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Book Reviews Hungry Woman in Parisby Josefina Lopez Grand Central Publishing, $27.99 A journalist and activist, Canela, believes passion is essential to life but, lately, passion seems to be in short supply. It has disappeared from her relationship with her fiancé, who is more interested in controlling her than encouraging her. It's absent from her work, where censorship and politics keep important stories from being published. And while her family is full of outspoken individuals, the only one Canela can truly call passionate is her cousin and best friend Luna, who just took her own life. Canela can't recover from Luna's death. She is haunted by her ghost and feels acute pain for the dreams that went unrealised. Canela breaks off her engagement and uses her, now unnecessary, honeymoon ticket to escape to Paris. Impulsively, she sublets a small apartment and enrols at Le Coq Rouge, Paris's most prestigious culinary institute. Cooking school is a sensual and spiritual reawakening that brings back Canela's hunger for life. With a series of new friends and lovers, she learns to, once again, savour the world around her. Say Sorry: A Harrowing Childhood in Catholic  Orphanagesby Ann Thompson PENGUIN, $40.00 Conceived out of wedlock in 1941, Ann was just two months old when she was placed in the care of a Catholic orphanage in Christchurch, New Zealand. From the beginning, she was taught that her mother was sinful and she would be too unless the devil was beaten from her soul. She was physically and sexually abused by religious and lay staff at the orphanage from an early age and was forced to work long hours on the orphanage farm and later in the laundries. In 1997, when Ann watched a Prime Television documentary exposing the decades of abuse by the Good Shepherd nuns at the Christchurch orphanage, she realised hers wasn't the only lost childhood. Say Sorry documents the abuse inflicted on Ann and its ongoing consequences. It is also the story of her battle to get authorities within the Catholic Church to accept responsibility for the past institutionalised abuse of children and young people in its care; to acknowledge culpability and admit, unconditionally, that there was wrongdoing. Slippers  by Mark Blumsky & Neil Miller Hodder Moa, $24.99 What makes a business successful or not? Mark Blumsky shows how a defining point of difference in the way we treat customers can turn an ordinary business into a successful one. Using examples, he shows how you can identify your point of difference and implement it. Bringing in his own experience in politics and as a shoe store owner, he also brings in other industries and examples in this simple, readable book. Celebrity  by Marina Hyde Harvill Secker, $37.99 Do you wonder where it's all going to end? Does the word 'celebrity' sound like a fifth horseman of the apocalypse? Then this book is for you: an invaluable primer to the celebriscape, a world expanding twice as fast as the universe it inhabits. Celebrity is a coruscating, hilarious guide to a world in which it is considered reasonable that Angelina Jolie advises on the Iraqi reconstruction effort, Charlie Sheen analyses 9/11, and in which Jude Law's views on the Taliban are reported. Anatomising every aspect of our crazed world, Celebrity tackles the big topics, including 'Celebrity Activism: when celebrities care', 'Celebrities and the Middle East: a troubled region's brightest hope?', and 'Celebrity Religions: who do the worshipped worship?' Celebrity is a roadmap, a survivalist's guide, a Rosetta stone for our times, without a copy of which you are not equipped to engage with the world.  Domestic Goddess on a Budget: How to Save Money and Time and still be Gorgeousby Wendyl Nissen PENGUIN, $25.00 Ever thought of cleaning your toilet with nothing but baking soda and vinegar? Making fly spray out of black tea or painting your nails with henna? Writer, broadcaster, wife, mum and grandma Wendyl Nissen knows just how difficult it is to juggle family and career, while saving the planet and living within your means. After lots of research and trial and error, Wendyl has compiled this user-friendly guide to saving time and money without losing your sense of style – or your sense of humour. Domestic Goddess on a Budget includes: tried and true recipes for environmentally-friendly cleaning products, tips on how to de-clutter, reduce waste and save money on your food bill, recipes for money-saving natural beauty products and how to slow down, stop being perfect and find the right work/life balance for you. Is there a domestic goddess lurking in you? |