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Graveyard shift
By M.L. Rio
In the interests of trying something else and since we are approaching the ‘ spooky’ time of the year I offer you this intriguing gem, which I was admittedly initially drawn to the cover (yes, Gordy is also susceptible to judging a book by its cover!)
A story about a ragtag group of night shift workers who meet in the local cemetery to unearth the secrets lurking in an open grave.
Every night, in the college's ancient cemetery, five people cross paths as they work the late shift: a bartender, a rideshare driver, a hotel receptionist, the steward of the derelict church that looms over them, and the editor-in-chief of the college paper, always in search of a story.
One dark October evening in the defunct churchyard, they find a hole that wasn't there before. A fresh, open grave where no grave should be. But who dug it, and for whom?
Before they go their separate ways, the gravedigger returns. As they trail him through the night, they realize he may be the key to a string of strange happenings around town that have made headlines for the last few weeks--and that they may be closer to the mystery than they thought.
Atmospheric and eerie, featuring an ensemble of misfits that fans will love and a delightfully familiar academic backdrop, Graveyard Shift is a modern Gothic tale in If We Were Villains author M. L. Rio's inimitable style.
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When life gives you lemurs
By Tim Husband with Deborah Kane
Often we hear stories of how animals have transformed a person’s life and this is one of them –
A story of courage, generosity and the tender power of animals to heal humans.
Tim came from a rigid, Jehovah’s Witness family who were estranged from each other. The emotional vacuum in the family home was bearable until Tim began to question the values and structures of that faith. He was forced to leave home at the age of fourteen under terrible circumstances. He was completely alone and estranged from any human.
Taken in by a person who ran a local Zoo, Tim found great solace in caring for animals. They asked nothing of him and gave him a focus for his energy and compassion.
As Tim gradually awakened from the cloud of fear he had been living, his natural curiosity turned towards the animals that he nurtured. His questions about their well-being led him to study further and enlarge his knowledge of animal needs and survival. This in turn caused him to experiment with building new animal enclosures and treatments for his charges.
As he became well known, people from overseas sent for him to solve their issues with animals, and designing enclosures and zoos made this man famous.
He has directed, designed and curated at some of the best-known zoos in the world, building a reputation as an exotic animal whisperer.
This is Tim’s story written beautifully by Deborah Kane. She has been able to produce a readable story without overdoing the sentimentality. It is the facts that quietly amaze.
The honesty and sincerity with which When Life Gives You Lemurs is told is remarkable.
*There is a warning on the front page that a sexual assault is described and as the story opens you can tell where the danger lies.
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You Could Make This Place Beautiful
By Maggie Smith
Life began to feel open enough, elastic enough, to contain whatever I might choose for it.
If you’re looking for a book that is as thought-provoking as it is lyrical, You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith is the book for you. In this memoir, Smith takes us with her on her journey through the end of her marriage, bearing everything, as she finds her way back to herself.
This book is bursting with poetry that is as sharp as it is sweet. It’s the kind of book that makes you stop and think, but also one that leaves you with a sense of hope and possibility.
What I really loved about this memoir is how it’s not just about surviving loss—it’s about thriving afterward. Smith’s writing is full of heart and honesty, reminding us that even in the toughest times, there’s always a way to rebuild and create something new. It encourages you to keep going, to find the beauty in the mess.
So, if you’re after a book that’s going to resonate long after you’ve turned the last page, give You Could Make This Place Beautiful a try. It’s a story of resilience, strength, and ultimately, the power of possibility. Happy reading!
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The Valley of the Assassins
By Freya Stark
A good read by an excellent lady traveller & writer!
Stark was a woman of indefatigable energy, who often travelled with only a single guide and on a shoestring budget, and who was undeterred by discomfort and danger.
Hailed as a classic upon its first publication in 1934, The Valleys of the Assassins is an absorbing account of people and place.
Full of wit and rich in detail – and also in humanity – her writing brings to vivid life the stories of the ancient kingdoms of the Middle East.
Entering Luristan on a mule, draped in native clothing, Freya bluffs her way past border guards and sets off into uncharted territory; places where few Europeans, and no European women, had ventured.
The Valleys of the Assassins chronicles Stark’s treks into the wilderness of western Iran on the hunt for treasure and in an attempt to locate the long-fabled Assassins in Alumut, an ancient Persian sect.
