Good Reading Podcast

We're more connected that ever before says Maggie Hamilton and yet feelings of loneliness and isolation have never been more prevalent. We are now more affluent and busier and yet we are leaving our homes less and less as we become more dependent on technology to communicate. 'We've become strangers, exiled from people and situations that are meaningful to us.' says MaggieWhen We Become Strangers examines in detail all levels of human interaction and looks into the future with a warning for what we might become. Parenting, love and relationships, brain fatigue, entertainment and the changing nature of the workplace are put under the microscope and placed in the context of our increasing reliance on technology to solve problems. Maggie proposes simple and effective solutions and actions we can all take to restore the balance and reclaim our unique selves and the places we live and work.In this episode, Greg Dobbs chats to Maggie Hamilton about how we can reconnect with our fellow humans in a world of instant digital gratification.Grab a copy: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/rAWOR

In secluded Devlins Reach, on the shores of the Hawkesbury River, three bodies are unearthed in an excavation site. When a wilderness expert, Park Ranger Taylor Bridges, is called in to assist local police, he soon discovers the town has an unsettling history – one to match Taylor's own haunted past.But the quiet location and picturesque beauty of The Reach are hiding something darker than Taylor could have anticipated. Within the town's tight-knit community of loggers, store owners and tight-lipped locals, someone is targeting the residents one by one.As a torrential storm surges ever closer, and the river swells at the levee walls, The Reach goes into lockdown. With no way in or out, Taylor finds himself in a race against the power of nature to find a desperate killer before the whole town goes under.In this episode, B Michael Radburn chats to Max Lewis about the origins of his Taylor Bridges series, how the Hawkesbury region in NSW inspired the titular Reach and its buried secrets, and how exciting it is to work on a film of your own book. More about The Reach: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/BqNK4

Aaron Smith's new memoir holds up a unique mirror to Australia. What he sees is at once amazing, disturbing and revealing. The Rock explores the failings of our nation's character, its unresolved past and its uncertain future from the vantage point of its most northerly outpost, Thursday Island. Smith was the last editor, fearless journalist and the paperboy of Australia's most northerly newspaper, The Torres News, a small independent regional tabloid that, until it folded in late 2019, was the voice of a predominantly Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal readership for 63 years across some of the most remote and little understood communities in Australia. The Rock is a story of self-discovery where Smith grapples to understand a national identity marred by its racist underbelly, where he is transplanted from his white-boy privileged suburban life to being a racial and cultural minority, and an outsider. Peppered with his experiences, Smith gradually and sensitively becomes embedded in island life while vividly capturing the endless and often farcical parade of personalities and politicians including Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott. In this episode, Aaron Smith joins Max Lewis to unpack his thoughts around The Rock, and how his time on Thursday Island has shaped his life. Find out more: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/m9Ex7Join Aaron in a special Zoom launch event for The Rock, Thursday 10 December: https://bit.ly/3lPbjZY

Australian and New Zealand crime and thriller writing is booming globally, with antipodean authors regularly featuring on awards and bestseller lists across Europe and North America, and overseas readers and publishers looking more and more to tales from lands Down Under.Hailing from two sparsely populated nations on the far edge of the former Empire - neighbours that are siblings in spirit, vastly different in landscape - Australian and New Zealand crime writers offer readers a blend of exotic and familiar, seasoned by distinctive senses of place, outlook, and humour, and roots that trace to the earliest days of our genre.Southern Cross Crime is the first comprehensive guide to modern Australian and New Zealand crime writing. From coastal cities to the Outback, leading critic Craig Sisterson showcases key titles from more than 200 storytellers, plus screen dramas ranging from Mystery Road to Top of the Lake. Fascinating insights are added through in-depth interviews with some of the prime suspects who paved the way or instigated the global boom, including Jane Harper, Michael Robotham, Paul Cleave, Emma Viskic, Paul Thomas, and Candice Fox.In this episode, Craig Sisterson joins Gregory Dobbs to chat about how he began his love with crime, and his experiences founding the Ngaio Marsh awards and Rotura Noir. More about Southern Cross Crime: https://bit.ly/2UbPzvK

