You’ll be the Death of Me by Karen McManus

Cat Kid Comic Club 2 by Dav Pilkey

The 143-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton

Wolf Girl 6: Animal Train by Anh Do

Tomorrow is a Brand New Day by Davina Bell & Alison Colpoys

Somebody’s Land by Adam Goodes, Ellie Laing & David Hardy

Wandi by Favel Parrett

One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus

Gangsta Granny Strikes Again by David Walliams

Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief by…

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Dune by Frank Herbert

Love and Virtue by Diana Reid

Adrift in Melbourne by Robyn Annear

Devotion by Hannah Kent

The Promise by Damon Galgut

Love Stories by Trent Dalton

The Labyrinth by Amanda Lohrey

Beautiful World Where Are You by Sally Rooney

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

Still Life by Sarah Winman

Our best-seller from the past week is the sci-fi classic Dune, which although ever-popular is no doubt seeing an influx of new fans thanks to…

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As the days stretch longer and the air feels warmer, some of our staff are sharing what they’re planning to read this summer season.

Lucie Dess, marketing assistant

The Deep End by Jenna Guillaume

Social Queue by Kay Kerr

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales & Cale Dietrich

Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout

The Girl From the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag

Idol Gossip by Alexandra Leigh Young

Jess Strong, digital content coordinator

…

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Over the last two years, many of us have begun to lead an almost asynchronous existence, but as it turns out, we’re about to put another year behind us – if you can believe it! So before we turn the page, we’re looking back – with rose-coloured glasses firmly in place for our own protection – on some of the small joys that 2021 brought us (amid all the chaos).

Firstly, a special congratulations to the winners of the three…

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In the lead-up to Christmas 2021, we’ve been sharing a host of a range of carefully curated gift guides featuring hand-picked recommendations from our staff. Below, you’ll find our round-up of ideas for holiday reading and gifting this festive season.

Plus – make sure you check out the books featured in our annual Summer Reading Guide to find even more gift-buying (and your own holiday reading!) inspiration.

THE BEST BOOKS FOR THE YEAR (as nominated by our staff)

The best…

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It’s been another dazzling year in books and we have loved nothing more than telling you all about them! Below, you’ll find a few of our favourite blogs that we published throughout the year. We recommend consulting them if you need inspiration for your personal summer reading or some last minute gift giving. Additionally, you can also view this year’s gift guide round-up here.

For general readers:

Challenge your thinking

LGBTQIA+ fiction favourites for 2021

Novels exploring our relationship…

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It’s the time of year where we begin to think about how we want to make our lives and the lives of those around us better in the new year. Committing to the work of challenging and deconstructing the thoughts, preferences and values that derive from oppressive systems is a good place to start. Below are our recommendations for books published in 2021 that can help you along the way.

Another Day in the Colony by Chelsea Watego

A ground-breaking…

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Some beautiful art, design and architecture books were published in 2021. Below are 10 of our favourites and make sure you browse the collection for the full round-up of outstanding titles.

1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows: A Memoir by Ai Wei Wei

In his widely anticipated memoir, Ai Weiwei - one of the world’s most famous artists and activists - tells a century-long epic tale of China through the story of his own extraordinary life and the legacy of…

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Many amazing books have been published for young readers aged between nine and twelve in 2021. We’ve been privileged to read some brilliant stories, both local and international, funny and serious, thrilling real life adventures and those set in fantasy lands. Here are ten of Readings’ staff favourites:

The Detective’s Guide to Ocean Travel by Nicki Greenberg

This book is a classic whodunnit mystery set aboard a grand ocean liner in the 1920s.

With first-class glitz and glamour and a…

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We’ve seen a number of wonderful stories for early readers this year. Below are ten of our favourites, which can be read by independent readers or enjoyed as a read-aloud by a parent or carer. So many delightful books for young people beginning their reading journey!

Mim and the Baffling Bully by Katrina Nannestad

Mim Cohen roams the world in a travelling bookshop, with her dad and brother and a horse called Flossy. Flossy leads them where she will, to…

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The winners for this year’s Prime Minister’s Literary Awards have been announced! The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards celebrate outstanding literary talent in Australia and the valuable contribution Australian literature and history makes to the nation’s cultural and intellectual life.

