Chris Gordon
Christine Gordon is the events manager for Readings. She also writes on the topics of gardening and cooking for Readings.
Reviews
The Hollow Bones by Leah Kaminsky
Based on a true story, Leah Kaminsky’s The Hollow Bones describes one of the most inexplicable and intriguing occurrences of the Nazi regime. For me, this heartbreaking story was reminiscent of tales…
The Year of the Beast by Steven Carroll
We have certain expectations of a novel, don’t we? We read to take a journey that we cannot influence. We want to be swept along and if, by the means of our reading, we learn more about our humanity …
The Fragments by Toni Jordan
Toni Jordan’s latest novel, The Fragments, holds within its pages a fable-like fervour for the written word. Using parallel stories which both have the theme of loss at their core, Jordan has created…
Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak
Markus Zusak’s previous book, The Book Thief, first published in 2005, has spent more than a decade on the New York Times bestseller list, has been translated into over forty languages, has been made…
The Biographer’s Lover by Ruby J. Murray
If you enjoyed the recent work of Gail Jones, this novel about the worth of art, set in Melbourne’s north and Geelong, will also delight you. I loved to read about the brick terrace in Carlton, the a…
The Geography of Friendship by Sally Piper
Female friendships can be messy, can’t they? Especially when the friendship starts when we are young and moves through our maturing years regardless of any defining experience of relationships, wealt…
Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
Boy Swallows Universe moved me deeply, in the same way Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief or Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time did. Perhaps it’s because the character observa…
The Year Everything Changed: 2001 by Phillipa McGuinness
Phillipa McGuinness is no stranger to books; she is, after all, a publisher. This, however, is her debut as an author and hopefully it will not be her last. The Year Everything Changed: 2001 is a rec…
The Motherhood edited by Jamila Rizvi
In The Motherhood, Jamila Rizvi has compiled a collection of letters all written by women to earlier versions of themselves in a bid to offer guidance and reassurance for those frightful, incredibly …
The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted by Robert Hillman
There is a saying in Hungary: You know you’re a Hungarian when you can’t say anything positive about politics. I live with a Hungarian and this statement is totally accurate. However what it doesn’t …
The Passengers by Eleanor Limprecht
The joy of reading The Passengers is that this novel represents the lives of women and also illustrates the vastness and separateness of Australia from the rest of the world. Eleanor Limprecht’s work…
The Only Story by Julian Barnes
Julian Barnes’ writing has always dealt with the complicated notions of history and truth. We saw this clearly in his Man Booker Prize-winning title, The Sense of an Ending, which prompts the reader …
The Passage of Love by Alex Miller
I don’t suppose Alex Miller is religious – nor am I, for that matter – however, I did think of Corinthians 13:8 when reading Miller’s new book, The Passage of Love. It goes something like this, depen…
Atlantic Black by A.S. Patrić
When I finished reading Alec Patrić’s latest book, I was surprised to find myself in the same room as I was when I started reading. Surely something must have changed. I had been swept away on a jour…
The World of Tomorrow by Brendan Matthews
Brendan Mathews chose 1939 as his setting because this year in history is echoed in the present. America was in an economic slump, there was a refugee crisis and fascism was a rising trend, worldwide…
The Choke by Sofie Laguna
Sofie Laguna’s third novel for adults gave me that sweet reading moment we all pine for – when you realise that your lived world is colliding with that of the page. Reading becomes the sole purpose o…
A New England Affair by Steven Carroll
Once upon a time T.S. Eliot (Tom), considered one of the most influential playwrights and poets of modern times, wrote: ‘I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope/ For hope would be hope for…
Neon Pilgrim by Lisa Dempster
Written long before she became director of the Melbourne Writers Festival, Neon Pilgrim is an often humorous, brutally honest record of a walking expedition taken when Dempster was 28 years old and n…
Siracusa by Delia Ephron
What a treat it is to be in the hands of an accomplished storyteller; someone who has already provided me with hours of joy in her previous works. Ephron is, after all, the famous author of books, es…
The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs
‘I’m hoping that writing my way through this new suspicious country will help me figure it all out,’ says Nina Riggs, after she finds out that her breast cancer has spread throughout her body.
