Books
What we're reading: de Marcken, Pountney & Quintero
Each week our wonderful staff share the books and music that they've been enjoying.
Tracy Hwang is reading It Lasts Forever and Then It’s Over by Anne de Marcken
I’m reading Anne de Marcken’s It Lasts Forever and Then It’s Over, one of the joint winners of the second Novel Prize. Given that the inaugural Novel Prize gave us Jessica Au’s unforgettable Cold Enough for Snow, I was really looking forward to what the second round would give…
Alexis Wright wins the 2024 Stella Prize
Alexis Wright has been named the winner of the 2024 Stella Prize for her novel, Praiseworthy.
Praiseworthy is an epic set in the north of Australia, told with the richness of language and scale of imagery for which Alexis Wright has become renowned.
In a small town dominated by a haze cloud, which heralds both an ecological catastrophe and a gathering of the ancestors, a crazed visionary seeks out donkeys as the solution to the global climate crisis and…
A Q&A with Colm Tóibín
Colm Tóibín is a bestselling Irish writer, known for his works of fiction. He is the winner of a swathe of literary awards and has long been a favourite with Readings customers. He often uses his home, County Wexford, as the setting for his novels, but his work covers some wide terrain, from an intimate portrait of the novelist Henry James, The Master, to a retelling of the legend of Oresteia, House of Names. Joe Rubbo, Readings managing…
Bestselling books in new, compact formats
These bestselling books are now available in smaller, more affordable formats!
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
On a dark, wet evening in Dublin, scientist and mother-of-four Eilish Stack answers her front door to find the GNSB on her step. Two officers from Ireland's newly formed secret police are here to interrogate her husband, a trade unionist.
Ireland is falling apart. The country is in the grip of a government turning towards tyranny and Eilish can only watch helplessly as the…
Debut fiction to read this month
What I Would Do to You by Georgia Harper
In a near-future Australia, the death penalty is back. But if the victim's family wants the perpetrator to die, they have to do it themselves. Twenty-four hours alone in a room with the condemned. No cameras. No microphones. Just whatever punishment they decide befits the crime.
Ten-year-old Lucy was murdered in bushland adjoining her family farm. Through counselling sessions with their court-appointed psychologist we learn the stories of her family members…
Top picks for book clubs this month
Australian fiction | Dirt Poor Islanders by Winnie Dunn
Meadow Reed used to get confused when explaining that she had grandparents from Australia, Tonga and Great Britain. She'd say she was full-White and full-Tongan, thinking that so many halves made separate wholes. Despite the Anglo-Saxon genetics that gave Meadow a narrow nose and light-brown skin, everybody who raised her was Tongan. Everybody who loved her was Tongan. This was what made her Tongan.
Growing up in the heat-hummed streets of…
What we're reading: Andrew, Knight & Fan
Each week our wonderful staff share the books and music that they've been enjoying.
Yasmin Baker is reading Your Blood, My Bones by Kelly Andrew
I recently read Your Blood, My Bones by Kelly Andrew in one sitting – I could not put it down! It was spooky and the plot was intense, but for me it was the characters that kept me reading; I fell in love with all three, and was so curious on what was going to…
The Women's Prize for Fiction 2024 shortlist
The shortlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2024 has been announced! The Prize is awarded annually to the author of the best full-length novel of the year written in English and published in the UK. The winner receives £30,000, anonymously endowed, and the ‘Bessie’, a bronze statuette created by the artist Grizel Niven.
Monica Ali, the Women's Prize for Fiction 2024 chair of judges, says: 'This year’s shortlist features six brilliant, thought-provoking and spellbinding novels that between them capture…
What to give for Mother's Day (that isn't another pair of slippers)
If you believed most of the marketing you'd be forgiven for thinking that every maternal figure in Australia would like nothing better for Mother's Day than a pair of fluffy pink slippers and maybe a new blender. We're not so sure. Instead of the traditional gifts this year, check out some of our (OK, slightly tongue-in-cheek) suggestions for what to give instead.
Instead of a fleece dressing gown, My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Mosfegh
Set in New…
The April Crime Review
These are the crime books which have been read and reviewed by our excellent booksellers this month – all in one place!
It Takes a Town by Aoife Clifford
Reviewed by Aurelia Orr from Readings Kids
Reading this book, I’m reminded of a quote in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, when Jordan says ‘And I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy.’
