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
On Not Climbing Mountains
Claire Thomas
I know how large a call this is, but I am saying it aloud now: this is the year’s best novel. Claire Thomas has created a perfect and ingenious story – I felt humbled with joy and anguish as I read each perfect line. The novel’s concept is simple. A woman is grieving her father’s death and travels to his home country, Switzerland, just for a month, to uncover his influences. She travels with a seeking mind and a copy of a guidebook from 1891. At each stop, she finds an art form: photos, paintings, novels, music or even numerology, and traces her connection from end to end. I cannot even comprehend the amount of research that has gone into this celebration of what makes us human. Yes, this is a novel about grief and legacy, but it is also an ode to understanding where we come from and how that affects us now.
Thomas writes about actors, musicians, writers, dreamers and artists, roads and pathways that lead her up mountains and into alleyways, through galleries and memories. Consider this novel the delicious epitome of the butterfly effect, where tiny changes in a complex system can lead to vast, beautiful or horrific outcomes. And then consider art in all its forms and the impact it has on your being. Thomas has connected these specks from all over the world and gifts them to you, whether you are reading on the tram, or by the pool, or when everyone in your home is asleep except you. On Not Climbing Mountains is a tonic for those seeking an answer to all we are experiencing in the world presently. It is a novel that gives hope.
I recommend this unique novel to you with my entire being.
Reviewed by Chris Gordon.
Crime Book of the Month
Old Games
Fiona Hardy
Unbury the Dead, the debut novel from award-winning writer (and beloved Readings staffer and former long-serving Readings Monthly crime-fiction columnist) Fiona Hardy, was a breath of fresh air in the increasingly crowded genre of Australian crime fiction. Unbury introduced us to Alice and Teddy – two women working for the morally (and legally!) ambiguous Choker, in a kind of seedy Sopranos-meets-Charlie’s Angels set up. The book was shortlisted for the 2025 Ned Kelly Awards and made the top 50 in our 2025 bestseller list.
If you’re in any doubt as to where Alice and Teddy sit on the moral spectrum, it’s dispelled by page two of Old Games when they threaten a man they’ve had tied up in the boot of their car with the diabolical torture of having to endure a visit to a pierogi food truck without being able to partake. This combination of light and dark is a signature of Hardy’s work, along with her cast of nuanced characters, wit, pacy storytelling, and heart.
Alice and Teddy play off one another with the kind of fond familiarity seen in the very best fictional partnerships, riffing off one another’s dialogue with charm and humour. They’re unambiguously loyal to one another, so when Alice’s estranged sister finds herself in hot water after the ashes of a long-dead celebrity tennis star are stolen from the mansion she’s house-sitting, they have no hesitation in leaping into the investigation.
Twisty and intricately plotted, Old Games is a story about legacies and loss, about public figures and who ‘owns’ them after they’re gone, and about families: those we are bound to by blood and those we build ourselves. It’s full of good food, great cars, plenty of laughs, a mystery that will keep you turning pages, and a few unanswered questions that will have you champing at the bit for the next book.
Reviewed by Lian Hingee.
Nonfiction Book of the Month
The Shortest History of Innovation
Andrew Leigh
Andrew Leigh is one of those people who make you feel a little small; when he’s not running marathons, looking after his family, or being the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, he’s writing books about the policy areas that he’s interested in. His PhD was on poverty and inequality, and his many books reflect that interest – he is always seeking to understand what policies can deliver the best outcomes for the most people and deliver a free and democratic society.
Leigh is basically an optimist, believing that we can solve society’s problems. Understanding the drivers of change can help us develop and support policies that have a positive impact; in his previous book, The Shortest History of Economics, he examined how economics has impacted the world and, in his new book, he turns his attention to innovation. Innovation has changed people’s lives, mostly for the better. How does innovation happen? How can we make it happen? How can we make it happen so that it benefits society? What happens when innovations go ‘rogue’?
Leigh’s mastery of his topic is impressive as he ranges across all types of human innovation. It’s a common myth that a lot of innovation is the result of one person’s ‘Eureka moment’. Leigh shows that the best innovation comes about through societies that encourage openness and collaboration. When people work together with good will, amazing things happen. With a lively and engaging narrative, the book is peppered with Eureka examples, as well as charming, corny jokes.
Reviewed by Mark Rubbo.
Young Adult Book of the Month
Red Star Rebels
Amie Kaufman
Set on Mars, this is a thrilling, action-packed adventure that takes place during an eight-hour countdown. The stakes are high, and the body count potentially even higher, when an unlikely pair of teenagers are thrust together to save themselves and the planet.
