The Wine O’Clock Myth By Lotta Dann. Allen & Unwin, rrp $36.99 This book’s subtitle is ‘the truth you need to know about women and alcohol’. Have you noticed on social media how many memes and gifs focus on wine o’clock,...... Read More

Into The Unknown: The secret WW1 diary of Kiwi Alick Trafford By Ian Trafford,  Penguin rrp $38 Firstly, it must be said that non-fiction is not my forte and secondly, I have noticed there seems to be a resurgence of books based on war stories...... Read More

Being Black ‘N Chicken, & Chips by Matt Okine In this novel set in Australia in the late 1980s, we follow Mike Amon.  His parents are divorced and he has a lot to deal with – his first crush, school bullies and becoming a star athlete....... Read More

I am sure that every book lover has a pile of books that are sitting at home just waiting to be read.  This year, I have decided to go through my pile and share some of them with you.  Here are two classic novellas, which I encourage you to...... Read More

Against all odds By Craig Challen and Richard Harris with Ellis Henican Although we know what happens in the end, this book grips you from the start. This story is a personal account told by Australians Dr Richard Harris and Dr Craig Challen, who...... Read More

Wolfe Island by Lucy Treloar Lucy Treloar’s second novel is set in America in a plausible near-future. She writes like a painter, adding layers to describe a scene and detailing the surrounding environment – its nature, flora, fauna and...... Read More

Grand Union Stories by Zadie Smith This collection of short fiction stories is set in different decades, in no particular order, and the range of styles, and the voices vary widely. Smith’s characters come to life, but at times leave you wanting...... Read More

Quichotte By Salman Rushdie In this novel within a novel, author Salman Rushdie pays homage to the 1605 Spanish classic Don Quixote. In Rushdie’s story, a character called Sam DuChamp is an average writer who creates Quichotte, an aging salesman...... Read More

The Scholar by Dervla McTiernan This crime fiction novel is set in Galway, Ireland  in 2014.  DS Cormac Reilly has been working on cold cases for some time and has realised that he is losing his enthusiasm, but then a phone call from his...... Read More

England’s Forgotten Past: The unsung Heroes and Heroines, Valiant Kings, Great Battles and Other Generally Overlooked Episodes in our Nation’s Glorious History. by Richard Tames This is a little jewel of a book, which reveals bits of English...... Read More