Are you a non-fiction reader? I flit between adult fiction, adult non-fiction, young adult fiction and children’s fiction – variety is the spice of life! If you usually read fiction, try a non-fiction book for a change. Is there a topic you’d like to dive deep into? Is there someone you’d like to learn about?

If reading fiction gives us empathy, reading non-fiction will broaden your mind.

Here’s a selection of wonderful non-fiction books I’ve recently enjoyed or bought with the intention to read over summer, on topics as diverse as mindfulness, creativity, spirituality, memoir, finances, health, poetry and parenting.

The gift of presence, a mindfulness guide for women by Caroline Welch – my kids are always rolling their eyes when I mention the word mindfulness but in this age of constantly beeping devices, we need mindfulness more than ever. We need conversations with no typing fingers, meals at home and coffees at cafes without scrolling, clear minds with no multi-tasking. Welch discusses the four Ps – presence, purpose, pivoting and pacing. I haven’t read this one yet but plan to read it ‘mindfully’ during January when there are less distractions.

Untamed, stop pleasing, start living by Glennon Doyle – this memoir by New York best-selling author is a call to women to ‘stop pleasing, start living.’ It’s the story of Doyle’s journey to leave her marriage with her three kids and build a relationship with her new partner, former soccer player Abby Wambach. I read this one as a mini-bookclub with three friends – so many discussions!

The body keeps the score, mind, brain and body in the transformation of trauma by Bessel Van der Kolk – an interesting read on how our bodies can hold on to trauma for years. Van der Kolk draws on his years of experience in treating people with trauma, from veterans to abused children. If you suffer from chronic pain, this one’s for you.

David Whyte Essentials by David Whyte – beautiful poems about just about everything with a brief explanation or background about each poem. There’s nothing like reading evocative, lyrical poems over summer. Perfect for dipping in and reading a poem a week.

Simplicity parenting, using the extraordinary power of less to raise calmer, happier and more secure kids by Kim John Payne – I read this book over and over when my kids were little. Payne’s non-judgemental, gentle voice taught me patience and creativity and understanding for my kids in that period when the days were long but the years short.

Wild Mercy, living the fierce and tender wisdom of the women mystics by Mirabai Starr – Starr weaves in her own stories through her exploration of women mystics, looking at topics such as mothering, remembering the Sabbath, caring for the Earth and dying. A fascinating read with an invitation to explore your own spirituality.

More myself, a journey by Alicia Keys – Keys wrote and performed one of my favourite songs ‘This girl is on fire’ so I am keen to dive into her memoir. As a writer, I’m always interested in other creative people’s stories, whether they’re artists or musicians or weavers. Another book to add to the summer reading pile!

A promised land by Barack Obama – clearly a man who needs no introduction! I bought this doorstopper of a book for my husband’s recent birthday, and will read it myself when he’s finished.

The barefoot investor for families by Scott Pape – I bought this one for my kids, and my teenagers have flicked through it. There’s a particularly good section on putting together a resume in order to find casual work. My then-fourteen-year-old son found it useful – and voila – success – he was hired as a supermarket shelf-stacker. I wish my fourteen-year-old self had seen the page on compound interest, though!

This one wild and precious life, a hopeful path in a fractured world by Sarah Wilson – I heard Wilson interviewed when her book came out a few months ago – she was her usual articulate and authentic self. Looking forward to reading this one over January – all about her hikes, her thoughts on the environment and her ideas for making changes.

Creativity, Inc, overcoming the unseen forces that stand in the way of true inspiration by Ed Catmull – another one to read over summer! Catmull dreamt of making the first computer-animated movie – and he did, with Toy Story. Storytelling, creating memorable characters, achieving dreams – this is my sort of book!

I hope you’re inspired to pick up a non-fiction book to read over summer. Perhaps it’s a design book or a travel one, maybe a teach-yourself or a book on astronomy or a biography. Let me know if you have a recommendation!

Books are the perfect Christmas present – easy to wrap, light to transport, wonderful summer entertainment, a conversation point. There are no plastic parts, they don’t need batteries. Here’s my 2020 list of my ten favourite novels for adults, in no particular order – historical fiction, Indigenous fiction, a verse novel, young protagonists, older protagonists, female protagonists, male protagonists – enjoy the variety!

