"My guiltiest pleasure is Harry Stephen Keeler. He may been the greatest bad writer America has ever produced. Or perhaps the worst great writer. I do not know. There are few faults you can accuse him of that he is not guilty of. But I love him." -- Neil Gaiman Ho hum. Another day; another corpse dredged up from the depths of Lake Michigan. This time it’s a body having the bottom half of a negro man and the top half of a Chinese woman joined together at the waist by some kind of greenish glue. But we don’t linger long at this unpleasant scene because Angus MacWhorter and his Mammoth Motorized Show are in another pickle. If Angus can’t pay back $3000 -- in $100 bills whose serial numbers must be evenly divisible by 13! -- he’ll lose the circus to the dastardly Geispitz Gmohling. But the needed bills are on the other side of Old Twistibus, the windingest road in the world, and Giff O’Dell, who has the bills, is obsessed with solving the Crazy Corpse murder. Now that is a pickle!

We’re all in this together. Strong social connections make communities more resilient. But today Australians have fewer close friends and local connections than in the past, and more of us say we have no-one to turn to in tough times. How can we turn this trend around? In Reconnected, Andrew Leigh and Nick Terrell look at some of the most successful community organisations and initiatives – from conversation groups to community gardens, from parkrun to Pub Choir – to discover what really works. They explore ways to encourage philanthropy and volunteering, describe how technology can be used effectively, and introduce us to remarkable and inspirational leaders. Reconnected is an essential guide for anyone interested in strengthening social ties. ‘Reconnected offers practical ideas, told through engaging stories of successful community-builders, about how to build a more connected Australia.’ —Robert D. Putnam, Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University and author of Bowling Alone and The Upswing ‘This inspiring collection of strategies and stories brings hope for the future. Reconnected shows that we are the revolution.’ —Dr Catherine Barrett, founder of The Kindness Pandemic

Finally, by popular demand, all seven Barney Thomson novels have been collected in one handsome omnibus edition. And it's a snip at the price! Fans of Douglas Lindsay's genre-defining barbershop death junky novels will be delighted to know that THE BARBERSHOP SEVEN includes the complete, unabridged text from the following Barney Thomson novels: #1 THE LONG MIDNIGHT OF BARNEY THOMSON #2 THE BARBER SURGEON'S HAIRSHIRT #3 MURDERERS ANONYMOUS #4 THE RESURRECTION OF BARNEY THOMSON #5 THE LAST FISH SUPPER #6 THE HAUNTING OF BARNEY THOMSON #7 THE FINAL CUT *** The omnibus also includes the key to unlocking THE WORMWOOD CODE, a free Barney Thomson novella that's available only to purchasers of THE BARBERSHOP SEVEN ***Praise for the Barney Thomson novels "This chilling black comedy unfolds at dizzying speed... an impressive debut novel." - Sunday Mirror "The plot, Russian literature fans, is a modern spin on Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. The bloody ending, movie buffs, is pure Reservoir Dogs." - The Mirror "This is pitch-black comedy spun from the finest writing. Fantastic plot, unforgettable scenes and plenty of twisted belly laughs." - New Woman "A mad, macabre romp with surreal characters and cutting black humour." - The Sunday Mirror "Gloriously over the top, very bloody and very, very funny." - Daily Telegraph "A novel which is both genuinely silly and a fun read." - The Scotsman "Extremely well-written, highly amusing and completely unpredictable in its outrageous plot twists and turns." - The List "Lindsay's burlesque thrills offer no sex, no drugs, no desperation to be cool. Just straightforward adult story; fantastic plot, classic timing and gleeful delight in the grotesque. With more talent than Irvine Welsh could dream of, Lindsay has crafted a macabre masterpiece where content lives up to style." - What's On

This timely book addresses what it is to be a planner in a changing world: a world in need of transformation in the way planning is done in order to tackle social problems and ecological crises. Nicholas Low argues for the need to revalue public planning, sensitive to the social context in which it takes place.

This comprehensive history of Noosa comes straight from the heart. Award-winning writer Phil Jarratt has lived in the seaside town for more than 30 years, and has played many roles, as both communicator and protagonist, over its transition from sleepy village to iconic resort. In many ways it is a love letter to his adopted home, but the Noosa story is not always a pretty one, and Jarratt does not flinch from the harsh realities of the cruelties inflicted on the Kabi Kabi First Nation, nor from the wild years when Tewantin was a playground for cashed-up gold diggers, nor from the unscrupulous development deals of the Joh era. But this is a history filled with admiration for the fighters of the past, and hope for the future.

P.1-3; Origins, arrival in Australia; p.4-9; How they lived - camp sites, dating (including carbon dating); p.10-27; Physical appearance, skin colour, hair, clothing, body ornaments, cicatrization; exchange system, distribution of food, marriage & sexual relations; the tribe - structure, relationship to land, territory, gives map showing locations of tribes, New South Wales, Victoria & eastern South Australia, leadership, government, division of labour, status of women, estimated population at white settlement, density of population (Victoria); p.28-31; Language - names & naming, reproduces Wembawemba vocabulary, notes use of secret languages, gives 12 rules for pronunciation; p.32-53; Religion, spirit beliefs, totemism, moieties, phratries, marriage rules; mythology, gives eaglehawk & crow myth from Lake Victoria & other myths illustrating origins of fire & natural rock formations, mythical beasts (Bunyip, Mindie), stellar beliefs; magic, medicine men, powers, native remedies for sickness, describes ceremony held in Melbourne, 1847 to avert evil, sorcery, pointing bone, love magic, rain makers; messengers, appearance, etiquette, message sticks; p.54-71; Rock art, motifs, colours, decorative art, engraving of utensils, rock engravings, manufacture & use of pigments, engraving techniques; trade system, objects bartered, meeting places for trade (Victoria), map shows possible routes (south east Australia); corroborees, purpose, body ornaments & decorations, musical instruments; p.72-93; Ceremonial life, marriage, punishment for infidelity, birth, childhood, games & amusements, initiation, etiquette of visiting tribes, details of ceremony, womens role, earth figures & ground designs, bull roarers, female puberty ceremonies; p.94-133; Shelters, fire making, cooking, construction of canoes, wooden implements, use of reeds, animal skins & sinews, shells; stone tools, cylindro conical stones, scrapers, knives & microliths; hunting weapons, spear, other methods pits, nets; fishing methods & spears, traps; food sharing, womens responsibilities for collecting, digging stick, cooking methods, insect foods, plant foods, water resources; manufacture & use of spears, spear throwers, shields, clubs, boomerangs; inter- & intratribal fighting; p.134-147; Death, disposal of body - eating of the dead, burial, cremation, platform exposure, dendroglyphs (N.S.W.), Aboriginal burial grounds (Darling & Murray Rivers), mourning, widowhood, kopi caps (N.S.W.), causes of death, inquest ceremonies, revenge expedition, after death beliefs; p.148-157; The end of the tribes white settlement & its impact on Aboriginal life, friction between natives & settlers, establishment of Protectorates; copiously illustrated throughout.