Fiction winner:
The Labyrinth by Amanda Lohrey

Non-fiction winner:
The Stranger Artist by Quentin Sprague

Australian History winner:
People of the River by Grace Karskens

Poetry winner:
The Strangest Place by Stephen Edgar

Young Adult winner:
Metal Fish, Falling Snow by…

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Adrift in Melbourne by Robyn Annear

Devotion by Hannah Kent

Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love by Yotam Ottolenghi & Noor Murad

Love Stories by Trent Dalton

Old Vintage Melbourne by Chris Macheras

The Promise by Damon Galgut

Love and Virtue by Diana Reid

Dune by Frank Herbert

Seven and a Half by Christos Tsiolkas

Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

Our best-seller for another week is Robyn Annear’s fabulous walking odyssey, Adrift in Melbourne. This is the perfect read for…

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Nature’s Treasures by Ben Hoare

You’ll be the Death of Me by Karen McManus

Somebody’s Land by Adam Goodes, Ellie Laing & David Hardy

Tomorrow is a Brand New Day by Davina Bell & Alison Colpoys

Aaron Slater, Illustrator by Andrea Beaty & David Roberts

The 143-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton

Bluey: Christmas Swim by Bluey

Cat Kid Comic Club 2 by Dav Pilkey

Gangsta Granny Strikes Again by David Walliams

Bluey Sleepytime by Bluey

The beautiful…

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Teens are tricky at the best of times and getting them a gift at this time of year can sometimes be a real challenge. Never fear! We are here to help with some appropriate suggestions for those tricky teens in your life:

FOR THE SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIOR

Lead the Way by Jean Hinchliffe is an excellent introduction to teen activism by a leader of the School Strikes for Climate movement in Australia.

If Not Us by Mark Smith is a…

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Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films we’re watching, the television shows we’re hooked on, or the music we’re loving.

Lian Hingee is reading Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

Yangsze Chu’s wonderful novel The Ghost Bride is one of my all-time favourite books, so when I heard about Black Water Sister by Zen Cho I snapped it up immediately. Like The Ghost Bride, this is a terrific story that combines a…

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It’s been a great year for locally written young adult fiction, and we celebrate this with an all-Australian selection of stand-out titles that will be greatly enjoyed by the teen or young adult fiction lover in your life.

The Gaps by Leanne Hall

When sixteen-year-old Yin Mitchell is abducted, the news reverberates through the whole Year Ten class at Balmoral Ladies College. Police suspect the abduction is the work of a serial offender, with none in the community safe from…

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So many amazing stories were published this year by First Nations storytellers. These ten beautiful books include: an introduction to the lie of ‘Terra Nullius’ conveyed in a simple, rhythmic picture book; a story about the importance of sharing; a First Nations perspective on Invasion Day; a guide to native flora and fauna in Kakadu; and biographical stories of remarkable First Nations leaders, scientists and innovators.

Somebody’s Land by Adam Goodes, Ellie Laing and David Hardy

For thousands and thousands…

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Every year our staff vote for their favourite books and music of the past 12 months. Here are our top 10 Australian fiction books of the year, voted for by Readings’ staff, and displayed in no particular order.

Emotional Female by Yumiko Kadota

Yumiko Kadota was a young, gifted medical student - the top of her class - on her way to becoming an outstanding plastic and reconstructive surgeon. For fourteen years she’d studied and worked hard. She put in…

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Below our managing director Mark Rubbo shares his favourite reads from 2021.

Wild Abandon by Emily Bitto

Will flees to the US to escape the misery of a breakup; a road trip across America will set him straight. Stuck in Littleproud, Ohio, he runs into an eccentric and charismatic private zoo owner and gets drawn into his bizarre world.

The Magician by Colm Toibin

This fictionalised account of the life of Nobel Prize-winning writer, Thomas Mann, is a fascinating and…

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It’s been a sparkling year for LGBTQIA+ stories in fiction! Below, you’ll find some of our 2021 fiction favourites that centre and celebrate a multiplicity of LGBTQIA+ experiences within their pages.

