For a country so far away from the delights of European and American Classical Music, we sure do get a lot of high quality visiting artists. I’ve tried to pick the eyes out of who’s coming down to Melbourne in 2012 with good recordings to back them up and tempt you into the concert halls.

First up in March Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra will be bringing out the acclaimed Hilliard Ensemble. Seriously, if you’ve not heard their amazing albums, Officium and Officium Novum, you’re missing out. See them at the Town Hall on March 18 or 19.

Olli Mustonen’s concerts of Beethoven Concertos were well received last year and with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra he will be performing Beethoven Concerto No. 1 & 5 . Have listen to him performing the Concerto No. 5 with the Tapiola Symphony Orchestra while waiting for April to come round.

Also at the Melbourne Recital Centre we’ve got the Trio Dali visiting us as part of the Musica Viva International Concert Season. In the meantime their Schubert Piano Trio recording is sublime.

The merry month of May is when Opera Australia takes to the stage. Now a lot of their key performers are homegrown, but I still think they’re well worth mentioning. We’ve got Rosario La Spina performing in Puccini’s Turandot (catch him on his solo album Rosario) and the ever favourite, David Hobson (above) in Lehar’s The Merry Widow. Hobson has got an album list as long as your arm. Pick up any to be assured of good quality singing and lots of fun. My favourite is You’ll Never Walk Alone, duets with Teddy Tahu Rhodes.

The Takacs Quartet (above) are returning again to Melbourne in June while Paul Lewis will delight us in September. The Takacs have recorded all your standard quartets, most recent though is the Haydn String Quartets Op 74 on Hyperion. While Paul Lewis is most well known for his Beethoven interpretations, don’t miss his Schubert recordings available on Harmonia Mundi.

November is when it starts to heat up and musicians from the northern hemisphere try to escape south for the winter.

Anthony Marwood visits both the Melbourne Recital Centre as the final concert in Musica Viva’s International Concert Season and the Australian National Academy of Music to conduct their Orchestra. You can find him on all sorts of recordings and I’m a big fan of his album with Thomas Ades of Stravinsky’s Complete Works for Violin and Piano.

Back in the world of opera, Emma Matthews takes the title role in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor but if you can’t wait until November, catch her with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in June performing the glorious solo part in Mahler Symphony No. 4. Don’t miss her solo album ‘Emma Matthews in Monte Carlo’ for an operatic selection that won't disappoint.

As already mentioned this is my top picks for 2012, but I’ll be watching as the year unfolds to see who else might visit us down this neck of the woods.

ABC Classics is a label that is constantly striving for excellence in the recording world. Featuring Australian musicians and composers in performances of all sorts, it is the world’s way of experiencing our contemporary culture. This month, ABC Classics are featuring a number of classic titles from their catalogue at special prices. If you don’t own them already, this is your chance to rediscover our amazing music once more. Limited stock at these prices.

We've had fun over the past few days making lists of romantic reads and break-up books - all with an eye on Valentine's Day happening next week.

Today, inspired by Michelle Griffin's recent article 'Why teens should read raunchy novels and straight-up smut', we've put together a list of dirty/smutty/sexy/erotic books, with the help of our wonderful followers on Twitter and Facebook.

So here it is - our list of filthy literature:

• Wetlands by Charlotte Roche
• Delta Of Venus by Anais Nin
• If Not Winter: Fragments Of Sappho by Sappho
• Vox by Nicholson Baker
• Kushiel's Scion by Jacqueline Carey
• Story Of The Eye by Georges Bataille
• BanQuet 2012: A Feast Of New Writing And Art By Queer Men by Deanne Carson & Laura Dettori (Eds)
• BanQuet 2012: A Feast Of New Writing And Art By Queer Women by Deanne Carson & Laura Dettori (Eds)
• The Romantic: Italian Nights And Days by Kate Holden
• Fanny Hill by John Cleland
• Lace by Shirley Conran
• Succubus Revealed by Richelle Mead
• The Fermata by Nicholson Baker
• Quiver by Tobsha Learner
• The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
• Eat Me by Linda Jaivin
• Behind The Night Bazaar by Angela Savage
• A Sport And A Pastime by James Salter
• The Monkey's Mask by Dorothy Porter
• Ivory by Tony Park
• Forever by Judy Blume
• Taming The Beast by Emily Maguire
• House Of Sleeping Beauties And Other Stories by Yasunari Kawabata
• Landscape With Animals by Cameron Redfern
• The Joy Of Sex by Alex Comfort and Susan Quillam
• Triptych by Krissy Kneen
• House Of Holes by Nicholson Baker
• Little Birds by Anais Nin
• Loaded by Christos Tsiolkas
• Affection: A Memoir Of Love Sex And Intimacy by Krissy Kneen
• Platform by Michel Houellebecq
• Out Of The Black Land by Kerry Greenwood
• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
• City Of Night by John Rechy

See the full collection of Dirty Reads.

