Better Read Than Dead Bookstore Newtown

November Book of the Month

Memorial

by Bryan Washington

Lot, Washington’s short story collection, was my favourite book of last year. Big shoes to fill, yet his first novel Memorial did not disappoint – I loved it just as much. So far 100%+ for everything Washington has published. His smooth, casual writing is so easy to read and flow with, it's possible the novel's genius may be overlooked, but don’t let this ease of reading fool you. Washington is the king of my reading world. Memorial is a total refresh!

After several years of living together, Mike and Benson are unsure where they are at, especially when Mike takes off to Japan to visit his dying father. The thing is: Mike’s mother has just arrived for a visit, leaving Benson with Mitsuko sleeping on their couch. Where does this leave them all? Right in the centre of one of my favourite books of the year –that’s where!

— REVIEWED BY DEAN —

Available 13th November, 2020

$29.99

ILF November Book of the Month

Maar Bidi

Edited by Elfie Shiosaki & Linda Martin

In this beautifully crafted, evocative and poignant anthology of prose and fiction, a diverse group of young black writers are encouraged to find strength in their voices and what is important to them. maar bidi is a journey into what it is to be young, a person of colour and a minority in divergent and conflicting worlds. All talk to what is meaningful to them, whilst connecting the old and the new, the ancient and the contemporary in a variety of ways.

These young essayists, critics, novelists, poets, authors shake down words and works to find styles, forms and meanings that have influenced them and all their writings. These pieces are snapshots of peoples, places and perception.

— BY ELFIE SHIOSAKI, EDITOR —

$24.99

Kids Illustrated Book of the Month

Mica the Star Sailor

by Bertie Blackman

"Imagination is everything, and home is where you make it, in the debut picture book from artist and musician Bertie Blackman. If you think that name sounds familiar to you, you're right! Bertie is the daughter of renowned Australian painter Charles Blackman. Written as a dedication to her father who became ill with dementia when she was only 13, Mica the Star Sailor is the story of a young girl experiencing loss. One night, alone in her room and longing for her astronaut father, Mica follows a shooting star and finds herself spanning the endless universe in search of him. Full of gorgeous illustrations, in blues of every shade, there's a sadness - thick and inky, that envelopes the reader before elevating them with a message of hope."

Australian Fiction