The days are short, and the nights are long. For many of us, warming up in winter comes from a good, hearty meal. We’ve rounded up some savoury and sweet cookbooks that will keep you snug and cosy all winter long. Winter: Warm Recipes for Cold Nights by Louise Franc

It’s official: winter was specifically designed so that comfort food could exist. Slow-cooked meats, hearty stews, decadent de…

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Satisfy your thirst for intrigue with our collection of business and finance books that read like political thrillers. Truth is stranger than fiction… A Wunch of Bankers by Daniel Ziffer

The dark heart of banking is brought to the cold light of day in Daniel Ziffer’s A Wunch of Bankers, a meticulously researched and completely thrilling look into the banking royal commission that enraged an…

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This Saturday 20 July marks 50 years since man first stepped on the Moon. Fifty years since ‘one small step for man’ – if you can believe it! In honour of this momentous anniversary, we’ve rounded up some of our favourite books on space exploration to keep you reaching for the stars. Apollo 11: The Inside Story by David Whitehouse

There’s no better time to take a deep dive into the inside …

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If you can believe it, we’re already staring down the barrel of the second half of 2019. With so many exciting new releases rapidly headed our way, we asked our wonderful kids and YA staff to reflect on the releases they’ve really enjoyed already this year. Read on for their recommendations.

Kim Gruschow from Readings St Kilda has loved:

I adored Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly, a book ab…

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Every year, the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) program features some great films inspired by literature. Here are some of our favourite books that will be shown on the big screen this year, and some thrilling readalikes to keep you going. Check out the full MIFF 2019 program here. Animals by Emma Jane Unsworth (Available 18 July)

Laura and Tyler are either side of thirty and …

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For book clubs who want to think deeply about our country… The Yield by Tara June Winch

Tara June Winch’s exquisite tale about reclaiming Indigenous storytelling, language and identity is a powerful exploration of dispossession and a piercing insight into the heart of this country. The novel focuses largely on two characters: Albert Gondiwini – a Wiradjuri man intent on keeping alive the lang…

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The theme for NAIDOC Week 2019 is ‘Voice. Treaty. Truth’ – the three key elements set out in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. In honour of NAIDOC Week, we’d like to spotlight some of the many books that foreground and give voice to the rich language, culture and lived experiences of First Nations Australians. The books listed below, by no means a complete list, provide a wonderful way for all…

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On Eating Meat by Matthew Evans

In On Eating Meat, food critic, chef, farmer, television presenter and restaurateur Matthew Evans grapples with the contentious topic of the means of producing and consuming animals. He examines feedlots and abattoirs, organic farms and his very own farming practices to appreciate what we are doing and why. This book could be placed in the same bucket as Jonatha…

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CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH Six Minutes by Petronella McGovern

I picked this up because the name ‘Petronella McGovern’ is absolutely far too delightful to avoid, and kept reading because I was hooked. Three-year-old Bella – days shy of her fourth birthday – is at her playgroup, being minded by four mothers while her own ducks out to buy biscuits, when she vanishes. How could she have gone missi…

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Here is a round-up previewing some of the most exciting local releases for the second half of 2019! FICTION

The Old Lie by Claire G. Coleman (August)

Pillars by Peter Polites (August)

Mother of Pearl by Angela Savage (August)

The Collaborator by Diane Armstrong (August)

The Returns by Philip Salom (August)

The Burnt Country by Joy Rhoades (August)

Out of Time by Steve Hawke (August)

The Tr…

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