VIVA BOOKS

Best Foot Forward by Adam Hills

$32.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

*The Sunday Times Bestseller* A hilarious and honest collection of stories, thoughts, and tales of a life in comedy from the presenter of The Last Leg, Adam Hills Adam Hills is one the UK's best-loved comedians. For thirty years he has been performing stand-up, hosting TV shows and winning the hearts of a nation. Taking us from the early days of the Sydney Stand Up scene to hosting his own radio show, touring the world and eventually landing on British TV, Best Foot Forward is a story of a life in comedy. Along the way Adam shares some childhood tales, a few backstage blunders and encounters some fairly famous faces - the likes of Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Connolly, and that guy who sang The Macarena. Yes, him. This is an utterly hilarious and honest collection of stories about Adam's ups and downs in the world of comedy. It's a lesson in following your heart, being positive and discovering that what makes you different also makes you unique. ...Show more

Tina Turner: My Love Story (Official Autobiography) by Tina Turner

$35.00 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

*** The full, dramatic story of one of the most remarkable women in music history, celebrating Tina Turner?s 60th year in the industry ***Love?s got everything to do with it.Tina Turner is the Queen of Rock 'n? Roll, a musical icon celebrating her 60th year in the industry. In this dramatic autobiograph y, she tells the story of a truly remarkable life in the spotlight.From her early years picking cotton in Nutbush, Tennessee to her rise to fame alongside Ike Turner, and finally to her phenomenal success in the 1980s and beyond, Tina candidly examines her personal history, from her darkest hours to her happiest moments and everything in between.Brimming with her trademark blend of strength, energy, heart and soul, My Love Story is a gripping, surprising memoir, as memorable and entertaining as any of her greatest hits. ...Show more

Fatherhood by William McInnes

$29.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

William McInnes, one of Australia's best-known storytellers and actors, has turned to a subject that is close to his heart. Fatherhood is about family, about memories of his father and the memories he's creating as a dad himself, with his own son and daughter. Warm, witty and nostalgic, these tales are just like a friendly chat over the back fence, or the banter of a backyard BBQ. They will stir your own memories: of hot summer days and cooling off under the sprinkler while Dad works in the garden with the radio tuned to the sports results; that time Dad tried to teach you to drive - and then got out of the car and kissed the ground; or taking your own kids on a family road trip. Fatherhood is full of memories: the happy, the hilarious, the sad, bad, and the unexpectedly poignant moments. You will laugh, you may even cry - but you will recognise yourself and those you love somewhere in these pages. ...Show more

Black Klansman - Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of Lifetime by Ron Stallworth

$19.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

The #1 New York Times Bestseller The extraordinary true story and basis for the major motion picture BlacKkKlansman, written and directed by Spike Lee, produced by Jordan Peele, and starring John David Washington and Adam Driver.When detective Ron Stallworth, the first black detective in the history of the Colorado Springs Police Department, comes across a classified ad in the local paper asking for all those interested in joining the Ku Klux Klan to contact a P.O. box, Detective Stallworth does his job and responds with interest, using his real name while posing as a white man. He figures he'll receive a few brochures in the mail, maybe even a magazine, and learn more about a growing terrorist threat in his community. A few weeks later the office phone rings, and the caller asks Ron a question he thought he'd never have to answer, "Would you like to join our cause?" This is 1978, and the KKK is on the rise in the United States. Its Grand Wizard, David Duke, has made a name for himself, appearing on talk shows, and major magazine interviews preaching a "kinder" Klan that wants nothing more than to preserve a heritage, and to restore a nation to its former glory.Ron answers the caller's question that night with a yes, launching what is surely one of the most audacious, and incredible undercover investigations in history. Ron recruits his partner Chuck to play the "white" Ron Stallworth, while Stallworth himself conducts all subsequent phone conversations. During the months-long investigation, Stallworth sabotages cross burnings, exposes white supremacists in the military, and even befriends David Duke himself. Black Klansman is an amazing true story that reads like a crime thriller, and a searing portrait of a divided America and the extraordinary heroes who dare to fight back. ...Show more

A Certain Light by Cynthia Banham

$32.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

Life is not defined by the bad things that happen to us. It certainly isn't for me.' Written for her young son so that he would know what had happened to his mother, Cynthia Banham's inspiring family memoir uncovers a true picture of what survival means: 'This book tells a story that I tried to write ma ny times before, but couldn't. For a long time, it was too painful to tell. It is also one I hadn't known how to tell. It had to be more than a story about surviving a plane crash, a random event without intrinsic meaning.' Unable until now to write her own story, Cynthia found that the lives of her Italian grandfather, Alfredo, and his intriguing older sister, Amelia, resonated with her own. Discovering their sacrifice, joy, fear and love, from Trieste to Germany and America, and finally to Australia, their stories mirror and illuminate Cynthia's own determination and courage in the face of overwhelming adversity. From a remarkable writer, and told with unflinching honesty and compassion, A Certain Light speaks to the heart of what really matters in life. ...Show more

Colourful Life by Sharon Bech

$25.00 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

Saga Land: the Island Stories at the Edge of the World by Richard Fidler; Kari Gislason

