June in review

This month, we were delighted to announce that the winner of our Readings Children’s Book Prize is Run, Pip, Run – a moving, tender, wonderfully wry story for readers 9 and up. You can read more about the Prize announcement here, as well as an interview with winning author J.C. Jones here.

June also saw Lisa McInerny named the winner of the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction. Biting, moving and darkly funny, her novel The Glorious Heresies tells the story of how one messy murder affects the lives of five misfits who exist on the fringes of Ireland’s post-crash society.

There’s something about cold weather that inspires a surge of interest for crime fiction and two novels have been much-talked about here at Readings this past month. Jane Harper’s searing debut, The Dry, is a certified page-turner; you can read a collection of rave reviews from our staff. And you can find out which book sent Hawthorn bookseller Leanne Hall into, ‘a delicious, nail-biting haze’, right here.

(And for more crime fiction recommendations, make sure to check out the monthly round-up of new releases from voracious crime reader extraordinaire Fiona Hardy.)

If crime isn’t your cup of tea, our staff had a stack of wonderful recommendations for readers this month, including…

Or, if you’re a book-loving parent of a reluctant reader, children’s and YA bookseller Holly Harper has compiled a list of brilliant books to tempt young readers who are struggling – complete with lots of great suggestions for how to approach the task. This month, we also asked some children’s and young adult authors whether reading and writing had played a role in building their own confidence as young people. You can read their responses here.

And, finally, as we reach the middle of 2016, our staff have reflected on what their favourite books of the year have been – so far. While it’s always a challenge to whittle down your reading list, it’s interesting to see a few repeat titles appear

You can find the full blog post here.

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Cover image for Run, Pip, Run

Run, Pip, Run

J.C. Jones

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