The Last Station, by Jay Parini, Text Publishing, $23.95. Jay Parini’s historical novel on the last days of Russian literary giant Leo Tolstoy is about to be discovered by hordes of film fans. Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren were nominated for Oscars for their portrayals of Count and Countess Tolstoy, and the flick is sure […]

House Rules, by Jodi Picoult, Allen & Unwin, $32.99. Fans of Jodi Picoult’s work know what to expect. House Rules delivers it all: the shifting perspectives of several narrators, a child with a disability or illness, a court case, and cleverly explored ethical issues. Single mum and agony aunt Emma Hunt has two sons, Jacob […]

The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag, by Alan Bradley, Orion, $49.99. Flavia de Luce is, without question, the most delightful detective ever created. An 11-year-old aristocrat gone wild, with a passion for chemistry, she’s a 1950s’ crime scene investigator who’s not above poisoning her sisters’ chocolates or snooping in the vicar’s study. When a […]

Every Day in Tuscany – Seasons of an Italian Life, by Frances Mayes, Bantam Australia, $34.95. Part travelogue, part cookbook, part memoir, Every Day in Tuscany is all escapism. It’s 20 years since Frances Mayes first fell in love with everything under the Tuscan sun, and she’s still aglow with adoration. This third Tuscan memoir […]

What’s the latest health craze which lowers blood pressure, stress and boosts the immune system? It’s as simple as a good laugh! Researchers from the Loma Linda University in California have discovered that laughing is like internal jogging and can have the same effect on our body as moderate exercise the UK’s Daily Telegraph reported. […]

Lucy Chesterton serves up the inside info on the top 24. Who will take the heat and stay in the kitchen? ADELE Just like Australia’s first MasterChef Julie Goodwin, Adele is a home-grown mum, who’s very close to her sons, Matthew and Michael, and deeply in love with her husband, Vince. Her big heart means […]

Winter’s on its way and so is cold and flu season. To stay healthy, during the colder months, there are some easy, natural ways to boost your immunity and help protect you. Food can be an immune booster Enjoy plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, wholegrains, legumes, nuts and seeds so that your body gets vital […]

A work-out shouldn’t mean that you have to compromise your hearing. Popping in your iPod earphones when you hit the treadmill may be automatic but a study published in the International Journal of Audiology shows that we are much more likely to turn the volume up to unsafe levels while we are at the gym, […]

If you are obsessed with keeping your home or workplace clean and tidy, you may be doing more harm than good when it comes to your health. Excessive cleanliness has led to a soaring rise in allergies such as hay fever, eczema, hives and asthma in developed countries, a new Canadian study has found. The […]

Recent research has found that unborn children may be at risk as pregnant women are gaining too much weight and not eating enough fruit and vegetables. The Australian research, which was published in the Nutrition & Dietetics journal last month found that pregnant women only eat half the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables that […]