All posts by Team Booko

5 Recommended reads: Chick Lit

September 1, 2015Uncategorized#Chicklit, #Fiction, #HolidayreadingTeam Booko

Whether you’re planning a beach holiday or just want to find a relaxing escape at home, dive into these reads for some alone time. Here are some great Chick Lit options that have been released over the last year:

How to be a grown up by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

From bestselling authors Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus comes a timely novel about a forty-something wife and mother thrust back into the workforce, where she finds herself at the mercy of a boss half her age. Rory McGovern is entering the ostensible prime of her life when her husband, Blake, loses his dream job and announces he feels like “taking a break” from being a husband and father. Rory is then, without warning, single-parenting two kids and re-entering the workforce for the first time in years.

China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan

Kevin Kwan, bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians, is back with a wickedly funny new novel of social climbing, secret e-mails, art-world scandal, lovesick billionaires, and the outrageous story of what happens when Rachel Chu, engaged to marry Asia’s most eligible bachelor, discovers her birth father.

My Very Best Friend by Cathy Lamb

From a childhood friendship sustained over years and distance, to a journey of discovery, Cathy Lamb’s poignant novel tells of two women whose paths converge with unforeseen results – and reveals the gift of connection, and the challenges that can change everything for the better…

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

The story begins in 1962. On a rocky patch of the sun-drenched Italian coastline, a young innkeeper, chest-deep in daydreams, looks out over the incandescent waters of the Ligurian Sea and spies an apparition: a tall, thin woman, a vision in white, approaching him on a boat. She is an actress, he soon learns, an American starlet, and she is dying. And the story begins again today, half a world away, when an elderly Italian man shows up on a movie studio’s back lot—searching for the mysterious woman he once met…

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she’s a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she’s a disgrace; to design mavens, she’s a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom. Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette’s intensifying allergy to Seattle–and people in general–has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic. To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence–creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter’s role in an absurd world.

Interview with an author: Michelle Hamer

August 17, 2015Booko, Young Adult#Chicklit, #Fiction, #HistoricalFiction, #interview, #YATeam Booko

Michelle Hamer is the author of eleven books including the best-selling Australian novel, Gucci Mamas, and its follow-ups, Versace Sisters, Chanel Sweethearts and Armani Angels (which she co-wrote under the name Cate Kendall). She is also a regular contributor to The Age newspaper where she was previously an editor. More recently, she has written the ‘Daisy’ series of children’s books. We were fortunate to speak with Michelle on the writing process:

What piece of writing are you most proud?

I would have to say the Daisy books, which were published by Penguin last year as part of the Our Australian Girl series. The journalist in me enjoyed the research necessary to write historical fiction, and the writer in me enjoyed creating the story that brought the history to life. I’d had seven books published before this series, but this was the first children’s fiction I had written, which fulfilled a lifelong dream to write for kids. I plan to continue writing in the children’s genre. I have a new book coming out next year and am working on a new series.

Do you base any of your characters on people you know?

Mostly the characters come from my imagination and from bits and pieces of other people.

Do you have a process that you use to develop your characters?

I create characters that I like, who I’d like to hang out with and enjoy getting to know as the story develops. I’m often surprised by what they do and say, but once I start writing I try to just go with it and see what happens. It’s fun to create the nasty characters too, especially when I get to teach them a lesson during the story.

Your background is journalism. Is it difficult to move between fiction and editorial content?

It’s a matter of shifting gears mentally and it’s really lovely to be able to have the opportunity to do both. I find I use different parts of my brain to write fiction, non-fiction or journalism in book form. It’s nice to have a smorgasbord of writing styles. Writing an article is so much faster than writing a book, so it’s possible to get a quicker sense of achievement and feedback, but then the satisfaction of finishing a long form work and seeing it on a bookshop or library shelf is huge.

Do you use stream of consciousness as a method of writing? Or do you prefer other methods?

I start with a general plan and direction, I usually know the major plot points before I start, but once I get going I can find that the writing seems to happen without me thinking much about it, and that’s scary at times. I’ll be writing and writing, and thinking: “This is going to be drivel, I should stop,” but I try to silence those inner critics and keep writing, and mostly it turns out well. It’s a fascinating process. I try not to think about it too much in case it stops happening!

