FOUR BOOKS
TO MAKE YOU THINK
THE GIFT OF SILENCE by Kankyo Tannier, Hachette
There has been much talk of late of the value of silence in a world dominated by social media. To this end, a quiet patter of books about introducing periods of not talking into our lives is recommending this ancient wisdom to help reduce stress. Kankyo Tannier, a French Buddhist nun, lived in a monastery for 15 years before settling in a forest, where she teaches meditation. A chatterbox child, she says, “When words do not pass our lips, they still continue to parade in our heads … which means many people have a constant ‘little voice’ known as our ’internal dialogue’.”
THE WANDERING VINE by Nina Callan, Bloomsbury
Shortly after the death of her wine-loving father, a case of champagne that he had ordered arrived. When wine writer Caplan opened a bottle, she was surprised at the force of the bubbles – “tiny pockets of 1990s air, finally freed”. In honour of her father, Caplan meets the wine growers, travelling from the rabbit-infested English Downs, via beautiful Burgundy, where she lives. “To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognised need of the human soul,” wrote Simone Weil. “Let’s raise our glasses to the courage of those who journey, willingly or otherwise.”
UNTHINKABLE by Helen Thomson, Hachette
When Sharon was five she ran into her family’s backyard and told her mother she didn’t know where she was – everything looked different. The next day it felt as though her bedroom door had moved. For 25 years she hid the fact she had lost her ”mental map”, and had to follow her children’s cries because she couldn’t find their bedrooms. Sharon got help at 61, after years of spinning on the spot, jolting her world into shape. Bob can remember every day of his life and kids at school called him Rain Man. The author gives a tip for memory recall: Did I turn the gas off? Make an animal noise as you do it, to prevent the memory getting lost.
SPINNING TOPS & GUMDROPS by Edward Barnard, NLA
Children wandering into the bush, vanishing forever. Sydney slum street kids, five to a room. City gangs of urchins and girl prostitutes as young as seven. The tough childhoods of Australian colonial children from 1788 until 1900 flood the senses in this moving book, which is packed with never-seenbefore photos. It was the European immigrants who imposed suffocating dress codes on their better-off offspring. While country children’s wounds were bound with cobwebs (never disturbed for their healing properties), spinning tops were city favourite toys and gumdrops popular treats.