What She Left
By TR Richmond (Michael Joseph)
Publishers love "concept" books so I'd imagine this debut novel from UK writer TR Richmond had them all pretty excited. To be fair, it is a clever idea for a thriller. A young journalist, Alice Salmon, drowns in a river one freezing winter's night after a drunken evening with friends. In the wake of her death, academic Dr Jeremy Cook decides to reconstruct her life with all she has left behind - articles, text messages, blogs, Facebook posts, voicemail, even Spotify playlists. The story is told collage-like, using all these elements and more, as the very conceited and rather creepy academic gets closer to discovering who caused Alice's death. This device works up to a point. It gives us an interesting perspective on truth and lies, and how things play out when they're in a public forum. Where the concept goes astray is with Jeremy's confessional letters - yes, letters, on actual paper - to his long-time pen pal. Clearly, these are required to flesh out characters and drive the plot but, unfortunately, nothing about them is convincing. As we live more of our lives online, the idea of what sort of digital mess we might leave behind once we're gone is concerning. This novel only goes part of the way towards exploring it.
Easy Weeknight Meals
By My Food Bag and Nadia Lim (A&U)
MasterChef winner Nadia Lim is involved with a business called My Food Bag that delivers recipes and all the ingredients required to busy people so they can produce tasty, healthy weeknight dinners without the bother of queuing at a supermarket or racking their brains for new ideas. It has taken off since its launch in 2013, so now Lim and the My Food Bag team have published a book sharing their most popular dishes. This is more useful than it is beautiful - in fact, much of the photography veers towards the lurid. It is heavily influenced by Asian flavours and has a big focus on staples such as salmon, lamb and chicken. Each recipe includes a basic nutritional breakdown, an idea of how long it'll take to prepare and help for those who are gluten- or dairy-free. These recipes require a lengthy list of ingredients, although most can be easily sourced and the instructions aren't daunting. There are revamped classics such as smoked fish pie and sausage rolls, plus lots of curries and fresh ideas the children will love - chicken and chilli bean enchiladas are, says one fan "like nachos and lasagne got married".
That Sugar Book
By Damon Gameau (Macmillan)
If this book doesn't have you obsessively checking labels on packaged food then nothing will. Melbourne actor and filmmaker Damon Gameau experimented on himself by eating a daily total of 40 teaspoons of sugar (the Australian average) for 60 days and making a film on what happened to his health. He didn't find his sugar in doughnuts and fizzy drinks, but perceived healthy food like fruit juice, cereal and low-fat yoghurt. He recorded the ensuing weight gain, fatty liver and mood swings in That Sugar Film, and this book is its companion. It is colourful and filled with arresting images so it's a palatable read that manages to get across a powerful message about sugar addiction and the toll it is taking on our health. Gameau includes recipes for the healthy food he ate during the detox after his sugar experiment as well as some sound advice on where to look for hidden sugars and how to wean yourself off the stuff.
Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story
By David Levithan (Text Publishing)
A follow-on to the wonderful young adult novel Will Grayson, Will Grayson, this is the book of the musical of the life of Tiny Cooper, best friend and ex-boyfriend to the two Will Graysons. Tiny Cooper was one of the most memorable characters of recent YA books and it's great to see him getting one of his own. Highly recommended as a companion read to Will Grayson, Will Grayson and to fans of musicals everywhere. Now all we need is a theatre group to actually stage Hold Me Closer. I'll be in the front row, singing along.
• bookiemonster.co.nz
