. $33,PB

History, Environment + Health The Ruin of All Witches: Life & Death in the New World by Malcolm Gaskill The Ruin of All Witches tells the dark, real-life folktale of witchhunting in a remote Massachusetts plantation. These were the turbulent beginnings of colonial America, when English settlers’ dreams of love and liberty, of founding a ‘city on a hill’, gave way to paranoia and terror, enmity and rage.$45,HB

Gum: The story of eucalypts & their champions by Ashley Hay

Scrawny or majestic, smooth as pearl or rough as guts, eucalypts have defined a continent for millennia, and shaped the possibilities and imaginations of those who live among them. Eucalypts have fuelled this country’s mighty fires as readily as they’ve fuelled so many arguments about the ways they might be thought of – and yet they are as vulnerable as any other organism to the disruptions and threats of climate change. $30,PB

Flight of the Budgerigar: An Illustrated History

by Penny Olsen

The Budgerigar is arguably Australia’s best-known bird. Yet, it is so ubiquitous that not everyone knows that it is Australian, or that the multicoloured bird that comes to mind is as different from the original as a chihuahua from a wolf. Taking the reader from the Dreamtime to the colonial live bird trade, the competitive culture of the showroom and today’s thriving wild flocks, this is the authoritative history of the Budgerigar, written by respected ornithologist Dr Penny Olsen, and illustrated in full colour. $40, PB

Girt Nation: The Unauthorised History of Australia Volume 3 by David Hunt

The saga of Australia continues as Hunt charts Australia’s transformation from aspiration to nation. Thrill as Jandamarra leads the Bunuba against Western Australia. Gasp as Essendon Football Club trainer Carl von Ledebur injects his charges with crushed dog and goat testicles. And marvel at how Labor, a political party that spent a quarter of a century infighting over how to spell its own name, ever rose to power. $30,PB

Fire, Storm & Flood: the Violence of Climate Change by James Dyke

For most of the preceeding 78,000 years Homo sapiens simply observed natural climate upheaval. One hundred years ago, however, industrialization stunningly changed the rules, so that now most climate change is driven by us. Here is an unflinching photographic record of the epic effects of a violent climate, from the earliest extinction events to the present, in which we witness climate chaos forced by unnatural global warming $50,HC

Sick Money: The Truth About the Global Pharmaceutical Industry by Billy Kenber The pharmaceutical industry is broken. From the American hedge fund manager who put the price of an AIDS pill up from $13.50 to $750 overnight to the children’s cancer drugs left intentionally to expire in a Spanish warehouse, the signs are all around. A system that was designed to drive innovation and patient care has been co-opted to drive profit. Sick Money offers a diagnosis of an industry in crisis and a prescription for how we can fight back. $30,PB

Domina: The Women Who Made Imperial Rome by Guy De La Bedoyer

A popular history that shines a light on the notorious JulioClaudian women who forged an empire Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero—these are the names history associates with the early Roman Empire. Yet, not a single one of these emperors was the blood son of his predecessor. Eminent scholar Guy de la Bédoyère, author of Praetorian, asserts that the women behind the scenes— including Livia, Octavia, and the elder and younger Agrippina—were the true backbone of the dynasty. $34.95,PB

Another Day in the Colony by Chelsea Watego

In this collection of essays, Chelsea Watego examines the ongoing and daily racism faced by First Nations peoples in so-called Australia. Drawing on her own experiences and observations of the operations of the colony, she exposes the lies that settlers tell about Indigenous people. In refusing such stories, Chelsea narrates her own- fierce, personal, sometimes funny, sometimes anguished. $37, PB

Lost Paradise: the Story of Granada by Elizabeth Drayson

Granada is the stuff of story and legend, with an unforgettable history to match. In this, the first narrative history of Granada for English-speaking readers, Elizabeth Drayson takes the reader on a voyage of discovery that uncovers the many-layered past of Spain’s most complex and fascinating city, celebrating and exploring its evolving identity. $65,HB

Twelve Caesars: Images of Power from the Ancient World to the Modern by Mary Beard

Against a background of today’s “sculpture wars”, Mary Beard tells the story of how for more than two millennia portraits of the rich, powerful, and famous in the western world have been shaped by the image of Roman emperors, especially the “Twelve Caesars,” from the ruthless Julius Caesar to the fly-torturing Domitian. $50,HC

