New event: Jennifer Wong, Lin Jie Kong and Annabel Crabb
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Woof woof
Who doesn't love a book about dogs, or with dogs in it, or even mentioning dogs in passing - apart from people who don't like dogs?
Those in the former, dog-loving category will chew up Marcus Zusak's Three Wild Dogs about his crazy, wild, beloved animals Frosty, Reuben and Archer. This is Zusak like you've never read him - profane, sweary, and very funny. There's also two hilarious cats.
This is a gorgeous, loving memoir from someone who now claims not to be the model citizen we think he is - as if!
One of my favourite dog books is The Friend by Sigrid Nunez about a woman caring for her friend’s Great Dane after his death. It's now been made into a film. Set in Manhattan it stars the fabulous Naomi Watts and Bill Murray. Can't wait for it to come to Netflix here. Nunez is on a roll with Pedro Almodovar winning the Golden Lion in Venice with The Room Next Door, adapted from her book What Are You Going Through with Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore. If there's not a dog in it, there should be. [Editor's note: Notwithstanding the cat on the cover?]
Nunez's book is similar to Helen Garner's The Spare Room in that they're both about women friends dealing with cancer. Garner's book has been adapted for the stage with the perfect casting of Judy Davis as Garner.
Children’s author David Walliams has been everywhere in the media while he tours Australia, doing children’s book shows during the day and adult shows at night. I’ve caught him a few times on commercial TV (so shoot me!) and have been taken aback by his over-the-top sexual innuendo. His new kids book is called Super Sleuth and the tagline on the cover reads ‘ All Aboard for a Hilarious Mystery for the Whole Family’. Just don't let the whole family see him after 7pm!
Just finished Chris Hammer’s new crime outing The Valley.
The setting is something like a smaller Kangaroo Valley with a complicated plot spanning two time zones, 30 years apart. There are multiple murders, identity mysteries, environmentalists, logging of native forests, gold mines, corrupt politicians and police. Hammer ties himself in knots explaining in detail the flooding of a gold mine but it’s crucial to the plot, so worth the read. The good characters are believable, while the baddies are baddies.
Enjoyable fare, written with Hammer’s usual flair.
Morgan
New Events!
Meanjin Spring 2024 - Wednesday 25th September -Adrian Mouhajer in conversation with Esther Anatolitis
Join us for our ongoing Meanjin free event series. To celebrate the launch of the Spring edition join Adrian Mouhajer and Editor Esther Anatolitis for an intimate hour’s conversation on Adrian’s latest piece for Meanjin: his deeply personal, lyrical memoir piece ‘Love is worship’.
Jennifer Wong and Lin Jie Kong – Chopsticks or Fork? Friday 27th September - In conversation with Annabel Crabb
A collection of stories and recipes from Chinese restaurants in regional Australia, based on the six-part ABC series created by Jennifer Wong and Lin Jie Kong. The book lovingly captures the stories of ten very different families who run Chinese restaurants, from Queensland’s Hervey Bay to Western Australia’s Dunsborough, and features 32 classic Australian Chinese recipes.
Jan Wilson – Deported -Wednesday 9th October -
In conversation with Dr Meredith Burgmann
How was it that in 1964, a naive young Sydney school teacher found herself jailed in Bratislava, CSSR, and at the centre of an international political scandal?
Beloved local legend Jan Wilson recounts her unexpected adventures in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. Handful of places remaining.
Also just announced:
Michelle Lesh and Raimond Gaita- A Season of Death
Santilla Chingaipe – Black Convicts
Michelle de Kretser – Theory & Practice
Full events programme at gleebooks.com.au/events.