In th…
The Other Mother by Kelly Chandler
Immediately I was struck by what an absolute pleasure it is to read a book set in my local neighbourhood. Of course, not everyone will understand the Ruckers Hill references – however, rest assured, …
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: One More Time With Feeling
I have a 15-year-old son. He is one of the lights of my life. This riveting documentary, One More Time with Feeling, has given me an insight into my worst fear, realised. Halfway through the recordin…
Still Lucky by Rebecca Huntley
Lately, the main conversation that I’ve been having at social gatherings is about how we are all living in a left-leaning ‘bubble’ that is not reflected in politics in Australia or elsewhere in the w…
4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster
Firstly, do not let the size of Auster’s new novel stop you from choosing to read 4 3 2 1. There is a rhythm, as in all of Auster’s work that allows the size to become immaterial. Once you are in, th…
Swing Time by Zadie Smith
Within the first few pages of Swing Time I was affected, again, by Zadie Smith’s ability to make universal truths personal. The story is a complete portrait of our time – our complex relationships wi…
The Easy Way Out by Steven Amsterdam
This is what we already know about Amsterdam’s writing: he spins recognised worlds upside down. He has the ability to see into the future and then to discuss, reasonably, what would happen if this wa…
Music and Freedom by Zoë Morrison
‘Perhaps’, says Alice as the narrator in the opening pages, ‘I could blame Romantic music for what happened. It is, she says, the triumph of fantasy over reality.’ Music and Freedom, however, is not …
Error Australis by Ben Pobjie
Ben Pobjie told me recently that he wrote Error Australis simply to make people laugh. However, don’t mistake this very funny book about our quite dismal, ludicrous history for a simple collection of…
Our Tiny, Useless Hearts by Toni Jordan
Toni Jordan’s latest novel, Our Tiny, Useless Hearts, is a romp through the contemporary complexities of living well. Very quickly, Jordan introduces us to a cast of wonderfully flawed characters all…
Georgiana Molloy by Bernice Barry
Can you imagine arriving in the early 1800s to the remote Western Australian coast, leaving friends and family behind and starting a new life in a foreign landscape with only your husband for company…
News
The best new cookbooks and gardening books in March
Alison Roman has amassed serious social media stardom because her recipes have three enviable traits: fun, simplicity and deliciousness. This collection of 125 ‘why didn’t I think of that’ recipes, including treats like roast chicken smeared with anchovy butter or crispy baked potatoes, are absolutely obtainable by even the most amateur of home cooks. This cookbook is…
Cookbook trends to look forward to in 2019
As world politics bring more despair to us all, our yearning for the simple things in life like meals with family and friends will increase. We will look for ways to make our life easier and more considerate. Consequently, the food we prepare will be kind to the environment and nurturing to our souls. This year the flavours will be unpretentious, the ingredients will be local and you will be usin…
A quick & breezy gift guide to this year’s cookbooks
Are you looking to buy a cookbook for an out-of-towner and want to send a very clear message that you live in t…
The best food & gardening books of 2018
Hetty McKinnon is back with another cookbook bound to be used every …
The best new cookbooks in November
If, as I do, you love a good, solid cookbook with a sense of humour and exuberance, then Special Guest is the pick of this month’s cookbook bunch. Annabel Crabb and Wendy Sharpe share recipes perfect for the home cook who is juggling an enormous range of activities but still wants to share a home-cooked meal that caters to all needs. Each dish come…
The best new cookbooks in October
This informative book is full to the brim with everything new ‘foodies’ need to know to become relaxed and confident in the kitchen. I would buy this book for kids who are watching food shows, smelli…