It is 1953 and Melbourne society is looking forward to coronation season, the grand balls and celebrations for the young queen-to-be. Tilly Dunnage is, however, working for a pittance in a second-rate Collins Street salon. Her talents go unappreciated, and the madame is a bully and a cheat, but Tilly has a past she is desperate to escape and good reason to prefer anonymity.Meanwhile, Sergeant Farrat and the McSwiney clan have been searching for their resident dressmaker ever since she left Dungatar in flames. And they aren't the only ones. The inhabitants of the town are still out for revenge (or at least someone to foot the bill for the new high street). So when Tilly's name starts to feature in the fashion pages, the jig is up. Along with Tilly's hopes of keeping her secrets hidden...In this episode, author Rosalie Ham joins Gregory Dobbs to chat about returning to Tilly Dunnage and the residents of Dungatar, 20 years after readers were first introduced.Find out more: http://bit.ly/2MrtwuC

Tim Flannery’s new book 'The Climate Cure: Solving the Climate Emergency in the Era of Covid-19' marks a change in attitude toward those in government and the lack of action in the fight against climate change. 'The Federal Liberal/National Party is the last blockage in the fight against climate change,' says Tim Flannery. While state governments and local councils are doing great things in advancing clean energy prospects, the Federal government is holding the entire country to ransom – there are just 25 sceptics in this Federal Liberal/National Party.Gregory Dobbs talks to Tim Flannery about the challenges and the solutions to the climate emergency and busts a few myths along the way.Find out more: https://bit.ly/322cNcf

Ground-breaking music educator Dr Anita Collins' new book The Music Advantage draws on the latest international neurological research to reveal the extraordinary and surprising benefits of children learning music. Music plays an important role in brain development that promotes learning, concentration and the ability to persevere with challenging tasks. Gregory Dobbs talks to Anita about the value of singing to your baby and why sound is one of the most valuable senses in cognitive development. Discover why learning music as a child supports and promotes learning and is a critical component in learning to read. Music learning, says Dr Collins, promotes confidence and persistence, and creates a culture of lifelong learning that has benefits right through to adulthood.Find out more: https://bit.ly/3nMf3O3

Sergeant Nick Chester has dodged the Geordie gangsters he once feared and is out of hiding and looking forward to the quiet life. But gold fever is creating ill feeling between prospectors, and a new threat lurks in the form of trigger-happy Americans preparing for doomsday by building a bolthole in the valley. As tensions simmer, Nick finds himself up against an evil that knows no borders and no depths.In this episode, Alan Carter joins Max Lewis to talk about his experiences living in the Wakamarina Valley of New Zealand inspired the latest chapter in the Sergeant Nick Chester series, 'Doom Creek'. More about the book: https://bit.ly/3d7AzYI

As the owner of a successful events company, throwing away huge volumes of leftover food at the end of the day came with the territory. But when Ronni Kahn hit midlife, she found herself no longer able to turn a blind eye to her food waste problem. Hand delivering the untouched food to homeless shelters around Sydney became her renegade solution. Little did she know that fixing her small problem at work would lead her to unlock a hidden purpose at the very core of her inner life.Now founder and CEO of the food rescue organisation OzHarvest, Ronni leads hundreds of staff and thousands of volunteers with the goal to nourish Australia. She serves in an advisory capacity to government and is an instrumental leader in changing federal laws to improve social justice and environmental policies.'A Repurposed Life' is the story of how Ronni found her voice, her heart and her deepest calling. From her early years growing up under the brutal system of apartheid South Africa, to a socialist commune in Israel, Ronni finally settled in Australia to discover a profound new way of living. Shared with the humour, warmth and energy that have made her an internationally renowned keynote speaker, this heartfelt exploration of the choices that define us will speak to anyone seeking a more passionate expression of being alive.In this podcast, Ronni joins Greg Dobbs to chat about finding her calling in OzHarvest, and the process of co-writing the memoir with her daughter-in-law, Jessica Chapnik Kahn.Find out more: https://bit.ly/3lecbqW

Heather Morris, author of the internationally bestselling novels The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka's Journey, grew up on a farm in rural New Zealand. On her way back across the paddocks from school, Heather would visit her great-grandfather and listen to his experiences of war - stories he told only Heather. From a young age Heather discovered that people would tell her their stories if she stopped and listened.In Stories of Hope, Heather Morris will explore the art of listening - a skill she employed when she met Lale Sokolov, the Tattooist of Auschwitz. It was her ability to listen that led him to entrust her with his story. Stories of Hope will examine Heather's extraordinary journey, in the form of a series of beautifully rendered tales of the people she has met, the remarkable stories they have shared with her, and the lessons they hold for us all.In this episode, Greg Dobbs chats to Heather Morris about why she wanted to write 'Stories of Hope', and the experience of writing her first memoir. Find out more: https://bit.ly/3n7NfmD