BOOK REVIEW: A BOOK OF DAYS by Patti Smith Bloomsbury Publishing November 2022 – $39.99 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar 95% Lumped in with the punk scene when she first came to prominence in the ‘70s, Patti Smith has evolved in our consciousness to something far more unique: a poet, an artist, an author, a musician, […]
BOOK REVIEW: THE McCARTNEY LEGACY Volume 1 1969-73 by Allan Kozinn & Adrian Sinclair Dey St Books | Harper Collins Australia February 2023 Paperback, rrp AUD$36.99 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar 95% The McCartney Legacy Volume 1 is as exhaustively researched, meticulously documented a biography of four pivotal years in the life of one of humanity’s […]
BOOK REVIEW: I WILL FIND YOU by Harlan Coben Penguin Random House March 2023 – rrp AUD$32.99 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar 84% Harlan Coben’s latest novel came about by asking himself, “What if you were accused of the worst crime possible? What happens if, after losing everything and being imprisoned, you find evidence that could […]
BOOK REVIEW: HER FIDELITY by Katharine Pollock Penguin Random House August 2022 Paperback – rrp AUD$32.99 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar 80% Katherine Pollock has based her debut novel on her own experiences working in independent record stores in Brisbane and Sydney for years. A female record store employee was once as unusual as a male […]
BOOK REVIEW: THE LIVES OF BRIAN by Brian Johnson Penguin Random House Australia October 2022 – $35.00 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar 88% As AC/DC’s other great frontman, Brian Johnson has thrilled audiences around the world since 1980, but his 2009 first autobiography Rockers And Rollers was a strangely incomplete affair. Billed as “an automotive autobiography” […]
BOOK REVIEW: HOW TO WRITE ONE SONG by Jeff Tweedy Allen & Unwin April 2022 Paperback, rrp $19.99 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar 99% You don’t have to be a fan of the man or his music – though reading the book led me into really intently listening to Wilco for the first time, and greatly […]
COOKBOOK REVIEW – JAPANESE HOME COOKING by MAORI MUROTA Murdoch Books July 2022 Hard cover, rrp $49.99 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar 85% Cookbook Maori Murota’s latest cookbook is an incredible, important and essential reference tome that does exactly what it says on the tin, covering Japanese Home Cooking. Her name should be familiar, her best […]
COOKBOOK REVIEW: PRIDE AND PUDDING by REGULA YSEWIJN Murdoch Books May 2022 Hard cover, rrp $55.00 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar 92% Cookbook The last person you might expect to have assembled a definitive and historical tome of British puddings is a Belgian, but Regula Ysewijn is a renowned culinary historian, author and photographer, and this […]
COOKBOOK REVIEW: CHINESE-ISH by ROSHEEN KAUL & JOANNA HU Murdoch Books July 2022 Hard cover, rrp $39.99 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar 90% Cookbook Immigrants Rosheen Kaul and Joanna Hu don’t just label the food they present here as ‘Chinese-ish’, but also themselves. With convoluted bloodlines and upbringings taking in Kashmiri, Singaporean, Chinese, Filipino, Indonesian, Nyonya, […]
BOOK REVIEW: THE THRIFTY WITCH’S BOOK OF SIMPLE SPELLS by Wren Maple Allen & Unwin Rrp $27.99 Paperback, 18 Jan 2022 And BOOK REVIEW: GODDESS MAGIC by Aurora Kane Allen & Unwin Rrp $24.99 Paperback, 01 Feb 2022 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar Both 75% These review books landed upon me on consecutive days, from the […]
BOOK REVIEW: The Match by Harlan Coben Penguin Random House March 2022 Paperback, rrp $32.99 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar 88% Thriller The term “unputdownable” is overused nowadays, but rarely does it apply so accurately as with Harlan Coben’s latest, The Match. The Netflix darling is on a roll with novel number thirty-four-ish, pitching an ex-marine […]
BOOK REVIEW: ALL ABOUT ME – My Remarkable Life In Showbiz by Mel Brooks Century November 2021 Hardback Rrp $39.99 Autobiography By Shane Pinnegar 80% Imagine being sat down comfortably with your favourite uncle, and being told warm, interesting and often hilarious stories about his life. That’s exactly what All About Me is all about […]
BOOK REVIEW: EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE by Benjamin Stevenson Penguin Random House March 2022 Paperback, $32.99 Mystery, thriller, whodunnit Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar 85% Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone has, quite rightly, already had the rights sold to HBO for a future film or TV series, and that’s all down […]
BOOK REVIEW: BECOMING MR NICE – THE HOWARD MARKS ARCHIVE by Amber Marks No Exit Press Rrp $39.99 Hardcover, November 2021 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar 90% Howard Marks’ story remains a riveting ride, six years after his death and more than thirty years after he was ‘banged up’ in the USA for his drug smuggling […]
COOKBOOK REVIEW: Savory Dinner Pies From Around The Globe by Ken Haedrich Allen & Unwin/Murdoch Books January 2022 Rrp $35.00 By Shane Pinnegar 60% I’ll wager ol’ mate Ken Haedrich has never had to cater for a gluten free guest, such is his fascination with big ol’ meat (and seafood, and veg) pies, all lovingly […]
COOKBOOK REVIEW: BIG BOARDS FOR BIG FAMILIES by Sandy Coughlin Allen & Unwin Rrp $35.00 By Shane Pinnegar 68% Sandy Coughlin’s Big Boards For Big Families is an undeniably colourful affair, lovingly photographing and describing huge grazing boards designed to be shared by families (or, presumably) groups of friends. All too often Coughlin’s ideas lean […]
BOOK REVIEW: OASIS SUPERSONIC – The Complete Authorised and Uncut Interviews curated by Simon Halfon Headline Publishing Group 2021 Hardback Biography By Shane Pinnegar 89% Simon Halfon relates how he received a call from Oasis’ Noel Gallagher sometime in 2014 asking if he was busy. An old friend of some twenty years standing, Noel wanted […]
BOOK REVIEW: ERUPTION – The Eddie Van Halen Story by Paul Brannigan Faber Social through Allen & Unwin November 2021 Paperback, $34.99 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar Biography/ Rock and Roll 90% Paul Brannigan’s name should be familiar to most fans of rock and roll journalism from his stints writing for Kerrang!, Mojo, Rolling Stone, Q, […]
BOOK REVIEW: HOT STUFF – The Story of The Rolling Stones Through the Ultimate Memorabilia Collection by Matt Lee Welbeck, through Allen & Unwin November 2021 Hardcover, $49.99 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar Biography/ Memorabilia/ Rock and Roll 90% Matt Lee has somehow managed to assemble a collection of memorabilia celebrating the extraordinary career of the […]
BOOK REVIEW: DOC by Jon Bradshaw and Anne Souter Allen & Unwin October 2021 Paperback, $32.99 Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar Biography/ Rock and roll 70% It was difficult to not approach this biography of the mighty Doc Neeson with some scepticism. Written partly by Neeson’s childhood friend Jon Bradshaw, and partly by his last partner, […]
