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Feel Good Reads
American humourist P.J. O'Rourke once said, "Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it." But sometimes we simply feel like reading something other than all those worthy and impressive literary award winners - something lighter but still well-written, something wonderfully witty which makes us laugh out loud, or maybe just a cracking good adventure. So for all of you who wander in and tell us that you're looking for something different to read, but you don't really know what you want; or who need something for a friend in hospital; or a book to take on holiday; or just something to escape from the grimness of the nightly news - we are delighted to present a new area in our bookshop entitled "Feel-Good Reads."
Titles include both fiction and non-fiction options - beloved classics from P.G. Wodehouse, Barbara Pym, and Nancy Mitford; hilarious travel narratives from Bill Bryson; amusing essays from David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs; modern Australian classics from John Clarke, Shane Maloney, and Thea Astley; plus many more from Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions to Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole series; from Alexander McCall-Smith's warm and witty Scottish tales to Paul Carter's gripping and often hilarious true-life adventures.
We will also be promoting Feel-Good Friday where we will feature a chosen title from these shelves and posting on facebook, twitter and instagram so keep an eye out for your next great read.
Catch-22 (50th Anniversary edition) by Joseph Heller
$14.99 AUD
Category: Penguin Spinner Fiction
This fiftieth-anniversary edition commemorates Joseph Heller's masterpiece with a new introduction; critical essays and reviews by Norman Mailer, Alfred Kazin, Anthony Burgess, and others; rare papers and photos; and much more. Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great America ...Show more
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (#1) by Douglas Adams
$16.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Fiction | Series: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
One Thursday lunchtime, the Earth gets unexpectedly demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass. It's the final straw for Arthur Dent, who has already had his house bulldozed that morning. But for Arthur, that is only the beginning ...In the seconds before global obliteration, Arthur is plucked ...Show more
Unreliable Memoirs by Clive James
$19.99 AUD
Category: Chat10Looks3 Recommendations | Series: Picador Classic | Reading Level: very good
With an introduction by P. J. O'Rourke 'Do not read this book in public. You will risk severe internal injuries from trying to suppress your laughter.' Sunday Times I was born in 1939. The other big event of that year was the outbreak of the Second World War, but for the moment that did not affect me. I ...Show more
Bridge Burning and Other Hobbies by Kitty Flanagan
$19.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Non-fiction
Kitty Flanagan has been locked in an industrial freezer in Western Australia, insulted about the size of her lady parts in Singapore and borne witness to the world's most successful wife swap in suburban Sydney. It's these valuable lessons from The University of Life that have taught her so many things, ...Show more
The Department of Sensitive Crimes (#1 Detective Ulf Varg) by Alexander McCall Smith
$19.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Fiction | Series: Detective Varg Ser. | Reading Level: near fine
In the Swedish criminal justice system, certain cases are considered especially strange and difficult, in Malm , the dedicated detectives who investigate these crimes are members of an elite squad known as the Sensitive Crimes Division. These are their stories. The first case: the small matter of a ma ...Show more
Adults by Emma Jane Unsworth
$22.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Fiction
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'HILARIOUS' Stylist 'DAZZLING' Marian Keyes 'WITTY' Guardian 'HEARTBREAKING' Dolly Alderton 'INCREDIBLE' Candice Carty-Williams Jenny McLaine: * can't afford her mortgage since her ex moved out * is about to get dumped by her best friend * spends all day online-stalkin ...Show more
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett; Neil Gaiman
$19.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Fiction
"'Armageddon only happens once, you know. They don't let you go around again until you get it right'i>eople have been predicting the end of the world almost from its very beginning, so it's only natural to be sceptical when a new date is set for Judgement Day. But what if, for once, the predictions a ...Show more
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller; Howard Jacobson (Introduction by)
$14.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Fiction | Series: Vintage Classics Ser. | Reading Level: very good
This fiftieth-anniversary edition commemorates Joseph Heller's masterpiece with a new introduction; critical essays and reviews by Norman Mailer, Alfred Kazin, Anthony Burgess, and others; rare papers and photos; and much more. Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great America ...Show more
Various Pets Alive and Dead by Marina Lewycka
$19.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Fiction
Lentils, free love, radical politics and family truths..."Various Pets Alive and Dead" is the wonderfully funny fourth novel from Marina Lewycka, author of the bestselling "A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian". For twenty years Doro and Marcus lived in a commune, convinced lentils and free love wou ...Show more
I Feel Bad About My Neck and other thoughts on being a woman by Nora Ephron
$19.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Non-fiction | Reading Level: very good
'If I said to you “I absolutely cannot stand my neck” , you’d undoubtedly respond by saying something nice, like, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You’d be lying, of course, but I forgive you. You can put makeup on your face and concealer under your eyes and dye on your hair, you can shoot coll ...Show more
One Good Turn (Jackson Brodie #2) by Kate Atkinson
$19.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Fiction | Series: Jackson Brodie | Reading Level: very good
It is the Edinburgh Festival. People queuing for a lunchtime show witness a road-rage incident - an incident which changes the lives of everyone involved. Jackson Brodie, ex-army, ex-police, ex-private detective, is also an innocent bystander - until he becomes a suspect. With Case Histories, Kate Atkin ...Show more
Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford; Alan Cumming (Introduction by)
$22.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Fiction
A sparkling romantic comedy that vividly evokes the lost glamour of aristocratic life in England between the wars. Polly Hampton has long been groomed for the perfect marriage by her mother, the fearsome and ambitious Lady Montdore. But Polly, with her stunning good looks and impeccable connections, ...Show more