If your idea of holiday heaven is long, lazy days spent reclining with a stack of great books, then read on.
InDaily has asked four Adelaide book experts to share their top holiday reading recommendations from publishers’ 2014 lists, and the results offer something for every taste.
Gavin Williams, Matilda Bookshop
Nora Webster, Colm Toibin: Set in 1960s Ireland, Toibin’s Nora Webster is a lyrical story which tells of the transformational power of music and friendship. Pan Macmillan, $29.99
All The Birds Singing, Evie Wyld: This is a haunting story of an outsider, Jack Whyte, finding redemption from a traumatic past. Set between the harsh Australian cattle country and England, Wyld’s 2014 Miles Franklin Award-winning novel is both emotionally unsettling and sparingly beautiful. Random House, $19.99
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Karen Joy Fowler: Hotly tipped for the Booker Prize, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves introduces the Cookes – a family like no other. A hugely entertaining and thought-provoking read. The twist that the author unveils as the story unfolds left me astounded. Allen & Unwin, $27.99
The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Richard Flanagan: The book that beat Fowler to the much-coveted Booker Prize, Richard Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North is high on many summer reading lists, and with good reason. A deeply powerful book that revolves around a character inspired partly by the author’s father, it is an immensely powerful novel that will change the way you look at the world. Random House, $19.99
The Rosie Effect, Graeme Simsion: For some slightly lighter reading, Simsion’s follow up to the wildly popular The Rosie Project manages to be just as heartwarming and laugh-out-loud funny as the first tale in which we met central character Don Tillman, who had created a 16-page questionnaire to help him find the perfect partner. Text Publishing, $29.99
Gavin Williams is owner of Matilda Bookshop, 8 Mt Barker Road, Stirling.
Laura Kroetsch, Adelaide Writers’ Week
My Salinger Year, Joanne Rakoff: For those who yearn for the last great days of New York publishing, Rakoff’s memoir of her time with JD Salinger’s publisher is pure delight. This is a book about being young, long lunches and a time when you could smoke in the office. Bloomsbury, $32.99
The Bush, Don Watson: Part history, part memoir, The Bush is an extraordinary, and utterly original, meditation on Australia – its land and its people. Hugely enjoyable to read, this book is by turns startling, violent and often funny, but never sentimental. Penguin, $45
The Book of Strange New Things, Michel Faber : Set on a far-away world, this genre-defying novel is both the story of a preacher and earth-bound wife and an exploration of love, faith and the terrible brevity of life. Richly imagined and deeply thoughtful, it is a joy to read. Hachette, $29.99
The Dept. of Speculation, Jenny Offill: Jenny Offill’s brilliant novel tells the story of a marriage in peril and the monotony of motherhood as monologue. By turns wry, wise and hopelessly sad, it’s a novel like no other; hugely clever and deeply satisfying. Allen & Unwin, $24.99
Laura Kroetsch is director of Adelaide Writers’ Week, which will run from February 28 until March 6, 2015, in the Pioneer Women’s Memorial Gardens.
Nick Patrick, Adelaide’s Pop-Up Bookshop
This Changes Everything, Naomi Klein: We always promote the message of reading widely, but for 2014 there is one must-read – and This Changes Everything is it. Highlighting the correlation between out-of-control global capitalism and the climate-change crisis (yes, it is a crisis) this book can be a wake-up call to us all. Thoroughly researched but highly accessible, it squarely points the finger at rich nations allowing the obscenely rich to get even more so at the expense of the world’s poorest people and Earth itself. You must read this book… but then go out and do something!
This House of Grief, Helen Garner: Thorough and gripping, this is Garner’s take on the courtroom drama following the horrific case of three brothers who drowned when their father drove into a dam. With an unwavering sense of justice and her commitment to this case – following the trial for seven years – Garner is an Australian living treasure. Text Publishing, $32.99
Stone Mattress, Margaret Atwood: The short story is currently the hot genre and Atwood is arguably the English language’s finest living author – this collection of nine tales is a sure bet. Bloomsbury, $34
Amnesia, Peter Carey: Carey’s latest offering blends political intrigue with forays into Australia’s coming-of-age in the decades following World War II. Weaving a tale around historical facts is what Carey does best and Amnesia fits the bill nicely. Penguin, $32.99
Nick Patrick is co-owner of Adelaide’s Pop-Up Bookshop, currently at 19 Rundle Mall (opposite the Myer Centre), which stocks a mixture of old, new and collectible books.
Bruce & Mandy Macky, Dymocks Adelaide
The Bush, Don Watson: Oh to have Don Watson’s way with words! A beautifully written examination of what “The Bush” is, and what it means to the Australian way of life. Penguin, $45
The Beat Goes On, Ian Rankin: Rankin has written many novels starring John Rebus, who became one of the best-known and best-loved detectives in English fiction. But he has also written many short stories featuring Rebus. This work brings them all together for the first time. Hachette, $29.99
Life or Death, Michael Robotham: Due to be released from prison (somewhere in redneck Texas) tomorrow, why would Audie Palmer decide to escape today, after 10 years of torture behind bars? And since he clearly knew how to escape, why did he wait 10 years, less one day? The answer is to brilliantly revealed in engrossing book. Hachette, $29.99
Hello from the Gillespies, Monica McInerney: Angela Gillespie’s annual Christmas letter is not quite how she intended it to be. But what happens to pull her family back together is a heart-warming story not to be missed. Pearson, $29.99
Bruce and Mandy Macky are the franchise owners of Dymocks Adelaide, at 135 Rundle Mall in the city.
