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Read: October Book Roundup

Read: October Book Roundup
Add these books to the top of your fall reading list:


Ghosts by Dolly Alderton 

Dolly Alderton — who journalist Elizabeth Day dubbed the “Nora Ephron for the millennial generation” — releases her first novel following the massive success of her 2019 memoir 
Everything I Know About Love. Ghosts tells the story of protagonist Nina Dean as she navigates her early 30s  — family, friends and lovers… It is readable and all too relatable for anyone 30-and-above. Full of smart and resonating reflections on modern life, this is exactly what we’re in the mood to read right now. 


The Purpose of Power by Alicia Garza

In July 2013, #BlackLivesMatter appeared on social media after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of African-American teen Trayvon Martin in 2012. Inspired by the decentralised, grassroots organisation set up by its founders Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi, in 2020 Black Lives Matter has become a defining rallying cry for change. Arriving at a critical juncture, Garza’s book is a call to arms for people to connect, to set up their own activism and have the self-belief that they too can change the world by working with others. Part-memoir, part-activist’s handbook, The Purpose Of Power is incisive, uplifting and exactly what the world needs right now. 

Lampedusa by Steven Price

In sun-drenched Sicily, among the decadent Italian aristocracy of the late 1950s, Giuseppe Tomasi, the last prince of Lampedusa, struggles to complete the novel that will be his lasting legacy, The Leopard. With a firm devotion to the historical record, Lampedusa leaps effortlessly into the mind of the writer and inhabits the complicated heart of a man facing down the end of his life, struggling to make something of lasting worth, while there is still time.

Achingly beautiful and elegantly conceived, Steven Price's new novel is an intensely moving story of one man's awakening to the possibilities of life, intimately woven against the transformative power of a great work of art.

World Travel: An Irreverent Guide by Anthony Bourdain and Laurie Woolever

Anthony Bourdain saw more of the world than nearly anyone. His travels took him from the hidden pockets of his hometown of New York to a tribal longhouse in Borneo, from cosmopolitan Buenos Aires, Paris, and Shanghai to Tanzania's utter beauty and the stunning desert solitude of Oman's Empty Quarter―and many places beyond.

In World Travel, a life of experience is collected into an entertaining, practical, fun and frank travel guide that gives readers an introduction to some of his favourite places―in his own words. Featuring essential advice on how to get there, what to eat, where to stay and, in some cases, what to avoid, World Travel provides essential context that will help readers further appreciate the reasons why Bourdain found a place enchanting and memorable.

For veteran travelers, armchair enthusiasts, and those in between, World Travel offers a chance to experience the world like Anthony Bourdain.

The Daughters of Yalta The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans: A Story of Love and War by Catherine Grace Katz

In Daugters of Yalta, historian and law student Catherine Grace Katz tells the incredible story of Sarah Churchill, Anna Roosevelt and Kathleen Harriman. Daughters to three of the most influential politicians during WWII — Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Averell Harriman, U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union — the young women joined their fathers during the Yalta Conference in February 1945, a meeting set to discuss a postwar world. Here, the author speaks about the strength and political savvy Sarah, Anna and Kathleen wielded, and uncovers a side of history that has remained largely untold. 

In Bibi's Kitchen: The Recipes and Stories of Grandmothers From The Eight African Countries That Touch The Indian Ocean by Hawa Hassan and Julia Turshen

Grandmothers from eight eastern African countries welcome you into their kitchens to share flavourful recipes and stories of family, love, and tradition in this transporting cookbook-meets-travelogue. In this incredible volume, renowned food writer Julia Turshen and Somali chef Hawa Hassan present 75 recipes and stories gathered from bibis (or grandmothers) from eight African nations: South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Comoros, Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia, and Eritrea. Most notably, these eight countries are at the backbone of the spice trade, many of them exporters of things like pepper and vanilla.

We meet women such as Ma Shara, who helps tourists "see the real Zanzibar" by teaching them how to make her famous Ajemi Bread with Carrots and Green Pepper; Ma Vicky, a real-life princess from Tanzania, who now lives in suburban New York and makes a mean Matoke (Stewed Plantains with Beans and Beef); and Ma Gehennet from Eritrea who shares her recipes for Kicha (Eritrean Flatbread) and Shiro (Ground Chickpea Stew).

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