Page 63 - Tropic Magazine Issue 34

TROPIC • BOOKS

Summer reads
Credit: @our.bookish.days
LOCAL AUTHORS

Words: Annabel Bowles
ONE FOR THE FEMINISTS

Caroline de Costa The Women’s Doc
If you know the interesting story of cane toads and their role in
detecting pregnancy – read Tropic Issue 32 if not – you’ll likely
know of Caroline de Costa. In her latest book, The Women’s Doc,
Dr de Costa reflects on her five decades of delivering babies
and changing history. From being refused medical training
in Sydney on the premise of being a woman, to raising
children as single mum in Dublin, smuggling IUDs and
condoms along the way, Dr de Costa has long been
a trailblazing advocate for women’s reproductive rights.
She is the first Australian woman to become a professor of
obstetrics and gynaecology – a position she still holds today
at James Cook University in Cairns.

ONE FOR THE ACADEMICS ONE FOR THE KIDS
Chrystopher Spicer Cyclone Country: The Language of Samaria Lemke Little Mister Gets A Sister
Place and Disaster in Australian Literature
Exploring the relationships between Far North people, A humorous insight into the inevitable jealousy older
siblings face with a newborn arrival, Little Mister Gets
our environment, cyclonic weather, and our stories, A Sister is a light-hearted and beautifully illustrated new
Dr Chrystopher Spicer’s recent release looks at the topic of children’s book. At first ‘Little Mister’ is so put out by
cyclones in literary and poetic realms. The cultural historian his baby sister that he wants to send her away,
and adjunct Senior Research Fellow at James Cook University but before long, a special bond forms between the two.
considers how fictional representations of cyclones can be a It’s written by Samaria Lemke, who’s based between
catalyst for action, as well as help tropical populations cope Cairns and Thursday Island, and recommended for
and heal with the trauma of a natural disaster.
ages three and above.

ONE FOR THE HISTORY BUFFS
Barbara Miller Secrets and Lies
A story of deceit, ideological conflict and racial discrimination laws,
this recent release uncovers Cape York’s hidden history and life-changing
political activism of the 1970s and 80s. Centring on an Aboriginal teacher,
Mick, as well as Barbara, a young woman from a white working-class family,
it illuminates the struggle of Aurukun and Mornington Island communities
against repressive state and Commonwealth governments and encroaching
mining companies. It is both a political chronicle and personal memoir of
author Barbara Miller, former newspaper editor of the North Queensland
Land Council, psychologist, sociologist and historian.

63 • tropicnow.com.au