Here’s some books we’ve been reading during the 24/25 summer break.

‘The Revenge Club’
Kathy Lette
Matilda has three friends, always playing by the rules…until, they’re not. Career success was easy…until it wasn’t. Stymied by the system and the men who run it, these four gals take action! This book is a how to for fraud, lying, stealing, kidnapping, deceit and some some rather dirty dancing. Risqué to us, is routine to Kathy Lette, whose books always serve a big dollop of satire on the world’s misogyny. Read it and relax..it’s just a bit of fun for the over 60s! And take some advice from Matilda: “Watch out for the four horsemen of the older female career apocalypse: criticism, contempt, stonewalling and invisibility”

‘Spritz Fever’
Eloise Anders
Well, not strictly reading….this is a reference guide to a lazy and luscious summer. Drinks with fruit, fun and fizz to toast happy holidays and long lunches. The evocative watercolour illustrations are as delicious as the drinks themselves. Where to start, with sixty recipes to choose from. And, there’s a little bit of science in the Spritz, in case you didn’t know. Learn about bubbles to liqueur ratios, the right aperitifs to blend with particular fruit flavours, and get up to speed on your Champagne Vs Prosecco, Cava Vs Sparkling. This is a book just made for the Aussie summer, written by Melbourne mixologist, Eloise Anders.

‘Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont’
Elizabeth Taylor
An aging English middle-class lady, now widowed and set to eke out her days in a Hotel off the Cromwell Road in Kensington, meets a poor, much younger, Italian writer. What could possibly go wrong? In this romance scam, written well before the hook up apps, Elizabeth Taylor writes piercingly, but sympathetically about ordinary men and women, making ends meet, and finding connections in their otherwise sparse lives. A light read, with a taut plot that pulls you in from the first chapter, to see how the hearts of the two characters fair. Almost a novella, Mrs Palfrey can be read in an afternoon under a tree, or on the beach. Then look up the dozen or so other novels and short story collections available from this little known twentieth century author.

‘Train Japan’
Steve Wide and Michelle Mackintosh
Here’s one of nine indispensable travel guides from a couple who split their time every year between Melbourne and Japan. Fans of travelling in Japan, or train travel generally, will be encouraged to discover some special places via the Japan rail network, that seems to go everywhere. With practical tips and enticing pictures, the handy paperback is split into evocative chapters based on lifestyle. What do you like to see/do on your vacation…?? Is it onsens, fish markets, art, gardens, sake and food, history and samurai, textiles, mountain and snow, etc. They are all covered, and you’ll be wanting to buy a ticket to the lot. My favourite: ramen destinations!

‘A Keeper’ & ‘Holding’
Graham Norton
This new-ish novelist (two books published within the past 5 years) is a tip from a Stephanie’s customer. Both novels are set in remote Ireland, with a backdrop of wild winds, steep cliffs and crashing oceans. The plots involve murder and mysterious pasts, and ill fated romance. Norton is a talk show host, and comedian, and reviewers say his books are witty and darkly comic with lovable, but flawed, characters, in the vein of Miss Marple mysteries.