You’re Doing it Wrong: A History of Bad & Bonkers Advice to Women by Kaz Cooke Frolic through centuries of terrible advice, from 14thcentury clergy to the Kardashians. You’re Doing It Wrong examines what we’re told to do (change shape, shoosh, do all the housework), and what we’re not supposed to do (frown, have pockets, lead a country). $30,PB

Wild Souls: Freedom & Flourishing in the Non-Human World by Emma Marris Protecting wild animals and preserving the environment are two ideals so seemingly compatible as to be almost inseparable. But in fact, between animal welfare and conservation science there exists a space of underexamined and unresolved tension- wildness itself. A companionable tour of the philosophical ideas that may steer our search for sustainability and justice in the non-human world. $40,HB

Country: Future Fire, Future Farming by Bill Gammage/Bruce Pascoe Bill Gammage and Bruce Pascoe demonstrate how the First Australians farmed and stored food and employed complex seasonal fire programs that protected Country and animals alike - avoiding the killer fires that we fear today. This book details the remarkable agricultural and land-care techniques of First Nations peoples and shows how such practices are needed

now more than ever. $22,PB

Being a Human: Adventures in 40,000 Years of Consciousness by Charles Foster

In Being a Human Charles Foster sets out to understand what a human is, inhabiting the sensory worlds of humans at three pivotal moments in our history: the deep expanse of time when we understood ourselves as hunter-gatherers, the Neolithic and finally the Enlightenment, when we decided that the universe was a machine and we were soulless cogs within it. $35,HB

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booksfor for kikids ds to young adultsadults books to young for the very young

picture books

Art for Baby ($30, HB) These twelve high contrast images of works by famous contemporary artists will introduce bub to art as they start to see the world. Includes pieces by Damien Hirst, Bridget Riley, Gary Hume, and Takashi Murakami.

Minty Mae Gray & the Strangely Good Day by Fifi Box ($20, HB) Led by her lovable, pink-spotted unicorn friend, Minty sets off on a magical journey through some of history’s greatest works of art. She comes to realise that true beauty comes from the inside, and that she’s perfect just the way she is.

The Queen in the Cave by Julia Sarda ($28, HB) Júlia Sardà spins an enthralling and mysterious modern fairytale in this debut. France has a dream about a marvelous queen in a dark cave deep in the forest...so she in search of her.

picture books

My First Book of House Plants (ill) Asa Gilland ($13, Board Book) This is a beautiful introduction to the world of houseplants for babies and toddlers, helping them to develop a connection with the natural world.

Inside the Suitcase by Clotilde Perin ($30, HB) A magical lift-the-flaps adventure—part puzzle, part fairy tale—where the boy’s suitcase full of tricks and treasures is the key to getting him home.

6 to 8

Jacqueline: A Soldier’s Daugher by Pierre-Jacques Ober & Jules Ober ($34.95, HB) An only child, Jacqueline always dreamt of having a sister. Amid the turmoil of a world at war when the adults have seemingly gone mad, she embarks on a perilous journey and ultimately finds a sister in a most unexpected way. A new book by creators of the CBCA shortlisted title, The Good Son.

8 to 12

Worst Week Ever! Monday by Eva Amores & Matt Cosgrove ($16, PB) Justin Chase’s mum has just married a vampire. His dad is driving a giant toilet on wheels. His cat has probably been abducted by aliens. And right now, he’s hanging off the edge of a 10-metre high diving tower in front of his entire class, wearing nothing but rapidly disappearing crocheted swimmers.

And it’s only... MONDAY!

The Summer I robbed a Bank by David O’Doherty ($15, PB) Rex’s parents have split up and, to make matters worse, he has to spend his summer holiday on a remote and rainy Irish island, where his strange and brilliant uncle will require Rex’s help ... to rob a bank and redistribute the wealth!

When the Siren Wailed by Noel Streatfeild ($20, HB) From the author of Ballet Shoes comes this moving adventure story about child evacuees from London in World War Two. Based on the author’s own experience, it’s aimed at any child interested in wartime and classic adventure stories.

