Outrageous but true fact illustrated with a wee bit of toilet humour

What's new: David Attenborough has released a companion piece to his spectacular documentary film Ocean, while first-time novelist Angie Faye Martin gives us a Queensland-based outback crime noir.
Eleri Harris. A&U Children. $26.99.
It's outrageous but true, so how do you even begin to explain to children how appallingly and absurdly sexist society used to be? A bit of engagingly illustrated toilet humour does the trick as cartoonist Eleri Harris tells "a mostly true tale of Australia's first female parliamentarians", Enid Lyons and Dorothy Tangney, who had different political views but a shared problem in Parliament House in 1943: there were no women's toilets because the Canberra building was dominated by blokes who never considered it would be necessary and who thought the situation with Lyons and Tagney would be short-lived. Man, how wrong they were.
David Attenborough & Colin Butfield. Hachette. $34.99.
David Attenborough has filmed in every ocean habitat on the planet. For this book with long-time collaborator Colin Butfield, the much-loved natural history broadcaster dives deeper into the vast ecosystem of Earth's last great wilderness - the one that shapes the land we live on, creates the air we breathe and regulates our climate. "If we save the sea," Attenborough says, "we save our world." A companion piece to his spectacular documentary film Ocean, now screening in cinemas, the book explores eight saltwater habitats and the fascinating life sustained by them, including a strange sea cucumber living on the ocean floor, dubbed the "headless chicken monster".
Sheila Fitzpatrick. Black Inc. $27.99.
This book isn't about Armando Iannucci's 2017 black comedy of the same name. But the movie is mentioned, along with its promotional poster showing Soviet spy chief Lavrenty Beria's character and the line "In the Kremlin, no one can hear you scheme". As it turns out, Iannucci's film was close to the mark when it came to Joseph Stalin's death at his dacha in March 1953. Despite all the bumbling around the ruthless dictator's deathbed, including trying to find a doctor (Stalin's was in prison), Fitzpatrick writes that when it came to dodging a political crisis, Stalin's comrades performed brilliantly.
Sally Gould. Simon & Schuster. $36.99.
The title of Sally Gould's book is a term of endearment for intensive care paramedics because everything they touch "croaks". Gould has been a NSW Ambulance Service paramedic for 14 years and considers being on the road in an ambulance her dream job. Her behind-the-scenes memoir about life in the emergency services is based on journals she kept during her early years in the profession. Along with the gamut of ailments that most people could imagine, such as births, gunshot wounds and heart attacks, Frog also reveals some of the other less-obvious challenges of life as a front-line responder.
Jennifer Trevelyan. Allen & Unwin. $32.99.
Growing up in New Zealand in the 1980s, first-time author Jennifer Trevelyan spent many summers on the coast, holidaying with her family in a rented house. She surfs those warm waves of nostalgia in this compelling, tenderly told crime mystery - the film rights to which have already been sold. When 10-year-old Alix, who is beginning to question the behaviour of her parents and older sister, befriends Maori boy Kahu at the beach, they spend their days innocently exploring the shoreline for clues to the suspected drowning of a young girl years earlier. The secrets they uncover prove heartbreaking, shocking and dangerous.
Joan Sauers. Allen & Unwin. $32.99.
Are the fog-draped forests and lush green hills of the NSW Southern Highlands turning into Australia's own Midsomer? In this atmospheric sequel to her 2023 cosy crime mystery Echo Lake, Joan Sauers puts local historian-cum-sleuth Rose McHugh on the case of a famous violinist who has gone missing in the picturesque region along with his priceless violin. Rose almost got herself murdered in the last novel, and the anxiety still lingers, but she just can't help nosing about. Then a body turns up, the police say her son is a prime suspect and Rose realises she may be in over her head again.
William Lane. Transit Lounge. $32.99.
