This is your ultimate Christmas book guide
It’s that time of year again when Christmas madness descends and the party season means way too many nights out, nowhere near enough sleep and a fair few headaches to deal with.
• You should take up colouring books. Seriously.
• The 10 most-loved children’s books of all time
The perfect antidote after all the hullabaloo is curling up with a good book during the long summer days of January, so what better way to share the love than buying up a tome or two for friends and family this Christmas?
We’ve put together a handy guide of some of our favourites to stick on the wish list.
FOR MUM
Magda Szubanski
RRP $49.99
Who doesn’t love comedian and actress Magda Szubanski? Whether it’s the glory days of Fast Forward, the loveably hapless second-best friend Sharon Strzelecki from Kath & Kim or starring on the big screen in Babe, everyone has a favourite moment from her illustrious career. But behind the curtain, she struggled with depression and a feeling of isolation, tied up with her repressed sexuality but also a dark secret from her father’s past. Far more than a run-of-the-mill celebrity memoir, this is a beautifully written, heartfelt and illuminating family saga.
Orry Kelly
RRP $39.99
Like all the best stories, this one popped up like a bolt from the blue when filmmaker Gillian Armstrong was researching for her documentary Women He’s Undressed about Australia’s own fabulously successful, triple Oscar-winning costume designer that no one’s ever heard of, Orry Kelly. His long lost Hollywood memoir was found decades after his death, hidden in a pillowcase in a relative’s home. A fantastic insight into the golden age of cinema and leading ladies like Bette Davis, Marilyn Monroe and Ingrid Bergman, it also details Kelly’s love for Cary Grant.
Gloria Steinem
RRP $29.99
Growing up with a dad who’d pack the car every fall and send the family in search of new adventures sparked celebrated women’s rights campaigner Gloria Steinem’s savvy listening skills, her thirst for knowledge and ability to conquer all challenges. In this genuinely witty on-the-road memoir, Steinem covers her childhood influences and the path she would later follow, crossing the globe as a journalist, magazine founder and a thought-provoking and incisive leader, striving for equality.
FOR DAD
Bruce Robinson
RRP $32.99
Withnail and I filmmaker Bruce Robinson spent more than twelve years delving into the murky history and mythmaking surrounding notorious Victorian London serial killer Jack the Ripper. Stripping away the crackpot theories and pointing the finger of blame squarely at the establishment who allowed him to remain uncaptured, it’s a thing of poetic fury. Robinson’s eye for cinematic vision translates perfectly to the page and enthrals and enrages on the victims’ behalf.
Gilliamesque: A Pre-Posthumous Memoir
Terry Gilliam
RRP: $59.99
Focusing on celebrated Monty Python’s Flying Circus co-founder, filmmaker, animator and comedian Terry Gilliam’s earlier years and his ascent to televisual, filmic and on-the-road stardom via burgeoning counter-culture mayhem, this is a riotous look inside the mind of a comic genius. The title takes a humorous pot shot at the Variety article that presumed him dead too early, but he’s clearly got a lot of life in him yet. Loaded with his gorgeous and grotesque illustrations, there’s not quite as much here on his movies like Brazil, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and 12 Monkeys as you might hope, but we can keep our fingers crossed for Volume Two.
Green Nomads: Across Australia’s Wild Heritage
Bob Brown
RRP $45.00
Former Greens leader Bob Brown was appointed director of the Tasmanian Wilderness Society way back in 1978 and led the successful charge against the construction of the Franklin Dam. An early indicator of the extent of his love for Australia’s wild spaces, it’s been a lifelong passion for the man and he has used his retirement wisely, heading off on a 19,000km journey round the country’s million hectares owned by Bush Heritage Australia with partner Paul. This beautiful coffee table book is packed full of his incredible photography and insights into our beautiful land.
FOR LITTLE KIDS
Trace Balla
RRP $24.99
This wonderfully line drawn tale by Australian author and illustrator Trace Balla follows the adventures of a boy and his uncle on a nature-loving trip down the Glenelg River that connects South Australia to Victoria. Scooping the Readings Children’s Book Prize 2015, it’s a sweet-natured read packed with fabulous illustrations that teach kids’ the names of native animal and sounds they make. Ideal for six to 10-year-olds.
