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Books that kept us on the edge of our seat in 2017
Our staff share the books that kept them on the edge of their seat this year.
‘I read two terrific crime novels by Australian women this year that kept me turning pages late into the night: Force of Nature by Jane Harper and The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey. Both set up the kinds of mysteries that keep you hungry to know what happened right until the very end, with plenty of twists and turns and secrets and lies. If…
Books we wouldn't have read without a recommendation in 2017
Our staff share the books they loved this year, but wouldn’t have read without a recommendation.
‘At a loss for what to read one day, a workmate recommended Olivia Laing’s The Lonely City. This encouraging and interesting memoir considers loneliness, with a particular focus on the lives and works of several artists. This quote provides a memorable summary of what’s in store for a reader: 'You can show what loneliness looks like, and you can also take up arms…
Indie Book Awards longlists 2018
Congratulations to all the authors, illustrators and publishers longlisted for the Indie Book Awards 2018!
Each year, independent booksellers from around the nation get together and vote for their favourite titles in six different categories, as well as their favourite book overall. Here are the longlistees for each category.
Fiction
A Long Way from Home by Peter Carey
The Life to Come by Michelle de Kretser
First Person by Richard Flanagan
Force of Nature by Jane Harper
The Choke by…
Books that made us cry in 2017
Our staff share the books that made them cry this year.
‘ Jean Harley Was Here by Heather Taylor Johnson. There’s no getting away from the fact that the story is about a tragedy, yet the telling of it is a celebration of a life, almost making it a feel-good book. Told through multiple perspectives, each chapter offers insights into those left behind, and whose lives had been touched so positively by one person. I was engrossed immediately and tearing…
Books that made us laugh in 2017
Our staff share the books that made them laugh this year.
‘ Confessions of a High School Disaster: Chloe Snow’s Diary by Emma Chastain is hands-down one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. It reminded me of the joyous 80s classic, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 ¾, but with all the social media, smart phones, emails and texts you’d expect in a contemporary teen read.
The titular Chloe Snow is a delightful mess in this…
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards shortlists 2018
The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards shortlist for 2018 has just been announced.
The winners of the five award categories – fiction, non-fiction, drama, poetry and writing for young adults – each receive a prize of $25,000, and will be considered for the $100,000 Victorian Prize for Literature.
PRIZE FOR FICTION
A New England Affair by Steven Carroll
Australia Day by Melanie Cheng
The Life to Come by Michelle de Kretser
The Choke by Sofie Laguna
The Restorer by Michael Sala
…
Five things that made me happy in 2017
Our marketing manager shares five things that made her feel happy this past year
2017 has been a very hard year for a lot of people, the kind of year where you take whatever sources of happiness you can find. To that end, here are four novels and a movie that gave me a lot of joy over the past 12 months, and I hope they might bring you equal amounts of joy also.
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
…
Our children's and YA top 10 bestsellers of the week
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
No One Likes a Fart by Zoë Foster Blake and Adam Nickel
La Belle Sauvage (The Book of Dust Book 1) by Philip Pullman
Bad Dad by David Walliams and Tony Ross
Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth by Oliver Jeffers
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
The Getaway (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book…
Our top 10 bestsellers of the week
Tinkering: The Complete Book of John Clarke by John Clarke
Force of Nature by Jane Harper
A Long Way from Home by Peter Carey
The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa (translated by Philip Gabriel)
Stories by Helen Garner
True Stories by Helen Garner
First Dog On the Moon’s Guide to Living Through the Impending Apocalypse and How to Stay Nice Doing It by First Dog on the Moon
5 Ingredients: Quick & Easy Food by Jamie Oliver
Mythos by…
Our staff share their Summer Reading Stacks
It’s summer time which means it’s time for some serious reading. Here, we share what’s on our own TBR piles…
Ellen Cregan, bookseller at Readings Doncaster
Girl Through Glass by Sari Wilson
Made for Love by Alissa Nutting
The Best Australian Stories 2017 edited by Maxine Beneba Clarke
The Stranger by Melanie Raabe (translated by Imogen Taylor)
Suburbia by Jeremy Chambers
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
The Best of The Lifted Brow: Volume Two
Sour Heart by Jenny…
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