The Underdogs 2: Fake it Till They Make it

by Kate & Jol Temple ($13, PB) Detective Barkley (a dog) and Detective Fang (a cat) are cleaning up the mean streets of Dogtown one crime at a time! So when Puplo Picasso’s masterpieces are swapped with pawfect imitations, it’s up to The Underdogs to catch the culprit.

guest reviews

Ask Hercules Quick

The Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer When twins Alex and Connor Bailey are transported to the magical Land of Stories, where fairytales are real, they know they must somehow find a way home. I love all these books - they tell of a thrilling adventure, full of wit, warmth and humour.

By Eilie, aged 10

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fiction

Ursula by Dubosarsky (ill) Andrew ($20, RealbyPigeons Andrew McDonald andJoyner Ben Wood HB)) I love the Real Pigeons books because they are really Desperately wanting the box of magic tricks he saw in a shop, funny and silly and smart and cool. They are pretty Hercules is faced with a problem: no moor, dapper octopus easyProfessor to readCalamari, and each is in three thebook multitudinous Elkparts. family, Queen TheClaude, pictures are really good too.

I really, Sylvie, and Mike and Herbert! Lynndyreally hope I get the new one for Christmas!

By Luka, aged 8

nonfiction

Aliens & Other Worlds: True Tales from our solar system & beyond by Lisa Harvey-Smith ($30, HB) Are there living beings on planets beyond our solar system? If they are out there, what might these aliens look like? Revealing the wonders of scientific inquiry, astrophysicist and best-selling author Lisa Harvey-Smith guides Earthlings young and old through our search for alien life.

The Book for Happy Hearts by Maggie Hutchings & Jess Racklyeft ($35, HB) This joyful, uplifting and hope-filled treasury from Maggie Hutchings and Jess Racklyeft is packed with stories, poems and activities to inspire, cherish and share.

What do you do to Celebrate?

Ashleigh Barton & Martina Heiduczek ($20, HB) ‘In every corner of the globe, as years begin and end, there are many ways to celebrate with family and friends.’

From bestselling duo Ashleigh Barton and Martina Heiduczek comes a joyous book that explores the festivities and traditions from all around the world.

teen fiction

Hometown Haunts #LoveOzYA Horror Tales edited by Poppy Nwosu ($24.95, PB) This #LoveOzYA anthology - the first to focus entirely on horror - unites a stellar cast of Australia’s finest YA authors with talented new and emerging voices, including two graphic artists. The stories in this wideranging collection dig deep and go hard.

While some are straight-up terrifying rollercoaster rides, others are psychologically rooted in our society’s deepest fears and concerns: acceptance and fitting in, love and loss, desire and temptation, and the terror of a world threatened by catastrophic change ... and even collapse.

It’s Not You, It’s Me by Gabrielle Williams ($20, PB) Holly Fitzgerald has inexplicably woken up inside the body of an LA teenager called Trinity Byrne in 1980 - trapping Trinity in Holly’s forty-year-old body back in Melbourne, 2020.

Mind. Officially. Blown. A highly original soul-swap story from the critically acclaimed author of My Life as a Hashtag.

best books of 2021

From Rachel: Favourite picture book: I am The Subway by Kim Hyo-eun A cinematic journey across Seoul told from the perspective of the subway. The illustrations are divine (it also won the World Illustration award for 2021) and the story swaps between gorgeous prose and poetry making it a lovely celebration of Seoul and it’s people. Suitable for absolutely everyone!

Favourite middle grade: Right Way To Rock by Nat Amoore.

Never have I experienced a more satisfying end to a series, there were fist pumps galore as all the wonderful characters from the last 2 books come together to celebrate an awesome community of cool kids. This can be read as a stand alone, but there are so many rewards for those who have read all 3 books. Nat is a brilliant writer for kids, she manages to squeeze all the good stuff in there: diversity, ethics, environment, the arts, social inequality but not in a cheesy way. She writes beautifully, is absolutely hilarious and has the mind of a child which makes it the perfect series for all ages and all abilities. Read it aloud, read it by yourself, just read it!...because it really is magnificent.

Favourite YA: Waking Romeo by Kathryn Barker T h i s was my surprise favourite of 2021 because a time travelling mash up of Romeo and Juliet and Wuthering Heights was so far removed from my usual reading habits..but this was just fabulous. Pacy and so well plotted that even though it was a complete mind boggle, I was hooked the entire time. A favourite amongst our year 9/10 bookclubbers, it has been an amazing year for wonderful Australian YA releases so to be at the top of this list is really quite something. Adult readers will love it too.

