I decided this month to specialise in books recommended through Dymocks (a bit boring but what can I say?
)
1) The Search Party by Hannah Richell I hate the title (sounds so boring) but loved the book. Fabulous characters with convincing voices. Richell played with the time line which was clever and fun to read. The ending was satisfying. Great effort
2) Secrets of the Tides by Hannah Richell. I thought I’d check out her other titles. This one was darker and flatter. Not as much energy. Probably a bit depressing. Good writing and the story held together well. She is interested in psychological motives and manages these themes well
3) Outlive by Dr Peter Attia (with Bill Gifford in teensy tiny writing! Poor Bill ): ) I must’ve temporarily lost my mind because this is not the kind of book I usually read. But it was good. It talks about your health span not your life span. You need to exercise (balance, cardio, strength) -no surprises there!! Eat well, although there is not much in the way of useful research in this area, which surprised me. The chapter on emotional health was the best bit. He questions why he wants to live to 100, looks at past trauma and talks honestly about his admissions to a psychiatric hospital and he work with DBT. Interesting and unusual for a man.
4) Faith, Hope and Carnage by Nick Cave and Sean O’Hagan Given that I have no musical gifts, I would not have read this book if it hadn’t been reviewed on RN. It is a series of interviews about Cave’s thinking and grief following the death of his young son from a cliff fall. I had no expectations but it was so honest and raw. I was impressed and can recommend this book. Very different from the usual writing on grief.
Sounds great! I'll put it on my list!
I too go to the Dymocks list on rare occasions when looking for a change - that’s where I found The Fourth Wing - some light relief after the History if God - I loved the world of dragons, beautiful but flawed characters and wild sex❤️