AustLit

'A world-renowned media and cultural critic offers an insightful analysis of serial TV drama and the modern art of the small screen Television and TV viewing are not what they once were-and that's a good thing, according to award-winning author and critic Clive James. Since serving as television columnist for the London Observer from 1972 to 1982, James has witnessed a radical change in content, format, and programming, and in the very manner in which TV is watched. Here he examines this unique cultural revolution, providing a brilliant, eminently entertaining analysis of many of the medium's most notable twenty-first-century accomplishments and their not always subtle impact on modern society-including such acclaimed serial dramas as Breaking Bad, The West Wing, Mad Men, and The Sopranos, as well as the comedy 30 Rock. With intelligence and wit, James explores a television landscape expanded by cable and broadband and profoundly altered by the advent of Netflix, Amazon, and other "cord-cutting" platforms that have helped to usher in a golden age of unabashed binge-watching.' (Publication summary)

'Indigenous concepts of time play a critical role in the works of many contemporary Australian artists. Everywhen: The Eternal Present in Indigenous Art from Australia showcases prime examples, featuring many works of art that have never before been exhibited outside Australia. The book provides a cultural framework to help understand these objects, emphasizing the importance of the land, the rich narratives that cleave to it, and the art it inspires. It is organized around four central themes: ancestral transformation, ritualized performance, seasonality, and remembrance. Six essays and nearly seventy catalogue entries highlight many of the most significant Indigenous Australian artists of the last forty years, from Rover Thomas and Emily Kam Kngwarray (both former representatives at the Venice Biennale) to the contemporary bark painter John Mawurndjul and the visual and performance artist Christian Thompson. Also included are examples of related historical objects and a technical examination of traditional Aboriginal bark paintings. This revelatory book introduces the thematic, stylistic, and cultural diversity of contemporary Indigenous art from Australia to a wider audience.' (Source: TROVE)

'In 2010, Clive James was diagnosed with terminal leukemia. Deciding that “if you don't know the exact moment when the lights will go out, you might as well read until they do,” James moved his library to his house in Cambridge, where he would “live, read, and perhaps even write.” James is the award-winning author of dozens of works of literary criticism, poetry, and history, and this volume contains his reflections on what may well be his last reading list. A look at some of James's old favorites as well as some of his recent discoveries, this book also offers a revealing look at the author himself, sharing his evocative musings on literature and family, and on living and dying.

'As thoughtful and erudite as the works of Alberto Manguel, and as moving and inspiring as Randy Pausch's The Last Lecture and Will Schwalbe's The End of Your Life Book Club, this valediction to James's lifelong engagement with the written word is a captivating valentine from one of the great literary minds of our time.' (Publication summary)

'In 1450 very few English men or women were personally familiar with a book; by 1850, the great majority of people daily encountered books, magazines, or newspapers. This book explores the history of this fundamental transformation, from the arrival of the printing press to the coming of steam. James Raven presents a lively and original account of the English book trade and the printers, booksellers, and entrepreneurs who promoted its development.

'Viewing print and book culture through the lens of commerce, Raven offers a new interpretation of the genesis of literature and literary commerce in England. He draws on extensive archival sources to reconstruct the successes and failures of those involved in the book trade - a cast of heroes and heroines, villains, and rogues. And, through groundbreaking investigations of neglected aspects of book-trade history, Raven thoroughly revises our understanding of the massive popularization of the book and the dramatic expansion of its markets over the centuries.' (Publisher's blurb)

'In this rich and stylish description by New Zealand scholar Salmond, Cook's voyages take on a peculiar, dreamlike quality. Salmond's claim is that Cook was far more affected by his exposure to the Polynesian world than historians have thought.'

'This book is fascinating as an incomparable travelogue filled with amazing stories – the sexual paradise of Tahiti, the 'discovery' of Hawaii, close relations with Maori, and Cook's tragic death on the beach in Hawaii.The 'trial' of the title followed a horrific incident in New Zealand's Queen Charlotte Sound when Maori killed and ate a boatload of Cook's men. Later, sailors caught a dog guzzling a pink remnant, put the dog on trial, then convicted, cooked and ate it.' (Source: Publisher's website)

J.M. Coetzee's first body of criticism is a collection of seven essays focussed around the place of the white writer in South Africa. Surveying a broad swathe of authors including William Burchell, Thomas Pringle, WEG Louw, WC Scully, Roy Campbell, Pauline Smith, Mikro, Alan Paton, and Gertrude Millin, Coetzee examines how European travellers have thought about, and represented, the South African landscape. In this collection, Coetzee incisively articulates the racial concerns of a problematic (post)colonial literature.