Books
Stunning new First Nations picture books
There are some beautiful recently released picture books to share with children (and adults) that are created by very talented First Nations authors and artists, and we don’t want you to miss out on discovering them. Here are some of our favourite recent First Nations picture books:
A Kunwinjku Counting Book by Gabriel Maralngurra
Accompanied by illustrations drawing on traditional Kunwinjku art, each of the twelve entries of this counting book showcases a different animal of West Arnhem Land. From…
The 2022 ABIA shortlists
The shortlists for the 2022 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs) have been announced! The ABIAs celebrate the best books of the year, as judged by Australian book industry members.
Below are the shortlisted titles from across the 12 ABIA categories.
Biography Book of the Year
Emotional Female by Yumiko Kadota
The Mother Wound by Amani Haydar
Turns Out, I’m Fine by Judith Lucy
It Wasn’t Meant to be Like This by Lisa Wilkinson
My Adventurous Life by Dick Smith
General…
Our top 10 bestsellers of the week
Stolen Focus by Johann Hari
The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan
Sunbathing by Isobel Beech
Dropbear by Evelyn Araluen
Bedtime Story by Chloe Hooper
Wake by Shelley Burr
Yiayia Next Door by Daniel Mancuso and Luke Mancuso
Pure Colour by Sheila Heti
The Seamstress of Sardinia by Bianca Pitzorno (translated by Brigid Maher)
Still Alive by Safdar Ahmed
Our best-seller from the past week is Johann Hari’s fantastic Stolen Focus, which takes a critical look at how much an…
Our children's and YA top 10 bestsellers of the week
Heartstopper: Volume 1 by Alice Oseman
Heartstopper: Volume 3 by Alice Oseman
Heartstopper: Volume 4 by Alice Oseman
Until the End: Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
World’s Worst Pets by David Walliams
Heartstopper: Volume 2 by Alice Oseman
How to Tackle Your Dreams by Fiona Hardy
Real Pigeons Duck Trouble by Andrew McDonald & Ben Wood
Lightfall: Shadow of the Bird by Tim Probert
Ceremony: Welcome to our Country by Adam Goodes, Ellie Laing & David Hardy
The Heartstopper graphic…
What the Degrassi Junior High students are reading now
Oh Degrassi, how I loved you growing up. I’d race back from school as a latchkey kid (actually it was just under a blob of cement in an oversized pot plant) grab my microwave pizza and turn the dial on the old tellie to see what the gang were up to on the other side of the world. It was so grown up and I was completely sucked in. Now, I know there have been new series and my old…
What we're reading: Stanley, Yee & Black
Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films we’re watching, the television shows we’re hooked on, or the music we’re loving.
Chris Gordon is reading A Great Hope by Jessica Stanley
First of all, reading A Great Hope by Jessica Stanley made me feel old. This novel centres around the Kevin Rudd years of 2007 through to the turbulent years of Gillard and I found myself amazed/dismayed that it was all so LONG ago…
An extract from the anthology This All Come Back Now
This All Come Back Now is an anthology of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander speculative fiction edited by Mykaela Saunders. Below is an extract from the short story Terranora written by Mykaela Saunders, which appears in the new collection.
‘Wake up! Wake up, everyone! Ocean Bikies are coming!’ The summons ripples throughout the sleeping camp, waking us all up in waves. I shake my two younger siblings awake and we drag ourselves up to the riverbank. The sun is still…
Highlights of the MWF Schools Program
The Melbourne Writers Festival is on from 1-9 September this year and their schools program encompasses incredible day-long outings for students to attend! The program includes four sessions across the day that each feature a different author and focus.
Below, we spotlight just four of the wonderful author sessions being featured this year, but you can find out more about the full program here.
Primary School Days: Thursday 1 and Friday 2 September
Gabrielle Wang
Recently crowned Children’s Laureate…
Australian fiction titles to pick up this month
Sunbathing by Isobel Beech
‘Sunbathing is the stunning debut novel from Melbourne writer Isobel Beech. It follows the story of a young woman who is invited to stay with her friends Giulia and Fab at Fab’s family home in Abruzzo, in the month prior to their wedding. The village is an oasis, untouched by tourism. The narrator spends lazy days with Giulia and Fab, cooking, gardening, and caring for a stray cat that wanders onto the property, in a gorgeous…
Congratulations to Desiree Boardman and Angela Crocombe
We’re delighted that our Hawthorn Shop Manager Desiree Boardman has been nominated for Bookseller of the Year 2022 and that Angela Crocombe our Children’s and YA Specialist has been nominated for Children’s Bookseller of the Year 2022!