The other Bennet sister by Janice Hadlow – Jane Austen fans, you will know this title refers to Mary Bennet, the sister from Austen’s Pride and prejudice given the least amount of page space. Mary has no chance for more space, given she has to compete with her sisters – Jane’s beauty, Elizabeth’s wit and the silliness of Kitty and Lydia. But now Hadlow has given Mary a book of her own, and gosh, it’s a thick one at 655 pages. This book is a wonderful escape – perfect summer reading. There’s a longer review here.

Here is the beehive by Sarah Crossan – this is the story of a married woman having an affair whose lover is killed unexpectedly. How do you grieve in secret for someone you loved? Here is the beehive is a verse novel – the pace is fast and it just flows. I read this book a few months ago, and I’m almost ready to pick it up again. Sarah Crossan is one of my favourite writers.

The yield by Tara June Winch – the three threads of this novel wind in and out of each other – August Gondiwindi’s story of coming back home to Massacre Plains for her grandfather’s funeral weaves in between her grandfather’s dictionary, his words to define the language of his people and then there are the letters of Revered Greenleaf, who set up the original homestead which became August’s home. The yield won the 2020 Miles Franklin award.

The mother fault by Kate Mildenhall – This book is such a fascinating read. It’s set in the near future in Australia, where The Department monitors citizens with tracking devices. Mim is a stay-at-home mum, who is suddenly forced on a trip to find her missing husband, last seen mining in Indonesia. It’s a gripping tale, with large scale drama as well as the micro tension of Mim searching for her husband, with her two small children beside her. I chose this book for my bookclub next month.

The dictionary of lost words by Pip Williams – I loved immersing myself in this story about a young girl who grows up in the workplace of her father, a lexicographer in Oxford in the 1880s. I found myself bewailing the limitations of women in both their personal and professional lives, and wanting so much for the main character, Esme.

The book of longing by Sue Monk Kidd – Meet Ana, a young woman living in Galilee in the first century. She feels compelled to write down the lost stories of women, and begs her father for parchment and ink. She writes this prayer, Bless the largeness inside me, no matter how I fear it, into an incantation bowl given to her by her aunt, the only educated woman she knows. Not only is Ana from The book of longings a bright, rebellious and brave young woman, she is also the wife of Jesus. This was one of my favourite books for this year! There’s a longer review here.

Star-Crossed by Minnie Darke – This book would make such a wonderful romantic comedy movie – I’m not a huge fan of rom-coms but I would love to see this one. Justine has a minor job at a local paper, including responsibility for organising the monthly horoscopes. When she bumps into an old friend, Nick, the stars suddenly take on a whole new meaning. A perfect beach read!

All our shimmering skies by Trent Dalton – All our shimmering skies is the story of twelve-year-old Molly Hook, the gravedigger’s daughter, who sets off on a journey when bombs start hitting her home town of Darwin in 1942. She’s trying to revoke the curse Longcoat Bob, an almost mythical outback character, placed on her grandfather which has caused her family no end of sorrow and hardship. I love the mix of real-life events and mythology, the sadness of Molly’s life combined with her hopeful spirit, the wonderful descriptive writing and the unlikely but absolutely believable ‘sky gifts’. This book will become an Australian classic.

The question of love by Hugh Mackay – Freya is a violinist, her husband Richard is an architect. MacKay uses the musical idea of ‘variation of a theme’ to explore the same scene in different ways, with variations in the ways the characters respond to each other. This original idea, combined with Mackay’s experience as a social researcher, is a compelling read.

Honeybee by Craig Silvey – Honeybee is told in first person by Sam Watson, a fourteen-year-old transgender person who begins their story on the night they meet Vic on the Clayton Road overpass in Perth. Both Sam and Vic are forever changed by their chance meeting. There’s a wonderful array of characters in Honeybee – a nurse who works as a drag queen, an effervescent girl who befriends Sam, a wise psychologist, a thoughtful man who deals with motorbikes – many of Silvey’s characters embody different facets of kindness. But of course, there’s also the characters surrounding Sam who are into theft and drugs, and who hurt Sam – physically and emotionally. There’s a longer review here.

