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 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: Pugs & Prejudice by Jane Austen with Eliza Garrett Wildfire September 2017 Hardcover, $19.99 Reviewed by Steph O’Connell Humour / Parody / Classics 9/10 CLASSIC TAILS – the greatest works of literature, as told by the finest breeds. We all have our favourite classic novels; books that have been beloved to us since childhood, […]
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: Scythe by Neal Shusterman Walker Books February 2017 Paperback, $16.99 Reviewed by Steph O’Connell Young Adult / Speculative 7.5/10 Thou shalt kill. A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end […]
BOOK REVIEW: Dyschronia by Jennifer Mills Picador January 2018 Paperback, $29.99 Reviewed by Steph O’Connell Literary / Speculative Fiction / Magical Realism 7/10 One morning, the residents of a small coastal town somewhere in Australia wake to discover the sea has disappeared. One among them has been plagued by troubling visions of this cataclysm for […]
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 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: Body Music by Julie Maroh Arsenal Pulp Press December 2017 Paperback, $34.99 Reviewed by Steph O’Connell Graphic Novel / GLBTQ / Anothology 6/10 Attraction, desire, breaking up, making up: Body Music explores the language of love and relationships. Set in Montreal, a typical metropolis where strangers meet under varying circumstances and either fall in love […]
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: Her Body & Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado Serpent’s Tail January 2018 Hardcover, $24.99 Reviewed by Steph O’Connell Short Stories / Speculative Fiction / Feminist Fiction 8/10 In her provocative debut, Carmen Maria Machado demolishes the borders between magical realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism. Startling narratives map […]
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: Upside-Down Dogs by Serena Hodson Hachette Australia October 2017 Hardcover, $19.99 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar Picture Book 8/10 I think we humans all have an integral, DNA-level connection to dogs and their wolf forbears. Yeah, I know – some of you are cat people, and more power to you, but you can upgrade […]
BOOK REVIEW: What Does This Button Do? by Bruce Dickinson Harper Collins October 2017 Paperback, $34.99 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar Autobiography 8/10 Legendary Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson’s memoir is light on the career dirt, but a fascinating insight into what makes this one-of-a-kind tick. Dickinson makes no bones about not wanting to write a […]
BOOK REVIEW: The Long and Winding Way To The Top by Andrew P Street Allen & Unwin November 2017 Paperback, $29.99 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar Music 9/10 Long-time music writer and more recent political commentator Andrew P Street has tackled the near-impossible: assembling a list of “50 (or so) songs that made Australia,” and like […]
BOOK REVIEW: Champagne – A Secret History by Robert Walters Allen & Unwin November 2017 Paperback, $32.99 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar Wine 8.5 /10 With his background growing grapes, trading in and writing about wine over the past twenty-five years, Robert Walters has built strong relationships with many artisanal wine producers around the world, and […]
BOOK REVIEW: Don’t Wake Up by Liz Lawler twenty7 January 2018 Paperback, $29.99 Reviewed by Steph O’Connell Mystery / Thriller 1/10 Alex Taylor wakes up tied to an operating table. The man who stands over her isn’t a doctor. The offer he makes her is utterly unspeakable. But when Alex re-awakens, she’s unharmed – […]
BOOK REVIEW: Funny Kid For President by Matt Stanton ABC Books/Harper Collins June 2017 Paperback, $14.99 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar Children’s 8/10 Max is a funny kid – the class clown, you might say – but his teacher, sports-mad Mr Armstrong, just thinks he’s a pest. Specifically, a troublemaking pest who has done a poop […]
BOOK REVIEW: How To Say I Love You In 5 Languages – Illustrated by Kenard Pak Murdoch Books January 2018 Hardcover, $18.99 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar Press & listen board book, Children’s 9/10 The simplest of books, How To Say I Love You In 5 Languages is instantly charming and engaging, showing five children around […]
BOOK REVIEW: Star Wars –The Last Jedi – Young Reader/Visual Dictionary/Cross-Sections Star Wars: The Last Jedi Young Reader – $12.99 Star Wars: The Last Jedi Visual Dictionary – $29.99 Star Wars: The Last Jedi Cross-Sections – $29.99 Penguin Random House December 2017 Hardcover Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar Movie tie-in/Star Wars 10/10 A new Star Wars […]
