With Mother’s Day right around the corner, it’s time to think about spoiling mum, the woman who can (and does) do it all. If you’re stuck for ideas, never fear, we’ve got you covered! With a great selection of old and new titles, gifts, and puzzles, finding the perfect gift for mum is easy! Below are some of our favourite new releases that have been tried, tested, and approved by our in-house bookworms!

Fiction

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

It’s hard to write a review for ‘Klara In The Sun’ as to avoid giving away major plot points. This is my first introduction to Kazuo Ishiguro, and I am absolutely floored.

Set in a dystopian future, this novel is told through the perspective of Klara, an Artificial Friend; a robot quipped with artificial intelligence that contains very human qualities, and exists to be a companion for a human child. One day she meets Josie, a 14 year old girl who is gravely ill. Klara observes human idiosyncrasies, the environment around her, the way humans interact with one another and how they exist among other Artificial Friend’s.

Klara is bought and taken in by Josie and her mother. With Klara’s optimism, she firmly believes that Josie will get better providing that the Sun – Klara’s solar panel charge – will heal Josie.

This is a stunning novel that delves into relationships between humans and their artificial companions. Klara’s gradual understanding of the world gives this perspective a very human and compassionate quality, and raises points of the binding love between humans and machines.

I highly recommend!

— Reviewed by Cathy, the manager of BOOK FACE Port Macqurie

non-fiction

One Last Dance by Emma Jane Holmes

A biography promising a behind the scenes look at two completely different industries – funeral homes and strip clubs. Emma Jane Holmes has had quite the colourful life. Tending to those who have passed at her day job as a mortician and enjoying the lucrative life of dancing in a strip club to help pay the bills.

Always very respectful to her clients both at the funeral home and the strip club, Emma gives us a very raw and honest look into both sides of her life. Although you may think a mortician should perhaps be sombre, her approach and zest for life that comes from seeing what she sees comes across as endearing. Her story will make you laugh and gasp all in one chapter.

Personally, I found her mortician life more intriguing and having learnt a lot about the industry. Like any great non-fiction book, One Last Dance has left me looking inward, considering what my final wishes may be. This book has raised a lot of questions and has prompted a lot of discussion with friends and family. Warning, some sections may stop you in your tracks or take your breath away. But for me, you get a sense this profession is definitely not for everyone and has left me with huge amounts of respect for those that dedicate their life to it. I would highly recommend!

— Jenny, bookseller at BOOK FACE Orion

For more recommendations, check out our Mother’s Day Newsletter…

#shopearly #shoplocal

Our bookstores are teeming with new releases and old favourites and our booksellers are ready to help you select the perfect gift! Shopping early is important this year due to the high demand for books and the potential for supply delays. Check with your local BOOK FACE store on how you can shop with them - whether instore or via phone or email.

To help you with your holiday shopping we have summer reading guides for both kids and adults available at all of our stores and online that include a carefully curated selection of both Australian and international new releases chosen by local independent booksellers. Still not sure what to get? Check out some of our staff favourites below!

fabulous fiction

crime

notable non-fiction

for the little ones

competition time!

WIN 1 OF 3 BOOK PACKS!

You have a chance to WIN 1 of 3 Book Packs with a selection of titles worth over $500 each!

Click HERE to enter and to view full terms & conditions.

need more recommendations? check out our summer reading guides below!

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM!

Spring has officially sprung and with it comes a wave of new releases from some of Australia’s most prominent authors. From national and international award winners to local bestsellers, we’ve rounded up our six most anticipated new releases from our favourite homegrown authors…

The new Australian Classics

All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton

Darwin, 1942, and as Japanese bombs rain down, motherless Molly Hook, the gravedigger's daughter, is looking to the skies and running for her life. Inside a duffel bag she carries a stone heart, alongside a map to lead her to Longcoat Bob, the deep-country sorcerer who she believes put a curse on her family. By her side are the most unlikely travelling companions: Greta, a razor-tongued actress, and Yukio, a fallen Japanese fighter pilot. The treasure lies before them, but close behind them trails the dark. And above them, always, are the shimmering skies.

A story about gifts that fall from the sky, curses we dig from the earth and the secrets we bury inside ourselves, All Our Shimmering Skies is an odyssey of true love and grave danger, of darkness and light, of bones and blue skies. It is a love letter to Australia and an ode to the art of looking up - a buoyant, beautiful and magical novel, abrim with warmth, wit and wonder.

Honeybee by Craig Silvey

Late in the night, fourteen-year-old Sam Watson steps onto a quiet overpass, climbs over the rail and looks down at the road far below. At the other end of the same bridge, an old man, Vic, smokes his last cigarette.