Like all sensible authors, William Lane sees books as treasures and librarians as heroes. His partner is a librarian too, so little wonder that, for his sixth novel, the Hunter Valley-based writer's protagonists are two librarians living in a dystopian world in the not-too-distant future. A climate catastrophe has sent water levels rising and birth rates plummeting. Ambrose and Ursula want to have a baby but what kind of future would a child inherit when the two things they cherish most - books and knowledge - are increasingly viewed with suspicion by the rest of the population and their authoritarian leader?
Angie Faye Martin. HQ Fiction. $34.99.
This outback crime noir, the first novel by Kooma-Kamilaroi woman Angie Faye Martin, is being compared to hit thrillers The Dry and Scrublands. It follows Indigenous policewoman Renee Taylor as she reluctantly returns to the remote Queensland town where she grew up. Seconded to Goorungah's sleepy police station while she cares for her mother, Taylor plans to get back to her real life in Brisbane as soon as possible. But when a woman's body is found by a creek on the outskirts of town, she's plunged into a murder investigation that unearths long-buried clues to the disappearance of two young Aboriginal women 30 years earlier.
What's new: David Attenborough has released a companion piece to his spectacular documentary film Ocean, while first-time novelist Angie Faye Martin gives us a Queensland-based outback crime noir.
Eleri Harris. A&U Children. $26.99.
It's outrageous but true, so how do you even begin to explain to children how appallingly and absurdly sexist society used to be? A bit of engagingly illustrated toilet humour does the trick as cartoonist Eleri Harris tells "a mostly true tale of Australia's first female parliamentarians", Enid Lyons and Dorothy Tangney, who had different political views but a shared problem in Parliament House in 1943: there were no women's toilets because the Canberra building was dominated by blokes who never considered it would be necessary and who thought the situation with Lyons and Tagney would be short-lived. Man, how wrong they were.
David Attenborough & Colin Butfield. Hachette. $34.99.
David Attenborough has filmed in every ocean habitat on the planet. For this book with long-time collaborator Colin Butfield, the much-loved natural history broadcaster dives deeper into the vast ecosystem of Earth's last great wilderness - the one that shapes the land we live on, creates the air we breathe and regulates our climate. "If we save the sea," Attenborough says, "we save our world." A companion piece to his spectacular documentary film Ocean, now screening in cinemas, the book explores eight saltwater habitats and the fascinating life sustained by them, including a strange sea cucumber living on the ocean floor, dubbed the "headless chicken monster".
Sheila Fitzpatrick. Black Inc. $27.99.
This book isn't about Armando Iannucci's 2017 black comedy of the same name. But the movie is mentioned, along with its promotional poster showing Soviet spy chief Lavrenty Beria's character and the line "In the Kremlin, no one can hear you scheme". As it turns out, Iannucci's film was close to the mark when it came to Joseph Stalin's death at his dacha in March 1953. Despite all the bumbling around the ruthless dictator's deathbed, including trying to find a doctor (Stalin's was in prison), Fitzpatrick writes that when it came to dodging a political crisis, Stalin's comrades performed brilliantly.
Sally Gould. Simon & Schuster. $36.99.
The title of Sally Gould's book is a term of endearment for intensive care paramedics because everything they touch "croaks". Gould has been a NSW Ambulance Service paramedic for 14 years and considers being on the road in an ambulance her dream job. Her behind-the-scenes memoir about life in the emergency services is based on journals she kept during her early years in the profession. Along with the gamut of ailments that most people could imagine, such as births, gunshot wounds and heart attacks, Frog also reveals some of the other less-obvious challenges of life as a front-line responder.
Jennifer Trevelyan. Allen & Unwin. $32.99.
Growing up in New Zealand in the 1980s, first-time author Jennifer Trevelyan spent many summers on the coast, holidaying with her family in a rented house. She surfs those warm waves of nostalgia in this compelling, tenderly told crime mystery - the film rights to which have already been sold. When 10-year-old Alix, who is beginning to question the behaviour of her parents and older sister, befriends Maori boy Kahu at the beach, they spend their days innocently exploring the shoreline for clues to the suspected drowning of a young girl years earlier. The secrets they uncover prove heartbreaking, shocking and dangerous.
