We’ve been reading lots of fantastic books from Aussie authors this month, from John Safran and Chris Hammer through to Clementine Ford and Liane Moriarty. Read on for the best books we read in September 2021 …
Mark Harding – Head of Branding & Communication
Puff Piece by John Safran
Why I loved it: John Safran’s target in Puff Piece is big tobacco and the vaping industry. He explores the ways in which Phillip Morris plays with language and PR to get around smoking bans, regulations and restrictions, and uncovers a whole host of colourful characters, challenging issues and ethical dilemmas. John’s style of investigative writing is to use himself as the protagonist of the story, and we follow as he goes from someone with a simple curiosity about the subject, to someone who uncovers far more and has many, often hilarious, adventures along the way. But the humour is balanced with thoughtful insight and analysis of the state of the industry, and the often opaque ways in which big corporations operate.
Buy it here
Olivia Fricot – Senior Content Producer & Editor of The Booktopian
The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht
Why I loved it: I’m admittedly a horror newbie, but this short and sharp fantasy-horror hybrid from debut author Jennifer Giesbrecht was deliciously good. It is the story of Johann, a mysterious man-shaped creature who cannot die and spends his nights sowing murder and mayhem on the grimy streets of the industrial city of Elendhaven. When, one day, his evilness brings him into the company of a frail, yet vengeful sorcerer named Florian Leickenbloom, the two embark on a scheme to bring the city to its knees. This is a tale of unrepentant monsters who take delight in their twisted ways and fall in love with each other in the process, written in lush and gorgeous prose that belies the ugliness of the story. An instant favourite.
Buy it here
Callum Gough – Junior Category Manager of General Merchandise
The Choice by Edith Eger
Why I loved it: Even in the darkest of shadows there is always hope. Dr Edith Eger’s story and how it shaped her existence is both a heart-breaking recount and an inspirational example of reinvention. A story of survival through the horrors of the Holocaust and continuation of life after into a world with new challenges, Dr Edith Eger has touched hundreds of lives through her work in psychology and journey of finding hope in anything!
Buy it here
Sarah McDuling – Kids & YA Category Manager
Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson
Why I loved it: I am a big fan of Margaret Rogerson, having adored her previous books, so I always knew I would love Vespertine. I especially knew I would love it when I heard it described as “Joan of Arc meets Venom” which honestly sounded like the coolest thing ever to me. Now that I’ve read this deliciously gothic fantasy, I am pleased to say it totally met my high expectations. A tale of evil spirits and kickass, ghost-hunting nuns set in an haunting medieval world dripping with an eerie atmosphere – I loved it so much I have already read it twice!
Buy it here
Shanulisa Prasad – Lifestyle Category Manager
Treasure and Dirt by Chris Hammer
Why I loved it: This was just a flat-out entertaining read. Chris Hammer is back doing what he does best — great Aussie crime where you can just sit back and enjoy the ride. It’s a standalone but there are links to his previous books, so it’s perfect for first time readers of Chris Hammer or long time fans!
Buy it here
Hannah Armstrong – Assistant Category Manager for Fiction
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Why I loved it: This queer YA fantasy is, at its core, a big-hearted and life-affirming love story. Our main character Yadriel is a transgender teen wanting to prove himself to his traditional Mexican family as a ‘brujo’, the men who help spirits cross over into the afterlife. He takes it into his own hands to perform the ceremony they have refused him and accidentally summons the ghost of the school bad boy, Julian Diaz, who is NOT pleased to find out he has been killed. This book is funny, tender, exhilarating and deeply affecting, and explores what it means to be true to yourself. I adored it and highly recommend it to YA lovers!
Buy it here
Eden Samuel – Assistant Category Manager for Kids & YA
The Gilded Cage by Lynette Noni
Why I loved it: I didn’t think it was possible but somehow Lynette has made the cliffhanger in The Gilded Cage even more excruciating than the one at the end of The Prison Healer?! I will wait in agony until the next book is released but in the meantime, I will try to convince everyone to read what is hands-down now one of my favourite YA fantasy series of all time (it’s not even finished yet and I can safely say that). If you are looking for a dark, thrilling and unputdownable fantasy with a heroine full of heart and conviction, served up with a slow burn romance, plot twists that will leave your head spinning and side characters that you’d fight for, this one’s for you!
Buy it here
Cassandra Sharpe – Assistant Category Manager for Non-Fiction
Larrimah by Kylie Stevenson & Caroline Graham
Why I loved it: This is a book of non-fiction that reads like a crime thriller, as my boss Stefania so finely put it. Larrimah is the unforgettable true story of a dying town in the outback, thrust into the nation’s eye as a missing person case becomes headline news. Journalists Stevenson and Graham created an Walkley-award winning podcast about the mystery together, and in this book they bring the sweltering dust and endless emptiness of the far north to life. Larrimah is something of a love letter to the dying days of regional towns, curiosity about what’s choking them and a cracking whodunnit. This is the perfect read for slow sunny afternoons, and will be a book everyone’s talking about at Christmas. Think Australian Tiger King and you’re in the right ballpark.
Buy it here
Rob O’Hearn – Academic & Professional Category Manager
Rationality by Steven Pinker
Why I loved it: The subtitle is “What it is, why it seems scarce, why it matters”, and although this book covers all that, there’s much more. It is a great and accessible review of decision theory, game theory, Bayesian reasoning, correlation and causation. Pinker says he is seeking to affirm human rationality, but from the start he documents many examples of how easily we mislead ourselves. It is astounding how our brain takes pure data and then filters, distorts and over-emphasises everything! In a time when even the simplest truths face irrational and aggressive belief systems, this book may help us all to understand and defend the value of rationality.
Buy it here
Jessica Paul – Supplier Performance Manager
How We Love by Clementine Ford
Why I loved it: Clementine Ford explores love in all its forms from grief to friendship, first loves to motherhood. It’s relatable, nostalgic and made me laugh, cringe and cry with rage. It’s a tenderly written memoir which explores her own experiences through childhood trauma, teenage angst and the rollercoaster of parenthood. The inclusion of platonic love is compelling and crucial in Clementine Ford’s exploration of the relationships we build our lives on and the people we surround ourselves with. A rare insight into the heart ache and joy love can bring us.
Buy it here
Scott Whitmont – Business Development and Relationship Manager
The Echo Chamber by John Boyne
Why I loved it: Inspired by Boyne’s own experience being trolled on Twitter for perceived offences felt by the self-appointed police of political correctness, The Echo Chamber satirically examines our 21st century obsession with our mobile phones and social media. With brilliant ‘laugh-out-loud’ humour, we follow the travails of the Cleverley family of five – doomed to suffer the karma inevitably coming their way from their overzealous postings and often inappropriate online pronouncements. How might their lives (and ours) change for the better if they (we) were not so smart-phone addicted and motivated by ‘likes’ collected and what strangers might think of us? A brilliant comic novel with social commentary galore. A perfect lockdown antidote!
Buy it here
Karen Robinson – Territory Relationship Manager
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
Why I loved it: I was thrilled to discover that Liane has returned to form with her new release, Apples Never Fall. The Delaneys are a tennis obsessed family famous for running a tennis school on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Matriarch Joy suddenly disappears and the four children start looking back on their parents’ marriage and their own relationships, wondering if their father could be responsible for this. Secrets and lies are exposed and it’s a funny, sad and relatable journey of family dynamics in the hands of a master storyteller.
Buy it here
What’s the best book you read in September 2021?
Tell us below in the comments!
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