The Dully Dispatch

It’s all sunshine and rainbows in Dulwich Hill as we proudly celebrate World Pride, Mardi Gras and our fabulous community of readers. Queer literature, graphic novels, history, politics, art, fashion, games – we’ve got your rainbow needs covered at Dully. February and March are also wonderful months for new-release books. So, what are we reading?

Soren just read Different for Boys by Patrick Ness, a gorgeous coming-of-age novella. “It sits alongside The Rest of Us Just Live Here in terms of being a very meta, tongue-in-cheek critique of young adult book conventions. Clever combinations of text, images and omitted text - not like anything I’ve seen for teen readers.” Soren also read Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention by Johann Hari. “This bestseller hardly needs my recommendation, but as someone who rarely reads non-fiction, I read this in three days straight and would recommend it to everyone.”

Zara devoured The Things We Do To Our Friends by Heather Derwent. “This is a dazzling story about friendship and power. When Clare starts at Edinburgh University, she finds herself drawn to a glamorous group of students - but what is the cost of winning them over, and what secrets of her own is she keeping?”

She also enjoyed The Heroines by Laura Shepperson, “a timely feminist retelling of the Greek myth of Phaedra about rape in ancient Athens.” Zara is currently reading The Witches of Vardo by Anya Bergman, which follows the 17thcentury witch trials in Norway and Denmark through several fictional women. “This book is a gorgeously immersive read, full of icy tundras, northern lights and magic!”

Letitia stayed up far too late ripping through Deepti Kapoor’s novel, Age of Vice. “This is a big, extraordinary tale of power and corruption in modern India. Kapoor’s writing is masterful and gripping - I ached for some characters, railed against others and was held in this book’s grip from start to finish. A must-read.”

Letitia also recommends Return to Valetto by Australian author Dominic Smith. “Dominic’s research on abandoned villages of Italy pays off in this wonderful novel. Almost operatic in feel, generational secrets and stories are revealed when villagers return to an Italian village for a birthday celebration Evocative and original - salute!”

For primary-aged readers, Letitia recommends new Australian novel, Queenie in Seven Moves by Zanni Louise. “Queenie is a wonderful character facing tricky situations and learning about herself along the way. This book has all the feelings - highly recommended.”

Morgan recommends Still Pictures: on Photography and Memory by Janet Malcolm. “This is a brief but beautiful posthumous memoir. Using family photos and other images as her starting point, Malcolm takes the reader through her childhood in Prague and New York and on to her life as one of the most admired non-fiction writers of the 20th century (her most famous book being The Journalist and the Murderer). As with all of Malcolm’s writing, every word counts. A delight for Malcolm fans.”

If you’re looking for escapist horror (not too scary and with some laughs), Dasha recommends Grady Hendrix and his books, How to Sell a Haunted House, Horrorstör (a haunted IKEA store!) and - wait for it - My Best Friend’s Exorcism (come for the frights, stay for the 1980s music and film references).

Meanwhile, Kelly is reading Robert Jordan’s fantasy classic Eye of the World (Book One in the Wheel of Time series). She says Jordan’s descriptions of the characters’ costumes are just as impressive as his magic systems and world-building. 5 stars!

And finally, fans of Irish literature will be delighted to hear that Sebastian Barry has a new novel out in March, Old God’s Time. Retired police officer Tom Kettle is living a very quiet (isolated) life when officers from his old command come knocking. What can we say? You’ll be hanging on to every stunning word...

See you in the shop soon, friends.

The Dully Team

There is an entrenched relationship between the consulting industry and hollowed-out, risk-averse governments and shareholder value-maximizing firms. Mazzucato and Collington show that our economies’ reliance on consulting companies stunts innovation, obfuscates corporate and political accountability and impedes our collective mission of halting climate breakdown. With a wealth of original research, they argue brilliantly for investment and collective intelligence within all organisations and communities, and for a new system in which public and private sectors work radically for the common good.

Gen F’d?

Economist Alison Pennington shows how the most educated generation in Australia’s history stands to be the first generation worse off than their parents, and gives young people the tools to create the change we need. Against the backdrop of global warming and pandemic, young people have inherited a dysfunctional economy that consumes their futures. Gen F’d? plots a path forward for Australians to reactivate our democracy and create a new economy that provides hope and opportunity for all.

This Won’t Hurt

The vast majority of medicines and treatments that we use today were designed for, and by, men and the myth that medicine is genderneutral has had terrible repercussions for women. Dr Marieke Bigg takes a deep dive into all the ways medicine is not gender neutral, using stories and experiences to demonstrate how these flawed mindsets have paved the way for sub-par treatment, and how prevailing attitudes in a patriarchal world can have unexpected effects far downstream.