Nothing But My Body by Tilly Lawless

Nothing But My Body is an eight-day journey through the mind of a young woman, a queer sex worker in Australia, as she navigates breakups and infatuation across just over a year. The unnamed narrator’s voice is both fierce and vulnerable, defiant…

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Adrift in Melbourne by Robyn Annear

Devotion by Hannah Kent

Welcome to Country 2nd edition by Marcia Langton

Old Vintage Melbourne by Chris Macheras

Love Stories by Trent Dalton

The Promise by Damon Galgut

Quarterly Essay 84: The Reckoning by Jess Hill

Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love by Yotam Ottolenghi & Noor Murad

Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

Our best-seller from the past week is Robyn Annear’s, Adrift in Melbourne which contains a series…

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You’ll be the Death of Me by Karen McManus

Somebody’s Land by Adam Goodes, Ellie Laing & David Hardy

Tomorrow is a Brand New Day by Davina Bell & Alison Colpoys

Animal Train: Wolf Girl 6 by Anh Do

Bluey: Christmas Swim by Bluey

Bluey Sleepytime by Bluey

Gangsta Granny Strikes Again by David Walliams

Cat Kid Comic Club 2 by Dav Pilkey

The 143-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton

Future Girl by Asphyxia

The new Karen McManus…

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The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards shortlists for 2022 have been revealed. Congratulations to all the shortlistees!

PRIZE FOR FICTION

After Story by Larissa Behrendt

Bodies of Light by Jennifer Down

Echolalia by Briohny Doyle

The Dogs by John Hughes

Smokehouse by Melissa Manning

Permafrost by S.J Norman

PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION

Coming of Age in the War on Terror by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Summertime: Reflections on a Vanishing Future by Danielle Celermajer

Black and Blue: A Memoir of Racism and Resilience by…

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Every year our staff vote for their favourite books and music of the past 12 months. Here are our top 10 Australian fiction books of the year, voted for by Readings’ staff, and displayed in no particular order.

In Moonland by Miles Allinson

In present-day Melbourne, a man attempts to piece together the mystery of his father’s apparent suicide, as his young family slowly implodes. At the ashram of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, in 1976, a man searching for salvation must…

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Every year our staff vote for their favourite books and music of the past 12 months. Here are our top 10 international fiction books of the year, voted for by Readings’ staff, and displayed in no particular order.

Still Life by Sarah Winman

1944, in the ruined wine cellar of a Tuscan villa, as the Allied troops advance and bombs fall around them, two strangers meet and share an extraordinary evening together.Ulysses Temper is a young British soldier, Evelyn Skinner…

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Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films we’re watching, the television shows we’re hooked on, or the music we’re loving.

Aurelia Orr is reading Animal by Lisa Taddeo

A reader will come across many books in their life, but it is rare to read a book that is as impactful and powerful as Lisa Taddeo’s Animal. The novel brilliantly delves into the perspective of the mistress, revealing the protagonist Joan to be…

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Today is International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD). IDPwD is a United Nations observed day aimed at increasing public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability.

This IDPwD, we’re actively engaging with the way we think about disability – to help grow a more inclusive Australia – by exploring both fiction and non-fiction from prominent voices in the disability community.

Below you will find some of our top picks to read this IDPwD.

The Shape of Sound by…

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Each year we compile a list of great reads by Australian women, originally inspired by the Australian Women Writers Challenge which begun in 2012 and continues to this day.

Below you will find 100 great reads by Australian women authors published in 2021. The following books are displayed in no particular order and include fiction, biography, poetry, children’s novels, history and more.

Please note that as ever, this is not a complete list of every such read published this year.

…

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Book buyers at each of the stores of Readings come across thousands of books each year and have to make decisions about which ones to stock, which ones to feature and how many to order. It’s an enviable job and one of the highlights (and challenges!) is reflecting on some of our top picks of the year. But we’ve managed it! Below are the Children’s Buyers favourite reads of 2021 that come very highly recommend.

The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate…

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In 2021, we revived poetry in the Readings Monthly, which allowed me the great privilege reading so many excellent collections. 2021 has truly been an excellent year for Australian poetry — it was incredibly difficult to choose only 10!

