Reviewed by E B Heath Dr. Richard Scolyer is a world-renowned melanoma pathologist and one of the world’s top melanoma researchers. He is co-director with Georgina Long at the Melanoma Institute Australia. In 2021 he was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia for his outstanding service to medicine in the field of melanoma and
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Lėonie Kelsall’s latest book is part of her series set in South Australia in her fictitious town of Settlers Bridge, so when reading this story, it is no surprise when the reader comes across characters they may have encountered in her previous books. The Homestead in the Eucalypts was the origin
Reviewed by Norrie Sanders The endangered Gouldian finch is one of Australia’s prettiest birds and was named after Elizabeth Gould, by her husband John in 1841. He was already famed as “the Bird Man” (of England), yet in typical fashion, his claim on the finch conveniently overlooked the facts that it had been discovered already
Reviewed by Antonella Townsend There is something very appealing about the smaller pocket size hard cover book. In the case of Lemons are a Girl’s Best Friend it feels instantly delicious. This colourful little book would be the best present for anyone, not just girls, who value recipes for external and internal health. This is
Reviewed by Richard Tutin We have all seen them in our newspapers, magazines and now online at different websites. A steady stream is published each week with the invitation to try them out. What are they? The answer is recipes that can be made for any meal or snack depending on the situation. They reach
Reviewed by Antonella Townsend If I had to sum up Hervé Tullet’s Dot! Scribble! Go! in few words it would be ‘Confidence Builder’. This large hard cover book is pitched at a target audience between three and six-years-old. It steers the young brain to represent their environment with pride and imagination. I write from a
Reviewed by Antonella Townsend Enid Blyton must be glowing green with envy in her grave. Children’s literature is imaginative light years away from days of yore, although brave twelve-year-old and ten-year-old characters are still saving the day. Although in We Do Not Welcome Our Ten-Year-Old Overlord by Garth Nix, they are busy saving the world from
Reviewed by Richard Tutin Australians know that summer has well and truly arrived when Test Cricket is promoted and broadcast. Over the years Australia has hosted many great teams: England, New Zealand, South Africa and Pakistan immediately come to mind. We should not forget India in this list of worthy adversaries who have come to
Reviewed by Rod McLary Natalie Conyer first came to my attention when her book – her second book – Shadow City was published in Australia in 2024. I reviewed it in these pages and said: The author has crafted a taut and tense novel which engages the reader from the beginning and doesn’t ease up
Australian independent booksellers have nominated their favourite Australian books of 2024 and are thrilled to announce their Longlist for the Indie Book Awards 2025! Since 2008, the Indie Book Awards have celebrated the very best in Australian writing and who better to nominate and judge the best-of-the-best than indie booksellers? These passionate and knowledgeable booksellers
Reviewed by Antonella Townsend When a book reappears after forty years it just has to be something special. So, Emily Rodda’s debut novel Something Special is aptly titled having been a children’s fantasy favourite for many years, winning the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year for Younger Readers Award in 1985. Although
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Susan Duncan’s latest novel is called Finding Joy in Oyster Bay. The first chapter spoke of nothing like “joy” as it is about a young woman who chooses to abandon her child. However, she knows that the baby will be cared for by others. As I continued to read on, I
Reviewed by Richard Tutin Motor racing tracks around the world vary in their layout and scenery. Some are interesting in the way they test the cars and bikes to their mechanical limits while others have scenery that enhance the experience of watching a race as drivers and riders battle it out for track supremacy. Australia
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve Both The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald publish ‘Explainers’, a series which began in 2018 and regularly touches on a range of topics, as this book illustrates. It contains short chapters written by journalists who do research and interview the relevant experts. The section on the waggling, or dance, of
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke The Big Book of Australian Yarns is compiled by Jim Haynes, recipient of an OAM in 2016 for services to the performing arts as an entertainer, author, broadcaster and historian. He has published other works as the result of decades of research into popular culture and history from around Australia. The