Summer reading guide

SUMMER

reading SUMMER READING GUIDE

Whether you’re looking for a relaxing read for the holidays or a Christmas gift idea for the kids (or grandkids), we have a suggestion for you as we check off some of our favourite books from the past year.

The Man Who Died Twice

Richard Osman The ability to make brutal murders feel like warm and cosy fiction is a particularly British gift. The sequel to Richard Osman’s blockbusting The Thursday Murder Club, in which the inhabitants of an English rural retirement home investigate cold cases (and stumble on a hot one), offers a winning blend of twists, thrills and hot cocoa. The plotting is clever and the writing crisp and funny, but the real joy is the characters, who provide a convincing and engaging crosssection of modern Britain, even if they feel like they belong to the past.

You’re Doing It Wrong

Kaz Cooke Tired of mansplainers? You’re not the only one. This amusing, smart and infuriating volume offers a frolic through centuries of bonkers and bad advice foisted upon women. Humorist, columnist and author Kaz Cooke has spent decades researching all the things women should do (the housework, look beautiful, be quiet) and shouldn’t do (frown, lead a country, have pockets). The historical directives here cover everything from employment to parenting, via sex, fashion and health. Read it and weep, mostly with laughter.

Small Joys of Real Life

Allee Richards Eva is an actor, going places. The only problem is she feels like a fraud. She meets Pat and a bright future beckons, but Pat dies, leaving her lost and pregnant. This engrossing debut Australian novel captures that mid-20s anxiety when adulthood, with all its seriousnesses and responsibilities, encroaches on the abandon of youth. Eva keeps her pregnancy secret, aside from her two closest friends, and tries to find a way forward through to the future, with all its unknowns, while still coming to terms with the past.

Piranesi

Suzanna Clarke Piranesi lives in the house. We can be sure of that. Except not even Piranesi – our narrator – is sure who Piranesi is or where the house might be. This acclaimed, strange novel from the author of Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrell starts out like an allegorical fantasy and slowly edges closer and closer to the real world. To say more is to risk spoiling the experience for a reader yet to find their way through its wonders, but a little patience with the oddness is soon rewarded. After the first third, it becomes unputdownable.

Silverview

John Le Carre The final complete novel from the late John Le Carre, master of the spy genre, is as clear-eyed and brisk as the best of his canon. Having retired early from a career in finance, Londoner Julian sets up a bookstore in a coastal town, where he soon encounters the enigmatic and eccentric Edward. As befits a spy mystery, Edward is not what he seems. The result is an appealing mystery and a deftly-painted character portrait involving the failings of the secret service in the 1990s Balkans War.

Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone

Diana Gabaldon Outlander fans have been waiting seven years for the latest installment in this timetravelling romance. For those who are new to the series (either the books or the popular TV adaptation), well, this isn’t the place to start. The original premise saw 1940s nurse Claire rocketed back to 1700s Scotland, where she met and fell in love with hunky Highlander Jamie. Since then, they’ve been separated, reunited and wound up in the middle of the American Civil War. The new book focuses more on the adventures of their daughter and her husband, but promises more of the same blend of lusty historical drama.

SUMMERreading

no one is talking about this

Patricia Lockwood The problem with trying to capture the present in fiction is that the present has a habit of very quickly becoming the past. Like most influencers, social media icon Patricia Lockwood has a gift for tapping into the zeitgeist, as does the protagonist of her novel – a woman who travels the world talking to fans of her viral posts. When real life clashes with the surreal nature of online life, our unnamed hero is forced to confront the jumble of contradictions that is life in 2021, where we’re bombarded by good and bad news, kindness and cruelty from one Facebook post to the next. One area where real life overtook this particular work of fiction is there’s no sign here of the pandemic. That might be a relief to some readers, but it leaves a big hole at the heart of what it means to alive – and online – at this moment. That aside, this is an inventive, irreverent and amusing read.

This Much Is True

Miriam Margoyles British actor Miriam Margoyles is one of those talents that you’ve possibly seen in heaps of things but couldn’t name. Best known know as Harry Potter’s herbology teacher, she’s been in everything from classic TV series Monkey (voicing a host of different characters) to Mulan and from Blackadder to Babe. Judging by her memoir, she’s also led a pretty extraordinary life. Conceived in an air raid (to which she attributes her curly hair), she was a childhood prankster, posed nude as a teen for legendary painter Augustus John and has been impertinent to all manner of celebs – including the Queen!

Great Furphies of Australian History

Jim Haynes Did you know that Portuguese and Spanish explorers probably found the east coast of Australia before Captain Cook, and that the Rum Rebellion was not caused by rum? And what about Banjo Paterson writing Waltzing Matilda? As for Ned Kelly being a brave freedom-fighting rebel, in truth he was a thief, a thug and a murderer. The Ashes have nothing to do with cricket, the Ghan is not named after Afghan cameleers and Hargraves lied about discovering gold in New South Wales. This surprising and fun book offers a revealing journey through Australian history and folklore.

The Christmas Pig

J.K. Rowling Jack is still coming to terms with his father walking out on the family when Holly, the daughter of his mum’s new husband, throws his beloved soft toy pig out the car window – never to be seen again. By way of apology, she buys him a replacement. The new pig is no comfort but ends up accompanying Jack on an imagined adventure to rescue his lost friend from the clutches of the evil Loser, destroyer of toys in the Land of the Lost. This delightful festive read from the Harry Potter author should appeal to kids of all ages.

Julia and the Shark

Kiran Millwood Hargrave with illustrations by Tom de Freston Julia is living with her parents in a lighthouse on a remote island for the summer. Her dad

The Australian Climate Change Book

Polly Marsden and Chris Nixon Asking children to come to terms with climate change can be a big ask. As parents, we tend is working, while her mum obsesses over finding the elusive Greenland shark. But when her mother’s passion for shark hunting unbalances their world, Julia sets off on her own quest. This beautifully conceived and illustrated children’s tale tells an exciting adventure full of courage, love, family and friendship. Perfect holiday reading for 8-12s.

to want to shelter our kids from more frightening possibilities, but many will already be aware and anxious about what might happen. This practical and reassuring book for children, written by the creator of documentary series Big Weather (and How To Survive It) will help them understand climate change and the ways in which they can make a difference.