Books

The truth behind Mary Poppins creator P.L. Travers

Tim Barlass The creator of Mary Poppins was practically imperfect.

Mutual commitment until death

Reviewer: JOEL GREENBERG Readers frequently feel like intruders when delving into relationship between Isherwood and Bachardy.

Bid to restore Richard III's regal stature

Reviewer: MARK THOMAS Two authors forge an impassioned tribute to Richard III, a king who had the virtue of fortitude.

Feline feelings

Reviewer: PETER CRAVEN This is a sensible, intelligent book designed to dispel prejudice and illuminate the dark byways of feline experience.

Insight through bottom of a glass

Reviewer: MARK THOMAS Olivia Laing has penned a topographical map of alcoholism of six authors famed for their drinking.

Mysterious Game plays out at a fast pace

Reviewer: ANNA CREER Anna Creer looks at Anders de la Motte's crime fiction triology.

Ahead by a whisker

Peter Craven Cats and humans have a close association extending back through the ages.

Michelle De Kretser Penelope Fitzgerald was 58 when her first book, a biography of the artist Edward Burne-Jones, was published in 1975. As Hermione Lee writes, Fitzgerald's story is partly about lateness: ''patience and waiting, a late start and a late style''.

A New Leaf

Markus Zusak: how I let go of The Book Thief

Markus Zusak Markus Zusak expected his novel to flop. Instead, it sold eight million copies. On the eve of its cinema release, the author reflects on his wild ride.

Harry is a law unto himself

Sue Turnbull Perry Mason, Rumpole, Rake: the drama of the courtroom has always been compelling reading and/or viewing, especially when treated with the kind of insider waspishness only a barrister turned author can provide.

Life on the edge

Review By Beverley Kingston An attractive new history book plots the gradual settlement of the NSW coast.

Next chapter: must-read books for 2014

Jane Sullivan There's plenty across all genres to please bibliophiles this year.

Writings reveal deep affection

Joel Greenberg Christopher Isherwood and his lover assumed the playful roles of animals during their correspondence.

Booker winner a late bloomer

Reviewer: MICHELLE DE KRETSER A marvellous biography by the way it compels attention through the years of Penelope Fitzgerald's obscurity.

Funnyman takes the offensive

SALLY PRYOR In the world of essayist and comedian David Sedaris, there may be plenty of insults, but there's very little injury, writes Sally Pryor.

Nine lives and still sublime

Reviewed by Peter Craven This new book about cats begins with a piece of Mark Twain wisdom: 'When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade without further introduction'.

A writer who defied her circumstances

Reviewed by Michelle de Kretser In this book 'written out of love and admiration', Penelope Fitzgerald is depicted in the round.

Treats ahead

Jane Sullivan From battlers' biographies to words of war, a wealth of great reads is in store for us this year.

Where words may fail you

Reviewed by Dianne Dempsey Ever looked up rude words in the dictionary? There's a word for that, thanks to Ben Schott.

A sense of home lost in a faint voice

Reviewed by Helen Elliott In The Lowland, Jhumpa Lahiri's precise sentences, ever-refining sense of place, evocative shading of character and poise of tone will soothe any reader.

Odd couple's coming of age

Reviewed by Owen Richardson It's easy to see why Herrndorf's YA novel did well in Germany when it was first published.

To read or not to read ..?

Jane Sullivan Even avid readers sometimes go cold turkey when they are working on their own books.

Eighth instalment of Wimpy Kid tops Australian bestseller list

JASON STEGER The pulse rates of Australian readers were probably a bit slower last year, as the boom in erotic and dystopic fiction vanished, and old favourites such as Jamie Oliver, Jeff Kinney, Dan Brown and Matthew Reilly returned to dominate the national bestseller lists.

Hard Luck: Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Jamie's 15-Minute Meals were Australia's top books in 2013

Jason Steger The pulse rates of Australian readers were probably a bit slower last year, as the boom in erotic and dystopic fiction vanished and old favourites such as Jamie Oliver, Jeff Kinney, Dan Brown and Matthew Reilly dominated the bestseller lists.

Poetry and interactive book reviews

This week: poems Madiba and Figure in a Room, and the best sellers list.

Cuckoo's Calling

Lawyer fined for outing JK Rowling identity

A lawyer who blew JK Rowling's cover when she wrote a detective novel under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith has been fined 1,000 pounds ($A1,846) and received a written warning from a British legal watchdog.

