Lindy Jones picks her famous fives for 2017

Lindy Jones: "At this time of the year I can barely count to five, but here are some of the books I enjoyed reading this year."

Of course, when nearly half my year is pretty much exclusively Miles Franklin Award submissions, and then half of the rest is for the Summer Catalogue, you must forgive me if I just have to revisit books I might have mentioned elsewhere!

View Summer Reading Catalogue View Current New Releases

Five Books You Should Have Read Because They Were MF Shortlisted. Or Won Other Awards! So Read them!

Extinctions

Josephine Wilson

The Winner of the Miles Franklin. And the Colin Roderick Award. And originally the Dorothy Hewitt. All mean something: a damn fine book!

Their Brilliant Careers

Ryan O'Neill

Winner of the Prime Minister's Award. Clever, tricksy and very, very funny.

The Last Days of Ava Langdon

Mark O'Flynn

This scored the Voss Literary Award. An evocative and lively portrait of an outsider.

Waiting

Philip Salom

Shortlisted for other awards. Sympathetic without sentimentality: brilliant portraits brilliantly rendered. 

An Isolated Incident

Emily Maguire

Shortlisted for other awards as well. Says a lot about modern society, media, women, crime, and in an involving storyline.

 

 

Five Other Novels Really Really Worth Reading. (Ok, there is SIX but the demand for Sarah Winman's Tin Man has been greater than supply!)

Reservoir 13

Jon McGregor

Not enough superlatives for this. Go with it, and be rewarded. 

The Reservoir Tapes

Jon McGregor

And excitingly, McGregor wrote some supporting short stories, that add yet another dimension to this masterpiece.

The Life to Come

Michelle de Kretser

Beautiful writing, sharp observations, clever and witty and sometimes quite cutting.

The Ninth Hour

Alice McDermott

Depression-era New York, strong women making the best of bad situations, fine prose.

The Rules of Magic

Alice Hoffman

Prequel to the wonderful Practical Magic. New York again, but in the 60s. And then if you haven't read the first, you've got another treat coming.

Tin Man

Sarah Winman

I'll go so far as to say this is my favourite book of the year.

 

 

 

Five Novels that Live in the Young Adult Section (But Don't Let That Stop Older Ones from Reading them…)

The Call

Peadar O'Guilin

Fairies are evil. Very evil. They want Ireland back, and they steal teenagers to teach humans a lesson. Genuinely suspenseful, rattling good read.

S.T.A.G.S.

M A Bennett

Private schoolkids are evil. Very evil. And if you dare to overstep your caste or class, you're going to be taught a lesson. Scary, clever and engrossing.

Landscape with Invisible Hand

M T Anderson

Aliens are evil. Actually they are arch-capitalists, so that makes them very very evil. Is this a fable? or a clever tale about the impact of technology vs artistic endeavour? Or both?

Beautiful Mess

Clare Christian

Grief and mental illness make a mess of two teen misfits. At least they're not evil. And they do find their way through. Bittersweet and satisfying.

I Capture the Castle

Dodie Smith

Okay, it's not new. But it's a favourite, almost an Austen in terms of my rereading it. And there's nothing remotely evil at all about it. Just lovely writing with wonderful characters.

 

 

Five Assorted Non-Fiction Books (Without Birds as the Main Subject). OK, Six!

I Am, I Am, I Am

Maggie O'Farrell

You wouldn't believe how readable 17 personal brushes with death can be. But she is a very good novelist as well.

The Husband Hunters

Anne de Courcy

Anything by de Courcy is wonderfully vivid. This is about the trade in 19th century American heiresses to impoverished European nobility.

The Trauma Cleaner

Sarah Krasnostein

Extremely moving and almost voyeuristic at times, but truly engrossing.

Tracker

Alexis Wright

The circular storytelling style was as fascinating as the subject, Tracker Tilmouth, himself. 

The Harbour: A City's Heart, a Country's Soul

Scott Bevan

If this doesn't make you want to take up kayaking, nothing will!

Anaesthesia

Kate Cole-Adams

What is oblivion? What is consciousness? This lyrical book explores these questions, blending science and personal experience. Won the Waverley Library Award.

 

 

 

Five Assorted Non-Fiction Books with Pictures In Them. (Plus a Ring-in).

The House of Worth, 1858-1954: The Birth of Haute Couture

Chantal Trubert-Tollu

What the husband hunters wore. And characters in Downton Abbey or Edith Wharton novels. So, so beautiful - can I try one on, just once?

