Jasper Jones is the local tough boy - "a Thief, a Liar, a Thug, a Truant." He's the town's scapegoat - a half caste who sleeps rough and is blamed whenever something goes missing. One summer evening, Jasper knocks on Charlie's window, urging him out to help him deal with a horrible crime that Jasper fears he will be held responsible for. For a bookworm like Charlie, an association with Jasper is both terrifying and titillating. It's the start of a fairly straightforward plotline that involves solving the mystery that tortures both Charlie and Jasper, but it's also the start of Charlie's own coming of age - a more complicated story about love, prejudice, and the making of a meaningful life that has an air of nostalgia bedded into it - as if the narrator were recounting his story from an older reflective distance.

Although it takes the structure of a mystery-thriller, with its intense opening, Jasper Jones is a rich character-driven novel set late in 1965, during the Vietnam War. Throughout the book, humour and pathos mingle expertly, reminding us that joy and pain are often two sides of a single coin. There are many wonderful examples of this, from Jeffrey's first cricket game where he plays through racist taunts, to a scene at Church where in the midst of Jeffrey's (the 'Fartful Podger') stolen ginger snaps, his mother is attacked for being Vietnamese.

It is during the first cricket game where we meet a real bully - the parallel character to Jasper - Warwick Trent:

"And probably due to the fact that most of his bodily resources are diverted directly to his pituitary gland, he's also an affront to academia. Seldom is this boasted about, but he also holds the record for the most grades repeated (two). It's a little fact that renders me smug, but also sore, because his stupidity has placed him in my grade.

"See, in class, if I use a word that he believes is too clever, or isn't one of the half-dozen monosyllabic commands that he readily understands, he and his henchmen will seek me out, either at lunch or after school, and will repeat the offending word like a mantra, each time punching me on either shoulder." (75)

In the middle of crisis, as Charlie is coming to recognise a variety of falsehoods in his own life and home, mingling with a growing tension between his parents, he has his first experience of love. This is coupled with guilt, fear, and displacement, as the simple truths of his hometown become unravelled. There are certainly moments of warmth and a bit of "Sassytime," as Jeffrey calls it, and the dialogue between the two friends continues through the book to be lighthearted and humorous, even when everything else is black, but Jasper Jones is no light read. There are serious issues addressed in this book, powerful and bleak. The damage in many cases can't be undone, and the ending, while tying things up neatly, doesn't allow for a return to innocence.

The small Western Australia town of Corrigan is almost a character, with its stifling prejudices that spreads through the minor characters, from Jasper's missing father, to the young thugs who destroy Jeffrey's father's beautiful garden. There are secrets to be uncovered everywhere - in both child and adult - past and present. Villains lurk throughout this book in unexpected places. Jasper Jones remains a nobody - the silent, disappearing hero in Charlie's life, but he is also heroic - the catalyst to change and growth. Although there are dark edges to Jasper Jones, this is a wonderful, beautifully written, positive story of personal transformation which lingers with the reader.
Source: Seattle pi

Jasper Jones - Craig Silvey - 9781742372624

Difficult as it would seem to top the ingenuity and action-packed, edge-of-your-seat storyline of "The Hunger Games," or the continued, in-the-ring thrill ride of its follow-up, "Catching Fire," "Mockingjay" leaves the government's kid-on-kid hunting grounds and heads into the destitute reality of the districts, which have come under heavy fire from the Capitol for rising up against its superficial and oppressive leadership.

Opening with the dreary aftermath of "Catching Fire's" concluding line, "Mockingjay" begins with Katniss Everdeen wandering through the wreckage of her district 12 hometown, tripping over skulls and breathing in the ashes of the incinerated bodies that used to be her neighbors. More than 90% of those neighbors are dead; the rest have been relocated to district 13, an area that was thought to be abandoned but is very much alive. Forced underground 75 years earlier in an era known as the Dark Days ? an era that led to the annual children's bloodletting known as the Hunger Games ? district 13's residents have spurred the present uprising, and they're looking to Katniss to rile up the rest of the districts and overthrow the pale-skinned President Snow, who's made no secret of his dislike for Katniss and her rebellious unpredictability.

