Category Archives: Non-fiction

Posts about non-fiction titles

Books about Anzac Day

March 30, 2016Blog, Fiction, Non-fiction#Anzac, #Fiction, #NonfictionTeam Booko

Gallipoli has inspired many films, documentaries and both fiction and non-fiction works. Reading about ‘The Great War’ can be a great way to increase our understanding and appreciation of the sacrifice that the men and women made. Here’s our selection of titles to remember and educate:

ANZAC Day: Now and Then by Tom Frame

Peter Stanley, Jeffrey Grey, Carolyn Holbrook, Ken Inglis, Tom Frame and others explore the rise of Australia’s unofficial national day. Does Anzac Day honour those who died pursuing noble causes in war? Or is it part of a campaign to redeem the savagery associated with armed conflict? Do the rituals of 25 April console loved ones? Or reinforce security objectives and strategic priorities?

ANZAC Cove to Afghanistan by Glenn Wahlert

As the first Anzacs to land at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 and among the last to serve in Afghanistan 100 years later, the men and women of the Australian Army’s 3rd Brigade have a long and proud history. Initially raised in 1903, the 3rd Brigade served as part of the Australian Imperial Force during World War I, suffering appalling losses at Gallipoli.

My Grandad Marches on ANZAC day by Catriona Hoy

This picture book for the very young is a simple, moving look at Anzac Day through the eyes of a little girl. She goes to the pre-dawn Anzac Day service with her father where they watch the girl’s Grandfather march in the parade. This beautifully illustrated book explains what happens on Anzac Day and its significance in terms a young child can understand. It is an excellent introduction to this highly venerated ceremony, and poignantly addresses the sentiments aroused by the memory of those who gave their lives for their country.

A Day to Remember by Jackie French

ANZAC Day is the day when we remember and honour ANZAC traditions down the ages, from the first faltering march of wounded veterans in 1916 to the ever-increasing numbers of their descendants who march today.

Memoirs of an ANZAC by John Charles Barrie

Memoirs of an Anzac tells of the horrors of war, but it is also lightened with the good humour that resulted from thousands of young Australian men being thrown together in dire circumstances. This is not a history textbook, nor is it a series of diary notes and letters — it is a gut-wrenching, heart-warming true story that will move you.

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6 Books Every Aspiring Entrepreneur Should Read

December 3, 2015Blog, Entrepreneur, Non-fiction#businessbooks, #entrepreneur, #startupTeam Booko

You are what you read, and if your goal is to build a successful company where you call the shots, you might want to start with the following books.

The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau

As it turns out, you don’t have to be a trust-fund baby, on the hook for a business loan, or just plain old lucky to start your very own enterprise. Guillebeau gives rousing examples of somewhat-accidental entrepreneurs making success out of strife, opportunity, and circumstances mostly by turning a passion or hobby into something that can be profitable. He doesn’t necessarily encourage every knitter to open a craft store, but he does promote creative thinking about how you can leverage a natural talent or long-loved activity into a business model.

The Startup Playbook: Secrets of the Fastest-Growing Startups From Their Founding Entrepreneurs by David Kidder

The title says it all. If you’re looking for a wide array of lessons learned and entrepreneurial experiences, this book is for you. Sharing insights from 41 different founders, The Startup Playbook covers everything from leadership lessons to finding one’s niche.

Conscious Capitalism by John Mackey and Raj Sisodia

Conscious Capitalism is finding the win-win is what’s most profitable, and that no one has to lose. Business schools have discovered and studied it, and found that companies that practice it are more successful. This book is a great primer.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

With more than two million copies sold around the world, The Alchemist has established itself as a modern classic, universally admired. Paulo Coelho’s masterpiece tells the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, and above all, following our dreams.

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched. Ries defines a startup as an organization dedicated to creating something new under conditions of extreme uncertainty. This is just as true for one person in a garage or a group of seasoned professionals in a Fortune 500 boardroom. What they have in common is a mission to penetrate that fog of uncertainty to discover a successful path to a sustainable business.

The Lean Startup offers entrepreneurs in companies of all sizes a way to test their vision continuously, to adapt and adjust before it’s too late. Ries provides a scientific approach to creating and managing successful startups in a age when companies need to innovate more than ever.

Daring and Disruptive by Lisa Messenger

It’s an insightful and soulful account of Messenger’s roller-coaster ride for those who want to succeed almost as much as they want to breathe, who want to make the impossible possible and the ordinary extraordinary. Messenger blends her personal stories with the important business lessons she has learned along the way, from why money is not the only currency to how to fail well.

