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The Significance of Behrouz Boochani

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As some of you may know, Behrouz Boochani’s book ‘No Friend but the Mountains’ has just won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award, an esteemed literary prize that honours Australian writing and writers from many genres.

8bbf2dbb5c9c9d39ecd8b395c51d793043528a2fThis is significant. For those unfamiliar with his story here is a short summary. Behrouz* is an Iranian asylum-seeker currently being housed on Manus Island, a ‘beneficiary’ of the Australian Government’s offshore processing scheme. He has been housed in detention for six years, detained indefinitely, after seeking asylum by boat from Indonesia.

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Manbooker Standouts

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So… as many of your probably know, The Man Booker Prize long-list was announced in July. I am yet to read all of this year’s nominations, in fact I’ve only read two – but I was OVER THE MOON to find said two on the list: Sophie Mackintosh’s The Water Cure, and Daisy Johnson’s Everything Under. In that mystical, intoxicating way books can, these novels got under my skin. Ever since reading the first page of both (and long after reading the last!), they have returned again and again to me. Unbidden, suddenly and completely, with an intensity I’d usually associate with memory. I can smell them, taste the air, feel the weight of their skies.

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Johnson and Mackintosh do not shy from darkness – these books (amazingly, both debut novels by young women) feel dangerous, they feel necessary. And they are astonishingly beautiful and moving. Well worth the dive.

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Harriet Gets Carried Away

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Hold onto your hats folks,  Jessie Sima’s new book ‘Harriet gets Carried Away’ has just arrived in store! We are big fans of her debut picture book ‘Not quite Narwhal’ which we blogged about here, and we are so excited to share this gorgeous book with you.

Harriet loves costumes. It doesn’t matter where she goes; the dentist, the shops, school – she can be anything she wants. But this time, she gets carried away…literally. By penguins.

 

One of our favourites for the year – we hope you love it too.

The Book of Dust – Philip Pullman

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Pullman Fans Rejoice! There is a new book from the ever popular fantasy writer and author of ‘His Dark Materials’ Philip Pullman.

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“Eleven-year-old Malcolm Polstead and his dæmon, Asta, live with his parents at the Trout Inn near Oxford. Across the River Thames (which Malcolm navigates often using his beloved canoe, a boat by the name of La Belle Sauvage) is the Godstow Priory where the nuns live. Malcolm learns they have a guest with them, a baby by the name of Lyra Belacqua . . .”

Check out the trailer below!

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October New Releases

/ Rebecca / 1 Comment

For every job there is always a crazy period in the year. For us, that stretches from October through to December.

October New releases is the time of year where we can be seen ferrying teetering piles of books from one end of the store to the other in what seems like a never ending stream. Most of the time our faces peek out from behind large stacks of books and it’s this time of year that we are reminded of a few things.

  1. There IS such a thing as too many books.
  2. We should have worked on our cardio and stamina
  3. There are not enough hours in the day to read all of the amazing new books that we  are suddenly discovering.

So here are a few of the exciting new titles that are ready for Christmas gifts and summer reading.

Fiction

forces of natureManhattan beachfurthest station

Jane Harper – Forces of Nature (Author of The Dry)

Jennifer Egan – Manhattan Beach (Author of Visit from the Goon Squad)

Ben Aaronovitch – The Furthest station (Spin-off Novella)

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Children’s Corner: New Arrivals

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We are so spoiled here at Paperchain in more ways than one, but especially as we sit down once a month with publishers and pour over the delightful children’s books that will make their way onto the shelves over the next few months. We’ve picked a few August releases that we think you’ll love and some have already arrived in store!

Ijust atemyfriend

I Just Ate My Friend – Heidi McKinnon

I just ate my friend. He was a good friend. But now he is gone. Would you be my friend?

A hilarious story about the search for friendship and belonging… and maybe a little bit about the importance of impulse control… from an amazing new creator.

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Alternative Teen Fiction

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ALT TEEN FIC

Just as the books that we read in childhood help frame the way that we see the world, so too do the stories that we consume in our teenage years refine our ways of thinking.  Inside these books, whole worlds appear and disappear with the opening and closing of chapters and it is in these worlds that we are able to fight battles and travel across continents and find friends and endure an endless supply of challenges.

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Children’s corner: Bears, Lullabies, Milo and Megalopolis

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Picture books are the first leap into the world of reading for most children, so we’re always on the look out for good quality, quirky stories that will be loved by children and adults alike. The best picture books transport us to different worlds through their richly imagined stories and evocative illustrations, and teach us about others and ourselves with wisdom and humour. Here are a few stories that have enthralled and delighted us.

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