- Rachel From Elissa: What a year for books! So many amazing kids’ titles have arrived in store this year it’s almost impossible to pick a favourite... so I didn’t! I picked 2! Let’s Eat Weeds by Annie Raser-Rowland & Adam Grubb is an amazing (Aussie!) title about safe foraging for kids. An exciting way to liven up those lockdown walks & encourage a love of nature with a dash of cooking and science as well! Filled with excellent illustrations by Evie Barrow. Great for parents too! The Boy From the Mish by Gary Lonesborough. A story, a book, a voice we’ve been waiting for. Gosh, just go read it. Honourable mentions go to: Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket & The Curiosities by Zana Fraillon & Phil Lesnie.

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Staff favourites for the year Intimacies by Katie Kitamura for me! A masterful existential thriller from an author at the top of her game - menacing and moving in equal measure. Zak I loved Intimacies by Katie Kitamura, a short, intense novel about an interpreter in the Hague, translating for an African dictator being tried for crimes against humanity. At the same time she is negotiating a new relationship, so the novel delves into several levels of intimacy. Quite brilliant. I also admired Animal by Lisa Taddeo for being totally out there and was confronted and excited by Jennifer Mills’ Bodies of Light. Morgan

Klara & the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro A profound and insightful exploration of what it is to be human, the nature of the heart and of the soul. It is a highly original work that will stay with you long after you turn the last page. Tiffany Hands down Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro was my favourite this year. I was flabbergasted that the story of the selflessness of an ‘artificial intelligence’ designed to take care of a vulnerable teen would be so utterly affecting. I also have to cite A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam. I think it is a flawed book but its long final chapter is profoundly moving and utterly perfect. Andrew

For fiction - Maggie Shipstead’s Great Circle. Pioneering aviatrix Marian Graves attempts to become the first person to fly a great circle intersecting both North and South Poles in 1950. Her plane disappears in the Antarctic. Decades later, her journal is discovered, wrapped in a life-preserver.

This epic, scenic novel covers Marian’s unfettered life story, early-20th-century aviation, the Great Depression and the Second World War. A cyclical, parallel contemporary narrative, is told by Hollywood starlet Hadley Baxter, who is trying to revive her career by playing Marian in a biopic. For non-fiction, Miriam Margolyes – This Much is True A simply wonderful, conversational memoir. This was perfect lockdown reading. The famed Ms. Margolyes recounts her upbringing, acting career (highs and lows) and personal life (ditto) in (often) extremely candid, irrepressible and hilarious matter-of-fact-fashion. She’s still going strong at eighty: “If my work has entertained people, that makes me happy.” Stephen

The Sweetest Fruits by Monique Truong.

Victorian-era horror author Lafcadio Hearn’s globe-trotting life is revealed in exquisite detail by the women who knew him best. Monique Truong, in this multi-voiced novel, allows us to hear the stories of these women whose lives would otherwise be lost to history. Nick

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The Brilliant Boy: Doc Evatt and the great Australian Dissent by Gideon Haigh. This fascinating, clever and enlightening view of the most remarkable judicial figure in our history has stayed with me. Neither biography nor critique as such, but rather a rich and penetrating insight into the detail and lasting impact of Evatt’s High Court judgements.

An original and valuable contribution to the understanding of our history. David It was a hard choice, but I have decided my favourite book this year is Still Life by Sarah Winman. A beautiful story set in both Florence and London after WWII, about love, history and hope. I loved all the characters and didn’t want the book to end. Victoria Still Life A fantastic family epic through postwar Italy that I became totally immersed in. Kay Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy. This novel takes on the deep green concept of “rewilding” as the only to restore true bio-diversity, by returning apex predators to the food chain. It weaves a riveting tale of a clash of wills in a small highland farming community. Sally

The Airways by Jennifer Mills is a shimmering exploration of violence, dislocation, the nature of memory, reality, life and death, interrogating the complicated relationship between the self and the body, a novel that will haunt you long after you finish reading it. Jody Press Reset by Jason Schreier. Whether you’re a gamer or not, Jason Schreier offers a compelling insight into the challenges of the video game industry. After exposing crunch culture in Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, Schreier turns his pen to the human cost when games companies shut down, the conflict between creativity and commerce, and asks how studios can better protect their creatives. A thoroughly enjoyable deep dive.