Angela Crocombe, nominated for Children’s Bookseller of the Year
Since starting at Readings, Angela has been an advocate for the children’s section and was the founding manager and a driving force behind opening Readings Kids. She saw the value in offering children and…
Recommended Kid's books and news for May
There are so many exciting new releases on our shelves this May, that it’s hard to know where to begin. How about with our Book of the Month - a warmhearted story about footy, family and fashion? Or perhaps with a story about stressing out, changing family dynamics and climate change activism? In picture books we have a non-binary character in the exuberant Katerina Cruickshanks, and a luscious ode to a new baby by First Nations creator, Melissa Greenwood. We…
Recommended YA books and news for May
There are so many exciting new releases in young adult literature this month that will have wide appeal for young adults and adults alike. Our Book of the Month is by the US author, E.Lockhart, and is a prequel to her bestseller, We Were Liars. We’re also excited about a delicious rom-com by Australian author Sarah Ayoub, a historical fiction adventure on the high seas with the pirate Anne Bonny, a fantasy adventure in the skies, and two LGBTQIA+…
Our top 10 bestsellers of the week
The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan
Dropbear by Evelyn Araluen
Sunbathing by Isobel Beech
Bedtime Story by Chloe Hooper
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
Indelible City by Louisa Lim
Yiayia Next Door by Daniel Mancuso and Luke Mancuso
Stolen Focus by Johann Hari
The Seamstress of Sardinia by Bianca Pitzorno (translated by Brigid Maher)
Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby
Our best-seller from the past week is the latest novel from crime writing favourite, Dervla McTiernan. The Murder Rule…
Our children's and YA top 10 bestsellers of the week
Heartstopper: Volume 1 by Alice Oseman
Libby Lawrence is Good at Pretending by Jodi McAllister
Miimi Marraal, Mother Earth by Melissa Greenwood
The Way of Dog by Zana Fraillon
World’s Worst Pets by David Walliams
Real Pigeons Duck Trouble by Andrew McDonald & Ben Wood
How to Tackle Your Dreams by Fiona Hardy
All the Little Tricky Things by Karys McEwen
Bad Guys 15: Open Up and Say Arrrgh! by Aaron Blabey
Heartstopper 1: Netflix Tie-in edition by Alice Oseman
…
What we're reading: Rushton, Burr & Thornton
Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films we’re watching, the television shows we’re hooked on, or the music we’re loving.
Jackie Tang is reading The Most Important Job in the World by Gina Rushton
I reviewed Gina Rushton’s The Most Important Job in the World a little while ago (in short: it’s amazing, go read it) but I wanted to shout out its brilliance again in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s…
Patricia Lockwood wins the 2022 Dylan Thomas Prize
Patricia Lockwood has been announced as this year’s winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize for her novel, No One Is Talking About This.
The Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize is awarded for the best published literary work in the English language, written by an author aged 39 or under. The Prize celebrates the international world of fiction in all its forms including poetry, novels, short stories and drama.
In No One Is Talking About This, a woman known…
A spotlight on translated fiction this month
This month we’re reading novels translated from Dutch, Italian, Bulgarian and Catalan.
Grand Hotel Europa by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer (translated from Dutch by Michele Hutchison)
A writer takes residence in the illustrious but decaying Grand Hotel Europa, to think about where things went wrong with Clio, with whom he fell in love in Genoa and moved to Venice. He reconstructs a compelling story of love in times of mass tourism, about their trips to Malta, Palmaria, Portovenere and the Cinque…
Q&A with Alison Lester
Alison Lester is a legend of Australian children’s literature and her books have been loved by millions of children and adults over many years. A play of her beloved classic Magic Beach is being performed at Melbourne Arts Centre from May 19-22 and we caught up with Alison on the cusp of this production.