Alison Lester
RRP $24.99
Another great pick for animal-loving kids aged one to six is the latest from best-selling Australian children’s author and illustrator Alison Lester, My Dog Bigsy. The excitable puppy races round his farm checking in with all manner of animals and making a cacophony of funny noises. It’s a really textural book that’s great to touch too and will delight little nippers.
The Cat With the Coloured Tail
Gillian Mears, illustrated by Dinalie Dabarera
RRP $19.95
If you or your kids are more cat folks, then grab this super-cute newbie from award-winning Australian kids’ author Gilliam Mears, illustrated by Dinalie Dabarera. Mr Hooper and his adoring cat with a brilliant colour-changing tail travel the land in a moon-shaped ice cream van having heaps of fun until they realise there’s danger on the horizon. Proving that love can win out against fear, it’s great for ages seven and up, or younger with adults on reading duty.
FOR TEENAGERS
Fiona Wood
RRP $19.99
Australian author Fiona Wood’s latest offering relays the misadventures of 16-year-old Van U’oc Phan. The sensible, straight-laced scholarship student finds herself with the ability to make a wish come true as if by magic when athletics spunk Billy Gardiner is suddenly, inexplicably interested in her. Grappling with notions of identity, young love and the immigrant experience, you’ll be rooting for Van U’oc’s brilliantly drawn character and praying this doesn’t go the disastrous way of high school prom horror movie Carrie.
Stephen King
RRP $32.99
Speaking of Carrie, our teen years are when we set about deliberately scaring ourselves witless, so why not treat your oldest to the author of that book’s latest collection of short stories? From a human-hungry automobile in Mile 81 to a classic haunted house yarn The Little Green God of Agony that also cleverly plays on the author’s experience of painful rehabilitation, King can still toy with our fears. But it’s the non-spooky stories that are strongest, including Batman and Robin Have an Altercation, relaying the emotional struggles of a son grappling with his ageing father’s Alzheimer’s.
Bream Gives Me Hiccups: & Other Stories
Jesse Eisenberg
RRP $22.99
While we’re on a short story kick, check out Hollywood actor and uber-geek Jesse Eisenberg’s Bream Gives Me Hiccups. The soon-to-be Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and former Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network turns out to be a properly funny writer too, with a keen eye for our day today and the inherent silliness of much of what we do, plus a wisecracking whip to his own insecurity, like a young Woody Allen.
FOR YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER
Yottam Ottolenghi and Ramael Scully
RRP $59.99
Superstar restaurateur Yottam Ottolenghi comes together with Nopi head chef Ramael Scully to reveal the recipes behind 120 of the London eatery’s most-loved dishes. The great news is, they’ve been divvied up into everything from easy peasy for newbies to super-technical for would-be gourmet cooks. The best thing about giving a cookbook? If they love slaving away in the kitchen, they’ll be thrilled, but if they give you the side eye, you can immediately claim you got it so you can cook for them!
Every Time I find The Meaning Of Life, They Change It
Daniel Klein
$29.99
The key to a successful, long-lasting relationship is probably constantly trying to figure out exactly what one looks like. That’s a sentiment echoed in the wise words of philosopher Reinhold Nieburh, which give their title to the latest offering from inspired writer Daniel Klein, author of Travels with Epicurus. As a young college student, he jotted down a collection of famous quotes from big brains that he hoped would inspire him to choose the right paths in life. Presenting them all here one per chapter, Klein with his hearty and humorous ponderings on each. You may not come out with the meaning of life or love sorted, but you will have expanded your brain, and that can’t hurt.
Margaret Atwood
RRP $32.99
Maybe a bit of a cheeky one, but the always-brilliant Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale, has delivered yet another cracking dystopian read in The Heart Goes Last. Stan and Charmaine are a married couple trying to keep their heads above water amidst a huge global financial crisis, living out the back of their car until they see an ad for the Positron Project. They get to live in a fancy pants home every other month, with the catch being they spend the rest of the year locked up in a private prison. Perversely dark and yet deeply sexy, this is one of Atwood’s finest.
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