As I sit at my desk looking out the window at the wind and the rain, I consider all the books I’ve reviewed for Sydney Arts Guide over the past few years. I was to write an article for the magazine recommending Summer Reads. But Summer hasn’t arrived. Hence, the title of this article, “Rainy Day” Reading Suggestions. I have therefore not included in the list below any books that you might take to the beach. Instead, these are books suitable for a hot mug of tea or coffee while sitting peacefully inside.
I am one of Sydney Arts Guide’s theatre reviewers. When the pandemic disrupted theatre, I began writing book reviews. Having once been a book editor, I loved reading interesting new titles and writing about them. Over the past two years, I’ve reviewed 38 books. Here is the list of those I would suggest for “Rainy Day” reading:
The Plant Hunter by Thomas Mogford: historical fiction
THE PLANT HUNTER is set in London in 1867. A handsome young man works in a Chelsea garden shop, hired because all the ladies want to chat to him. The store owner is delighted because he is good at convincing the ladies to buy the latest ‘in’ orchid or cycad. Chelsea was the centre of the exotic plant market. Wealthy people came from all over the Kingdom to buy exotics, paying top price for rare plants from faraway places.
There is politics of the Opium War, the heroes travel with a beautiful young widow, their escape from bandits, the treacherous ship captain and action and more action. More subtly, and just as interesting, there is fascinating insight into the life of plants. Mogford slips in the botanical information so cleverly that you can’t help but be fascinated about the construction of the Wardian plant box, preserving seeds in honey and keeping plants alive in terrariums while transporting them thousands of kilometres across the seas. There are exquisite and detailed descriptions of river boats, Chinese temples, street life and more.
Extinct: illustrations of Australia’s extinct animals, collected by Benjamin Gray
Ecologist and historian Benjamin Gray gave 41 of Australia’s established artists whatever information is available about the 39 extinct animals and let each loose with their imaginations to create an image of a long gone creature. For example, there exist film clips and photographs of the Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) and two artists, Marina Strocchi and Henry Curchod, used these images to create very different paintings of our most famous extinct animal. This is a fascinating book.
Wonderdog by Jules Howard: non-fiction
Dogs do love us, and we love our dogs. There are about 4.8 million dogs in Australia and that number is growing. The most common dogs across the world are the strays and ferals. WONDERDOG is about how the scientific research into dog behaviour influences research into human behaviour. This is a fascinating book, relating the serious studies of street dogs, domesticated dogs, family dogs, hunting dogs, foxes, wolves (from whence dogs evolved) and a bit about dingoes.
Some examples: The famous Pavlov sold saliva from the glands of his dogs to people with digestive problems; researchers have domesticated foxes within just a few generations; most dog owners crave to know if their dogs really love them; without human or the mother dog bonding immediately after the birth of a pup, the dog is likely to grow into an aggressive adult or suffer learned helplessness. The research clearly shows that nurture has far more impact on dog behaviour than does nature.
John Grisham spy thrillers
John Grisham’s novels are a delight. After you’ve read a few, you know the good guys are going to win in the end. You know the convoluted American legal system will eventually provide at least some justice. Grisham’s quest for decency and reform plays out through high action drama rather than through earnest didactic writing. He sneaks his message in rather than preaching it. He conjures up the deep problems in the American criminal justice system, unforgettable characters and a thoroughly believable plot.
Rogues, Non-fiction by Patrick Radden Keefe
ROGUES tells the stories of people behaving badly, as investigated by award-winning writer Patrick Radden Keefe. Describing the world’s most abominable people is Keefe’s life work. The book is a collection of 30 to 40 page ‘long form’ pieces written for the New Yorker magazine, some from a decade ago, others more current. At the end of each piece there is a one paragraph update. Some of the rogues are now in jail, others remain free living in luxury. One committed suicide, some were murdered. If you want to know how the bad guys operate, this is the book for you.
Australian Architecture, A History, by Davina Jackson
This one is definitely not for the beach. It’s thick, and it would be a shame to get sand in it. It’s a beautiful book. Davina Jackson’s AUSTRALIAN ARCHITECTURE is more than a history of buildings and their designers. It is a history of Australia seen through structures from 60,000 years ago to current times. She describes the Aboriginal structures, including drawings of the construction techniques of the huts and gunyah. Included are the early paintings and drawings of Aboriginal dwellings, made by the second settlers, the artists who came with the ships.
Congratulations to the book’s designer, Liz Seymour. Each page is a pleasure to look at. With so many illustrations, captions and topics, the design of the book was a complicated puzzle Liz solved. There are over 300 illustrations, well-captioned and referenced. There are three double-page spreads with 14 architectural types on each, illustrating and describing styles from classical Greek to a neo-modern building at Barangaroo.
These helpful spreads are a quick guide to world architecture styles and put in context how our buildings were influenced. The book includes commercial buildings, public housing, convict camps, universities, churches, clubs, constructions at Norfolk and other islands, kit buildings, train stations, the Snowy Mountains structures, park visitor centres, the 2000 Olympic sites.
So there you are, dear readers. Six books for a rainy summer. Let it rain. Books are good for the brain. Let the wind blow. Books will keep us in the know.
Featured image : Author John Grisham