The two see each other across the void. A fateful connection is made, and an unlikely friendship blooms. Slowly, we learn what led Sam and Vic to the bridge that night. Bonded by their suffering, each privately commits to the impossible task of saving the other.

Honeybee is a heartbreaking, life-affirming novel that throws us headlong into a world of petty thefts, extortion plots, botched bank robberies, daring dog rescues and one spectacular drag show.

This is a tender, profoundly moving novel, brimming with vivid characters and luminous words. It's about two lives forever changed by a chance encounter -- one offering hope, the other redemption. It's about when to persevere, and when to be merciful, as Sam learns when to let go, and when to hold on.

the perfect page-turners

The Survivors by Jane Harper

The compelling new novel from Jane Harper, the New York Times bestselling author of The Dry.

Kieran Elliott's life changed forever on the day a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences.

The guilt that still haunts him resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal community he once called home.

Kieran's parents are struggling in a town where fortunes are forged by the sea. Between them all is his absent brother, Finn.

When a body is discovered on the beach, long-held secrets threaten to emerge. A sunken wreck, a missing girl, and questions that have never washed away...

Trust by Chris Hammer

Martin Scarsden's new life seems perfect, right up until the moment it's shattered by a voicemail: a single scream, abruptly cut off, from his partner Mandalay Blonde.

Racing home, he finds an unconscious man sprawled on the floor and Mandy gone. Someone has abducted her. But who, and why?

So starts a twisting tale of intrigue and danger, as Martin probes the past of the woman he loves, a woman who has buried her former life so deep she has never mentioned it.

And for the first time, Mandy finds denial impossible, now the body of a mystery man has been discovered, a man whose name she doesn't know, a man she was engaged to marry when he died. It's time to face her demons once and for all; it's time she learned how to trust.

Set in a Sydney riven with corruption and nepotism, privilege and power, Trust is the third riveting novel from award-winning and internationally acclaimed writer Chris Hammer.

The award winners

The Living Sea of Waking Dreams by Richard Flanagan

The Living Sea of Waking Dreams is an ember storm of a novel. This is Booker Prize-winning novelist Richard Flanagan at his most moving—and astonishing—best.

In a world of perennial fire and growing extinctions, Anna’s aged mother is dying—if her three children would just allow it. Condemned by their pity to living she increasingly escapes through her hospital window into visions of horror and delight.

When Anna’s finger vanishes and a few months later her knee disappears, Anna too feels the pull of the window. She begins to see that all around her others are similarly vanishing, but no one else notices. All Anna can do is keep her mother alive. But the window keeps opening wider, taking Anna and the reader ever deeper into a strangely beautiful story about hope and love and orange-bellied parrots.

Infinite Splendours by Sofie Laguna

Lawrence Loman is a bright, caring, curious boy with a gift for painting. He lives at home with his mother and younger brother, and the future is laid out before him, full of promise. But when he is ten, an experience of betrayal takes it all away, and Lawrence is left to deal with the devastating aftermath.

As he grows into a man, how will he make sense of what he has suffered? He cannot rewrite history, but must he be condemned to repeat it?

Lawrence finds meaning in the best way he knows. By surrendering himself to art and nature, he creates beauty - beauty made all the more astonishing and soulful for the deprivation that gives rise to it.

Infinite Splendours is an extraordinary novel, incandescent with love and compassion, rich in colour and character. The power and virtuosity of Laguna's writing make it impossible for us to look away; by being seen, Lawrence is redeemed.

want more recommendations? check out our October monthly highlights

Stay up to date with new releases and receive a curated selection of books for both kids and adults delivered directly to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter!

With Father’s Day fast approaching (it’s on Sunday 6 September, don’t forget to mark it in your calanders!) it’ll soon be time to celebrate all of the wonderful fathers and father figures in your life. In our not-so-humble opinion, we think you can’t go past a really good book as the perfect and practical gift for the special someone in your life (especially now with everyone spending more time at home).

We’ve made it easy to find the perfect book with our curated selection of new releases that your special someone is bound to love, whether they’re a fiction fanatic, crime connoisseur, history buff, aspiring chef, or a jack of all trades and even more interests.

And, if you’re looking for something a little more niche or would like a more personalised recommendation, our well-read staff members are just an email or phone call away and can provide ample suggestions catered to the interests of whoever you’re buying for this September...

Fiction

Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell

Utopia Avenue might be the most curious British band you've never heard of…

David Mitchell turns his unique talents to the late 1960s and all its messy glory in this new epic novel following a band's brief, blazing rise from Soho clubs to the promised land of America, just when the Summer of Love was receding into something much darker.

