Dear Readers
Here's
our list of recommended titles leading into December. Our next
newsletter will feature Kris Kringle gifts and some great hamper-style
combinations of books. For now, take your pick from a choice of a few
great presents, some fun fiction for lazy days at the beach, and even a
choice collector's item.
Featured Titles
The Yiddish Policeman's Union - Michael Chabon. Signed First edition RRP$US150! - OUR PRICE $50
 Michael
Chabon's star is on the rise. He has collected the Pulitzer Prize, and
his sharp, smart and funny books are a pleasure to read. The author of
'Cavalier and Klay', 'The Mysteries of Pittsburgh' and 'The Final
Solution' has now put together a fascinating murder mystery set in
Israel. The book itself is a great read, and this signed first edition
will make a beautiful present for the book lover of the house. Limited
to 1,000 copies, it is presented in a lovely slipcase, and with an
original US RRP of $150, it is a bargain at this price. A limited
number is available, so please be quick.
Napoleon - The Path to Power 1769-1799 by Phillip Dwyer $20
Napoleon was a man full of conflict - passionate, intemperate and
ambitious. This excellent biography traces the path he followed to
arrive in the seat of French power following a political-military coup
in 1799. It is a fascinating insight into the darker side of Napoleon's
character, and it is well worth considering - he was leading the most
powerful nation in Europe at the age of 30. An excellent Christmas
present for the amateur historian of the house.
New Scientist Box Set - $30
The three titles in this set are 'Does Anything Eat Wasps?', 'Why Don't
Penguins Freeze?' and 'How to Fossilise your Hamster'. And while you
may never have considered these ideas before, these books are a great
way to start thinking outside the square. Perfect for the armchair
scientist or the inquisitive mind, and a sure-fire way of making sure
your hamster will behave.
The Great Shark Hunt - Hunter S. Thompson. $12
If you've read the first page of 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas', then
you don't need to be convinced to buy this book. If you haven't, I envy
you. The father of the Gonzo school of journalism holds forth on the
air force, Muhammed Ali, McGovern, Tricky Dick and the Great Leap of
Faith. If you haven't read this book, you should, because he's a great
and hilarious writer. In the words of William F. Buckley: "Hunter
Thompson elicits the same kind of admiration one would feel for a
streaker at Queen Victoria's funeral". Beautiful.
High Road to China - Kate Teltscher. $15
A tale of adventure and of unlikely friendship set amidst a culture
clash the likes of which I don't think modernity would be capable; in
1774 George Bogle set off for the court of the Panchen Lama in Tibet as
an emissary to try and secure new trade routes for the East India
Company. He was met with derision (the Chinese Emperor considering
England a primitive cultural backwater), but proceeded to forge a deep
and enduring camaraderie with the Panchen Lama. Telscher's account is
compelling and the wealth of material she had to work from means that
her account is richly detailed. A wonderful evocation of the kind of
adventure experience that, barring interstellar travel, we could no
longer hope to replicate.
Thank You Jeeves - PG Wodehouse. $10
Every once in a while on a rainy weekend my mother would settle herself
into bed to re-read her collection of Wodehouse novels, and there was
never a time when this happened and we didn't hear at least one episode
of the kind of laughter you'd feel awkward emitting in public. Perhaps
that's why she read them in bed. Rather than losing their sting as
times have changed, the 'Jeeves' novels have acquired a kind of
absurdist profundity; things that seemed ridiculous in the context in
which they were published now have the ring of the insane. Please
yourself or a loved one with a chaste weekend in bed.
The Architecture of Happiness- Alain De Botton. $15.
 This
is more a philosophical musing than a text that addresses technical
issues, and despite De Botton's exhortations that the buildings we live
in can be machines for good living, few of us can afford to choose the
vessel that contains our everyday lives; but luckily (for those of us
who rent brick semi's or view architecture through the lens of the
everyday) there's a lot more to be gleaned from this book than
fantasies of living in a Le Corbusier or wondering about which is the
Corinthian column and which the Doric. The author of such gems as How
Proust Can Change Your Life approaches architecture both literally and
metaphorically and the plentiful illustrations mean that it's easy to
get a clear idea about the ideas he proposes. This is a lovely, good
natured book, and a rare thing in that reading it leaves you looking at
the world in a genuinely altered way.
Childrens
Where Willy Went - Nicholas Allan. $12
If you've ever been on the receiving end of a curly question from
children about where babies come from, then this book is for you.
"Willy" is a little sperm who hangs out with 300 million of his closest
friends, practicing for the big race day. I don't want to ruin the end
of the book for you, so I won't go into what happens, but if you've a 5
year old with an enquiring mind, this book might save you some awkward
answers.
Cooking
Goose Fat and Garlic - Jeanne Strang. $10
 With
the French-o-phile firmly back in the spotlight thanks to the buoyant
Meryl Streep in Julie and Julia it's time for a modern take on a
classic cuisine. Omlettes with truffle shavings, foie gras terrines and
Cassoulet can bring out the striped t-shirt and beret in anyone, and
well-written and usable recipes mean that this is one book that
neededn't sit neglected on the kitchen shelf. A great excuse for a nice
bottle of red and a twilight dinner on the patio.
