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2 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015
Book clubs give us opportunities to
connect with books we love, discover
new writers and discuss our favourite
literary moments with friends.
Brisbane City Council libraries’ Top 40 Book Club Reads
is published each year to help book clubs with their
reading selections. Ranging from new releases to
classics, it includes both fiction and non-fiction titles
to ensure there is something for every reader.
For more good reading suggestions, speak to the
staff at your local Brisbane City Council library.
With a citywide collection of more than 1.3 million
items, as well as an extensive range of eBooks and
eAudiobooks, our libraries are well-equipped to assist
you and your book club with your reading selections.
For regular updates on upcoming
author talks, book signings and
other library events, subscribe to the
Brisbane Libraries eNewsletter.
To subscribe, visit www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/libraries
and click on ‘Subscribe to the Brisbane Libraries
e-newsletter’ under the ‘Find what you need’ heading.

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 3

Fiction

The Visionist
Rachel Urquhart
Set in the 1840s in a Shaker community
of Massachusetts, this novel tells the
tragic story of Polly, who is forced to
flee her abusive father after the family
home is set alight. On the run with
her mother and brother, her mother is
convinced her children’s indenture to
the Shaker community will give them
the best chance for the future. Polly
soon finds herself the focus in the
community as a visionist – a seer who
is believed to directly communicate
with ‘Mother Ann’, the founder of
the Shakers. Under intense scrutiny
and determined to bring her family
together, this is a fascinating novel
that documents Polly’s journey while
also exploring a little known piece of
America’s spiritual history.

4 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

 Fiction

Moriarty
Anthony Horowitz
Written with full support of the Conan
Doyle Estate, Moriarty is Anthony
Horowitz’s second outing into the world
of Sherlock Holmes. Unlike Horowitz’s
previous work, House of Silk, Moriarty
doesn’t feature Holmes or Watson.
Instead it gives lead roles to minor
Sherlock character Inspector Jones, and
a New York Pinkerton Agent, Frederick
Chase. Chase acts as narrator for the
story and the relationship between Chase
and Jones, who has studied Holmes’
cases in detail, is reminiscent of Watson
and Holmes without being an imitation.
The story takes them on a dangerous
and intriguing quest to track down the
villainous mastermind who has taken over
from the now deceased Moriarty.
Once again, Horowitz captures the
style, suspense and pace of Conan
Doyle’s writing, puts life into Holmes’
world and provides a twist that you will
not see coming.

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 5

Fiction

Tapestry
Fiona McIntosh
Jane Granger is the only person who
can save the lives of two men – one
she doesn’t know, and one she doesn’t
know if she truly loves. The story follows
two ancestral lines of the Maxwell
dynasty – her wealthy American fiancé
lying in a London hospital in 1978
and Scottish rebel William, Fifth Earl
of Nithsdale locked in the Tower of
London in 1715. To prevent the deaths
of both men, Jane inhabits the body of
18th Century Mrs Winifred Maxwell and
inadvertently becomes involved with the
mysterious Lord Julius Sackville.
A vibrant blend of historical and political
facts, fiction and fantasy, Jane discovers
“Blood is the golden thread that runs
through life’s tapestry”, as she battles
destiny with the power of love.

6 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

 Fiction

The Bone Clocks

David Mitchell
In David Mitchell’s novels, anything can
happen. Recurring themes, characters
and images, literary allusions to his own
and other’s works, and ordinary life mixing
with cosmic interference. Reviewers
have identified The Bone Clocks as both
recklessly ambitious and fun to read.
Holly Sykes starts the novel as a
15-year-old runaway. Her story is then
told by Hugo Lamb, a Cambridge
undergraduate, Holly’s partner, an
Iraqi war-scarred foreign correspondent
and author Crispin Hershey, before
flipping into an alternate world where
battle ensues between the Horologists
and the Anchorites.
Mitchell is known for his interest in the
clash between personal and planetary
ethics. This book, short-listed for the Man
Booker prize, continues this exploration in
a unique and disturbing way.

