Book Recommendations Archives

What I do get to do however, is to sample a LOT of books, and I get to fall in love with a few. And the few that take me to a different place, more than make up for the rest of the 450 on that list that made me want to go out and re-plant the trees. So here they are, my top picks for 2011, for those of you for whom Morrissey and Reilly just don't cut it. Read more

At the end of the day, once you finish The Freudian Slip you’ll most likely be asking yourself the same question that has been niggling at me since I flipped the last page. Where is my time machine? Read more

Thank goodness Miegunyah – an imprint of Melbourne University Press – who have the very cool slogan, Books With Spine – have begun republishing the works of Christina Stead. We need to be reminded that Australia used to produce artists of genius. And it might just encourage our present crop of writers to either give up or to aim higher. Your home library needs these three titl... Read more

Caroline Overington author of Matilda is Missing, I Came To Say Goodbye and Ghost Child reveals… The 5 best novels I read this year are… The Spare Room by Helen Garner Blurb: Helen lovingly prepares her spare room for her friend Nicola. She is coming to visit for three weeks, to receive treatment she believes will cure her cancer. From the moment Nicola staggers off the plane, gaunt and hoarse ... Read more

Monica McInerney author of Lola’s Secret, A Taste for It, Upside Down Inside Out, Spin the Bottle, The Alphabet Sisters, Family Baggage, All Together Now, Those Faraday Girls and At Home with the Templetons reveals… The 5 best books I read this year are… How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran I have to put this in… This is how Caitlan described her book, How To be a Woman, when answering our ... Read more

Jessica Rudd author of Campaign Ruby and Ruby Blues, reveals… The 5 best novels I read this year are… The Novel in the Viola by Natasha Solomons The tale of an immigrant’s experiences in England, Natasha Solomons describes a story of the sea, of love lost and found, and of a novel hidden inside a viola. When they started coming for people like us, I was forced to swap my life ... Read more

Word has just come in from the UK… The contenders for the Man Booker Prize this year have already divided the literary world. Some have said that the shortlisted books were too popular for the world’s most famous literary award. But readers have reacted well and sales of all the books have been strong. The noise on twitter alone has been extraordinary with everyone choosing their fa... Read more

I have been reading Murakami’s 1Q84 for some weeks now. I am a slow reader and it is a big book. But that isn’t why it has taken so long. This has been a very busy period for me personally and I haven’t had the hours and hours of reading time I usually enjoy. Which is one explanation for why I have been feeling a little bit odd lately. Reading is my mental safety valve. I have... Read more

Over the weekend while I was doing the weekly shop I found Mr Thirteen buried in a fridge digging for a Coke bottle with his name on it. His name wasn’t there. He was so annoyed he bought one which said Giulia, because he didn’t believe it was a real name. This morning I arrived at work to find a colleague of mine drinking from a bottle of Coca-Cola which had her name printed in bol... Read more

It is a common sentence that Knowledge is power; but who hath duly Considered or set forth the power of Ignorance? Knowledge slowly builds up what Ignorance in an hour pulls down. Knowledge, through patient and frugal centuries, enlarges discovery and makes record of it; Ignorance, wanting its day’s dinner, lights a fire with the record, and gives a flavor to its one roast with the burned... Read more