The Near-Death of the Author

In the modern world of networked digital media, authors must navigate many challenges. Most pressingly, the illegal downloading and streaming of copyright material on the internet deprives authors of royalties, and in some cases it has discouraged creativity or terminated careers. Exploring technology’s impact on the status and idea of authorship in today’s world, Potts’ worrk reveals the many obstacles facing contemporary authors ultimately concluding that network culture has provoked the neardeath, but not the death, of the author.

Philosophy

Gleebooks Favourites

Ghosts of the Orphanage

A shocking expose of the dark, secret history of Catholic orphanages - the violence, abuse, and even murder that took place within their walls - and a call to hold the powerful to account. Centering on St. Joseph’s, a Catholic orphanage in Vermont, Kenneally investigates and shares the stories of survivors. She has fought to expose the truth and hold the powerful - many of them Catholic priests and nuns - to account. And it is working. It is not only a gripping story but a reckoning. It is proof that real evil lurks at the edges of our society, and that, if we have the courage, we can bring it into the light and defeat it.

Pegasus is almost certainly the most powerful piece of spyware ever developed. Installed by as little as a missed WhatsApp call, once on your phone it can record your calls, copy your messages, steal your photos and secretly film you. Those that control it can find out your daily movements: exactly where you’ve been, and who you’ve met. The personal data of the victims is captured by their own governments, foreign governments and even by private criminal enterprises. This book investigates how people’s lives and privacy are being threatened as cyber-surveillance occurs with exponentially increasing frequency across the world, at a sweep and scale that astounds – and horrifies.

Who Gets Believed?

Dina Nayeri’s wide-ranging, groundbreaking new book, combines deep reportage with her own life experience to examine what constitutes believability. Intent on exploring ideas of persuasion and performance, Nayeri takes us behind the scenes in emergency rooms, corporate boardrooms, asylum interviews and into her own family, to ask - where lies the difference between being believed and being dismissed? What does this mean for our culture? An essential read, this book investigates the unspoken social codes that determine how we relate to one another.

Ratbags: Naughty for Good

Let’s face it - rats are mischief. Rats are rule-breakers. Rats are ratbags. They’re all the same. All, that is, except Jigsaw. Will his newfound pizza obsession make Jigsaw the naughtiest Ratbag yet? Or will Jigsaw figure out how to be naughty - for good?!

Goldfish-Finger

Max is a mole on a mission. With Helen Hippo and June Bug by his side, Max must stop the evil Goldfish-Finger from stealing a priceless, solid gold fishfinger. This dangerous and top-secret mission will involve explosions, a naked mole rat, and being flushed down a giant toilet.

The Wolves of Greycoat Hall

Lucinda Gifford

Walker, $17.00

Boris is attending the Institute of International Excellence, a fancy Swiss boarding school. Although worried about being the only wolf, and having to navigate around the rude vice principal, he quickly makes friends, learns how to “log in” and heli-board, and has plentiful supply of cake, Boris can’t shake the idea that something funny is going on.

Early Readers

The Isabelle Stories

Jane Godwin & Robin Cowcher (ill)

Lothian, $15.00

Six-year-old Isabelle doesn’t have any brothers or sisters. But she does have her dad, her cat Steve, her friend Harry B, and her baby cousin, Bibi, who she’s very good at looking after. And then along comes Isobel, a new girl at school. They have the same name, but will they be friends?

Kids’ Non-Fic

The Big Mess

Sally Rippin & Stephanie Spartels (ill)

Hardie Grant, $10.00

Jack is a friendly, everyday kid who loves playing soccer and always tries to be brave. He’s filming a cooking show with his best friend Billie. But what will happen if he messes everything up? Follow Jack on a fun new adventure that kids will love and relate to.

Calling all of our bookworms to share their favourite reads! We want to feature more of our wonderful book clubbers in our Gleaner magazine, so if you’ve got a book you’d love to review or if you want to write about an author visit, send us an email on rachel@gleebooks.com.au! We have exciting giveaways waiting for you!

India, Incredible India

Jasbinder Bilan & Nina Charkrabarti (ill)

Walker, $33.00

A joyful celebration of India and its incredible people, places and wildlife. Watch elephants bathing from a houseboat in Kerala, marvel at ancient cave paintings in Bhimbetka, wander through Delhi’s bustling streets, and ride a train through the snow-capped peaks of the Himalaya. Journey through India and explore its incredible diversity!

Pollination

Christopher Cheng & Danny Snell (ill)

CSIRO, $25.00

A child’s day in the garden with their Gran and Pa leads to a wonderful exploration of pollination. Join them in discovering how pollination happens in our gardens and the importance it has for our environment. Meet the animals involved in pollination and the plants that depend on pollination to produce our fruit, vegetables and even our clothes!

Ages 2 - 5

Timeless

Kelly

Emit is surrounded by busyness. Everyone around him is always busy. Emit tries everything he can think of to get more time, he tries to catch it, wait for it, but it’s not until Emit tries to buy some time that he learns the secret which is, if you want time, you have to make it.