Reactions: An Illustrated Exploration of Elements, Molecules, and Change in the Universe

Theodore Gray

I don't do chemistry. But I do when it's Theodore Gray. (Or Sam Kean: Caesar's Last Breath. So enjoyable! and there are a few illustrations)

Mirror Sydney

Vanessa Berry

Look at the layers of Sydney with new eyes. Quirky and charming drawings throughout.

Painting by Numbers

David Mabberley

I would argue that Ferdinand Bauer is one of the geniuses of scientific illustration. So does this book! 

Joseph Banks' Florilegium

Gooding, Mabberley, Studholme

Positively swoonworthy. And not many left in stock, but swoop, swoop upon this, or wait until the new year.

 

 

Five Books with Birds in the Title*

The Australian Bird Guide

Peter Menkhorst and lots of other talented people

So, you carry the Slaters in your pocket, and the Pizzey in your backpack, and the ABG in the car. But you NEED it, you REALLY do. You can't have too many guides…

which means you should have:

A Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of the Australian High Country

Neil Hermes

A photographic guide, distinguished by excellent in-the-field photos and great information.

Birds: What's in a Name

Peter Barry

A bit of light-hearted but educational fun. Names of a whole lot of birds from all around the world are explained.

Birdmania

Berndt Brunner

If there was a cure for this mania, the 'sufferers' would refuse it… 

The Seabird's Cry: The Lives and Loves of Puffins, Gannets and Other Ocean Voyagers

Adam Nicolson

Puffins, gannets, guillemots and other northern seabirds. Poetic, moving and that beautiful blend of personal narrative and nature writing the English do so well.

Mozart's Starling

Lyanda Lynn Haupt

If Mozart could enjoy the companionship of a starling, then maybe this detested bird has merits afterall. The (American) author sees for herself.

Call of the Reed Warbler: A New Agriculture - A New Earth

Charles Massy

Haven't finished this yet, and yes it's not an ornithological tome, but it has a lot to say about farming sustainably, sensibly and for more than ourselves.

*(I lied. But I did say I was having trouble counting).

 

 

 

Since 1968 ~ Abbey's 131 York Street Sydney ~ An Aladdin's cave for readers

What's Popular at Abbey's in Christmas 2017

Lindy Jones: "Abbey’s is known for its wide range of nonfiction, and our customers tend to gravitate towards less obvious titles. Crime fiction traditionally also sells well for us."

You can always sit down with a cuppa and look through our Summer Reading Catalogue.

View Summer Reading Catalogue View Current New Releases

There are plenty of books that will sell nicely this year, so choosing bestsellers isn’t so obvious. Some that will probably rise above the others include:

Mirror Sydney

Vanessa Berry (Giramondo)

This engaging book follows the tracks of vanished and vanishing histories, particularly in the ordinary and overlooked suburbs, and celebrates both Indigenous and European landscape.

Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World

Catherine Nixey (Macmillan)

The largely unknown story of how a militant religion comprehensively and deliberately extinguished the teachings of the Classical world, ushering in centuries of unquestioning adherence to 'one true faith'.

Bletchley Park Brain Teasers

Sinclair McKay (Hachette)

Do you fancy finding out if you have a talent for morse code? Or discovering whether your crossword hobby might have seen you recruited into the history books? If so, and you're a Bletchley Park history buff or a fan of the GCHQ Quiz Book, then this is the book for you.

The River of Consciousness

Oliver Sacks (Picador)

Sacks examines questions of memory, time, and consciousness. How do we think, how do we remember? Do different individuals have different speeds or ways of thinking? Is memory reliable? 

A Legacy of Spies

John le Carré (Viking)

This is the first le Carré novel in over twenty-five years to feature George Smiley, and is classic le Carré - a period all his fans have been waiting for him to revisit. Not to be missed.

Joseph Banks' Florilegium: Botanical Treasures from Cook's First Voyage

Mel Gooding, David Mabberley, Joe Studholme (Thames & Hudson)

With excellent commentaries on the specimens and their place in botany, as well as general text about the voyage and Bank’s achievements, this is a magnificent, desirable and outstanding book.

 

 

As for surprise sellers, in a way we are never surprised at what our customers buy! They might seem quirky to other bookshops but relatively normal for Abbey’s.

Bradshaw’s Handbook

George Bradshaw (Bloomsbury)

This is not a ‘new’ book in any sense of the word, but it taps into history, nostalgia and quirkiness. Deserves a place on the bookshelf of any traveller, railway enthusiast, historian or anglophile. 

Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics

Tim Marshall (Elliott & Thompson)

Go on, resist that title! A fascinating and clearly written book about geopolitics that appeals to the thoughtful reader.

