Author Archive: Natalie Salvo

Natalie Salvo is a foodie and writer from Sydney. You can find her digging around in second hand book shops or submerged in vinyl crates at good record stores. Her website is at: http://nataliesalvo.wordpress.com

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BOOK REVIEW: The Four Tendencies – The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People’s Lives Better, Too) by Gretchen Rubin

Natalie Salvo | 9 March 2018 | 1 Reply

BOOK REVIEW: The Four Tendencies – The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People’s Lives Better, Too) by Gretchen Rubin Hodder & Stoughton General Division September 2017 Paperback, $29.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Non-Fiction / Self-Help & Personal Development / Popular Psychology 5/10 Many of us will be […]

BOOK REVIEW: The Best Ever Baking Book by Jane Bull

Natalie Salvo | 6 March 2018 | Reply

BOOK REVIEW: The Best Ever Baking Book by Jane Bull Dorling Kindersley Ltd October 2017 Hardcover, $22.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Non-Fiction / Cooking / Food & Drink / Baking 7/10 The Best Ever Baking Book could also be called, “My First Ever Baking Book.” This colourful volume is written by Jane Ball who has penned […]

BOOK REVIEW: Sons of God – Inside the Secret World of Our Special Operations Group by Heath O’Loughlin

Natalie Salvo | 3 March 2018 | Reply

BOOK REVIEW: Sons of God – Inside the Secret World of Our Special Operations Group by Heath O’Loughlin Pan Macmillan Australia June 2017 Paperback, $34.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Non-Fiction / Biographies & True Stories / True Crime 7/10 Consider the famous trope, “I would love to tell you, but then, of course I’d have […]

BOOK REVIEW: The Secret Life of the Mind – How Our Brain Thinks, Feels and Decides by Mariano Sigman

Natalie Salvo | 24 February 2018 | Reply

BOOK REVIEW: The Secret Life of the Mind – How Our Brain Thinks, Feels and Decides by Mariano Sigman HarperCollins Publishers June 2017 Paperback, $32.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Non-Fiction / General Science / Popular Science 7.5/10 In many respects, the brain is a black box to us. It is a mysterious organ that is […]

BOOK REVIEW: With the End in Mind – Dying, Death and Wisdom in an Age of Denial by Kathryn Mannix

Natalie Salvo | 23 February 2018 | Reply

BOOK REVIEW: With the End in Mind – Dying, Death and Wisdom in an Age of Denial by Kathryn Mannix HarperCollins Publishers December 2017 Paperback, $27.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Non-Fiction / Sociology & Anthropology / Death & Dying 9/10 Dying is something we will all experience some day. But for many of us the […]

BOOK REVIEW: Three Cheers for Women! by Marcia Williams

Natalie Salvo | 1 February 2018 | 1 Reply

BOOK REVIEW: Three Cheers for Women! by Marcia Williams Walker Books Ltd February 2018 Hardcover, $27.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Children & Teenagers / Children’s Non-Fiction 6/10 Hip hip hooray. In Marcia Williams’ latest picture book she offers up lots of joyful jubilation for over 70 famous women from history. This book is a fine […]

BOOK REVIEW: Whispering in French – A Novel by Sophia Nash

Natalie Salvo | 29 January 2018 | Reply

BOOK REVIEW: Whispering in French – A Novel by Sophia Nash HarperCollins Publishers August 2017 Paperback, $24.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Fiction / Modern & Contemporary Fiction 7/10 At university, a friend casually observed that those studying psychology tended to be people who seemed the most neurotic personalities themselves. The same rings true for the […]

BOOK REVIEW: A Bold Life by Kerri-Anne Kennerley

Natalie Salvo | 28 January 2018 | Reply

BOOK REVIEW: A Bold Life by Kerri-Anne Kennerley Pan Macmillan Australia October 2017 Hardcover, $44.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Non-Fiction / Biographies & True Stories / Arts & Entertainment 6/10 Kerri-Anne Kennerley is a blonde bombshell and the Queen of Australian TV. She has lived a rich and charmed life as she describes in her […]

BOOK REVIEW: The Economists’ Diet – Two Formerly Obese Economists Find the Formula for Losing Weight and Keeping It Off by Christopher Payne PhD and Rob Barnet

Natalie Salvo | 27 January 2018 | 1 Reply

BOOK REVIEW: The Economists’ Diet – Two Formerly Obese Economists Find the Formula for Losing Weight and Keeping It Off by Christopher Payne PhD and Rob Barnett Pan Macmillan Australia December 2017 Paperback, $29.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Non-Fiction / Family & Health / Popular Medicine & Health 8/10 The Economists’ Diet was written by […]

BOOK REVIEW: The Last Great Australian Adventurer – Ben Carlin’s Epic Journey Around the World by Amphibious Jeep by Gordon Bass