Joan Sauers. Allen & Unwin. $32.99.
Are the fog-draped forests and lush green hills of the NSW Southern Highlands turning into Australia's own Midsomer? In this atmospheric sequel to her 2023 cosy crime mystery Echo Lake, Joan Sauers puts local historian-cum-sleuth Rose McHugh on the case of a famous violinist who has gone missing in the picturesque region along with his priceless violin. Rose almost got herself murdered in the last novel, and the anxiety still lingers, but she just can't help nosing about. Then a body turns up, the police say her son is a prime suspect and Rose realises she may be in over her head again.
William Lane. Transit Lounge. $32.99.
Like all sensible authors, William Lane sees books as treasures and librarians as heroes. His partner is a librarian too, so little wonder that, for his sixth novel, the Hunter Valley-based writer's protagonists are two librarians living in a dystopian world in the not-too-distant future. A climate catastrophe has sent water levels rising and birth rates plummeting. Ambrose and Ursula want to have a baby but what kind of future would a child inherit when the two things they cherish most - books and knowledge - are increasingly viewed with suspicion by the rest of the population and their authoritarian leader?
Angie Faye Martin. HQ Fiction. $34.99.
This outback crime noir, the first novel by Kooma-Kamilaroi woman Angie Faye Martin, is being compared to hit thrillers The Dry and Scrublands. It follows Indigenous policewoman Renee Taylor as she reluctantly returns to the remote Queensland town where she grew up. Seconded to Goorungah's sleepy police station while she cares for her mother, Taylor plans to get back to her real life in Brisbane as soon as possible. But when a woman's body is found by a creek on the outskirts of town, she's plunged into a murder investigation that unearths long-buried clues to the disappearance of two young Aboriginal women 30 years earlier.
What's new: David Attenborough has released a companion piece to his spectacular documentary film Ocean, while first-time novelist Angie Faye Martin gives us a Queensland-based outback crime noir.
Eleri Harris. A&U Children. $26.99.
It's outrageous but true, so how do you even begin to explain to children how appallingly and absurdly sexist society used to be? A bit of engagingly illustrated toilet humour does the trick as cartoonist Eleri Harris tells "a mostly true tale of Australia's first female parliamentarians", Enid Lyons and Dorothy Tangney, who had different political views but a shared problem in Parliament House in 1943: there were no women's toilets because the Canberra building was dominated by blokes who never considered it would be necessary and who thought the situation with Lyons and Tagney would be short-lived. Man, how wrong they were.
David Attenborough & Colin Butfield. Hachette. $34.99.
David Attenborough has filmed in every ocean habitat on the planet. For this book with long-time collaborator Colin Butfield, the much-loved natural history broadcaster dives deeper into the vast ecosystem of Earth's last great wilderness - the one that shapes the land we live on, creates the air we breathe and regulates our climate. "If we save the sea," Attenborough says, "we save our world." A companion piece to his spectacular documentary film Ocean, now screening in cinemas, the book explores eight saltwater habitats and the fascinating life sustained by them, including a strange sea cucumber living on the ocean floor, dubbed the "headless chicken monster".
Sheila Fitzpatrick. Black Inc. $27.99.
This book isn't about Armando Iannucci's 2017 black comedy of the same name. But the movie is mentioned, along with its promotional poster showing Soviet spy chief Lavrenty Beria's character and the line "In the Kremlin, no one can hear you scheme". As it turns out, Iannucci's film was close to the mark when it came to Joseph Stalin's death at his dacha in March 1953. Despite all the bumbling around the ruthless dictator's deathbed, including trying to find a doctor (Stalin's was in prison), Fitzpatrick writes that when it came to dodging a political crisis, Stalin's comrades performed brilliantly.
