Books
Top picks for book clubs this month
Australian Fiction | The Conversion by Amanda Lohrey
Nick: so persuasive, ever the optimist, always on a quest to design the perfect environment, convinced it could heal a wounded soul. The conversion was Nick’s idea, but it’s Zoe who’s here now, in a valley of old coalmines and new vineyards, working out how to live in a deconsecrated church. What to do with all that vertical space, those oppressive stained-glass windows? Can a church become a home or, even with…
Our books of the month, November 2023
Explore our books of the month for November; 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
Women & Children by Tony Birch
Reviewed by Ruby Grinter, Readings Carlton
'Tony Birch crafts a story that perfectly encapsulates the innocence of childhood, and the creeping recognition of how the world ignores the voices of women and girls.'Lovely, mischievous…
Our October 2023 bestsellers
Killing for Country: A Family Story by David Marr
Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton
Philoxenia: A Seat at My Table by Kon & Sia Karapanagiotidis
Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi & Geoffrey Trousselot (trans.)
Unfinished Woman by Robyn Davidson
Unruly by David Mitchell
The Seven by Chris Hammer
Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life by Anna Funder
Thoughtful picture books for tough days
These recently published picture books are just the thing for when days don't go to plan.
Woo Hoo! You’re Doing Great! by Sandra Boynton
Whether you are learning to skate, baking a cake, or even making a mistake, this hilarious and heartfelt rhyming book reminds us that trying our best is reason to celebrate. From children trying to master new skills to adults who had a hard week at work, we all get overwhelmed sometimes and need reassurance. And who…
News from the Readings x Ubud Writers and Readers Festival trip
Recently our own Mark Rubbo and Chris Gordon accompanied a group of Melbourne readers to the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.
First, and most importantly Mark Rubbo and I were delighted to welcome new friends to the tour. What a joy to meet in a tropical (read: very hot) environment with people that love to talk, share, drink (gin and tonics being firm favourite bevvy of choice) and read! Our type of people.
On the first night of the tour…
A recipe from Rumi by Joseph Abboud
Rumi is a wonderful collection of over 60 recipes from chef and restaurant owner Joseph Abboud. Below, we're pleased to share a recipe from this heartfelt – and delicous – collection of recipes.
Freekeh, feta and pomegranate salad
Freekeh is wheat, picked green (young) and then toasted or smoked. It comes from the Arabic word farik, which refers to the rubbing of the grains to remove their husks. It’s highly nutritious and it seems the more you eat, the better…
The Gab Williams Prize inaugural winner
The Gab Williams Prize seeks to acknowledge the contribution of young adult author and immediate past manager of The Readings Prize, Gabrielle Williams, who passed away early in 2023.
Unlike the other prize winners, which are chosen by panels of Readings booksellers this prize has been chosen by teens themselves, all aged between 14 to 18, and all participants in The Readings Teen Advisory Board. The board read the shortlist for The Readings Young Adult Prize and came together to…
Decent people, a leering myna, and an unexpected inheritance
To celebrate the release of her new book, Corners of Melbourne, award-winning author Robyn Annear very kindly investigated the history of a street corner well known to Readings Carlton and Kids customers – Carlton’s Tyne Street. Here, Annear takes us back in time and along Tyne Street, revealing a healthy locale with a surprisingly colourful history.
If we’re talking street corners, Readings Carlton is ideally positioned. The two Lygon Street shops occupy facing corners of the west-running Tyne Street…
The 2023 Prime Minister's Literary Awards shortlist
The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards acknowledge the contribution of Australian literature to the nation’s cultural and intellectual life.
643 entries were received across six literary categories: fiction, non-fiction, young adult literature, children’s literature, poetry, and Australian history. The winners and shortlisted authors will share in a tax-free prize pool of $600,000 – the highest literary prize in the nation. Each shortlisted entry will receive $5,000 with the winner of each category receiving $80,000. Expert judging panels have carefully considered entries…
The Readings Prize 2023 winners
This year marks the 10th anniversary of The Readings Prize, a significant milestone in the Australian book industry for this veritable tastemaker of emerging talent.
