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A monthly update from our Teen Advisory Board
It was an excited group of teens who met for the first time in 2018 to catch up and talk about their favourite summer reads (see their picks below) and meet YA author Clare Atkins.
Clare came by to talk about her new novel, Between Us. This is a beautiful story about a friendship between Jono, a lonely Aussie boy of Vietnamese background, and Anahita, an Iranian girl and asylum seeker who lives in Wickham Point Detention Centre with…
Romance novels to fall in love with
My sister got me onto reading romance novels by virtue of our shared bookshelves. Thanks to her eclectic taste and talent for browsing second-hand bookstores, I read my way through a wide range of different kinds of novels within the genre – everything from paranormal to Georgette Heyer. My favourites were Julia Quinn’s fun, frothy stories of the Bridgerton families. I loved the big family dynamic, the witty dialogue, the sharp feminism that cut through the historical setting, and yes…
Three new cookbooks for the home cook
Our food and gardening columnist Chris Gordon shares three new cookbooks that are perfect for home cooks.
The Zero F*cks Cookbook by Yumi Stynes
Usually I do not enjoy cookbooks written by media celebrities. I do not consider people in the media to be reliable sources for my meal inspiration. Well, let me sing a different tune about this truly wonderful, practical cookbook by Australian television and radio presenter Yumi Stynes. The Zero F*cks Cookbook is filled with laugh-out-loud moments…
The CBCA notable books of 2018
The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) have announced their Notable Books for 2018. Congratulations to all the authors, illustrators and publishers!
The CBCA Awards were first presented in 1946 and are the longest running book awards in Australia. This year the judges received 444 books for consideration and have enjoyed a range of themes, characters and stories across the five categories.
CBCA National Chair Professor Margot Hillel OAM says: ‘The 2018 Notables cover a wonderfully diverse spectrum of themes…
Teen picks for sci-fi & fantasy readers
We asked our Teen Advisory Board for their best recommendations for teen readers who love fantasy and sci-fi. Here are their responses.
‘I haven’t read a lot of fantasy but I would say Ida by Alison Evans, which has a contemporary and speculative feel, or The Darkest Minds trilogy by Alexandra Bracken which has some sci-fi and dystopian elements. I’m also looking forward to reading Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.’
- Kirrily
‘The Skulduggery Pleasant books by Derek…
Discover a brilliant new fantasy YA series
Tomi Adeyemi has the entire YA world buzzing about her hotly-anticipated fantasy debut, Children of Blood and Bone, the first book of a trilogy which draws upon African history and mythology.
This story follows Zélie, whose home, Orïsha, used to be full of magic – until an evil king ordered all maji, including Zélie’s mother, to be killed. Now it’s up to Zélie and a rebel princess to rise up against the crown prince and bring magic back, while…
Our top 10 bestsellers of the week
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
The Rúin by Dervla McTiernan
12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson
The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
Lost Connections by Johann Hari
The Shepherd’s Hut by Tim Winton (available 12 March)
Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman
Silent Invasion by Clive Hamilton
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
Two brilliant fiction debuts from Australian…
Our children's & YA top 10 bestsellers of the week
Shout Out to the Girls by various
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls: Volume 2 by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo
Dog Man and Cat Kid (The Adventures of Dog Man Book 4) by Dav Pilkey
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
Between Us by Clare Atkins
Ninja Kid (Ninja Kid Book 1) by Anh Do & Jeremy Ley
…
The Readings Children's Book Prize shortlist 2018
We’re very excited to reveal this year’s shortlist for the Readings Children’s Book Prize.
This Prize celebrates exciting new voices in Australian children’s literature. This year’s six shortlisted titles are all for readers between the ages of 8 to 12.
The six shortlisted titles for 2018 are:
Tarin of the Mammoths: The Exile by Jo Sandhu
Nevermoor: The Trial of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
Lintang and the Pirate Queen by Tamara Moss
We test out recipes from Sticky Fingers, Green Thumb
Earlier this week we roadtested different recipes from Hayley McKee’s inspiring new cookbook, Sticky Fingers, Green Thumb, which demonstrates how to use vegetables, herbs and edible flowers in baking.
We invited Hayley to come in and select the best one! Here are the results…
Kara Nicholson made ‘Honey for Ray’ (pg. 113):
The ‘tastes of nature’ in this cake were fennel, honey and lemon myrtle. I love fennel but I’ve never put it freshly grated in a cake batter…
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