Biography and memoir
My Accidental Career by Brenda Niall
Brenda Niall is considered one of Australia’s greatest biographers. During her career she has penned accounts of the Boyd and Durack families, written numerous columns, literary reviews and considerations. In 2004 she was awarded the Order of Australia for services…
Orwell’s Roses by Rebecca Solnit
As a lover of Rebecca Solnit’s writing, I was thrilled at the prospect of her unique perspective on one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. And Solnit does not disappoint. Orwell’s Roses is only part-biography: Solnit exquisitely…
Dancer: A Biography for Philippa Cullen by Evelyn Juers
The dancer, Philippa Cullen, died tragically in India at the age of 25. Evelyn Juers’ biography of this complex young woman runs to 550 pages. You may think, do Cullen’s life and achievements justify the length? I think probably yes…
Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller by Nadia Wassef
Let me tell you where I have been this week – Cairo! Jealous? Of course, but the good news is you can go too. I loved the visit: it was hot, culturally interesting, and I browsed a wonderful bookshop, but…
How We Love: Notes on a Life by Clementine Ford
There are so many adages running through my head as I try to sum up the latest work of author and commentator Clementine Ford. Mainly though, I have Tina Turner’s words on repeat: what’s love got to do with it…
How to End a Story: Diaries, 1995–1998 by Helen Garner
One can only imagine the enormous bravery it must take to publish a diary. Sharing your most private thoughts with the world is not for the faint of heart. But, faint of heart is not a term I would ever…
Whole Notes: Life Lessons Through Music by Ed Ayres
Writer, musician, teacher and broadcaster Ed Ayres had the idea for his fourth book, Whole Notes: Life Lessons Through Music, long before the pandemic. Yet you’d be hard-pressed to find a book more fitting for these uncertain times than…
Nina Simone’s Gum by Warren Ellis
When I was a boy, my mother declared chewing gum to be a filthy habit. I dutifully took up smoking. Dr Nina Simone chose to do both, right up to the end. And why not. She was a god. Tempestuous…
Funkytown by Paul Kennedy
The title of Paul Kennedy’s memoir, ‘Funkytown’, is the name that Kennedy’s sister gives to Frankston, the large suburb next to their home in Seaford in bayside Melbourne. TheABC journalist grew up in the area, and this book explores his…
My Friend Fox by Heidi Everett
Heidi Everett meets her friend the fox on a rainy, winter’s night in Melbourne. She has been walking for two weeks. The encounter is life-changing as the fox helps her to understandthat she needs support to survive: ‘It’s one thing…
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