Growing up in near-poverty and denied a formal education, Freya Stark had nurtured a fascination for the Middle East since reading Arabian Nights as a child. But it wasn’t until she was in her thirties that she was able to leave Europe. Boarding a cargo ship to Beirut in 1927, she went on to became one of her generation’s most intrepid explorers – her adventures would take her to remote areas in Turkey, the Middle East and Asia. If you like this book there are other exciting journeys to explore!
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The Book Forger: the true story of a literary crime that fooled the world
ByJoseph Hone
The true story of a literary crime that fooled the world! What a fascinating story, not just for mystery buffs but all book lovers.
A true detective story from the age of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers: the literary crime that fooled the world - and the daring young booksellers who uncovered it
London, 1932. Thomas James Wise is the toast of the literary establishment. A prominent collector and businessman, he is renowned on both sides of the Atlantic for unearthing the most stunning first editions and bringing them to market. Pompous and fearsome, with friends in high places, he is one of the most powerful men in the field of rare books.
One night, two young booksellers - one a dishevelled former communist, the other a martini-swilling fan of detective stories - stumble upon a strange discrepancy. It will lead them to suspect Wise and his books are not all they seem. Inspired by the vogue for Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes, the pair harness the latest developments in forensic analysis to crack the case, but find its extent is greater than they ever could have imagined. By the time they are done, their investigation will have rocked the book world to its core.
This is the true story of unlikely friends coming together to expose the literary crime of the century, and of a maverick bibliophile who forged not only books but an entire life, erasing his past along the way.
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The Pharmacist's Wife
By Vanessa Tait
What’s not to love about this book!? There’s love, desire, vengeance … a deadly alchemy!
This wet wintery weekend Gordy is looking forward to curling up with this fascinating, darkly powerful novel with biting attitude (like the weather at the moment!) … totally captivating.
When Rebecca Palmer's new husband opens a pharmacy in Victorian Edinburgh, she expects to live the life of a well-heeled gentlewoman. But her ideal turns to ashes when she discovers her husband is not what he seems.
As Rebecca struggles to maintain her dignity in the face of his infidelity and strange sexual desires, Alexander tries to pacify her so-called hysteria with a
magical new chemical creation.
Rebecca's journey into addiction takes her further into her past, and her first, lost love, while Alexander looks on, curiously observing his wife's descent.
Meanwhile, Alexander's desire to profit from his invention leads him down a dangerous path that blurs science, passion, and death.
He soon discovers that even the most promising experiments can have unforeseen and deadly consequences...
Reminiscent of the works of Sarah Waters, this is a brilliantly observed piece of Victoriana which deals with the disempowerment of women, addiction, desire,
sexual obsession and vengeance.
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Ghosts of the British Museum : a true story of colonial loot and restless objects
By Noah Angell
This book is so interesting … and since I like museums and ghosts I was instantly drawn in by the title and gladly so because this
Is indeed a fascinating book!
What if the British Museum isn't a carefully ordered cross section of history but is in instead a palatial trophy cabinet of colonial loot - swarming with volatile and errant spirits?
When artist and writer Noah Angell first heard murmurs of ghostly sightings at the British Museum he had to find out more.
What started as a trickle soon became a deluge as staff old and new - from overnight security to respected curators - brought him testimonies of their supernatural encounters.
It became clear that the source of the disturbances was related to the Museum's contents - unquiet objects, holy plunder, and restless human remains protesting their enforced stay within the colonial collection's cabinets and deep underground vaults. According to those who have worked there, the institution is heaving with profound spectral disorder.
Ghosts of the British Museum fuses storytelling, folklore and history, digs deep into our imperial past and unmasks the world's oldest national museum as a site of ongoing conflict, where restless objects are held against their will.
'Brilliantly delicate, pointed, shivery... Achieves a near-impossible marriage between paranormal pop-culture, folklore and hauntology' – so says Roger Clarke, author of A Natural History of Ghosts and Gordy totally agrees regards this perfect unputdownable book perfect for a dark wintery night!
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The untamed thread : slow stitch to soothe the soul & ignite creativity
By Fleur Woods
This book wraps you in a warm blanket of nostalgia, grounds you in nature, and inspires your senses to allow you to travel down your own creative path gathering all the precious little details meant for you along the way.
