OCTOBER Book of the Month
The Four Spent the Day Together
By Chris Kraus
Chris Kraus, of I Love Dick renown, returns with her first novel in a decade in The Four Spent the Day Together. Written in three linked parts, the novel intergenerationally traces the life of author Catt Greene, culminating in the investigation of a teenage murder.
Gently autofictional, as is Kraus’ style, The Four Spent the Day Together functions as a quasi-ethnography of 2010s USA with a particular focus on Minnesota’s Iron Ranges. It’s as multilayered as Catt herself, with observation wrapped up in character wrapped up in melancholy wrapped up in humour. Kraus touches on the peculiarities of our obligations to ourselves and others, and the irritating insistence of these obligations on taking place in the real world.
OCTOBER ILF Book of the Month
Arsenic Flower
By Dakota Feirer
Dakota Feirer’s debut collection is both tender and ferocious, a body of poems that pulse with rhythm and history. As a Bundjalung and Gumbaynggirr man, Feirer writes with a voice grounded in Country and Ancestors. Speaking of stolen Country, poisoned waterholes, broken promises, and drawing on the rhythms of lo-fi hip-hop, the poems feel alive!
Feirer’s exploration of blak masculinity is raw and unflinching. Arsenic Flower was unsettling and haunting, but also honouring, remembering and insisting on truth. Feirer has crafted something deeply personal yet universally resonant, a collection I know I’ll return to again.
– STEPH –
OCTOBER Kids Book of the Month
The Midnight Chew
By Sally Morgan and Karen Blair
What do a small dog and a big dog with a very large bone get up to in the middle of the night? A romping adventure ensues through the suburban streets from the doggy dump to the dog park and home again, the smells of the neighbourhood on a dark and stormy night a particular focus for our cute canine friends. Boofa Boy Jones and Skippy Gillespie feel like real life doggy pals who I warmed to immediately and deserve all the pats in the world!
Award-winning First Nations author Sally Morgan’s playful and descriptive rhymes are coupled with lively illustrations by CBCA award-winning illustrator Karen Blair that reveal new observations upon every read. With a heart-warming ending about the importance of sharing, The Midnight Chew is an absolute delight that will appeal to young children and adults who love dogs or have their own mischievous furry friend in their lives!
OCTOBER Cookbook of the Month
La Mesa Mexicana
By Rosa Cienfuegos
I have a very, very fond memory of standing outside Rosa Cienfuegos’s Tamaleria & Mexican Deli in Marrickville during COVID times to get some of her sensational tamales and watching a Mexican family buying up big. They went away with about five bags full of groceries as well as fresh food made by Rosa, and the delight on their faces at finding these treasures said it all. So I am very excited indeed to share with you Rosa’s gorgeous new book, La Mesa Mexicana.
Rosa, author of the fabulous CDMX and Comida Mexicana, showcases a further 120 mouth-watering recipes from all over Mexico and tells the stories behind them. Her enthusiasm and warmth, as well as her knowledge of and passion for her food and culture, shines through as she presents these special dishes for us to try. This book is a must-have not just for fans of Mexican food, but for all food lovers.
– SYLVIA –
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