Frankie Dettori's Italian Family Cookbook (With Marco Pierre White). $15
If you think the world most famous jockey isn't the best bet for an
Italian cookbook, think again. Dettori is the co-owner (with his
co-author, culinary legend Marco Pierre White) of a chain of
Michelin-starred restaurants, and a gourmand in his own right. Franko
Dettori's Italian Family Cookbook has recipes handed down through
generations of Dettori's family and revised and tested for publication
by White. Add to this the positively stunning food and location
photographs peppered throughout the pages, and you have a book fit for
the best coffee table, kitchen shelf or (wrapped and beribboned) the
pickiest loved-one's Christmas stocking.
Cooking From Memory - A Journey Through Jewish Food. $20
The Jewish Diaspora is united by its rich history and traditions, and
among the most evocative of these are food, cooking and the memories
associated with them. Cooking from Memory sits kitchen remembrances and
personal histories beside the recipes evoked in them and intersperses
everything with beautiful photographs of the finished dishes. Claudia
Roden called this 'a book to treasure' and whether this book fits into
your heritage or not, it's a useful and fascinating refrence to have
around. Even just for the chicken soup recipe.
Japanese Pure and Simple - Kimiko Barber. $12
A beautiful collection of over 100 healthy recipes, this book is full
of colour photographs, so you can see how your meal was supposed to
look after you've cooked it. The Japanese style of cooking is perfect
for the holidays in Australia - light and summery.
Featured Author: JG Ballard
J.G. Ballard was the ultimate expression of the English 'New Wave'
science fiction movement. His work veered slowly from the fairly
straight forward realm of 'speculative fiction' with works like The
Crystal World to a more subtle emphasis on 'inner space' in novels such
as The Drought and Hello America. Ballard fetishized the clash of the
'human' with the products of super-industrialized Western culture: the
highway, the high-rise, medical science and the automobile, and all
these things mingle in his work into an eerily numinous inorganic soup.
If you're looking for punk-rock writing here's your poison; name
dropped by Joy Division, lauded by Bruce Sterling as the major
influence on Cyberpunk and given the critical nod by none other than
Jean Baudrillard; Ballard took high-brow literature and put it in the
blender. Addictive, literally fabulous stuff.
Hello America by J.G. Ballard- $10
A post apocalyptic road trip through the US of A. This is Science
Fiction at its most provocative and prescient. Set in the not too
distant future, this is the story of American refugees returning from
their exile in European ghettoes to explore the abandoned continent
their ancestors once called home. The president is Charles Manson and
there is a giant cactus growing in Times Square. What more do you need
to know?
If you can ignore the fact the Russians won the Cold War by damming the
Bering Strait in the 1990's and that there is a character named
Pepsodent you will find this novel is still spookily prophetic as we
hurtle towards a post-oil, post-American future...
The Crystal World by J.G. Ballard- $10
The breakthrough novel for the godfather of 'Brutalism', The Crystal
World sees Dr Edward Sanders embark on a journey into the African
interior where he discovers that through some freak of circumstance the
forest and its inhabitants have begun to crystallize. There's a direct
ode to Conrad's Heart of Darkness here, only the mystery Ballard
explores isn't so much the paranoid white-man's fear of the Other but
rather the utter unknowability of what lies at the heart of mankind.
The Drought by J.G. Ballard- $10
It's not too much of a stretch of the imagination to get into the mood
for this one. Industrial pollution flushed into the seas has destroyed
the precipitation cycle. Rivers run dry, the earth turns to dust and in
a desperate attempt to secure any kind of access to water, the
population surges for the coast. It isn't so much the physical impact
of drought that lends this novel its infectious strangeness, but rather
the exploration of what happens when a species known for its extreme
behaviors is pushed past all known boundaries. There's a healthy dash
of the surreal in The Drought, and an infectious atmosphere that sticks
in your head in the space in between readings. An experience not to be
missed.
Rushing to Paradise by J.G. Ballard- $10
Rushing to Paradise is like Alex Garland's blockbuster novel The Beach
gone utterly feral. The Albatross native to the pacific atoll of
Saint-Esprit is endangered and Dr Barbara Rafferty is engaged in an
obsessive attempt to save it, but when her campaign begins to really
succeed, her idyllic retreat for environmental activists begins to show
its Lord of the Flies side. This is a novel that sits the great
tradition of the dystopia between two mirrors and reflects it into a
monstrous infinity. Grab a copy for your trip to the beach this weekend!
The Unlimited Dream Company by J.G. Ballard- $10
A light aircraft crashes into the Thames and when a young man emerges
from the drowned wreckage long after everyone assumes he must be dead
eerie things start to happen. But given the status of the author, these
are not your ordinary eerie things; dank streets are covered within
hours by lush jungle growth, vultures swoop from rooftops and the
inhabitants of the enchanted realm are propelled into an ecstatic
sexual frenzy. The New York Times said this book was 'dense and erotic
and magical' and 'a pleasure to read' and really, do you need more
prompting? Inside-out apocalypse from the mind of a master.
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