Kitty Flanagan's 488 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Idiots by Kitty Flanagan

$24.99 AUD

Category: General | Reading Level: 4 Non Fiction

RICHARD GLOVER: ''You won’t agree with all her rules – I, for one, am a great believer in the word “pash” – but there is a good laugh, and a lively argument, to be had on every page.'' 488 Rules for Life is Kitty Flanagan's way of making the world a more pleasant place to live. Applying truth and wit to modern problems. An antidote to stupidity. 488 Rules for Life is not a self-help book, because it's not you who needs help, it's other people. Whether they're walking and texting, asphyxiating you on public transport with their noxious perfume cloud, or leaving one useless square of toilet paper on the roll, a lot of people just don't know the rules. But thanks to Kitty Flanagan's comprehensive guide to modern behaviour, our world will soon be a much better place. A place where people don't ruin the fruit salad by putting banana in it … where your co-workers respect your olfactory system and don't reheat their fish curry in the office microwave ... where middle aged men don't have ponytails … What started as a joke on Kitty Flanagan's popular segment on ABC TV's The Weekly, is now a quintessential reference book with the power to change society. (Or, at least, make it a bit less irritating.)  What people are (Kitty Flanagan is) saying about this book:  'You're welcome everyone.Thank god for me.' 'I'd rather be sad and lonely, but right.' 'There's not actually 488 rules in here but it sure feels like it'. ...Show more

Sherlock Bones And The Natural History Mystery by Renee Treml

$14.99 AUD

Category: 6-9 Years Younger Readers

'Hi there, I'm Sherlock Bones. Who is Sherlock Bones, you ask? Well, I don't like to brag, but my trusty side-kick Watts says I'm the greatest detective in our whole museum. Don't you, Watts? Watts...?' You might not be able to hear Watts, because he's technically a stuffed parrot, but I always know wha t he's thinking. And right now he's thinking: Can we solve the mystery of the missing Blue Diamond and save the Museum of Natural History, before it's too late? ...Show more

Warlight by Michael Ondaatje

$19.99 AUD

Category: General

Lindsey Hilsum: (author of ‘In Extremis; the Life of War Correspondent Marie Colvin’ &  friend of Bookoccino)   “The best novel I read this year […] The atmosphere of post-war London that he conjures has stayed with me, and I love how the plot slowly unwinds, so you feel that you’re coming to understand the meaning of the narrator's childhood at the same time as he does.”   'Our book of the year -and maybe of Ondaatje's career' Daily Telegraph Books of the Year In a narrative as mysterious as memory itself - at once both shadowed and luminous - Warlight is a vivid, thrilling novel of violence and love, intrigue and desire. It is 1945, and London is still reeling from the Blitz and years of war. 14-year-old Nathaniel and his sister, Rachel, are apparently abandoned by their parents, left in the care of an enigmatic figure named The Moth. They suspect he might be a criminal, and grow both more convinced and less concerned as they get to know his eccentric crew of friends- men and women with a shared history, all of whom seem determined now to protect, and educate (in rather unusual ways) Rachel and Nathaniel. But are they really what and who they claim to be? A dozen years later, Nathaniel begins to uncover all he didn't know or understand in that time, and it is this journey - through reality, recollection, and imagination - that is told in this magnificent novel. ...Show more

A Wishing-Chair Adventure: The Royal Birthday Party by Enid Bylton

$14.99 AUD

Category: Classics | Series: Wishing Chair Adventures

A brand new full-colour short story from Blyton's magical Wishing-Chair series - an excellent companion to the successful Magic Faraway Tree Adventure series and perfect for readers age 5+ When Mollie and Peter go to buy their mother a birthday present, they discover the most extraordinary thing: a chai r that can fly and grant wishes! Together with their friend Binky the Pixie, Mollie and Peter wish to become a prince and princess for the day, celebrating the birthday of Princess Peronell at the royal palace. But whatever do you give a princess for their birthday? Short chapters and beautiful full-colour illustrations from Alex Paterson make the Wishing- Chair Adventures series perfect bedtime reading for children aged five and upwards. A richly nostalgic offering for grandparents and parents to share with the next generation of Blyton fans. ...Show more