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 7

Fiction

California
Edan Lepucki
Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the
protagonists Cal and Frida flee their
home in Los Angeles to live in the
wilderness of Northern California.
When they discover Frida is pregnant,
they decide they must join a community
where they are able to get help with
raising their child. However, in this new
world it is difficult to know who to trust
with so many secrets surrounding them.
This debut novel from Lepucki gives the
reader much to think about. The novel
has been successful following Colbert’s
endorsement on The Colbert Report,
which prompted publishers to increase
the initial publication of 12,000 copies
to 60,000.

8 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

 Fiction

Z: A Novel of
Zelda Fitzgerald
Therese Anne Fowler
Giving a voice to the much reviled
Zelda, wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald, this
is a fascinating fictionalised account
of the Fitzgeralds’ courtship, the glory
days of the Jazz age and their struggles
with alcoholism and mental health in
the later years of their lives. Interwoven
with real events, quotes from Zelda
and Scott’s letters and other authors
of the time (notably Hemingway), the
story offers a unique perspective on this
complex and creative woman, and will
prompt many a reader to explore more
of the writings of the Fitzgeralds’, whose
passionate and destructive relationship
was the fuel for much of their work.

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 9

Fiction

The Mandarin Code

Steve Lewis and Chris Uhlmann
Australian party politics, cyber-terrorism,
international brinkmanship, the birth
pangs of the ‘Asian century’ – this book
has it all. Two of Australia’s best known
journalists have teamed up to write a
thriller set lovingly in our national capital.
We predict a feisty book club discussion,
with the opportunity to tease apart the
interwoven strands of government and
diplomacy. An additional challenge is
to identify the real-life politicians and
journalists whose antics are blatantly
disguised in characters with genders
and political persuasions different from
their real life counterpart. If you are a
Canberra-watcher or a news junky you
will love this book.

10 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

 Fiction

Merciless Gods
Christos Tsiolkas
This compelling collection of stories
looks at love, sex, death, family,
friendship, betrayal, tenderness,
sacrifice and revelation. Not for
the faint-hearted, the urban moral
dilemmas in this book may make you
uncomfortable, and the language
is often raw and confronting. The
characters are utterly realistic and the
focus throughout each of the stories is
relationships, often challenging but also
containing love, kindness and beauty.

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 11

Fiction

Upstairs at the Party

Linda Grant
Orange Prize winning author,
Linda Grant is back with her sixth
novel. Upstairs at the Party reflects on
the life of Adele during her university
years in 1970s Britain. While the voice
of Adele is clearly from the present
day, the stories she shares of her youth
help the reader to understand more
about her. While Grant seems to race
through this period, she recounts a life
of freedom and discovery in the pages
of her novel, which evokes a sense of
nostalgia in the reader.

12 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

 Fiction

Friendship
Emily Gould
Just as the title suggests, this story
from debut novelist Emily Gould is
about the friendship of two New
Yorkers, Bev and Amy. Having been
friends for years, Bev and Amy are
in their thirties and learning that
life is getting serious. While there
are ups and downs throughout the
novel, things take a turn when Bev
discovers that she is pregnant.
Loosely based on Gould’s own
experiences, Friendship will have
you reflecting on the friendships you
have had throughout your life. You
will recognise the conversations,
the pressures that can sometimes
try a friendship and the joys you
experience with your best friend.
This is a great read for book clubs.

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 13

Fiction

Birdsong
Sebastian Faulks
Amien, France 1910. Stephen Wraysford
meets and becomes involved in a
passionate relationship with Isabelle
Azare, the ill-treated wife of his
employer. They separate and remain
estranged for many years. The novel
follows Stephen through his experiences
during World War I on the battlefields
of the Western Front. Regarded as
one of the best novels ever to portray
the horrors of this war, Faulks vividly
describes trench warfare, poisonous gas
attacks, untreatable wounds and the
fear and fact of being buried alive.
Stephen triumphs because of his
capacity to develop intense friendships
under pressure and a determination
to survive, unequaled by most of his
peers. Relationships interrupted by war
are re-kindled and promises to fallen
comrades are both understood and kept
by Stephen’s granddaughter many years
after the war has ended. A powerful
read, a great book, a modern classic!

