A good friend of Booktopia recently requested a post about the best titles to say out loud, to scream, to shout, to let it all out. As books, and the extravagant use of exclamation marks, are two of our favourite things, we’ve happily obliged.
This list contains some fantastic books, but let’s be honest, some sensational titles. Titles that make you want to clear a tree of birds, bounce down a corridor and have your neighbours complaining about the literary loudmouths they have to live next to.
So say these titles loud! We’re bookish and we’re proud!
BOOM!
The Underground History of Australia, from Gold Rush to GFC
by Malcolm Knox
Mining divides the country – development against conservation, north-and-west against south-and-east, pro-tax against anti-tax. It’s an important industry, but why do passions run so high? What does mining really mean to us? And how much do we understand about our underground history?
Although we favour the romantic vision of Australia riding to prosperity on the sheep’s back, in reality we have always owed as much to the shovel. The gold rush kick-started the nation, populating our cities and building our regional centres, and our fortunes have both risen and fallen according to what we’ve been able to dig from the ground.
Boom reveals the history of mining as the Australian story, for better or worse. Insightful, compellingly readable and full of extraordinary characters, it shows how mining and miners have shaped our history and gripped our imagination through boom and bust.
Grab a copy of Malcolm Knox’s Boom here
WOW! DINOSAUR!
by Dorling Kindersley
Everything you want to know, see and find out about Dinosaurs
Explore a visually amazing encyclopedia in Wow! Dinosaur. Crammed full of incredible stuff to dip into, from the skeleton of a Stegosaurus, giant ocean reptiles as they might have looked in their natural habitat and how they might have died: it’s like a paleontologist’s dig, a search engine and a trip back in time all rolled into one.
With four chapters brimming with dino information you can learn about the world they lived in, what they looked like, their senses and behaviour and theories on how they became extinct. Plus there are hundreds of colourful pictures and loads of amazing things for you to discover and explore. So find it. See it. Know it.
Grab a copy of Wow! Dinosaur! here
IT CAN’T BE TRUE!
by Dorling Kindersley
It Can’t be True! lets you in on life’s little secrets that seem unbelievable but are totally true. For example: Did you know that the Moon is the same size as Australia? Or that a blue whale’s heart is as large as a car?
Explore a world of subjects, from the tiniest microchips to the massive, swirling planet Jupiter, with stunning photographs and images to help you visualise and understand each comparison. Learning is made easy and fun with amazing pictures and graphics that describe incredible facts to satisfy even the most curious children. With easy-to-read headlines and simple explanations, It Can’t be True! is the first book of its kind to deliver a major ‘Wow!’ moment as you turn each page.
Full of the most recent, verified facts and statistics full of facts that prove truth is stranger than fiction It Can’t be True! is the definitive ‘Did you know…?’ explorer’s guide.
Grab a copy of It Can’t Be True! here
GET REAL!
by Michelle Bridges
The Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation has already helped Australians lose over 700,000 kilos! Now you can go behind the scenes and hear 75 people’s amazing life-changing success stories.
From the mother and daughter who each lost more than 60 kilos to the bushfire survivor who discovered her ‘inner mongrel’; from the ‘big guy’ dad who lost 45 kilos so he could enjoy being with his kids to the woman who wanted to get fit before 50 and then achieved a personal best in a marathon – these 12WBTers bare all to inspire others to stop making excuses and work their way towards being the best version of themselves.
Grab a copy of Michelle Bridges’ Get Real! here
VROOM! VROOM!
by Dawn Sirett
These new additions to DK’s popular Peekaboo series are filled with sounds that will captivate and delight toddlers with a new noisy surprise after every turn of the page.
From a car’s revving engine to a fire truck’s wailing siren, Vroom! Vroom! features five fun sounds hiding under vehicle-themed flaps.
Grab a copy of Vroom! Vroom! here
Do you have a list you’d love us to create? Leave a suggestion in the comments below!
About the Contributor
Andrew Cattanach
Andrew Cattanach is a regular contributor to The Booktopia Blog. He has been shortlisted for The Age Short Story Prize and was named a finalist for the 2015 Young Bookseller of the Year Award. He enjoys reading, writing and sleeping, though finds it difficult to do them all at once.
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Comments
February 20, 2014 at 11:33 am
This is the most sensational blog to date. You guys have outdone yourself. I’m going to purchase all the books listed and just look at them and say their titles over and over again.
Well done.
Boom!