Sally Gould. Simon & Schuster. $36.99.
The title of Sally Gould's book is a term of endearment for intensive care paramedics because everything they touch "croaks". Gould has been a NSW Ambulance Service paramedic for 14 years and considers being on the road in an ambulance her dream job. Her behind-the-scenes memoir about life in the emergency services is based on journals she kept during her early years in the profession. Along with the gamut of ailments that most people could imagine, such as births, gunshot wounds and heart attacks, Frog also reveals some of the other less-obvious challenges of life as a front-line responder.
Jennifer Trevelyan. Allen & Unwin. $32.99.
Growing up in New Zealand in the 1980s, first-time author Jennifer Trevelyan spent many summers on the coast, holidaying with her family in a rented house. She surfs those warm waves of nostalgia in this compelling, tenderly told crime mystery - the film rights to which have already been sold. When 10-year-old Alix, who is beginning to question the behaviour of her parents and older sister, befriends Maori boy Kahu at the beach, they spend their days innocently exploring the shoreline for clues to the suspected drowning of a young girl years earlier. The secrets they uncover prove heartbreaking, shocking and dangerous.
Joan Sauers. Allen & Unwin. $32.99.
Are the fog-draped forests and lush green hills of the NSW Southern Highlands turning into Australia's own Midsomer? In this atmospheric sequel to her 2023 cosy crime mystery Echo Lake, Joan Sauers puts local historian-cum-sleuth Rose McHugh on the case of a famous violinist who has gone missing in the picturesque region along with his priceless violin. Rose almost got herself murdered in the last novel, and the anxiety still lingers, but she just can't help nosing about. Then a body turns up, the police say her son is a prime suspect and Rose realises she may be in over her head again.
William Lane. Transit Lounge. $32.99.
Like all sensible authors, William Lane sees books as treasures and librarians as heroes. His partner is a librarian too, so little wonder that, for his sixth novel, the Hunter Valley-based writer's protagonists are two librarians living in a dystopian world in the not-too-distant future. A climate catastrophe has sent water levels rising and birth rates plummeting. Ambrose and Ursula want to have a baby but what kind of future would a child inherit when the two things they cherish most - books and knowledge - are increasingly viewed with suspicion by the rest of the population and their authoritarian leader?
Angie Faye Martin. HQ Fiction. $34.99.
This outback crime noir, the first novel by Kooma-Kamilaroi woman Angie Faye Martin, is being compared to hit thrillers The Dry and Scrublands. It follows Indigenous policewoman Renee Taylor as she reluctantly returns to the remote Queensland town where she grew up. Seconded to Goorungah's sleepy police station while she cares for her mother, Taylor plans to get back to her real life in Brisbane as soon as possible. But when a woman's body is found by a creek on the outskirts of town, she's plunged into a murder investigation that unearths long-buried clues to the disappearance of two young Aboriginal women 30 years earlier.
What's new: David Attenborough has released a companion piece to his spectacular documentary film Ocean, while first-time novelist Angie Faye Martin gives us a Queensland-based outback crime noir.
Eleri Harris. A&U Children. $26.99.
It's outrageous but true, so how do you even begin to explain to children how appallingly and absurdly sexist society used to be? A bit of engagingly illustrated toilet humour does the trick as cartoonist Eleri Harris tells "a mostly true tale of Australia's first female parliamentarians", Enid Lyons and Dorothy Tangney, who had different political views but a shared problem in Parliament House in 1943: there were no women's toilets because the Canberra building was dominated by blokes who never considered it would be necessary and who thought the situation with Lyons and Tagney would be short-lived. Man, how wrong they were.
David Attenborough & Colin Butfield. Hachette. $34.99.
