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What Bird Is That?

What Bird Is That?

What Bird Is That? By Neville W Cayley, Australia’s Heritage Publishing, $69.95

First published in 1931, What Bird Is That? became a standard for budding Australian bird watchers.

Author Neville Cayley’s impetus was to encourage and inspire people to appreciate and recognise our natural bird life and what started as his “little bird book” fast become a classic and an indispensable family reference book.

In the age of the internet reference books are waning which is why this 800-page Signature Edition which incorporates Cayley’s wonderfully detailed illustrations and updated information on new species, is the perfect gift for anyone who likes to hang out in the garden and ponder ‘what bird is that?’.

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Australia Story of A Cricket Country

Australia Story of A Cricket Country

Australia Story of A Cricket Country edited by Christian Ryan, Hardie Grant $89.95

Melbourne journalist Christian Ryan has created the ultimate cricket book in this incredible tome which is certain to thrill any cricket fan.

It’s not just another almanac, this is an homage to the Australian game with eulogies and deep thinking discussions from the world’s top cricket writers plus rare archive photography of our best ever players.

Possibly the most fascinating chapter is the once-in-a-lifetime poll of 121 strong jury to discover our five greatest cricket players.

Number one unsurprisingly is Don Bradman although interestingly five voters did leave him out.

A very close second however is Shane Warne who on the pitch and off it seems, is irresistible.

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11.22.63

11.22.63

11.22.63 by Stephen King, Hodder & Stoughton$32.99

Perhaps only seasoned storyteller Stephen King could accomplish changing the course of history, in his vast time-travelling debut masterpiece 11.22.63 — the date of John F. Kennedy’s assassination — while effortlessly weaving political and social detail, human behavioural observation and abundant humour.

“I knew where I was… the real question was WHEN I was,” poses narrator, school teacher Jake Epping, recounting his adventures down the “rabbit-hole” which take him from the Land of Ahead to the Land of Ago.

On a mission to divert watershed moments, stakes are high and personal sacrifice is the price to pay for a superhero.

It’s an intriguing story structure which marks an exciting new departure for King surely catapulting the author to another bestseller.

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Powderfinger Footprints

Powderfinger Footprints

Powderfinger Footprints, by Powderfinger with Deno Scatena, Hachette, $45

For twenty years Australian band Powderfinger topped music charts and rocked packed venues.

For most of that time they let their music do the talking. But now they’ve teamed up with author Dino Scatena to tell the story of the band, from its beginnings at Brisbane Grammar School, through to their first major successes in 1996, and the fights that led to its emotional farewell concert last year.

Packed with photos and links to online content, this book is for fans of the Finger, lovers of Australian music, and aspiring rock stars.

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Shannon Bennett’s France

Shannon Bennett's France

Shannon Bennett’s France: A Personal Guide to Fine Dining in Regional France by Shannon Bennett and friends, Miegunyah Press, $44.99

This pretty little hardback is more than a guide for those fabulous few who summer in the South of France.

It’s a mouth-watering armchair holiday in itself, complete with gorgeous recipes, expert tips on wine and food, and even advice on dealing with snooty waiters.

Gourmet Traveller magazine judged Shannon Bennett’s Vue de Monde as the one of Australia’s top five restaurants.

In this book he and his mates share their culinary experiences in some of France’s most picturesque regions.

Unpretentious and passionate, Shannon Bennett’s France is perfect for anyone planning or just dreaming of an indulgent French holiday.

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Lady Almina and the Story of the Real Downton Abbey

Lady Almina and the Story of the Real Downton Abbey

Lady Almina and the Story of the Real Downton Abbey by Lady Fiona Carnarvon, Hodder & Stoughton, $32.99

The perfect gift for lovers of the television series Downton Abbey, a show filmed at magnificent Highclere Castle, home of Lady Almina, Countess of Carnarvon, from 1895 until 1923.

The much loved but illegitimate daughter of a Jewish billionaire financier, Almina was vastly wealthy but her questionable birth made her unacceptable in certain circles.

Daddy fixed that with a marriage to the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, a financially strapped aristocratic adventurer.

Almina’s transformation from debutante to society lady and eventually war nurse is fascinating, as is her husband’s triumphant discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb.

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Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?

Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?

Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? By Jeanette Winterson, Random House. $29.99

At six weeks old, the baby who would become the successful novelist Jeanette Winterson was given up for adoption.

And so started a life story that would inspire the bestselling book and television series Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit.

Her adopted mother Mrs Winterson was a flamboyant depressive who waited daily for the apocalypse, even embroidering her daughter’s school gym bag with the message, “The summer is ended and we are not yet saved”.

It was a loveless and difficult childhood, and in this autobiography Winterson examines her search for happiness, belonging, and her biological mother, with humour and depth.

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Sarah Thornhill

Sarah Thornhill

Sarah Thornhill by Kate Grenville, Text Publishing, $39.95

The daughter of convicts, Sarah Thornhill has grown up a comparatively wealthy young woman on the banks of the Hawkesbury River in the Colony of New South Wales.

But a mysterious missing brother, the strange behaviour of her father, and a thwarted love affair will lead her to discover the awful secret at the foundation of her family’s comfortable life.

Sarah Thornhill is a beautifully told story of early Australia, and the triumphs and struggles of its convicts, free settlers, and aborigines.

It’s the sequel to The Secret River so if you really love someone why not buy them both?

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Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carre, Sceptre (Hachette), $19.99

One of the world’s most iconic spy thrillers has stood the test of time. First published in 1974, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is back on shelves to coincide with the release of the film adaptation.

George Smiley is a sadder man than his name suggests. Small, podgy, and middle-aged, he’s been kicked out of the British Secret Service and abandoned by his beautiful wife.

He’s the antithesis of James Bond, but does he have what it takes to discover the Soviet mole at the top of British Intelligence?

Le Carre’s classic is well worth a second read for the grim nostalgic glamour of 1970’s London and its complicated Cold War battles.

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Women’s Stuff

Women's Stuff

Women’s Stuff by Kaz Cooke, Viking; $59.95

Not so much a book as a 770-page compendium of womanhood, jam-packed with sensible advice on everything from food to moods to workplace bullies to money management (including a caution against sugar daddies).

There’s almost no condition, disorder or problem it doesn’t address, which gets a bit overwhelming at times but the thoughtful Ms Cooke also provides names and numbers where help can be found.

Buy it for the house and hope your teenage daughter falls over it and learns some sense. Or your mum.

This is a book which promises all things to women of all ages, and delivers.

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