This book will help you dig deep, stay on purpose, back yourself, be true to your ideas, and ensure that if you’re thrown to the wolves, you’ll have the strength to come out leading the pack.

5 activities for a non-boring school holiday

September 15, 2015Activities, Blog, Children, Non-fiction#activities, #Children, #NonfictionKaren Seligman

Only a few more weeks until the September school holidays! The prospect of a slower pace (perhaps even a sleep-in!?) is attractive, but school holidays can also mean squabbles and excessive screen-time if the kids are at a loose end. So here are some activities that can lure your young’uns from the couch / TV / e-devices while stretching their creativity and imagination! They are also great resources for nurturing an existing interest.

These ideas have been inspired by the excellent programs run by our librarian friends around the country. Many public libraries have free or low-cost events specially designed for children and youth – these can range from theatre shows, games tournaments, craft sessions, to how-to workshops. Some libraries even have specialist equipment such as recording studios and 3D printers – and will teach you how to use them. So do check out your local library to see what they are offering these school holidays!

For those who like drawing / cartooning:
Kids Draw Big Book of Everything Manga by Christopher Hart

Christopher Hart is a bestselling author of how-to-draw books. He has guides catering to all ages from young children to adults, and to all skill levels. Kids Draw Big Book of Everything Manga is a beginner’s guide for middle-primary students, just starting to develop their own characters. It starts with basic style elements that define a manga-style drawing, then offers stepwise instructions on how to draw typical characters, poses and equipment for genres such as monsters, fantasy and shoujo.

For those who like computer games:
Scratch for Kids for Dummies by Derek Breen

If you love computer games, why not try to create your own? Scratch is a visual programming language that is easy to learn, allowing users to quickly start creating their own stories, animations and games. (Users build projects by joining chunks of ready-made code together, like virtual LEGO). There is also a version for younger children called ScratchJr available as a tablet app. It is available free of charge and has impeccable educational credentials – created at the MIT Media Lab specifically to help children learn computer programming.

Scratch for Kids for Dummies can be used as a troubleshooting guide as well as a complete beginner’s course in Scratch. It is divided into three sections – character design, animation and games creation. Like other For Dummies guides, it feels approachable – it is easy to read and has clear stepwise instructions with lots of illustrations. Each chapter also ends with ideas for extending your skills. Available in both paperback and eBook formats.

For those who love the outdoors:
Cronin’s Key Guide to Australian Wildlife by Leonard Cronin

The September Holidays is a great opportunity to head outdoors and enjoy some long-awaited warmth and sunshine. Some local councils and libraries run a Junior Rangers program during school holidays to encourage young people to visit local parks. Junior Rangers learn about nature and conservation through activities such as guided walks, wildlife and plant identification, puzzles and games.

Create your own Junior Ranger activities using Cronin’s guides. The Guide to Australian Wildlife offers a general introduction to plants and animals for a range of habitats including coral reefs, rain forests, woodlands and deserts. Other titles in this series focus on specific topics such as trees, wildflowers, mammals, reptiles, and rainforest plants. Each entry is beautifully illustrated and contains a detailed description including information on location, size, type of habitat, diet etc. Cronin’s Guides can be useful whether you are travelling or even at home – there’s a surprising variety of birds and wildlife even in suburbia!

For anyone who loves LEGO:
LEGO Awesome Ideas by Daniel Lipkowitz

Hot off the press is this latest book of ideas to help LEGO builders extend their play and stretch their imagination. Following from the success of the LEGO Ideas Book (2011) and LEGO Play Book (2013), Daniel Lipkowitz now shows builders how to create whole imaginary worlds starting from a single creation.

LEGO Awesome Ideas is arranged in themed chapters, such as Outer Space and The Wild West. In each chapter, it offers suggestions on what to build, how to build and what else to build, to help fans go from a single creation to developing a complete LEGO world. Each topic is richly illustrated, including with step-by-step instructions and visual break-downs for clear guidance.

For those who love cooking, science and/or getting messy:
Kitchen Science Lab for Kids: 52 Family friendly Experiments from around the House by Liz Lee Heinecke

Using everyday objects to demonstrate science is a great way to engage kids and facilitate their understanding. Kitchen Science Lab for Kids contains 52 simple experiments based on common and inexpensive materials. The experiments are grouped by type (such as acids and bases, sunny science and life science), and cover key principles in chemistry, physics, and biology. Each experiment includes step-by-step instructions, safety tips, a discussion of the relevant scientific principles and an extension activity. They are simple enough that young children can participate, while interesting enough to appeal to teens.

