Summer reads - Latest Books to Enjoy
Grab one of these books off the shelf and kick back for a lazy hour in the sun.
Sweet Tooth,Ian McEwan
Jonathan Cape, RRP$37.99
It's 1973 and beautiful Cambridge graduate Serena Frome lands a
job with MI5, admittedly in the lowly position of glorified
secretary. That's until she's given a mission to "run" an aspiring
writer by granting him a large stipend that's secretly funded by
the anti-communist MI5. Within days of meeting, Serena and her
writer, Tom Haley, have embarked on a romantic affair - something
that would infuriate the dark suits of the secret service if they
knew. But it leaves Serena in a difficult position - how to tell
Tom she's not the innocent young thing he thinks she is? An
enjoyable and relatively light read from a literary giant.
The Cleaner of Chartres, Salley Vickers
Viking, RRP$37
Agnès Morel is a woman of mystery in the village of Chartres which
serves the famous and very ancient cathedral. All we know is that
Agnès, whose duties include cleaning the floor of the cathedral,
was found in a basket as a newborn. She was put into convent care
and that was when her troubles began. We meet Agnès nearly 40 years
later, romance is blooming and she's adored by young and old. But
then she falls out with the village gossip, who becomes intent on
digging up her dark past and ruining her reputation. A gentle,
inspiring story that's beautifully written.
Moranthology, Caitlin Moran
Ebury Press, RRP$36.99
Hot on the heels of Caitlin Moran's hugely successful How To Be A
Woman, comes a collection of her best columns for The Times. Her
celebrity interviews are genius - from visiting a sex club with
Lady Gaga, to interviewing Keith Richards on International Talk
Like A Pirate Day. Sometimes political, she derides benefit cuts
and as a child of the welfare state who had "the telly taken away,
halfway through Twin Peaks", she has the pedigree to back up her
views. But her most hilarious and scathing critique is saved for
that precocious four-year-old Lola of Charlie and Lola fame who she
predicts will end up on the X-Factor pleading with Simon Cowell,
"Pleeease, Simon, I absolutely, completely and totally know I can
do this!" Guaranteed giggles.
When In Rome, Nicky Pellegrino
Orion Fiction, RRP$36.99
New Zealander Nicky Pellegrino returns to her beloved Italy for
this sweet and endearing tale of Serafina, a girl from the wrong
side of the tracks, who lands a job as a nanny for the children of
her cinematic idol Mario Lanza. All seems too good to be true, but
as she witnesses the great Mario battle his demons, she too must
fight to find her rightful place between the world she knows and
the one she dreams of.
Unnatural Habits, Kerry Greenwood
Allen & Unwin, RRP$28.99
Gorgeous, rich Phryne Fisher is applying her brains and beauty to
another mystery, this time the disappearance of an over-eager
journalist. Set in Melbourne in 1929, she and her team of adopted
waifs and strays uncover unwed, pregnant teens at the mercy of
cruel nuns and a white slave trade ring involving golden-haired
girls. As usual, Phryne strives to set the world to rights, and
sulks when she can't. Fans will lap it up.
Classic read
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
Penguin Threads, RRP$26
To learn about the role of women in the 19th century look no
further than this famous classic of four sisters growing up in the
time of the American Civil War and trying to be good. Meg, Jo, Beth
and Amy have their beloved mother as their moral compass as each
one struggles with her demons. Old-fashioned as it is, Little Women
still makes an engrossing read after nearly 150 years.
As seen in OHbaby!
magazine Issue 20: 2013
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