It’s worth noting that most of these poets I have chosen are either First Nations or people of colour. I think poetry is where a lot of exciting voices are coming together to protest against colonisation and to find and…

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It’s honestly been such a strong year in Australian crime fiction that I could have easily made this entire list up of local writers—Australia just has some of the best talent out there. From debut authors like Jacqueline Bublitz’s devastating, interior Before You Knew My Name and Karen Manton’s heavy, atmospheric The Curlew’s Eye, to sequels like the hilarious romp Nancy Business by RWR McDonald, or the latest book in a series so epic we’ve all lost count, like…

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To acknowledge the work of culturally diverse Australian writers, we have compiled this second list of 50 great reads by First Nations writers and Australian writers of colour published in 2021! The following books are displayed in no particular order and include fiction, biography, poetry, children’s novels, history and more.

Please note that as ever, this is not a complete list of every such read published this year. You can find more books from local authors published in 2021

1.…

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2021 was a terrific year for history books written by women.

Some of the many brilliant reads include an incisive look at the ongoing colonial violence experienced by First Nations people, a humorous look at advice to women over the ages, a history of the piano, an exploration of racism in the Jazz Age in Australia, and an in-depth exploration of the female body in art. Read on to discover some brilliant history titles of 2021…

Another Day in the…

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It was such a fantastic year for graphic novels, with many beautiful new books coming out from both Australian and international authors and artists. Here are ten of our favourites (in reading age order) for children that were published in 2021.

The Super Adventures of Ollie & Bea: It’s Owl Good

by Renee Treml

Come with Ollie and Bea on a HARE-raising adventure with a HOPPY ending!

Ollie is an owl who wears glasses. And Bea is a bunny with…

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Love Stories by Trent Dalton

The Promise by Galgut Damon

Devotion by Hannah Kent

Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love by Yotam Ottolenghi & Noor Murad

How to End a Story: Diaries 1995-1998 by Helen Garner

Silverview by John le Carre

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

Seven and a Half by Christos Tsiolkas

Love and Virtue by Diana Reid

Our best-seller from the past week is Trent Dalton’s, Love Stories. Inspired by a personal…

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Somebody’s Land by Adam Goodes, Ellie Laing & David Hardy

Wandi by Favel Parrett

The 143-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton

Bluey: Christmas Swim by Bluey

Nature’s Treasures by Ben Hoare

Big Shot: Diary of a Wimpy Kid 16 by Jeff Kinney

Our Planet: The One Place we all call Home by Matt Whyman & Richard Jones

Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief by Katrina Nannestad

Pony by R.J. Palacio

Tomorrow is a Brand New Day by Davina Bell

As…

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Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films we’re watching, the television shows we’re hooked on, or the music we’re loving.

Rosalind McClintock is reading Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket by Hilma Wolitzer

I’m currently reading Hilma Wolitzer’s Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket and loving it.

It is a series of short stories all written before 1990, except the last one, that still resonate. Many are written around…

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It’s been an incredible year for queer young adult fiction, with a dizzying array of novels that encompass the range and breadth of queer stories today. Here are twelve of our favourites (because our original plan of ten just wasn’t enough!) of 2021, in no particular order:

Henry Hamlet’s Heart by Rhiannon Wilde

Henry Hamlet doesn’t know what he wants after school ends. It’s his last semester of year twelve and all he’s sure of is his uncanny ability to…

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Home Made is a love letter to Melbourne food and the people we share it with, featuring 80 diverse and cook-able recipes for home - curated by Broadsheet - by the city’s best food innovators.

We’re lucky enough to be featuring a delicious recipe from the cookbook below, and if you purchase a copy of the Home Made in store before 9 December you can go into the draw to win a $250 Broadsheet dining voucher. To enter, simply email…

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For book cubs that want to decolonise their thinking…

Another Day in the Colony by Chelsea Watego

In this collection of deeply insightful and powerful essays, Chelsea Watego examines the ongoing and daily racism faced by First Nations peoples in so-called Australia. Drawing on her own experiences and observations of the operations of the colony, she exposes the lies that settlers tell about Indigenous people. In refusing such stories, Chelsea tells her own- fierce, personal, sometimes funny, sometimes anguished. She…

