Triumph and Demise: The broken promise of a Labor generation


Paul Kelly - 2014
    It is the inside account of the hopes, achievements and bitter failures of the Labor Government from 2007 to 2013. Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard came together to defeat John Howard, formed a brilliant partnership and raised the hopes of the nation. Yet they fell into tension and then hostility under the pressures of politics and policy. Veteran journalist Paul Kelly probes the dynamics of the Rudd–Gillard partnership and dissects what tore them apart. He tells the full story of Julia Gillard’s tragedy as our first female prime minister - her character, Rudd’s destabilisation, the carbon tax saga and how Gillard was finally pulled down on the eve of the 2013 election. Kelly documents the most misunderstood event in these years - the rise of Tony Abbott and the reason for his success. It was Abbott’s performance that denied Rudd and Gillard the chance to recover. Labor misjudged Abbott and paid the price. Kelly writes with a keen eye and fearless determination. His central theme is that Australian politics has entered a crisis of the system that, unless corrected, will diminish the lives of all Australians.

Just Another Week in Suburbia


Les Zig - 2017
    He and his wife Jane are still trying for a baby after seven years. His neighbours have their quirks to be navigated. And his job as a high school teacher, while satisfying, comes with its challenges.Every day is much like the one before that is, until Casper makes a discovery that threatens everything he knows... As Casper 's fears grows into obsessions, his world starts to unravel.Just Another Week in Suburbia is a story about love, trust, and insecurity, and the question of whether you can ever really know another person.

Knots


Deblina Bhattacharya - 2019
     Knots is a collection of poetry and prose about love and heartbreak, tragedy and grief, survival and loss. It's a journey through the numerous knots that we tie in life, and the ones we tangle and untangle with. It explores the realities of mental illness & suicide, social taboos & violence against women, pain & darkness, self love & healing in all its naked glory. The rhythm of Knots resonates directly with the poet's heart, conveying to the readers that there is a way to untangle every knot in life, but sometimes, some of these knots are what we are made of. Foreword by Dr. Santosh Bakaya

I Found You


Praneeth Chandra - 2021
    Divided into seven chapters, from love to the family. It's all about falling in love madly, getting hurt deeply, bearing all the pain in darkness. Still finding hope and waiting for a miracle to heal the broken heart, waiting for the love, makes me feel like home. It is all about love and trusting the universe

Petit à Petit


Ambica Uppal - 2020
    It assures you that tomorrow will be a better day and encourages you to realise your potential and achieve your aspirations. Petit à Petit is centred on themes like self-love, self-confidence and taking life into your own hands.No matter how far-away and impossible your dreams seem, don't be afraid to reach for them.

Poetry Notebook: 2006–2014


Clive James - 2014
    He is also a prize-winning poet. Since he was first enthralled by the mysterious power of poetry, he has been a dedicated student. In fact, for him, poetry has been nothing less than the occupation of a lifetime, and in this book he presents a distillation of all he's learned about the art form that matters to him most.With his customary wit, delightfully lucid prose style and wide-ranging knowledge, James explains the difference between the innocuous stuff that often passes for poetry today and a real poem: the latter being a work of unity that insists on being heard entire and threatens never to leave the memory. A committed formalist and an astute commentator, he offers close and careful readings of individual poems and poets (from Shakespeare to Larkin, Keats to Pound), and in some case second readings or re-readings late in life - just to be sure he wasn't wrong the first time! Whether discussing technical details of metaphorical creativity or simply praising his five favourite collections of all time, he is never less than captivating.

Fire Front: First Nations poetry and power today


Alison Whittaker - 2020
    Curated and introduced by Alison Whittaker, Fire Front is a ground-breaking anthology of First Nations poetry showcasing some of the brightest new stars, as well as leading Aboriginal writers and poets including Bruce Pascoe, Ali Cobby Eckermann and Tony Birch.

Almost Sincerely


Zoe Norton Lodge - 2015
    God’s country. Heartland of the Inner West. Because of its location an always fertile mix of working-class, migrant, genteel, intellectual and eccentric residents. As she got older she noticed Annandale was changing, and she started hearing new words like ‘architect’ and ‘labradoodle’, and eventually entire weeks would go by with no backyard bomb explosions.These stories about neighbourhood warfare, wacky relatives, quashed dreams and facial disfigurement are told with Norton Lodge’s characteristic comic verve and eye for absurdity and menace, inspired by her family, friends, acquaintances and nemeses. Their highlights include Greek grandparents who have lived in mutual resentment for decades and beat each other up with colanders, children who dabble in amateur porn and are sent to school with cat-food sandwiches, ‘distressed’ furniture, rampaging eczema, flying babies and other suburban wonders.

