Here are 100 books that Two Old Fools Fair Dinkum fans have personally recommended if you like
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I am an author living in the depths of rural France. I currently write humorous memoirs about our wacky lives here in a rural backwater where we’re surrounded by meadows, forest, and a motley collection of mostly rescued animals. Aside from being a passionate animal lover, I have a special interest in reading accounts of others who travel and those who have relocated to a different country. After a long day’s work on our domaine, there’s nothing better than curling up on the sofa—cat on my lap, dogs in a happy heap—and getting lost in a great memoir. A glass of wine never goes amiss, either.
Having lived in the area, this memoir, set in the Midlands, was such a lovely stroll down memory lane.
Dawn recounts her childhood with warmth, wit, and an authentic ‘Brummie’ voice that shines through the dialogue. Her heartwarming tales of a close-knit family are highlights, which sparkle with gentle humour and nostalgia.
In this evocative childhood memoir, illustrated with colour and monochrome photographs, Dawn reflects on her past after finding herself transported back to the 1960s during her evening commute following the pandemic. With humour and honesty, she relates the remarkable story of how she was almost not born and details her earliest memories of growing up on a council estate in Birmingham. She reminisces about her neighbourhood, school days, recreational activities, food, games, and cherished family memories.Dawn paints a rich tapestry of nostalgia from the 60s and 70s, capturing the special essence of the decades that shaped her future. It is…
The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.
The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.
Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…
I am an author living in the depths of rural France. I currently write humorous memoirs about our wacky lives here in a rural backwater where we’re surrounded by meadows, forest, and a motley collection of mostly rescued animals. Aside from being a passionate animal lover, I have a special interest in reading accounts of others who travel and those who have relocated to a different country. After a long day’s work on our domaine, there’s nothing better than curling up on the sofa—cat on my lap, dogs in a happy heap—and getting lost in a great memoir. A glass of wine never goes amiss, either.
Val Poore is one of my favourite memoir authors, and this book is another winner.
Val's journey by barge through Dutch canals is full of charm, laughter, and interest. I particularly loved the vivid storytelling and the playful, dry-humoured banter with her partner, Koos.
I’m already looking forward to her next adventures!
In 2021, with the world reviving after the COVID pandemic, Val Poore finds life in her Rotterdam harbour is becoming too noisy and stressful. With tourists tramping over her deck by day and incursions from inebriated students at night, she knows it’s time to move.The quest for a new home for her beautiful historic barge, Vereeniging, takes her to the quiet town of Oudenbosch in the Dutch province of Brabant and later, in 2023, to an even more fitting harbour in Zeeland. This book is the story of how she came to the decision to leave her 'watery nest' and…
I am an author living in the depths of rural France. I currently write humorous memoirs about our wacky lives here in a rural backwater where we’re surrounded by meadows, forest, and a motley collection of mostly rescued animals. Aside from being a passionate animal lover, I have a special interest in reading accounts of others who travel and those who have relocated to a different country. After a long day’s work on our domaine, there’s nothing better than curling up on the sofa—cat on my lap, dogs in a happy heap—and getting lost in a great memoir. A glass of wine never goes amiss, either.
The book is fun, fascinating, and an excellent reference for anyone travelling to Malaga.
I loved the author’s honest approach to sharing her emotions, which added great colour to her writing. It’s a terrific debut memoir by Karen O’Connor, and I look forward to reading about her future travels.
When Karen’s son, Johnny, invited her to tag along on his work trip to Malaga, she jumped at the chance. Little did she know that this cheery break from a long Washington winter would result in an adventure that would awaken her soul in ways she could not anticipate.Follow Karen in her favourite blue jacket as she explores the city, makes new friends and falls deeper in love with Spain.Fans of The Lonely Planet series, Bill Bryson and engaging travel memoirs will thoroughly enjoy this book."Karen O’Connor’s first travel book is a delight. It invites the reader to share her…
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
I am an author living in the depths of rural France. I currently write humorous memoirs about our wacky lives here in a rural backwater where we’re surrounded by meadows, forest, and a motley collection of mostly rescued animals. Aside from being a passionate animal lover, I have a special interest in reading accounts of others who travel and those who have relocated to a different country. After a long day’s work on our domaine, there’s nothing better than curling up on the sofa—cat on my lap, dogs in a happy heap—and getting lost in a great memoir. A glass of wine never goes amiss, either.
A memoir about a home near ours in France, with humorous tales about gardening? I knew I’d love this book.
I adored the author's characterisations, her reflections on a favourite artist, and the philosophers who touched her soul. These literary musings fit seamlessly with the prose, adding great richness to the book.