Ottilie Colter and the Master of Monsters (#2 Narroway Trilogy) by Rhiannon Williams

$17.99 AUD

Category: 9-12 Years Middle Readers | Series: The Narroway Trilogy | Reading Level: 8+

A SECRET HUNT. A SECRET HERO. Ottilie Colter is the first girl ever to join the secretive, boys-only Narroway Hunt – and she’s determined that she won’t be the last.  The Hunt trains children to kill ruthless monsters known as dredretches, but now it's under threat. Dredretches have invaded Fort Fiory, and no-one is safe – especially not the girls who live there, but aren’t allowed to fight.  Ottilie must convince the Hunt to train the girls – but with the dredretches getting worse, talk of witchcraft on the rise, and a mysterious hooded figure in the Narroways itself, her time is running out …  The second adventure in a thrilling feminist trilogy about friendship, monsters and having the courage to be a rebel. ...Show more

Scrublands by Chris Hammer

$16.99 AUD

Category: Crime/Thriller

Winner of the New Blood Dagger Award In the vein of The Dry and Before the Fall, a town's dark secrets come to light in the aftermath of a young priest's unthinkable last act in this arresting and searing debut thriller.In Riversend, an isolated rural community afflicted by an endless drought, a young priest does the unthinkable, killing five parishioners before being taken down himself. A year later, accompanied by his own demons from war-time reporting, journalist Martin Scarsden arrives in Riversend. His assignment is simple: describe how the townspeople are coping as the anniversary of their tragedy approaches. But as Martin meets the locals and hears their version of events, he begins to realize that the accepted wisdom--that the priest was a pedophile whose imminent exposure was the catalyst for the shooting, a theory established through an award-winning investigation by Martin's own newspaper--may be wrong. Just as Martin believes he's making headway, a new development rocks the town. The bodies of two German backpackers--missing since the time of the church shootings--are discovered in a dam in the scrublands, deserted backwoods marked by forest fires. As the media flocks to the scene, Martin finds himself thrown into a whole new mystery. What was the real reason behind the priest's shooting spree? And how does it connect to the backpacker murders, if at all? Martin struggles to uncover the town's dark secrets, putting his job, his mental state, and his life at risk as more and more strange happenings escalate around him. For fans of James Lee Burke, Jane Harper, and Robert Crais, Scrublands is a compelling and original crime novel that marks Chris Hammer as a stunning new voice in the genre. A compulsively readable thriller of the highest order, Scrublands never loosens its grip, from its opening scene to the very last page. ...Show more

Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan

$32.99 AUD

Category: General | Reading Level: 1 Fiction

Britain has lost the Falklands war, Margaret Thatcher battles Tony Benn for power and Alan Turing achieves a breakthrough in artificial intelligence. In a world not quite like this one, two lovers will be tested beyond their understanding. Machines Like Me occurs in an alternative 1980s London. Charlie , drifting through life and dodging full-time employment, is in love with Miranda, a bright student who lives with a terrible secret. When Charlie comes into money, he buys Adam, one of the first batch of synthetic humans. With Miranda’s assistance, he co-designs Adam’s personality. This near-perfect human is beautiful, strong and clever – a love triangle soon forms. hese three beings will confront a profound moral dilemma. Ian McEwan’s subversive and entertaining new novel poses fundamental questions: what makes us human? Our outward deeds or our inner lives? Could a machine understand the human heart? This provocative and thrilling tale warns of the power to invent things beyond our control.   ...Show more

