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In crime fiction, where there’s Smoke there’s always fire

In crime fiction, where there’s Smoke there’s always fire

Former journo Michael Brissenden has written a cracking novel set in the aftermath of a Californian wildfire.

  • by Sue Turnbull

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A gentle love song to a cultural historian’s home territory

A gentle love song to a cultural historian’s home territory

Alexandra Harris has written a remarkable book that melds personal memory with investigations of the historical record.

  • by Gregory Day
Yes, it’s true. Reading really can affect the way you behave – in a good way

Yes, it’s true. Reading really can affect the way you behave – in a good way

Studies show that reading can have a significant impact on your brain

  • by Jane Sullivan
The satire is as high as this novel’s anti-hero, but the dystopia is bleak

The satire is as high as this novel’s anti-hero, but the dystopia is bleak

Jordan Prosser’s action-packed first novel will make you laugh but will unsettle you as well.

  • by Justine Hyde
State Library cracks down on staff wearing ‘political’ items

State Library cracks down on staff wearing ‘political’ items

Staff have been warned against wearing apparel with pro-Palestine symbols as part of a new dress code.

  • by Meg Watson
The best celebrity memoirs have exactly what literature today lacks

The best celebrity memoirs have exactly what literature today lacks

As more and more crossed my desk, I found that the best of them were written with a robust, fearless honesty that I’ve almost given up looking for in current fiction.

  • by David Free
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Eight new books to read this weekend

Eight new books to read this weekend

Our reviewers cast their eyes over recent fiction and non-fiction.

  • by Cameron Woodhead and Fiona Capp
The Afghans is an empathic look at life for women under the Taliban

The Afghans is an empathic look at life for women under the Taliban

Norwegian journalist Asne Seierstad returns to Afghanistan for the first since she wrote the controversial book, The Bookseller of Kabul.

  • by Christopher Kremmer
Ed Zwick’s laugh-out-loud memoir of working in Hollywood

Ed Zwick’s laugh-out-loud memoir of working in Hollywood

The creator of thirtysomething has written a perceptive and entertaining account of his life behind the camera and the people he has worked with and fallen out with.

  • by Tom Ryan
Daughter of acclaimed author Alice Munro alleges sexual abuse by stepfather

Daughter of acclaimed author Alice Munro alleges sexual abuse by stepfather

The Nobel Prize winner’s daughter says her mother stood by her husband when she was told of the abuse. The Canadian author died eight weeks ago.

  • by Elizabeth A. Harris
Siang Lu imagines a comic dystopia in this labyrinthine new novel

Siang Lu imagines a comic dystopia in this labyrinthine new novel

Ghost Cities challenges readers to make sense of life on a huge film set where everyone is both a citizen going about their business and an actor.

  • by Owen Richardson