Set in the Australian countryside in the small town of…
The 2024 Age Book of the Year shortlists
The 2024 Age Book of the Year Shortlists have been announced! Judges for this year’s awards include Readings' own Mark Rubbo. The winners will be announced during the Melbourne Writers Festival opening gala on 8 May, with each category winner to receive $10,000.
The shortlisted books in each category are:
Fiction
Women & Children by Tony Birch
The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop
One Day We’re All Going to Die by Elise Hearst
The Idealist by Nicholas Jose
Dear Reader with Alison Huber
It should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone that this issue of our beloved Readings Monthly is an absolute cracker, because every issue is, ever since we began publishing it in its earliest form back in the 1980s. Each Readings Monthly showcases the deep book-love and expertise of our booksellers. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working with many staff who pursue parallel lives as artists, musicians, academics, students, lawyers, actors, promoters, filmmakers, theatremakers, puppeteers, designers, sewers…
Writing Lives – an extract from Hazzard and Harrower: The Letters
Immerse yourself in literary days gone by in this preview of the sparkling correspondence between Shirley Hazzard and Elizabeth Harrower, as curated, introduced, and insightfully edited by Brigitta Olubas and Susan Wyndham in Hazzard and Harrower: The Letters. Below you will find an edited extract from the introduction to the book, and a glimpse of the letters it brings to light.
Shirley Hazzard and Elizabeth Harrower met in person for the first time in London in 1972, six years…
What we're reading: Everett, Frankel & Poranek
Each week our wonderful staff share the books and music that they've been enjoying.
Rosalind McClintock is reading James by Percival Everett
I just swallowed up James by Percival Everett in less than a weekend, and I have a very chatty 7 year old, so that is saying something! A retelling of Huckleberry Finn, from Jim's view, it is such an elegant, compelling, harrowing and yet hopeful read. Everett's prose is perfect, the issues meaty, and his characters are…
Art & Design for Mother's Day
How to Cut an Orange by Zoë Croggon & edited by Justine Ellis, Ash Holmes & Dan Rule
Readings Carlton art and design buyer Zoë Croggon is a person of many talents. Not only does she expertly curate our art and design list, she is a celebrated artist in her own right, working across multiple forms including dance, drawing, sculpture and collage. Her new book, How to Cut an Orange, draws on each of these disciplines along with the…
Foreword, with Joe Rubbo
January and February always feel a bit slow in the world of bookselling, customer numbers dwindle and the number of books being published slows. It’s a good time to tidy up after Christmas, take a breath and plan for the year ahead. There isn’t much time for repose, however, as things start to pick up again in March.
We kicked off the month with the launch for Nam Le’s new poetry collection, 36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem…
What we're reading: Schwab and Zevin
Each week our wonderful staff share the books and music that they've been enjoying.
Lian Hingee is reading The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
A lot of my favourite reading experiences have come about through recommendations from my wonderful and widely-read workmates (pro-tip: work at a bookshop, you'll never run out of books you desperately want to read). When our Emporium bookseller Megan posted on Instagram about how she was jealous of people who got to read…
The best food and gardening books of the month, with Chris Gordon
Easy Wins: 12 Flavour Hits, 125 Delicious Recipes, 365 Days of Good Eating by Anna Jones
Did you know Anna Jones left her day job to write recipes and cook? She did it after reading an article about following personal passion. After reading this delicious new cookbook, I am thinking about handing in my notice and eating any dish with lemons in it for the rest of my life. Putting aside life ambitions for a minute, this cookbook is a…
Our March 2024 bestsellers
Beatrix Bakes: Another Slice by Natalie Paull
What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan
Butter by Asako Yuzuki & Polly Barton (trans.)
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi & Geoffrey Trousselot (trans.)
Until August by Gabriel García Márquez & Anne McLean (trans.)
The Shortest History of Economics by Andrew Leigh
Black Duck: A Year at Yumburra by Bruce Pascoe with Lyn Yarwood
A Q&A with Bri Lee
Many readers will be familiar with Bri Lee from her acclaimed nonfiction books, Eggshell Skull, Beauty, and Who Gets to Be Smart. Our events and programming manager Chris Gordon asks Lee about her debut novel, The Work, which is published this month and takes the reader into the art world, exploring the tensions between art and money, love and power, work and privilege.
