September has been a mammoth month for us here at Readings.

We announced a new literary prize for Australian young adult books, we opened a new bookshop at Westfield Doncaster (complete with a sound-proof reading nook!), and applications opened for The Readings Foundation grants in 2017.

Not to mention, our new kids shop is just around the corner. We’d love you to come along to our opening weekend celebrations on Saturday 8 October. The day will feature visits from some of our favourite authors and illustrators, plus a special teddy bear story time.

September also saw the announcement of the Man Booker Prize shortlist, the Baillie Gifford Prize (formerly the Samuel Johnson Prize) longlist, the National Book Awards longlists and – one for the kids – the winners of the Environment Award for Children’s Literature.

We found ourselves thinking a lot about kids’ books this month, and about how they play a valuable role in tackling some big and scary issues for children. Big and scary issues like body safety, dementia and Alzheimer’s, and grief and loss.

Of course, this is not to say that we believe kids’ books always have to be educational… For balance, here are some awesomely gross and rude books that kids will love.

In recognition of Indigenous Literacy Day on Tuesday 7 September, we compiled some recommendations for books, music, film and TV from Indigenous Australians.

Our booksellers also picked out the best new reads for book clubs, shared their go-to books and advice for comfort reading, and tested out recipes from Hetty McKinnon’s delicious new cookbook.

And if you love stories of exploration and discovery, here are six enthralling novels about women in science – from an astronaut to an ornithologist.

Finally, don’t forget to subscribe to The Readings Podcast. We uploaded a stack of new episodes this month including interviews with international authors Hanya Yanagihara and Alain de Botton, and Australian authors Maxine Beneba Clarke, Lili Wilkinson and Steven Amsterdam.