SMSA (Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts)
New Book Highlights
ANIMAL STORIES
| Nasser, Dave | Giant George |
| Sherrill, Martha | Dog man |
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BIOGRAPHY
| Alexander, Susan Joy | A Spanish love affair |
| Hewitt, Catherine | Renoir’s dancer |
| Maupin, Armistead | Logical family |
| Milne, Christine | An activist life |
| Morgan, Joyce | Martin Sharp |
| Niall, Brenda | Can you hear the sea? |
| Williams, Roy Thomas | Mr Eternity |
Renoir’s dancer: the secret lfe of Suzanne Valadon / Catherine Hewitt
Hewitt considers the unlikely trajectory of French painter and model Suzanne Valadon (1865–1938), who was the child of a housemaid and became the belle of Montmartre as Renoir’s muse and a talented painter in her own right. The book illuminates the social web at the heart of the Paris art scene, focusing on the camaraderie that developed between Valadon and artists Toulouse Lautrec and Edgar Degas, which led her to model for. After Degas recognized the abundant raw talent of the model turned artist, he mentored her, but her bohemian lifestyle grew difficult for her to keep up after she gave birth at age 18 to a son, Maurice. Hewitt persuasively casts Valadon as a pragmatist adept at navigating her public and private lives, resolving Maurice’s uncertain paternity in 1891, then marrying businessman Paul Mousis and exhibiting internationally soon thereafter. Her free spirit prevailed decades later when she fell for her son’s friend, the then-23-year-old painter André Utter, who would became her second husband as well as her business manager. The cast of world-class artists and the stories of their romantic entanglements combine to produce a book that reads like an opera libretto revolving around a pioneering spirit who bristled at the limiting label of “woman artist.” (Publishers Weekly, November 2017)
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CLASSICS
| Hašek, Jaroslav | The good soldier Švejk |
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COOKING
| Elliott-Howery, Alex | Cornersmith salads and pickles |
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GENERAL FICTION
| Attenberg, Jami | All grown up |
| Bowen, Rhys | The Tuscan child |
| Cavanagh, Steve | Thirteen |
| Chidgey, Catherine | In a fishbone church |
| Dray, Colin | Sign |
| Duffy, Stella | The hidden room |
| Dunthorne, Joe | The adulterants |
| Farmer, Beverly | This water |
| Fielding, Joy | The bad daughter |
| Griffin, W. E. B. | Death at Nuremberg |
| Groen, Hendrik | On the bright side |
| Hurwitz, Gregg Andrew | Hellbent |
| Ishiguro, Kazuo | An artist of the floating world |
| Jones, Lloyd | The cage |
| Jones, Tayari | An American marriage |
| Kawabata, Yasunari | Snow country |
| Kitamura, Katie | A separation |
| Kneen, Krissy | An uncertain grace |
| La Plante, Lynda | Widows |
| Lansdale, Joe | Savage season |
| Larsen, Ward | Assassin’s code |
| Lawler, Liz | Don’t wake up |
| Leather, Stephen | The shout |
| Lewis, Susan | The girl who came back |
| Limprecht, Eleanor | The passengers |
| Lloyd, Amy | The innocent wife |
| Mansell, Jill | This could change everything |
| Marshall, Laura | Friend request |
| Mills, Magnus | The forensic records society |
| Morrall, Clare | The last of the Greenwoods |
| Moyes, Jojo | Still me |
| Napier, Kali | The secrets at ocean’s edge |
| O’Loughlin, Ann | The Ludlow Ladies’ Society |
| O’Neill, Ellie | The right girl |
| Oswald, Debra | The whole bright year |
| Phelan, James | The agency |
| Pym, Barbara | Quartet in autumn |
| Riley, Lucinda | The seven sisters |
| Riley, Lucinda | The storm sister |
| Seymour, Gerald | A damned serious business |
| Statovci, Pajtim | My cat Yugoslavia |
| Trollope, Joanna | An unsuitable match |
| Watt, Peter | And fire falls |
| Williams, Joy | The visiting privilege |
The cage / Lloyd Jones
Two strangers appear in a generic town, both claiming to have survived a catastrophe. They are unable to explain what happened, where it happened or even who they are. They are taken in by the narrator’s uncle who runs a hotel, a seemingly generous act that soon becomes a ploy to turn the strangers into an exhibit for other guests. One of the strangers constructs an object in an attempt to represent the catastrophe. This cage—for that is what the object ends up resembling—becomes the strangers’ prison. They are forced to live like animals in a zoo, prodded and gazed at by a stream of unsympathetic visitors, and gradually they become more and more subhuman. The narrator is uncomfortable with the strangers’ plight, and yet not quite uncomfortable enough to do anything about it. Best known for his novel Mister Pip, New Zealand writer Lloyd Jones’ latest offering is a compelling if unsettling read. There are obvious parallels to the plight of refugees and how a horrendous situation can become almost banal and acceptable. It is a thought-provoking and affecting book for readers of literary fiction where the morally questionable appears very ordinary. (Books and Publishing, October 2017)
