Books We Love

The Course of Love

Career of Evil

Moonglow

The Light Between Oceans

My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises

A Series of Unfortunate Events

My Family and Other Animals

We Need to Talk About Kevin

As the Earth Turned Silver

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk

Just Kids

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

May We be Forgiven

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Nic adores her home. It’s the family home, inher

Nic adores her home. It’s the family home, inherited from her mother (to the chagrin of her sister Michelle), and full to the brim with treasures. Doll’s bonnets, side tables, chairs, newspapers, ornaments, CDs and records, clothes, sachets of sauce and sugar… Every item has a place, thoughtfully decided upon, which enters it into a considered relationship with all the other objects in her house. Each piece has memories attached, is sentimentally loaded, and dignified. It’s not until Nic has a fall and is discovered by her niece, Lena, three days later and barely alive, that Nic’s hoarding is revealed to others. The social worker at the hospital says that Nic cannot return home until the house is made safe and some of the clutter is cleared, so Lena, dealing with her own trauma, takes on the job of throwing everything out. Everything... Emily Maguire delves deep into the psychology behind hoarding in her latest novel, ‘Love Objects’, and the result is a thoroughly humane and compelling read that we highly recommend.

Following on from ‘Around the World in 80 Trees,

Following on from ‘Around the World in 80 Trees,’ Jonathan Drori embarks on another circumnavigation of the globe, this time focusing on plants, their mysterious inner worlds, and the clues they hold to the history of civilisation. Artichokes, for example, never occur in the wild, and were probably cultivated in the middle ages from cardoons, a member of the thistle family; the Greeks and Romans associated evergreen myrtle with immortality; and the mandrake, thought by some to be a purely mythical plant, is very real, and used in a range of medicines and poisons. One for lovers of both botany and history, each of these short essays is a voyage of discovery.

'Quicksand Pony’ was first published in 1997, an

'Quicksand Pony’ was first published in 1997, and, to celebrate over a MILLION books sold by beloved Australian author and Children’s Laureate Alison Lester, has now been re-released in this lovely new paperback edition.
'Quicksand Pony’ is an adventure set in the Australian bush. Biddy is forced to leave her pony stuck in quicksand in the path of a rising tide, but the next day when she returns, the pony is gone. Biddy can see hoof and paw prints, and sets out into the country to find her pony, uncovering another mysterious disappearance along the way.
The writing is tense and fast-paced so we would recommend this one (and it’s companion book, ‘Snow Pony’) for readers 8 plus.

From the author of ‘When Life Is Not Peachy’ c

From the author of ‘When Life Is Not Peachy’ comes ‘Days Like These’, a care package for tired and terrific (or terrifically tired!) mums. In the introduction, Pip Lincolne introduces what she calls a ‘self-supporting strategy’, which is ‘a strategy for noticing what’s going on with your good self and making your own health and happiness an absolute priority as you navigate parenthood.’ The pages that follow suggest, in simple but powerful language, myriad ways of developing this self-supporting strategy: from where to seek help with loneliness or overwhelm, how to cultivate calm, notes on forgiving yourself and accepting imperfection, to something called ‘sensory self-care’. This book is jam-packed with interesting ideas to go from coping to thriving, whether you’re (or your friend/family member) is parenting with a partner, co-parenting, or flying solo.
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#dayslikethese #piplincolne #whenlifeisnotpeachy #murdochbooks #selfcare #selfcarebook #parenting #parentingbook #newreleasenonfiction

‘Dear Mum’ is the latest instalment in actor S

‘Dear Mum’ is the latest instalment in actor Samuel Johnson’s letter collections that raise funds for cancer research. So far we’ve seen ‘Dear Sister’, ‘Dear Dad’, ‘Dear Santa’ and ‘Heroes Next Door’. Each volume gathers together missives from notable Australians - sportspeople, writers, actors, eye surgeons and more - addressing significant others (yes, including Santa), and in this edition we turn to Mum.

The letters in ‘Dear Mum’ range from tender testimonials to raw meditations on life, motherhood and family, and together make a whole-hearted reading experience.

AND two of our Book Birds, Charlotte and Rhett, have letters in this book! A perfect gift for Mothers’ Day that helps combat cancer.
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#dearmum #loveyoursister #samueljohnson #cancerresearch #mothersday #hachetteaus #hachette #deardad #dearsister #dearsanta #heroesnextdoor

ON THE BLOG • Gaille Walton is the author of ‘

ON THE BLOG • Gaille Walton is the author of ‘Hootity Hoot’, a new picture book about the powerful owl, habitat loss, and conservation. We asked Gaille a few questions about her children’s book and how it came to be. Read our interview on the blog. Link in bio 👆🏼and signed copies in store now!
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#gaillewalton #hootityhoot #powerfulowl #childrensbooks #picturebooks #newpicturebooks #australianchildrensauthor #australiankidsbooks #littlestepspublishing

It’s a new Murakami short story collection, whic

It’s a new Murakami short story collection, which basically means we’re all too busy reading to man the desk at the shop, so we’ll be closed for three days.... Jokes! Jokes. Not closed, but existing temporarily in a dreamy Murakami fog. Want a new picture book for your three-year-old? Oh well here’s the new Murakami collection, ‘First Person Singular’. After a dictionary? Yeah no worries here’s ‘First Person Singular’. You get the idea: we like Murakami, and we know lots of you do too, so hit us up!