Magic Beach was published over 30 years ago, but it is still one of your most popular books and a favourite in our bookshops. How does…
Seven graphic novels that would make great screen adaptions
The television adaptation of the Heartstopper series by Alice Oseman hit Netflix and I have already binged the entire season! Here are seven graphic novels I think would make great screen adaptions:
The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner
Move over Sabrina, there’s a new witch in town. This adorable graphic novel would make an even more adorable television series. Not only is it lots of fun, it also explores serious issues such as bullying, racism and sexism. And there’s a…
Our books of the month, May 2022
OUR FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH
Sunbathing by Isobel Beech
Reviewed by
Sunbathing is the stunning debut novel from Melbourne writer Isobel Beech. It follows the story of a young woman who is invited to stay with her friends Giulia and Fab at Fab’s family home in Abruzzo, in the month prior to their wedding. The village is an oasis, untouched by tourism. The narrator spends lazy days with Giulia and Fab, cooking, gardening, and caring for a stray cat…
The best food & gardening books in May
The Nutmeg Trail: A Culinary Journey along the Ancient Spice Routes by Eleanor Ford
The one and only Yotam Ottolenghi said publicly that Eleanor Ford is a gastronomic archaeologist and I realised with one quick shiver of delight that surely that is the job ofgreat dreams. Ford’s latest book, The Nutmeg Trail: A Culinary Journey along the Ancient Spice Routes is filled with recipes and stories that explore how centuries of spice trading and cultural diffusion changed the world’s cuisine.
…
Our top 10 bestsellers of the week
Bedtime Story by Chloe Hooper
Dropbear by Evelyn Araluen
Yiayia Next Door by Daniel Mancuso and Luke Mancuso
The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan
Sunbathing by Isobel Beech
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
Wake by Shelley Burr
Then There Was Her by Sophie Cachia
The Palace Papers by Tina Brown
Abomination by Ashley Goldberg.
Our best-seller from the past week is part memoir, part manual from the ever-remarkable Chloe Hooper (The Tall Man, The Arsonist). In Bedtime…
Our children's and YA top 10 bestsellers of the week
All the Little Tricky Things by Karys McEwen
How to Tackle Your Dreams by Fiona Hardy
Heartstopper: Volume 1 by Alice Oseman
World’s Worst Pets by David Walliams
Bad Guys 15: Open Up and Say Arrrgh! by Aaron Blabey
Real Pigeons Duck Trouble by Andrew McDonald & Ben Wood
The Way of Dog by Zana Fraillon
Heartstopper 1: Netflix Tie-in edition by Alice Oseman
Cat Kid Comic Club 3: On Purpose by Dav Pilkey
Heartstopper: Volume 2 by Alice Oseman
…
The best new crime reads in May
Our crime specialist shares 11 great crime reads to look out for this month.
CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH
Wake by Shelley Burr
It has been nearly 20 years since Evelyn McCreery went missing. She went to sleep one night, in the bed next to her twin sister Mina’s; the next morning she was gone, her bed neatly made, no fingerprints on the windowsill, the only tyre tracks around their desolate farm property belonging to the farm cars. All these…
What we're reading: Ali, O’Farrell & Jordan
Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films we’re watching, the television shows we’re hooked on, or the music we’re loving.
Chris Gordon is reading Love Marriage by Monica Ali
I’m reading the excellent Love Marriage by bestselling and all-round literary rock star Monica Ali. (I fell in love with her work with one of her first novels, Brick Lane.)
If the book was a dancefloor it would be that part right before…
Unknown: A Refugee’s Story
Akuch Kuol Anyieth’s Unknown is a remarkable memoir. It’s a homage to the strength of her mother in protecting her family against all the odds, a story of sadness, anger, humour, determination, survival and love.
In January 2006, Mathew and Mama took Gai and me to enrol at Western English Language School on South Road in Braybrook.
When we arrived, we waited in front of a little glass booth while Mathew told the woman sitting inside that we had an…
Dear Reader, May 2022
I found tears sliding down my face on the tram earlier this year while reading Chloe Hooper’s Bedtime Story, our wonderful Nonfiction Book of the Month. This exceptional memoir is about illness and mortality, and is an intimate glimpse into the experience of a person and her family whose world is defined in a particular way, for a time, by both those things, when her partner is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. At the heart of the…
Top picks for Kids and YA book clubs
Below are our top picks for book clubs for young people this month:
For readers aged 5-9
Maku by Meyne Wyatt
Maku has just started at a new school. It’s tricky fitting in, but Maku always tries his best. When his grandparents take him out on country he finds inspiration to make a superhero movie and impress his classmates.
Themes include:
First Nations culture
friendship
family
bullying
You can find teacher’s notes here.
