Happy’s Best New Books
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!
Francesco Spampinato (ed. Julius Wiedemann) – Art Record Covers (40th Edition)
Packed with some of the most iconic images in popular culture, as well as interviews with artists like Shepard Fairey and Kim Gordon, Art Record Covers underscores the significance of this particular (and at times, peculiar) visual form. The most memorable examples of album art go hand-in-glove with the music it represents, while simultaneously transcending it; this anthology is a celebration of that phenomenon.
9.1
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FRANCESCO SPAMPINATO (ED. JULIUS WIEDEMANN)
ART RECORD COVERS (40TH EDITION)
Eunice Andrada – Take Care
Eunice Andrada’s Take Care is a collection of poetry that interrogates colonialism, the effects of which are still all too real. It tells the story of women of the Filipina community — who are routinely exploited — while challenging the overarching mechanisms of power and privilege that sustain the status quo. That Andrada is able to deliver these messages not only with clarity but also with lyrical grace is a testament to her superbly-honed poetic voice.
9.2
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EUNICE ANDRADA
TAKE CARE
Colm Toíbín – The Magician
A feat of extensive research, Colm Toíbín brings the tale of Thomas Mann to life. Thomas Mann was a towering literary figure of the 20th century and Toíbín’s fictional rendering of his personal adds a multitude of layers to our understanding of this significant historical figure. Spanning a convulsive period in German history, it portrays the inner conflicts of Mann as he navigates his own art, family life, and the turbulence of the world around him.
9.5
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COLM TOÍBÍN
THE MAGICIAN
Bronwyn Adcock – Currowan
Currowan is Bronwyn Adcock’s devastating account of being inside the inferno of Australia’s Black Summer. All too often — even though this disaster surrounded us — we don’t have the opportunity to absorb the human stories of this significant event. Adcock’s recounting of the Currowan blaze brings its visceral reality to the page and importantly, asks vital questions about the human error and negligence that contributed to the devastation.
9.4
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BRONWYN ADCOCK
CURROWAN
Filip Vukašin – Modern Marriage
Set against the backdrop of the 2017 plebiscite for same-sex marriage, this thrilling debut traces the story of the ostensibly happily married couple, Klara and Dante. The illusion is shattered, however, when Dante is found unconscious in a gay sauna. At that moment, Klara is confronted with a shocking new reality — from there, the fascinating story of how she reckons with her preconceptions of love and family unfolds.
9.0
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FILIP VUKAŠIN
MODERN MARRIAGE
Vince Passaro – Crazy Sorrow
Crazy Sorrow is an ambitious epic that takes in the modern histories of New York and a pair of star-crossed lovers, George and Anna. Meeting in the city in the ’70s, their initial romance is short-lived. Passaro tells the story of their parallel lives, sexual encounters, and progression to parenthood and reveals that no matter how divergent their lives have become, an unknown force keeps them connected.
9.2
BUY HERE