The story of Fleur Wood's journey from corporate world to creative life, woven with generous doses of the practical ways you can bring more creativity into your own life.
Taking cues from the natural world wander through Fleur’s contemporary fiber art practice to encourage and support you to find your own creative path.
With beautiful imagery showcasing Fleur’s enchanting stitch work and the surrounding landscape, this is a creative guide that invites you into her art studio based in rural New Zealand.
Her practice is as untamed as the New Zealand landscape that inspires her, free of rules, guided by intuition and joy in the process. Explore colour, texture, flora, textiles and stitch alongside the magic moments, happy accidents, perfect coincidences and ridiculous randomness of the creative process.
Chapters include Fleur's inspiring backstory, through to inspiration she takes from nature to create her art, to more practical chapters showcasing her favorite stitches, steps on fabric dyeing, and advice on threads, needles and fabrics to use.
Embracing the slow, contemplative nature of stitch we can reconnect our creative spirits or just spend some time relaxing and looking at this lovely book!
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The underground library
By Jennifer Ryan
Of course “ In the darkest of times, books will save the day” A gorgeous novel about making the best of things during difficult times,
Whilst celebrating the importance of sisterhood and friendship.
When the Blitz threatens the heart of a London neighbourhood, three young women must use their fighting spirit to keep their community together in this heartwarming novel from the author of The Kitchen Front.
On the day Juliet Lansdown reports to work for the first time at Bethnal Green Library, it isn't the bustling hub she's been expecting. But in the face of German attacks, she's determined to make it a place where all of their neighbours feel safe and welcome.
Katie Upwood is thrilled to be working at the library too, though she's only there until she heads off to university in the fall. But after the death of her sweetheart on the front lines and unexpected family strife, she's more in need of support herself.
Sofie Baumann, a Jewish refugee without any family to lean on, finds comfort and friendship in Bethnal Green's quickly growing literary community and escapes to the library every chance she gets. But her asylum in London is tied to a domestic work visa issued by an unscrupulous employer, leaving her vulnerable and uncertain where to turn when her work environment becomes unbearable.
So when a slew of bombs damage the library, Juliet can't bear to give up on her safe haven of books and relocates the stacks into an underground station where the city's residents shelter nightly, determined to keep lending out stories that will keep spirits up.
Will Juliet, Kate, and Sofie be able to overcome their own troubles to save the library? Or will the beating heart of their neighbourhood be lost forever? (oh no, hopefully not!), Gordy suggests you read this book to find out!
An enchanting hug of a novel, a nice read during a cool winters day snuggled up somewhere warm and safe in the knowledge of what wonderful places Libraries truly are.
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Deep water : the world in the ocean
By James Bradley
First drawn to the beauty of the cover then reading the synopsis I further dived into this interesting book, Deep water : the world in the ocean by James Bradley.
Deep Water is a hymn to the beauty, mystery and wonder of the ocean. Through history, science, nature writing, and environmentalism, Deep Water invites you to explore the deepest recesses of our natural world, it offers vital new ways of understanding not just humanity's relationship with the planet, but our past - and perhaps most importantly, our future.
The ocean has shaped and sustained life on Earth from the beginning of time. Its vast waters are alive with meaning, and connect every living thing on Earth.
This gloriously ambitious book about the wonder and plight of our oceans brings together James Bradley's skills as a poet, novelist and journalist.
Tim Winton liked it too :
'Teeming with mysteries, wonders and heartbreaking facts, this beautiful, lucid hymn to the sea is a reminder of what we still have, what we stand to lose, and why we must never stop fighting to save our home.'
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What can I bring?
By Sophie Hansen
As the days get shorter and colder what is better than spending time in the kitchen making delicious food for others and yourself. Beloved country cook Sophie Hansen offers seasonally delicious answers to that perennial question. What can I bring?
The common thread of all Sophie Hansen's recipes and gatherings is the community and kindness that binds us. These recipes and ideas will help glue together your own special gatherings.
Sophie Hansen generously shares her years of experience and expertise so that you can feel confident and at ease in contributing to a party. From simple nibbles and dips to hearty wintertime bakes to a chocolate orange layered cake, there are a wealth of ideas to suit every occasion, whether you are a novice or a seasoned chef. Importantly, Hansen says these recipes are ‘forgiving, generous and mostly happy to sit out at room temperature for a while'.