From over 100 books that were considered this year, only six could be chosen for each shortlist. Just to be on the shortlist is an incredible achievement for an emerging author. Every single author whose book made it to one of our shortlists should feel extremely proud. It’s always difficult to choose a winner, and…
The Readings Prize – pathway to publishing
The winners of the Readings Prizes will be announced later tonight. Below, a number of this year's shortlistees discuss their pathways to publishing.
Shirley Le: I have been raised by a community of writers at the Sweatshop Writers Collective, a literacy movement based in Western Sydney that empowers writers from culturally and linguistically diverse communities to tell our stories on our own terms. In 2021, Affirm Press started a mentorship for Sweatshop writers and I was fortunate to…
Recent spooky reads for children
October, and the lead-up, never fail to provide a bounty of scary, eccentric and thrilling tales for our bookshelves. Filled with doomed school camps, wandering souls, small town mysteries and, of course, a fabulous vampire – there's something for every level of spooky comfort in the below recommended reads.
Spooky Stories of the World by Wendy Shearer & Teo Georgiey (illus.)
This spine-tingling collection of spooky stories features over 20 eerie tales from across the globe. Discover bewitching retellings of…
Bestselling books in new, compact formats
These bestselling books are now available in smaller, more portable formats!
Willowman by Inga Simpson
Allan Reader, one of the last traditional batmakers in the country, keeps his family business alive in a small workshop in Melbourne.
When Todd Harrow, a gifted young batter, catches Allan's eye, a spark is lit and Allan decides to make a Reader bat for him, selecting the best piece of willow he's harvested in years to do so.
As Harrow charts a meteoric rise…
We test recipes from Philoxenia
Recently we tested a selection of recipes from Philoxenia: A Seat at My Table, a new cookbook from Kon Karapanagiotidis, founder of the ASRC, and his mother, Sia.
We were of course thrilled to then have Kon and Sia themselves stop by to taste test our attempts and judge the best replication.
Joe Rubbo made Spanikopita
I made the Spanikopita. Although I cheated by not making the phyllo pastry, using store bought instead. This shortcoming was spotted immediately by…
The October crime review
These are the crime books which have been read and reviewed by our excellent booksellers this month – all in one place!
Everyone On This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson
Reviewed by Lian Hingee from Readings online
Benjamin Stevenson’s bestselling novel Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone was a comedic delight: Agatha Christie meets Knives Out via a distinctly Australian first-person narrator.
In Everyone On This Train Is a Suspect, Ernest Cunningham – mystery-solver and now…
Top picks for book clubs this month
Australian Fiction | Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton
A girl and her mother are on the lam. They've been running for sixteen years, from police and the monster they left in the kitchen with the knife in his throat. They've found themselves a home inside an orange 1987 Toyota HiAce van with four flat tyres parked in a scrapyard by the edge of the Brisbane River.
The girl has no name because names are dangerous when you're on…
What we're reading: Lucashenko, Penelope & Boynton
Each week our amazing staff bring you a sample of the books or music they're immersed in.
Rosalind McClintock is reading Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko
I was lucky enough to see Melissa Lucashenko in conversation with David Marr at the BookPeople conference. Lucashenko came across as fiercely intelligent, generous and funny, that along with the passages she read aloud from her new book Edenglassie prompted me to hunt down a copy. It did not disappoint, it is all these things…
The best food and gardening books of the month, with Chris Gordon
The Farm Table by Julius Roberts
Do you love Matthew Evans’ recipes? Perhaps Jamie Oliver’s? Now, combine those two tremendous cooks and consider the way they both use food in season with simple recipes. Well, move over boys because Julius is in town. This is English farmer and cook Julius Roberts’ first book, although you may have seen him on TV, and it is a beauty. It’s filled with ideas and ideals, all suited to anyone out there with a…
Finding your inner artist through books
by Poppy, Teen Advisory BoardArt is everywhere around us, including in the books we read. To help find the perfect gift for the art lover in your life, or to unlock your own creativity, here are some personal favourites which might provide inspiration.
Prolific children’s author Peter H. Reynolds is probably already on your child’s bookshelf. But I think two of his picture books are as perfect for adults as they are for young readers. Ish shares the story of Ramon, a boy who…
Our September 2023 bestsellers
The Last Devil to Die (The Thursday Murder Club, Book 4) by Richard Osman
Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life by Anna Funder
Would that Be Funny?: Growing up with John Clarke by Lorin Clarke
The Fraud by Zadie Smith
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi & Geoffrey Trousselot (trans.)
