March Newsletter
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Author Spotlight:
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in Enugu, Nigeria in 1977. She grew up on the campus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where her father was a professor and her mother was the first female Registrar. She studied medicine for a year at Nsukka and then left for the US at the age of 19 to continue her education on a different path. She graduated with highest honours from Eastern Connecticut State University with a degree in Communication and Political Science. Adichie has a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Arts degree in African History from Yale, and now divides her time between the United States and Nigeria, where she leads an annual creative writing workshop. She was named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2015. In 2017, Fortune Magazine named her one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders. She is a member of both the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Adichie’s work has been translated into over thirty languages and she has won and been nominated for numerous awards. Her first novel, Purple Hibiscus (2003), won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and her second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), won the Orange Prize. Her 2013 novel Americanah won the US National Book Critics Circle Award and was named one of The New York Times Top Ten Best Books of 2013. She has delivered two landmark TED talks: her 2009 TED Talk The Danger of A Single Story and her 2012 TEDx Euston talk We Should All Be Feminists, which started a worldwide conversation about feminism and was published as a book in 2014.
Her most recent work, Dream Count, is in store this month.
Dream Count
Chiamaka is a Nigerian travel writer living in America. Alone in the midst of the pandemic, she recalls her past lovers and grapples with her choices and regrets. Zikora, her best friend, is a lawyer who has been successful at everything until — betrayed and brokenhearted — she must turn to the person she thought she needed least. Omelogor, Chiamaka’s bold, outspoken cousin, is a financial powerhouse in Nigeria who begins to question how well she knows herself. And Kadiatou, Chiamaka’s housekeeper, is proudly raising her daughter in America – but faces an unthinkable hardship that threatens all she has worked to achieve.
In Dream Count, Adichie trains her fierce eye on these women in a sparkling, transcendent novel that takes up the very nature of love itself. Is true happiness ever attainable or is it just a fleeting state? And how honest must we be with ourselves in order to love, and to be loved? A trenchant reflection on the choices we make and those made for us, on daughters and mothers, on our interconnected world, Dream Count pulses with emotional urgency and poignant, unflinching observations on the human heart, in language that soars with beauty and power. It confirms Adichie’s status as one of the most exciting and dynamic writers on the literary landscape.
In store Wednesday 5 March
Books of the Month
FICTION
Reviewed by Suzie
“Wild Dark Shore” has a sense of intrigue and mystery to it. The writing is exceptional with you feeling unsettled as the suspense keeps building throughout. The multiple narratives work well, with each voice and experience being quite distinctive. Charlotte masterfully describes the location and surrounds with such clarity that you can’t help but feel you are immersed in the landscape. I highly recommend this title.
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers. But with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants, packing up the seeds before they are transported to safer ground. Despite the wild beauty of life here, isolation has taken its toll on the Salts. Raff, 18 and suffering his first heartbreak, can only find relief at his punching bag; Fen, 17, has started spending her nights on the beach among the seals; 9-year-old Orly, obsessed with botany, fears the loss of his beloved natural world; and Dominic can’t stop turning back towards the past, and the loss that drove the family to Shearwater in the first place.
Then, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman washes up on shore. As the Salts nurse the woman, Rowan, back to life, their suspicion gives way to affection, and they finally begin to feel like a family again. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting her heart, begins to fall for the Salts, too. But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers the sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realises Dominic is keeping his own dark secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, the characters must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it’s too late-and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new, together.
A novel of heart stopping twists, dizzying beauty and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is a story about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us is ending.
NON FICTION
Reviewed by Justine
Guy’s cookbook is a delightful journey through both nostalgia and flavour. With each page, he weaves heartfelt childhood stories of growing up on the Mornington Peninsula, offering a personal glimpse into his life while also sharing his delicious recipes. His writing not only transports you to the past but also inspires you to recreate his mouthwatering dishes in your own kitchen. The gnocchi on page 54 is a standout recipe that I highly recommend—it’s a true reflection of the quality and taste that Guy is known for. If you had the pleasure of dining at Guy’s café, you’ll appreciate how wonderful it is to bring that exceptional flavour into your home. This cookbook is a must-have for anyone who loves good food and meaningful stories.
Pranzo by Guy Mirabella
Pranzo is a celebration of Italian food and a Sicilian upbringing on the other side of the world – capturing the spirit of simplicity, fresh seasonal ingredients and sumptuous colours and flavours. Guy Mirabella masterfully weaves his recipes, images and stories around the themes of generosity, love, tradition, life and food – all the things that influence him in his cooking.
