Happy’s Best New Books (13th December – 19th December)
Updated weekly by the fine folk at Happy Mag, these are the best new books that this week has to offer from Australia and around the world!
Updated weekly by the fine folk at Happy Mag, these are the best new books that this week has to offer from Australia and around the world!
Carl Reinecke – Books That Made Us
Books That Made Us takes in the cultural history of Australia through its fiction. The rapid evolution of Australian literature — which broaches topics of war, migration, Indigenous sovereignty — has a thrilling story of its own to tell. All of these perspectives and more are addressed in this excellent overview of our homegrown literary tradition.
Wallace G. Walker and Doris Schattschneider – M.C. Escher: Kaleidocycles
If you’ve ever wondered how M.C. Escher created his wonderful world of mind-bending visuals, this book literally puts it at your fingertips. Comprising 17 sculptures with easy-to-follow guides for construction, you can create your own warped geometrical adventures. The accompanying text sheds light on the principles that form the groundwork of Escher’s practice.
Adrian Hyland – Canticle Creek
In the latest from award-winning author Adrian Hyland, he dishes up the perfect Aussie-noir for your summer. Two mysterious deaths precipitate what the sleepy village of Canticle Creek believes is an open and shut case. It is, however, only the beginning of a mystery that threatens to upend the whole town in one fateful summer.
Yumi Stynes and Claudine Ryan – Ladies, We Need To Talk
An accompanying text to the hit podcast, Ladies, We Need To Talk delves into a massive variety of topics under the umbrellas of women’s mental and physical health, life choices, relationship advice, and so much more. For clarity, companionship, and simply the space to seek advice on issues that might be a little awkward to bring up in conversation, it has the potential to change your life for the better.
J.S. Harry – New and Selected Poems
Compiled in collaboration with friend and poet Nicolette Stasko, New and Selected Poems is a celebration of the work of J.S. Harry, one of the stellar Australian poetic voices of her generation. With an acute powers of observation, the voice of the late poet is distinct as this collection traverses her life and varied inspirations, many of them taken from the natural world. Through the absorption of this collection, readers can delight in the intricate anatomy of her work.
Hugh van Cuylenburg – Let Go
In the follow-up to the Resilience Project, Hugh van Cuylenburg — an educator across a broad range of sectors — has changed tack. Let Go addresses issues around ego, fear of failure, panic about losing control, and the quintessential modern malaise: addiction to social media. A perfect end of year tonic for a fatigued mind that’s in search of reconnection to simple joys.