News & Reviews

The Prosecutor: One Man’s Battle to Bring Nazis to Justice by Jack Fairweather A profile in courage in a time of peril. Fritz Bauer, an irascible, German-Jewish lawyer jailed and torture by the Gestapo, was

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy A remote island off Antarctica, a research station with an underground seed bank, for when civilization as we know it ends (by flooding, burning or starvation) is now abandoned —

Polis — between 650BCE and 350CE a loose collection of up to 1,500 self-governing city-states had a direct say in their government through philosophical debate and collaboration. The Polis was a resilient and adaptable

Were you a fan of Hamnet, or The Marriage Portrait, by Maggie O’Farrell. Perhaps you loved Matrix by Lauren Groff. If so you’re sure to love this detective novel set in renaissance Florence. Cosimo di Giovanni

NEXT ISSUE OF QUARTERLY ESSAY QE97 – 17 March 2025 JESS HILL Losing It – Can we stop violence against women and children? What went wrong? Australian governments promised to end violence against women

Dear Friends, Last minute and a rare opportunity: Geraldine Brooks was at Bookoccino last Friday to sign copies of Memorial Days, “a heart-rending and beautiful memoir of sudden loss and journey toward peace.” Geraldine and

From a ‘factory,’ with only cold showers, no air conditioning, and ferocious mosquitos, an enigmatic, reclusive former engineer in the People’s Liberation Army who grew up in poverty, Ren Zhengfei, built the technological behemoth,

I absolutely adore Lawrence Osborne. I know you will too.  Late last year I recommended The Forgiven to Julia, one of our most prolific staff readers. First published in 2012 it is just one

A soaring masterpiece by the Pulitzer-winning author of Overstory. From an island in French Polynesia, Makatea —  whose original inhabitants believed the world was created by Ta’aora dropping pieces of his shell — to the

This week we speak to local author Sarah Turnbull, whose best-selling memoirAlmost French is an enduring Bookoccino favourite. Hi Sarah, Thanks for joining us. We are so looking forward to your conversation with Catherine McKinnon at

The 2024 Bookoccino Reader’s Book of the Year winner is…. Table for Two by Amor Towles. Ahead by a good margin, Amor Towles leads a cast including (according to popularity): Amor Towles with Table for Two

  One of the world’s greatest, most influential – and most recognised – actors for 50 years. Now, Al Pacino writes about how he has done it. A hardscrabble childhood in the Bronx, acting

During Dec 24 and Jan 25 we are offering a free kids hot chocolate for each coloured-in drawing brought into Bookoccino.  

Dear Reader, Thank you for casting your vote on your favourite book among the 12 books we picked in 2024 as Book of the Month. We will count all votes and announce the Reader’s

With love and respect we commemorate and celebrate the life of Susan Duncan, the redoubtable author and Pittwater local, who passed away at her beloved boat-access only home on Salvation Creek last weekend. As