14 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

 Fiction

Heat and Light

Ellen Van Neerven
Heat and Light is the first book from
David Unaipon Award winning author,
Ellen Van Neerven. A compilation of
short stories that take you on a beautiful
journey through generations of
characters, the book is broken into three
parts that explore themes of heritage,
indigenous identity and sexuality.
Van Neerven’s technique is engaging
and poetic, taking the reader through
urban and rural landscapes. Heat and
Light is a brilliant piece of literature
and Ellen Van Neerven is a name
to keep watching.

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 15

Fiction

Time and Time Again

Ben Elton
Hugh Stanton has the chance to change
history. He goes back to 1914, just before
the First World War, with a mission to
prevent the war from happening.
With an abundance of books being
published on the topic of the First
World War, Ben Elton’s novel takes a
different perspective and makes a great
read for those looking for something
outside the box. With plenty to discuss,
Elton looks at how history could be
changed and what this would mean for
life today, the time that Hugh Stanton
has come from. Those who have
enjoyed Elton’s other works will
not be disappointed.

16 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

 Fiction

What Was Promised

Tobias Hill
Starting in post-war London,
What Was Promised tells the story of
three families over a 40 year period.
Likened to Zadie Smith’s White Teeth,
Tobias Hill’s fifth novel follows the
lives of immigrant families as they
settle in London’s East End.
The novel is broken into three
sections – 1948, 1968 and 1988 –
which provides an engaging structure
for the narrative. The strength of Hill’s
writing is his focus on character and
relationship which contributes to the
three-section structure. What Was
Promised is also an interesting read
about London’s own journey back
from war and how the people needed
to find a new identity amongst the
bomb ruins, years of rationing and
heartache. What Was Promised will
be a fantastic read for book clubs.

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 17

Fiction

THE AUSTEN PROJECT

The Austen Project is a series of Jane

Austen classics rewritten by modern day
writers. So far the series has released
Joanna Trollope’s Sense and Sensibility,
Alexander McCall Smith’s Emma and
Val McDermid’s Northanger Abbey, with
Pride and Prejudice by Curtis Sittenfeld
to come.
An updated Austen for the texting
crowd, Val McDermid’s Northanger
Abbey moves all the classic action to the
21st Century with some clever plot twists
thrown in. The heroine of this tale is an
imaginative Facebook-posting Twilight
fan with a love for Gothic novels, who
escapes her dull hamlet life to attend
the Edinburgh Festival as a guest of her
neighbours, the Allens. Cat’s imagination
runs riot when she is invited to stay at
Northanger Abbey, the stately home of
handsome young lawyer Henry’s father.
Cat is quite enchanted by Henry and his
sister Eleanor, but are there nefarious
secrets in the family’s past? Or has Cat
just been reading too many novels?

18 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

 Fiction

The Paying Guests

Sarah Waters
In classic Sarah Waters style, this novel
is both a love story and a crime story
set in a society deeply scarred by war
and struggling to regenerate. Set in
1922 London in the aftermath of the
Great War, it tells the story of Frances,
an unmarried woman, who finds herself
responsible for caring for her mother
and their once grand house. When she is
obliged to take in lodgers to make ends
meet, the blurring of class and tradition
become more pronounced. Unexpected
friendships are formed, loyalties shift
and boundaries are crossed, culminating
in a devastating chain of events.

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 19

Fiction

The Exile: An
Outlander Graphic Novel
Diana Gabaldon
The Exile is a retelling of part of the
first Outlander novel from the point of
view of Jamie and Murtagh Fraser. In
The Exile we follow Claire and Jamie on
their travels through a richly illustrated
landscape, evoking the atmosphere and
beauty of the Scottish Highland.
Nguyen’s colouring and background
detail is excellent, although some of
the male characters look similar and at
times the characterisation of Claire is a
little too cartoon-like. This graphic novel
might not please all of Gabaldon’s fans,
but it will attract new readers to her
novels who may not have considered
reading her works before.

