Any Ordinary Day by Leigh Sales
ASHLEY WALLACE, Staff Writer
What’s it about?
The day that turns your life upside down usually starts like any other. Walkley Award-winning journalist Leigh Sales explores how ordinary people endure trauma, and how you keep going after the worst day of your life.
What did you like about it? Why would you recommend it to someone?
This book takes on a topic we might not want to think about – being faced with the most distressing life events imaginable.
It’s a moving exploration of how we cope with trauma and how we carry on after experiencing it. It will make you grateful for the best parts of your life and help to put things into perspective.
Three words to describe it:
Moving, educational, empathetic.
The Lost Love Song by Minnie Dark
DONNA DUGGAN, Lifestyle Writer
What’s it about?
A love song travels across the world, changing the lives of all they come in contact with it.
What did you like about it? Why would you recommend it to someone?
A beautiful escape and love story, perfect for someone looking for comfort in these crazy times.
Three words to describe it:
Light, lovely, engaging.
The Course of Love by Alain de Botton
KATHRYN CHUNG, Staff Writer
What’s it about?
Part-novel, part-commentary, it follows a couple from when they first meet, to dating, to marriage, to kids. Sprinkled throughout the story are philosophical and psychological explanations of their relationship, conflict and emotions.
What did you like about it? Why would you recommend it to someone?
It’s both a life-affirming love story and a fascinating education on love and marriage. Alain de Botton provides an honest yet hopeful take on relationships, from the pitfalls of Romanticism to attachment theory.
I often found myself dog-earing pages and underlining phrases to refer back to. It’s changed the way I look at relationships and I’d recommend it to anyone.
Three words to describe it:
Insightful, thought-provoking, hopeful.