All Your Mother Wants is Books and Pyjamas

Do you know what your mother really wants for Mothers’ Day, Birthdays, etc? Books and pyjamas. Possibly also tea. But definitely books and pyjamas. Let me help you out in your mighty task of buying your mother that perfect gift. Here are my perfect pairings to delight that special mother in your life.

For the Dog Lover

My first gift recommendation is Monty and Me by Louisa Bennet. A cosy pet detective about a funky dog who knows how to solve a crime or two. 

Pair this book with some super cute pyjamas like this onsie.

Dachshund lovers are there own seperate breed of people so you need to get them an extra special gift. Try Destination Dachshund by Lisa Fleetwood. It’s a really sweet travel memoir about love, grief, and there’s a dachshund spotting competition involved.

Combine Destination Dachshund with something like these adorable pyjamas that will warm the heart of any dachshund lover.

For the Mother that Loves Thrills, Chills, and Spills

You can’t go past L.A. Larkin’s chiller, Devour. It’s Antarctic noir. It has action, suspense, and some sexy sex. Step aside Robert Ludlum, L.A. Larkin is here.

Pair it with something like these fabulous matching onsies. One for you, one for your mother. Heaven.

Does your mother like more action than you can poke a stick at? Grab her Crimson Lake by Candice Fox. Even ultra famous reviewer Jason Steger reads Candice Fox.

Pair it with fabulous red satin pyjamas like these.

For the Mother Who Loves Love

Her Mother’s Secret by Natasha Lester is the perfect option. It even has mother in the title. Just go out and get it already.

Pair it with flower pyjamas instead of actual flowers.

The Beast’s Garden by Kate Forsyth is an evocative weaving of WWII, fairy tale, and love. Lush settings and intense conflict.

Pair it with rose print pyjamas, like these ones, to tie it all together.

For the most Fantastical of Mothers

This years hottest new Fantasy release is Crossroads of Canopy by Thoraiya Dyer. Gods walking amongst people, magic, warriors, and people living in trees. What’s not to like?

Pair it with some forest or bird pyjamas.

Jane Rawson’s From the Wreck is a speculative fiction take on family history. It is set in the 1800s and is gripping from start to finish. Expect Aliens, ghostly apparitions, and some light cannibalism.

Pair it with some good old fashioned long johns. Check out how much this model loves hers.

For the Mother Who Wants to be Kept in Suspense

Does your mother enjoy rotting mutton and murder? See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt is for her. It delivers the story of Lizzie Borden with a heady feast of flavours.

Match it with a super cute lamb onesie, obvi.

Please Don’t Leave Me Here by Tania Chandler brings you grunge music, amnesia and the seedy underbelly of life. Relive the 90s and see if you can find out who Brigitte really is.

Pair it with something super sexy.

For the Mother Who Likes to Laugh

Our Tiny, Useless Hearts starts with the smashing of plates, progresses to cutting the crotch out of trousers, and even incorporates a nod to the famous Romeo and Juliet balcony scene, but gone horribly wrong.

Pair it with some adorbs, heart-print pyjamas.

The Lucky One is Caroline Overington’s eleventh book and is full of hijinks and corpses. There’s a grumpy old man who doesn’t mind getting a bit of air to his nethers, a drunk art, a mother who wants to talk candidly about her sex life, a teenage waif and a sexy cowboy. Plenty of laughs but also lots of suspense.

Pair it with something fit for an heiress.

For the Mother Who Says No to Fiction

We’re All Going to Die by Leah Kaminsky. This is actually a joyful book about dying. I can definitely see the funny side of handing something with this title to your mother, but the content is great too.

Pair it with some killer pyjamas.

The Mad Woman in the Attic, get in that attic, Mother, where you belong. It’s a collection of essays on the portrayal of women in literature. It first came out in 1979. I love this book.

Pair it with some crazy good pyjamas.

For the New Mother

Things that Helped by Jessica Friedmann is a collection of poetic essays that express the yearning of her soul after the birth of her baby.

Pair it with something like these classic silk pyjamas for true indulgence.

