Love My Rifle More Than You: Young and Female in the US Army
Kayla WilliamsWeidenfeld and Nicholson 290 pages, $45


WORKING in a male-dominated environment can be an unusual experience. But you know it won’t be easy when you sign on the dotted line.

As equitable an environment as Defence is, crazy stuff can still go on, and probably goes on in Defence departments around the world.

William’s book deals with all the situations you’d expect a female in her 20s to go through, including dealing with horny young guys and power-hungry SNCOs who would be nobodies in the civvy world.

Her book covers recruit training, language and intelligence training and her 12-month deployment to Iraq. She writes of the boredom and rewards of the operation, long hours on picket and duty, and the difficulties of dealing with locals and other US soldiers.

The book is very easy to read and gives a bit of insight into a Middle East deployment.

Merde Actually
Stephen ClarkeRandom House 411 pages, $23.95

“ARE there any clean clothes in the house?” I asked Florence. “Ah, oui.” She went off to the wardrobe in her mum’s room and returned with a grey t-shirt and the most unpleasant pair of trousers I’d ever seen in my life.

They had an elasticated waist and were made out of a blue and orange check material decorated with fist-sized red flowers. Florence picked up on
my lack of enthusiasm.

“They’re African,” she said. “So is the Ebola virus,” I replied.
Merde Actually is the follow up to Clarke’s bestseller, A Year in the Merde, and is the delightful tale of an Englishman’s attempts at setting up a traditional English tea house on the Champs Elysee in Paris.

From erotic zucchinis to rusty bicycles and runny cheese, Clarke will have you laughing as he bumbles his way through the language as he crosses the continent in search of true love and business success.

A perfect read.

– Rachel Irving