Book Recommendations Archives

This week’s Book Trailer of the Week goes to Half Bad by Sally Green. Intense, mysterious, gripping, our own Sarah McDuling reviewed Half Bad recently and absolutely loved it, saying that, despite her “ridiculously high expectations, Half Bad did not disappoint.” Could Half Bad be the next Harry Potter? The next Hunger Games? Order your copy today and find out. Grab a copy a S... Read more

“Only a few weeks ago I was a stay-at-home mum. What am I doing? But there’s no time for reconsideration now. My brain snaps into action and so does my mouth. “Flak jackets, helmets, gas masks – everyone, now!” Zoe Daniel is the ABC’s South-East Asia correspondent, based in Bangkok with her husband and young family. She reports on nine countries across Southeast Asia fil... Read more

Last week I was lucky enough to catch up with the Clean Living Boys, Luke and Scott, for a cooking demonstration. Already famous from their MKR adventures, the passionate paleos served up a gorgeous menu while talking about their philosophies for a healthy lifestyle and still eating delicious food. Their Clean Living Cookbook is a great read, the perfect book for the food lover who also wants t... Read more

Congratulations to 12 Years a Slave, the film adaptation of the eloquent and powerful memoir by Solomon Northup, winner of the 2014 Oscar for Best Picture. (Facebook comp winners announced at the bottom of this post) Widely regarded as the best written of all the slave narratives, Twelve Years a Slave is a harrowing memoir about one of the darkest periods in American history. It recounts how So... Read more

The Youngs: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC Prize Winner: L. Heinrich, Chatswood, NSW The prize: A laminated poster of THE YOUNGS signed by – Author Jesse Fink – AC/DC bass player Mark Evans (Let There Be Rock, TNT, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap) – AC/DC drummer Tony Currenti (High Voltage, ’74 Jailbreak, Bonfire, Backtracks) The Youngs by Jesse Fink With sales of over 200 mi... Read more

Jack Reacher is back this September for another high octane adventure in Personal, Lee Child’s 19th book in the bestselling series. Little is known of the plot, with Child writing a short teaser on his Facebook page last week: Someone has taken a long-range shot at the French president. Only one man could have done it. And Reacher is the one man who can find him. This time, it’s personal.... Read more

In my household, the late Harold Ramis was a God. As a director, writer and actor, his CV is a collection of my favourite movies growing up. Caddyshack, Animal House, Stripes, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day and National Lampoon’s Vacation. If he had played a wise-cracking jeep driver in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade he would have filled the list. There is a story in my family that, as a... Read more

In Thrive, Arianna Huffington makes an impassioned and compelling case for the need to redefine what it means to be successful in today’s world. Arianna Huffington’s personal wake-up call came in the form of a broken cheekbone and a nasty gash over her eye — the result of a fall brought on by exhaustion and lack of sleep. As the cofounder and editor-in-chief of the Huffington ... Read more

Random House Australia has announced the release date of Haruki Murakami’s latest book Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki And His Years Of Pilgrimage, along with a beautiful cover reveal! We’ll let them tell you more about it… Readers around the world have been eagerly anticipating Murakami’s next book since the English-language publication of his bestselling epic, 1Q84, in 2011. Colorl... Read more

Here’s what I knew about Norse mythology when I first picked up The Gospel of Loki by Joanne M. Harris. a)     Norse gods live in a place called Asgard. b)    Loki is the coolest god . Sure he’s evil, but he’s also played by Tom Hiddleston (see left) and therefore his evilness is cancelled out by his perfect male beauty. c)     Thor is the god of Thunder. He has very large muscles and a magic h... Read more