Bestselling books from Clunes Booktown
After predictions of dire storms and a torrential downpour on the Friday night, we weren’t sure what to expect for our first post-Covid Booktown. But the sun shone brightly all weekend as thousands of book lovers descended upon the picturesque town of Clunes to hear authors speak and fossick through the many pop-up bookshops and local stores. Visiting authors came to the Readings marquee to sign their books after their talks, with the following books becoming our top sellers:
Mark's Say: May, 2022
In 2001, to mark International Women’s Day, our events manager Chris Gordon organised a panel at Readings Carlton to discuss why women writers were largely overlooked when the major literary prizes were awarded. ‘We were pissed off,’ Chris says. From that night, the Stella Prize was born, and this year marks the awarding of the 10th Stella Prize. Stella drives significant cultural change by elevating the work ofAustralian women and non-binary writers, and although the prize is the most well-known…
Our children's and YA top 10 bestsellers of the week
Heartstopper: Volume 1 by Alice Oseman
Heartstopper: Volume 2 by Alice Oseman
Heartstopper: Volume 3 by Alice Oseman
Heartstopper: Volume 4 by Alice Oseman
Bad Guys 15: Open Up and Say Arrrgh! by Aaron Blabey
My People: Eddies Lil’ Homies by Eddie Betts
Cat Kid Comic Club 3: On Purpose by Dav Pilkey
How to Tackle Your Dreams by Fiona Hardy
Treehouse Tales by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton
Flames of Hope: Wings of Fire 15 by Tui Sutherland
The…
Our top 10 bestsellers of the week
Dropbear by Evelyn Araluen
Yiayia Next Door by Daniel Mancuso and Luke Mancuso
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
The First Astronomers: How Indigenous Elders Read the Stars by Duane Hamacher
Freezing Order by Bill Browder
Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong
Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention by Johann Hari
French Braid by Anne Tyler
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan
Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby
Our best-seller from the past week is the winner of…
Support challenged and banned books for young people
The recent controversy in the United States around year eight students reading Maus caused such a flurry of interest publishers ran out of stock for several months (it’s finally back in stock now).
It has gotten us thinking about other titles that have been challenged for one reason or another. Here we present a collection of some of our children’s and young adult favourites that have a history of being challenged or banned in school libraries across America.
Drama by…
We test out recipes from Yiayia Next Door
Recently we tested out a selection of recipes from Yiayia Next Door, the cookbook put together by brothers Luke and Daniel Mancuso, their favourite Yiayia next door, and other yiayias from around Australia. This cookbook is about the powerful connections we forge when we share a meal with someone across the table - or even over the fence.
Lucky for us, Luke and Daniel Manusco stopped by to select the best re-creation of a recipe from their book. Below…
What we're reading: Dick, Krakauer & Leigh
Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films we’re watching, the television shows we’re hooked on, or the music we’re loving.
Joanna Di Mattia is reading They by Kay Dick
It really, truly is the case that the less you know about Kay Dick’s tense, haunting, perfectly controlled novella before you start to read it, the better. So I’ll say little more than that and that it’s one of the best books I’ve read…
Evelyn Araluen wins the 2022 Stella Prize
Evelyn Araluen has been named the winner of the 2022 Stella Prize for her debut collection of poetry, Dropbear.
Dropbear interrogates the complexities of colonial and personal history with an alternately playful, tender and mournful intertextual voice, deftly navigating the responsibilities that gather from sovereign country, the spectres of memory and the debris of settler-coloniality.
Chair of the judging panel, Melissa Lucashenko, said of the collection: ‘When you read Evelyn Araluen’s Dropbear, you’ll be taken on a wild…
The Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist 2022
The shortlist for the 2022 Women’s Prize for Fiction has been announced!
The Women’s Prize for Fiction celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in women’s writing from throughout the world. The winner receives a cheque for £30,000 and a limited edition bronze figurine known as a ‘Bessie’, created and donated by the artist Grizel Niven. Both are anonymously endowed.
Below are the six shortlisted books for the 2022 prize.
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
The life of Marian Graves has always…
Contemporary YA based on classic novels
There are some classic stories that we can never forget reading when we were young. Authors too become inspired (or even obsessed!) by their favourite books, to the extent that they sometimes write homages to them, which may have some elements of the classic but have also been radically re-imagined. Here are some of our favourite contemporary YA stories and the classic teen novels that inspired them:
If you loved The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper, then you will…
Q&A with Daniel and Luke Mancuso (Yiayia Next Door)
We chat with the two brothers who, with the help of their community and a very special yiayia, are responsible for compiling the collection of recipes, Yiayia Next Door.
Your beautiful heartfelt cookbook is only part of the story, but let’s concentrate on that now. This a book that celebrates neighbours and community and being the best you can be. Can you tell me the first meal Yiayia cooked you both and why it has remained a favourite?