I sometimes think that I’ve lost the creativity I had when I was at school. What are your recommendations for getting that back?

Play, dance, sing, draw, read – immerse yourself in the creativity of others as much as possible. I think creativity can be contagious.
We tend to expect ourselves to always be doing something productive; but creativity needs space and time to flourish. Daydreaming is an excellent habit to foster.

I know some people that want to get their first book published. Do you have any advice for them? What is the process like?

The best advice I have is to be tenacious, develop a thick skin and keep trying. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to break into mainstream publishing, but technology has opened up lots of new forms of publishing, so in some ways it’s easier than ever to share your work with an audience.
Sometimes people say: “Oh but all the stories have been told, there’s nothing left to write”. I don’t agree. Your voice is unique, no one else can tell a story in your voice or from your perspective. That’s a valuable asset.

If you are interested in attending one of Michelle’s writing workshops, visit wordsmiths workshops.com.au

Father’s Day picks

August 12, 2015Uncategorized#Australian, #Autobiography, #Cookbooks, #Crime, #Fantasy, #FathersdayTeam Booko

Hunting for that perfect gift for dad? Whether he’s a music buff or a sporting fan,we’ve got all the books to cover every dad’s taste this Father’s Day. Here are 5 different options from a wide variety of genres:

Gudinski: The Godfather of Australian Rock ‘n’ Roll by Stuart Coupe

Known to many as GODinski, Michael Gudinski is unquestionably the most powerful and influential figure in the Australian rock’n’roll music business – and has been for the last four decades. Often referred to as ‘the father of the Australian music industry’, he has nurtured the careers of many artists – Kylie Minogue, Jimmy Barnes, Paul Kelly, Skyhooks, Split Enz, Yothu Yindi, to name just a few.

Life and Football by Jonathon Brown

AFL legend Jonathan Brown on footy, living life to the full and having what it takes to win three premierships.

Dexter is Dead by James Lindsay

Dexter returns in an all-new, all-Australian, blood-soaked adventure written by his creator, Jeff Lindsay. Dexter Morgan isn’t just Miami’s #1 forensic blood splatter expert…he’s also a serial killer who targets other serial killers. But when Dexter travels down under, he quickly discovers that sharks aren’t Australia’s only deadly predator. Who is setting up illegal hunting safaris in the Outback – and are humans in the crosshairs? Dexter investigates as only he can, and that means only one thing…

Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set: The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

A boxed set of the landmark fantasy from Brandon Sanderson, the man credited with breathing fresh life into Robert Jordan’s WHEEL OF TIME. An epic fantasy set in a world where the Dark Lord has gained dominion over the world. A world of ash and pain. A world subjugated. But a world where magic can be drawn from metals. A world waiting for a new heroine, a new hope. A word of mouth bestseller in the USA Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy have become a massive hit in the UK, and now in Australia.

Meatballs: The Ultimate Guide by Matteo Bruno

Meatballs make the perfect dish for a Monday night supper, a Saturday night dinner party or a Sunday feast. And here are 60 recipes for meatballs like you’ve never seen them before – Meatballs rustico, devoured with crusty bread to sop up the delectable sauce; Seared beef carpaccio meatballs, best eaten glass of Prosecco in hand; Pork, ginger and lemongrass meatballs; Lobster meatballs. Tuck in!

Top 5 gifts for Dad

August 6, 2015Fiction, Gifts, Non-fiction, Sport#Cookbooks, #Fathersday, #Fiction, #Nonfiction, #SportsTeam Booko

There are lots of different types of dads: the sporty, the thrill seeker, and the foodie (amongst others). Whatever type of dad your dad is, we have the book for him. Here are our top 5 picks for Father’s Day:

The New Dad

Your baby’s first word will be Dada by Jimmy Fallon

Your baby’s first word will be . . . “Dada!” Right? Everyone knows that fathers wage a secret campaign to ensure that their babies’ first word is “Dada!” But how does it work? One of the most popular entertainers in the world and NBC’s The Tonight Show host, Jimmy Fallon, shows you how.

