Summer holiday reading
Commonwealth
Ann Patchett
Ann Patchett's seventh work of fiction, Commonwealth, is being hailed as one of the finest novels of the year.
A quietly blistering story about two families exploded and blended by divorce is just the thing for Christmas. The novel's is an album of unexpected snapshots over many years: a christening party, a pick-up in a bar, neglected children run amok, and of course tense (and funny) holiday gatherings.
John Olsen: A Recipe for Art
https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/fiction/Commonwealth-Ann-Patchett-9781408880395
The Boy Behind the Curtain
Tim Winton
The Lyrics 1961-2012 by Bob Dylan
One of Australia's favourite writers reveals more of his life and influences in a collection of personal essays about surfing, nature, religion, family, accidents, writing, sharks, guns and other passions and anxieties. Winton's easy lyricism, human insight and down-to-earth humour make this a pleasure for fans of his fiction.
https://penguin.com.au/books/the-boy-behind-the-curtain-9781926428765
Victoria the Queen, by Julia Baird.
The Good People
Hannah Kent
Anyone who enjoyed Kent's debut, Burial Rites, about a woman sentenced to death for murder in 19th-century Iceland will love this novel about a woman tried for killing a child in 19th-century Ireland. Well researched, beautifully written, the story evokes the poverty and superstition of a rural community where life is hard and being a woman is harder.
Stasiland by Anna Funder
http://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781743534908
John Olsen: A Recipe for Art
Leanne Santoro with Deborah Edwards
Art Gallery of NSW/Thames & Hudson, $39.95
Art, food, family and friends go together through the long life of this great Australian artist. Illustrated with Olsen's paintings and sketches, this vibrant book collects his recipes from Spain, Portugal and Australia: simple, sun-drenched dishes from tomato gazpacho to paella and fig clafoutis.
https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/shop/item/9780500500859/
The Lyrics: 1961-2012
Bob Dylan
Edited by Christopher Ricks
A music legend for several generations, Dylan is also this year's Nobel laureate in literature. So reading his song lyrics as poetry on the page makes more sense than ever. This comprehensive collection came out as a collector's edition in 2014 and is now in a more affordable form.
http://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/The-Lyrics/Bob-Dylan/9781471152443
Victoria
Julia Baird
In the age of Hillary Clinton, Brexit and embattled feminism, an Australian journalist writes a fresh, myth-busting, human portrait of a powerful queen who ruled the British empire at its peak. A working woman who loved sex, her husband and her nine children, she is a thought-provoking figure for our times.
http://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780732295691/victoria-the-woman-who-made-the-modern-world/
The Sellout
Paul Beatty
Lovers of contemporary fiction will want to be up to date with the Man Booker Prize winner - this year an American author for the first time. A wild and clever satire looks through African-American eyes at race relations in an imaginary Los Angeles where slavery and segregation return.
https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/fiction/The-Sellout-Paul-Beatty-9781786070173
Time Machine
Adam Spencer
Australia's celebrity nerd has made maths and science appealing to young (and much older) readers, and now he looks through a historical lens. Did you know sliced bread dates back to 1928? Can you multiply on your fingers? How tall was Napoleon Bonaparte? Full of entertaining quizzes, stories and timelines. Adam Spencer's Number Crunchers is also out for Christmas.
http://www.xoum.com.au/shop/adam-spencers-time-machine/
The Birdman's Wife
Melissa Ashley
Among many strong Australian debut novels, this is the one to give - for its exquisite cover design as much as its charming story based on the life of Elizabeth Gould, the adventurous but forgotten talent behind the famous bird paintings attributed to her husband John Gould.
http://affirmpress.com.au/publishing/the-birdmans-wife/
Stasiland
Anna Funder
This beautiful new yellow-boxed hardcover edition of Funder's investigation into life in 20th-century East Germany includes the Australian author's private photographs and her new introduction. As surveillance rises in new forms, it's fascinating to consider how oppressive regimes take hold. Look for Folio Society editions of classics by Jane Austen, Ian Fleming, Douglas Adams and many others.
http://www.foliosociety.com/book/ASI/stasiland
Morning & Afternoon Newsletter
Delivered Mon–Fri.