CANBERRA WEEKLY 25 AUGUST 2022
In last week’s Canberra Weekly, I recommended three books for Dad for Father’s Day.
First up was surfer Tim Baker’s moving account of his battle with prostate cancer, Patting The Shark (Ebury). An honest and frank memoir that also pays homage to the joys and healing of surfing, it is an important book that deserves wide readership.
In the Canberra Weekly I said:
“Patting The Shark is a powerful and inspiring book for dads this Father’s Day. In 2015 award-winning surf writer Tim Baker was diagnosed with incurable stage four metastatic prostate cancer. Suddenly Tim’s dream life of travel, family and surfing was subsumed by a debilitating descent into aggressive cancer treatments and a brutal fight for survival. Rather than give up, Tim sought out supportive, evidence-based therapies such as meditation, diet, counselling, and surfing to help mitigate the devastating side effects. An honest and confronting account of facing your mortality and working out what really matters in your life. Essential reading.”
I enjoy well researched and fairly written military history, and Mike Carlton’s lucid account of the experiences of Australian warships in the Mediterranean during the early years of the Second World War certainly falls into this category. It is a very interesting book that throws good light on a neglected aspect of Australia’s military heritage.
In the Canberra Weekly I said:
“Dads who like military history will appreciate Mike Carlton’s The Scrap Iron Flotilla. At the beginning of World War II the Australian government sent five destroyers to support the British Navy in the Mediterranean. They were old ships that had seen better days and were dismissed by Nazi propaganda as being a load of scrap iron. Despite their limitations, the ships performed valiantly in the Mediterranean escorting vital convoys and rescuing soldiers after the fall of Greece. The Scrap Iron Flotilla is a fascinating and well told account of the activities of the ships and the challenges they faced during the War.”
Linwood Barclay’s Look Both Ways (HQ) is a slightly different thriller for him. Barclay usually specialises in tense suburban thrillers in the mould of Harlan Coben, but with his latest book he adds a more offbeat element. Look Both Ways has a slightly futuristic thriller feel to it, although it still delivers his trademark twists, brisk pace and down-to-earth characters.
In the Canberra Weekly I said:
“Linwood Barclay’s Look Both Ways combines cars and thrills in a highly entertaining read. The residents of Garrett Island are part of a visionary experiment. Their cars have been sent to the mainland and they have been given self-driving vehicles called Arrivals. With just a voice command, an Arrival will take you where you want to go, avoiding other cars and eliminating road accidents. However, as the press arrives for a glimpse of this driverless future, things start to go wrong and suddenly the sleek driverless cars are no longer taking orders, instead they are hunting humans. A clever and addictive thriller.”
So a diverse and interesting mix of books for you to consider for dad this Father’s Day.