TAKE MY ADVICE

BOOKSHELF

by Annabelle Hickson

In Good Company Sophie Hansen Murdoch Books, $39.99 Sophie Hansen has done it again. The Orange-based cookery writer has a knack for creating go-to cookbooks for particular occasions. For example, if I have to make a picnic, or if a friend has just had a baby, or if I have to bring a platter to a community event, I reach for Sophie’s second book A Basket By the Door, where she’ll guide me through not only what to make, but also the practicalities of making and moving transportable food. In her new book, Sophie acts as a kind of fairy godmother for feeding groups of people at home. She gives you the recipes you need when you’re having people over and you want to feed them in a way that won’t send you into an anxiety spiral. Sophie’s recipes are reliable, never overly complicated and full of joy. Every country kitchen needs a copy on its shelves. Ken Done: Art Design Life Amber Creswell Bell Thames & Hudson, $80 This magnificent book chronicles the 40 years of art, doona covers and businesssmarts of Ken Done, one of Australia’s most original and iconic artists, who did so much to help us throw off the cultural cringe and authentically embrace what it meant to be Australian. From Done’s ideas for a new Australian flag to the covers of a weekly Japanese women’s magazine he illustrated for 15 years, this book explores many facets of his art and life. ‘You see one of Ken’s drawings or paintings and you suddenly feel glad and proud that you belong to a country that can inspire such a joyous response,’ playwright David Williamson says in the book, and that is exactly how I felt after reading it. Spirit of the Garden Trisha Dixon National Library of Australia, $65 The best gardens are those that consult the spirit of the place, according to Monaro-based author and photographer Trisha Dixon. Just as Maya Angelou believes that it’s not what people say that you remember but rather how they make you feel, Trisha believes the feeling of the garden is what matters. Trees, shrubs, plants, design and sculpture are secondary. This beautiful book made me reflect on why we garden and how, instead of imposing total control over the landscape, we might work with the natural surrounds and value and respect its own particular genius loci. On a more superficial note, it also made me audibly gasp when I saw the photo of Trisha’s book-lined reading room in her Monaro farmhouse.

Landscapes in Between Sophie Perez sophieperezartist.com, $55 UK-born and now Mornington Peninsula–based, artist Sophie Perez had never dreamed of publishing a book, at least not until COVID-19 entered our lives. Sophie, whose parents and twin sister still live in the UK, had an idea to connect with other people who were also feeling isolated, via Instagram. She asked people to send her a photo of a place that had significance to them but that they couldn’t visit because of restrictions, with a few words about why it was important. She’d then paint the places for these people. The response was overwhelming. The result is this 244-page book with paintings of more than 200 places. It’s a beautiful and uplifting response to a situation that was far from beautiful or uplifting. Sorrow and Bliss Meg Mason HarperCollins, $32.99 Galah’s book columnist, Meg Mason, has written a truly great novel: about Martha—a clever, funny, snarky character with an undefined mental illness—and the relationships around her. It’s had enthusiastic praise here and overseas. Ann Patchett said she was making a list of all the people she wanted to send it to, ‘until I realised that I wanted to send it to everyone I know’. Back at home, The Australian’s book reviewer Stephen Romei said it was ‘one of the best novels about marriage that I have read’. A Los Angeles production company has bought the film and TV rights, so hopefully we’ll see Sorrow and Bliss on the big screen before too long. In Meg’s dreams, British actress Vanessa Kirby, who played Princess Margaret in The Crown, will play Martha. Meg insists that, even if she has to re-engineer the entire novel, Benedict Cumberbatch needs to play a part too. Wonderground Issue One: Arise and Shine A Planthunter Publication, $35 Georgina Reid’s not-quitepocket-size biannual journal of new nature writing is called Wonderground and it certainly does live up to its name, in that it’s breaking wonderful new ground in the print world. Gorgeous photography complements thought-provoking writing about the intersection of nature, gardening and farming from different parts of the world. An interview with Dan Pearson—the god of natural garden design—had me hanging on to every word. ‘It’s quite rare to be able to talk gardens with people,’ Pearson told Georgina. ‘I felt like a freak when I was a kid because all my friends were ladies in their sixties and seventies who were garden fanatics.’ Georgina describes Wonderground as a reminder and a challenge: a reminder to see the glorious natural world around us; and a challenge to protect it. I am already hooked.