The Foodie:

From Venice to Istanbul by Rick Stein

From the mythical heart of Greece to the fruits of the Black Sea coast; from Croatian and Albanian flavours to the spices and aromas of Turkey and beyond – the cuisine of the Eastern Mediterranean is a vibrant melting pot brimming with character. Accompanying the major BBC Two series, Rick Stein: From Venice to Istanbul includes over 100 spectacular recipes discovered by Rick during his travels in the region.

The Thrill Seeker:

Private Sydney by James Patterson and Kathryn Fox

The world’s bestselling thriller writer teams up with Australia’s bestselling crime writer for the latest action-packed instalment of the PRIVATE series.

Even for Private Investigations, the world’s top detective agency, it’s tough to find a man who doesn’t exist . . .Craig Gisto has promised Eliza Moss that his elite team at Private Sydney will investigate the disappearance of her father. After all, as the CEO of a high-profile research company, Eric Moss shouldn’t be difficult to find. Except it’s not just the man who’s gone missing, all evidence he ever existed has vanished too. And there are powerful figures pulling the strings who want Moss to stay ‘lost’. But when a woman is found brutally murdered and a baby is missing, Private is suddenly drawn into another frantic search. And this is a case Craig has to throw everything into, because he may well be responsible for sending the killer straight to the victim’s door . . .

The Sporting Fan:

The Short Long Book: A Portrait of Michael Long, the man who changed the Australian game by Martin Flanagan

A portrait of Michael Long, the man who changed the AFL. In 1995, Aboriginal footballer Michael Long gave the AFL its ‘Mandela moment’. He quietly revolutionised Australian sport by refusing to let a racial insult pass during the Anzac Day match between Essendon and Collingwood. When the majority white football public backed a black man against a white institution (the AFL), the culture of the game flipped and the AFL became a leader in Australian race relations.

The Quirky Dad:

Sick in the Head: Conversations About Life and Comedy by Judd Apatow

The director of The 40-Year-Old Virgin presents a collection of uproarious and intimate conversations with some of today’s most popular comedians, drawing on his teenage radio hosting days to include pieces from the early years, in a book that includes interviews with such names as Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno and Sandra Bernhard.

Big Fat Smile

August 5, 2015Children, Uncategorized#BigFatSmile, #Charity, #ChildrenTeam Booko

At Booko, we’re hugely supportive of groups that inspire and promote reading. Big Fat Smile is a Community-owned, not-for-profit group who have served children and families since 2012. Big Fat Smile has supported refugee families, women and children fleeing from domestic violence and families who have been affected by drug abuse. All of the children in these families didn’t have any, or enough, appropriate clothing and nothing of their own to play with or read.

Big Fat Smile helps prepare children for the best start in life with packs that include a selection of clothing, a toy and always a book.

Booko has previously gifted a selection of new books to Big Fat Smile to form part of the packs given to children.

If you have new or pre-loved books to donate to Big Fat Smile, they would love to hear from you. All donations can be sent to:

Big Fat Smile
PO Box 190
Olinda VIC 3788

For more information on Big Fat Smile, visit their Facebook page

Man Booker Prize Longlist (Part 2)

August 3, 2015Blog#Bookawards, #Fiction, #ManBookerTeam Booko

Rounding out the last 7 titles of the Man Booker Prize Longlist are stories centred on family, loss, haunted histories and re-imagined futures. Enjoy.

Andrew O’Hagan (UK) – The Illuminations

How much do we keep from the people we love? Why is the truth so often buried in secrets? Can we learn from the past or must we forget it? The Illuminations, Andrew O’Hagan’s fifth novel, is a beautiful, deeply charged story about love and memory, about modern war and the complications of fact. Standing one evening at the window of her house by the sea, Anne Quirk sees a rabbit disappearing in the snow. Nobody remembers her now, but this elderly woman was in her youth a pioneer of British documentary photography. Her beloved grandson, Luke, now a captain with the Royal Western Fusiliers, is on a tour of duty in Afghanistan, part of a convoy taking equipment to the electricity plant at Kajaki. Only when Luke returns home to Scotland does Anne’s secret story begin to emerge, along with his, and they set out for an old guest house in Blackpool where she once kept a room.