The Voice to Parliament Handbook by Thomas Mayo & Kerry O'Brien
Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran
Yellowface by Rebeca F Kuang
The Goldsmiths Prize shortlist 2023
The shortlist for this year’s Goldsmiths Prize has been announced! This prize was established in 2013 to celebrate the qualities of creative daring and to reward fiction that breaks the mould or extends the possibilities of the novel form. You can learn more about the history of the prize here.
The six titles shortlisted for the 2023 Goldsmiths Prize are:
Lori & Joe by Amy Arnold
The Long Form by Kate Briggs
Never Was by Gareth H. Gavin
…
The 2023 National Book Awards Finalists
The finalists for the 2023 National Book Awards have been announced! Established in 1950, the National Book Awards are American literary prizes administered by the National Book Foundation. The awards currently cover the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People's Literature. The five finalists for each category were selected by a panel of judges.
Finalists for Fiction:
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Temple Folk by Aaliyah Bilal
This Other Eden by Paul Harding
Dear Reader, with Alison Huber
Friends, October is officially O for Overwhelming. I spend each one of these columns trying to cover as many new releases as I can, but there are so many great books published this month, my task is D for Doomed, and omissions will be legion. Let me start at a logical point though, with our Fiction and Nonfiction Books of the Month, both of them undoubtedly two of the publishing highlights of 2023.
Edenglassie is Melissa Lucashenko’s long-awaited follow-up to…
Best fantasy recommendations for teens, from a teen
by Olivia Campbell, Teen Advisory BoardOlivia from our Teen Advisory Board has curated a selection of all-time favourite fantasy novels to tempt you.
Fantasy novels are totally immersive. They’re perfect for staying up late over summer (or during term!), to read on the tram home from school, or really, just to crack open in any situation! Below are four fantasy books I highly recommend escaping into.
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
This is the book that made me fall in love with fantasy; strange…
Recommended short story collections
The last three months has seen an exciting array of short stories and anthologies ranging from some beloved long-time authors to those making their debut. Here is a selection of recent favourites that we hope you'll enjoy.
Normal Rules Don't Apply by Kate Atkinson
One of the world's great storytellers, and bestselling author of Shrines of Gaiety and Life After Life, conjures a captivating new book. In this first full collection since Not the End of the World,…
The September crime review
These are the crime books which have been read and reviewed by our excellent booksellers this month – all in one place!
Ripper by Shelley Burr
Gemma Guillory has lived in Rainier her entire life. She knows the tiny town's ins and outs like the back of her hand, the people like they are her family, their quirks as if they were her own.
She knows her once-charming town is now remembered for one reason only. That three innocent people…
The 2023 Booker Prize shortlist
The 2023 Booker Prize shortlist has been announced!
This year's shortlist features one British, one Canadian, two Irish and two American authors. Two of the shortlisted works are debuts. Although full of hope, humour and humanity, the books address many of 2023’s most pressing concerns: climate change, immigration, financial hardship, the persecution of minorities, political extremism and the erosion of personal freedoms. They feature characters in search of peace and belonging or lamenting lost loves. There are books that are…
Mark's brilliant career: A tribute to Mark Rubbo
As some of you may know already, Readings’ long-serving managing director, Mark Rubbo, has recently retired from his position. This idea of retirement has been floating around for some years now, although I wasn’t sure it would ever eventuate. My incredulity came from observing Dad’s unwavering obsession with Readings over the entirety of my lifetime. It was something to behold, often fanatical in its intensity. Mark Rubbo and Readings became so enmeshed it has sometimes been difficult to tell where…
Top picks for book clubs this month
Australian fiction | Burn by Melanie Saward
When a tragic bushfire puts two kids in hospital, Indigenous teenager Andrew knows the police will come after him first. But Andrew almost wants to be caught, because at least it might make his dad come and rescue him from suburban Brisbane and his neglectful mother.
