101 Secrets to Building a Winning Business

(Andrew Griffiths) I met Andrew Griffiths at the Australian Booksellers Association Conference last month and was caught up by his enthusiasm and energy for small business. Andrew has been involved in many ventures and speaks with authority on many issues that affect those of us who dare to take on a business of our own.

In this book Andrew has compiled 101 no-nonsense tips that have a simple wisdom about them. There is no doubt the theory is rooted in a commonsense rather than an academic approach, but then most small businesses require this sort of advice to go on from day to day. In reading this book, I certainly was inspired to look for new ways to approach things and assume most other business owners or aspiring business owners or managers will too.

There is certainly something within the pages to help any business improve how they do things and therefore their bottom line. Like the man himself, the text is written in a relaxed and sometimes humorous style and is an easy read, even though the content has a serious side. I recommend you take a punt and see what the man has to say about business. Who knows, you may just end up wanting to contact him to thank him like many others have done.

Susanne

The Good Thief

(Hannah Tinti) The Good Thief is a novel that is reminiscent of the work of classic authors like Charles Dickens and Mark Twain. It is hard to believe that it is Hannah Tinti’s debut novel, it is rendered with such heart and imagination.

It is the story of Ren, an orphan who is missing his left hand. How it was lost is a mystery as is the identity of his parents and why they chose to abandon him. He longs for a family to call his own, so when Benjamin Nab appears at the orphanage gates claiming to be his long lost brother, he is given some hope. But as we soon find out Benjamin isn’t who he claims, and so begins the adventures of Ren through towns and farmlands uncovering clues to his parentage along the way, and discovering that Benjamin may hold the key to his future as well as his past.

The adventures of Ren and his scam-artist companions make for an enjoyable and engrossing read. What lover of books would not warm to author Hanna Tinti when she pens Ren’s response to his second purloined volume, The Deerslayer… “At times he felt like he was reading fragments of his own dreams, reassembled into words that pulled at his heart as if there were a string tied somewhere inside his chest that ran down into the book and attached itself to the characters, drawing him through the pages.”

Highly Recommended.

Charmaine

One Foot Wrong

(Sofie Laguna) Sofie Laguna is not a first time author – having written books for children, but this is a brilliant, although disturbing, adult debut. One Foot Wrong is narrated by Hester, a young girl imprisoned in her home by her reclusive and religious parents.

She has never met another child, never had the chance to form a normal relationship with another person. As such Hester forms friendships with her constant companions Cat, Spoon, Broom and Axe. Sometimes her companions speak to her telling her what to do...

Being written from a child’s perspective lends a beautiful simplicity to this tale, but it is by no means a childish story. The language and imagery is stunning, a very dark tale but Laguna’s imagination illuminates every page.

Kylie

Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox

(Eoin Colfer) Artemis Fowl and Captain Holly Short are back in an explosive all new book. After everything that he has experienced, Artemis is ready to settle down with his family. When his mother becomes gravely ill, he finds out that the only cure for it no longer exists... and that he had been involved in its destruction.

So with Holly by his side, they travel back in time to save the cure, but find themselves going up against a very conniving and evil young Artemis who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. As his mother’s life hangs in the balance, Artemis must try to think like his younger self in order to stay a step ahead of, well, himself!

With a few favourite characters popping up, this latest instalment of Artemis Fowl will satisfy any fans of the series!

Nicole