Marilynne Robinson (US) – Lila

Lila, homeless and alone after years of roaming the countryside, steps inside a small-town Iowa church – the only available shelter from the rain – and ignites a romance and a debate that will reshape her life. She becomes the wife of a minister and widower, John Ames, and begins a new existence while trying to make sense of the days of suffering that preceded her newfound security.

Anuradha Roy (India) – Sleeping on Jupiter

A train stops at a railway station. A young woman jumps off. She has wild hair, sloppy clothes, and a distracted air. She looks Indian, yet she is somehow not. The sudden violence of what happens next leaves the other passengers gasping. The train terminates at Jarmuli, a temple town by the sea. Here, among pilgrims, priests and ashrams, three old women disembark only to encounter the girl once again. What is someone like her doing in this remote corner, which attracts only worshippers? Over the next five days, the old women live out their long-planned dream of a holiday together; their temple guide finds ecstasy in forbidden love; and the girl is joined by a photographer battling his own demons. The full force of the evil and violence beneath the serene surface of the town becomes evident when their lives overlap and collide. Unexpected connections are revealed between devotion and violence, friendship and fear, as Jarmuli is revealed as a place with a long, dark past that transforms all who encounter it. This is a stark and unflinching novel by a spellbinding storyteller, about religion, love, and violence in the modern world.

Sunjeev Sahota (UK) – The Year of the Runaways

The Year of the Runaways tells of the bold dreams and daily struggles of an unlikely family thrown together by circumstance. Thirteen young men live in a house in Sheffield, each in flight from India and in desperate search of a new life. Tarlochan, a former rickshaw driver, will say nothing about his past in Bihar; and Avtar has a secret that binds him to protect the chaotic Randeep. Randeep, in turn, has a visa-wife in a flat on the other side of town: a clever, devout woman whose cupboards are full of her husband’s clothes, in case the immigration men surprise her with a call. Sweeping between India and England, and between childhood and the present day, this generous, unforgettable novel is – as with Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance – a story of dignity in the face of adversity and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit.

Anna Smaill (New Zealand) – The Chimes

The Chimes is set in a reimagined London, in a world where people cannot form new memories, and the written word has been forbidden and destroyed. In the absence of both memory and writing is music. In a world where the past is a mystery, each new day feels the same as the last, and before is blasphamy, all appears lost. But Simon Wythern, a young man who arrives in London seeking the truth about what really happened to his parents, discovers he has a gift that could change all of this forever.

Anne Tyler (US) – A Spool of Blue Thread

‘It was a beautiful, breezy, yellow-and-green afternoon.’ This is the way Abby Whitshank always begins the story of how she and Red fell in love that day in July 1959. The whole family on the porch, relaxed, half-listening as their mother tells the same tale they have heard so many times before. And yet this gathering is different. Abby and Red are getting older, and decisions must be made about how best to look after them and their beloved family home. They’ve all come, even Denny, who can usually be relied on only to please himself. From that porch we spool back through three generations of the Whitshanks, witnessing the events, secrets and unguarded moments that have come to define who and what they are. And while all families like to believe they are special, round that kitchen table over all those years we also see played out our own hopes and fears, rivalries and tensions of families – the essential nature of family life.

Hanya Yanagihara (US) – A Little Life

Moving to New York to pursue creative ambitions, four former classmates share decades marked by love, loss, addiction and haunting elements from a brutal childhood.

Man Booker Prize 2015 Longlist (Part 1)

July 31, 2015Blog#Bookawards, #Fiction, #ManBookerTeam Booko

The Man Booker prize is focused on promoting the best writing in fiction. In 2013 the rules for submission to the Man Booker Prize changed to allow any novel written in English to compete (previously only UK publishers could submit manuscripts). This year there are 13 novels in contention from countries as diverse as Jamaica, Nigeria, Ireland and India. 5 of the 13 novels on the longlist are from US authors and only 3 from the UK.

Here are 6 of the longlist finalists:

Bill Clegg (US) – Did You Ever Have a Family

This book of dark secrets opens with a blaze. On the morning of her daughter’s wedding, June Reid’s house goes up in flames, destroying her entire family – her present, her past and her future. Fleeing from the carnage, stricken and alone, June finds herself in a motel room by the ocean, hundreds of miles from her Connecticut home, held captive by memories and the mistakes she has made with her only child, Lolly, and her partner, Luke.

