Summer Reading

Summer Reading

Summer time is a time for us to take a break and while away the hours on the beach, by the pool, in your garden or curled up on the sofa during the Christmas holidays with one of these great summer reads.

The Naked CEO – Alex Malley
The Naked CEO Alex Malley has lived a life rich in success and mistakes. Through it all he has learned a lot about what it takes to successfully build not only a big career, but also a big life – the secrets of which he shares in this book.

Alex’s powerful life stories and practical advice make this a must read for students, jobseekers and professionals thinking about their next career move.

Factual, Action and Drama – Mathew Reilly

‘Now, I know what you are thinking,’ Hu Tang paused. ‘You are thinking that there are hundreds of zoos, why does the world need another one? Indeed, what can China do with a zoo that has not already been done before? Ladies and gentleman…this is what we can do.’

At that moment, the speeding bullet train burst out into brilliant sunshine and CJ found herself staring at an awesome sight. It is a secret the Chinese government has been keeping for forty years. They have found a species of animal no one believed even existed. It will amaze the world.

Now the Chinese are ready to unveil their astonishing discovery within the greatest zoo ever constructed.

A small group of VIPs and journalists has been brought to the zoo deep within China to see its fabulous creatures for the first time. Among them is Dr Cassandra Jane ‘CJ’ Cameron, a writer for National Geographic and an expert on reptiles.

The visitors are assured by their Chinese hosts that they will be struck with wonder at these beasts, that they are perfectly safe, and that nothing can go wrong…

“Action on a gigantic scale”

 Gallipoli – Peter Fitzsimons
On 25 April 1915, Allied forces landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula in present-day Turkey to secure the sea route between Britain and France in the west and Russia in the east. After eight months of terrible fighting, they would fail. Peter tells this iconic tale in GALLIPOLI.

History comes to life with Peter Fitzsimons. Turkey regards the victory to this day as a defining moment in its history, a heroic last stand in the defence of the nation’s Ottoman Empire. But, counter-intuitively, it would signify something perhaps even greater for the defeated Australians and New Zealanders involved: the birth of their countries’ sense of nationhood.

Now approaching its centenary, the Gallipoli campaign, commemorated each year on Anzac Day, reverberates with importance as the origin and symbol of Australian and New Zealand identity. As such, the facts of the battle – which was minor against the scale of the First World War and cost less than a sixth of the Australian deaths on the Western Front – are often forgotten or obscured. Peter FitzSimons, with his trademark vibrancy and expert melding of writing and research, recreates the disaster as experienced by those who endured it or perished in the attempt.

The Burning Room – Michael Connelly
Bestselling crime fiction author, Michael Connelly delivers a new gripping novel when Detective Harry Bosch and his new partner investigate a recent murder where the trigger was pulled years earlier.
In the LAPD’s Open-Unsolved Unit, not many murder victims die a decade after the crime. So when Orlando Merced finally succumbs to complications from being shot ten years earlier, Bosch catches a case in which the body is still fresh, but any other evidence is virtually nonexistent. Partnered with Lucia Soto, a rookie detective who made her name in a violent liquor store shoot-out, Bosch begins to see political dimensions to the case – a case where, despite the seemingly impossible odds, failure to find the killer is simply not an option.But not only does Soto soon reveal a burning obsession that could make her a loose cannon, the one piece of evidence they have on the Merced shooting also points in a shocking and unexpected direction that could unsettle the very people who want Bosch to close out the case. It’s looking like Orlando Merced may not be the investigation’s only victim – and that includes Bosch himself.

“A modern-day master of crime writing… arguably the best detective series of our era.” Good Reading “The finest crime writer working today” – Neil Cross, lead scriptwriter of Spooks and creator of Luther.

 

Love life and humour – Liane Moriarty

‘I guess it started with the mothers.’ ‘It was all just a terrible misunderstanding.’ ‘I’ll tell you exactly why it happened.’ Pirriwee Public’s annual school Trivia Night has ended in a shocking riot. A parent is dead. Was it murder, a tragic accident…or something else entirely? Big Little Lies is a funny, heartbreaking, challenging story of ex-husbands and second wives, new friendships, old betrayals and schoolyard politics. No. 1 New York Times bestselling author turns her unique gaze on the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves every day and what really goes on behind closed suburban doors. ‘Let me be clear.

This is not a circus. This is a murder investigation.’ Praise for The Husband’s Secret ‘Intelligent and funny’ SATURDAY AGE ‘A staggeringly brilliant novel’ Sophie Hannah, DAILY MAIL ‘A nuanced and moving portrait of the meaning of love, both marital and familial’ USA TODAY ‘Would more rightly be classified as psychological suspense, beautifully rendered, with a structure that sustains and builds interest from beginning to end’ Sue Grafton

 The Women Who Stole My Life – Marian Keyes

‘Name: Stella Sweeney. Height: average. Recent life events: dramatic.’