20 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

 Fiction

Lost & Found

Brooke Davis
Seven year old Millie Bird keeps a book
of dead things. When her dad becomes
an entry in her book, life changes
significantly for Millie. Crossing paths
with octogenarians Karl the Touch Typist
and Agatha Pantha opens a world of
emotional interactions for all three.
During a West Australian road trip which
ensues, the trio battered and bruised by
life, begin to care again, for each other.
Opposition and assistance in their
endeavours has the reader cheering
for their success. When you finish
Lost & Found, you will find yourself
missing fond friends.

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 21

Fiction

Amnesia
Peter Carey
According to his Australian publisher,
Peter Carey’s 19th book Amnesia is
“timely, thrilling, coruscating, funny,
sweeping and fresh, a tonic for
our torpor”.
Increasingly, Australians are emerging
from the naive acceptance that
everything American is good for us.
Gaby Ballieux is a young Australian
woman accused of declaring cyber
war on the U.S., when she hacks the
computers that control immigration
detention centres. Felix Moore, washed-
up and discredited as “Australia’s last
surviving left-wing journalist”, takes
up her story. With memories of the
dismissal of the Whitlam government,
the establishment of Pine Gap and
other moments in Australia’s past where
outcomes were pro-American, Moore
weaves these rich threads together,
while ultimately telling Gaby’s story.
This is without a doubt a future
prize-winner. Not to be missed!

22 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

 Fiction

Cop Town
Karin Slaughter
Set in Atlanta in 1974, the story follows
Kate Murphy on her first day in the
force. Having to learn the unwritten
rules of being a female policewoman,
she quickly becomes involved in the
case of the brutal death of a policeman.
Slaughter researched and spoke to
policewomen who worked during the
1970s and has incorporated their
stories in her novel.
While the story is a compelling read,
the most incredible part of this novel
is the experience Kate Murphy has as
a female in the force and the reaction
from her colleagues, both male and
female. Cop Town is Slaughter’s first
stand-alone novel and is a brilliant work
of historical fiction detailing a truthful
account of life in 1970s Atlanta.

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 23

Fiction

Mr Mac and Me
Esther Freud
Set in 1914 just before World War I,
the narrator is a lonely boy who
befriends a couple he sees walking
the riverbank daily. The man is Charles
Rennie McKintosh, who is recovering
from nervous exhaustion and
pneumonia, and his wife.
Mr Mac and Me is a beautiful story of
village life, art and friendship, but also
of war and sadness.

24 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

 Fiction

Nora Webster
Colm Toibin
Life is difficult for Nora Webster, newly
widowed and with children to raise and
nurture. Enniscorthy, County Wessex is
familiar territory for native son Toibin
and his loyal readers, having been the
setting for many of his previous prize-
winning novels. In teasing apart Nora’s
widowhood, Toibin applies his expert
skills to explore themes including grief,
loneliness and a search for identity for
Nora, whose life had previously been
defined by marriage and motherhood.
Reviewers are warning that this relatively
short book is not an easy read, but
lovers of literary novels and die-hard
Toibin fans will be rewarded by this
latest offer with a master of form,
language and style.

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 25

Fiction

The Girl Who Saved

the King of Sweden
Jonas Jonasson
Like Jonasson’s first book, his second
novel, The Girl Who Saved the King
of Sweden takes us on a satirical
romp involving a woman, a bomb
and a plot to overthrow the King of
Sweden. There is a flow of eccentric
characters to engage and amuse, but
when our heroine, Nombeko, meets
up with Holger one and Holger two,
the dimension of highly unusual family
dynamics is added to the mix.
The novel moves from Soweto to
Sweden, tackling social issues and
humorously critiquing everything from
the Swedish special forces to right
wing minority political parties and
Chinese diplomacy. If your book club is
looking for a lighter touch in between
more serious reads, this is the novel
to include for sheer enjoyment and a
discussion about how someone with
the humblest of origins can change
the course of the world.