In 2067, Mars has been colonised primarily by the Graves Corporation. Hunter Graves, an heir to the corporate empire, arrives at the United Nations base on Mars to surprise his mother and twin sister, but then there is an emergency evacuation and he is left behind. Also still on base is Cleo, an illegal stowaway hiding from debt collectors. When Cleo realises that the billionaire boy has been forgotten, she senses an opportunity – if she can save him, his family might be so grateful they will pay her or forgive her debt. Hunter and Cleo soon realise that the evacuation is a criminal operation and they are merely collateral damage. They will need to work together to outwit the criminals or die when the base explodes in eight hours.
This incredible space thriller has all the hallmarks of an Amie Kaufman bestseller – dual points of view, impossibly high stakes, sassy dialogue, and a star-crossed romance – that keep you rapidly turning the pages. Red Star Rebels is more fun than you could possibly imagine even if you were trying to survive on a Mars colony with minimal oxygen in 2067. Highly recommended for readers aged 12+ who like adventure, sci-fi or romance.
Reviewed by Angela Crocombe.
Kids Book of the Month
The Boy and the Dog Tree
Fiona Wood
Mitch’s life is being uprooted. Instead of moving to Melbourne as a family, his parents are delayed by work overseas, meaning Mitch and his little sister have to go ahead and stay with their gran. A new city means a new school. Within minutes of his first day, Mitch is the target of the resident Grade 5 bully, Seb. In an attempt to fit in and keep Seb off his back, Mitch announces he’s getting a dog. He never imagined his lie would become true, but it does in the form of Argos, an ancient magical dog who emerges from an old oak tree. Argos has been summoned to help guide Mitch. But not everyone sees Argos like Mitch does – and they’ll do anything to remove the ‘wild and dangerous’ dog.
I absolutely adored this book! Mitch and his friends are lovable and relatable and prove the importance of staying true to yourself and finding your voice when it means the most. Fiona Wood has fully captured the magic of friendship between a dog and his boy.
This bewitching and humorous story is perfect for children aged 9+ who feel deeply, struggle with change, or who just love their pets. It’s sure to be a new favourite.
Reviewed by Lucie Dess.
Picture Book of the Month
Nature Knows
Yvette Farmer, illustrated by Chloe Jasmine Harris
Today we find ourselves surrounded by the constant hustle and bustle of day-to-day life and technology. Yvette Farmer and Chloe Jasmine Harris have tried to remind us that taking a step back and spending some time in nature can offer a much-needed reset. Nature Knows brings together beautifully calming yet vibrant illustrations and a story of a young boy and his family who need some time away from the chaos of their city home, to deliver an essential message about the necessity of taking some time to stop and smell the flowers.
Scattered throughout are bite-sized facts about the calming presence of nature, such as how playing in dirt can strengthen our immune system and how seeing the morning sun helps us feel more alert and awake.
A wonderful picture book for any child feeling overwhelmed by the constant happenings of indoor living and an even better reminder for adults to stop and seek out the calming wisdom to be found in nature. For ages 3+.
Reviewed by Lili Reus-Smit.
Kids Classic of the Month
Witch Week (Chrestomanci, Book 3)
Diana Wynne Jones
A hidden gem written four years before her most celebrated work (Howl’s Moving Castle), Diana Wynne Jones’s Witch Week is the perfect blend of boarding-school drama, parallel-world fantasy and characterisation by a master at the peak of her powers.
In a world where witchcraft is a crime punishable by death, Larwood House fills a sad necessity – the education of witch orphans. The strictly regimented curriculum, which includes mandatory journalling, is designed to produce compliant, obedient children, but everything begins to unravel when an anonymous note appears: ‘SOMEONE IN THIS CLASS IS A WITCH’.
Through journal entries and multiple points of view, we watch as the school devolves into suspiciously magical behaviour, pranks and puritanical finger-pointing. Set over the last four days of October 1981, Witch Week is a reminder that we’re never as strange, as alone, or as unredeemable as we feel, and that, in fact, the things that make us feel different are often what others find most fascinating and admirable.
A timeless example of why this student of both J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, a mother who was frustrated with the poor fare available for her children, a mentor and an icon in the fantasy community, is more than overdue for a re-read. For ages 10+
Reviewed by Tamuz Ellazam.
Find more recommended new books in the March edition of Readings Monthly!