Happy shopping! Happy library borrowing! Happy passing a dog-eared book around friends! Happy reading!

Bookshops are open in Melbourne again, and it’s time to go Christmas shopping! This week, we can think about the teens in our lives – let’s show them inspiring characters, humorous situations, tender romantic relationships, strong friendships and everything else that affects our young adults.

Miss 14 is here to give you some of her favourites, many of them are on my to-be-read pile. When choosing books, readers usually like to read about a character a year or two older than them – teen reading is aspirational.

A Court of Thorns and Roses – Sarah J. Maas – Feyre and her family’s survival counts on her ability to hunt. So when she goes into the woods and kills a Faerie for food her world is changed. She is taken and forced to live with the Faeries. This is the first book in a series of four with a new instalment coming out next year.

A Throne of Glass – Sarah J. Maas – This story follows Celaena Sardothien, a teenage assassin living in a corrupt kingdom with a tyrannical king. Celaena is forced to participate in a competition to become the King’s Champion. If she wins she will serve him for five years before being freed from her sentence at the caves of Endovier. There are seven books in this series.

Red, White & Royal Blue – Casey McQuiston – Red, White & Royal Blue is a book about the first son Alex Clarment-Diaz and his rivalry with Prince Henry. After a mishap at a royal wedding the two are forced to pretend to be friends, they grow to enjoy each other’s company and that turns into something more than friendship. But there are complications that stop them from being together in the public eye.

After Series – Anna Todd – Tessa has just moved into her dorm room at college, when she meets Hardin, a boy with an attitude and facial piercings and tattoos. He is everything that Tessa doesn’t like and besides she has Noah, her high school boyfriend. So why can’t she stop thinking about him, and why does he always show up at the right time? This is one of five books.

Crave Series – Tracy Wolff – After her parents die in a car accident, Grace moves to her Uncle’s academy in Alaska. Her life changes when she steps into that academy, nothing in there is what it seems. Everyone is hiding something from her and there is Jaxon Vega. A vampire who is hiding dark secrets of his own, Jaxon’s walls begin to crumble once he gets to know Grace. This is the first in a trilogy. 

The Selection Series – Keira Cass – Thirty five girls are selected to win over the love of Prince Maxon. America Singer doesn’t want to go because she already loves someone, Aspen, but she must go because her family is a Five and they need any money that they can get. When America meets Maxon she starts to question her feelings for Aspen and the plans that she has made for herself. There are four main books in this series and six books in the novella series.

Bring Me Their Hearts – Sara Wolf – Zera is a Heartless, her heart belongs to the witch Nightsinger. She is immortal and bound to the Nightsinger. The witch sends Zera to steal the heart of the prince, with one catch. If she gets caught, in a town where they hate and torture witches, she will destroy her heart which will destroy her. The prince, Lucien, hates the court as much as it loves him. Everyone loves him and lets him get away with everything, until the arrival of Lady Zera. This begins a game between a girl with nothing to lose and a boy who has it all. Bring Me Their Hearts is the first book in a series of three.

These Broken Stars – Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner – Everything is running smoothly until the Icarus, a massive luxury spaceliner, is pulled out of hyperspace and plummets to the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux, the daughter of the richest man in the universe, and Tarver Menderson, a young war hero, survive the crash and are the sole survivors. Stranded on an abandoned planet they must learn to tolerate each other to survive.

And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie – 10 strangers were summoned to a private island for a weekend getaway by an eccentric millionaire who is unknown to them. All of the guests have a wicked past that they are unwilling to share and a secret that will seal their fate. A nursery rhyme is framed in every room. 

“Ten little boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine. Nine little boys sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight. Eight little boys traveling in Devon; One said he’d stay there then there were seven. Seven little boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in half and then there were six. Six little boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five. Five little boys going in for law; One got in Chancery and then there were four. Four little boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three. Three little boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two. Two little boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was one. One little boy left all alone; He went out and hanged himself and then there were none.”

They soon realise that the murders are occurring exactly as described in the nursery rhyme. Before the weekend ends there will be none.

Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen – Pride and Prejudice is a coming of age, historical and romance novel. It focuses on the conflicts of marrying for love and marrying for economic reasons. Mr Bennet has five daughters and none of them can inherit his estate therefore they are pressured to find security in a good marriage. The oldest sisters Jane and Elizabeth struggle to marry because of their lack of aristocrat status.

Thank you, Miss 14! I hope you find something to read in this eclectic mix of fiction – historical, crime, fantasy, contemporary and dystopian.

Happy book shopping!

I had the pleasure earlier this year of working with teacher and guidance counsellor Kari Sutton on her book, Raising a mentally fit generation, published by Publish Central. Every time I sat at my desk to edit Kari’s book, I wished I had read this ten years ago so I had her wisdom for raising my children – her book is a powerful tool for parenting.

One of the messages that stood out for me early on was one of the lines from the back cover blurb –

Have you ever wished there was a way to build strong protective fences at the top of the cliff, so you don’t have to be the ambulance picking up the pieces at the bottom?

One of Kari’s techniques that I’ve been using with Mr 11 is the concept of the upstairs and downstairs brain. Kari explains this so well – our brain has an upstairs part where the thinking brain lives and a downstairs part where the feeling brain lives. A set of stairs connects both parts and is used to send messages. But when the downstairs brain becomes overwhelmed, the upstairs brain doesn’t make good decisions and there’s no connection between the two. Once kids understand the concept, it’s a quick reminder – ‘Goodness, it sounds like the downstairs guys are taking over. Can we remind the upstairs guys that they’re the ones in charge?’

Kari’s book is full of her passion for children’s wellbeing, her personal and professional experience, the latest research, practical tips and a wide range of activities for parents and teachers to implement for their kids and students. Kari’s writing style is equal parts informative and caring – it feels like she is holding your hand and your children’s hands all the way through.

I’ve asked Kari a few questions about her book.

KC: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

KS: I’ve worked in the education field for the past 28 years, having always wanted to be of service to others and help children and their families in any way I can. That’s why I became a teacher, then a guidance counsel­lor and spent over 22 years volunteering with Camp Quality, a children’s cancer charity. For the past two decades, I’ve also had the privilege of helping raise my nephew Mitchell after my beloved sister-in-law passed away from ovarian cancer. Currently I live in Brisbane with my husband and beautiful beagle.

KC: What is your book Raising a mentally fit generation about?

KS: Just like we can help children develop their physical fitness, we can also help them build their mental fitness muscles. Raising a Mentally Fit Generation shows parents and educators how they can help their children develop positive habits of mind that sow the seeds of lifelong emotional wellbeing and positive mental health.

KC: Why did you write it?

KS: Throughout my career I have had a front-row seat watching the dramatic rise in anxiety disorders, depression and suicide affecting our kids. I’m on a mission to change the conversation about how we promote and protect our children’s mental health and wellbeing.

KC: What are you hoping parents, guardians, teachers and childcare workers will do after reading your book?

KS: I am hoping that parents, teachers and childcare workers use the common sense tips, powerful strategies and practical tools in the book to prevent problems occurring rather than having to pick their children up after things have gone wrong.

KC: What was the hardest part about writing your book?

Condensing the years of knowledge and shaping a big bunch of research and hands-on experience into a book.

KC: What was the fun part?

Working with my editor and seeing the rough manuscript turn into a polished book that I could be proud of.

KC: Thanks, Kari, it was a fun project for me, too! What does being mentally fit mean to you?

KS: For me being mentally fit means I possess the needed mindsets, skills, abilities and experience to cope with situations and challenges as they happen. I build my mental fitness just like I do my physical fitness by doing activities that foster my positive mental health – mindfulness, exercise, self-compassion, gratitude, using my strengths, having an optimistic outlook on life and making sure I nurture my social connections and friendships.

Thank you, Kari!

I strongly recommend this book as a wonderful guide for teachers and parents – it will become a dog-eared book you will turn to again and again.

Kari has lots of information at her website. Her book is available next Friday 20th November and can be pre-ordered at bookstores such as Booktopia and Amazon and through her website. She has a few special deals available as well as an offer to receive the first chapter for free.

