To celebrate our Favourite Australian Book Award (have you voted yet?), we’re getting each of our talented book buyers on the blog to talk about their area of expertise – what their favourite books were, what the big trends were, who were the breakout authors and which books became surprise bestsellers.
Today’s post is from Shanulisa Prasad, our lifestyle category manager. Read on!
As the lifestyle books category manager here at Booktopia, I find that the titles I manage reveal lots of interesting things to me about Australian readers – the hobbies they pick up, what kind of food they like to cook, what makes them laugh, and so on.
So, based on the books that became big and the trends that made their mark on 2019, as well as the books that I personally loved, here are my 2019 FAB Award picks. Read on!
I learnt that … we love to laugh at ourselves!
488 Rules for Life
by Kitty Flanagan
488 Rules for Life is not a self-help book, because it’s not you who needs help, it’s other people. Whether they’re walking and texting, asphyxiating you on public transport with their noxious perfume cloud, or leaving one useless square of toilet paper on the roll, a lot of people just don’t know the rules …
Buy it here
Sh*t Towns of Australia
by Rick Furphy and Geoff Rissole
From dusty desert sh*tholes to free-range bogan breeding grounds, to the bin-chicken playgrounds of our megacities, Sh*t Towns of Australia is a guide to the concrete, fibro and methamphetamine wastelands that we like to call home.
Buy it here
I learnt that … we eat healthily, but also don’t mind indulging in the sweeter things from time to time
Eat More Vegan
by Luke Hines
Regardless of your food philosophy, we can all agree that we need to eat more plants and in Eat More Vegan Luke Hines shares nutritious recipes that are packed with flavour and full of vibrant colour. This book is a celebration of amazing, generous and abundant vegan food – real food, there’s not a packet ingredient in sight!
Buy it here
Bake Australia Great
by Katherine Sabbath
This mad-cap collection of edible Australiana will win over anyone with a love for the land of the Great Barrier Reef, Sydney Opera House and Big Banana. Style maven Katherine Sabbath’s deliciously witty cakes range from kitsch and cute, to stylish and sophisticated.
Buy it here
I learnt that … we expanded our culinary horizons
The Whole Fish Cookbook
by Josh Niland
We all want to eat more fish, but who wants to bother spending the time, effort and money cooking that same old salmon fillet on repeat when you could be trying something new and utterly delicious? In The Whole Fish Cookbook, Sydney’s groundbreaking seafood chef Josh Niland reveals a completely new way to think about all aspects of fish cookery.
Buy it here
Warndu Mai (Good Food)
by Rebecca Sullivan and Damien Coulthard
This gorgeous illustrated, informative and contemporary cookbook and compendium of native foods will show you how to create truly Australian food and drinks at home. With a few small adjustments and a little experimentation you can prepare delicious food that is better for the Australian environment, is more sustainable and celebrates the amazing ingredients that are truly local.
Buy it here
Finally, I learnt that … we wanted to slow down and enjoy the small pleasures in life!
The Commons
by Matthew Evans
In The Commons, a book inspired by the hit SBS television show Gourmet Farmer, Matthew Evans captures Fat Pig Farm’s year of growing, cooking and feasting. It’s part how-to, part evocative diary, part cookbook (with more than 100 recipes).
Buy it here
A Basket by the Door
by Sophie Hansen
A Basket by the Door is about fostering connection, community and good old-fashioned country hospitality as much as it is about recipes and the food that brings us together to eat. There are chapters with ideas on what to cook for friends or family who are mid-house move, busy with a newborn baby, celebrating a milestone or who just need a little love.
Buy it here
A Tree in the House
by Annabelle Hickson
A Tree in the House is part guide for the aspiring home florist, and part celebration of rural life in sync with nature. Annabelle Hickson provides stunning ideas and instructions for flower installations and arrangements, covering beautiful, seasonal bouquets, flowers for friends, table and overhead arrangements and flower arrangements for special occasions.
Buy it here
Small Garden Design
by Paul Bangay
In Small Garden Design, Paul Bangay applies his 25 years of experience with gardens of all sizes to reveal how best to structure, design and choose plants for small spaces.
Buy it here
Vote for your Favourite Australian Book of 2019 – voting MUST close midnight, Friday 31st January!
The 2020 ABIA winners are here! 
Announcing the 2019 Favourite Australian Book Award winner! 
LISTEN: Kitty Flanagan on 488 Rules for Life
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