In case you didn’t know, we absolutely love books… and magazines! Here’s our latest pick of books out there now.
You Are Not Alone, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
The lonely and insecure Shay Miller is looking for a new job when she unexpectedly witnesses a young woman take her own life by jumping in front of a subway train. Haunted by her proximity to the incident, her inability to stop the act, and the emptiness Shay saw in the woman’s eyes as she jumped, leads Shay to become preoccupied with the victim’s identity – Amanda Evinger. She decides to attend her memorial where she attracts the attention of Jane and Cassandra Moore, the self-assured, stylish career women, whose inner circle included Amanda.
On the surface, the Moore sisters are everything that Shay wishes to be and she is easily drawn in by the illusion of friendship. It’s only after things take a dramatic turn that Shay begins to question the motives behind the friendship. Her love of statistics and recording them in her ‘Data Book’ makes her highly observant and, when there are a few too many coincidences, she soon begins to question their intentions. As Shay finds herself tangled up in a web of deceit and manipulation she goes on the offensive to clear her name and, quite possibly, her life.
Towards the end, you’ll find it hard to put this book down.
The Gilded Cage, Camilla Lackberg
If you’re after a page-turner for a rainy, cold weekend, this one ticks all the boxes. Faye Adelheim is married to the man of her dreams, she has everything she needs, millions in the bank, status, everything she ever wanted. Her life is perfect, until it isn’t.
No spoiler alerts here and without going into too much detail, it’s a story of love, betrayal, friendships and revenge. It does have a few raunchy bits so it might not make the best gift, however, it certainly put Camilla Lackberg onto my radar and I can’t wait to read some of her other psychological thrillers.
My Dark Vanessa, Kate Elizabeth Russell
Alternating between the present and past, My Dark Vanessa explores the psychological dynamics of the relationship between a naïve 15-year old, Vanessa Wye, and Jacob Strane, her 42-year old teacher who reeled her in with books, poetry, compliments and attention.
The relationship never really ends as it has repercussions throughout Vanessa’s life, and when Strane is accused – not for the first time – of sexual abuse by a former student, Vanessa remains silent but begins to analyse what happened to her. She acknowledges that he kept asking her permission before moving further – as if her consent made her the guilty party and that she wasn’t manipulated or groomed by him. She’s also aware that, even as an adult, she is still like a devoted dog as Strane continues to take and take: “I just feel I can’t lose the thing I’ve held on to for so long…I just really need it to be a love story.
Although I felt the book was too long, it is certainly intense and thought-provoking, and does raise necessary questions about consent, complicity, victimhood and all its implications.
The Creative SEED: How To Enrich Your Life Through Creativity, Lilian Wissink
SEED – Skills, Experimentation, Evaluation and Discovery.
Whether you’re a beginner and don’t think you have an ounce of creativity in you, or an established creator, this is the perfect book for anyone interested in exploring their creative expression. It will help you identify your creative interests and help you overcome any limiting beliefs with case histories, exercises and strategies to assist you in gaining self-awareness and practical skills.
The Heart and Flow of Motherhood: A Memoir of Textbooks, Tears and Tiny Little Fingers, Angelena Davies
With seven years of study behind her, two young children and a fisherman husband who is away for weeks at a time, Angelena Davies decides to apply for, and is granted, a scholarship to do her Masters. The memoir is of her time spent studying and covers snippets of her journaling and reflections on these at a later stage. She writes straight from the heart about sex, friendships, perceptions, other people’s opinions, external validation, guilt, fear, motherhood, hospitals, breakdowns and other personal stories.
The theme running through the book and through her thesis on Appreciative Learning (for which she was awarded a First Class), is the importance of using your Voice – your personal power and inner knowings to say out loud what you are feeling internally.
The book also includes steps to doing an Appreciative Inquiry on yourself and exercises and activities to become more resilient to others’ judgements and to expand awareness.
Sheerwater, Leah Swann
Ava is escaping her husband, Laurence, with her two young sons, Max and Teddy, and is driving on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road to a new life in Sheerwater when a light plane crashes in front of them. Ava feels compelled to stop and help and leaves the boys in the car with instructions to stay inside. Another passerby assists Ava to pull the pilot and two children out of the wreckage moments before it explodes and, once the emergency services arrive, Ava turns her attention back to her car and finds her boys missing.
The story is told from multiple points of view and it soon becomes clear that Laurence is manipulative, unhinged and violent. It’s 9-year old Max’s chapters that are absorbing as we see abuse through a child’s eyes.
Leah Swann’s writing flows beautifully and her descriptions are stunning. Make sure you have time to read this book in one sitting – once you start, you won’t be able to put it down.
The Glass Hotel, Emily St. John Mandel
It’s initially unclear what the actual storyline is or who the main characters are in St. John Mandel’s latest book but we discover how Vincent, a young female bartender at the Hotel Caiette – a five-star hotel on an island in British Columbia – meets the owner, Jonathan Alkaitis, and settles into a relationship with him. Thirteen years later, Vincent disappears off the side of a ship.
The novel ultimately weaves together the lives of its main characters but essentially it’s a story of greed, guilt, fantasy, the ghosts of our pasts and the effects and destruction that Alkaitis’s Ponzi scheme has on some of its contributors.
Intuition, Dr Cate Howell
Most of us, at some time or another, have experienced ‘sixth sense’ or intuitive insight – that gut-feeling or inner voice. In her book, Dr Cate Howell explores how, throughout time, intuition has played its part in psychology, religion and spirituality, and also looks at the scientific aspect and how it can enhance our lives. She has learnt that intuition is accessible to all of us and is a blend of our five senses, our life experiences and values, and can be enhanced through training.
In the book, Dr Howell sets out a seven-step plan to develop and use it in everyday life. There are short, beautiful meditations, practical exercises and guidelines aimed at unlocking the door to our intuition and helping it to flourish.