I was so keen to read the recently released Honeybee by Craig Silvey – his second book, Jasper Jones, is one of my favourite modern Australian classics. The movie of the same name is often studied by Yr 9 or 10 students – it’s the Australian version of To kill a mocking bird.

Honeybee is told in first person by Sam Watson, a fourteen-year-old transgender person who begins their story on the night they meet Vic on the Clayton Road overpass in Perth. Both Sam and Vic are forever changed by their chance meeting.

Silvey has been interviewed on a few podcasts and for a few newspapers where he discussed his research to find out more about the transgender and drag queen community. He read a section from his novel in an interview through Readings bookshop with Christos Tsiolkas – a scene where Sam listens to the drag queen Luna Moons entertain a bunch of hens’ parties at a drag queen show – epic!

There’s a wonderful array of characters in Honeybee – a nurse who works as a drag queen, an effervescent girl who befriends Sam, a wise psychologist, a thoughtful man who deals with motorbikes – many of Silvey’s characters embody different facets of kindness. But of course, there’s also the characters surrounding Sam who are into theft and drugs, and who hurt Sam – physically and emotionally.

Silevy wrote the book after hearing about a real-life Sam, who was seen and helped by Silvey’s brother and sister-in-law. They never found out what happened to this young person.

Sam felt like a real person to me – testament to Silvey’s writing.

Like Jasper Jones, this would make an excellent movie!

Miss 14 has joined me today as a specialist in young adult fiction to write a book review for Asphyxia’s Future Girl. Released this month, Future Girl is a gorgeously designed novel presented as an art journal. Written and illustrated by Asphyxia, an Australian Deaf writer, artist and activist, this is the story of 16-year-old Piper, a Melbourne teenager living in the not-too-far-away future where most of the population no longer eat ‘wild’ food but recon (laboratory engineered food).

From Miss 14 –

I was hooked from the beginning. The pages are beautifully illustrated and help to build Piper’s character. It’s almost like you are in her head and can feel her emotions.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Future Girl because it was informative and interesting. Piper is an inspiring character. When she meets Marley and learns Auslan she becomes a part of the Deaf community. She learns that being Deaf shouldn’t be something to be kept secret. Her mum hired someone to teach her to lipread so that she could be normal and fit in with other kids, but being Deaf is not ‘normal’ and the Deaf community should not be treated as a burden or embarrassment. Piper’s mum believes that signing in public is embarrassing and that Piper should stick to lip reading and pretending that she is not Deaf. When Piper starts her garden she inspires others to speak up and take matters into their own hands. Asphyxia has managed to create a captivating story that will keep you invested while also educating you about the Deaf community. Future Girl is an inspiring, coming-of-age and finding your voice book that is a must read for all ages.

*********************

My thoughts –

The different threads about the environment, growing food, growing up Deaf, art as both activism and self-expression, teenage first love, friendship, mother-daughter relationships – were seamlessly woven together.

I loved how slowing down to admire the beautiful pages of paint, sketches and collage made me appreciate the story and let it settle more.

I can see young adult readers of 13 years and on becoming interested in learning Auslan, growing their own food, making compost and making art. There are also teachers’ notes here.

I have signed up to Asphyxia’s online art class for making an art journal! I have dabbled with an art journal before, and even though I have a quilt to finish sewing which is lovely and meditative, the thought of loose and spontaneous paint and collage has set my heart racing.

Future Girl belongs in every school library and would make a wonderful Christmas present for teenage girls.

Photos – and lilac nails – provided by Miss 14.

I’m lifting my voice here, adding to the choirs singing praise about Trent Dalton’s latest novel, All our shimmering skies. His debut novel, Boy swallows universe, largely autobiographical, was a huge success and his second book is full of just as much magic and heartbreak and quirky characters and unexpected events as his first.

Apart from the gorgeous cover, indicative of the beautiful Darwin outback where a large part of the book is set, have a look at the title. Perhaps it is the word ‘shimmering’ or ‘skies’ that jumps out at first. But it’s the word ‘our’ which gives Trent Dalton’s readers a clear hint of his story – ‘our’ has connotations of inclusivity, generosity, openness and connection.

