Grab a copy of The Poet’s Wife here The Poet’s Wife by Mandy Sayer In the follow-up to her bestselling memoir, Dreamtime Alice, Mandy Sayer tells the story of the ten years she and Yusef Komunyakaa spent together, first as lovers, then as husband and wife. Even though we’d grown up in vastly different cultures and countries, we’d both known poverty, domestic violence and... Read more

Tiddas by Anita Heiss A story about what it means to be a friend … Five women, best friends for decades, meet once a month to talk about books … and life, love and the jagged bits in between. Dissecting each other’s lives seems the most natural thing in the world – and honesty, no matter how brutal, is something they treasure. Best friends tell each other everything, don’t they? But each woman ... Read more

Grab a copy of Every Parent’s Nightmare here The story of Jock Palfreeman has captivated Australia. Booktopia’s Andrew Cattanach took a look at award-winning journalist Belinda Hawkins’ account of the harrowing story of a young Australian jailed for murder. Wrong place, wrong time. Some phrases are uttered so often in our daily lives that they lose their punch, struggling to convey the re... Read more

Grab a copy of I’m Talking here I’m Talking by Kate Ceberano For the first time, Kate Ceberano, one of Australia’s best-loved entertainers, shares her story. In her own unmistakeable voice, Kate Ceberano takes us on a very personal journey from her suburban childhood, her immersion in the Melbourne club scene of the eighties and her rise to stardom at the age of fourteen when ... Read more

Booktopia is proud to present a special podcast edition of the January Buzz with Caroline Baum. Click here to download and get the latest in book reviews and tips for the new year. You can visit Caroline Baum’s Booktopia page here for other great recommendations, news and authors interviews. To subscribe to the Buzz or any of our many other newsletters click here Read more

Anyone who loved Rose Petal Jam is going to adore this chilly sister volume about the winter foods of Poland. Sydney GP Beata Zatorska is back with more family and carefully chosen classic recipes from around her native country, lovingly collected on journeys through snow and ice. It takes a lot of love to publish a book that puts so much effort into photography (magical snowscapes by Beata’s d... Read more

The Big Sea by Richie Lovett & Sean Doherty ‘Richie is one of the most inspiring people I’ve ever met, and his story is testament to the healing power of the ocean.’ Kelly Slater Richie Lovett might be the world s unluckiest surfer . . . or its luckiest. We re not quite sure which. He’s been attacked by a shark, washed into the Indonesian jungle by a tsunami, before ... Read more

I’d been warned not to expect much. There’s not a lot to see, people told me. Basically just a table. But that’s the point. Jane Austen’s house at Chawton in Hampshire is a modest affair and it’s true that the rooms are few and their furnishings scant. No wonder British Heritage were desperate when American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson outbid Chawton at Sotheby’... Read more

Booktopia’s Editorial Director Caroline Baum interviewed Donna Tartt for Fairfax papers over the weekend. Here’s a glimpse of the wonderful article, don’t forget to click below to see the whole thing. Don’t expect to find Donna Tartt on Twitter or Facebook. The author who became a recluse following the hype about her 1992 debut, The Secret History, at the age of 28, rema... Read more

After my 2008 book Life in His Hands, about the Sydney neurosurgeon Charlie Teo and his patient Aaron McMillan, a young pianist who had brain cancer, I declared that I would never write another book about illness and death. But then my mother died. Mum faded away so slowly that I didn’t even admit to myself that she was dying. I was an only child and she had been divorced and on her own since I... Read more