Fiction - General
My father's notebook by Kader Abdolah
If on a winter's night a traveller by Italo Calvino
Wonder boys by Michael Chabon
“An hilarious chain of events have life-changing consequences for a university professor with writer's block. Enjoy the ride.”
Tokyo Cancelled by Rana Dasgupta
“Thirteen passengers stranded in an airport decide to share a story each. These stories stretch the imagination and bring a fresh feel to magical realism and the human condition.”
The inheritance of loss by Kiran Desai
What is the what : the autobiography of Valentino Achak
Deng : a novel by Dave Eggers
“Far from snuggle-up reading this story is placed in Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya and follows Valentino Achak Deng whose village has been destroyed and who is on the run. He is one of the Lost Boys, one of the few who makes it to the US. True story, not for the faint-hearted.”
Peripheral vision by Patricia Ferguson
The Eyre affair by Jasper Fforde
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
The harsh cry of the heron by Lian Hearn *
“The last of the Tales of the Otori - wonderful 'bookend' to the series which was a fabulous insight into Imperial Japan.”
Miss Smilla's feeling for snow by Peter Hoeg
High fidelity Nick Hornby
The kite runner by Khaled Hosseini
A thousand splendid suns by Khaled Hosseini
“From the writer of The kite runner - yet to be read by me but am looking forward to the fireside and the book!”
In Lucia’s eyes by Arthur Japin
“This novel grabbed me by surprise…it’s an historical novel, yes, but also a good yarn with a great plot, elegantly styled and beautifully translated from the Dutch. It’s 1758 in Amsterdam and a notorious seducer…”
The secret life of bees by Sue Monk Kidd
The historian Elizabeth Kostova *
Intimacy by Hanif Kureishi
One flew over the cuckoo’s nest Ken Kesey
“If you have never read this book, do yourself a favour. The movie was good but the book is better. A very inspiring story about standing up to authority and conformity. Remember we can all be McMurphy!”
Last chance saloon by Marian Keyes
The book of everything by Guus Kuijer; translated by John Nieuwenhuizen
“When his father hits his mother, Thomas sees the angels cover their eyes and weep. Seeing and experiencing the magical and divine helps Thomas overcome his fears and discover happiness. This book is listed as junior fiction but it’s a cross-generational read… a quasi-memoir of a 9 year old boy… It’s a beautiful book and incredibly touching.”
Small island by Andrea Levy
“Love, loss and emigration in post-war WWII London through local and Jamaican eyes. Great dialogue and characters.”
Alternatives to Sex by Stephen McCauley
“A funny novel about romance and real estate, two important things in winter.”
Rapture by Susan Minot
The time traveller’s wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Perfect match by Jodi Picoult
“An easy, relaxing read… perfect for a lazy night in!”
Pandora : new tales of the vampires by Anne Rice
“Great Gothic horror”
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
The Raj quartet by Paul Scott *
A suitable boy by Vikram Seth *
The post-birthday world by Lionel Shriver
Villages; the Rabbit series by John Updike
“Small town/suburban America … ah, who needs Desperate Housewives?”
Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller
Affinity by Sarah Waters
“A creepy novel set in Victorian London. It starts with a seance that goes horribly wrong.”
Always the bridesmaid by Sarah Webb
A century of November by WD Wetherell
“Sad, beautiful…fog over the fields of Flanders. Fatherly love searching for the son who perished, finding beauty in the mud of the WW1 battlefield.”
Popbot (graphic novel) by Ashley Wood
“His name is Ashley, and he's an Australian artist.”
Islandia by Austin Tappan Wright *
|
Fiction - Crime & Detective
The sacred art of stealing by Christopher Brookmyre
The mysterious affair at styles; They came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie
“I have been revisiting Christie’s books recently - because she set some of her stories in the Middle East many of her stories give a good contrast to how we may perceive the Middle East now. They are also fun parlour mysteries with a twist, good characters and well written.”
Painting the darkness by Robert Goddard
The Phryne Fisher mysteries by Kerry Greenwood
Berlin noir by Philip Kerr $
“This is an omnibus of three novels about a private detective named Bernie Gunther set during and directly after Germany's Nazi era. Well paced, fabulously written and researched noir. You will feel like you are walking the mean streets of Berlin.”
Return of the dancing master by Henning Mankell
Fatal voyage by Kathy Reichs
The Feng Shui detective goes south by Nury Vittachi
“Cross-cultural miscommunication and Asian mysticism in a light-hearted crime chase. Makes a nice change from Patricia Cornwell.”
The devil’s feather by Minette Walters
The cutting room by Louise Welsh
“A great Glaswegian murder thriller about a gay antique dealer pondering the murder of someone many years ago and tracking the crime. Very gritty and very nasty - not for the faint-hearted, but a great read!”
The Maisie Dobbs series: (Maisie Dobbs; Birds of a feather; Pardonable lies; Messenger of truth) by Jacqueline Winspear
Fiction - Classics
Winter is a great time to read – or re-read – the classics. Curl up with one of these in the armchair by the fire on a cold night!
A tale of two cities; Bleak House by Charles Dickens *
Don Quixote by Cervantes *
The magic mountain by Thomas Mann *
Moby Dick by Herman Melville *
The fortunes of Richard Mahony by Henry Handel Richardson *
War and peace by Leo Tolstoy *
The house of mirth by Edith Wharton
Non-Fiction
Marie Claire : easy by Michele Cranston
“Great food and very inspiring for kitchen addicts”
Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
“In the course of her strong will and outspokenness no place remains safe for Ali. Somalia, Kenya, the Netherlands, the US… On her recent visit to our shores she traveled with bodyguards. Is it modern? In conflict with tradition? Is it a woman in a man’s world? Ali still has parts of her life to live. I hope I read all about it.”
In Europe : travels through the twentieth century by Geert Mak
The lost: a search for six of the six million by Daniel Mendelsohn
“A moving recollection of one person's search for his "roots" which brings his dead relatives to life. A combination of great research skills and luck helped him in his quest to learn about his heritage.”
Vegan with a vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
“A fabulous animal-friendly cookbook.”
Down and out in Paris and London by George Orwell
Green warriors : the people and the politics behind the environmental revolution by Fred Pearce
With their backs against the world; A hundred and one days : a Baghdad journal by Asne Seierstadt
“If you like Bookseller of Kabul, read Asne Seierstadt’s other work of outstanding, quite often dangerous journalism. Here she again searches for the opinions and finds the problems of the common citizen.”
Biography
Cash : the autobiography Johnny Cash with Patrick Carr
“The stories in this are fast and wild enough to almost keep you warm without a fire. Cash’s humility is deeply moving.”
Mao's last dancer by Li Cunxin
Before the legend : the rise of Bob Marley by Christopher John Farley
Last train to Memphis : the rise of Elvis Presley and Careless love : the unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick
Things I didn’t know : a memoir Robert Hughes
“The fascinating memoir of one of Australia's most imminent art critics”
In the blood: a childhood memoir Andrew Motion
“Beautifully written recollections from Britain's Poet Laureate. Melancholy and affecting.”
Ring of fire : the Johnny Cash reader by Michael Streissguth
Point to point navigation: a memoir by Gore Vidal
“More fascinating memories from the social commentator and novelist who seems to have known the widest range of politicians and actors and performers from the last century and this one.”
|