26 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

 Fiction

Dead Men’s Bones:

An Inspector McLean Novel
James Oswald
After a prominent Scottish MP’s body is
found outside his house, it is discovered
that he had murdered his entire family
before taking his own life. Andrew
Weatherly was a popular politician
with a successful business and a very
bright future – no one can understand
what has prompted him to commit this
terrible crime. As Inspector McLean
investigates, he uncovers a much bigger
crime involving the top levels of Scottish
politics, the rich elite of Edinburgh and
the occult. With plenty of twists and
turns, this is a great mystery to keep
you reading until the very end.
This is the fourth book in Oswald’s
Inspector McLean series.

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 27

Fiction

The Soul of Discretion

Susan Hill
This is the eighth title in the series
starring Chief Inspector Simon
Serraillier. Chief Inspector Serraillier is
asked to take part in a covert operation
that involves him working undercover
to befriend a convicted paedophile
and infiltrate a paedophile ring. His
family and girlfriend (who has recently
moved in with him) have no way of
contacting him. While Simon is off the
grid working undercover, his father is
accused of rape and his sister faces
some hard choices regarding her work
as a GP. As the covert operation unfolds,
it reveals shocking details of how the
paedophile ring works and how many
men in high powered jobs or pillars of
the community are involved.

28 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

 Fiction

We Were Liars
E. Lockhart
The Sinclairs are a prominent
New England family who spend the
summer on their amazing island off
Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
Cadence (Cady), the protagonist,
has suffered a mysterious accident that
has left her with amnesia and regular
illness. Her saviours are The Liars,
who consist of two of her cousins –
Johnny and Mirren – and Gat, a friend
who visits the island and whom
Cady falls in love with.
The reader is hooked as the details
of Cady’s accident are gradually
revealed, but the ending will leave you
gobsmacked. This is a young adult novel
that will engage readers of all ages.

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 29

Fiction

Stone Mattress:
Nine Tales
Margaret Atwood
This well-written collection of tales
from award winning author Margaret
Atwood encompasses murder, mystery,
horror, crime and fantasy. The tales are
linked by the common theme of anxiety
of ageing, and delve deeply into the
darkest impulses of each character.
Darkly humorous, devious and always
surprising, the reader is left not
knowing what is real or imagined.

30 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

 Fiction

Family Secrets
Liz Byrski
Byrski is back with her eighth novel and
her fans will not be disappointed. When
patriarch Gerald passes away, leaving
wife Connie and children Andrew and
Kerry, there is a sense of relief amidst
the grief they experience. Gerald had
a dominating influence over their lives,
and Connie finally feels free after 10
years of nursing her sick husband.
However, Gerald’s death reveals family
secrets as Connie, Andrew and Kerry
are forced to rediscover their own lives
without their husband and father.
Liz Byrski’s books have long been
praised for their older female
protagonists and readers will enjoy
reading about Connie and her journey
in the second stage of her life.

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 31

Fiction

South of Darkness
John Marsden
John Marsden has long been one
of Australia’s most celebrated writers
of Young Adult fiction and now he
is back with his first adult novel,
South of Darkness.
Beginning in the late 1700s in the
slums of London, Marsden’s new novel
follows the story of Barnaby Fletch,
a 13 year old boy who lived on the
fringes of society. He hears about the
paradise colony of Botany Bay and after
spending some time in Newgate Prison,
he ends up on a boat for Australia.
Barnaby realises that the paradise isn’t
quite what he thought and soon finds
himself in trouble again.
Marsden has shown a remarkable
talent for capturing early Australia and
telling an epic story that will engage
adult readers.

32 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

 Fiction

The Claimant
Janette Turner Hospital
The Claimant follows a court trial
involving the Vanderbilt family fortune.
The heir to the fortune went missing
during the Vietnam war, however he
reappears years later having lived his life
in Queensland as a cattle farmer. Is the
claimant indeed the heir to the fortune
as he claims? Or an imposter who strikes
a resemblance to the missing heir.