I have listened to a few recent interviews with Trent through Readings and The First Time podcast, and Trent is all about ‘our’.

All our shimmering skies is the story of twelve-year-old Molly Hook, the gravedigger’s daughter, who sets off on a journey when bombs start hitting her home town of Darwin in 1942. She’s trying to revoke the curse Longcoat Bob, an almost mythical outback character, placed on her grandfather which has caused her family no end of sorrow and hardship.

In one of his interviews, Trent told us that one of his young daughters asked him why he had written about two brothers in his first book when he had two daughters. He also told us that he used to look up at the sky to talk after his father died. It was these two incidents or feelings or ideas which connected to create the seed of All our shimmering skies.

I love the mix of real-life events and mythology, the sadness of Molly’s life combined with her hopeful spirit, the wonderful descriptive writing and the unlikely but absolutely believable ‘sky gifts’. This book will become an Australian classic.

Ever read a novel where the description of fashion makes you want to frock up in a 1920s flapper dress, reach for a mini skirt or adorn yourself in sprigged muslin?

I am celebrating frocks and fiction in this post, as well as my dear friend, Leane Flynn, who has worked tirelessly to raise awareness of ovarian cancer since her diagnosis three and a half years ago. You can read more about her story in this post here.

Frocktober is a chance to raise both awareness and funds for women with ovarian cancer through the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation. There is currently no early detection test for ovarian cancer and as there are no obvious symptoms, many women are diagnosed too late. One woman dies from ovarian cancer every ten hours. The recurrence rate is extremely high and the survival rate is extremely low – only one in every four women diagnosed will survive five years.

You can donate to Leane’s fundraising page here.

Thinking about fashion, here are some of my favourite fashion in fiction moments:

• Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery – Anne desperately wants a dress with puffed sleeves (and hasn’t that fashion come back in!) but Marilla thinks it’s a waste of material. Matthew asks Rachel Lynch to sew a dress for Anne – ‘a lovely soft brown gloria with all the gloss of silk; a skirt with dainty frills and shirrings; a waist elaborately pin-tucked in the most fashionable way, with a little ruffle of filmy lace at the neck. But the sleeves – they were the crowning glory! Long elbow cuffs and above them two beautiful puffs divided by rows of shirring and bows of brown silk ribbon.’ Anne thinks it is exquisite!

• A kiss for Mr Fitzgerald by Natasha Lester – Natasha’s books are all full of fashion. In one scene, Evie wears a dress of ‘sapphire blue. It had a tulle skirt that fell to just below the knee. The bodice was sequinned and the neckline dived gracefully to end at her sternal notch. An inset of semi-sheer flesh coloured fabric was artfully placed over the middle of her chest, but even knowing that, Evie blushed when she looked in the mirror.’

• Fancy Nancy written by Jane O’Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glass – Fancy Nancy became a role model for all little girls in the last decade or so. Who can argue with a pint-size heroine who tells us ‘lace-trimmed socks do help me to play football better’?

• Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder – remember the small scene where Ma is in such a hurry that – heaven forbid – she accidentally ties Mary’s blue ribbons onto Laura’s brown braids and Laura’s pink ribbons onto Mary’s golden braids? The sisters smile at each other and toss their braids to the front of their shoulders so they can admire their ribbons, for Laura is tired of her pink ribbons and Mary tired of her blue ones.

• Bird by bird by Anne Lamott – this is a book about writing, not fashion but there is a brief line where Anne talks about putting on her girl-writer dress for an important meeting with her editor. There’s no description of what a girl-writer dress looks like but in my head, it’s similar to my red wool dress with the cream trim and gold buttons!

• All our shimmering skies by Trent Dalton – this book has a wonderful twelve-year-old heroine, Molly Hook, who has her eye on a sky-blue satin dress in the window of Darwin’s Ward’s Boutique in the 1940s. It’s a ‘teenager’s dress and a going-out dress that Molly could wear to a dance or to a Hollywood premiere on the arm of Gary Cooper, if only she wasn’t so busy digging graves in Darwin, Australia.’

Thank you for supporting research into ovarian cancer by educating yourself or donating to Leane’s fundraising page here. Leane and I are grateful for your support.