Masterchef Australia is the highest-rating television show in Australian history. Ever. Let’s just (for want of a better word) digest that. This means that we Australians choose a show all about food over the bare sex and violence of Underbelly, the cult popularity of Neighbours and the relevance and comedy of Good News Week.

Verity Gray discovers the brains behind the beauty
You’d be forgiven for taking Canadian-born Australian supermodel Tara Moss purely at face value – after all, she is enviably gorgeous, with legs up to her armpits – but this chick is much more than just a pretty face.
Leaving her modelling career behind to pursue her dreams as [...]

There have been some hot sellers in the literary world this past year. Here is a list of some of the best paperbacks that will satisfy your bookworm appetite while lounging around this summer.

When you are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

Yet another humorous masterpiece by the widely popular author, Sedaris has a unique, witty [...]

One knows not to expect a light and fluffy read when picking up a book titled The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.  Readers will inevitably be left feeling intense sadness, yet will be rewarded with experiencing a story that is poignant and superbly written.
The life of the author was as remarkable as the story she [...]

Handbags are more than just a pretty accessory holding all those important items, and topping off the your work, lounge, shopping, or night out ensemble. In fact, the type of handbag you choose says a lot about a woman’s personality. Who knew the decision of clutch or over-the-shoulder said more than just the perfect final [...]

Take classic English literature and one of Australia’s most famous modern-day romance novelists, and the result is The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet. This story is a sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Its author is Colleen McCullough of The Thorn Birds fame.
Naturally Pride and Prejudice fans will be wary. The concept of any [...]

The critically acclaimed book by Jodi Picoult, My Sister’s Keeper will make its movie premiere on Aussie screens on 30 July 2009. Although the long awaited movie has fans excited and eager for its release, the movie release is not the main reason Picoult fans are reeling – Hollywood script writers changed the ending!
It will [...]

Trick or Treat by Kerry Greenwood is the kind of book you take on a holiday or indulge in on a “doona day” (not that we wish to encourage this sort of behaviour!). It contains classical ingredients found in “chick-lit”, such as a likeable female lead character, an adorable boyfriend, a devious model-type attempting to [...]

Those who have never heard of Twilight – have you been living under a rock? From copies of the novel seen in the hands of engrossed commuters on their way to work, to gossip columns containing the latest antics of actors in the movie adaptation, Twilight has become an international phenomenon.
Twilight is the first of [...]

India is a nation making headlines. Slumdog Millionaire scooped up eight Academy Awards recently, an achievement celebrated across many corners of the globe. Sadly, terrorist attacks in Mumbai, news of unfathomable horror, cast a disturbing shadow on India only months before. One of the targets in the attacks was Leopold’s Café. It was a place [...]

Welcome to our first book review at A Pampered Life! We’ll be posting a book review every month so make sure you keep coming back to find which tome we’ve delved into lately.
The first book on our list is He’s Just Not That into You. It was just released as a movie, but I’m the [...]

There’s nothing like settling in on a cool night with a good book, but with so much choice on the library or book shop’s shelf, what do you choose? Here at A Pampered Life we’ve compiled the first list of our recommended reads; these ones are perfect for some rainy day reading, or just for [...]

In these, hopefully, last weeks of winter I am very much looking forward to spring. Soon my winter jacket retires into my closet in wait for vacations to colder places or really rainy days. I look forward with hope in my heart for blossoming jacarandas and being able to dust off my summer dresses again.
But [...]

Call me a nerd, but I love reading books. Reading is relaxing, addictive and you can learn a thing or two. Books are able to make you laugh, cry and sometimes inspire you to make changes in your life.
Unlike movies, mesmerising words have the power to transport the reader to a different time and place.
The [...]