A Paris All Your Own: Bestselling Women Writers on the City of Light

Eleanor Brown (Ed.) (Putnam)

Certain cities always sell at Abbey's: Rome, Pompeii, Istanbul, Jerusalem - and Paris.

The Joy Of Mathematics: Marvels, Novelties, and Neglected Gems That Are Rarely Taught in Math Class

Alfred Posamentier et al (Prometheus)

Another subject that sells well here, particularly if presented with enthusiasm and wonder (rather than as the chore maths was for many of us!)

Chaucer's People: Everyday Lives in Medieval England

Liza Picard (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

Medieval history has lost some of its currency lately, but there are still readers who devour anything on the subject. The Templars by Dan Jones (Head of Zeus) is another history book that will be snapped up.

The Square and the Tower: Networks, Hierarchies and the Struggle for Global Power

Niall Ferguson (Allen Lane)

Thoughtful analysis, deeply researched history and a favourite author for many of our customers.

 

 

But just in case you think all our sellers will be heavy and serious, there are some nice lighthearted or more entertaining titles that our customers will buy.

The new Alexander McCall Smith novel The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse (Polygon), Sulari Gentill’s latest ‘Rowland Sinclair’ mystery A Dangerous Language (Pantera Press), Richard Fidler & Kari Gislason’s Saga Land (HarperCollins) and the delightful ‘Baby University’ board books by Chris Ferrie (Sourcebooks), which are being purchased for child and adult alike! 

 

This article was first published in Books + Publishing Magazine.


Since 1968 ~ Abbey's 131 York Street Sydney ~ An Aladdin's cave for readers

Notes from Eve Abbey ~ October 2017

I recently sent out an SOS to the booksellers in Abbey’s — I wanted a recommendation for a good non-fiction book, as a change from fiction. I received prompt replies and am now looking forward to some interesting reading. Siân suggested a book from a Russian writer who was famously popular in the Twenties and Thirties and whose work has recently been re-published and is popular again. Memories: From Moscow to the Black Sea by Teffi relates her adventures as she escaped from Moscow after the revolution. Published by the New York Review of Books. There are plenty of notes and a list of Further Reading for those interested in the reactions of ordinary people during the Revolution, although when I say this I must also say that Teffi was not an ordinary person!

NEW RELEASES

Greg suggested At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being and Apricot Cocktails by Sarah Bakewell, Lindy suggested Anaesthesia: The Gift of Oblivion by Kate Cole-Adams, while Dean suggested Ghost Empire by Richard Fidler. I’m going to read them all soon.

In January 2009, experienced Australian journalist John Lyons arrived in Israel as the foreign correspondent for the Australian newspaper, together with his wife Sylvie le Clezio, a photo journalist, and his eight-year-old son Jack. They stayed until January 2015. He has now published Balcony Over Jerusalem: A Middle East Memoir describing these fascinating years. This book will disappoint supporters of Israel. In Israel, there is much to admire, but the treatment of Palestinians living in Israel and the expansion of the Jewish Settlements on the West Bank is very troubling.

Lyons finds he can write as much criticism as he likes in Israel, but when such criticism is published overseas, there is an immediate reaction from supporters of Israel. The reasoning behind this is that readers of the Israeli local press are committed to the idea of Israel and accept that certain things do indeed happen, but such criticism in overseas media harms the image of a successful Jewish state. There are plenty of people ready and willing to obstruct such reports. There is no doubt that Israel wins the media battle. The latter parts of the book are really useful in trying to make sense of the Middle East - about the struggle between Sunni and Shia, about how Hamas works and the aims of the Netanyahu government, as well as a bit of history. His most alarming conclusion is that before too long the Jewish population in Israel will be a minority.

If you’re feeling a little unhappy about the state of the world, I recommend you read Live Lead Learn: My Stories of Life and Leadership by Gail Kelly, former CEO of St George Bank and Westpac. She now has numerous other roles, including a continuing member of the G30 and the Global Board of Advisors to the US Council on Foreign Relations, director of Woolworth Holdings in South Africa, director of the Country Road Group and David Jones in Australia, Ambassador for Women’s Empowerment for Care Australia and Adjunct Professor at the University of NSW. With seven pages of interesting photographs, this book is full of heartfelt advice for anyone who leads a group, from a true leader. It is really unusual to find someone so consistently thoughtful and kind. You’ll feel better about the world when you read this memoir of a generous-hearted businesswoman.

Keep well,

Eve

Since 1968 ~ Abbey's 131 York Street Sydney ~ An Aladdin's cave for readers