We also have an impressive collection of romance/erotic ebooks going too - which are great when you don't want to risk unwanted eyes finding your reading material.

After the craziness of Christmas, the start of the year can seem quiet in comparison – a chance to catch your breath and relax with a good book. But while the rest of us might have been relaxing, some of our favourite authors and illustrators have been hard at work making February an exciting month for kids’ and young adult books.

There’s a lot to look forward to in picture books, with a new title from Pamela Allen – The Little Old Man Who Looked Up at the Moon; Lightning Jack, the bushranger tale of a free-spirited horse from Glenda Millard and Patricia Mullins ; and Oh No, George!, the new book from Chris Haughton, the author of A Bit Lost which was a favourite amongst the kids’ specialists at Readings.

For younger readers aged six and up who are just starting out on chapter books, you’re in luck! Sally Rippin, creator of the phenomenally successful Billie B. Brown series, has written another series starring Billie’s best friend called Hey Jack!, as well as having a brand new Billie B. Brown title, The Cutest Pet Ever.

While there are lots of additions to series, like Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate, author of the Fallen books, and the fifth in Robert Muchamore’s Henderson’s Boys series titled The Prisoner, it’s the newcomers that are taking everybody by surprise. I was completely engrossed by the dark historical thriller VIII by HM Castor, which re-imagines the boyhood years of Henry VIII, and our Carlton kids’ book expert, Leanne Hall, has gone on record to say she’s already read her top pick of 2012: Cinder, a sci-fi retelling of Cinderella.

But what’s really on everyone’s lips is the forthcoming Hunger Games movie, so if you haven't read these amazing books yet, make sure you do! While the film won’t be out until the end of March, there’s plenty to whet your appetite until then. The Unofficial Hunger Games Companion will fill you in on any details you might have missed, as well as the soon-to-be-released The World of The Hunger Games (published 23 March) which will also contain interviews with Suzanne Collins herself.

So if you’re searching for a good read in February, you’re sure to find something in this latest crop of new releases.

Holly Harper is a children’s bookseller at Readings Carlton where she organises the kids and Young Adult enews'. She also writes books for younger readers under the name H.J. Harper. Find out more about her Star League and Bureau of Mysteries series here.

Yesterday we came up with a list of romantic reads , so today we thought we go in the other direction and put together a list of Break-Up Books.

These books - as chosen by Readings staff, Facebook fans and Twitter followers - feature break-ups, be they at the beginning, middle or the end of the book - and in some cases such as High Fidelity, all the way through. Thanks to everyone who put forward a book to be included on the list.

Here it is, our list of Break-Up Books:

• High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
• Important Artifacts And Personal Property From The Collection Of Lenore Doolan And Harold Morris by Leanne Shapton
• Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
• Zigzag Street by Nick Earls
• My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead: Great Love Stories From Chekhovto to Munro by Jeffrey Eugenides
• The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
• Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
• An Equal Music Vikram Seth
• On Chesil Beach by Ian Mc Ewan
• Silence In October by Jens Christian Grondahl
• He's Just Not That Into You: The No Excuses Truth To Understanding Guys by Greg Behrendt And Liz Tuccillo
• Talking It Over by Julian Barnes
• Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
• Life Before Man by Margaret Atwood
• The Passion by Jeanette Winterson
• Forever by Judy Blume
• An Abundance Of Katherines by John Green
• Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler (illustrated by Maira Kalman)
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• The Summer Without Men by Siri Hustvedt
• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
• The End Of The Affair by Graham Greene
• Tipping The Velvet by Sarah Waters
• Monkey Grip by Helen Garner
• The Orchard by Drusilla Modjeska

See the full collection of Break-Up Books.

And stay tuned tomorrow when we turn our eye to Dirty Reads and make a list of erotica - with your help!

Australia's leading deaf puppeteer, Asphyxia, has turned her gothic puppet theatre show into a new series of children's books that has just launched with book #1 - The Grimstones: Hatched. Asphyxia guest blogs to tell us the story of how the Grimstones came to the stage, and then the page.

The seeds for The Grimstones were sown in Guatemala several years ago. On the street I saw a dreadlocked man, Sergio Barrios, performing with marionettes. I was captivated, for despite the rough appearance of his puppets, they were so expressive that they seemed to be alive. After the show, I stayed, and begged Sergio to share his skills with me. Lucky for me, he did.