David Attenborough has filmed in every ocean habitat on the planet. For this book with long-time collaborator Colin Butfield, the much-loved natural history broadcaster dives deeper into the vast ecosystem of Earth's last great wilderness - the one that shapes the land we live on, creates the air we breathe and regulates our climate. "If we save the sea," Attenborough says, "we save our world." A companion piece to his spectacular documentary film Ocean, now screening in cinemas, the book explores eight saltwater habitats and the fascinating life sustained by them, including a strange sea cucumber living on the ocean floor, dubbed the "headless chicken monster".
Sheila Fitzpatrick. Black Inc. $27.99.
This book isn't about Armando Iannucci's 2017 black comedy of the same name. But the movie is mentioned, along with its promotional poster showing Soviet spy chief Lavrenty Beria's character and the line "In the Kremlin, no one can hear you scheme". As it turns out, Iannucci's film was close to the mark when it came to Joseph Stalin's death at his dacha in March 1953. Despite all the bumbling around the ruthless dictator's deathbed, including trying to find a doctor (Stalin's was in prison), Fitzpatrick writes that when it came to dodging a political crisis, Stalin's comrades performed brilliantly.
Sally Gould. Simon & Schuster. $36.99.
The title of Sally Gould's book is a term of endearment for intensive care paramedics because everything they touch "croaks". Gould has been a NSW Ambulance Service paramedic for 14 years and considers being on the road in an ambulance her dream job. Her behind-the-scenes memoir about life in the emergency services is based on journals she kept during her early years in the profession. Along with the gamut of ailments that most people could imagine, such as births, gunshot wounds and heart attacks, Frog also reveals some of the other less-obvious challenges of life as a front-line responder.
Jennifer Trevelyan. Allen & Unwin. $32.99.
Growing up in New Zealand in the 1980s, first-time author Jennifer Trevelyan spent many summers on the coast, holidaying with her family in a rented house. She surfs those warm waves of nostalgia in this compelling, tenderly told crime mystery - the film rights to which have already been sold. When 10-year-old Alix, who is beginning to question the behaviour of her parents and older sister, befriends Maori boy Kahu at the beach, they spend their days innocently exploring the shoreline for clues to the suspected drowning of a young girl years earlier. The secrets they uncover prove heartbreaking, shocking and dangerous.
Joan Sauers. Allen & Unwin. $32.99.
Are the fog-draped forests and lush green hills of the NSW Southern Highlands turning into Australia's own Midsomer? In this atmospheric sequel to her 2023 cosy crime mystery Echo Lake, Joan Sauers puts local historian-cum-sleuth Rose McHugh on the case of a famous violinist who has gone missing in the picturesque region along with his priceless violin. Rose almost got herself murdered in the last novel, and the anxiety still lingers, but she just can't help nosing about. Then a body turns up, the police say her son is a prime suspect and Rose realises she may be in over her head again.
William Lane. Transit Lounge. $32.99.
Like all sensible authors, William Lane sees books as treasures and librarians as heroes. His partner is a librarian too, so little wonder that, for his sixth novel, the Hunter Valley-based writer's protagonists are two librarians living in a dystopian world in the not-too-distant future. A climate catastrophe has sent water levels rising and birth rates plummeting. Ambrose and Ursula want to have a baby but what kind of future would a child inherit when the two things they cherish most - books and knowledge - are increasingly viewed with suspicion by the rest of the population and their authoritarian leader?
Angie Faye Martin. HQ Fiction. $34.99.
This outback crime noir, the first novel by Kooma-Kamilaroi woman Angie Faye Martin, is being compared to hit thrillers The Dry and Scrublands. It follows Indigenous policewoman Renee Taylor as she reluctantly returns to the remote Queensland town where she grew up. Seconded to Goorungah's sleepy police station while she cares for her mother, Taylor plans to get back to her real life in Brisbane as soon as possible. But when a woman's body is found by a creek on the outskirts of town, she's plunged into a murder investigation that unearths long-buried clues to the disappearance of two young Aboriginal women 30 years earlier.

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The Age

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