Serena Kirby, ARR.News

Whether you are an avid bird watcher or simply a casual admirer I highly recommend adding this to your bookshelf for ready reference. Trust me, you’ll need it - as some people may not believe you when you tell them about some of the avian oddities described.

Matt Blakers sees the seasons through a photographer's lens and each season has a unique signature that it scribes across the sea. Spring is playful, even flirtatious, and writes with a light hand.   The waves are smaller with a soft and inviting luminescence. Summer, by contrast, writes with a pen packed full of colour, casting hues from a palette of blues and golds. The falling lips of the waves are lighter, the sunsets are brighter and the water is warmer ... But it’s big waves that excite Matt the most ...

Author Leslie Scott never expected that a rumour about wild horses roaming on a mountain near her home would consume months of her life and result in such a deep connection between animal and human. Set in rural Victoria, Once Were Wild is an easy-to-read book that recounts the moment Leslie finds two brumbies amongst the rugged terrain of Mount Beckworth near the town of Clunes.

Nic Duncan’s photography work is not the glamorous kind. Far from it. Nic travels to the back of beyond to capture her subjects within their natural habitat. There’s no fictitious backdrops, no wardrobe assistant and certainly no makeup artist. It’s all about reflecting a person’s natural state. Raw and real, regional and rural she seeks the opposite of city and suburban.

Sarah Donnelley's book Big Things Grow has been called a love song to a small country town but it is also a love song to the profession of teaching ... Sarah's beautifully written memoir recounts key events of her four fulfilling years working in what was a complex and challenging environment.

Located in WA’s deep south with a population of around 6,000, Denmark has always been known as a creative kind of town. Now home to one of Australia's newest community radio stations -  Denmark FM - station manager, Matt Sivyer, said he first started looking into the idea of putting local voices and local content on the airwaves more than a decade ago ... But Matt had no experience in radio so he knew he’d need help. As luck would have it one of Australia's most experienced radio directors was living in Denmark. Sue Howard, ex National Director of Radio with the ABC, had been with the ABC for nearly 30 years and to say she knew a bit about radio is an understatement.

A good place to start reading Farm is at the back. That may sound counterintuitive but by taking a look at the extensive bibliography you’ll quickly see how intensely researched the book is which adds weight to the arguments and questions it presents. While Farm is a memoir that chronicles the journey of Nicola Harvey and her husband after they leave their city lives to farm cattle in rural New Zealand, it is far more than that.

Fashion, culture, romance and a storyline peppered with twists and turns - what's not to love about A Remarkable Woman ... if you’re a lover of fashion, romance, outback life and a darn good story, this book makes a great summer holiday read. It’ll keep you turning the pages from start to finish and remind you that, in life and in love, “timing is everything”.

Bec Bignell is a storyteller who believes the best stories are those that are grounded in truth. A writer, actor and film producer, Bec grew up on a farm outside Kojonup, three hours south-east of Perth and her most recent screen story ‘Homespun’ was born from a desire to present a more authentic portrayal of life beyond the city limits.

Bob Rees knows only too well that life can change in an instant. And that instant hit him hard when he was on a motorbike trip through Africa with his wife Chris. A reckless driver slammed head on into Chris and Bob’s bike and the result was catastrophic. Chris lost her life, Bob lost his wife and also lost the use of his legs ... it is not just the lack of access to the NDIS that has led Bob to speak out, it's also the obstacles that people with disabilities have to deal with when moving around in public places; especially in country towns.