The first puppet I made was Bronwyn, and she looked just like me. Performing with Bronwyn was like playing with dolls, which it seems I’ve never entirely grown out of! I’d been a circus performer for many years, but decided puppetry would be my way forward. Although my audiences loved Bronwyn, she was too small for some of the larger stages I performed on. I started thinking about another puppet show, something bigger, something gothic… In my teens I was an ardent goth, and it seems that’s also something I haven’t entirely grown out of.

I started scultping with clay, just to see if I could make the kind of face I envisaged for my puppets, with big dark eyes, and my rough versions turned out even better than I dared to hope. I was hooked. I spent the next eighteen months holed up in my loft studio, creating my family of puppets and their miniature home. While I’ve always loved making things, I’ve never had any special training in the making of miniatures, so I had to invent as I went along. I wanted every aspect to be lifelike, and to look as if it had been created a hundred years ago. I knew audiences wouldn’t be able to see each detail from the stage, but I didn’t want the illusion to be shattered after the show, when they might come in close and discover it was all made of foam and cardboard. I wanted them to find more: titles of books, details of spells, little notes tacked to the walls…

The Grimstones theatre show stunned me with its success. It seemed that like me, my audiences fell in love with my family of puppets, and we were invited to perform on stages around the world. Someone from Allen & Unwin saw the show, and we received a call asking if The Grimstones could become a book. I can’t tell you how much fun I’ve had getting into Martha Grimstone’s head to 'help' her write her journal.

Hatched is a gothic fairytale about a girl who keeps her secrets safe between two pieces of cardboard, a mama who cries lakes of tears every night, and a giant egg that seems to take forever to hatch.

The Grimstones: Hatched is out now. Mortimer Revealed: The Grimstones #2 is out in April. You can read more about The Grimstones here.

The shortlists for the 2012 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature (which has a total prize pool of $135 000) have been announced.

Stalwart titles That Deadman Dance (Kim Scott), All That I Am (Anna Funder) and Autumn Laing (Alex Miller) have all made the fiction lists. Hazel Rowley's ever-popular biography, Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage, and Brenda Walker's Reading By Moonlight are both contenders for the non-fiction prize, as are Vikki Wakefield's All I Ever Wanted and Georgia Blain's Darkwater in the young adult category.

The Awards were introduced in 1986 and is presented biennially during the Adelaide Festival's Writers' Week. The winners in each category will also vie for the overall Premier’s Award (worth an additional $10 000). Previous winners include Peter Carey, Helen Garner and David Malouf.

The prizes will be announced on March 3, the first day of Adelaide Writers' Week, and the full shortlists are below - congrats to all!

Fiction ($15 000)

• All That I Am by Anna Funder
• Five Bells by Gail Jones
• Autumn Laing by Alex Miller
• That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott
• Bright and Distant Shores by Dominic Smith
• The Roving Party by Rohan Wilson

Non-Fiction ($15 000)

• 1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia by James Boyce
• My Blood’s Country by Fiona Capp
• A Three Cornered Life: The Historian W.K. Hancock by Jim Davidson
• An Eye for Eternity by Mark McKenna
• Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage by Hazel Rowley
• Reading By Moonlight: How Books Saved A Life by Brenda Walker

Poetry ($15 000)

• Barefoot by Jennifer Compton
• The Wing Collection: New & Selected Poems by Diane Fahey
• Taller When Prone by Les Murray
• Phantom Limb by David Musgrave
• The Argument by Tracy Ryan
• The Simplified World by Petra White

Drama ($10 000)

• A Cathedral by Nicki Bloom
• Helen Back by Elena Carapetis
• Wolf Hunger by Duncan Graham

Young Adult Fiction ($15 000)

• Darkwater by Georgia Blain
• Monster Blood Tattoo Book Three: Factotum by D. M. Cornish
• The Golden Day by Ursula Dubosarsky
• The Dead I Know by Scot Gardner
• The Life of a Teenage Body-Snatcher by Doug MacLeod
• All I Ever Wanted by Vikki Wakefield

Children’s Literature ($15 000)

• The Ghost of Miss Annabel Spoon by Aaron Blabey
• Crow Country by Kate Constable
• A Bus Called Heaven by Bob Graham
• Taj and the Great Camel Trek by Rosanne Hawke
• The Last Viking by Norman Jorgensen and James Foley (illus.)
• The Keepers: Museum of Thieves by Lian Tanner

Unpublished Manuscript ($10 000, plus publication by Wakefield Press)

• The Red Hat: An Australian Gothic Novel by Henry Aybee
• The Sparrow by Belinda Broughton
• The Sixth Creek by Rachael Mead
• The First Week by Margaret Merrilees
• Tropeland by Rob Walker