This bewitching novel is perfect weekend reading for the music lover in your life or anyone who just loves a good story. It will have you itching to dig through the garage, dust off your old vinyls, and have a good boogie…

crime Fiction

When She Was Good by Michael Robotham

He thinks the truth will set her free. She knows it will kill them.

From Australia's foremost crime writer, Michael Robotham, this is the second explosive novel featuring gifted criminal psychologist Cyrus Haven and his young charge, Evie Cormac.

Robotham expertly weaves together multiple story threads with clever red hearings and artfully done twists to keep you on the edge of your seat and hastily turning pages long into the night. Each of his books (including this one) contain enough backstory to ensure they can be read as satisfying stand-alone novels. But, if this is your first Robotham, we can almost guarantee it won’t be your last…

non-fiction

The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku

Life can be beautiful if you make it beautiful. It is up to you.

This uplifting and inspirational memoir from centenarian Holocaust survivor Eddie Jaku should be mandatory reading for all humans. This is a powerful, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful story of how happiness can be found even in the darkest of times. Its short page count packs a punch and its beautifully simple language makes it an accessible read for everyone, even those who don’t often pick up a book.

If you’re struggling to pick a gift, you can’t go wrong with this gem of book. (And while you’re at it, you might want to snag a copy for yourself, too…)

The Golden Maze by Richard Fidler

Beloved ABC broadcaster and bestselling author, Richard Fidler is back with a personally curated history of the magical city that is Prague. This is the pefect piece of escapist reading guaranteed to satisfy the intrepid traveller in your life now that internation travel has been put on hold.

Following the story of Prague from its origins in medieval darkness to its uncertain present, Fidler does what he does so well - curates an absolutely engaging and compelling history of a place. You will learn things you never knew, with a tour guide who is erudite, inquisitive, and the best storyteller you could have as your companion.

read with dad

Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten about the little ones! We also have a fun selection of themed picture books for them to read with dad this weekend with even more titles available in store.

For more personal recommendations or general stock enquiries, get in touch with our well-read staff members at your local BOOK FACE…

For more recommendations, check out our Father’s Day Newsletter…

With Mother’s Day right around the corner, it’s time to think about spoiling mum, the woman who can (and does) do it all. If you’re stuck for ideas, never fear, we’ve got you covered! With a great selection of old and new titles, gifts, and puzzles, finding the perfect gift for mum is easy! Below are some of our favourite new releases that have been tried, tested, and approved by real mums!

Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid

When career minded Alix hires Emira (a younger black woman) to be her nanny, she never expects their relationship to develop into such uncharted territory. After Emira is accused of kidnapping her babysitting charge during a late night outing, Alix strives to ingratiate the nanny with fumbling attempts at friendship and understanding. As their differing standings in society become more apparent - and Emira feels increasingly wary of Alix’s seeming disinterest in parenting - their paths are inextricably linked as a person from Alix’s past plunges their lives into chaos.

This biting social commentary keeps a light and breezy tone, all whilst raising timely issues of white privilege and self awareness. A must read novel for anyone wanting to expand their views on social class, motherhood, and what it means to be successful.

- Sophie, Bookseller at BOOK FACE Pacific Fair

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

For the lover of books about a book of lovers, it’s a beautiful and conceptual read set in an underground Library within a Labyrinth. It is about metaphorical pirates, Time and Fate, The Moon and her Lover, the power of stories and the unending cycle of beginnings and endings. It has stories within stories, and shifting perspectives within an abstract construct of time. It is simply breathtaking.

- Taysa, Manager of BOOK FACE Pacific Fair

Ruby Red Shows: My Wonderful Grandmother by Kate Knapp

Ruby Red shoes lives with her grandmother Babushka Galina Galushka, and she is wonderful. A free spirit she is humorous, caring and cuddly. They enjoy fabulous afternoon teas together in the garden. This is just one of the many ways that they share delicious food, although Ruby once ate spaghetti for a whole week! Ruby even enjoys the monthly book club which grandmother hosts. This delightful book shares a life that is full of interesting and loving moments between the generations celebrating a special bond. With gorgeous illustrations and end-papers this is a beautiful book to share. This is latest edition to the Ruby Red Shoes collection. The mix of both spare illustrations with quite busy and intricate pages offer all readers a glimpse into their home and relationship.

- Claire, Bookseller at BOOK FACE Erina Fair

The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley

This is an absolutely charming and delightful story packed with so many loveable, quirky characters. It starts with Julian confessing his truth in a green notebook titled “the Authenticity Project”. He leaves it in a local café and invites whoever finds it to add their story. As the notebook is passed from one Character to another and authentic thoughts are shared, their lives begin to intertwine.

- Zoe, Bookseller at BOOK FACE Erina Fair

For more recommendations, check out our Mother’s Day Newsletter…

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

---