Growing up in small-town Tasmania, Andrew struggled at home, at school, at everything. The only thing that distracted or excited him was starting little fires. Flames boosted…
Dear Reader, with Alison Huber
As you’ll read in Joe Rubbo’s wonderful piece of writing, the person whose name is synonymous with Readings (and the Australian books and publishing industry at large), Mark Rubbo, has officially stepped back from his role as Managing Director. It’s not something I can entirely compute, so present is Mark in my daily working life. I predict things will feel for me and my colleagues both very different and almost the same, and that’s because Mark has fostered such a…
The best food and gardening books of the month, with Chris Gordon
5 Ingredients Mediterranean by Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver is a bloke with his finger on the pulse. He knows we all dream of spending time in the Mediterranean and that very few of us will ever realise that vision. But we can eat like we have been there. Using a solid fret-free formula, Oliver has produced another excellent cookbook to bring the fresh flavours of sunny landscapes to you. Think salads and platters of seafood, roasted meats and vegetables using…
Our August 2023 bestsellers
Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life by Anna Funder
Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran
The Voice to Parliament Handbook: All the Detail You Need by Thomas Mayo & Kerry O'Brien
Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
What You Are Looking for is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama & Alison Watts (trans.)
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi & Geoffrey Trousselot (trans.)
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Winners of the 2023 Davitt Awards
Sisters in Crime Australia has announced the winners of the 2023 Davitt Awards for best crime books by Australian women.
The winning titles in each category are:
Best Adult Novel: All That's Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien
‘Just let him go.’ Those are words Ky Tran will forever regret. The words she spoke when her parents called to ask if they should let her younger brother Denny out to celebrate his high school graduation. That night in 1996, Denny is…
The 2023 Ned Kelly Award Winners
The Australian Crime Writers Association (ACWA) has announced the winners of the 2023 Ned Kelly Awards.
Here are the recipients for each category:
Best Crime Fiction: Exiles by Jane Harper
At a busy festival site on a warm spring night, a baby lies alone in her pram, her mother having vanished into the crowds.
A year on, Kim Gillespie's absence casts a long shadow as her friends and loved ones gather deep in the heart of South Australian wine country…
The August crime review
These are the crime books which have been read and reviewed by our excellent booksellers this month – all in one place!
Dark Corners by Megan Goldin
True crime podcaster Rachel Krall is back, in search of a popular influencer who disappears after visiting a suspected serial killer.
Always know what you're walking into. Dark corners can be danger points.
True-crime podcaster Rachel Krall gets pulled into the cut-throat and narcissistic world of social media influencers as she investigates the…
Books and socks to pair for Father's Day
Giving socks for Father's Day is a tried and true favourite, so if you're looking for something to add to the parcel when wrapping up your gifts this year here are some of our recommended pairings.
Don't forget that our online delivery deadline for Father's Day gifts is 5pm on Wednesday 23 August. This deadline applies to in stock items only, being delivered within Australia.
With destination overviews, maps, photos showcasing featured places, summaries of top attractions and more, Explore…
Crime fiction in translation for Father's Day
Just in time for Father's Day, we've compiled a list of fantastic crime fiction in translation. From sleeper hits to those which have truly slipped under the radar, we've got you, and Dad, covered.
Prey for the Shadow by Javier Cercas (translated from Spanish by Anne McLean)
The mayor of Barcelona is being blackmailed. A sex tape from her student days - one she never knew existed. The price: 300,000 euros and her immediate resignation. A political chameleon who swept…
Novels where I have not skipped a word
This year I have found myself with quite a bit of quiet time on my hands, and I've used this time to luxuriate in the art of reading. I have delighted in novels that sit by you in every part of your life; those books where every word counts and you tell yourself to slow down because you don't want the book to finish.
Here are three captivating novels that you, like me, will be unable to skip a single…
Bestselling books in new, compact formats
These bestselling books are now available in smaller, more portable formats!
Horse by Geraldine Brooks
A discarded painting in a roadside clean-up, forgotten bones in a research archive, and Lexington, the greatest racehorse in US history. These facts form the basis of Geraldine Brooks’ – a writer with a prodigious talent for bringing the past to life – latest masterpiece Horse.
From an enslaved groom in 1850, to a gallery owner in 1950s New York City and an Australian…
Gift ideas for fathers who love to keep busy
We've compiled a collection of books that are perfect for fathers who love a hands-on project, sharing a big family meal, and getting out and about in nature. Read on for our top Father’s Day recommendations for busy souls.