Snow has captured Peeta ? the boy Katniss didn't kill in the first Hunger Games, and with whom Katniss is in love. Or is she? Like the first two books in the series, "Mockingjay" continues the love triangle between Katniss, a headstrong nihilist forced to save her country from self-inflicted annihilation; Peeta, the fresh-faced and sweet-hearted boy whom she kissed in front of the omnipresent cameras; and Gale, the hunting partner with whom she grew up who could easily become something more. It takes a while, but "Mockingjay" finally settles the question of Katniss' true affections.
Source: LA times

Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins - Hunger Games 3 - 9781407109374

"Dead Men Don't Have Sex. A Guy's Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer" gives practical, been-there-done-that advice for men diagnosed with prostate cancer and their families. It's written in a crisp, entertaining style that makes it a quick read for anyone touched by this disease. For men who are in a hurry to know the answers to a multitude of questions, many of them highly personal, the format of Dead Men Don't Have Sex is perfect.

The table of contents will get the reader to what he or she needs to know in ten seconds or less, with such sub-headings as, "What surgery is really like" and "Four things every woman should know about prostate cancer." Additionally, the author uses a journal format throughout, with day 1 being the day of his diagnosis, day 31 his surgery, day 63 his first time being intimate with his wife after the surgery, and day 365 the final entry in the book, with a well-done synopsis of his year.

Nearly 200,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year, and the search for high quality resources to help them in their battle to stay alive and sexually active can be a daunting and sacred endeavor. Fortunately, there are people like Robert Hill, who lived through the diagnosis, surgery, and all important post-surgery months and years, and felt drawn to share his experiences.

Dead Men Don't Have Sex can and should be added to the short list of must-read books for men who are confronted with prostate cancer.

Dead Men Don't Have Sex - Robert Hill - A Guy's Guide to Surviving Prostrate Cancer - 9781451577877

Thanks to our friends at HarperCollins publishers Australia, you have a chance to win a copy of either Peter FitzSimon's 'A Simpler Time' or Dave Mustaine's 'Mustaine: A life In Metal'. All you have to do is click here and tell us about your favourite book! It's that easy. Staff from The Book Abyss will select 4 entries they find either humorous, passionate,  informed or forthright! Entries close September 17.

Don't forget to leave a valid email address so we can contact you for mailing details. 

Dave Mustaine has lived one hell of a life, in fact one could argue he has lived several. At times his life has been a self destructive, narcissistic, egocentric nightmare while at other times he has enjoyed self confidence, health, happiness and a somewhat controversial 'religious awakening'.

The one time lead guitarist of world renowned thrash metal supergroup Metallica, Mustaine was unceremoniously dumped at a bus depot and told his services were no longer required after his 'excessive drinking and unpredictable, alcohol-fuelled rages' become unbearable. Over the course of the next 25 years, and despite his subsequent success with his own thrash metal band Megadeth, Mustaine struggled to come to terms with the rejection he faced on that day and the subsequent rise of Metallica as a heavy metal phenomenon.

In the world of heavy metal there exist two diametrically opposed views regarding Dave Mustaines' influence during the early days of Metallica. Those in the Mustaine/Megadeth camp will argue that without his indisputable talent as a great rock lyricist coupled with his ability to craft ripping metal guitar solos, Metallica would not have received the interest and subsequent success that ultimately came their way. Mustaine has writing credits on a few of Metallica's' early songs which were later featured on the albums Kill 'Em All and Ride The Lightning. He also recorded several songs with the band, including the No Life Til Leather demo.

Metallica die-hards, on the other hand, would argue that James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich are a formidable talent who were destined for greatness regardless of Mustaines influence and in fact had they not taken the drastic action they did, Mustaines' self destructive behaviour may have spelt the end of Metallica before they achieved any real commercial success.

This in one of those he said/she said arguments that can never be resolved. The simple fact is that Metallica has gone on to become the highest selling metal band in US history and Megadeth the second highest selling metal band in US history. Mustaine belonged to one and created the other. That's indisputable.

The Metallica/Megadeth saga provides a great back story but I think the real gem in this book is the personal journey Mustaine undertakes, from rehab to relapse and back again. If you cut through all the hyperbole and bravado you get a real glimpse into the life of an ordinary man who faced extraordinary challenges. One might say that the hardships he has endured were merely a result of the personal choices he made and therefore sympathy is a little thin on the ground, and while that may be true, it is still fascinating to see how he dealt with, and rose above it.

Mustaine: A life In Metal chronicles the life and times of a true metal legend in this honest and frank, self effacing memoir. A journey filled with the lows of alcohol and drug abuse, self loathing and violence juxtaposed with the highs of love, marriage, children, wealth, faith and success. A great story well told.

