Not My Father’s Son by Alan Cumming, $34.25
I can remember the first time I saw Alan Cumming – Goldeneye was on TV the other week and as I was watching it, there he was, as ‘Boris’, and it all came back to me! How I’d seen him at the movies, in Goldeneye, all those years ago. Then he was in the 90s good-time movies Spice World and Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion and by the time he did Titus – wow, that’s a movie – and The Anniversary Party, I was an official Big Fan.
From the blurb:
With ribald humor, wit, and incredible insight, Alan seamlessly moves back and forth in time, integrating stories from his childhood in Scotland and his experiences today as the celebrated actor of film, television, and stage. At times suspenseful, at times deeply moving, but always incredibly brave and honest, Not My Father’s Son is a powerful story of embracing the best aspects of the past and triumphantly pushing the darkness aside.
I’m officially putting this on my Christmas list. I can’t wait to read it.
Love Your Sister by Connie and Samuel Johnson, $21.95
I don’t think there’s anyone left in Australia who doesn’t know about the epic, world-record breaking effort of Samuel Johnson’s to ride his unicycle across the country in honour of his sister who has terminal breast cancer and to spread awareness of the disease. It’s inspiring. They’ve both done TED talks and are worth a watch – here’s Samuel‘s and Connie‘s. From the website: “Part memoir, part travel diary, part conversation, Love Your Sister is an inspiring and unforgettable story that shows just how far one man will go for his sister.” I think this will be a smash success, it deserves to be.
Severed by Frances Larson, $39.99
The inclusion of this book feeds stems from my penchant for ‘True Crime / Macabre-yet-Fascinating’ books. From the website:
From the western colonialists whose demand for shrunken heads spurred brutal massacres to the troops in the Second World War who sent the remains of Japanese soldiers home to their girlfriends; from the memento mori in Romantic portraits to Damien Hirst’s With Dead Head; from grave-robbing phrenologists to enterprising cryonicists, Larson explores the bizarre, often gruesome and confounding history of the severed head. Its story is our story.
Not for everyone, I’m sure, but I’m looking forward to it.
The Queen, her Lover and the Most Notorious Spy in History by Roland Perry, $25.95
We adore watching Horrible Histories. A favourite ‘character’ of the kids’ is Queen Victoria. They’re particularly impressed with Victoria’s record as being the longest ruling English monarch. The way they ask nervously, “Queen Elizabeth II hasn’t taken over yet, has she?” makes me laugh – it’s almost as if they’re rooting for Victoria to keep the record forever. Her love affair with Prince Albert is also documented in the show – there’s even a song, watch from 3:20 if you’re interested. This book delves in to a less-known part of her life. From the website:
Long before her successful marriage to Prince Albert, Princess Victoria had an affair with the dashing Scottish 13th Lord Elphinstone. After the liaison was exposed, Elphinstone was banished to India, appointed Governor of Madras, which allowed Victoria’s mother to engineer a royal union for her with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg. After five years pining for Elphinstone, Victoria finally gave in and married Albert.
Despite a successful marriage, Victoria never forgot Elphinstone and after a decade in India he returned to her side as Lord-in-Waiting at Court. He only left her to take up the critical role of Governor of Bombay during the Indian Uprising of 1857. Elphinstone died soon after in June 1860 from a fever.
Many attempts were made to bury the memory of Lord Elphinstone, his long-running relationship with the monarch and his grand service for the Empire, but Victoria recorded it in letters to her confidant, her first- born, the Princess Royal: ‘Vicky’. The revealing correspondence, like a ticking time-bomb, sat in a German castle attic until 1945 when King George VI, Victoria’s great-grandson, sent a courtier, MI5 operative Anthony Blunt, on seven special missions to gather the letters.
Sounds exciting!
Lists of Note, compiled by Shaun Usher, $47.95
Back in February I talked about how much I love Letters of Note (it made me cry four times!), and Lists of Note is it’s follow-up and I’m sure I’m going to love it just as much. I had my hands on it the other week and I nearly bought it then and there, but I managed to stop myself, thinking “I can wait until Christmas”. Well, maybe – but only just! If you’re not familiar with what Usher does, here’s a description:
Humans have been making lists for even longer than they’ve been writing letters. They are the shorthand for what really matters to us: our hopes and aspirations; likes and dislikes; rules for living and loving; records of our memories and reminders of the things we want to do before we die. Just as he did with Letters of Note, Shaun Usher has trawled the world’s archives to produce a rich visual anthology that stretches from ancient times to present day. From a to-do list of Leonardo da Vinci’s to Charles Darwin on the pros and cons of marriage or Julia Child’s list of possible titles for what would later become an American cooking bible, Lists of Note is a constantly surprising A-Z of what makes us human.
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Important information: order in stock titles by the 10th of December for delivery by Christmas. Non stocked items ordered after the 1st of December will be delivered in the New Year.