Why not grab my fab book for the slightly frazzled mother in your life? Confessions of a Mad Mooer: Postnatal Depression Sucks explores my struggles through depression after the birth of my twins. Having three under three was chaotic and exhausting. It’s conversational, practical, and quite funny.

Pair it with these cow pjs to complete that mad cow vibe.

Now run off and spoil that special mother in your life. Just quietly, gin is also good.

All I Want for Christmas is BOOKS

It’s that time of the year again, the time when I write out the perfect gift suggestions for Christmas, guaranteed to please even the fussiest gift receiver. You’re welcome.

Let’s start with the kids in our lives.

Want a great picture book? You can’t reall go past My Dog Bigsy by Alison Lester. It’s an adorable book about a cheeky dog that causes quite the commotion amongst other animals. Buy it here.

 

Looking for something for the sporty 7-10 year old in your life? Try Kicking Goals with Goodesy and Magic by Anita Heiss, Adam Goodes and Michael O’Loughlin. A lovely book about friendship. Buy it here.

Do you have an 8-12 year old who loves action and adventure and also has a love of maps? Al Tait has what you want and plenty of it in her Mapmaker Chronicles. It’s been described as the best thing since Deltora Quest. Buy it here.

Do you have an 6-9 year old that loves action and adventure but want unicorns instead of maps? Search no further than Kate Forsyth’s Impossible Quest series. So many beautiful nods to classic fantasy, your kids will be sure to love it. Buy it here.

 

Wendy Orr’s Dragonfly Song is also a great choice. And just quietly, I’m pretty sure it based around the same ritual that the minotaur myth was derived from. Give it a read. Fascinating stuff. Buy it here. http://www.booktopia.com.au/the-dragonfly-song-wendy-orr/prod9781760290023.html

 

Looking for something for 12+? Try Fleur Ferris’s Risk. It’s an eerie book about what lurks online. Buy it here.

This year, why not go on a crime-spree for the adults in your life?

 

Harry’s World by A.B. Patterson. Rough cop, gritty issues, sexy sexing and beautiful writing. Buy it here.

 

Love crime but the person you’re wanting to buy for is ice-cold? Go get L.A. Larkin’s Devour. It’s the hotest thing in Antarctic Noir. Buy it here.

 

Emma Viskic’s Resurrection Bay won all of the crime awards. All of them. It’s a book that truly lives up to the hype. No spoilers, just buy it here.

 

The Promise Seed by Cass Moriarty is a beautiful story about cross generational friendships and the ties that bind. Buy it here.

How about books that explore mental illness?

 

Anna Spargo-Ryan’s debut The Paper House has taken Australia by storm. A beautifully literary book about living with mental illness and grief. It is contemporary Australian fiction. Buy it here.

 

I also hear that Confessions of a Mad Mooer is awesome. Forget all other suggestions, this book is the perfect Christmas gift for young and old. It’s my memoir, whoops I mean, it’s the author’s memoir about their month long stint in a psychiatric hospital with postnatal depression. A must read for any PND sufferers, and for any of their friends or family. Also great for any writers struggling with mental illness. It does have swearing. It’s nonfiction. Get it here.

You want to give the gift of laughter instead of crime or madness? 

 

Try Our Tiny Useless Hearts by Toni Jordan. Fresh, funny, a great read with lots of depth along with the laughter. Buy it here.

 

We’re all Going to Die by Leah Kaminsky… okay, I know the title sounds a bit morbid, and it is about death, but I promise that it’s actually uplifting. It even says it’s a “joyful book about death.” Buy it here.

Feel like you want something more historical to give? 

 

Try Ben Pobjie’s Error Australis a humorous recap of Australian history. Buy it here.

Mary’s Australia by Pamela Freeman is a fascinating read about life in the times of our very own Saint, Mary MacKillop. Buy it here.

 

Or you can get Girt by David Hunt. It is a totally unauthorised history of Australia. Buy it here.

I hope that I have helped make things a little bit easier for you…. Now go buy my book!

 

Don’t forget to check last year’s book recommendations, they’re still excellent choices. So get on it and buy, buy, buy!