Last updated: October 16, 2017

Hope emerges from detritus of broken lives

The Trauma Cleaner, by Sarah Krasnostein
One of the most extraordinary characters you will ever find in non-fiction, Sandra Pankhurst is no ordinary cleaner.

Declutter now for a clean exit

TEN STEPS ... how to get out of the mess
She has skied in a bikini and turned a wok into a prize-winning hat ... now a Swedish author tackles decluttering.

Hillary’s humiliation laid bare

Hillary Clinton on 2016 loss: 'It hurts a lot'
A revealing account of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign follows her journey from optim­istic entry to devastating exit.

Questions again for Smiley’s people

Alec Guinness as George Smiley
A Legacy of Spies is both a prequel and a sequel to two previous books featuring the enigmatic arch spy George Smiley.

Consolations of an uncertain voice

This is Patty Yumi Cottrell
“The day I received the news of my adoptive brother’s death, I also received a brand-new couch from Ikea”

Hope emerges from detritus of broken lives

The Trauma Cleaner, by Sarah Krasnostein
One of the most extraordinary characters you will ever find in non-fiction, Sandra Pankhurst is no ordinary cleaner.

Consolations of an uncertain voice

This is Patty Yumi Cottrell
“The day I received the news of my adoptive brother’s death, I also received a brand-new couch from Ikea”

Chisholm’s insistent charm

EventId153C8131-D78B-4828-BC0F-D45F0E7C000F Caroline Chisholm (1808 1887). Portrait by Thomas Fairland, 1852. 
Source: www.cv.vic.gov.au/stories/caroline-chisholm/2033/portrait-of-caroline-chisholm-by-thomas-fairland-1852/
Sarah Goldman’s biography of 19th century humanita­rian Caroline Chisholm is full of surprises about her and her work.

How could you forget?

How could you forget?
Filmmaker Bruce Beresford is among the readers who sent in thoughts about forgotten authors and film.

The long and short of it

Man Booker nominee Fiona Mozley
In his annual review of the Man Booker Prize shortlist, James Bradley finds connections with our chaotic times.

Now you can read in the pool

Kindle Oasis
You may not read underwater but Amazon’s first waterproof Kindle opens up new reading options.

Hanks adds new page to career

2016 Milken Institute Global Conference
Life remains like a box of chocolates for the Hollywood star: no one knows what they’ll get next from him.

‘Shake my head at the insanity’

Ivana Trump and Donald Trump - 1989
In a new book, Donald Trump’s ex-wife Ivana has revealed painful details of his affair and the major rift it caused with son Don Jr.

Shadow play

Author Michelle de Kretser, who won the $40,000 Christina Stead Prize for fiction, the biggest of the NSW Premier's literary prizes, for her novel 'The Lost Dog' at the Rocks in Sydney.
Michelle de Kretser’s new novel is a moving reminder of the powerful forces that tattoo our DNA.

Flanagan goes one better

Richard Flanagan
While some Booker winners struggle for acclaim with their next book, Richard Flanagan may have written­ a better one.

Actor’s life with infernos

Actor Mel Gibson (l) with Steve Bisley in scene from film "Mad Max".
/Films/Titles/Mad/Max
‘Actors are children who never wanted to stop playing, so they didn’t,’ says Steve Bisley in his cracking new book.

Insights of a bibliophile

The Library, by Stuart Kells
Sex, thievery, piracy ... there’s many a good story in libraries but these are the topics in a book about libraries.

Glimmers of hope in darkness

Patience, graphic novel by David Clowes
How well do we know our loved ones? Two graphic novels navigate these concerns in compelling but different ways.

Eclipsing the Bard

Mel Gibson in a poster for the 1990 film Hamlet
Hamlet: Globe to Globe chronicles the years in which London’s Globe Theatre took the play to nearly every nation.

A pair of ragged claws

A pair of ragged claws
Authors of books that have been turned into movies are part of a literary record their ghosts will resent.

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