Children who like to cook will also enjoy these experiments – after all, the process of gathering ingredients then carefully following a set of instructions is common to both cooking and to science!

Segment Choice: Sport

September 10, 2015Non-fiction, Sport#Fiction, #Nonfiction, #SportsTeam Booko

Many of the world’s great writers have been drawn to writing about sport. They make for great reads: high drama, human tension, effort, payoff, win or lose. Here are our top 5 recommended reads for classic sports action:

Beyond a Boundary by CLR James

In C. L. R. James’s classic Beyond a Boundary, the sport is cricket and the scene is the colonial West Indies. Always eloquent and provocative, James–the “black Plato,” (as coined by the London Times)–shows us how, in the rituals of performance and conflict on the field, we are watching not just prowess but politics and psychology at play. Part memoir of a boyhood in a black colony (by one of the founding fathers of African nationalism), part passionate celebration of an unusual and unexpected game, Beyond a Boundary raises, in a warm and witty voice, serious questions about race, class, politics, and the facts of colonial oppression. Originally published in England in 1963 and in the United States twenty years later (Pantheon, 1983), this second American edition brings back into print this prophetic statement on race and sport in society.

Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby

A famous account of growing up to be a fanatical football supporter. Told through a series of match reports, FEVER PITCH has enjoyed enormous critical and commercial success since it was first published in 1992. It has helped to create a new kind of sports writing, and established Hornby as one of the finest writers of his generation.

Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team & A Dream by H G Bissinger

Return once again to the enduring account of the Permian Panthers of Odessa — the most successful high school football team in Texas history.

King of the World by David Remnick

Explores the transformation of a young boxer into an internationally renowned athlete, mythic hero, American icon, and central figure in the twentieth century’s social, cultural, and racial conflicts

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay

Follows Peekay, a white British boy in South Africa during World War II, between the ages of five and eleven, as he survives an abusive boarding school and goes on to succeed in life and in the boxing ring.

5 of the best sporting autobiographies

September 7, 2015Non-fiction, Sport#Autobiography, #Nonfiction, #SportsTeam Booko

The sporting autobiography is often about the motivation, the sacrifice and the drive that it takes to succeed at such high levels of professional sport. We have included 5 of our favourites, including some controversial characters:

Keane: The Autobiography by Roy Keane

Roy Keane, captain of Manchester United and the Irish national team, was born in Cork in 1971. He signed for Manchester United from Nottingham Forest in 1993. In 2000 he was awarded the PFA Player of the Year 2000. His footballing intelligence and fierce determination helped Ireland to qualify for the 2002 World Cup. But his passion has sometimes given rise to the wrong kind of headlines. His commitment to winning has led to violent confrontation on the pitch and controversy off it.

Open: An Autobiography by Andre Agassi

A candid memoir by the tennis champion includes coverage of his Grand Slam wins, establishment of a charitable foundation for underprivileged children and marriage to Stefanie Graf.

Aussie Grit: My Formula One Journey by Mark Webber

In the exhilarating, high-stakes world of Formula One, only the fastest make it to the top. And no one knows this better than Australian Formula One legend Mark Webber. His career in F1 stretched for an incredible eleven years, seeing him garner thirteen poll positions, earn forty-two podiums and win nine races including the crown jewel of F1, the Monaco Grand prix, twice. But there’s more than F1 to the story of the boy from Queanbeyan. In this candid book, Webber divulges the personal struggles that formed his Aussie grit character and reveals for the first time what really went down at Red Bull and the truth behind his rivalry with teammate Sebastian Vettel. From his near career-ending injury in 2008, his breakthrough ‘not bad for a number two driver’ win in 2009 to the ‘Multi 21’ controversy of 2011 and his new beginning with Porsche and the challenge of Le Mans 2014, Mark Webber pulls no punches in this captivating, personal story.

Surf for your Life by Mick Fanning

Two-time world champion surfer Mick Fanning may only be twenty-eight, but he’s already experienced more than most of us ever will. How does it feel to lose a brother? Win a world title? Rip your hamstring muscle clean off the bone? Weave through a zippering Superbank barrel for twenty to thirty seconds or paddle over the ledge at places like Pipeline and Teahupo’o?

KP: The Autobiography by Kevin Pieterson

The fascinating life story of professional cricketer Kevin Pietersen, MBE, from his childhood in South Africa to his recent experiences as one of the leading lights in the world of international cricket. Kevin was dropped from the England squad in February of this year, seemingly calling time on an international career that began nearly ten years earlier.

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.

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