Pigeon Pairs

It may not be immediately obvious why these books have been grouped together, but isn’t that half the fun?

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld & Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh

What does a social satire from the 1920s have to do with a futuristic novel where plastic surgery is compulsory at 16?

The first thing is the language that these books share. Westerfeld uses slang from the 1920s to bring life to his futuristic world (as current slang becomes so quickly dated). So in both books you’ll find words like ‘drunk-making’ or ‘happy-making’.

Both books move very quickly from light-hearted banter to bleakness and danger. They both explore characters who have a sort of veil lifted from their eyes. But ultimately, both are books that make us look at ourselves – our values, priorities and biases. You may not like what you find, but you will enjoy the books.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte & The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Jane Eyre is one of the most famous English novels of all time. It’s the story of Jane, a plain governess who captures the heart of her employer, Edward. Except there are some skeleton’s in Edward’s closet. The Eyre Affair is the story of Thursday Next, a literary detective, and her search for a criminal mastermind who is hiding somewhere inside Jane Eyre.

Notes from the Teenage Underground by Simmone Howell & Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

Counterculture. Underground. Looking at the world a different way. In two very different ways. Teenage Underground is about Gem, Mira and Lo, and their summer project to make things as debauched and avant-garde as possible, with help from Andy Warhol, Timothy Leary and Germaine Greer. Fast Food Nation invites the reader to examine the fast food industry, and how it’s changed “not only the American diet, but also the landscape, economy, workforce, and popular culture”.

Shadows in the Mirror by Cameron Nunn & The Firm by John Grisham

You wanted to fit in. You were seduced by the ideas of power, wealth and career. You didn’t really understand what you were getting yourself into. Until it was too late. This story is common to both David Pollifrone - who finds himself enmeshed in the dark and ugly world of all-boys boarding schools – and to Mitch McDeere, who starts working at the Firm, unaware that it is the Mafia.

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket & Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe
Take any of the morbid, morose characters from Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death, The Pit and the Pendulum or The Tell-Tale Heart, and you can guarantee that they’d have much to chat about with Vice Principal Nero, Josephine Anwhistle or Jerome Squalor. Keen-eyed readers will of course know that the Baudelaire orphans’ financial advisor is Mr Poe, who has children called Edgar and Albert).

Temeraire by Naomi Novik & Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brien
There are lots of fantastic books set in the Regency Period. I could add anything by Jane Austen or Georgette Heyer to this pair, but thought it would be better to focus on the military aspect. Here are two different versions of the Napoleonic Wars. One (Master and Commander) tells of the friendship between Captain Aubrey and ship’s surgeon Stephen Maturin. The other (Temeraire) tells of the friendship between Captain Laurence and a dragon called Temeraire.

Bye, Beautiful by Julia Lawrinson & The Shark Net by Robert Drewe
Two hot, sandy portraits of life in Western Australia. In Bye, Beautiful, 14 year old Sandy is a shy policeman’s daughter, in love with a part-Aboriginal mechanic’s apprentice, and living in the shadow of her beautiful sister Marianne. The Shark Net is a memoir about Robert Drewe growing up in Perth, and how the sleepy, remote city changed when a man randomly and violently murdered eight strangers.

Junk by Melvin Burgess & Valiant by Holly Black
Two extremely controversial books. One is about a group of teens who get addicted to heroin. The other is about a group of teens who get addicted to magic. Both have disastrous effects. Both are gripping, terrifying cautionary tales that explore the dangers of addiction.

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld & Dracula by Bram Stoker
Read Peeps first, and learn all about the science behind vampirism. It’s actually a parasite, that spreads itself far and wide by making you a) hate everything that is familiar to you, so you leave home, and b) share your bodily fluids with others. Then go back to Dracula and see if you can recognise any of these parasitic traits…

The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery & Nightpeople by Anthony Eaton
There are lots of people on TV telling us that the planet is screwed. Anthony Eaton’s Nightpeople is the story of Saria, the last of a dying race living in a futuristic, contaminated Australian desert. In addition to the gripping fantasy story, this book contains strong environmental themes that make it a perfect companion to Tim Flannery’s The Weather Makers. Once you’ve been sufficiently scared by Eaton’s grim vision of the future, read Flannery’s book to figure out what we’re doing wrong, and how we can stop it.