Mustaine A Life in Metal - Dave Mustaine Reg. Price: $35.00 Sale Price: $31.05 Save: $3.95

50 Books You Can't Put Down!

Get Reading 2010

Do you love a book you can't put down?

Get Reading! is Australia's largest annual celebration of books and reading. Previously called Books Alive, Get Reading! runs for the whole of September and encourages us all to pick up a book, put up our feet and get reading!

Readers who purchase any of one the Get Reading! - 50 books you can't put down (shown below) from The Book Abyss will receive a free copy of the specially commissioned 10 short stories you must read in 2010 written by some of Australia's leading authors, or a children's book, Tickled Onions: Pocket Money Puffins, also especially commissioned for Get reading! 2010.

Get Lost, Get Fresh, Get Hooked, Get Real, Get Comfy..... Get reading!

Click here for more info!

This new edition is a simple, stylish collection of the recipes from Stephanie's Seasons redesigned to allow the food to speak for itself.

Stephanie Alexander's The Cook's Companion is a publishing phenomenon and established Alexander as one of Australia's - and the world's - most popular food writers. This new edition of an old favourite will bring some of Alexander's best recipes to that new audience of cooks who didn't know her books before the Companion. Stephanie's Seasonal Recipes is a simple, stylish collection of the recipes from her 'culinary diary' Stephanie's Seasons (first released in 1993) - but with the fuss pared back, so the delicious food can speak for itself.

A regular contributor to the Age and Australian Table, Stephanie Alexander, OAM, has written many books, including the classic The Cook's Companion. In 1998, in collaboration with Maggie Beer, she published Stephanie Alexander and Maggie Beer's Tuscan Cookbook and in the following year wrote, presented and produced the seven-part series on Australian food and wine for ABC television, A Shared Table. Through her writing, teaching and public advocacy, Alexander has remained a champion of Australian produce and of the importance in our day-to-day lives of good food. She is consultant and partner at the Richmond Hill Cafe and Larder in Melbourne.

Stephanies Seasonal Recipes - Stephanie Alexander - 9781865087900

'Opposition leaders are like miniature piglets. They look so sweet in the shop, don t they? With their whiffling little pink noses and their eagerness to please; with their intelligent eyes and their loving natures and the sales assistant's guarantee that they are fastidiously clean and, moreover, will fetch the paper every morning what's not to love?

It is only much later on, well after the election s won and the warranty s expired, that you wake up and realise, with a dull sense of unsurprise, that you've got a six-foot grunter digging up your backyard.' From Howard's dramatic departure to Rudd s relentless march to power, the last few years have been momentous ones in Australian politics.

In Rise of the Ruddbot, Australia's funniest, most incisive political commentator chronicles these strange and turbulent times. Featuring Tony People Skills Abbott, Julia La Gillardine Gillard, Malcolm Turnbull, Penny Wong, Godwin Grech, Barnaby Joyce and more, this is the perfect companion for an election year.

Rise of the Ruddbot: Observations from the Gallery - Annabel Crabb - 9781863954839

One definition of metafiction is "Fiction that deals, often playfully and self-referentially, with the writing of fiction or its conventions." That could pretty much describe Italo Calvino's "If On A Winter's Night A Traveler," a gloriously surreal story about the hunt for a mysterious book.

A reader opens Italo Calvino's latest novel, "If On A Winter's Night A Traveller," only to have the story cut short. Turns out it was a defective copy, with another book's pages inside. But as the reader tries to find out what book the defective pages belong to, he keeps running into even more books and more difficulties -- as well as the beautiful Ludmilla, a fellow reader who also received a defective book.

With Ludmilla assisting him (and, he hopes, going to date him), the reader then explores obscure dead languages, publishers' shops, bizarre translators and various other obstacles. All he wants is to read an intriguing book. But he keeps stumbling into tales of murder and sorrow, annoying professors, and the occasional radical feminist -- and a strange literary conspiracy. Will he ever finish the book?

In its own way, "If On A Winter's Night A Traveler" is a mystery story, a satire, a romance, and a treasure hunt. Any book whose first chapter explains how you're supposed to read it has got to be a winner -- "You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel, "If On A Winter's Night a Traveler." Relax. Concentrate." And so on, with Calvino gently joking and chiding the reader before actually beginning his strange little tale.

If On A Winter's Night A Traveller - Italo Calvino - 9780099430896