Until December 2013, Zoe Daniel was the ABC's south-east Asia correspondent. This engaging memoir shows how, with a lot of effort, she managed to combine her journalist and mothering duties even though it meant long trips away from her young family as she filed stories in nine countries in the region. Storyteller follows the author as she reports on danger hot spots, such as Bangkok on the brink of civil unrest, and relates her oscillating desire to be home and her equally strong drive for new adventures in various foreign postings.

KAT JUMPS THE SHARK
Melinda Houston
Text Publishing, $29.99

 Kat Kelly is a likeable everywoman whose life at first seems rose-hued. Her relationships with her boyfriend and stepdaughter are going along swimmingly, as is her job scouting locations for a TV production company. Until, bit by bit, everything falls apart. Luckily, to help her collect the pieces and re-configure a new life are her best friend and a cute bartender. Set in Melbourne, this novel is a pleasant, light read, with easily recognisable characters and an insightful behind-the- scenes look at reality television.

(Melinda Houston writes for The Sunday Age)

THE DUCK AND THE DARKLINGS
Glenda Millard, illustrations by Stephen Michael King
Allen & Unwin, $24.99

This picture book has a bit more weight than the normal bright and frothy concoction of other children's books. It's about Peterboy and his grandpapa who live in burrows underground in ''a spoiled place; a broken and battered place''. Once there had been light but no one refers to that time long ago. Then the boy brings home an injured duck and when it is nursed back to health it brings hope to the darklings. Adults will also appreciate the message of renewal after a long period of gloom.

THE LIFTED BROW - THE SEX ISSUE
Edited by Sam Cooney, $12

The latest edition of this bimonthly magazine is about sex in all its permutations. It's a bumper issue with a large selection of contributions on all manner of sexual gratification, from embarrassing masturbation accounts to interviews with porn stars; from sadomasochistic websites to adulterous birds (not a euphemism!). There's a piece about the nexus between booze and rape, and another on sexual somnambulism and love dolls. Yes, it's graphic and R-rated (including some confronting artwork), but also informative and tantalising.