Staff Reads: Books

One of the most dynamic and globally recognized entertainment forces of our time opens up fully about his life, in a brave and inspiring book that traces his learning curve to a place where outer success, inner happiness, and human connection are aligned. Will Smith's transformation from a fearful child in a tense West Philadelphia home to one of the biggest rap stars of his era and then one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood history, is an epic tale of inner transformation and outer triumph, and Will tells it astonishingly well. But it's only half the story. Will Smith thought, with good reason, that he had won at life: not only was his own success unparalleled, his whole family was at the pinnacle of the entertainment world. Only they didn't see it that way: they felt more like star performers in his circus, a seven-days-a-week job they hadn't signed up for. It turned out Will Smith's education wasn't nearly over. This memoir is the product of a profound journey of self-knowledge, a reckoning with all that your will can get you and all that it can leave behind.

Summary: On the idyllic coast of San Sebastian, Spain, Dublin pathologist Quirke is struggling to relax, despite the beaches, cafés and the company of his disarmingly lovely wife. When he glimpses a familiar face in the twilight at Las Acadas bar, it's hard at first to tell whether his imagination is just running away with him. Because this young woman can't be April Latimer. She was murdered by her brother, years ago - the conclusion to an unspeakable scandal that shook one of Ireland's foremost political dynasties. Unable to ignore his instincts, Quirke makes a call back home to Ireland and soon Detective St. John Strafford is dispatched to Spain. But he's not the only one en route. A relentless hit man is on the hunt for his latest prey, and the next victim might be Quirke himself.

Poor and illiterate, Bhima who had worked for the Dubash family, an upper-middle-class Parsi household, is cruelly fired. A woman who has endured despair and loss with stoicism, Bhima must find another way to support herself and her granddaughter, Maya. Her fortunes take an unexpected turn when her path intersects with Parvati, a taciturn older woman. The two form a tentative business partnership, selling fruits and vegetables at the local market. As they work together, these two women, seemingly bound by fate, grow closer. Discovering her first true friend, Bhima pieces together a new life and together, the two women learn to stand on their own. A story of gender, strength, friendship and second chances, this novel evokes the complexities of life in modern India and the harsh realities faced by women born without privilege as they struggle to survive.

Sometimes it's hard to find the right words. This poetry anthology provides the antidote, offering calm, hope and peace to all. Focusing on positivity, this is the perfect collection to dip into whenever you need a boost. Containing a selection of classic and contemporary poems chosen by Sarah Crossan.

Discover over 300 book recommendations in the ultimate reading list for book lovers everywhere. Spanning January to August, bibliophile Francesca Beauman offers up a wealth of book recommendations. From The Count of Monte Cristo to Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Quartet, each has been selected to chime with a particular time of year and provide a richer reading experience.

This #1 New York Times bestseller and deliciously creepy horror novel has a storyline inspired by the Ripper murders and an unexpected, blood-chilling conclusion. Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life. Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world. The story's shocking twists and turns, augmented with real, sinister period photos, will make this dazzling, #1 New York Times bestselling debut from author Kerri Maniscalco impossible to forget.

Paris, 1925: To enter the Secret Circus is to enter a world of wonder. Bound to her family's circus, it's the only world Cecile Cabot knows until she meets a charismatic young painter and embarks on a passionate affair that could cost her everything. Virginia, 2004: Lara Barnes is on top of the world, but when her fiancé disappears on their wedding day every plan she has for the future comes crashing down.

Summary: When journalist Ellie looks through her newspaper's archives for a story, she doesn't think she'll find anything of interest. Instead she discovers a letter from 1960, written by a man asking his lover to leave her husband - and Ellie is caught up in the intrigue of a past love affair. Despite, or perhaps because of her own romantic entanglements with a married man. In 1960, Jennifer wakes up in hospital after a car accident. She can't remember anything - her husband, her friends, who she used to be. And then, when she returns home, she uncovers a hidden letter, and begins to remember the lover she was willing to risk everything for. Ellie and Jennifer's stories of passion, adultery and loss are wound together in this richly emotive novel - interspersed with real 'last letters'.

Ernest Shackleton's remarkable story is a terrifying adventure with the happiest of endings - another brilliant narrative non-fiction Antarctic adventure featuring an explorer who was a true polar hero.

Women have a long history of keeping the lights burning, from tending ancient altar flames or bonfires to modern-day lighthouse keeping. Yet most of their stories are little-known.

Inspired by the true story of Muslims at a Paris mosque who helped to save Jewish children during World War II. The story is told through the eyes of 11-year-old Ruben, a Jewish boy who is taken in by the imam at the Grand Paris Mosque.

The Hope Juvenile Treatment Center is ironically named. No one has hope for the teenagers who have been exiled there; the world barely acknowledges that they exist. Then the guards at Hope start acting strange. And one day...they don't show up. At first, the teens are thrilled. But when they band together to make a break from the facility, they encounter soldiers outside the gates. There's a rapidly spreading infectious disease outside, and no one can leave their houses or travel without a permit. Which means that they're stuck at Hope for good. And this time, no one is watching out for them at all. As supplies quickly dwindle and the plague passes through their ranks, the group has to decide whom among them they can trust and figure out how they can survive in a world that has never seemed to want them.

The incredible story of the crack team of men and women who transformed RAF Bomber Command and helped the Allies deliver decisive victory over Nazi Germany. The Pathfinders were ordinary men and women from a range of nations who revolutionised the efficiency of the Allies' air campaign over mainland Europe.

Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better? Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.

The other's told Ella that the countryside would be safer than the city. They were wrong. Now Ed wants to assemble a crew and find her, though he has no idea who - or what - they'll meet out there. Or if Ella is even alive.

Summary: An illustrated deep dive into the immune system that will forever change how you think about your body - how it works and why it is both your greatest ally and most dangerous enemy - from the creator of the popular science YouTube channel Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell.

1940. Parisian seamstress Estella Bissette is forced to flee France as the Germans advance. She is bound for Manhattan with a few francs, one suitcase, her sewing machine and a dream: to have her own atelier. 2015. Australian curator Fabienne Bissette journeys to the annual Met Gala for an exhibition of her beloved grandmother's work - one of the world's leading designers of ready-to-wear clothing.

A wartime legacy. A lost love. A friendship to last a lifetime.

When she is sent to an orphanage at the age of eight, Beth Harmon soon discovers two ways to escape, albeit fleetingly, her surroundings: playing chess and taking the little green pills given to her and the other children to keep them subdued. Before long, it becomes apparent that hers is a prodigious talent.

Facts, statistics, issues, theories, relationships, numbers, words - there is just too much information in the world. This book transforms the ideas surrounding and swamping us into graphs and maps that anyone can follow at a single glance.

South African born Elon Musk is the renowned entrepreneur and innovator behind PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity. Musk wants to save our planet; he wants to send citizens into space, to form a colony on Mars; he wants to make money while doing these things; and he wants us all to know about it.

For years, rumours of the "Marsh Girl" have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl.

Every evening, Allison watches her husband's new house, desperate to find some answers. Every morning, she puts on a brave face to teach kindergarten. She's a good teacher, everyone says so - this stalking is just a tiny crack in her usual self-control.

This is the story of one family, one dreamy summer - the summer when everything changes.

An FBI trainee. A psychopath locked up for unspeakable crimes. And a serial killer getting ever closer to his latest victim... FBI rookie Clarice Starling turns to Dr. Hannibal Lecter, monster cannibal held in a hospital for the criminally insane, for insight into the deadly madman she must find. As Dr. Lecter invites her into the darkest chambers of his mind, he forces her to confront her own childhood demons as the price of understanding, an unspeakable tuition he exacts to teach her how the monster thinks. And time is running out.

Summary: The Dreaming Path has always been there, but in the modern-day world, it can be hard to find. There are so many demands on us -- family, health, bills, a mortgage, a career -- that it can be hard to remember what's most important: you. It's time to reconnect with your story. Through conversations, exercises, Dreamtime stories and key messages, Paul Callaghan and Uncle Paul Gordon will sit you around the fire and share knowledge that reveals the power of Aboriginal spirituality as a profound source of contentment and well-being for anyone willing to listen. (Back cover)

Inspired by a personal moment of profound love and generosity, Trent Dalton spent two months in 2021 speaking to people from all walks of life, asking them one simple and direct question: 'Can you please tell me a love story?' The result is a book about love in all its guises, including observations, reflections and stories of people falling into love, falling out of love, and never letting go of the loved ones in their hearts.

Summary: Gundagai, 1852. The powerful Murrumbidgee River surges through town leaving death and destruction in its wake. It is a stark reminder that while the river can give life, it can just as easily take it away.Wagadhaany is one of the lucky ones. She survives. But is her life now better than the fate she escaped? Forced to move away from her miyagan, she walks through each day with no trace of dance in her step, her broken heart forever calling her back home to Gundagai.When she meets Wiradyuri stockman Yindyamarra, Wagadhaany's heart slowly begins to heal. But still, she dreams of a better life, away from the degradation of being owned. She longs to set out along the river of her ancestors, in search of lost family and country. Can she find the courage to defy the White man's law? And if she does, will it bring hope ... or heartache?Set on timeless Wiradyuri country, where the life-giving waters of the rivers can make or break dreams, and based on devastating true events, Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (River of Dreams) is an epic story of love, loss and belonging." -- Inside front cover.

A book for book lovers, The Last Bookshop is a uplifting novel that reminds us never to underestimate the power of people who love books.

He was top of the world, with numbers bettered only by Don Bradman - then captain Steve Smith led his Australian team into a cheating scandal that stunned cricket.

Richard runs his alternative healing centre from an old houseboat in a scrapyard on Trusting Lane. The Little Mother Earth Ship provides spiritual sustenance at regular meetings of the Circle of IEWA.

A desperate act in a small town with big secrets.

Girt. No word could better capture the essence of Australia . . . In this hilarious history, David Hunt reveals the truth of Australia's past, from megafauna to Macquarie - the cock-ups and curiosities, the forgotten eccentrics and Eureka moments that have made us who we are.

In this side-splitting sequel to his bestselling history, David Hunt transports us to the Australian frontier. This was the Wild South, home to hardy pioneers, gun-slinging bushrangers and sheep. Lots of sheep.

A country boy who grew up watching his old man play local footy in Leongatha, Jarryd Roughead's talent and dedication turned him into an AFL star. Lining up alongside some of the greatest to ever play the game, he was a key player in a Hawthorn team that will live on as one of the best of any era.

Bachar Houli is as accomplished an AFL footballer as they come. Yet it's as the AFL's most prominent Muslim player that Houli is best known.

Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them by virtue of their skills with the ball and bat. This book is about the latter.

488 Rules for Life is Kitty Flanagan's way of making the world a more pleasant place to live. Providing you with the antidote to every annoying little thing, these rules are not made to be broken.