Stella Sweeny is back in Dublin. After living the dream in New York for a year – touring her self-help book, appearing on talk shows all over the USA and living it up in her 10-room duplex on the Upper West Side – she’s back to normality with a bang. And she’s got writer’s block.

Stella wants a clean break as she didn’t exactly leave New York on a high. Why is she back in Ireland so soon? Who is it who keeps calling? Stella wants to get back to being the woman she used to be. But can she? And should she?

For the first time real, honest-to-goodness happiness is just within her reach. But is Stella Sweeney, Dublin housewife, ready to grasp it? Once again internationally bestselling Irish author Marian Keyes delivers yet another witty, charm-filled book her fans are sure to love.

 

Us – David Nichols

David Nicholls brings to bear all the wit and intelligence that graced ONE DAY in this brilliant, bittersweet novel about love and family, husbands and wives, parents and children. Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2014. ‘I was looking forward to us growing old together.

Me and you, growing old and dying together.’ ‘Douglas, who in their right mind would look forward to that?’ Douglas Petersen understands his wife’s need to ‘rediscover herself’ now that their son is leaving home.

He just thought they’d be doing their rediscovering together. So when Connie announces that she will be leaving, too, he resolves to make their last family holiday into the trip of a lifetime: one that will draw the three of them closer, and win the respect of his son.

One that will make Connie fall in love with him all over again. The hotels are booked, the tickets bought, the itinerary planned and printed. What could possibly go wrong?

Leaving Time – Jodi Picoult
Alice Metcalf was a devoted mother, loving wife and accomplished scientist who studied grief among elephants. Yet it’s been a decade since she disappeared under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind her small daughter, husband, and the animals to which she devoted her life. All signs point to abandonment – or worse.

Still Jenna – now thirteen years old and truly orphaned by a father maddened by grief – steadfastly refuses to believe in her mother’s desertion. So she decides to approach the two people who might still be able to help her find Alice: a disgraced psychic named Serenity Jones, and Virgil Stanhope, the cynical detective who first investigated her mother’s disappearance and the strange, possibly linked death of one of her mother’s coworkers.

Together these three lonely souls will discover truths destined to forever change their lives. Deeply moving and suspenseful, Jodi Picoult’s 21st novel is a radiant exploration of the enduring love between mothers and daughters.

Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn
THE ADDICTIVE No.1 BESTSELLER THAT EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT 

Who are you? What have we done to each other? 

These are the questions Nick Dunne finds himself asking on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police suspect Nick. Amy’s friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn’t true.

A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they weren’t made by him. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone. 

So what really did happen to Nick’s beautiful wife? 

 

Thrive – Ariana Huffington
In Thrive, Arianna Huffington, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post and one of the most influential women in the world, has written a passionate call to arms, looking to redefine what it means to be successful in today’s world.

She likens our drive for money and power to two legs of a three-legged stool. It may hold us up temporarily, but sooner or later we’re going to topple over. We need a third leg – a Third Metric for defining success – in order to live a healthy, productive, and meaningful life.

In this deeply personal book, Arianna talks candidly about her own challenges with managing time and prioritising the demands of a career and two daughters. Drawing on the latest groundbreaking research and scientific findings in the fields of psychology, sports, sleep and physiology that show the profound and transformative effects of meditation, mindfulness, unplugging and giving, Arianna shows us the way to a revolution in our culture, our thinking, our workplaces, and our lives. 

 

Gray Mountain – John Grisham
One week ago, Samantha Kofer was a third year associate at New York City’s largest law firm. Now she is an unpaid intern in a legal aid clinic deep in small town Appalachia.

When Lehman Brothers collapsed, she lost her job, her security, her future. As she confronts real clients with real problems, she finds herself a world away from her past life of corporate fat cats and fatter bonuses.

This is coal country. Meth country. The law is different here. And standing up for the truth means putting your life on the line.

America’s greatest storyteller brings us a new masterpiece of legal courage and gripping suspense – and his finest heroine since The Pelican Brief.

Something for the Minis – Wimpy Kids
A family road trip is supposed to be a lot of fun . . . unless, of course, you’re the Heffleys. The journey starts off full of promise, then quickly takes several wrong turns. Gas station bathrooms, crazed seagulls, a fender bender, and a runaway pig—not exactly Greg Heffley’s idea of a good time. But even the worst road trip can turn into an adventure—and this is one the Heffleys won’t soon forget.

