Arkie Sparkle by Petra James

Arkie Sparkle is an eleven-year-old treasure hunter, and is the star of a great new adventure series by Petra James. Arkie’s parents are archaeologists, and have been kidnapped! A note has been left in the cookie jar saying she needs to travel the world to seven continents to find seven treasures in seven days to secure her parents release. Luckily Arkie is brave and resourceful and a dab hand at solving puzzles and cracking codes, so with her fellow adventurers TJ (her genius cousin) and Cleo the basset hound, she sets off. Each of the seven books in the series finds the gang in a different country solving the clues in order to find each treasure. We have the first two books in the series: Arkie Sparkle: Code Crimson, which is set in Egypt, and Arkie Sparkle: Time Trap, which takes place in China. For a limited time the first book in the series is only $6.99, so well worth a try! The second book is $13. A fantastic series for adventurous types aged 7-11.

Age Book of the Year 2012

The winners have been announced! The winner of the Age Book of the Year Award 2012 is James Boyce for his book 1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia. James also won the Non-Fiction Book of the Year Award. Gillian Mears has won the Fiction Book of the Year for her novel Foal’s Bread, adding another accolade to her growing list, and Mal McKimmie has won in the Poetry category for The Brokenness Sonnets I-III and Other Poems. Well done, all!!

Mr McGee and the Elephants by Pamela Allen

We love Pamela Allen at Fairfieldbooks.  Who sank the boat has been on our ‘Favourites’ shelves for years.  A new Mr McGee is always welcome and this new adventure features an animal that everyone loves, elephants.  Mr McGee climbs a tree to get some apples, and then is rescued by and elephant.  Then the elephant tries to climb the tree and so it goes……

In her familiar rhyming style, this is another winner.

In hardback, it’s $25.

Buzzworthy books – Gaysia by Benjamin Law

Benjamin Law considers himself pretty lucky to live in Australia: he can hold his boyfriend’s hand in public and lobby his politicians to recognise same-sex marriage. As the child of migrants, though, he also wonders how different life might have been had he grown up elsewhere. So off he sets to meet his fellow Gaysians.” (from the blurb)

Benjamin Law’s writing credentials include an autobiography (The Family Law) and enough magazinges that I’ll just mention frankie and Good Weekend and move on. He’s been on Q&A, Sunrise and the First Tuesday Bookclub and he’s hilarious as all get out. Asia is this interesting paradox of incredible economic growth while remaining, at least in parts, traditional and old-fashioned culturally in particular with regards to marriage and sex. In this time of the internet and with the incredible amount of access we have to others around the globe its no wonder that Gay Asians – Gaysians, are becoming outter and prouder than they’ve ever been before. In his honest and sometimes confronting portrayal of today’s ‘queer east’ there’s insight into all sorts from Thailand’s lady-boys, ex-gay Christian fundamentalists to celebrity drag-queens (in Japan, if you were wondering). He finds places were transsexuals are okay, but lesbians aren’t. Places where being a gay man is okay, just marry a woman. As Law points out right at the beginning as the most populous continent on earth, it only follows that there would be more gay people in Asia than anywhere else. So he spent almost a year meeting quite a few of them and this is the fascinating, and hilarious, account of his travels. Part travel memoir, part social commentary, this large format paperback is brand new and $30.

Meet author of the much loved Addition and upcoming Nine Days; Toni Jordan

We’re very excited to be doing an event at Preston Library on Wednesday 12th of September with Toni Jordan in celebration of her new book Nine Days. More details about the event can be found on Darebin Libraries website where you can also RSVP to the event. I won’t tell you anything more about the book since who better to do that than the author herself;

Fairfield’s Favourites – National Bookshop Day votes tallied up!

The bigger the title, the more votes it received! Is your favourite there?
Special thanks to our customer Chris who did this word cloud for us.

The Emperor’s New Clothes Horse

Tony Wilson and Sue deGennaro are the wonderful minds behind this witty, whimsical children’s book. A surprising twist on a well known classic you might have been lucky enough to meet local Tony Wilson on National Bookshop Day and get one signed! If not we’ve still got plenty here and it’s a very giggle-worthy addition to any bookshelf. A modern take on an old favourite, The Emperor’s New Clothes Horse is a hardback, $27.

Age Book of the Year 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The shortlist for the Age Book of the Year 2012 awards has recently been announced. It’s an interesting list, with a number of authors recognised who have been absent from other big award shortlists:

Fiction

•  What the Family Needed by Steven Amsterdam
• Spirit House by Mark Dapin
• The Meaning of Grace by Deborah Forster
• Forecast: Turbulence by Janette Turner Hospital
• Foal’s Bread by Gillian Mears

Non-Fiction

• 1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia by James Boyce
• Hiroshima Nagasaki by Paul Ham
• Kinglake-350 by Adrian Hyland
• Fishing the River of Time by Tony Taylor
• Double Entry by Jane Gleeson-White

Poetry

• First Light by Kate Fagan
• The Welfare of my Enemy by Anthony Lawrence
• The Brokenness Sonnets I-III and Other Poems by Mal McKimmie
• Late Night Shopping by Rhyll McMaster
• Surface to Air by Jaya Savige

The winner of each category will win $2500, with the overall winner receiving an extra $10000. The winners will be announced at the opening of the Melbourne Writers Festival on August 23. Congratulations to all the shortlisted authors!

The Cherub saga continues – Guardian Angel by Robert Muchamore

Fans of Robert Muchamore are once again buried in a new, bigger, better Cherub installment. Guardian Angel is the second book in the second Cherub series that started with People’s Republic which is itself now in paperback. A new gang, a new set of adventures. Muchamore’s fast paced action packed series is still a favourite with kids, especially boys, 12 plus. Guardian Angel is Hardback, $30.

National Bookshop Day

Thank you to everyone who popped by to help us celebrate National Bookshop Day on Sunday! By the end of the day our window was resplendent with all your favourite books, and our never-ending story had twists and turns galore.  We had a fantastic time with yummy cupcakes, marshmallow pops and lots of great giveaways. Even the weather co-operated! But it wouldn’t have been half so much fun without all our wonderful authors, who visited to chat about books and hand out sweet treats. So a big, big thank you to Tony Wilson, Jen Storer, Michael Pryor, Deborah Robertson, Fran Cusworth, Kylie Ladd and Zana Fraillon. And last but not least,  thank you to the fabulous team of Geoffrey McSkimming and Sue-Anne Webster for their truly marvellous magic show!