For a lunchtime gossip and wine…

The Odd Woman and the City by Vivian Gornick

The Odd Woman and the City is an ode to New York City. Writer, feminist and critic Vivian Gornick uses Gotham as both her mirror and muse as she examines her fiercely independent life, and explores the interplay between the city and self.

For a heated debate à la The Slap…

The Light on the Water by Olga Lorenzo

Anne Baxter, recently divorced and trying to find her feet, takes her daughter Aida on an overnight bushwalk in the moody wilderness of Wilson’s Promontory. Aida, who is six and autistic, disappears; Anne returns from the walk alone. Nearly two years later, Anne is then charged with her daughter’s murder.

For a quiet and serious conversation in a friend’s home…

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Paul Kalanithi began writing this memoir when he was diagnosed with cancer. He chronicles his journey from medical student into neurosurgeon, and then later into a patient and father. Kalanithi died at the age of 37, and this profoundly moving work has been published posthumously.

To prompt a necessary, long-overdue discussion about Australia…

Talking to My Country by Stan Grant

Veteran journalist and Wiradjuri man Stan Grant shares a powerful and personal meditation on what it means to be Australian, what it means to be indigenous, and the reality of racism in our country. Our reviewer describes it as, ‘one of those rare books that has the potential to change the way people think.’

For book clubs who pride themselves on knowing all the prize winners…

My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

The latest novel from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout sees a mother comes to visit her daughter in hospital after having not seen her in many years, and our reviewer calls it a ‘short, gut-punch of a novel’. It was recently longlisted for this year’s Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction, and we predict more awards in its future.

For book clubs who want fiction with a non-Western narrative…

Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta

One day in 1968, at the height of the Biafran civil war, Ijeoma’s father is killed and her world is transformed forever. Separated from her grief-stricken mother, she meets another young lost girl, Amina, and the two become inseparable. Chinelo Okparanta takes us from Ijeoma’s childhood in war-torn Biafra, and into the everyday sorrows and joys of marriage and motherhood.

For book clubs who strive to explore restricted terrains…

The Vegetarian by Han Kang (translated by Deborah Smith)

The Vegetarian is a violent and erotic story from South Korean author Han Kang that takes a decidedly surreal turn; at one point the heroine believes she’s turning into a tree. This novel was recently longlisted for this year’s Man Booker International Prize longlist.

For a late night bar meet-up…

All These Perfect Strangers by Aoife Clifford

Think Gone Girl mixed with The Secret History for an idea of what to expect from this debut Australian crime read. Pen Sheppard thinks she’s managed to escape her past after she leaves behind her small town and starts university – until people around her start dying.