Australia's Serial Killers: The Definitive History Of Serial Multicide In Australia


Paul B. Kidd - 2000
    This B format edition is fully updated, bringing all the cases covered up to the minute.They used to be known as mass murderers, spree killers or repeat offenders. Now the world knows them as serial killers - murderers that kill on compulsion again and again until they are finally brought to justice.Australia's dark history of homicide has its own chamber of horrors; a rollcall that includes some of the most unique cases of serial murder in the world.A recognised authority on Australia's most notorious criminals, Paul B. Kidd covers in unwavering detail 33 true stories of serial murder. In this gallery of infamy are world-renowned serial killers, the likes of the Night Caller, the Mutilator and the Granny Killer; serial poisoners such as the 'Rough on Rats' Killer; and serial child killers such as the Angel of Death and the Carbon Copy Killer.Sixteen years in the researching, this comprehensive and ambitious work includes psychological opinions, courtroom trials, detailed confessions, and exclusive prison interviews with three of Australia's most infamous serial killers.But be warned: the murders in this book are horrifying, graphic and unforgettable - it is not for the faint-hearted.

Campervan Kama Sutra: Outback Australia, with a camper trailer, three kids and a dog.*


John Perrier - 2015
     Our intrepid adventurers work their way through numerous mishaps, including, but not limited to, an ill-advised river crossing, an inappropriately packed roof rack and some truly horrible singing. During their journey they stumble across a motley assortment of characters such as a confused check-in clerk, a grey nomad with an eye for detail regarding torches, and several Crazy Germans. While reading Campervan Kama Sutra, you’ll not only fall in love with Australia’s vast, ever-changing countryside, but you’ll also delight in the tragicomedy that arrives with unerring regularity. You’ll laugh until something hurts. *P.S. There was no dog.

Please Explain


Karl Kruszelnicki
    avoid opinion ... facts are your single clue. Get the facts!' - time Enough for Love, Robert Heinlein Does eating celery make you lighter? Do you have to be dying to have a near-death experience? Is a yawn a silent, natural scream for air; and if a little oxygen is good for you is more oxygen better? Can the humble spud kill? Did Galileo drop his balls from the Leaning tower of Pisa? Did a NASA computer really prove a miracle in the Bible actually happened? Is there any substance harder than diamond, and do diamonds really last forever? And exactly how many Eskimo words for 'snow' are there? Wherever he goes, people always ask Dr Karl to explain stuff, and in this his 26th book (26 is the only number directly between a square and a cube), he explains more myths and curly questions. Visit Dr Karl at www.drkarl.com

Feeding the Demons


Gabrielle Lord - 1999
    As the 30-something proprietor of a successful security and surveillance business, Gemma decides to video the effigy and compare notes with her friend, Detective Sergeant Angie MacDonald. Angie has a similar video - except the victim is a real woman.Meanwhile, Gemma s father, psychiatrist Dr Archie Chisholm, is due to be released from prison, where he has been held for many years for the murder of Gemma s mother. Gemma has always believed her father innocent, and has assembled evidence to prove it. Her sister Kit, however, is convinced of his guilt, and the relationship between the sisters has been deeply troubled since the time of the murder. As the serial killer s violent crimes escalate, the trauma of 30 years before resurfaces, and Gemma and Kit find themselves drawn ever-deeper into a situation they never thought possible, where the horrors of past and present become increasingly entwined ...

Diamonds and Dust


Sheryl McCorry - 2008
    When she was 18 her family moved to Broome, and it was the first time she'd ever used a telephone or seen a television.A year later, only hours after being railroaded into marriage by a fast-talking Yank, Sheryl locked eyes with Bob McCorry, a drover and buffalo shooter. When her marriage ended after only a few months, they began a love affair that would last a lifetime and take them to the Kimberley's harshest frontiers.Sheryl became the only woman in a team of stockmen. She soon learned how to run rogue bulls and to outsmart the neighbours in the toughest game of all – mustering cattle. The playing field was a million acres of unfenced, unmarked boundaries.Sheryl went on to become the first woman in the Kimberley to run two million-acre cattle stations, but her life was not without its share of tragedy. Her story is an epic saga of life in one of the toughest and most beautiful terrains in Australia – a story of hardship, drought, joy and triumph.

The Young Widow's Book of Home Improvement


Virginia Lloyd - 2008
    After her beloved John's death from cancer, Virginia was faced with addressing the chronic rising damp problem in the house they had shared and, over her first year as a young widow, her house had to dry from the inside out – and so did Virginia. The Young Widow's Book of Home Improvement is a wry and touching love story that plays with the parallels between our homes and ourselves.

Mother of Pearl


Angela Savage - 2019
    Rich in characterisation and feeling, Mother of Pearl, and the timely issues it raises, will generate discussion amongst readers everywhere.