Recommended reads
Word of Mouth TV has three more great Australian novels to recommend this month, and three new cookbooks.
Pamela Hart kicks off with The Lighthouse at Pelican Rock, a book written by none other than her husband Stephen Hart – his debut novel. But Pamela swears she is not recommending it just because Stephen wrote it. She hasn’t just read this book, she edited it, so it is etched into her heart, excuse the pun. “Everytime I read it, I forgot to edit it,” she says. “It just sucked me in all over again.”
Authors’ best books read lately
Pamela Hart recommends:
The Lighthouse at Pelican Rock
By Stephen Hart
After 12-year-old Megan Evans almost dies, she is packed off to the tiny, remote coastal village of Pelican Rock to recover. Sure she is going to be bored in a place which doesn’t even have the internet, she discovers there is much more to Pelican Rock that she expected. Are the pelicans really magic? What is the secret of the ruined lighthouse? Has she found the place where she belongs? And, perhaps, not just a place…
This first novel by talented new writer Stephen Hart is a magical, moving, memorable story that will grip readers from the start.
Kate Forsyth recommends:
The Whole Bright Year
By Debra Oswald
In the summer of 1976 it’s picking season on an Australian stone-fruit orchard run by Celia, a hard-working woman in her early forties. Years ago, when her husband was killed as a bystander in an armed robbery, Celia left the city and brought her newborn daughter Zoe to this farm for a secure life. Now sixteen, Zoe is a passionate, intelligent girl, chafing against her mother’s protectiveness, yearning to find intensity and a bit of danger.
Barging into this world as itinerant fruit-pickers come a desperate brother and sister from Sydney. The hard-bitten Sheena has kidnapped her wild, ebullient eighteen-year-old brother Kieran and dragged him out west, away from trouble in the city. Kieran and Zoe are drawn to each other the instant they meet, sparking excitement, worry, lust, trouble …
How do we protect people we love? How do we bear watching them go out into the perilous world with no guarantee of safety or happiness? What bargains do people make with darkness in order to survive? From the creator of Offspring and author of Useful, The Whole Bright Year is a gripping, wry and tender novel about how holding on too tightly can cost us what we love.
Sarah Mills recommends:
Addition
By Toni Jordan
Grace Lisa Vandenburg counts. The letters in her name (19). The steps she takes every morning to the local café (920); the number of poppy seeds on her slice of orange cake, which dictates the number of bites she’ll take to finish it. Grace counts everything, because numbers hold the world together. And she needs to keep an eye on how they’re doing.
Seamus Joseph O’Reilly (also a 19, with the sexiest hands Grace has ever seen) thinks she might be better off without the counting. If she could hold down a job, say. Or open her kitchen cupboards without conducting an inventory, or make a sandwich containing an unknown number of sprouts.
Grace’s problem is that Seamus doesn’t count.
Her other problem is … he does.
Authors’ best cookbooks read lately
Pamela Hart recommends:
The Cook’s Companion
By Stephanie Alexander
The Cook’s Companion has established itself as the kitchen ‘bible’ in over 500,000 homes since it was first published in 1996. This 2014 revision includes two major new chapters, two expanded chapters, 70 new recipes and a complete revision of the text to reflect changes in the marketplace and new regulations. Stephanie believes that good food is essential to living well: her book is for everyone, every day. She has invaluable information about ingredients, cooking techniques and kitchen equipment, along with inspiration, advice and encouragement and close to 1000 failsafe recipes.
Kate Forsyth recommends:
In the Kitchen
By Simone Logue
This famous caterer and food wholesaler shares her fresh, easy, seasonal recipes that cater for every occasion, from breakfast to dinner, cocktails to picnics.
Every recipe in this collection has a special place in Simmone’s heart and marks a milestone on her journey to becoming a baker, caterer, businesswoman and household name.
Sarah Mills recommends:
Venezia: Food and Dreams
By Tessa Kiros
To Tessa Kiros, Venice isn’t just a place to visit, it is also a place to discover inspiring magical moments. Venezia is more than a cookbook. It’s a personal journal, a travel guide, and a memoir about Tessa’s love for Venice, Italy, and its special place in her heart—and palate.
In Venezia, cooks awake to 105 amazing recipes and 120 four-color photographs focusing on the fascinating city and its famous fare. Chapters include Eating in Venice, Essential Recipes, Cicchetti (small bites), Antipasti, Zuppa/Pasta/Gnocchi, Risotto, Secondi, Contorni (sides), and Dolce (sweet things).
“Venice is like when you hear a piece of music that scoops down into your soul, or notice a real tear getting ready to drop from the eye of an unlucky child. One of those rare moments when you grasp the magnificence of this world. Yes, Venice is one of those places.” Tessa Kiros