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Killers of the Flower Moon : oil, money, murder and the birth of the FBI
By David Grann
'Presents a true account of the early twentieth-century murders of dozens of wealthy Osage and law-enforcement officials, citing the contributions and missteps of a fledgling FBI that eventually uncovered one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.'
This is a highly compelling, and very unsettling, read for anyone interested in true crime or neglected aspects of American history. Grann's descriptive and, occasionally, speculative prose is reminiscent of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. But the exhaustive scope and depth of research that Grann presents here eclipses that classic tome. Hesitant readers who have already seen the film based on this book should rest easy. This book is a very different experience - more richly detailed in its presentation of characters, places and events.
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Kind of, sort of, maybe... but probably not
By Imbi Neeme
Gordy’s desk brings you something a little different this month, a little lighter and quirkier … why not try something different but just be sure not to be slurping your tea or munching or crunching too loudly near anybody while reading … (if you’ve ever seen me eat an apple I’m sure you would know what I mean!)
A charming, nostalgic, quirky, uplifting novel of people young and old finding their tribe, gaining courage to be themselves and perhaps falling in love, too.
Librarian Phoebe Cotton lives with misophonia. The sound of other people crunching an apple, slurping their tea or snapping chewing gum fills her with a rage that she buries deep within.
Mortified by her ‘Not Quite Right’ brain, she hides away inside 6 Salmon Street, the family home that her formidable grandmother Dorothy has abandoned for a more convivial life at the Western Retreat Retirement Village. But when Phoebe begins receiving mysterious postcards in the mail, she slowly, but surely, finds herself being pulled back out into the world and towards Monty, the sweet postal clerk.
Across town, Suze, a university student with a high distinction in study avoidance, is clinging to the hope that the neglectful J might actually be her boyfriend. When J’s attention turns to Ky, it sets Suze on a path that leads her to 6 Salmon Street and Phoebe Cotton.
Together with Suze and Monty, Phoebe goes on a mission to solve the mystery of the postcards but ends up finding much, much more, including acceptance, strength and love.
Lead character Phoebe is the kind of lead character I love. Reminiscent of some of my favourites over recent years, such as Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman and Lenny Marks gets away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne.
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Servo
By David Goodwin
Have you ever wondered what happens at service stations in the middle of the night, Gordy has!
An eye opening, humorous memoir that reaffirms that fact is often stranger than fiction.
Most of us have done our time in the retail trenches, but service stations are undoubtedly the frontline, as Melburnian David Goodwin found out when he started working the weekend graveyard shift at his local servo.
From his very first night shift, David absorbed a consistent level of mind-bending lunacy, encountering everything from giant shoplifting bees and balaclava-clad goons hurling cordial-filled water bombs from the sunroof of their BMW, to anarcho-goths high on MDMA releasing large rats into the store from their matching Harry Potter backpacks.
Over the years, David grew to love his mad servo, handing out free pies and chocolate bars on the sly as he grew a backbone and became street smart. Amidst the unrelenting chaos, he eventually made it out of the servo circus - and lived to tell the tale.
For anyone who's ever toiled under the unforgiving fluorescent lights of a customer service job, SERVO is a side-splitting and darkly mesmeric coming-of-age story from behind the anti-jump wire that will have you gritting your teeth, then cackling at the absurdity, idiocy and utterly beguiling strangeness of those who only come out at night.
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4am answers to the conundrums that keep you up at night - advice from Ask Shameless
Edited by Michelle Andrews & Zara McDonald
Sometimes I feel like reading something completely different, fun and interesting where I might actually learn something about others and maybe myself – or you could just be asking for a friend!
Since 2021, tens of thousands of readers have devoured the Ask Shameless weekly columns on dating, friendship and self-development, written by the Shameless podcasters and a team of talented young Australian writers.
In 4am, Zara and Michelle have curated forty of their very best columns alongside ten brand-new ones - plus the follow-up replies from many of the original contributors, updating readers on what happened next.
From navigating toxic friendships and romantic dilemmas to finding the courage to pursue your dreams, these are the conundrums that keep us up at night - answered with compassion, wisdom and wit.
Also available as an audiobook on the LibrariesSA Libby App if you rather listen to it.