Anne Enright (Ireland) – The Green Road

A darkly glinting novel set on Ireland’s Atlantic coast, The Green Road is a story of fracture and family, selfishness and compassion – a book about the gaps in the human heart and how we learn to fill them. The children of Rosaleen Madigan leave the west of Ireland for lives they never could have imagined in Dublin, New York and various third-world towns. In her early old age their difficult, wonderful mother announces that she’s decided to sell the house and divide the proceeds. Her adult children come back for a last Christmas, with the feeling that their childhoods are being erased, their personal history bought and sold.

Marlon James (Jamaica) – A Brief History of Seven Killings

Marlon James combines masterful storytelling with his unrivaled skill at characterization and his meticulous eye for detail to forge a novel of dazzling ambition and scope.

Laila Lalami (US) – The Moor’s Account

Inspired by a true story, tells how Moroccan slave Estebanico barely survives his expedition to become the New World’s first explorer of African descent, dealing with storms, disease, and hostile natives.

Tom McCarthy (UK) – Satin Island

Meet U. — a talented and uneasy figure currently pimping his skills to an elite consultancy in contemporary London. His employers advise everyone from big businesses to governments, and, to this end, expect their ‘corporate anthropologist’ to help decode and manipulate the world around them — all the more so now that a giant, epoch-defining project is in the offing. Instead, U. spends his days procrastinating, meandering through endless buffer-zones of information and becoming obsessed by the images with which the world bombards him on a daily basis: oil spills, African traffic jams, roller-blade processions, zombie parades. Is there, U. wonders, a secret logic holding all these images together — a codex that, once cracked, will unlock the master-meaning of our age? Might it have something to do with South Pacific Cargo Cults, or the dead parachutists in the news? Perhaps; perhaps not. As U. oscillates between the visionary and the vague, brilliance and bullshit, Satin Island emerges, an impassioned and exquisite novel for our disjointed times.

Chigozie Obioma (Nigeria) – The Fishermen

In a small town in western Nigeria, four young brothers – the youngest is nine, the oldest fifteen – use their strict father’s absence from home to go fishing at a forbidden local river. They encounter a dangerous local madman who predicts that the oldest brother will be killed by another. This prophecy breaks their strong bond, and unleashes a tragic chain of events of almost mythic proportions. Passionate and bold, The Fishermen is a breathtakingly beautiful novel, firmly rooted in the best of African storytelling. With this powerful debut, Chigozie Obioma emerges as one of the most original new voices in world literature.

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

July 28, 2015Blog#BookReview, #Fiction, #Young AdultTeam Booko

This is Sophie Kinsella’s first step into the realm of the Young Adult genre.

Finding Audrey is an inspiring story of a teenage girl suffering from Social Anxiety Disorder. Audrey has experienced bullying, and as a result has become a prisoner in her own home. Finding Audrey is the story of her journey to recovery, with the help of a boy named Linus. It’s a little sad in places, sometimes funny and a little romantic too.

The story of Audrey and her chaotic family is a funny and uplifting one.

Audrey is brave, charming and resourceful. You’ll find yourself cheering her on in a bid to overcome her troubles.

Review by Marie Delaney

The Guardian Children’s fiction award for 2015 – Longlist

July 21, 2015Blog, Fiction, Young Adult#Bookawards, #Fiction, #YoungadultTeam Booko

The 8 finalists for the Guardian Children’s fiction award for 2015 are diverse and complex according to Piers Torday (author of ‘The Dark Wild’ and winner of the Guardian Children’s fiction prize in 2014). ‘These books are quite simply some of the best writing for children today, from graphic novels to Victorian sequels, Greek myths to the US civil war. Diverse, complex, accessible experimental, page turning and heart breaking, they bring young readers the world on a single shelf.’