$29.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

On Sheep: Diary of a Swedish Shepherd by Axel Lindén

$19.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

'Axel Lindén is a shepherd-philosopher with James Herriot's knack for mishap and an almost Chekhovian deadpan humour.' Observer 'Endearing and liberating.' Idler Magazine Why do we keep sheep? Alex Lindén ruminates as he watches his sheep ruminating. Naive and inexperienced, he has ditched his doctoral studies in order to move to a fully working farm in the country with his family, where he is tasked with the responsibility of caring for a herd of sheep. Lindén records his new life in his diary, as he tries to manage life on the farm, the ever-escaping sheep and the trials and tribulations that come with being a shepherd - shearing, lambing and confronting the slaughterhouse. As time passes and he gradually settles into the rhythm of shepherding, his naivete fades away and is replaced with stark realisations about what is now his everyday life. He finds himself applying his experiences of animal husbandry to consider our place - as individuals and as a collective organism - in the universe. Is he really the one caring for the sheep, or are they the ones keeping him? Lindén finds both companionship in his flock and a sound, if complex, moral framework for examining the lives we lead. The result is a sensitive and entertaining meditation on the small wonders in our world. Translated by Frank Perry. ...Show more

One Hundred Years of Dirt by Rick Morton

$29.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

Violence, treachery and cruelty run through the generational veins of Rick Morton's family. A horrific accident thrusts his mother and siblings into a world impossible for them to navigate, a life of poverty and drug addiction One Hundred Years of Dirt is an unflinching memoir in which the mother is a hero who is never rewarded. It is a meditation on the anger, fear of others and an obsession with real and imagined borders. Yet it is also a testimony to the strength of familial love and endurance. ...Show more

Woman in the Wilderness: A Story of Survival, Love & Self-Discovery in New Zealand by Miriam Lancewood

$32.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

It tells how one woman learned to dig deep and push the boundaries in order to discover what really matters in life. Miriam is a young Dutch woman living in the heart of the mountains with her New Zealand husband. She lives simply in a tent or hut, and survives by hunting wild animals and foraging edibl e plants, relying on only minimal supplies. For the last six years she has lived this way, through all seasons, often cold, hungry and isolated in the bush. She loves her life and feels free, connected to the land, and happy. There's a lot of drama out there in the wild, and Miriam knows how to spin a good yarn. This is a gripping and engaging read reminiscent of both adventure writing like Wild and nature writing like H is for Hawk, and is perfect for anyone exploring the idea of living a more authentic, real life. 'My life is free, random and spontaneous. This in itself creates enormous energy and clarity in body and mind.' Miriam Lancewood ...Show more

Last Night at the Viper Room River Phoenix and the Hollywood He Left Behind by Gavin Edwards

$24.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY | Reading Level: General Adult

Hollywood was built on beautiful and complicated matinee idols: James Dean and Marlon Brando are classic examples, but in the 1990s, the actor who embodied that archetype was River Phoenix. As the brightly colored 1980s wound down, a new crew of leading men began to appear on movie screens. Hailed for t heir acting prowess and admired for choosing meaty roles, actors such as Johnny Depp, Nicolas Cage, Keanu Reeves, and Brad Pitt were soon rocketing toward stardom while an unknown Leonardo DiCaprio prepared to make his acting debut. River Phoenix, however, stood in front of the pack. Blessed with natural talent and fueled by integrity, Phoenix was admired by his peers and adored by his fans. More than just a pinup on teenage girls' walls, Phoenix was also a fervent defender of the environment and a vocal proponent of a vegan lifestyle--well on his way to becoming a symbol of his generation. At age eighteen, he received his first Oscar nomination. But behind his beautiful public face, there was a young man who had been raised in a cult by nonconformist parents, who was burdened with supporting his family from a young age, and who eventually succumbed to addiction, escaping into a maelstrom of drink and drugs. And then he was gone. After a dozen films, including Stand by Me and My Own Private Idaho, and with a seemingly limitless future, River Phoenix died of a drug overdose. He was twenty-three years old. In Last Night at the Viper Room, bestselling author and journalist Gavin Edwards toggles between the tragic events at the Viper Room in West Hollywood on Halloween 1993 and the story of an extraordinary life. Last Night at the Viper Room is part biography, part cultural history of the 1990s, and part celebration of River Phoenix, a Hollywood icon gone too soon. Full of interviews from his fellow actors, directors, friends, and family, Last Night at the Viper Room shows the role he played in creating the place of the actor in our modern culture and the impact his work still makes today. ...Show more

Being Conchita: We are Unstoppable by Conchita Wurst

$21.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

With the song 'Rise Like a Phoenix', Thomas Neuwirth - better known to the world as Conchita Wurst - stormed to victory in 2014's Eurovision Song Contest. The bearded drag queen's winning words, 'We are unity and we are unstoppable', were a pointed riposte to overt Russian hostility and Eastern European homophobia, and a watershed moment for LGBT campaigners. Her victory stirred massive support right across the continent in the gay community and beyond, and Conchita's inspirational book will undoubtedly attract that same support and goodwill. Published to coincide with the competition's sixtieth-anniversary show - to be broadcast from Vienna to an estimated worldwide audience of 200 million fans - this is Conchita's full story from rural childhood to recording artist, Gaultier Couture model and cultural icon. ...Show more