Family by Hetty McKinnon

Drum roll please: wonderful Hetty McKinnon is back with another soon-to-be-used-every-single-week cookbook that rejoices in gatherings and innovative, simple recipes. There are pastas to make, soups to comfort, salads that scream for crowds to enjoy and all with that familiar sense of warmth, colour and delicious tastes. There is something very liberating about McKinnon’s cookbooks and I think it’s because she understands the way families move through the week. This is a wonderful, big-hearted collection of…

Read more ›

Author Andrea Goldsmith helped us celebrate the reopening of the newly renovated Readings Carlton last week by sharing a few words about what the Readings community has meant to her. Thank you Andrea for your generosity and kindness!

Here is a transcript of her speech from the night.

Ah Readings, where would we be without you?

Lovers and partners come and go, children grow up and leave home, friends betray, politicians disappoint, a narcissistic failed business-man has taken a hold…

Read more ›

The Australian Crime Writers Association has announced the 2018 shortlists for the Ned Kelly Awards for the best in Australian crime writing.

Here are the shortlists in each category:

Best Fiction

Marlborough Man by Alan Carter

Under the Cold Bright Lights by Garry Disher

Redemption Point by Candice Fox

Crossing the Lines by Sulari Gentill

The Lone Child by Anna George

The Student by Iain Ryan

Best first fiction

The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey

Wimmera by Mark Brandi

The…

Read more ›

The 104-Storey Treehouse (Book 8) by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton

Wren by Katrina Lehman & Sophie Beer

Cicada by Shaun Tan

Amelia Westlake by Erin Gough

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo

The World’s Worst Children 3 by David Walliams & Tony Ross

Real Pigeons Fight Crime (Book 1) by Andrew McDonald & Ben Wood

A Song Only I Can Hear by Barry Jonsberg

The Mystery of the Magic Stones (Polly and…

Read more ›

Open House Melbourne Weekend: 2018 program

The Nowhere Child by Christian White

Dark Emu (New edition) by Bruce Pascoe

Marcia Langton: Welcome to Country by Marcia Langton

Clock Dance by Anne Tyler

The Other Woman by Daniel Silva

Scrublands by Chris Hammer

Warlight by Michael Ondaatje

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

The Barefoot Investor (2018 updated edition) by Scott Pape

Bestselling fiction from last week includes recent novels from acclaimed authors Anne Tyler (Clock Dance) and Michael Ondaatje…

Read more ›

Trace: Who Killed Maria James? is ABC broadcast journalist Rachael Brown’s gripping account of her investigation into a 38-year-old cold case, which became the Walkley and Quill Award-winning podcast, Trace, and led to the re-opening of the case. This is an edited extract from the book.

April 2016

1.00pm Coroners Court w Ron
– Diary note, 21 April 2016

I wince at Maria’s bruised face in the autopsy photos. Her left eye is slightly opened; the right, swollen and…

Read more ›

Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films and TV shows we’re watching, and the music we’re listening to.

Lian Hingee is reading Dietland by Sarai Walker

I’ve had Dietland sitting on my TBR pile for, oh, about two years now, and it’s been recommended to me countless times, but it took the release of a new TV adaptation to give me the kick in the butt that I needed to finally start reading…

Read more ›

We are so thrilled to share that our Carlton shop is now officially open again, following its renovation!

The beautiful new space was designed by Nest architects, who also worked on our award-winning Kids and Doncaster shops. Their design has made the space more accessible, opening up a lot more room for browsing, and also given the shop a much-needed update of new shelving and a stunning new counter.

The Design Files ran a feature all about the new look…

Read more ›

Some time last year, it seemed like everyone I know was talking about a true crime podcast called ‘Trace’. The crime – a terrible unsolved murder with scandalous connections to a major institution – happened in 1980, not far from where I live. The victim, Maria James, was killed in her home, a residence behind the bookshop she owned. While I wanted to know more, I find no space in my leisure time for podcasts. Fortunately the story eventually found…

Read more ›

The first meeting of the Readings Teen Advisory Board for 2018-19 was a joyous celebration of books and reading.

We initially played a few getting to know you games, including saying what you liked most or least about your name, and telling everyone your Hogwarts house (we had mainly Ravenclaws in the group – perhaps the biggest book nerds of Hogwarts).

Everyone was also asked to name their favourite author or book, although it was hard to stop at one…

Read more ›