Fresh and seasonal dishes are prepared with love and respect for the ingredients. From Ruby Red Roasted Plums with Marsala and Vincotto to Eggs in Purgatory with Broccolini via clam soups, hazelnut cakes, sfingi, rabbit stew, Chicken Diavola and more – this is both rustic food to nourish and stir the soul but also beautiful food to linger over and share with loved ones. All of it presented in captivating style with an artist’s eye for everything that is vibrant, colourful and joyous about life.&
Throughout the recipes, personal reflections on food, family, travels and Guy’s Sicilian heritage are complemented by stunning photography and design. A story of growing up at Cumbrae Farm on the Mornington Peninsula and of an ancestry that informed his attitudes to food and life, this is a book to explore and fall in love with. And to cook from, again and again.
KIDS & YA
Reviewed by Kate
This charming middle grade novel finds the perfect balance between heart and adventure. Set on the banks of the river Thames we are introduced to Bo, who finds a remarkable jewel in the mud on the same day her older brother Harry is sent off to the war front in Somme. She meets a mysterious new friend, Billy, to whom she immediately feels a strange and powerful connection. Weaving together a quest with themes of love and understanding grief, the book has a cast of fantastic and sometimes surprising characters that kept me engaged right til the end. Jessie Burton’s experience as a writer for adults, comes through here as she successfully writes for children for the first time. I thoroughly enjoyed this sweet novel – nothing nasty or too scary, just a really great read.
Hidden Treasure by Jessie Burton
For the people who live on the banks of the Thames, the river is a living, breathing thing. It can take your treasures. It can hide your treasures. And, sometimes, it can give them back. Bo and Billy are two children who have never met. Billy is an orphan. Bo’s dad died when she was small and now her brother is off to war. Both children are poor, but they have each found half of a priceless treasure, given up by the river. A treasure which – when the pieces are reunited – holds the power to give back to one of them the most precious thing they have ever lost. But should the treasure be put back together again? And why has the river given it up now?
For fans of Katherine Rundell and Philip Pullman’s The Ruby in the Smoke, Hidden Treasure is a classic in the making, with a rip-roaring plot, spine-tingling twists and an unforgettable cast of characters. From the bestselling author of The Miniaturist. Jessie Burton’s Hidden Treasure is the phenomenal page-turning story of two children whose lives collide when they find an ancient treasure with the power to return to them the most precious thing they have ever lost.
March New Release Highlights
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Kids & YA
Staff Spotlight:
Kate
Your favourite place to read a book?
On the sun lounge on my back deck, which looks out over Port Phillip Bay, or if it’s cold and rainy, curled up on the couch.
Which book character would you prefer to be trapped in an elevator with?
Elizabeth Zott from Lessons in Chemistry (Bonnie Garmut). My theory is she is so handy and practical in a crisis, that she’ll probably figure a way to get us out quickly. Failing that, she’ll have some delicious, nutritious snacks to hand and will be an excellent and interesting conversationalist until we are un-trapped!
Hardback, paperback, eBook or audiobook?
Paperback or audiobook.
What was the last book you loved?
In fiction, Nesting by Roisin O’Donnell – I was lucky enough to hear Roisin do a reading from this novel when I was at a booksellers’ conference in the UK last year. You could have heard a pin drop – her writing was compelling, beautiful and urgent. As is the subject matter of this book – coercive control and its destruction of relationships and lives. Following Ciara and her struggles to free herself and her children from her controlling husband, this gentle novel creates understanding of the personal experience of emotional abuse and just how difficult it can be for women to break free. Highlighting the importance of support services and women’s refuges, although this is challenging subject matter, I would encourage people not to shy away. It is ultimately a hopeful and uplifting book illustrating a mother’s great love for her children and her need to find and care for herself again. I listened to this as an audiobook and the Irish accents were also wonderful.
In non-fiction, The Salt Path Trilogy by Raynor Winn. I absolutely binge-read these books describing the experiences of Raynor and her husband Moth and their walking adventures in the UK and elsewhere. Dealing with issues such as homelessness, our connection with wild nature, relationships and loss, and environmental degradation, Raynor writes beautifully and I just found myself transported and needing to know what happens next. So much heart in these books. A film adaptation of the first book is due around May this year.
Greatest book of all time?
Aargh! I hate these types of questions as I can NEVER answer them. Which books I’ve loved are highly dependent on my mood and have changed all through my life. They are so different and varied as I like a lot of different styles, so I can’t name just one as the greatest.
One fun fact about you?
I am an unashamed dog-eared of books! That’s right, I will turn the pages down to mark my place, and further I will often turn bottom pages up, if there is a quote or passage that has particularly caught my attention and I want to be able to refer back to it. Unapologetic! Books are made to be consumed – if you don’t come to the end with wine, coffee and chocolate stains all over them, you’re not doing it properly. Then you can buy a pretty hardback special edition and keep it pristine on your bookshelf…
Events
Victoria Brownlee Book Launch
We are excited to host local author Victoria Brownlee for the launch of her new novel Eat Your Heart Out on Thursday 13 March at 6:00pm. If you’d like to join us it is a free event however bookings are essential, click below to book.
Competitions
Gift of the Month
Other Services
