Still got time off? Squeeze these books and shows in for some good back-to-work conversation starters
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This week the HerCanberra team rolled off the sofa and back into the office full of vim and vigour and ready to take on another action-packed year of providing you, dear reader, with all the best content this city has to offer.
Well, we will, we promise, once we have knocked back a few espressos because that Christmas holiday shutdown was deliciously languid and we may still not quite know where our laptop chargers went or what day of the week it is yet…
BUT, for those of you still largely hanging on the sofa until things get seriously busy later this month, we have some advice. Get onto these books, and shows while you have all this glorious time. NOTE: These picks come from Emma Macdonald, HerCanberra’s resident music lover, 80’s addict and non-fiction fan. Beatrice Smith promises to also provide her summer favourites before the month is out, but she is going to need to locate her laptop charger first…
WHAT TO READ:
Want to hit the deck running with the latest literary gems from Australia’s next generation of female thinkers, mover and shakers?
I highly recommend the triumvirate of brilliance emanating from Hannah Ferguson in Bite Back, Hannah Diviney in I’ll Let Myself In, and Chanel Contos in Consent Laid Bare. Armed with these gems you will stride into your workplace ready to smash the patriarchy and dismantle the ableist structures which we are so largely blinded to.
Apart from feeling a rush of fundamental joy that this country is producing such kick-arse young women who will continue to make their mark in coming years, these books provide really practical ways in which to understand how society currently works (against women and people with disabilities) and what needs to happen to make things fairer. Hannah Ferguson’s thoughts on media literacy, reductive discussions of complex political and world “hot button” issues and how to actually address them in a nuanced and impactful way should be mandatory reading for us all before we get to the water cooler on our first day back.
Meanwhile, to take things to a more spiritual realm, Faith Hope and Carnage by Nick Cave was a true summer favourite. It may have been written from the perspective of a tempestuous, post-punk, goth-leaning musician, but it has wider appeal for anyone questioning meaning or wanting to consider what it is to survive loss. The book traces a meandering path through a 40-plus hour interview between Nick and journalist Seán O’Hagan where the songwriter opens up about his early life growing up in Wangaratta, rise to alternative chart greatness, move to the UK, drug abuse, creative existence, relationship with God, and the loss of his 15-year-old son Arthur. If you aren’t a fan of Cave for his music, you may well become one for his words, which express fragility, curiosity, acceptance, love and everything in between.
You might have noticed my selection is all non-fiction, and I find the older I get the more drawn to this genre I am, but if you are into whimsical, evocative and heart wrenching writing then The Lost Flowers of Alice Heart by Holly Ringland should be on the list. Sucking you in from the very first page, this is a book about beauty and brutality as a young girl survives her father’s violence, only to piece her life back together through discovering the beauty of flowers and, ultimately, the power of women.
WHAT TO WATCH
Oh God, so much quality 80’s and 90’s content is on our screens now I barely know where to start.
WHAM! (Netflix) Even if you are too young to have owned a Choose Life T-shirt of your own, you can not have avoided the Number One song of December, Last Christmas, which is the product of this iconic duo.George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley burned bright on the international music scene for a few years in the mid-80s. Then Michael went his own way. In an industry where venomous band breakups and long-running legal disputes over song rights are the norm, this documentary paints a beautiful picture of respect. How the two remained friends through the tumultuous years of fame and beyond is truly a beautiful thing.
Speaking of George Michael, his smash hit Freedom features the subjects of my second favourite doco Super Models (Apple) which delves into the lives, then and now, of the original “I don’t get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day” supermodels Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, and Christy Turlington. From their discovery to their dominance of catwalks across the world, this four-part series is a glorious, designer-clad look at women who were genuine aesthetic marvels (born that way, not like the surgically-enhanced crop of today). This was an era when magazines were the dominant cultural force and music videos were more addictive than social media. The supermodels regroup for a 50-plus cover shoot for Vogue and we see how time has changed them both inside and out. Turns out that while no one really cared what they thought or said, each woman has an incredible story to tell.
Another incredible story is that of David Beckham, whose Netflix special was surprisingly disarming. You learn the almost supernatural extent of his soccer talent, but then realise it is the result of absolute commitment, training and hard work. You also learn of his love for family and adoration for Victoria (even if he all but concedes he cheated on her). She comes off well too, sharing Posh Spice’s side of what it was like to be pilloried by the media and under a harsh spotlight while trying to raise young children and live in an often long-distance relationship. The best bit? Seeing their banter and how well David cleans up the kitchen after dinner. You can’t help but love them both just a little bit despite the decades of negative press. Never ever thought I would put that down in writing but there you go.
Finally, I have to recommend a new documentary of a 50-year-old story of survival which has nothing to do with fashion or music but may make you want to put a very substantial winter jacket on while you watch. Based on the 1972 crash of a Uruguayan flight over the Andes, Society of Snow (Netflix) traces the almost unbelievable survival of a group of young rugby players after their plane is cleaved in two across the rocky range. It’s hard to imagine anyone could last a day in the sub-zero temperatures. Much less for 72 days. They owe their lives to two of the survivors who walk ten days out of the mountains and into Chile. They also owe their lives to the bodies of their lost friends and other passengers, whose flesh became their only source of sustenance. While 45 were on the flight, only 16 survived and JA Bayona’s depiction is backed by real-life footage. Incredible story made into an incredible movie. Truly worth watching. And if you love this movie, make the space to read the book Alive, by Paul Piers Read, which is simply unforgettable.
