Popular Australian novelist Cathryn Hein, author of Rocking Horse Hill, Heartland and more gives her verdict on the books she’s been reading. I had a slow reading month and didn’t get as many books read as I would have liked, but those I did read were excellent. Some made me cry. Always good! Unless it’s on public transport… Here’s what I’ve read this month: Marina by Carlos Ruiz Za... Read more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT6ohRweRfU[/ Little Failure A Memoir by Gary Shteyngart Gary Shteyngart‘s loving but mismatched parents dreamed that he would become a lawyer, or at least an accountant, something their distracted son was simply not cut out to do. Fusing English and Russian, his mother created the term Failurchka-‘Little Failure’-which she applied to her son. W... Read more

Far from the Tree by Andrew Solomon Sometimes your child – the most familiar person of all – is radically different from you. The saying goes that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. But what happens when it does? In this seminal new study of family, Andrew Solomon tells the stories of parents who learn to deal with their exceptional children and find profound meaning in doing so. H... Read more

Raffaella Barker is an established English writer whose latest novel From a Distance tells an engaging, heart-warming story commencing with war weary and battle scarred young soldier Michael finally returning to England from the Far East in the spring of 1946. Instead of heading north to see his parents and fiancée, he heads south to Cornwall with no set plan other than to find a way disconnect... Read more

But for an accident of history, we would know very little about Charles Bavier. The chance delivery of his papers to the journalist Hamish McDonald saved him from oblivion. Even then, it was only after 20 years research that McDonald was able to shed more light on this extraordinary figure. Born in Japan to a Swiss merchant and his lover in about 1888, Bavier was promptly deserted by his father... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Laurell K. Hamilton author of Anita Blake series, the Meredith Gentry series and more Ten Terrifying Questions ____________ 1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled? I was born in Arkansas, and my first home was in the mountains, but my memories of childhood are of flat Indiana farmland. I knew ... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Jo Riccioni author of The Italians at Cleat’s Corner Store Ten Terrifying Questions ____________ 1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled? I was born and raised in Northamptonshire – don’t worry, most of England doesn’t know where it is either (somewhere on the M1, north of Watford?). My I... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Christina Baker Kline author of Orphan Train, Bird in Hand and more Ten Terrifying Questions ____________ 1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled? I was born in Cambridge, England.  My father was a country boy from the red clay hills of Georgia, the first person in his entire family tree to go ... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks David Mackintosh author of Lucky, Marshall Armstrong is New to Our School and more Ten Terrifying Questions ____________ 1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled? I was born in Belfast NI, but left there before I was one year old. I grew up in Brisbane, and went to Griffith University to do a ba... Read more

The Winners of High Tea with Rachael Johns at The Tea Cosy, The Rocks NSW: C.Walters, Berkeley Vale, NSW K.Donkin, Baulkham Hills,NSW S.Dawson, Corrimal, NSW V.Collins, North Richmond, NSW C. Stevens, Flinders, NSW Outback Blaze by Rachael Jones *For a limited time only, order Outback Blaze and you will receive a signed copy. Hurry, stocks won’t last! Ruby wasn’t looking for love, D... Read more