Good Reading Podcast

This anthology of Australian surf writing celebrates the diversity of surf culture from epic surf adventures in Mexico to the relationship of humans with the sea and to Taj Burrows final campaign in Fiji. Featuring the writing of Sally Breen, Emily Brugman, Sam Carmody Madelaine Dickie, Jake Sandtner and Mark Smith, these non-fiction stories explore the passion, the fear, the joy and the pain of Australian surfing culture in Australia and abroad.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Madelaine Dickie and Sam Carmody about a surfing as a sport, a culture and a lifestyle told in very different ways. More about the book: https://bit.ly/3rwsvpZ

Catherine Leroy, Frances Fitzgerald and Kate Webb arrived in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968 at the height of the war. Leroy was a French daredevil photographer; Frances Fitzgerald a blue-blood American intellectual; and Kate Webb was the first Australian woman to report on the war in Vietnam.Together these three women permanently shattered the barriers to women reporting on war in a field of journalism dominated by men. You Don't Belong Here is the story of the lives and legacy of three journalists that fills a void in the history of women and war.In this episode, Gregory Dobbs talks to Elizabeth Becker about the barriers these women faced and their extraordinary achievements in reporting on the complex and highly politicised Vietnam war.More about the book: https://bit.ly/3lPIePw

Paula is a dedicated GP who witnesses the brutal murder of her friend and her children at the hands of their estranged husband and father. Paula is haunted by the thought that she couldn’t protect them when they most needed it.Soon after a patient with suspicious injuries attends her surgery and Paula is faced with a decision that could make this woman safe but also compromise everything her training as a doctor has instilled in her.The Family Doctor is a thrilling and provocative novel about women’s fury, grief and the preciousness of life.In this episode Gregory Dobbs talks to Debra Oswald about a problem very much of these times.More about The Family Doctor: http://bit.ly/2OOmoQ2

Helen Fitzgerald vividly portrays small town life, and a woman and a land in crisis in her latest thriller 'Ash Mountain'.Fran vowed she'd never return to Ash Mountain but circumstances draw her back to a blisteringly hot summer in the rural town of Ash Mountain. Confronting the past and dealing with future are sidelined by an impending disaster – a mega-fire is roaring towards Ash Mountain and it will expose all kinds of secrets in its wake.In this episode, Gregory Dobbs chats to Helen Fitzgerald about growing up in a small Victorian country town, about Blue Light Discos and how disaster and humour can be comfortable bedfellows in this ripping disaster thriller.More about Ash Mountain: https://bit.ly/387v7U5

After World War II, Sydney experienced a crime wave that was chillingly calculated. Discontent mixed with despair, greed with callous disregard. Women who had lost their wartime freedoms headed back into the kitchen with sinister intent and the household poison thallium, normally used to kill rats, was repurposed to kill husbands and other inconvenient family members.Yvonne Fletcher disposed of two husbands. Caroline Grills cheerfully poisoned her stepmother, a family friend, her brother and his wife. Unlike arsenic or cyanide, thallium is colourless, odourless and tasteless; victims were misdiagnosed as insane malingerers or ill due to other reasons. And once one death was attributed to natural causes, it was all too easy for an aggrieved woman to kill again.This is the story of a series of murders that struck at the very heart of domestic life. It's the tale of women who looked for deadly solutions to what they saw as impossible situations. The Husband Poisoner documents the reasons behind the choices these women made - and their terrible outcomes.Grab a Copy: http://bit.ly/2Of3u4HRead our Q&A with Tanya Bretherton: http://bit.ly/2NZv7i9

Susan Johnson exposes the truths and deceptions in relationships amid a blossoming online friendship between two women in 'From Where I Fell'.Pamela and Christhani live on different continents, but through a series of email exchanges the two women begin sharing the stories of their lives. Although temperamental opposites they soon establish a connection based on the common ground of grief, loss and new beginnings. 'From Where I Fell' is a funny and endearing story of how unlikely friendships can be the catalyst for deep reflection, new directions and confronting the past.In this episode. Gregory Dobbs chats to Susan Johnson about the what inspired her to recast the epistolary novel in contemporary form and the overlap between fiction and non-fiction.From Where I Fell: http://bit.ly/3kelLuz

Nora Fawn's daughter Hope disappeared four years ago and only maintained contact through her big sister Joy. But last night Hope rang Nora to say, 'I'm coming home, I'm getting married, the wedding is in three weeks and it's your job to organise it.'Desperate to regain her daughter's love and prove her worth as a mother Nora accepts the challenge. Through the medium of a discarded diary, Nora plots the hilarious and emotional journey to redemption through the rocky terrain of mother-daughter relationships and a wedding to end all weddings.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Gretel Killeen about the confounding complexity of mother-daughter love across three generations.My Daughter's Wedding: https://bit.ly/2ZIGopk

Bec and Kate are sisters, but they couldn’t be less alike. Bec lives the domestic dream with her surgeon husband Stuart and three perfect children. So why is she so attracted to free-spirited Ryan? Kate’s life is hardly a dream. But when she meets Adam – tall, kind, funny – things start looking up. Until she finds out he’s been keeping secrets from her.Then there is the incident both sisters are desperate to ignore…Will they discover that some mistakes can’t be put right?In this episode, Max Lewis joins debut author Katie McMahon to chat about her suburban thriller The Mistake. Grab a copy: https://bit.ly/37Fwidp

A young woman gets ready to go to a party. She arrives, feels overwhelmed, leaves, and then returns. Minutely attuned to the people who come into her view, and alternating between alienation and profound connection, she is hilarious, self-aware, sometimes acerbic, and always honest.And by the end of the night, she’s shown us something radical about love, loss, and the need to belong.In this episode, filmmaker and writer Madeleine Ryan joins Max Lewis to chat about her prismatic debut 'A Room Called Earth'.

Michael Brissenden's second crime thriller Dead Letters brings counter terrorism expert Sid Allen into the sordid and complicated world of Canberra politics.From the seedy backstreets of 1980s Sydney to the corridors of power in contemporary Canberra, Sidney Allen must pursue the truth behind a baffling crime. Dan LeRoi, rising star of politics and Chair of the Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security has been shot dead. But it's not all it seems. Life becomes complicated for Sid when he joins forces with tenacious journalist Zephyr Wilde. She's still getting letters from her dead mother who was murdered twenty years ago. They're both asking too many questions and knowing who to trust will make the difference between life and death.Gregory Dobbs chats to Michael Brissenden about the nexus between journalism and politics, and reflections on a lost Sydney.Grab a copy: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/4ZQgM