The Diary of Wimpy Kid series of books, by best-selling author Jeff Kinney, charts the highs and lows of our middle school hero, Greg, as he stumbles and fumbles from childhood to teenhood via school-hood. Sometimes helped by his friends and family, often not helped by himself!

Can’t wait for more details about Book 9? Here’s what we can tell you: Greg Heffley and his family hit the road in author-illustrator Jeff Kinney’s latest instalment of the phenomenal bestselling Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Not much to go on? You KNOW it’s going to involve Greg being the daft idiot we all love, and his family driving him nuts, and his friend-issues… so buckle-up, it’s going to be a side-splitting ride!

Journey back in time with Geronimo in this all-new 320-page POB special edition!

I, Geronimo Stilton, never expected to set paw inside a time machine. But when Professor Paws von Volt invited me to travel with him, I had to accept!

My family came along to help us discover how the dinosaurs became extinct, how the Great Pyramid of Giza was built, and what life was like at King Arthur’s court. Along the way I was chased by a Tyrannosaurus rex, almost eaten by a crocodile in the Nile, and asked to save a maiden from an evil knight’s castle. Holey cheese! It was an adventure through history!

Clementine Rose – Jacqueline Harvey
Clementine Rose was delivered not in the usual way, at a hospital, but in the back of a mini-van, in a basket of dinner rolls.

So begins the story of a lovely little girl who lives in Penberthy Floss in a large ramshackle house with her mother, Lady Clarissa, Digby Pertwhistle the butler and a very sweet teacup pig called Lavender. When her scary Aunt Violet arrives unexpectedly, the household is thrown into disarray.

What is it that Aunt Violet really wants and what is she carrying in her mysterious black bag? From the author of the best-selling Alice-Miranda series, for readers aged 5+.

 

 

Something for the Cook

Karen Martini at Home 

Chef and busy working mum Karen Martini loves spending time in her home kitchen – making quick and healthy lunches, creating elaborate feasts for special occasions, or simply experimenting with different ingredients.

This book is all about cooking and eating well. Original, fresh and bursting with flavour and colour, the recipes in Home will inspire you to cook up delicious and memorable food for yourself and your loved ones, from the simple and nourishing to the detailed and indulgent.

 

 

 

Family Food by Pete Evans $27.99
With two children of his own, Pete Evans knows how hard it can be to get a healthy and delicious meal on the table night after night. That’s why he’s put together his absolute favourite recipes for busy parents and their kids in Family Food.

These meals follow Pete’s paleo style of eating – no grains, refined sugar or dairy, and a focus on sustainable meat and seafood, nuts and seeds, and loads of fresh veggies.

There are heaps of quick, healthy and satisfying dinner ideas including Ginger and Chilli Fish Stir-fry, Cauliflower Fried Rice with Garlic Prawns, and Easy Pulled Pork Tortillas.

 

 

The Whole Pantry – Belle Gibson
Belle Gibson delivers her new book based on the bestselling app, The Whole Pantry. She breaks down how to integrate a whole food diet to your life with delicious and easy to follow recipes. Its easy to see why she and her app have been such sensations.

Social media sensation Belle Gibson is the creator of the world’s first health, wellness and lifestyle app, The Whole Pantry – chosen by Apple as Best App of 2013 in the Food and Drink category.

Now Belle brings us her first book, with more than 80 new, delicious and nourishing plant-based recipes (gluten, dairy and corn free) aimed at nurturing the body, including healthy versions of old favourites such as lasagne, burgers and black forest cake. As part of Belle’s ‘whole life’ philosophy, she passes on a wealth of information on how to live a healthier life, with support on everything from natural beauty and superfoods to detoxing. Here’s to living your whole life.

Plenty More – Yotam Ottolenghi
Vegetables have moved from the side dish to the main plate, grains celebrated with colour and flair. It’s a revolution that is bold, inspiring and ever-expanding.

Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty changed the way people cook and eat. Its focus on vegetable dishes, with the emphasis on flavour, original spicing and freshness of ingredients, caused a revolution not just in this country, but the world over.

Plenty More picks up where Plenty left off, with 150 more dazzling vegetable-based dishes, this time organised by cooking method. Grilled, baked, simmered, cracked, braised or raw, the range of recipe ideas is stunning. With recipes including Alphonso mango and curried chickpea salad, Membrillo and stilton quiche, Buttermilk-crusted okra, Lentils, radicchio and walnuts with manuka honey, Seaweed, ginger and carrot salad, and even desserts such as Baked rhubarb with sweet labneh and Quince poached in pomegranate juice, this is the cookbook that everyone has been waiting for.

So put your feet up, relax, read and enjoy!