Five Children on the Western Front by Kate Saunders

This book is an incredible, heart-wrenching sequel to E. Nesbit’s Five Children and It, set on the eve of the First World War. The five children have grown up – war will change their lives forever. Cyril is off to fight, Anthea is at Art College, Robert is a Cambridge scholar and Jane is at high school. The Lamb is the grown up age of 11, and he has a little sister, Edith, in tow. The sand fairy has become a creature of stories…until he suddenly reappears.

My Name’s not Friday by Jon Walter

A tale of the American Civil War from the perspective of an educated orphan boy sold into slavery.

An Island of our Own by Sally Nicholls

From one of the brightest talents in children’s fiction and the winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book prize comes a new novel about family and friendship. Siblings Jonathan, Holly and Davy have been struggling to survive since the death of their mother, and are determined to avoid being taken into care.

The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

Faith’s father has been found dead under mysterious circumstances, and as she is searching through his belongings for clues she discovers a strange tree. The tree only grows healthy and bears fruit if you whisper a lie to it. The fruit of the tree, when eaten, will deliver a hidden truth to the person who consumes it. The bigger the lie, the more people who believe it, the bigger the truth that is uncovered. The girl realizes that she is good at lying and that the tree might hold the key to her father’s murder, so she begins to spread untruths far and wide across her small island community. But as the tree bears more and more fruit, she discovers something terrifying – that her lies were closer to the truth than she could ever have imagined.

El Deafo by Cece Bell

The author recounts in graphic novel format her experiences with hearing loss at a young age, including using a bulky hearing aid, learning how to lip read, and determining her “superpower.”

A Song for Ella Grey by David Almond

I’m the one who’s left behind. I’m the one to tell the tale. I knew them both… knew how they lived and how they died. Claire is Ella Grey’s best friend. She’s there when the whirlwind arrives on the scene: catapulted into a North East landscape of gutted shipyards; of high arched bridges and ancient collapsed mines. She witnesses a love so dramatic it is as if her best friend has been captured and taken from her.

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

The story of a girl who learns to live from a boy who wants to die.

Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan

When Apple’s mother returns after eleven years of absence, Apple feels whole again. She will have an answer to her burning question – why did you go? And she will have someone who understands what it means to be a teenager – unlike Nana. But just like the stormy Christmas Eve when she left, her mother’s homecoming is bitter sweet, and Apple wonders who is really looking after whom. It’s only when Apple meets someone more lost than she is, that she begins to see things as they really are.

City Guide: Rome

July 18, 2015Blog, Travel#Holiday reading, #Rome, #Travel, BookoTeam Booko

There is an Italian expression, Roma, non basta una vita, which means that for Rome, a lifetime is not enough to really know her. I visited Rome once, for a period of a few days but during that time I fell in love with this beautiful city. Aside from the obligatory touristy things like lining up for the Colosseum and throwing a coin into the Trevi fountain, it was simply walking the streets, gelato in hand that I loved. We are lucky we can bring Rome to life simply by reading a book. Here are our recommendations:

I, Claudius by Robert Graves

The emperor Claudius tells of his life during the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, and Caligula and the events that led to his rise to power in a classic novel reconstructing ancient Rome.

The Public Image by Muriel Spark

“All homage to Muriel Spark, the coolest writer ever to scald your liver and your lights” (The Washington Post). The Public Image, which the author has called “an ethical shocker,” provides a scalding the reader is unlikely to forget, particularly as it is so enjoyable.

The Marble Faun by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Murder and romance, innocence and experience dominate this sinister novel set in mid-19th-century Rome. Three young American artists and their friend, an Italian count, find their lives irrevocably linked when one of them commits a violent crime of passion. Hawthorne’s final novel is “must reading” for its symbolic narrative of the Fall of Man.

Rome Tales by Hugh Shankland, Helen Constantine

In ways no guide book can achieve, these twenty absorbing tales by Italian authors ranging from Boccaccio in the Middle Ages to contemporary new writers offer the delight of discovering and exploring one of the world’s most unique cities thorough a wide variety of individual lives and epochs.

Pleasure by Gabrielle D’Annunzio

This new translation of D’Annunzio’s masterpiece, the first in more than one hundred years, restores what was considered too offensive to be included in the 1898 translation—some of the very scenes that are key to the novel’s status as a landmark of literary decadence.

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