Cirrus@Austlit

'Chef and restaurateur Ben Shewry knows obsession well. Whether it's crispy-edged lasagne, saltwater crocodile ribs or the perfect potato, obsession is what motivates him and what makes him tick. It's also what has propelled his Melbourne restaurant Attica into the league of the most innovative, acclaimed dining experiences in the world, and one of the most vital in Australian history.

'In this absorbing and wide-ranging memoir meets manifesto, Shewry applies his sometimes searing, sometimes comic eye to creative freedom in the kitchen, food journalism, sexism in hospitality, the fraud of the farm-to-table sustainability ethos, the cult of the chef, cooking as muse and the legendary Family Bolognese.

'Raised on a farm in a close-knit rural New Zealand family, he shares how a childhood surrounded by nature and a reverence for First People's cultures has influenced his work, the values he lives by, and the meticulous, inventive multi-course menu that is synonymous with Attica. Uses for Obsession also tells the intimate, desperate story of how Attica survived 262 days with an empty dining room. How, during a time of epic hospitality transformation, it morphed into a takeaway food business, a merch shop and a summer camp. He was told it couldn't be done and that doubt both tortured and drove him.

'At its heart, this is a positive story, an antidote to the macho chef culture that thrives on old ideas about leadership and success. Shewry prosecutes the compelling case for a new way forward. A bold blueprint for the restaurant - and workplace - of the future. One built on kindness, community, truth and a commitment to never giving up.' (Publication summary)

'A stunning visual and written anthology celebrating life in regional Australia curated by Galah magazine founder, award-winning writer and editor Annabelle Hickson.

'It can be easy to assume nothing much happens beyond the city, if that's all you've known. But that, of course, is far from the truth. 

'Here, across six themed chapters, journalist Annabelle Hickson shares a different perspective on life in regional Australia, featuring stories from the coast to the farms, from the bush to the towns, from the rainforest to the outback. Annabelle brings together the best work from more than 50 leading writers, photographers and artists from her award-winning magazine, celebrating not only incredible landscapes and remarkable, beautiful places, but also the diversity, resourcefulness and creativity of the people that call the country home.'  (Publication summary)

'Vegemite is perhaps Australia's most enduring cultural icon. But how did this pungent, salty black paste, which for most of us is how we start the day, come to be created?

'Cyril Callister was a passionate scientist and innovator, and his story is inextricably bound with that of our country through the first half of the twentieth century, through two world wars and the Depression. He was the grandson of a gold miner who arrived in Ballarat in the 1850s. His own father, a widower, raised a small army of kids, and Cyril was the first to go to university. He was sent to England during WWI and in the 1920s was employed by the flamboyant and entrepreneurial Fred Walker, charged with the task of creating a substance that would, in time, be named Vegemite. Cyril remained at Kraft until his death in 1949. He was a progressive boss and encouraged further training for all of his staff, many of them women.

'Cyril was also a husband and father to three children - two were struck down by polio as children, while the third, a fighter pilot, was tragically killed while on a dawn air sortie in the Trobriand Islands, east of PNG during WWII.

'The Man Who Invented Vegemite is a must-read for all of us interested in remarkable Australian stories. Jamie Callister, sets out to learn more about the grandfather he never met and, along the way, discovers that extraordinary things can happen to (almost) ordinary people.' (From the publisher's website.)

'For as long as I can remember, there has always been just the three of us. Three sisters. Only a year between each. Inseparable. It's been like that for almost 50 years ... Until my youngest sister walked out into her suburban backyard and took her life.

'Is it possible to ever heal a tear in your universe?

'After her younger sister died suddenly, broadcaster Indira Naidoo's world was shattered. Turning to her urban landscape for solace, Indira found herself drawn to a fig tree overlooking Sydney harbour. A connection began to build between the two - one with a fractured heart, the other a centurion offering quiet companionship while asking nothing in return.

'As Indira grappled with her heartbreak, an unnoticed universe of infinite beauty revealed itself: pale vanilla clouds pirouetting across the sky, resilient weeds pushing through cracks in the footpath, the magical biodiversity of tiny puddles. With the help of a posse of urban guides, she began to explore how nature - whatever bits of nature are within reach - can heal us during life's darker chapters, whether nursing a broken heart or an anxious mind.

'The Space Between the Stars is a heart-rending, at times funny, and uplifting tribute to love and our innate need to connect to the natural world, a celebration of the reassuring cycle of renewal that sustains and nourishes us all.

'As long as you can see the stars, you can never truly be lost.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

 (Publication summary)

'At 41 - with two teenagers and a contentedly unadventurous life - Heather Hawkins made a doctor's appointment. Diagnosed with stage one ovarian cancer, within nine days she had surgery to remove an 18cm tumour, and a full hysterectomy. Instead of chemotherapy, she chose a non-invasive surveillance treatment. The experience reignited Heather's adventurous and invincible spirit. 

'At 47 she pulled on an old pair of shorts and runners and struggled to the end of a 4km mothers' day fun run with her kids. Five years later she has 17 marathons and 3 ultra marathons under her belt, including the North Pole Marathon and the extraordinary World Marathon Challenge - a gruelling seven marathons in seven days on seven continents. She topped that off by trekking 1700km in the thin air of Nepal's Great Himalaya Trail. And she's only just getting started ...'Heather's courage is immeasurable. She has unstoppable conviction and an energy that inspires and amazes me' - Robert de Castella - AO MBE, Australian Former World champion Marathon Runner'  (Publication summary)

'In his years of travelling the length and breadth of Australia, David Darcy has met many an old timer with a story to share - childhood memories of a very different Australia, and stories from a lifestyle that is fast disappearing as Australia changes and takes its place in the modern world. Here David Darcy is on the road again, traversing the continent in search of a good yarn and an interesting face. Through candid portraits and poignant, intimate conversations with men and women from all walks of Australian life, he captures recollections of childhood memories, a life lived on the land, in the cities, on the shores of this great dry continent - stories from a disappearing world.' (Publications summary)

'Lord Byron was not just one of England's finest poets, he was also history's first true rock star, living a life of abundant extravagance and shocking scandal that led eventually to self-imposed exile in Europe. Through his travels, Byron carved out a new life, remaining true to himself to the end. So when journalist Julietta Jameson is compelled by emotional crisis to embark on her own period of personal exile, whose footsteps better to follow in than those of her beloved Byron? Her suitcase filled with his verse, Julietta traces the path of this luminary poet through the Alps, across Italy and over the Mediterranean, and in doing so, learns to live her life in truth, just as he did.

Me, Myself and Lord Byron is a story of parallel journeys—that of the infamous Lord Byron, and of a woman on a heartfelt mission to reclaim her life. Julietta explores the flipside of Byron's celebrity—his insecurities, fears and regrets. And against the sumptuous backdrop of Switzerland, Italy and Greece, she reminds us that it's never too late to rediscover yourself.' Source: www.murdochbooks.com.au/ (Sighted 07/03/20111).