For the dedicated home cook:
The Food Fix by Yumi Stynes & Simon Davis
Since its launch, the 5 Minute Food Fix podcast has consistently been among the most downloaded food podcasts in the country, and has spawned a vast collection…
Our July 2023 bestsellers
The Voice to Parliament Handbook by Thomas Mayor & Kerry O'Brien
Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life by Anna Funder
Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang
Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi & Geoffrey Trousselot (trans.)
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Quarterly Essay 90: Voice of Reason - On Recognition and Renewal by Megan Davis
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Top picks for book clubs this month
Australian fiction | The Sitter by Angela O'Keeffe
Paris, 2020. A writer is confined to her hotel room during the early days of the pandemic, struggling to finish a novel about Hortense Cezanne, wife and sometime muse of the famous painter. Dead for more than a century, Hortense has been reawakened by this creative endeavour, and now shadows the writer through the locked-down city. But Hortense, always subject to the gaze of others, is increasingly intrigued by the woman before…
Dear Reader, with Alison Huber
I usually make a joke around this time of year that, for book buyers and retail buyers in general, it really is a case of Christmas in July, as many of us need to make decisions about our Christmas stock at this time of year (cue disbelief from those not involved in the seasonal show). I attended the annual publisher presentations a couple of weeks ago, and my takeaway from those meetings is that it’s going to be a really…
Mark's Say, August 2023
The horror of the Holocaust has been the topic of many thousands of books; the scale of the savagery wrought by a sophisticated Western society is something that people struggle to understand. Many European Jewish people were able to find refuge in Australia and, over the years, they and their descendants have tried to understand the Holocaust by writing about it. These works have often been inspiring and profound.
Journalist Rachelle Unreich’s mother, Mira, survived four concentration camps, including Auschwitz…
Our books of the month, August 2023
Explore our books of the month for August; 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
Firelight: Stories by John Morrissey
Reviewed by Ellie Dean, Readings Carlton
'Indeed, I would be happy to recommend this collection to any curious reader – regardless of their usual position as a speculative fiction lover or hater.'John Morrissey’s debut collection…
The best food and gardening books of the month, with Chris Gordon
Halliday Wine Companion 2024 by James Halliday & Campbell Mattinson (ed.)
For over 30 years, the Halliday Wine Companion has been recognised as the industry benchmark for Australian wine. Campbell Mattinson is now in the role of chief editor, with a team of experts, including Mr Halliday himself, to gift us mere drinkers with detailed tasting notes on price, value, and advice on best-by drinking. We all know what to expect and this year’s guide is another fabulous contribution. My…
The July crime review
These are the crime books which have been read and reviewed by our excellent booksellers this month – all in one place!
Lay Your Body Down by Amy Suiter Clarke
Reviewed by Aurelia Orr from Readings Kids
Lay Your Body Down is a powerful and alluring novel about mob mentality, indoctrination, and confronting one’s demons.
Delilah vowed never to return to her hometown in Minnesota and its cult-like church, but when her ex-boyfriend, Lars, dies, Del follows her gut instinct…
These books have something in common
It's satisying to find the common threads that tie books together, especially if they're not immediately apparent from the titles. This list of books has one thing in common – can you figure it out?
You'll find the answer at the bottom of the list.
Honeybees and Distant Thunder by Riku Onda, Philip Gabriel (trans.)
In a small coastal town just a stone’s throw from Tokyo, a prestigious piano competiton is underway. Over the course of two feverish weeks, three…
Bestselling books in new, compact formats
These bestselling books are now available in smaller, more portable formats!
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
In this ingenious reimagining of David Copperfield set in modern-day Southern Appalachia, Damon (quickly nicknamed Demon) journeys through his life with only a few things to rely on: his dead father’s good looks, his devilish charm and a knack for survival. Though his challenges are many – foster care, child labour, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses – he never loses sight of his…
Our June 2023 bestsellers
The Voice to Parliament Handbook by Thomas Mayo & Kerry O'Brien
Yellowface by Rebecca F Kuang
The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
First Knowledges Law by Marcia Langton & Aaron Corn
The Queen Is Dead by Stan Grant
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Half Deaf, Completely Mad by Tony Cohen & John Olson
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
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