It…
Our top 10 bestsellers of the week
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby
French Braid by Anne Tyler
Pure Colour by Sheila Heti
Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong
No Hard Feelings by Genevieve Novak
Daughters of Eve by Nina D. Campbell
Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au
Our best-seller from the past week is Young Mungo, the new novel from Booker prize-winning author…
Our children's and YA top 10 bestsellers of the week
Ceremony: Welcome to our Country by Adam Goodies, Ellie Laing & David Hardy
Treehouse Tales by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton
Heartstopper: Volume 1 by Alice Oseman
Bad Guys 15: Open Up and Say Arrrgh! by Aaron Blabey
One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
Bluey: Baby Race by Bluey
Maku by Meyne Wyatt
Milo Finds $105 (Bored 1) by Matt Stanton
Possum Magic by Mem Fox
It’s delightful to see the beautiful…
Favourite first lines in literature
There’s something intangible yet immutable about a great opening line. Below are some of our favourite opening lines from contemporary novels, though – of course – a few classics have snuck in too.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
‘The snow in the mountains was melting and Bunny had been dead for several weeks before we came to understand the gravity of our situation.’
Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an…
What we're reading: Mellors, Davis & Allinson
Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films we’re watching, the television shows we’re hooked on, or the music we’re loving.
Aurelia Orr is reading Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
Reading Cleopatra and Frankenstein was like falling in love for the first time: you’re so blinded by the glamour and rose-coloured view of the world before you, you never expect the heartbreak to follow. Like Cleo and Frank, who fall so hard for…
A spotlight on translated fiction this month
This month we’re reading novels translated from Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and Danish. The works themselves are diverse in content – from thrilling crime, to science fiction, to historical epic, and some incisive social commentary to boot!
Scattered All Over the Earth by Yoko Tawada (translated from Japanese by Margaret Mitsutani)
Welcome to the not-too-distant future: Japan, having vanished from the face of the earth, is now remembered as the land of sushi. Hiruko, its former citizen and a climate refugee…
Our children's and YA top 10 bestsellers of the week
Treehouse Tales by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton
Ceremony: Welcome to our Country by Adam Goodies, Ellie Laing & David Hardy
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
How to be a Real Ballerina by Davina Bell & Jenny Lovlie
Wolfred by Nick Bland
Flames of Hope: Wings of Fire 15 by Tui T. Sutherland
Cat Kid Comic Club 3: On Purpose by Dav Pilkey
Sugar by Carly Nugent
Bluey: More Easter Fun by Bluey
Our top 10 bestsellers of the week
Young Mungo by Douglas Stewart
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan
Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby
Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong
Pure Colour by Sheila Heti
French Braid by Anne Tyler
Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
Sea of Tranquility Emily St. John Mandel
Elizabeth Finch by Julian Barnes
A Solitary Walk on the Moon by Hilde Hinton
Our chart topping book this week is the second novel from Booker-prize winning author…
Debut fiction to read this month
These outstanding debuts are written by some of the most exciting emerging voices in fiction. Explore a selection of April highlights below or browse our ongoing collection for debut fiction in 2022 here.
No Hard Feelings by Genevieve Novak
Penny can’t help but compare herself to her friends. Annie is about to be a senior associate at her law firm, Bec has just got engaged, Leo is dating everyone this side of the Yarra, and Penny is just ……
Recommended children's books and news for April
We are excited about a new series of chapter books for early readers that celebrate diverse Australian voices. We’re so excited about it, in fact, we made the debut title, Maku, our Book of the Month. It’s a wonderful, heartwarming story that we highly recommend.
We’re also showcasing some beautiful picture books, a new book by funny guy, Matt Stanton, a historical fiction title about women footy players by Felica Arena, and a new fantasy story that will be…
Recommended YA books and news for April
The new releases are coming thick and fast this month, just in time for the school holidays! Our book of the month is the debut young adult novel by a past winner of our Readings Prize for Kids, Carly Nugent. She has written a powerful contemporary novel about a young woman living with diabetes who is grieving for her father and trying to uncover a local mystery.
We also have an incredible collection of speculative fiction from First Nations and…
Our books of the month, April 2022
OUR FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan
Reviewed by
Egan proved with Goon Squad that she was at the vanguard of the future of fiction. The Candy House shows she isn’t ready to give up that position any time soon.
The Candy House opens in New York City with Bix Bouton, a character we only glimpsed briefly in Goon Squad. Inspired by a professor at Columbia University who is toying with the concept of…
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