📚 MOTHERS’ DAY GIVEAWAY 📚 Thanks to some

📚 MOTHERS’ DAY GIVEAWAY 📚

Thanks to some of our generous publisher friends we have a very weighty stack of books to give away for Mothers’ Day. Imagine winning a bunch of excellent books for mum, or even just for yourself (we won’t tell anyone).

Included in the prize is:
• ‘Days Like These’ by Pip Lincolne
• ‘Ash Mountain’ by Helen Fitzgerald
• ‘Wild At Heart’ by Aliénor le Gouvello
• ‘The Paris Collaborator’ by A. W. Hammond
• ‘There’s Only One Mum Like You’ and ‘There’s Only One Grandma Like You’ by Jess Racklyeft
• ‘The Complete Guide to Self Care’ by Kiki Ely
• ‘Jungalow’ by Justina Blakeney
• ‘A Room of Her Own’ by Robyn Lea
• ‘The Garden State’ by Richard Allen

To enter the draw, spend $30 or more in store OR online between now and 5pm, Thursday 6 May. We will draw the winner on Friday 7 May. The winner must be able to collect the books from our shop, and the stack is final. No swapsies. See you in store or via our online shop! (www.thebookbird.com.au).

Short, cold winter days call for slightly shorter

We were so happy to read that Evie Wyld has taken

We were so happy to read that Evie Wyld has taken out the 2021 @thestellaprize for her novel ‘The Bass Rock’. We adored this moody, dark gothic novel about women connected through time and blood, living in a palatial old house next to the sea. We loved it even more than we loved her previous book, the novella ‘All the Birds, Singing’, which is also excellent 👌🏼. Copies in stock, and more on the way. Congratulations @evelynwyld!
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#eviewyld #thebassrock #thestellaprize #stellaprize #stellaprize2021 #penguinbooks #australianwomenswriting #australianbooks #australianfiction #australianauthors #ozlit

Chief Book Bird Anna recommends ‘Tiger Daughter’ by Rebecca Lim and ‘The Last Bear’ by Hannah Gold, two new middle fiction novels.

‘Tiger Daughter’ follows the story of Wen Zhou, the only daughter of Chinese migrants whose move to Australia has not proven easy or smooth. Wen and her friend Henry Xiao hatch a plan to escape their unhappy circumstances by gaining entrance into a school far from home. But, again, things don’t go quite to plan, and Wen must be more resilient than ever to overcome what life has thrown her way…

'The Last Bear’ is an environmentally-minded novel for readers 8+. April’s dad, a scientist, is devastated to report that there are no polar bears left on Bear Island: they’re all gone. Except one day April meets a bear - big, lonely, hungry, and lost - and becomes determined to save it, unknowingly embarking on the most important journey in her life.

Two new novels with very different but compelling messages for young people.

It has arrived! We received so many enquiries for

It has arrived! We received so many enquiries for ‘The Well Gardened Mind’ by Sue Stuart-Smith, and we know some of you have waited super patiently while the book travelled here from overseas (extremely slowly, thanks Covid). But now having had a good read over a cup of tea, we can see what the fuss was about. This book just looks… divine. Combining neuroscience and psychology, Sue Stuart-Smith unearths the connection between a steady mind, a healthy body, and nature. Stuart-Smith focuses on the restorative effects of gardening for those suffering from depression, trauma and addiction, using her training in both literature and psychiatry to weave together story and science. And after the year that just was, we reckon some newly minted gardeners will appreciate knowing the science behind pottering in the backyard and stress relief!

We're back in the nest today and Book Bird Josh is

We're back in the nest today and Book Bird Josh is here to tell you about a recent read he has loved....

MEMORIAL by Bryan Washington
Benson and Mike have been together for a few years now and it has been … fine … but any thoughts of reigniting their relationship are interrupted by news of Mike’s dying father in Osaka. Mike travels to Japan to heal old family wounds. Benson is stuck at home with Mike’s visiting mother (who, awkwardly, he has never met before now).
Through memories, text messages, and frequent bouts of loneliness, we see the two protagonists reach across the globe to cling to an aimless, doomed romance.
This is a story of a neglected love and its slow evaporation, beautifully depicted through Bryan Washington’s subdued prose and a surprising switch of perspectives midway through the novel.

Join local author Belinda Lyons-Lee and Book Bird

Join local author Belinda Lyons-Lee and Book Bird Charlotte for an in-conversation event at Belmont Library on Thursday 29 April, 6:30-7:30pm. Belinda will delve deep into the world of her debut novel, ‘Tussaud’, which tells the story of famous wax sculptor Marie Tussaud. This book and event is definitely for lovers of atmospheric, slightly creepy and incredibly rich gothic historical fiction. This is a free event, and you can register via the Geelong Regional Library’s website in our linktree above.

It’s probably best you read about this book in R

It’s probably best you read about this book in Robert Macfarlane’s words, because we can’t describe it (or anything!) better than he can:
‘This is a book of spells to be spoken aloud. It tells its stories and sings its songs in paint and word. Here you will find incantations and summoning charms, spells that protect and spells that protest, tongue-twisters, blessings, lullabies and psalms. Here you might swoop with a swallow, follow a seal through the sea or sky-race with swifts. Here you can listen with owl ears and watch with the eyes of an oak. Here a fox might witch into your mind, or flocks of moths may lift from the page to fill the air.’
‘The Lost Spells’ is the little sister book of ‘The Lost Words’ by writer Robert Macfarlane and artist Jackie Morris, and is equally rich in language and wonder and magic.