James The Magician, Colm Toibin’s fictionalised ‘biography’ of Thomas Mann brilliantly conjures the complex personality and turbulent times of Germany’s greatest novelist of the last century. At once a sweeping family drama and a wonderful meditation on the art of writing. Scott Milk Fed by Melissa Broder. A lesbian love affair with potentially mythic origins, Broder delivers a sharp, sardonic, and tasty tale of overcoming trauma. Ange

The Well Gardened Mind by Sue Stuart-Smith.

Gardening is really good for dealing with some of those bigger things that are happening around us, as explained by the author, psychiatrist and avid gardener Stuart-Smith. We are encouraged to reflect upon the importance of nature and the act of just simply ‘being” rather than always ‘doing’ which was certainly the case throughout lockdown this year. Tam My pick of the year is The Believer by Sarah Krasnostein — a lyrical and deeply moving book about faith, belief, and the many ways in which humans try to connect with each other and make sense of the world, written with Krasnostein’s trademark empathy and compassion. Drew

The Hummingbird by Sandro Veronesi, newly translated from the Italian by Elena Pala.

It has a very Italian sensibility & sophistication for me. The family saga moves about a lot, but is held together by a master storyteller. The central character, Marco, is revealed by his deeds, more than by his words. There is a lovely sense of getting to know this man as he moves towards true humility. He became someone I would love to have met. I enjoyed the novel as it unfolded, & gained even more in later contemplation. Judith The Hummingbird by Sandro Veronesi. Sophisticated European fiction always pulls me in. What a pleasure when insight into the human condition is matched with the ability to articulate it well. I am of course not alone in delighting in this assured, profound, and ultimately uplifting novel. David M

The Employees by Olga Ravn. This philosophical novel makes the reader piece its strange story together from a series of anonymous interview statements given by the titular employees—sometimes giving more and sometimes less information, but always evoking some yearning that is subtly destabilising them. Ravn presents the familiar juxtaposition of androids and humans, but adds organic objects that sit in a third position— somehow both inanimate and sentient, like a rock that is a slimy animal—to talk about the fluidity of bodies, a certain transhuman horizon, and the ways bodies merge emotion, memory, sense and place. Nominated for the International Booker Prize 2021. Jonathon Luckily, in April, when I read Louis MacNiece’s lively, wonderful, Autumn Journal, I also discovered an audio recording by English actor, Samuel West. Both have been essential companions in a year when I often doubted the following lines would ever find their place again: Now we are back to normal, now the mind is back to the even tenor of the usual day, skidding no longer across the uneasy camber of the nightmare way. We are safe… Jack

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak. A story set between London and Cyprus. For me it is a story of roots, loss, displacement and belonging. A magic tree, secrets and journeys that stayed with me way after reading. And a spotlight on political events shaping people’s lives. Loved it. Anna Robby Muller: Polaroids - Flora Robby Muller was a dutch cinematographer. A longtime collaborator of Wim Wenders and Jim Jarmush, his work was renowned for its evocative use of low light and distinct composition and this aesthetic translates to the many Polaroids he took since 1973. There are several recurring motifs, of which nature forms a significant amount. In this book we see a painterly quality to the pictures of flowers and translucent petals, trees and impossibly captured close-ups of butterflies. But always the light - making each photo feel like you’re looking at a jewel.

Tatjana Alice Pung’s One Hundred Days A beautifully written exploration of motherhood and the warped way that love manifests itself.

Suitable for older teens as well. This was a powerful read, sometimes claustrophobic but a complete standout for what was a year of amazing releases. Rachel I was going to write about two post-covid thrillers: The Last Woman in the World by Inga Simpson & The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny, as both will keep you turning the pages late through the night. However, my book of the year is Cezanne: Drawing, published by MOMA for their exhibition earlier in the year.

The sheer joy of seeing these drawings and watercolours is not to be missed. Ingrid Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe I was not actually sure I wanted to read this when I first picked it up, another book sure to fuel my deep antipathy towards...well a lot of things really but Keefe (a staff writer for the New Yorker) manages to make the history of the opioid crisis in America incredibly gripping & highly readable.