This inspiring memoir tells the story of a garden in southwest France, its transformation from a tangled wilderness of brambles and nettles into an idyllic Mediterranean garden, and the lessons learned along the way. The journey begins when two horticultural innocents, Laurette and her French partner Sylvain, leave the big city of Toulouse for life in the country. Carried away by the song of a nightingale and a glass of rosé, they take on a daunting garden challenge. But as they learn to work with nature rather than against it, a different challenge arises. While their wasteland begins to thrive…
I’ve always had a passion for animals since I was nine years old and wrote my first ‘book’ on animals for a school library competition. I went on to study animal behavior at university and complete a doctorate in conservation biology and seabirds in the Scottish Outer Hebrides. I’ve worked in zoos and museums, written twelve books on animals as various as killer whales and koalas, extinct megafauna, and marine reptiles. Learning more about the natural world, the people who study it, and the importance of protecting it, has been the driving force behind all of my books and a joy to share with readers.
The Mammals of Australia is one of the go-to books on my bookshelf. It covers all the mammals in Australia with great pictures, maps, simple summaries, and readable and interesting facts. When it was published, it summarized all the latest information in one place and has been an invaluable reference ever since. Every time I pick it up I find myself reading about some other fascinating species as well as the one I was looking up.
It covers everything from koalas and quolls to dugongs and dingoes, to monotremes and marsupial moles. It covers bats and seals and introduced mammals (although not whales). I wish I had a book like this for every major taxonomic group.
Written in a style readily understood by the general reader, this book surveys the rich and varied world of Australian mammals, including such creatures as koalas, kangaroos, Tasmanian devils, dingos, and wombats. Because of the continent's isolation, Australian mammals have developed as no where else on earth. The native fauna is composed largely of marsupials (pouched mammals) and monotremes (egg-laying mammals). A magnificent photographic record, this book provides an account of every native species as well as introduced species now living in a wild state. Each species account summarizes behavior and habitat, diet, reproduction and growth, and factors that lead…
Do you trust anyone without a sense of humor? Neither do I. I’ve always had an odd sense of humor. Laughter is good for the soul. I don’t know if I’m an expert, but I’ve certainly spent decades watching and reading comedies. And while I love writing serious and dark fiction, something cute and funny now and then feels like a nice balance. My personal taste runs from slapstick to standup to snappy scenes and witty dialog. I like smart humor, and because I had the wittiest dad, I can even appreciate a well-done dad joke.
I could potentially recommend any of Sedaris’ early works. Pick one, you won’t regret it.
Sedaris has a way of taking our most mundane lives and making them hilarious. His style can be best described as memoirs meet standup comedy. We’ve all had those weird, awkward family moments. Sedaris does a great job of making them funny. Warning: people tend to look at you rather oddly and give you space when you listen to the audiobook while out walking alone.
David Sedaris's remarkable ability to uncover the hilarious absurdity teeming just below the surface of everyday life is elevated to wilder and more entertaining heights than ever in this new book of stories. Sedaris proceeds from bizarre conundrums of daily life - the etiquette of having a lozenge fall from your mouth into the lap of a fellow passenger or how to soundproof your windows with LP covers against neurotic songbirds - to the most deeply resonant human truths. Taking in the parasitic worm that once lived in his mother-in-law's leg, an encounter with a dingo and the purchase of…
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
I am passionately keen on poetry of many types because, whether rhyming or not, most poetry employs rhythm which is something that has a subconscious appeal to human senses. For children, rhyme provides an easy introduction to poetry and I enjoy using it because children themselves love it. Mums tell me that they are asked to read the same book time and time again – and not to try to skip any spreads! At the age of three, before she could read, my son’s goddaughter knew the whole of You Can’t Take an Elephant on the Bus by heart. The rhymes children hear when very young remain with them, sometimes forever.
This is the sort of nonsense book which I absolutely love. It is one of a series that began with Oi Frog. The books all defy the usual advice that picture books, whether rhyming or not, need a proper story. In these books the only concern of the animal characters is on what they should sit. Here rhyme is king. The sillier the better, "dingoes sit on flamingos," "hogs sit on clogs," etc. They are all great fun but this is my favourite because I love the cat and her sarcastic asides.
This book is simply fun and will make children laugh.
2
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Oi Cat!
as one of their favorite books, and they share
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This book is for kids age
3,
4, and
5.
What is this book about?
The laughter never ends with Oi Frog and Friends!
This absurdly funny, rhyming read-aloud picture book is guaranteed to get children giggling! From the bestselling, multi-award-winning creators of Oi Frog. *Over 1 million copies sold*
According to Frog ... Cats sit on gnats, Dogs sit on logs, Alpacas sit on cream crackers, Armadillos sit on pillows and Chicks sit on bricks.
