Need some reading inspiration to replace the constant scrolling. Here, editor Trudi Brewer shares her pick of top books, including a heartbreaking autobiography and a positive-ageing bible to inspire you this March.
London Through a Fashion Eye by Megan Hess
“The biggest inspiration for me, in any destination, is a really local, busy, interesting coffee shop or place that I can perch myself and sketch and observe what people are wearing and how their hair is – that to me is the most inspiring thing about travel.”
New York, Paris and now London. Following her successful travel guides on fashion epicentres, London is a work of art. Illustrator Megan Hess is prolific with her sketches; her last count, London Through A Fashion Eye, is her 46th book. Each page takes you to the best spots in one of the world’s best destinations. The illustrations were drawn using her trusted Monty (Montblanc pen). Sectioned in chapters Do/Play, Shop, Sleep, Eat/Drink, Hess shares the places she loves. “In this book, I have gathered my favourite spots for fashion-loving travellers in London.” If you don’t already love London, you will want to visit once you flick through this beauty - it’s pure joy.
London Through A Fashion Eye by Megan Hess, published by Hardie Grant, $52.
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
“Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.“I’m telling you, once you start, you won’t want it to end…and be prepared for tears. ”
It’s cracked the New York Times best sellers list, and Oprah Winfrey’s 100th pick from her Book Club: Ann Napolitano pays homage to the classic Little Women in her family saga novel Hello Beautiful. It began in 1960 with the birth of a baby boy who was not an only child. However, a few weeks after William Waters was born, tragedy struck. Emotionally hobbled by grieving parents, Waters finds solace in sport. He eventually wins a basketball scholarship to Northwestern University, and it’s in Chicago (Oprah Winfrey’s hometown) that Water meets Julia, one of four Padovano sisters from a working-class Italian-American neighbourhood. Not only does he fall in love with Julia but also with her warm, raucous family that gives him the kind of love-filled life his aloof, heartbroken parents could never provide. This book charts three decades of the Padovano family’s seemingly solid sisterhood continually challenged and influenced by Water’s tragic past. Both families are in what becomes a complex tapestry of grief, love and heartbreak.
Hello Beautiful by Anne Napolitano, published by Penguin Books Ltd, $52.
On Call - Stories from my life as a surgeon, a daughter and a mother by Ineke Meredith
“ Ruthlessly honest and viscerally beautiful. The book I wish I had read as a medical student. ”
Ineke Meredith was already on our radar with her clever canine skincare range, Fur Love. Her latest project, On Call, is an honest account of the gritty truths about being a surgeon. This high achiever was born to parents of mixed Samoan heritage and spent her childhood in Samoa but returned to New Zealand to study medicine. A general surgeon who specialises in breast cancer and breast reconstruction, this is not her first foray into writing. She has published research articles in international peer-reviewed medical journals on breast cancer and reconstruction and cancer rates among Pacific peoples in New Zealand. This new book is an honest account of the pace and unpredictability of life as a busy surgeon. “From a man presenting with fishhooks in his stomach to being punched in the face by a patient, it's all in a mad day's work for a female general surgeon,” says Meredith. Sharing the struggle that is real with sick ageing parents, working to the gruelling hospital schedule often into the wee hours of the morning, and managing life as a single working mum leads her to ask: Are the sacrifices of a life in scrubs worth it? This is a memoir about what it takes to be at the top of your game inside an operating theatre.
On Call, by Ineke Meridith, published by HarperCollins, $40.
Brutally Honest by Melanie Brown, Mel B with Louise Gannon
“By opening up about the realities of abuse and addiction, Mel B has launched a new, but equally important, version of Girl Power. Brutally Honest will grip you from the start.”
Who didn’t love a Spice Girl? With over 100 million records sold worldwide, the Spice Girls became the best-selling female group ever. With that came fame, fortune, and glamour, but behind the scenes, like in many fairytale stories, there is often pain, despair, and heartbreak. This expanded edition (three new chapters) written with Louise Gannon of Brutally Honest, by Melanie Brown, a.k.a Scary Spice, is a genuine exposé into the struggles she faced in a 10-year violent marriage in a remarkably frank autobiography. It’s also peppered with her cheeky Yorkshire humour but manages to rip off the mask of fame and reveal the despair that comes with living in an abusive relationship. Famous for being the bold, loud Scary Spice, behind closed doors, she was made to feel so worthless that she contemplated suicide as the only way out. Since the launch of the original Brutally Honest in 2018, Brown has become a Patron of Women’s Aid, on the speaking circuit on behalf of women who survive domestic abuse. She was awarded an MBE for services to vulnerable women. Today, she is thriving, living with her family in her hometown of Leeds in Northern England.
Brutally Honest by Melanie Brown, published by Hardie Grant, $26.
How to Age Against the Machine, by Melissa Doyle & Naima Brown
“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.”
While it’s inevitable, ageing can be on your terms. That’s the message from journalist/authors Melissa Doyle (ex-TV host) and TV producer), Naima Brown, to start a new conversation. Co-hosts of the famous Age Against the Machine podcast, it’s in this book they address age in a fresh, positive way. Exploring every aspect of maturing, from sex to menopause, relationships, work, money, and the diversity of beauty. They celebrate how every woman ages at her own pace and share the wisdom of experts and real stories from women of all walks of life, bringing forward a new perspective on what is an inevitable journey we all face. Including the ‘Age Cage,’ a concept women must break free from to enjoy every stage of their lives. In their closing chapter, Doyle and Brown say, “We hope that you grab onto your older years with the same sense of excitement and possibility that you felt in your twenties but with the wisdom, preparation and knowledge you’ve gathered along the way.” It’s a brilliant guide you can dip in and out of any time - I can’t put it down.
How to Age Against the Machine, by Melissa Doyle & Naima Brown, published by Hardie Grant, $50.
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