Danielle Steel awarded France's highest honour

Jennifer Schuessler Danielle Steel joined the ranks of Douglas MacArthur, Julia Child, Walt Disney, Alan Greenspan and Bob Dylan on Wednesday when she became the latest American to receive France's highest award, the Legion of Honour.

Bright future for Dark Knight as Scott Snyder revamps Batman

Dana Jennings On the first page of the recent Batman No.24, the Caped Crusader does not swoop high above Gotham City, and the Joker does not stalk dark alleys, razor in hand. But it is one of the best moments ever in a Batman comic. In this tender scene, Bruce Wayne's butler and mentor, Alfred, is giving him a pre-battle buzz cut.

The John Williams book that's gone from forgotten classic to stone-cold bestseller

LINDA MORRIS It is the strangest of literary comebacks: a forgotten novel of the past century that has become an unlikely world bestseller 48 years after it was published and subsequently fell out of print.

Shake: The rise and rise of wet pet photography

Stephen Hutcheon Take one dog, add water and suddenly you have a viral sensation on your hands.

Stoner

Acclaim fires revival for neglected novel Stoner

Linda Morris, Lauren Ziegler Forgotten novel becomes unlikely world bestseller 48 years after it was published.

The Gods of Guilt

Reviewed by Peter Craven Michael Connelly's writing snaps into dramatic configurations the reader does not anticipate.

Diary of an avid reader

Keith Austin There are plenty of unexpected choices for the resourceful book hunter.

Pitiless vision of males with guns

Review By Adrian McKinty A disastrous deer-hunting expedition in 1978 is the scene of a new novel by David Vann.

The Dreyfus disgrace

Review By Michael Sexton A British novelist revisits one of France's most infamous spy scandals, the framing of a Jewish army officer for espionage.

Violet is a flower plucked many times in old Shanghai

Review By Claire Scobie Amy Tan's first novel in eight years is told from the perspective of Violet, the daughter of Lucia Minturn, an American living in Shanghai who runs a high-class courtesan house for Chinese and European men. Set in the early 1900s, as China's imperial Qing dynasty crumbles, the savvy Minturn runs Hidden Jade Path with aplomb. At a time when the two races did not mix, she alone has the ''ability to put men and prospects together for profit''.

Diary of an avid reader

There are plenty of unexpected choices for the resourceful book hunter, writes Keith Austin.

The Dreyfus disgrace

Reviewer: MICHAEL SEXTON A meticulous description of the spy trade, such as double agents, eccentrics and misfits, is a particular strength of this work.

Floating boxes service our malls

Reviewer: BRETT EVANS Journalist Rose George took a voyage on a container ship to unravel the mystery behind the international shipping industry.

Trademark qualities linger in the shadows

Reviewer: CLAIRE SCOBIE Once again Amy Tan explores the fraught mother-daughter relationship in her first novel in eight years.

In Short

Steven Carroll and Cameron Woodhead review a selection of fiction and non-fiction for the festive season.

Time the real killer as last page turns

Andrew Nette Kill City was one of my three formative Melbourne bookshops, all of them now closed, or about to.

The days in their lives

Reviewed by Steven Carroll A concentrated square of Liverpool gave birth to a cultural force that, in its sheer resonance and reach, is one of the most significant in 20th century.

How Doris helped less mean more

Keith Austin What's a bloke to do with so many books and so little time? When he needed her, Doris Lessing came to the rescue, writes Keith Austin.

In praise of an inquiring mind

Reviewed by Owen Richardson Ex-students, colleagues and activists pay tribute to public intellectual Robert Manne.

Once more unto the breach, dear readers

Reviewed by Brian McFarlane In 1948, Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier were the most famous acting couple in the world.

Paper is back as novel twist to reading

NICK GALVIN Dymocks has reported its best one-day sales figure ever on the day before Christmas Eve, amid indications book sellers generally are experiencing a resurgence in interest.

Poetry and interactive book reviews

JASON STEGER This week: The Birthday, The River in the City, and the best sellers list.

Rockwell family dispute new biography

The family of the late Norman Rockwell is taking exception to a new biography of the American illustrator, saying it contains numerous inaccuracies and poses a "phantom theory" about his sexuality.