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A memoir of my former self : a life in writing
By Hilary Mantel
In A Memoir of My Former Self: A Life in Writing, Hilary Mantel writes: “There is no failed writing, only work pending.” She’s referring to the 97 notebooks that she kept in a wooden box. Mantel promised: “There is nothing I won’t say, only what I haven’t said yet.”
But what Mantel hasn’t said “yet” is precisely the problem. The author suffered a stroke and died suddenly and unexpectedly in 2022. Reflecting on her death, her admirer and peer Margaret Atwood asked: “What might she have written next? I don’t know, but I will miss it.”
In addition to her celebrated career as a novelist, Hilary Mantel contributed for years to newspapers and journals, unspooling stories from her own life and illuminating the world as she found it. “Ink is a generative fluid,” she explains. “If you don’t mean your words to breed consequences, don’t write at all.” A Memoir of My Former Self collects the finest of this writing over four decades.
Her subjects are wide-ranging, sharply observed, and beautifully rendered. She discusses nationalism and her own sense of belonging; our dream life popping into our conscious life; the mythic legacy of Princess Diana; the many themes that feed into her novels—revolutionary France, psychics, Tudor England; and other novelists, from Jane Austen to V.S. Naipaul. She writes about her father and the man who replaced him; she writes fiercely and heartbreakingly about the battles with her health that she endured as a young woman, and the stifling years she found herself living in Saudi Arabia. Here, too, is her legendary essay “Royal Bodies,” on our endless fascination with the current royal family.
From her unusual childhood to her all-consuming interest in Thomas Cromwell that grew into the Wolf Hall trilogy, A Memoir of My Former Self reveals the shape of Hilary Mantel’s life in her own luminous words, through “messages from people I used to be.” Filled with her singular wit and wisdom, it is essential reading from one of our greatest writers.
For Mantel, the writer’s life is a promiscuous one – with so many other lives to pursue and so little time for the task. This book leaves the reader certain that her imagination and resources would never have been exhausted.
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Listen: On Music, Sound and Us
By Michel Faber
An enlightening, thoughtful and witty exploration into how and why we listen to music, from the award-winning author Michel Faber.
'I'm not here to change your mind about Dusty Springfield or Shostakovich or Tupac Shakur or synthpop. I'm here to change your mind about your mind.'
There are countless books on music with much analysis given to musicians, bands, eras and/or genres. But rarely does a book delve into what's going on inside us when we listen.
Michel Faber explores two big questions: how we listen to music and why we listen to music. To answer these he considers biology, age, illness, the notion of 'cool', commerce, the dichotomy between 'good' and 'bad' taste and, through extensive interviews with musicians, unlocks some surprising answers.
This idiosyncratic and philosophical book reflects Michel Faber's lifelong obsession with music of all kinds.
Listen will change your relationship with the heard world.
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Eventually everything connects : eight essays on uncertainty
By Sarah Firth
How about something a little different from Gordy’s desk? .. I’m not a regular graphic novel reader but I thoroughly enjoyed this delicious mix of daily life, science, philosophy, pop culture, daydreams and irreverent humour, Eventually Everything Connects is a work of graphic non-fiction that is comforting, confronting and mind-expanding in equal measure.
What is going on? How can I find joy in these precarious times? Is my smartphone hijacking me? What do I do with this grief? What's it like being the slug that lives in my bathroom sink?
Eventually Everything Connects is Sarah Firth's debut graphic novel, a collection of interconnected visual essays created over eight years. Sarah invites you into her wild mind as she explores ways to see with fresh eyes, to face the inevitability of change, and to find freedom in sensuality.
With raw honesty and vulnerability, Firth reminds us that the profane and the sacred, the tender and the cruel, the rigorous and the silly, all coexist in dynamic tension. This book is a delicious mix of daily life, science, philosophy and irreverent humour that is comforting, confronting and mind-expanding in equal measure.
We perch on her shoulder as she probes and investigates the mysteries and quandaries which confront her, as she stumbles about in the often beautiful, occasionally distressing messiness of her life, which will remind you of your own. Heading down to the dog park. Olympic weight-lifting. The weirdness of sex. The interior vision of a coffee companion suddenly liquefying like a zombie in a horror movie. There is an alarming, charming intimacy here, a breathtaking can-do candour, a willingness by Firth to keep the camera rolling even when, in fact especially when, the matters under discussion become deeply personal.
I hope you like it as much as I did!
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