Maija I ‘discovered’ Allan Gurganus this year. His latest, The Uncollected Stories, was a reminder to me of why I love reading. His southern lilt infused sentences are a joy to read. I carried the book around the shop insisting people read this paragraph or that, and have since gone back to his previous work, other short story collections and his magnificent door stopper, Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All. Favourites all. Viki

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gleaner

is a publication of Gleebooks Pty. Ltd. 49 Glebe Point Rd, (P.O. Box 486) Glebe NSW 2037 Ph: (02) 9660 2333 Fax: (02) 9660 3597 books@gleebooks.com.au

The gleebooks gleaner is published monthly from February to November with contributions by staff, invited readers & writers.

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OCTOBER’S BEST SELLERS Fiction Beautiful World, Where Are you - Sally Rooney Crossroads - Jonathan Franzen Apples Never Fall - Liane Moriarty Cloud Cuckoo Land - Anthony Doerr The Magician - Colm Toibin The Lincoln Highway - Amor Towles Man Who Died Twice - Richard Osman Scary Monsters - Michelle De Kretser Love and Virtue - Diana Reid Bewilderment - Richard Powers Non Fiction Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love - Yotam Ottolenghi Whole Notes - Ed Ayres Well Hello: Meanderings from the world of Chat 10 Looks 3 - Annabel Crabb/Leigh Sales Luminous Solution - Charlotte Wood Storyteller - Dave Grohl Home - Stephanie Alexander Dateline Jerusalem - John Lyons

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The other last word Well, I don’t have to tell you what a year it’s been. Regardless of where you are and what you do, you’ll have been impacted, as we have, by COVID and its consequences.

It has certainly dominated our year, and the fallout around the availability of books, print runs and print queues just adds to the fun. The response from any customer who’s been told that their overseas published books should be here in 14-16 weeks (because that’s how long sea freight/ customs clearance/internal freight and all the attendant logistics around the process entails) is, quite often, disbelief.

Although of course it’s pretty much what we told people for the first 25 years we operated. So, let’s hope that (a) air freight, (b) fast turnaround local print runs, and (c) a return to an efficient supply chain are early Christmas presents for booksellers and book buyers.

In the meantime, thank you all again, for your wonderful support through this annus horribilis. It’s always important to acknowledge you at this since we simply wouldn’t be here without you. And for our hardworking staff who have endured the risks and difficulties of COVID “bookselling behind doors”, it is an enormous relief, and pleasure, to welcome everyone back to our shops, not least so we can all talk about books again.

Gleebooks has been blessed to have some of the most gifted and committed booksellers in the country, since we opened in 1975. Many have stayed for decades. Just in the last two years, we have farewelled Lynndy, Louise and David May, who contributed a combined 77 years of brilliant service. And this month, (sob), we have said farewell to Viki. She has been here some 32 years, the last 15 of them as editor of the Gleaner, and the writer of this column.

On behalf of Gleebooks I can simply acknowledge what a magnificent job she has done, and pay tribute to the huge effort she put into making this newsletter a publication we are all proud of. The only upside in her leaving is the promise she’s given to continue to share her thoughts about that wonderfully eclectic range of books that she so voraciously devours.

Leaping into Waterfalls - Bernadette Brennan

So thanks to those who helped steer the last makeshift Gleaner of the year into being, and again to Viki for making

This Much is True - Miriam Margolyes

it all possible for so many years.

Firestorm - Greg Mullins

- David

Main shop—49 Glebe Pt Rd; Ph: (02) 9660 2333, Fax: (02) 9660 9842. Open 7 days, Mon-Sat 9am to 6pm, Sun 10am-5pm Sydney Theatre Shop—22 Hickson Rd Walsh Bay; Open two hours before and until after every performance Blackheath—Shop 1 Collier’s Arcade, Govetts Leap Rd; Ph: (02) 4787 6340. Open 7 days, 9am to 5pm Blackheath Oldbooks—Collier’s Arcade, Govetts Leap Rd: Open 7 days 10am to 5pm Dulwich Hill—536 Marrickville Rd Dulwich Hill; Ph: (02) 9560 0660. Open 7 days, Mon 9-5pm, Tue–Fri 9am to 6pm; Sat 9 to 5, Sun 9-4pm www.gleebooks.com.au. Email: books@gleebooks.com.au; oldbooks@gleebooks.com.au

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