For a quiet and thoughtful afternoon tea…

Rain Birds by Harriet McKnight

Alan and Pina have led a peaceful existence in Boney Point, a town in rural East Gippsland, for 30 years, but their lives are thrown into disarray by Alan’s devastating early-onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis. With Alan adrift in his own mind, Pina struggles to face the consequences until the arrival of a flock of black cockatoos seems to bring unexpected home. These birds Pina together with Arianna Brandt, a conservation biologist trying reintroduce the threatened glossy black cockatoos into the wilds of Murrungowar National Park – and with her own demons to overcome.

For a conversation about language and life…

The Museum of Words by Georgia Blain

In late 2015, author Georgia Blain was diagnosed with a tumour sitting right in the language centre of her brain. At the same time, her mother, Anne Deveson, moves into a nursing home with Alzheimer’s; weeks earlier, her best friend and mentor had been diagnosed with the same brain tumour. All three of them are writers, with language at the core of their being. Published posthumously, Blain’s intensely personal memoir about this time offers a meditation on how language shapes our world.

For exploring the intersection between politics and speculative fiction…

Terra Nullius by Claire G. Coleman

The Natives of the Colony are restless. The Settlers are eager to have a nation of peace, and to bring the savages into line. Families are torn apart, reeducation is enforced. This rich land will provide for all… Terra Nullius is an incredible debut from a striking new Australian Aboriginal voice. Claire G. Coleman reimagines Australia’s colonial settlement, moving between perspectives and weaving in futuristic elements.

For a tense meeting that goes to dark places…

My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent

Gabriel Tallent’s first novel is an all-consuming read that will grip you from the opening page. At 14, Turtle Alveston knows that her daddy loves her more than anything else in this world – and that he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her with him. When she makes a friend it may be the bravest and most terrifying thing she has ever done, but she doesn’t know what her daddy will do when he finds out. Our reviewer says: ‘Be warned that this book has some graphic and upsetting scenes, and some moments so anxiety-inducing and terrifying that it had me reading with my eyes half closed.’

For a refreshing Spring luncheon…

Can You Tolerate This? by Ashleigh Young

Can You Tolerate This? is an award-winning essay collection from New Zealand writer, Ashleigh Young. In these pieces, she ranges from preoccupation to preoccupation – the music scenes in regional New Zealand, family relations, eccentric characters, the desire for physical transformation – trying to find her way amid uncertainty. Our reviewer writes: ‘There is a clarity and freshness to Young’s prose that makes reading this book feel like slipping into cool water on a humid day: it produces that same ease and comfort.’

For book clubs who like to read translations…

The Stolen Bicycle by Wu Ming-Yi (translated by Darryl Sterk)

On a quest to explain how and why his father mysteriously disappeared 20 years ago, a writer embarks on an epic journey in search of a stolen bicycle and soon finds himself immersed in the strangely overlapping histories of the Japanese military during World War II, Lin Wang, the oldest elephant who ever lived, and the secret world of antique bicycle collectors in Taiwan. The result is a surprising and moving meditation on memory, loss, and the bonds of family. Author Wu Ming-Yi is regarded in Taiwan as the leading writer of his generation.

For talking about over a few drinks with friends…

Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang

Fuelled by Jenny Zhang’s singular voice and sly humour, Sour Heart introduces a bright new force in literary fiction. Centred on a community of immigrants who have traded their endangered lives as artists in China and Taiwan for the constant struggle of life on the poverty line in 1990s New York City, the stories that make up this collection examine the many ways that family and history can weigh us down, but also lift us up.

For a discussion about Australia’s refugee policy…

Asylum by Boat by Claire Higgins

In the late 1970s, 2,000 Vietnamese arrived in Australia by boat, fleeing persecution. Their arrival presented a challenge to politicians, but the way the Fraser government handled it, and the resettlement of tens of thousands more Indochinese refugees, marked a turning point in Australia’s immigration history. In Asylum by Boat, Claire Higgins recounts these extraordinary events and examines how Australia’s refugee policy has evolved over the years.