Good Weekend's cool summer reading round-up


READ MORE

THRILLERS


Thanks to Jane Harper, whose The Dry has gone gangbusters here and internationally, Australia’s very own crime genre, rural noir, is on a roll. Two new ones, Harper’s own The Lost Man (PAN MACMILLAN, $33), her third book, and Chris Hammer’s Scrublands (ALLEN UNWIN, $33), his first, both set in the drought-stricken outback, are excellent summer reads. Harper’s book is about the mysterious death of one of three brothers from a rural family. It is as much a family saga and love story as a thriller. Hammer’s book opens with the priest in a small country town shooting dead five of his parishioners. Martin Scarsden, a journalist battling his own demons, is sent to cover the story. Gripping, with a fiendishly clever dénouement.


For those who prefer non-fiction, bestselling English author Ben Macintyre’s The Spy and the Traitor (VIKING, $35), about a senior KGB agent who became a British spy during the Cold War, will have you reading into the small hours. It’s a riveting, truth-is-stranger-than-fiction espionage story, with all the intrigue, suspense and subterfuge you’d expect. Brilliant.


BIOGRAPHIES


Australian journalist Damon Kitney’s new biography of James Packer, The Price of Fortune (HARPERCOLLINS, $45), is the best book yet about the troubled magnate. Drawing on extensive interviews with Packer, his friends and associates, Kitney describes his business dealings, personal crises (Mariah Carey; a battle with sister Gretel over their father’s estate) and mental health challenges. A reminder that, in Packer’s words, “wealth and fortune don’t guarantee happiness”.


Article source: http://smh.com.au/act-news/police-investigating-apartment-fire-in-lyneham-20170126-gtz3a4.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

World Cup Central: Dhoni, Akhtar, Botham in All Blacks all-time cricket XV

READ MORE Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print World Cup fever has crossed platforms. There was Harry Kane sneaking into India’s training sessions to meet Virat Kohli. And now there’s the All Blacks picking a XV made up of past and present cricketers. With the @cricketworldcup underway in England, we’ve taken a look at all the best players from past and present to select the ultimate Cricket XV! SQUAD NOTES https://t.co/B3rnj5OBuJ #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/KuUtPU77PT — All Blacks (@AllBlacks) June 2, 2019 And they’ve got some pretty cool reasons for picking some pretty cool players. Curtly Ambrose : If anyone wants to argue with this selection then take it up with Sir Curtly himself. We dare you. MS Dhoni : The Richie McCaw of Cricket. Enough said. Dwayne Leverock : Famous for his one-handed catch at the 2003 World Cup, the 130kg Bermudian would surely make just as big a splash on the rugby field. Jofra Archer runs in to bowl  Get...
Read more

Banned Bancroft's journey of self-discovery

Image
READ MORE © Getty Images Spanish lessons, yoga and a host of community work have all been part of the path taken by Cameron Bancroft since the Newlands ball-tampering scandal. The Australia batsman has been looking to seek the sort of perspective and self-knowledge that will prevent him from following the kind of instructions issued to him by David Warner in the Cape Town dressing room. Bancroft spoke in Perth on Saturday ahead of his return to cricket via Twenty20 and 50-over appearances in the Northern Territory, where he will also endeavour to work closely in developing local talent. It’s the next step on the path away from Newlands as Bancroft serves a nine-month ban from the game imposed by Cricket Australia under its code of conduct. Perspective on life was greatly needed as Bancroft, Warner and the former captain Steven Smith pondered what evolved in South Africa, and Bancroft said he had spent plenty of time devoting himself broadening his own knowledge and also to...
Read more

Drones to become the new naval mine hunters under Morrison pledge

Image
READ MORE Advanced navies worldwide are increasingly turning to drones to do mine hunting and clearing work at sea. Marcus Hellyer, a former Defence Department official and now a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said that using autonomous and unmanned sea vehicles allowed the crewed ship to stay at the edge of a minefield, keeping naval personnel safer. The Morrison government has promised if re-elected to fast-track the building of two new mine hunting naval ships. Credit: Nine Newspapers “Common sense has prevailed,” he said of the decision. “Rather than keeping going down the path where you have old technology being extended at great cost, this will introduce new technology more quickly and that’s a good thing. “The current path does keep the human at the centre of the minefield, but the new approach lets them stay outside the minefield and let autonomous vehicles go in and do the dangerous work.” Article source: https:/...
Read more