Tuesday, July 16, 2024

BOOKS

BOOKS

NEWS

‘Trust in the power of poetry’ Writer Profile: Brendan King

From a family of passionate poets, Brendan King is carrying on a tradition started by his Pop. He loves all things poetry and has been involved in the creative writing programs run by Story Factory over the last few years.

‘How everything … is a poem’ Writer Profile: Sarah Dizon

Sarah Dizon is a 17-year-old student from Sarah Redfern High School who has been attending Story Factory’s Year of Poetry program for the last three years. In that time, she’s published two collections of poetry, i baked you a cake and you are the star. She is currently working on a third.

Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder

Salman Rushdie is someone who has famously lived a significant portion of his life under the threat of death and, through his writing, the powerful insistence upon life in all its glorious variations.

Green Dot

The eponymous green dot of this novel has a very significant role in the relationship of the two central characters of this text, it being the green dot that tells others that you're online when you’re on Instagram.

Midnight Oil – telling our stories

The Silver River: A memoir of family – lost, made and found … from the Midnight Oil founding member.

Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity

Have you ever wondered how it might be possible to make your life 30-50 per cent longer? I have.

Bright Shining: How Grace Changes Everything

The premise of Bright Shining is both profound and simple – grace is everywhere and we are enriched by it as individuals and as a community when we are receptive to its power and beauty.

A Pilgrim’s Poetry (1990-1993)

I declare my not very remarkable prejudices. I like poetry that, audibly or not, involves a voice, a created tone or timbre that seems the authentic expression of a particular consciousness. What is expressed, those ideas, attitudes or sentiments with which are revealed or intimated livingness that has ideas, attitudes and sentiments and whose utterance of them said, or sung I am made to feel genuine, true and thereby beautiful.

In my own words

My name is Isaiah Soares and I am a...

Novella way to catch the bus

Hayden Field describes his life as plot twist after plot twist. So it’s not surprising that, in his final year of school, he went to Story Factory to write his own book, a novella called Bus of ’96

Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions

Johann Hari writes compellingly about his struggle with depression and addiction.

In/Out: A Scandalous Story of Falling into Love and Out of the Church

Steph Lentz rose to prominence in 2021, after being sacked by her conservative Christian school when she spoke about her lesbianism.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Before the Coffee Gets Cold is one of a series of four novels by Japanese author Toshikazu Kawaguchi, whose previous work was as playwright, director and producer for theatrical group Sonic Snail.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Before the Coffee Gets Cold delivers life lessons with charm and a light touch.

In/Out: A Scandalous Story of Falling into Love and Out of the Church

In/Out: A Scandalous Story of Falling into Love and Out of the Church gives an insight into the damage that conservative Christianity can do.

How We Came to Be: Creatures of Camouflage and Mimicry

I’ve got a couple of young nephews who are going to love How We Came to Be: Creatures of Camouflage and Mimicry.

Yellowface

The success of Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang is well-documented and well-deserved.

Meet Mim

Mim’s tantalising tale of transformation set on the shallow, sandy seabed is another fine picture book to add to Sandra Severgnini’s captivating titles

Frank Moorhouse: A Life

To write Frank Moorhouse: A Life Catherine Lumby dug deep into Moorhouse’s life and relationships for this sparkling biography – and it is rich territory.

Five Aussie authors going great guns

I relished all these great Aussie books ...  and hope you do too.

Immaculate

Immaculate is a captivating and unusual novel. It is also a nuanced examination of how faith grasped hungrily but imposed narrowly can segue into a slipperier sense of becoming, a wild tributary pulsing with possibility and sorrow.

When Grandma Burnt Her Bra

‘She burnt her bra to make a PROTEST. This is what you do when something is not right.’

‘Seasons of You’ – planning our family

It’s quite interesting how, in hindsight, we often realise...

Walking in Stealth: After Pushkin

While, overall, this is a poetry of a confrontation with that which does not resolve easily into words – of a silence listening to a silence – it always has a sense of a positive ground.

Shake Some Action: My Life in Music (and other stuff)

If you are interested in music new and old, read this book, listen to Coupe on FBi and 2SER, and follow him on Facebook. Jump aboard his long, strange trip.

