Happy’s Best New Books of 2021 (20th June – 26th June)
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!
Anton Corbijn – DMAC
In this new photographic wonder, two pillars of music and its surrounding artistic culture come together. Depeche Mode is a seminal act, with its roots in ’80s electronica and the brooding side of synth-pop. Anton Corbijn is the celebrated Dutch rock photographer, whose images spanning decades have become individual cultural artefacts in their own right. This book is a comprehensive account of their extensive collaboration, complete with an interview with Corbijn and more than 500 images from his personal archive.
9.1
BUY HERE
ANTON CORBIJN
DMAC
Zakiya Dalila Harris – The Other Black Girl
This addictive debut from Zakiya Dalila Harris combines the sensibilities of a thriller with a drily comic office atmosphere. It’s testament to Harris’s skill that she can also effortlessly cut across the narrative with an incisive statement on the dearth of Black representation in the world of publishing. The Other Black Girl is perhaps the buzziest new book in recent months — a refreshing and strikingly original multigenre tale.
9.2
BUY HERE
ZAKIYA DALILA HARRIS
THE OTHER BLACK GIRL
Jan Eeckhout – The Profit Paradox
The maxims of ‘trickle down’ economics have every right to be scrutinised, and The Profit Paradox is one of the most powerful interrogations of the democratisation (or lack thereof) of wealth in recent times. It tells the story of a handful of companies that have acquired and exploited their way to domination, but, it also offers practical recourse for restoring the balance.
8.7
BUY HERE
JAN EECKHOUT
THE PROFIT PARADOX
Peter Wohlleben – The Heartbeat of Trees
Planning on going on a winter camp? The Heartbeat of Trees is the ideal companion. Renowned forester Peter Wohlleben explores the links between humanity and the fertile environments that are often within reach, yet routinely underexplored.
8.6
BUY HERE
PETER WOHLLEBEN
THE HEARTBEAT OF TREES
Yan Lianke – Hard Like Water
You might not think that China’s Cultural Revolution would be the typical setting for eroticism, but then again, this era of heightened tension is perfect for this kind of fever-pitched romance. Aijun and Hongmei are at once revolutionaries and star-crossed lovers, but against the backdrop of historical upheaval, can their relationship survive?
8.5
BUY HERE
YAN LIANKE
HARD LIKE WATER
Claire Dunn – Rewilding the Urban Soul
In the same way that Wohlleben wants us to visit the woods to connect with nature, Claire Dunn implores us to search for it within our urban environments. Spawned from a year living completely off-grid, Dunn explores the practices that make it possible for even the most ardent city slicker to enjoy a healthier relationship with the wilderness that surrounds us all.
