A Guide to Australian Etiquette by Ita Buttrose, Viking, $29.95 “There are those who claim manners no longer matter, but I don’t agree,” writes Ita Buttrose. “Times may have changed but good manners never go out of fashion.” Neither does Ita Buttrose. Many may remember Ita’s original The Guide to Modern Etiquette published in 1985, […]

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver, Faber & Faber, $23.99 My current literary love affair is with Barbara Kingsolver’s The Lacuna. The story of Diego Rivera and Frida Khalo’s cook, it begins in 1930’s Mexico and ends in post-War America, taking in the hero’s ever-hopeful femme fatale mother, the exiled Trotsky and the ghoulish functionaries of […]

Left Neglected by Lisa Genova, Simon & Schuster, $32.99 Sarah, the main character in Left Neglected (Lisa Genova’s follow up to Still Alice) has a husband she loves, three happy children and is a high powered executive at the top of the corporate food chain. Some would say she has it all, but not the […]

The catastrophic medical accident at Sydney’s St George Hospital that confined Grace Wang to a wheelchair and deprived her of the ability to hold her baby son has prompted a review of epidural procedures across the NSW health system. Grace, 32, had antiseptic injected into her spinal instead of anaesthetic after a mix up between […]

22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson, Fig Tree, $32.95 There is no shortage of stories inspired by the terrors of World War II and the Nazi occupation of Europe, but Amanda Hodgkinson’s debut novel is so much more than that — beneath the story’s wartime bunker is a complex, intriguing and, in snatched moments, deeply […]

Twenty years ago, Stephen Eddey was confined to a wheelchair, unable to walk and in constant agony due to his arthritis. Today, he is living a normal life, completely pain-free and he credits natural medicine for helping him get his life back. In pictures: Surprising things that cause headaches Stephen was in his early twenties […]

After much fuss about her amazing new body, Jennifer Hudson was supposed to be letting her music take centre stage at the launch of her new album, I Remember Me, in New York. But in a shiny, figure-hugging frock, it was the Oscar-winning star’s frame that captured everyone’s attention, with onlookers wondering if she’d gone […]

Cindy Crawford and Heidi Klum reportedly swear by it, Cleopatra is said to have sipped it daily and Megan Fox says it’s the secret of her slender figure — so why haven’t the rest of us heard of apple cider vinegar? Apple cider vinegar is fast becoming the latest health craze, promoted as a cure-all […]

Women under the age of 30 are going grey in record numbers and blame it on stress, a new study has claimed. A survey commissioned by haircare brand John Frieda found that almost a third of UK women spotted their first grey hair before their 30th birthday. Twenty years ago, the number of women under […]

They’ve made millions of dollars just for being a Kardashian, but are sisters Kim, Khloe and Kourtney losing their strong bond? Second eldest sister Kim has revealed she is feeling left out because of Khloe and Kourtney’s strong relationship. In a new episode of their spin-off series, Kourtney and Kim Take New York, which follows […]