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 33

34
W

S
N

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

DO
NOT
CRO
SS
CRI
ME
SCE
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DO
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C
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In March 2012, Lord Mayor Graham Quirk announced
funding of a four-year program dedicated to bringing high
profile authors to Brisbane. The Lord Mayor’s Writers in
Residence program is committed to hosting author events
and workshops in libraries to encourage not just reading,
but writing within our community.
This popular series allows Brisbane readers and creative
writers to hear from and work with high profile national
and international authors at libraries across the city.
The series engages audiences of all ages, with diverse
reading interests in different genres and both fiction
and non-fiction books.
So far, the series has hosted authors such as Kathy Reichs,
Raymond E. Feist, Matthew Reilly, Alexander McCall-Smith
and Geoffrey Robertson QC. In 2015, the program will
continue to bring popular authors to libraries across Brisbane.

To find out who’s coming to Brisbane soon, pick up a copy

of What’s On in Libraries at your local library and follow
Brisbane Libraries on Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook.com/BrisbaneCityCouncil
@brisbanecityqld

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 35

Non-Fiction

This House of Grief

Helen Garner
Father’s Day, 2005. Three young children
dead, drowned in a terrible accident
when their father loses control of the
car they are travelling in and it leaves
the road and plunges into a dam. At
first everyone’s sympathy is with Robert
Farquharson, the devastated father.
Even his estranged wife accepts his
innocence. However, the story unravels,
one court case follows another.
Helen Garner takes a front row seat in
the numerous trials and appeals. This
is the type of book that Garner does
best. She plunges her experienced
writer’s hand into the murky mixture
of courtroom drama, raw emotion of
bereaved family members and the
chatter of ordinary everyday Geelong
life, and pulls out a touching story that,
like the lost little boys, deserves to be
remembered and held in your heart.

36 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

 Non-Fiction

She Left Me the Gun

Emma Brockes
“One day I will tell you the story of
my life,” promises Emma Brockes’s
mother, “and you will be amazed.”
Sadly, she never did reveal her story,
and it was only after her death that
Emma embarked on a journey to South
Africa to learn more about her mother’s
violent and abusive family history, and
the events which led to her mother’s
emigration to England in the 1960s.
A moving and fascinating story
which offers an insight into a woman
who overcame adversity by taking
extreme steps to protect her family
and reinvent herself.

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 37

Non-Fiction

Mona Lisa:
A Life Discovered
Dianne Hales
Mona Lisa... Who is the woman behind
the smile? Leonardo immortalised
her, but in the process hid her and her
story from the world. This book brings
Lisa Gherardini and 16th Century
Renaissance Florence to life in a
well-researched mixture of fact and
speculation. Political turmoil, public
scandals and family drama – all the
tantalising ingredients you need in a
story that places legendary characters
like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo
and Machiavelli in real Florence.
A time and place Hale discovers, where
life is not easy for women whose stark
choices were either arranged marriage
or convent life.

38 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

 Non-Fiction

The Silver Moon

Bryce Courtenay
One of Australia’s most beloved
writers, Bryce Courtenay sadly
passed away before the release
of his last book The Silver Moon,
however readers will once again be
able to read the engaging stories
of Courtenay as he shares his
insights on life, death and writing.
Courtenay’s storytelling narrative
continues throughout this book as
he details stories from his childhood
in South Africa and throughout his
life, as well as sharing advice on
becoming a best-selling novelist.

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 39

Non-Fiction

rEVOLution
Russell Brand
Russell Brand’s highly anticipated
manifesto, that aims to provide ideas
to those who may be disengaged
from politics and world issues, shares
many interesting, revolutionary and
hilarious concepts. rEVOLution has
been written off the back of Brand’s
famous interview with Newsnight’s
Jeremy Paxman – it’s well worth a
view before you delve into reading
the book. rEVOLution is destined to
spark conversation and discussion
whether you agree with the message
Brand is preaching or not – it will be
a powerful read for book clubs.

40 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

 Non-Fiction

Love & Terror on the

Howling Plains of Nowhere
Poe Ballantine
Poe Ballantine’s memoir, Love
& Terror on the Howling Plains
of Nowhere is set in Chadron,
Nebraska – a small and relatively
unknown town. It is here that Poe
lives with his beautiful Mexican wife
and their autistic son. Poe struggles
to fulfil his wife’s expectations of
America with money being tight and
unable to find the right story for his
next book. It is when his neighbour,
a maths professor from the local
college, disappears and then turns
up ninety-five days later tied to a
tree and burned to death that Poe
knows what his next book will be.
Poe writes with an honest and
curious mind to try and find the truth
behind what may have happened.