Four Respectable Ladies Seek the Meaning of Wife by Barbara Toner

$32.99 AUD

Category: General

'Marriage isn?t always a bed of roses. And there are many ways to be a wife,' the vicar informs the town ...It?s 1930, and as the Depression overtakes rural New South Wales, what it means to be a wife tests the four respectable ladies of Prospect to their very limit.Louisa Worthingtonfled to the city te n years ago, pregnant, poor and under a cloud of scandal. Now she?s back - blonde and brazen - with her heart set on the married son of the town?s mayor.Adelaide Nightingale, newly widowed and starved of romance, yearns for adoration, security and a version of herself defined by beautynot business.Maggie Albrightdreams of empire building, but is hamstrung by her over-cautious husband, who grows less handsome by the day.Then there?sPearl Fletcher, happily married to Joe, the district?s most successful sheep farmer, but protecting a secret that could tear their family apart.And hovering in the town?s shadows is a ghost from their past. A man newly released from jail ruthlessly bent on exploiting the ladies? hopes and fears to get what he wants. And what he wants is Louisa . . .Praise forFour Respectable Ladies Seek Part-time Husband'Loveable to the end . . . with a cast of colourful characters.' Herald Sun'Hilarious.' Marie Claire'A light, funny, warm-hearted read with occasional notes of darkness.' Books + Publishing ...Show more

Best Babysitters Ever by Caroline Cala

$16.99 AUD

Category: 9-12 Years Middle Readers

The first in a new laugh-out-loud series about three 12-year-old best friends who set up a babysitting business. When Bree, Malia and Dot find an old copy of the book The Babysitter's Club, they come up with a totally original idea - to set up their own babysitting business. I mean, they 100% unqualifie d and don't really like kids, but those are just details! And barring the odd disaster when the kids run riot and cover Bree in paint, it's going well, until Malia's evil older sister and her friends start up a rival business . . . the battle is on to see who will be crowned Best. Babysitters. EVER. Perfect for 8+ fans of Dork Diaries and Meg C abot ...Show more

Hat Tricks by Satoshi Kitamura

$24.99 AUD

Category: Picture Books (Hardback)

The Secret Runners of New York by Matthew Reilly

$16.99 AUD

Category: General | Reading Level: 8

THE COMING END When Skye Rogers and her twin brother Red move to Manhattan, rumours of a coming global apocalypse are building. But this does not stop the young elite of New York from partying without a care. CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET? And then suddenly Skye is invited to join an exclusive gang known as the Secret Runners of New York. But this is no ordinary clique - they have access to an underground portal that can transport them into the future. And what Skye discovers in the future is horrifying. RUN! AS FAST AS YOU CAN! As society crumbles, Skye and Red race to figure out how to use their knowledge to survive the impending annihilation, they soon discover that the chaotic end of the world is perfect time for revenge... ...Show more

The French Photographer - TPB by Natasha Lester

$29.99 AUD

Category: General | Reading Level: 1 Fiction

From the author of The Paris Seamstress comes a story of courage, family and forgiveness. Manhattan, Paris, 1942: When Jessica May's successful modelling career is abruptly cut short, she is assigned to the war in Europe as a photojournalist for Vogue. But when she arrives the army men make her life as difficult as possible. Three friendships change that: journalist Martha Gellhorn encourages Jess to bend the rules, paratrooper Dan Hallworth takes her to places to shoot pictures and write stories that matter, and a little girl, Victorine, who has grown up in a field hospital, shows her love. But success comes at a price. France, 2005: Australian curator D'Arcy Hallworth arrives at a beautiful chateau to manage a famous collection of photographs. What begins as just another job becomes far more disquieting as D'Arcy uncovers the true identity of the mysterious photographer - and realises that she is connected to D'Arcy's own mother, Victorine. Crossing a war-torn Europe from Italy to France, The French Photographer is a story of courage, family and forgiveness, by the bestselling author of The Paris Seamstress and A Kiss from Mr Fitzgerald. 'A fantastically engrossing story. I loved it' KELLY RIMMER 'Intrigue, heartbreak and not one but two heart stopping love stories. I cannot tell you how much I loved this book' RACHEL BURTON  ...Show more