First of all, thank you for writing this wonderful novel that talks about…
Our books of the month, April 2024
Explore our books of the month for April; each of the below titles has been read and recommended by our booksellers before being selected as our book of the month for its category.
FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH
No Church in the Wild by Murray Middleton
Reviewed by Alison Huber, Readings head book buyer
'An outstanding book, from an emerging – no, strike that – a now-fully-emerged chronicler of our city.'Murray Middleton won the 2015 Australian/Vogel’s Literary Award…
The Stella Prize shortlist 2024
The shortlist for this year’s Stella Prize has been announced! The Stella Prize seeks to elevate the work of Australian women and non-binary writers. The $60,000 prize is awarded annually to one outstanding book deemed to be original, excellent, and engaging. This year’s prize saw over 224 entries.
Explore the 2024 Stella Prize shortlist below.
The Swift Dark Tide by Katia Ariel
What happens when, in the middle of a happy heterosexual marriage, a woman falls in love with another…
Books to inspire your autumn baking
We're at the beginning of Autumn, and Easter and the end of daylight saving are looming. This seems like the perfect time to have a baking project to look forward to. Here are a few new and old favourites we think will inspire and get you excited.
Beatrix Bakes: Another Slice by Natalie Paull
Sweet-toothed superstar and bestselling baker Natalie Paull returns with Beatrix Bakes: Another Slice, an all-new compilation of colourful, creative recipes to delight fans and newcomers…
Top picks for book clubs this month
Australian fiction | Compassion by Julie Janson
From the acclaimed author of the Miles Franklin longlisted Madukka: The River Serpent and the Barbara Jefferis Award shortlisted Benevolence, Compassion continues Julie Janson’s emotional and intense literary exploration of the complex and dangerous lives of Aboriginal women during the 1800s in colonial New South Wales, which she began in Benevolence as a counter narrative to colonial history in Australian literature.
Compassion is the dramatised life story of one of Julie Janson’s…
The March crime review
These are the crime books which have been read and reviewed by our excellent booksellers this month – all in one place!
What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan
Reviewed by Lian Hingee, digital marketing manager
Australia is blessed with some of the very best crime writers in the world right now, and Dervla McTiernan is without a doubt one of the finest. Her debut, The Rúin, was a global bestseller that won a host of awards when…
The 2024 International Booker Longlist
The International Booker Prize has revealed the ‘Booker Dozen’ of 13 novels in contention for the 2024 prize, which celebrates the finest works of translated fiction from around the world.
The prize is awarded every year for a single book that is translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland. It aims to encourage more publishing and reading of quality works of imagination from all over the world, and to give greater recognition to the role of translators…
The Carol Shields Prize longlist 2024
The 2024 Carol Shields Prize for Fiction longlist has been anounced!
The Carol Shields Prize for Fiction is the first major English-language literary prize to celebrate creativity and excellence in fiction by women and non-binary writers in Canada and the United States, awarding $150,000 USD to its winner, and $12,500 USD to each of its four finalists.
Explore the 15 longlisted titles below.
Cocktail by Lisa Alward
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
Dances by Nicole Cuffy
Daughter by Claudia Dey
…
Our February 2024 bestsellers
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi & Geoffrey Trousselot (trans.)
Good Material by Dolly Alderton
House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
Question 7 by Richard Flanagan
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Hector Garcia & Francesc Miralles
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Come and Get It by Kiley Reid
Best food and gardening books of the month, with Chris Gordon
The Mediterranean Cook by Meni Valle
Meni Valle is a teacher and a culinary tour guide in the Mediterranean. This is excellent news because it means her recipes are easy to follow, considered for a range of skill sets, and include a historical background to each dish. This is her sixth cookbook, and it captures the Mediterranean approach of dishes that spread from the early afternoon through to the evening. Imagine filo pastries, stuffed vegetables, grilled meats, and delicious fruit-based…
What we're reading: Okazaki, Scanlan & Blain
Each week our wonderful staff share the books and music that they've been enjoying.
Mark Rubbo is reading We All Lived in Bondi Then by Georgia Blain
I have been reading the posthumous collection of short stories by Georgia Blain, We All Lived in Bondi Then. It's an exquisite collection, moving, at times funny and so readable. I was reminded of Alice Munro and Tessa Hadley.