Pocket Treasure

Wenda

Allira ‘s favourite dress has pockets that are perfect for holding all her little treasures. But when Allira needs to decorate her teacher’s birthday surprise, she finds her pockets are empty! Allira might have given all her treasures away, but she has good friends who can come to the rescue.

The Cockatoo Wars

In this fourth book in the Tales from the Bush Mob series, you will meet the cockatoo clans who are too busy fighting to notice when a huge fire breaks out. Luckily two mother cockatoos and their sons seek help from the Bush Mob Council. Everyone works together to save the ancient forest and finally there is peace among the cockatoos.

Lost

The story of a polar bear who finds himself lost, in a big concrete city. He politely asks the city folk for help but everyone is much too busy. He finds himself travelling on the subway only to be noticed, finally by a little girl who takes him under her innocent wing. A story about the power friendship has to help you feel found, and even to transport you home.

Hope Is The Thing

Sparked by the Emily Dickinson poem ‘Hope is the thing with feathers’, this is a highly original, beautiful and deeply meaningful picture book that sees the marvellous and inspiring world of birds through the eyes of a child and celebrates birds’ adaptability and ingenuity.

Ages 8 - 12

Friday Barnes: Last Chance

R.A.

Crime is afoot in the city of love! Someone stole the Mona Lisa. Okay, it was over a hundred years ago, but a recently uncovered letter reveals that the thief forged a copy. That means that the painting in the Louvre now is a fake. Now it’s upto Friday Barnes to uncover the truth - and the real painting! As she watches the comings and goings of France’s most famous art gallery, she sees some very strange things. Friday soon discovers that the Paris art scene is a hotbed of crime.

Odder

Odder spends her days off the coast of central California, practising her underwater acrobatics and spinning the quirky stories for which she’s known. She’s a fearless daredevil, curious to a fault. But when Odder comes face-toface with a hungry great white shark, her life takes a dramatic turn, one that will challenge everything she believes about herself - and about the humans who hope to save her.

The Glow

A strange glow from phone screens leaves everyone in town immobilised - except for besties Megan & Li. They are initially frightened and alarmed, but when they realise they are somehow immune, they set out to seek help. Soon a battle unfolds, a thrilling battle that pits all of their creative energies against the terrible monster that has ensnared everyone else around them.

Queenie in Seven Moves

To Queenie, home is Peachy, the little house where she’s lived forever. But when she and her mum have to leave Peachy, Queenie discovers that home isn’t a place at all. It’s making new friends and reconnecting with old ones, letting yourself be uncomfortable, and finding the courage to share your song with the world. A sensitive, timely story addressing loss and belonging.

Promise Boys

Nick Brooks

The Urban Promise Prep School vows to turn boys into men. As students, J.B., Ramón, and Trey are forced to follow the prestigious “program’s” strict rules. Extreme discipline, they’ve been told, is what it takes to be college bound, to avoid the fates of many men in their neighborhoods. This, the Principal Moore Method, supposedly saves lives. But when Moore ends up murdered and the cops come sniffing around, the trio emerges as the case’s prime suspects. With all three maintaining their innocence, they must band together to track down the real killer before they are arrested. But is the true culprit hiding among them? This exquisitely taut thriller shines a glaring light on how the system too often condemns Black and Latinx teen boys to failure before they’ve even had a chance at success. (12+)

Catfish Rolling

Sora hates the catfish whose rolling caused an earthquake so powerful it cracked time itself. It destroyed her home and took her mother. Now Sora and her scientist father live close to the zones the wild and abandoned places where time runs faster or slower than normal. Sora is sensitive to these shifts, and her father recruits her help in exploring these liminal spaces. But it’s dangerous there and as she strays further inside in search of her mother, she finds that time distorts, memories fracture and shadows, a glimmer of things not entirely human, linger. After Sora’s father goes missing, she has no choice but to venture into uncharted spaces within the time zones to find him, her mother and perhaps even the catfish itself. (12+)

Two Can Play That Game

Sam Khoo has one goal in life: create cool indie games. All she needs to make it happen is a super-rare ticket to a game design workshop and she can kickstart her career. So when Jay Chua, aka Jerky McJerkface, sneakily grabs the last ticket, it’s war. Sam issues him an ultimatum: put the ticket on the line in a 1v1 competition of classic video games, or she’ll broadcast his duplicity to everyone. Sam and Jay connect despite themselevs, but when her dream is under threat, will she discover that there is more than one way to win? (12+)

Graphic Novels

Besties Work it Out

Meet Beth and Chanda, two stylish best friends on their way to building their fashion empire! An unexpected business opportunity presents itself when the girls are asked to dogsit at Ms Langford’s luxurious house while she’s away, but it quickly turns into a disaster after an accident leaves one of Ms Langford’s prized possessions in pieces! Now Beth and Chanda have to take on as many odd jobs as they can in order to afford a replacement. Car washing, book sales, interior decorating – you name it, Beth and Chanda are there! Will they be able to patch up their mistake in time? (Ages 8-12)