National Bookshop Day is this Saturday, 13 August! To celebrate, we’re offering 15% off our special Readings branded merchandise – find out more here.

Over the past 47 years, we’ve been honoured and delighted to see Readings make guest appearances inside of actual books…

Amnesia by Peter Carey

Two time Booker Prize winner Peter Carey brings together the world of cyber hackers and radicals with this history of the United States, the CIA, and its relationship with its friend and client, Australia. Within the story our Carlton bookshop serves as the location of a crime when two characters steal some Tolkien books from its shelves. In an interview with our Managing Director Mark Rubbo, Carey admitted that it was unlikely justice would ever be served to the shoplifters in question.

Cloudwish by Fiona Wood

In Fiona Wood’s third novel for young adults, Vân U’oc Phan is surprised when her dream crush, star athlete Billy Gardiner, develops a sudden interest in her. Worried that she’s at the centre of an elaborate joke, Vân U’oc starts to wonder if magic could actually exist. This story about growing up and defying expectations is really heartwarming, and we were very pleased when the two teenagers visit Readings together, and find themselves sharing a bookish experience.

Everything is Changed by Nova Weetman

In Nova Weetman’s forthcoming young adult novel (due in October), two lifelong friends make a split-second decision that ends in tragedy. This gritty novel is told backwards in alternating viewpointsm and takes us through the wreckage of a broken friendship, back to the moment when everything changed. Readers may recognise themselves in the moment when a teenage boy and his mother peer through the window of Readings Carlton as they eat gelato.

Monkey Grip by Helen Garner

Nora falls in love with Javo the junkie, and together they try to make sense of their lives and the choices they have made. Helen Garner’s first novel is at once a portrait of this ambiguous relationship, and of the inner city suburbs of Melbourne in the mid 1970s. Characters linger on Elgin Street, swim at the Fitzroy Pool and drink coffee at the University Cafe. Nora spends countless hours wandering up Lygon Street, and not only visits Readings but Professor Longhair’s as well.

Reunion by Andrea Goldsmith

Andrea Goldsmith’s novel of a group of four university friends, reunited after 20 years, is a a fascinating study of friendship and identity that poses questions of betrayal, obsession, delusion and guilt. As with Monkey Grip, this story is firmly located in Melbourne and local readers will recognise many familiar landmarks including several bookshops: us (hi!), the wonderful Hill of Content, and the second-hand bookshop in Swanston Street.

All the Buildings in Melbourne by James Gulliver Hancock

Organised by neighbourhoods, All the Buildings in Melbourne features iconic Melbourne structures as well as the everyday buildings that give the city its character. We were delighted to see a special guest appearance from Readings Carlton in its pages.

We have a limited special offer on this book during August. All customers who purchase a copy from any of our five shops or online will receive a free tote bag, featuring artwork from the book. This offer is only available while stocks last.