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HISTORICAL FICTION
| Clements, Rory | Nucleus |
| Shoemaker, Sarah | Mr Rochester |
| Silva, Samantha | Mr Dickens and his carol |
| Storrs, Elisabeth | The golden dice |
| Vlugt, Simone van der | Midnight blue |
Mr Dickens and his carol / Samantha Silva
Imaginative novels about real authors are tricky things, not least because comparison with the original is inevitable and is usually not good news for the author. But Samantha Silva, in her debut novel, is a really gifted writer and that saves it from sliding into a particularly American kind of sentimentality. The story is one we know, of Dickens at the height of his fame, a 19th-century literary rock star, experiencing a flop with Martin Chuzzlewit and finding himself suddenly squeezed for cash but resisting his publisher’s suggestion that he write a Christmas story to boost his bank balance. Silva has a lot of fun with A Christmas Carol and with the facts of Dickens’ life, but the best thing about this novel is the writing itself, which is at its very best in the wonderfully evocative descriptions of the London that Dickens himself so loved. (Sydney Morning Herald, 8 February 2018)
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MYSTERY
| Armstrong, Kelley | This fallen prey |
| Barclay, Linwood | Bad guys |
| Beaton, M. C. | Death of an honest man |
| Bradford, Laura | Hearse and buggy |
| Brookmyre, Christopher | Black widow |
| Burke, James Lee | Robicheaux |
| Callaghan, Tom | A killing winter |
| Church, James | A corpse in the Koryo |
| Collins, Max Allan | Quarry’s climax |
| Dearman, Lara | The devil’s claw |
| Dexter, Colin | Last seen wearing |
| Dexter, Colin | The silent world of Nicholas Quinn |
| Diamond, Katerina | The teacher |
| Drew, Alan | Shadow man |
| Finch, Charles | The woman in the water |
| Gardner, Lisa | Look for me |
| Granger, Ann | Rooted in evil |
| Greaney, Mark | Agent in place |
| Hamdy, Adam | Pendulum |
| Herron, Mick | London rules |
| Hunter, Cara | Close to home |
| Ide, Joe | IQ |
| Ide, Joe | Righteous |
| Jackson, David | Cry baby |
| Keneally, Meg | The power game |
| Krentz, Jayne Ann | Promise not to tell |
| Locke, Attica | Bluebird, bluebird |
| McTiernan, Dervla | The ruin |
| Moore, Jonathan | The night market |
| Mosley, Walter | Down the river unto the sea |
| Nykanen, Harri | Holy ceremony |
| Oswald, James | The gathering dark |
| Sanders, Ben | The stakes |
| Schafer, Kerry | World tree girl |
| Spencer, Sally | Dry bones |
| Sweterlitsch, Thomas | The gone world |
| Todd, Charles | The gatekeeper |
| Tope, Rebecca | Guilt in the Cotswolds |
Close to home / Cara Hunter
Daisy Mason is a pretty, clever eight-year-old, so her disappearance after a summer party in her Oxford backyard engenders increasing publicity. DI Adam Fawley, leading the case, knows all too well the need for quick action, having lost a child himself, a situation that raises some concern about his leading this investigation. He also knows the high probability that the perpetrator is someone close to home . So Daisy’s parents come under close scrutiny: her distraught father, Barry, obviously loves his daughter dearly, but possibly inappropriately, while her mother, Sharon, is emotionally cold, perhaps even jealous of her husband’s love for their daughter. From the start, the investigation proceeds in fits and starts: the Masons aren’t sure when they last saw Daisy, nor did they know that she had traded her flower costume with another child that day. Then evidence reveals Barry’s unsavory activities and Sharon’s compromising background, as the plot twists and turns to the final pages, detailing the results of parental love and loss. Hunter presents a fast-moving blend of police procedural and psychological thriller that keeps pages turning. (Booklist, vol 114, number 11)
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NON FICTION
| Ashton, Rosemary | One hot summer | 942.1081 ASHT |
| Bretherton, Tanya | The suitcase baby | 364.1523 BRET |
| Laing, Olivia | The lonely city | 155.92 LAIN |
| Mortimer, Gavin | The men who made the SAS | 940.5423 MORT |
| Roberts, Alice | The incredible human journey | 910.4 ROBE |
| Sharma, Ruchir | The rise and fall of nations | 330 SHAR |
| Singer, Peter | Ethics in the real world | 170 SING |
| Smith, Zadie | Feel free | 824.92 SMIT |
Ethics in the Real World / Peter Singer