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How to End a Story: Diaries 1995-1998 by Helen Garner

Devotion by Hannah Kent

QAnon and On by Van Badham

Game by Sean Kelly

Seven and a Half by Christos Tsiolkas

Love Stories by Trent Dalton

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

Silverview by John le Carre

Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love by Yotam Ottolenghi & Noor Murad

Our best-seller from the past week is the third volume of Helen Garner’s diaries, How to End…

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Somebody’s Land by Adam Goodes, Ellie Laing & David Hardy

The 143-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton

Plume: World Explorer by Tania McCartney

Wandi by Favel Parrett

First Scientists by Corey Tutt

Big Shot: Diary of a Wimpy Kid 16 by Jeff Kinney

Bluey: Christmas Swim by Bluey

The Story of Australia by Don Watson

Pony by R.J. Palacio

Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan

In another busy week in the shops and online, the new picture…

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Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films we’re watching, the television shows we’re hooked on, or the music we’re loving.

Lian Hingee is reading The View Was Exhausting by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta

The funny (not really) thing about the romance genre is that there’s a certain subset of people that assume that romance readers are a bit dim, or uneducated, or anti-feminist; when in reality the complete opposite is true. There’s…

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A little while ago I wrote a blog post focusing on picture books about dogs, which was great for dog lovers, but the cat lovers were very scratchy about it! Where were all the picture books about cats, they miaowed loudly?!

Well, cat lovers this is your moment, because we have some stunning, hilarious and even educational picture books about cats to share with you today. Read on for some fabulous books about the lords of our lounge rooms…

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The winners for this year’s National Book Awards have been announced. Since 1950, the National Book Awards have been celebrating the best writing in America.

The 2021 winner of the National Book Award for Fiction is Jason Mott for Hell of a Book.

The 2021 winner of the National Book Award for Nonfiction is Tiya Miles for All That She Carried.

The 2021 winner of the National Book Award for Poetry is Martín Espada for Floaters.

The…

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This month we are spoilt for choice with some fantastic new releases. Our Book of the Month is a collection of Australian voices writing horror stories. We also have a meet-cute in a queer graphic novel, a kick-ass heroine taking down teenage cyber criminals, the final novel in the wildly popular Aurora Cycle sci-fi series, a prequel in Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom series, and a new novel by author of the Scythe series, Neal Shusterman. So much great reading ahead!

…

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There are so many fantastic new books this month as we zoom to the end of the year. Our Book of the Month is a delightful picture book about a penguin who loves to explore the world. We also have a graphic novel about a flying pig, a story about voices missing from the history books, and a beautiful re-imagining of the Snow Queen. In non-fiction, we have a picture book autobiography by Australia’s sprint queen, Cathy Freeman, and Tim…

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The shortlist for this year’s Voss Literary Prize has been announced!

The shortlisted titles are:

The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott

Our Shadows by Gail Jones

The Labyrinth by Amanda Lohrey

The Coconut Children by Vivian Pham

Song of the Crocodile by Nardi Simpson

Launched in 2014, the Voss Literary Prize is awarded to the best novel published in Australia in the previous year, and is dedicated to the memory of historian Vivian Robert Le Vaux Voss.

For more information…

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Love Stories by Trent Dalton

Lucky’s by Andrew Pippos

Seven and a Half by Christos Tsiolkas

How to End a Story: Diaries 1995-1998 by Helen Garner

How We Love by Clementine Ford

Game by Sean Kelly

Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love by Yotam Ottolenghi & Noor Murad

Beautiful World Where Are You (Special Edition) by Sally Rooney

You’re Doing It Wrong by Kaz Cooke

Love and Virtue by Diana Reid

Our best-seller from the past week is Trent Dalton’s Love…

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Big Shot: Diary of a Wimpy Kid 16 by Jeff Kinney

The 143-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton

Somebody’s Land by Adam Goodes, Ellie Laing & David Hardy

Wandi by Favel Parrett

Aurora’s End by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Pony by R.J. Palacio

First Scientists by Corey Tutt

Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan

Bluey: Christmas Swim by Bluey

There’s a Ghost in this House by Oliver Jeffers

We have our two biggest middle fiction titles…

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