Opi: The Two Lives of My Grandfather

‘My grandfather was the best grandfather a child could wish for. He … was also a Nazi.’ So begins Opi: The Two Lives of My Grandfather by Andreas Pohl.

Orphia and Eurydicius

Elyse John has reinvented this classic tale to consider ideas about gender, identity and sexuality and how ideas about love, heroism and virtue derived from mythology need to be overturned.

The Homesick Pirate

On the surface, Peta seems like your typical pirate with his wooden leg, parrot on his shoulder, eye patch, Jolly Roger and propensity for exclaiming AAARRrgggh ...

The Vanishing Half

The Vanishing Half is a moving story about the ways in which our identity, particularly race, shapes us and our perceptions of the self and others.

‘We need to talk about ageing?’ – an interview with Melissa Levi

Author Melissa Levi says, “We Need to Talk About...

‘Jack’s different way of thinking is his superpower’ – an interview with Gabrielle Bassett

Gabrielle Bassett’s adventurous new book Jack’s Best Day Ever!...

Sweat: A History of Exercise

“One of my big fears about getting old”, Bill Hayes writes in the opening chapter of Sweat: A History of Exercise, “is that I won’t be able to get any exercise at all ... Please, shoot me first. No, wait. Throw me into a lake. I want to go out swimming ...”

In Her Voice: Raising Women’s Voices in Preaching the Gospel

This inspiring volume of liturgies and reflections comes from Women and the Australian Church (WATAC), one of the cofounders of the Australian Women Preach project.

‘Summer Beach’ launch spreads warmth and joy

There was laughter and joy when ABC producer and...

We Come with This Place

We Come with This Place won an unprecedented four prizes in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, an achievement even more impressive for a first-time author.

Redfern local Fiona Kelly McGregor author of ‘Iris’ shortlisted for Miles Franklin Award

Redfern local Fiona Kelly McGregor’s latest novel Iris –...

Backyard Footy 

A superb energy flows through Backyard Footy – carrying the reader into the lives and landscapes of some footy-crazed kids.

Picturing ‘Stories for the Future’ at Sydney Writers’ Festival

The South Sydney Herald had a great time at...

An Indigenous Voice to Parliament – considering a constitutional bridge

In his short and cogent book, An Indigenous Voice to Parliament, Frank Brennan aims to chart the development of the Voice initiative and present the views of a range of people, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, both for and against.

The Passenger and Stella Maris

The two companion novels of Cormac McCarthy’s latest writings follow the lives of brother and sister Bobby and Alicia Western, focused on their mutual devastation at the hands of their father’s involvement in Robert Oppenheimer’s atomic project and how to come to terms with the scale of such violence.

King delves deeply into the dyslexic mind

Laughton King has suffered fear, isolation, frustration and disappointment...

Five health hacks to get me moving more

I've known about the correlation between movement and health...

Shirley Hazzard: A Writing Life

Having this meticulous and moving memoir means we can continue to ponder Shirley Hazzard’s ingenuity across four novels, two story collections and several works of nonfiction, as well as in her speeches and personal letters.

Harriet’s Hungry Worms

There’s a world of delicious detail and wordplay in Harriet’s Hungry Worms – a new picture book from Samantha Smith (author) and Melissa Johns (illustrator) for readers aged 4 to 8.

Five mysteries to savour

Curl up with one of these clever crime novels...

My Father’s House 

My Father’s House is a fascinating story of good people standing up to evil – and (sometimes) winning.

The House in the Pines

Readers who like magical realism will enjoy The House in the Pines ... and overall Reyes offers a pacy tale brimming with deft and dream-like description.

Runt

Craig Silvey’s first book for children aged 8+ is a delightful tale of camaraderie and derring-do. It features 11-year-old Annie and her adopted stray dog Runt. Runt is the first real friend Annie has ever had.

Exiles

Jane Harper, whose debut novel The Dry won both critical and popular acclaim, is back on form with her latest crime novel, Exiles.

Easy Peasy

This bright berry of a book is upbeat and colourful.

Pop into Gleebooks’ pop-up shop at the old Glebe Post Office

It’s as Glebe as Galluzzo’s fruit and veg, so...

New book highlights faces and voices of Sydney’s First Nations people

If you want to learn more about the ongoing...