Natalie Salvo | 25 January 2018 | 2 Replies

BOOK REVIEW: The Last Great Australian Adventurer – Ben Carlin’s Epic Journey Around the World by Amphibious Jeep by Gordon Bass Random House Australia July 2017 Paperback, $34.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Non-Fiction / Biographies & True Stories 7.5/10 The name Ben Carlin may not mean much to some people, but American author, Gordon Bass […]

BOOK REVIEW: McSweeney’s Issue 50 Edited by Dave Eggers

Natalie Salvo | 23 January 2018 | Reply

BOOK REVIEW: McSweeney’s Issue 50 Edited by Dave Eggers McSweeney’s Publishing August 2017 Hardcover, $44.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Non-Fiction / Literature, Poetry & Plays > Non-Fiction Prose / Literary Essays 7.5/10 The McSweeney’s literary journal should come with a disclaimer like: “Expect the unexpected.” This quirky, quarterly journal is celebrating a milestone with its […]

BOOK REVIEW: We’re Going on a Bear Hunt: Snowglobe Gift Book by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury

Natalie Salvo | 21 January 2018 | 1 Reply

BOOK REVIEW: We’re Going on a Bear Hunt: Snowglobe Gift Book by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury Walker Books Ltd October 2017 Hardcover, $27.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Picture Books & Early Learning / Interactive & Novelty Books 10/10 In 2019 Michael Rosen’s version of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt will be 30 […]

BOOK REVIEW: Quotes for Nasty Women – Empowering Wisdom from Women Who Break the Rules edited by Linda Picone

Natalie Salvo | 19 January 2018 | Reply

BOOK REVIEW: Quotes for Nasty Women – Empowering Wisdom from Women Who Break the Rules edited by Linda Picone Sterling Publishing Co Inc December 2017 Paperback, $22.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Non-Fiction / Society & Culture / Social Issues & Processes / Feminism & Feminist Theory 7/10 When Donald Trump called Hillary Clinton “such a […]

BOOK REVIEW: The Mystery Gut by Prof Kerryn Phelps AM with Dr Claudia Lee & Jaime Rose Chambers

Natalie Salvo | 18 January 2018 | Reply

BOOK REVIEW: The Mystery Gut by Prof Kerryn Phelps AM with Dr Claudia Lee & Jaime Rose Chambers Pan Macmillan Australia August 2017 Paperback, $27.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Non-Fiction/Health & Personal Development 8/10 For too long it was assumed that the gut was a mere food processor in the body. But recent research in […]

BOOK REVIEW: The Best Women’s Travel Writing, Volume 11 – True Stories from Around the World Edited by Lavinia Spalding

Natalie Salvo | 16 January 2018 | Reply

BOOK REVIEW: The Best Women’s Travel Writing, Volume 11 – True Stories from Around the World edited by Lavinia Spalding Travelers’ Tales, Incorporated May 2017 Paperback, $29.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Non-Fiction / Travel & Holidays / Travel Writing 7/10 The Best Women’s Travel Writing has been taking readers on journeys into the great unknown […]

BOOK REVIEW: Karl, the Universe and Everything by Dr Karl Kruszelnicki

Natalie Salvo | 14 January 2018 | Reply

BOOK REVIEW: Karl, the Universe and Everything by Dr Karl Kruszelnicki Pan Macmillan Australia October 2017 Hardcover, $34.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Non-Fiction / Science / Popular Science 8/10 If Iggy Pop had a “lust for life” then Dr Karl Kruszelnicki has a “lust for science.” This loud-shirt wearing man is a beloved Australian institution […]

BOOK REVIEW: Careful! The Surprising Science behind Everyday Calamities – And How You Can Avoid Them by Steve Casner

Natalie Salvo | 14 January 2018 | Reply

BOOK REVIEW: Careful! The Surprising Science behind Everyday Calamities – And How You Can Avoid Them by Steve Casner Pan Macmillan Australia May 2017 Paperback, $32.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Non-Fiction/Psychology 7.5/10 For the majority of last century, accidents and preventable injuries were on the decline. This was due to increased innovation, safety measures and […]

Natalie’s Top Reads of 2017

Natalie Salvo | 12 January 2018 | Reply

In 2017 I continued with my resolution to read more than the previous year. My reading habits in 2017 were no doubt informed by the fact that I ended a long-term relationship. This meant I found myself drawn to books that were about bettering yourself as well as topics like: sex, human psychology, relationships and […]

BOOK REVIEW: The Museum of Broken Relationships – Modern Love in 203 Everyday Objects by Olinka Vištica and Dražen Grubišić

Natalie Salvo | 12 January 2018 | 1 Reply

BOOK REVIEW: The Museum of Broken Relationships – Modern Love in 203 Everyday Objects by Olinka Vištica and Dražen Grubišić Orion Publishing Co. November 2017 Hardcover, $39.99 Reviewed by Natalie Salvo Non-Fiction / Arts & Entertainment / History of Art & Design Styles > Art from 1900 to Current 8/10 For anyone who has ever […]

INTERVIEW: Dr Nick Fuller, author of Interval Weight Loss