But wait! Cat doesn't like sitting on gnats, they keep biting his bottom! Will Frog and Dog help him change the rules?
'This animal rhyming silliness goes from strength to strength.' The Guardian 'Will have children in fits of…
I’m Australian and there’s a big place in my heart for Australian-set stories. I read mostly for escapism, but there’s a deeper connection with tales from my own backyard. I’ve also always loved speculative fiction – everything from epic and paranormal fantasy to space opera and dystopian thrillers – and I’m excited when my favourite genres and setting come together. My day job is in local government. I’ve seen how government decisions can impact the trajectory of a society, and I’m particularly drawn to stories that explore that theme. I’m the author of five speculative fiction novels with Australian settings: the four novels in The Rephaim series (supernatural fantasy) and The Undercurrent (slightly futuristic/pre-apocalyptic).
I knew from the blurb this was going to be my kind of book. I really loved the post-apocalyptic Australian setting and the way the desert wasteland society is structured. The concept of dirt farmers is particularly genius.
As well as the excellent world building, there’s page-turning action, an epic zombie battle, and a clever setup for the next installment. This is the first in The Territory trilogy, which follows the increasingly important role of Squid and Lyn, two teenagers caught up in a battle against ghouls and who learn secrets about themselves and their society as they trek across the Outback.
Stranded in the desert, the last of mankind is kept safe by a large border fence ... Until the fence falls.
Squid is a young orphan living under the oppressive rule of his uncle in the outskirts of the Territory. Lynn is a headstrong girl with an influential father who has spent her entire life within the walled city of Alice.
When the border fence is breached, the Territory is invaded by the largest horde of undead ghouls seen in two hundred years. Squid is soon conscripted into the Diggers-the armed forces of the Territory. And after Lynn finds herself…
I’ve been writing about climate change for the past 14 years. I have been the Environment and Energy Editor for the news website, The Conversation, and worked for the government in renewable energy and reducing emissions from transport. Now I work for a conservation organisation, protecting land for nature. My first novel, A wrong turn at the Office of Unmade Lists, was set in a climate-changed Melbourne and an idyllic past San Francisco. My most recent novel, From the Wreck, is historical fiction set in the 1870s but is also about modern humans’ history of ecocide. I have also written essays and a non-fiction guide The Handbook: Surviving & Living with Climate Change.
Doyle’s first novel, The Island Will Sink, was a wild ride into a technology-obsessed, nature-depleted future society. Echolalia is situated firmly in present-day, suburban Australia and unlike most climate change novels it recognises that environmental crisis is part of a deeper web: the novel looks at how class, money, and white dispossession of Australia’s first nations people all complicate the way we deal with heat, drought and a frightening future. A compelling portrait of a woman falling to pieces.
Before: Emma Cormac married into a perfect life but now she's barely coping. Inside a brand new, palatial home, her three young children need more than she can give. Clem, a wilful four year old, is intent on mimicking her grandmother; the formidable matriarch Pat Cormac. Arthur is almost three and still won't speak. At least baby Robbie is perfect. He's the future of the family. So why can't Emma hold him without wanting to scream? Beyond their gleaming windows, a lake vista is evaporating. The birds have mostly disappeared, too.…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
I am a romance writer. I've written four contemporary romances with heat, heart, and humor and have a new series coming out in early 2023. I'm also an avid reader of romance—all genres from rom-com to historical to paranormal. I've been reading them since college and have devoured thousands of romance stories since my loved bloomed for them. I'm a firm believer I need to read stories to be able to write them—or maybe it's just an excuse to read more fantastic books and claim it's part of my writing process. Lol. Either way, it has allowed me to recommend romance stories to you with pleasure and ease.
This is such a great book! I loved it even more than the author's first (which was also very good). Though be warned you might get some side eyes if you read this one on the actual beach as it will have you laughing out loud one minute and swallowing back tears the next. I adore it when books are able to give me a wide range of emotions. This one might be a little heavier than the other books on my list, but the author does a fantastic job balancing humor and heartbreak. I recommend this book to those who love romance mixed with laughter and lots of heart.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Part of Your World comes a romantic comedy full of "fierce humor and fiercer heart" about how one adorable puppy brings together two perfect strangers (Casey McQuiston, NYT bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue).
Artist Sloan Monroe just can't seem to get her life on track. But one trouble-making pup who randomly jumps into her car with a "take me home" look in his eyes is about to change everything. With Tucker by her side, Sloan finally starts to feel more like herself. Then, after weeks of unanswered texts, Tucker's…