I've also just read Nicholas Jose's novel The Idealist. Think le Carré…
The Women's Prize for Fiction longlist 2024
The longlist for the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction has been announced! The Women’s Prize for Fiction celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in women’s writing from throughout the world. The winner receives a cheque for £30,000 and a limited edition bronze figurine known as a ‘Bessie’, created and donated by the artist Grizel Niven. Both are anonymously endowed.
Below are the sixteen longlisted books.
Hangman by Maya Binyam
In Defence of the Act by Effie Black
We test recipes from Beatrix Bakes: Another Slice
Recently our office was blessed with a visit from legendary local baker Natalie Paull. The visit coincides with the publication of her second cookbook Beatrix Bakes: Another slice (yes, we have signed copies), and to celebrate our multi-talented staff participated in an in-house bake-off, where we trialled recipes from Paull's latest collection.
With Paull on-site to judge an array of delicious bakes including tarts, chiffon cakes, buns and pies – this was truly a taste test to relish…
The Most Anticipated Books of 2024
It’s that time of year again which I approach with equal parts excitement and dread – when I sit down under the weight of a too-close deadline to a blank page plus an overwhelming number of forthcoming titles kindly furnished by our friends in publishing, and try to find a way to cram a year’s worth of output into a jaunty piece of – let’s call it – creative nonfiction (overreach? more likely creative summary?) that doesn’t feel too much…
Our books of the month, March 2024
Explore our books of the month for March; each of the below titles has been read and recommended by our booksellers before being selected as our book of the month for its category.
FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH
Thanks for Having Me by Emma Darragh
Reviewed by Annie Condon from Readings Hawthorn
'This novel is for readers who enjoy writers who make the personal enjoyably political.'Thanks for Having Me is a novel told in interlinked stories, and even though…
YA fairytale retellings
It's Tell A Fairytale Day! And to celebrate, I've created a list of young adult fairytale retellings. From feminist to queer retellings, you'll be reading long after the day is done.
Wish of the Wicked by Danielle Paige
A mash-up of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty with added inspiration from the Salem Witch Trials.
For centuries, the enchanted members of the Entente used their magic to keep the Thirteen Queendoms in harmony. Until the day that Queen Magrit outlawed magic, executed…
Why you should read Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Samantha Harvey's lastest novel Orbital, about six astronauts in their spacecraft contemplating the world below, has been lauded since its release in the UK late last year. Our booksellers are beyond excited that it has finally been released locally and want you to know why you should rush out and purchase a copy—NOW!
This is quite honestly one of the best things I've read – perhaps ever – and is so, so good and special that I don't even…
Debut fiction to read this month
Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly
Siblings Greta and Valdin have, perhaps, too much in common. They're flatmates, beholden to the same near-unpronounceable surname, and both make questionable choices when it comes to love.
Valdin is in love with his ex-boyfriend Xabi, who left the country because he thought he was making Valdin sad. Greta is in love with fellow English tutor Holly, who appears to be using her for admin support. But perhaps all is not lost. Valdin…
What we're reading: Mayo & Sacco
Each week our wonderful staff share the books and music that they've been enjoying.
Katey Bellew is reading Dear Son by Thomas Mayo
This incredibly moving collection features twelve letters by Indigenous men addressed to their sons and fathers. What results is a desperately brave and tender demonstration of decolonising masculinity. The Northern Territory Intervention, and the racist dialogue surrounding it, is raised by several of the men as having a particularly harmful impact on their relationships and sense of…
Our January 2024 bestsellers
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
Good Material by Dolly Alderton
Question 7 by Richard Flanagan
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi & Geoffrey Trousselot (trans.)
Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan
Quarterly Essay 92: The Great Divide: Australia’s Housing Mess and How to Fix It by Alan Kohler
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi…
Our books of the month, February 2024
Explore our books of the month for February; each of the below titles has been read and recommended by our booksellers before being selected as our book of the month for its category.
FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH
We All Lived in Bondi Then by Georgia Blain
Reviewed by Aurelia Orr, Readings Kids
‘Imbued with loss, love, and a yearning for something beyond our grasp, We All Lived in Bondi Then is written with acuity and nuance’Shortly after…
Best of the Best 2023
Every year our staff vote for their favourite books of the past 12 months. From their votes, we uncover the titles they loved most. Across six categories – Australian fiction, international fiction, nonfiction & memoir, picture books, junior & middle books, and young adult books – we share with you our top ten bookseller-voted titles. This year we've taken it one step further and asked you, our customers, to nominate your top read from each list of ten. After tallying…
Winners of the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2024
Congratulations to all the winners of the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2024!
★ WINNER OF POETRY AND WINNER OF THE OVERALL VICTORIAN PRIZE FOR LITERATURE
Chinese Fish by Grace Yee
When Ping leaves Hong Kong to live in Aotearoa New Zealand, she discovers that life in the Land of the Long White Cloud is not the prosperous paradise she was led to believe it would be. Every day she works in a rat-infested shop frying fish, and every evening she…
25% off 25 personal development favourites
We’re offering 25% off a select range of our personal development favourites! Simply apply the code PD25 at checkout to receive a 25% discount on all participating titles.
If you've seamlessly slipped back into old habits and are already feeling an all too familiar lack of vigour and vitality, a change to your routine or mindset could be in order. But where to begin? We've brought together some of our favourite personal development titles – at 25% off! –…
The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards shortlists 2024
Exciting news! The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards 2024 shortlist has just been announced. The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards were inaugurated by the Victorian Government in 1985 to honour literary achievement by Australian writers. The awards are administered by the Wheeler Centre on behalf of the Premier of Victoria.
★ Prize for Fiction
But the Girl by Jessica Zhan Mei Yu
Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko
Only Sound Remains by Hossein Asgari
Serengotti by Eugen Bacon
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
…
Our Teen Advisory Board's favourite books of 2023
It's been a huge year of reading for our Teen Advisory Board. Below you can discover some of their favourite books from 2023, what their go-to summer break reads are, as well as the books they're hoping to buy, borrow or be gifted these holidays.
Favourite book of the year?
'At the beginning of this year, I picked up a beautiful copy of Jane Eyre, which had been given to me as a Christmas gift. Delightedly, I flew through…
2023 fantasy, sci-fi and speculative fiction highlights
It has been a bonza year for all things fantasy, sci-fi and speculative fiction! We've rounded up some of our favourite reads that include cozy fantasies, epic space operas, and multiple not-too-distant dystopias.
Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong
Every year, thousands flock to San-Er, the dangerously dense capital twin cities of the kingdom of Talin, where the palace hosts a set of deadly games. Those confident in their ability to jump between bodies can enter a fight to the death…
Great graphic novels for middle schoolers
Graphic novels are a great way to get even the most reluctant of children reading. Here is a collection of standout graphic novels released in 2023 that include fantasy stories about witches, mythical beings, contemporary stories of navigating friendships and new schools, and at least one very cute monster! There's something for every reader aged 8-12.
Nayra and the Djinn by Iasmin Omar Ata
Nothing is going right for Nayra Mansour. There’s the constant pressure from her strict family, ruthless…
10 booksellers share their personal favourite reads of 2023
Below 10 booksellers share which books stand out as exceptional amongst everything they’ve read this year.
Art Monsters by Lauren Elkin
Art Monsters is the highlight book for me this year – energising, fresh, and entirely well researched this book combines visual and performance art with a series of powerful essays on the body in feminist art and practice by Laura Elkin. For art lovers, feminists and anyone grappling with where and how their body fits.
– Bec Kavanagh
12 art and design highlights to gift this season
We consulted our most knowledgable art & design specialists to find out exactly what the art afficionado in your life may enjoy in their stocking this year! Below are 12 recommendations that include books on art, design, architecture and fashion.
The Japanese House Since 1945 by Naomi Pollock
Imagine a terraced house whose courtyard separates the kitchen from the bedroom. Or a tiny, triangular tower of rooms stacked one above another. Quirky, experimental and utterly fascinating, the houses produced in…
Our 2023 guide to best books of the year
We’re sharing what we consider to be the best books of the year as well as a range of curated gift guides featuring hand-picked recommendations from our booksellers and online team. Keep an eye on this page as we’ll be adding to our list throughout the coming weeks.
Adult
Must-read Australian debut fiction from 2023
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