In this book of brief essays, Singer applies his controversial ways of thinking to issues like climate change, extreme poverty, animals, abortion, euthanasia, human genetic selection, sports doping, the sale of kidneys, the ethics of high-priced art, and ways of increasing happiness. Singer asks whether chimpanzees are people, smoking should be outlawed, or consensual sex between adult siblings should be decriminalised, and he reiterates his case against the idea that all human life is sacred, applying his arguments to some recent cases in the news. In addition, he explores, in an easily accessible form, some of the deepest philosophical questions, such as whether anything really matters and whether the pale blue dot that is our planet has any value. The collection also includes some more personal reflections, like Singer’s thoughts on one of his favourite activities, surfing, and an unusual suggestion for starting a family conversation over a holiday feast. Provocative and original, these essays will challenge—and possibly change—your beliefs about a wide range of real-world ethical questions. (Text Publishing, July 2017)
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POETRY
| Dunmore, Helen | Inside the wave |
| Vuong, Ocean | Night sky with exit wounds |
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ROMANCE
| Nash, Charlotte | The horseman |
| Nash, Charlotte | The Paris wedding |
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SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
| Baxter, Alan | Obsidian |
| Goodkind, Terry | Shroud of Eternity |
| Graham, Randy | Beforelife |
| Hambly, Barbara | The dark hand of magic |
| Iggulden, Conn | Darien |
| Lee, Fond | Jade city |
| Shapter, Zena | Towards white |
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TRAVEL
| Armitage, Simon | Walking home | 914.280 ARMI |
| Bard, Elizabeth | Lunch in Paris | 944.361 BARD |
| Williams, Pip | One Italian Summer | 914.5 WILL |
Lunch in Paris / Elizabeth Barden
American journalist Bard traces her relationship with her French husband from the first lunch date to the present, framing the narrative around mouthwatering menus. The book starts out vanilla, but the author’s charming narrative and penetrating insights quickly add a subtle complexity that will captivate readers. Having met her future husband Gwendal at an academic conference in London, Bard soon invented an excuse to visit Paris. Eventually she moved in to Gwendal’s tiny apartment and began her initiation into Parisian life. She pleasantly details her joys and obstacles, including her difficulties with grumpy fishmongers and complicated meat-market lines, and she provides poignant revelations about cultural differences that are alternately easy to overcome and seemingly insurmountable. The idea of love conquering all is certainly a cliché, but the author’s unique voice prevents her story from becoming stale. One of the most enlightening aspects of French culture that Bard reveals is the fact that in Paris, the customer is not always right. Whether it’s the chef for the wedding hors d’oeuvres or the doctor treating her father-in-law’s colon cancer, the author learned that one must bow to the opinion of the professional. Ultimately, Paris had much to offer Bard, including lessons in how to cook delectable meals with whatever is at hand, or the simplicity of sitting in a café and relaxing with a coffee and croissant. (Kirkus Reviews, December 2009)
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New additions to eBooks at SMSA
EBOOKS
| Biography | Yahp, Beth | Eat first, talk later |
| General novels | Burke, Alafair | The Wife |
| General novels | Child, Lee | The midnight line |
| General novels | Kidd, Jess | The hoarder |
| General novels | Lippmann, Laura | Sunburn |
| Historical fiction | Gifford, Elisabeth | Return to Fourwinds |
| Mystery | Flower, Amanda | Lethal lcorice |
| Mystery | McTiernan, Dervla | The ruin |
| Mystery | Swanson, Denise | Dead in the water |
| Mystery | Turton, Stuart | The seven deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle |
| Non fiction | McNamara, Michelle | I’ll be gone in the dark |
| Science fiction | Weir, Andy | Artemis |
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AUDIOBOOKS
| General novels | Kraus, Daniel | The shape of water |
| Mystery | Todd, Charles | The gate keeper |
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New Books – March 2018
The new books for March 2018 are now available to borrow, with new ebooks and audiobooks.
We hope you enjoy them!
- New books may be borrowed for a period of two weeks only and may not be renewed.
- Books remain listed as “New Books” for two months.
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