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 41

Non-Fiction

What Days Are For

Robert Dessaix
A memoir and a conversation.
For Dessaix, the life worth living is
“une belle vie” – a beautiful life.
This book includes reflections on
death, the beauty in the everyday
and, most generously, the gift of his
intimate thoughts.
Recovering from a heart attack in
2011, Dessaix, in hospital, discovered
and pondered the opening lines of
Philip Larkin’s poem, Days. Dessaix
gives the reader an insight into the
enchantments and annoyances of his
days. If you are not already a fan of
Dessaix’s exquisite writing, this book
will introduce you to a unique talent.

42 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

 Non-Fiction

Mistress
Matthew Benns and Terry Smyth
Looking back over Australia’s history
and the tradition of ‘taking a mistress’,
journalist Matthew Benns along with
Terry Smyth recount an entertaining and
often shocking version of the past. From
an eye-opening tale of Banjo Patterson’s
real reason for writing Waltzing Matilda,
to the secret women of our Prime
Ministers, Mistress will entertain all
readers with this fascinating history.
Benns and Smyth have a talent for
storytelling and readers will be hooked
by story after story – a great read.

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 43

Non-Fiction

Warning: The Story

of Cyclone Tracy
Sophie Cunningham
On the fortieth anniversary of Cyclone
Tracy, Sophie Cunningham has released
her detailed account of the devastating
effects of Darwin’s most horrendous
natural disaster. Collecting several
eye-witness accounts and interweaving
them with research and news articles
of the time, Cunningham has crafted
a definitive book on Cyclone Tracy.
The book also touches on the political
and environmental effects of natural
disasters and gives thought to what the
future may hold. Warning: The Story of
Cyclone Tracy is an excellent read.

44 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

 Non-Fiction

The Birth of Korean Cool

Euny Hong
Twelve-year-old Euny Hong
accompanied her family when they
returned to Korea in 1985 to live in
the Gangnam neighbourhood in
Seoul, three decades before pop star
Psy brought his version of ‘style’ to
international attention. If all you know
about Korea is Hyundai and Samsung,
take another look! Part intimate
memoir, part investigative study and
completely entertaining, this book
reveals everything you need to know
about Korea’s fast-track emergence
from backwater to innovative economic
and pop-culture success.

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 45

 Tips for a
successful
book
club
Brisbane City Council libraries host a wide range
of book clubs that you are welcome to join.
To find out more about a book club near you,
contact your local library on (07) 3403 8888.

46 Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015

If you would like to start your own book club,
here are some helpful tips.
1 Seek out the devoted readers amongst your friends
and invite them along. Encourage them to bring other
friends to help get the group going.
2 Talk to your local library to identify available meeting
times that will suit your group. Library staff can also help
you with choosing books to read, sourcing available
copies and provide tips for starting out.
3 Establish some ground rules during your first meeting.
Things like who decides what books to read, how
discussions are led and what commitments are expected
to help your book club run smoothly.
4 Keep inviting new members – the more the merrier!
There are always people wanting to join a book club.
Talk to your local library staff, as they can help you
attract more members.
5 Have fun! The best book clubs are those where there is
plenty of discussion, lots of laughter and a nice cup of tea.
Book clubs are also a great motivation to keep reading
and venture outside of your literary comfort zone!

Some discussion questions to consider

Sometimes it can be difficult to get the discussion going.
Here are some easy questions you might like to use.
1 Did you find the book engaging?
2 If you could ask the author one question, what would it be?
3 Do you think the characters were convincing?
4 What did you think of the ending?
5 Would you recommend this book to others?

Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015 47

Brisbane City Council Printed on recycled paper For more information
Information visit www.brisbane.qld.gov.au
GPO Box 1434 or call (07) 3403 8888
Brisbane Qld 4001 Facebook.com/BrisbaneCityCouncil
CA14-916589-04-681
© Brisbane City Council 2014