Books in the News...26-27 September

Harry Mac by Russell Eldridge
Tom and Millie are friends who live in a lane on the edge of town. They rely on each other to make sense of what's going on in their lives. Harry Mac is editor of the local newspaper and is a man of silences and secrets. He knows the prime minister but they don't seem to like each other. At school, Tom waits to be back on the lane where life is more interesting: why does a black car drive past slowly every night? Who is the mysterious boy who pierces the evenings with shrieks? And what did Harry Mac mean when he wrote 'people disappear in the night'? A series of shocking discoveries will lead Tom closer to the truth, but may tear his world apart. Set against a fascinating period of South African politics, this is a beautiful coming-of-age story, in the tradition of Jasper Jones and To Kill a Mockingbird.
In the quiet by  Eliza Henry-Jones
A moving, sweet and uplifting novel of love, grief and the heartache of letting go, from a wonderful new Australian author. Cate Carlton has recently died, yet she is able to linger on, watching her three young children and her husband as they come to terms with their life without her on their rural horse property. As the months pass and her children grow, they cope in different ways, drawn closer and pulled apart by their shared loss. And all Cate can do is watch on helplessly, seeing their grief, how much they miss her and how - heartbreakingly - they begin to heal. Gradually unfolding to reveal Cate's life, her marriage, and the unhappy secret she shared with one of her children, In the Quiet is compelling, simple, tender, true - heartbreaking and uplifting in equal measure.
Running like China by Sophie Hardcastle
'When I was eleven years old Mum told me, "One crowded hour of glorious life is worth an age without a name." Even before I heard these words I was always a child who crammed intense joy into tiny pockets of time.' One day Sophie Hardcastle realised the joy she'd always known had disappeared. She was constantly tired, with no energy, no motivation and no sense of enjoyment for surfing, friends, conversations, movies, parties, family - for anything. Her hours became empty. And then, the month before she turned seventeen, that emptiness filled with an intense, unbearable sadness that made her scream and tear at her skin. Misdiagnosed with chronic fatigue, then major depression, then temporal lobe epilepsy, she was finally told - three years, two suicide attempts and five hospital admissions later - that she had Bipolar 1 Disorder. In this honest and beautifully told memoir, Sophie lays bare her story of mental illness - of a teenage girl using drugs, alcohol and sex in an attempt to fix herself; of her family's anguish and her loss of self. It is a brave and hopeful story of adaptation, learning to accept and of ultimately realising that no matter how deep you have sunk, the surface is always within reach.
Prison post by Editia
The world was shocked when foreign correspondent Peter Greste was convicted in June 2014 of reporting false news and endangering Egypt's national security. The trickle of emails for Peter and his family that had begun with his arrest the previous December increased exponentially. Prison Post is a selection of the letters.



Advanced Australia by Mark Butler
Advanced Australia explores the politics of ageing in Australia. The addition of 25 years to average life expectancy in Australia over the past century is a monumental achievement, but many commentators are greeting the prospect of Australians living longer with horror. The ageing of Australia's baby boomers will sharpen this debate, both because of the size of their generation, as well as their history of reshaping every phase of life in their own image. Ageing will dominate Australian politics for years to come, touching almost every area of policy retirement incomes, housing, employment, urban design and more.Advanced Australia makes the case for a much more positive approach to ageing that celebrates the continuing contribution older Australians make to our community.