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I'm not going to lie, I've been looking forward to the August prompt for a while! The last few months have set their own challenge for me: to find great recommendations for each prompt. But this month, I get to hand over to some of my colleagues as they recommend books that they know you'll love!
Nico recommends ...
Six Days
Amanda Curtin
I highly recommend Amanda Curtin’s new book Six Days, a finely woven novel set across six wintry days in Paris, exploring homelessness, addiction, grief and the precarious line between security and desperation. While I do love Paris, I understand it's not just the romantic and historic place that occupies a lot of my imagination – and Curtin clearly loves it too, but is keen to cut through the mystique to offer something real and raw that hits home quite powerfully.
What I’ve found most compelling is its moral complexity: Curtin keeps returning to the question of what it means to 'do the right thing' when circumstance, poverty and personal history make any easy answer impossible.
Penny recommends ...
I Want You to Be Happy
Jem Calder
Chuck is a copywriter in his mid-thirties and has long abandoned his dream of becoming a novelist. Joey secretly dreams of becoming a poet, but currently lives paycheck to paycheck. Then she meets Chuck in a bar – he is 12 years older than her and quickly sweeps Joey up into his world of luxury.
I Want You to Be Happy is a sharp, witty, often sad, often too-real exploration of modern dating and being a young person today. Fans of Sally Rooney will love this.
May Joey never meet another Chuck again!
Lou recommends ...
Middlemarch
George Eliot
On Saturday night I finally finished Middlemarch; all 990 pages of it. I understand that when it was first published in 1871, it was released in eight separate volumes over months, and then later as a single book. If I were in publishing I'd do a fun eight-volume rerelease over eight months and encourage book clubs to read it as their book for the year and commit to reading a book each month.
Given the status of women at the time, I'm amazed that a woman was able to write such an extraordinary novel. It is an astonishing achievement, especially in an era when women were often dismissed as intellectually inferior and denied opportunities to develop and share their talents.
Bella recommends ...
The Doubles
Jacob K Gallagher
I was lucky enough to get an early copy of this novel to review for Readings Monthly, and so, even though it isn’t actually out until September, I already want to start singing its praises!
Equal parts rural crime drama and inventive fantasy novel, it’s thrilling, thoughtful and feels truly unique in the landscape of Australian publishing. Gallagher is a Kamilaroi man whose love for Country is clear throughout his writing.
If you love crime, read The Doubles; if you love urban fantasy, read The Doubles; if you love Australian stories full of local DNA, read The Doubles!
Thomas recommends ...
Invisible Boys & Yeah the Boys
Holden Sheppard
I’ve just finished reading Holden Sheppard’s Invisible Boys and Yeah the Boys. I highly recommend these for a deep, meaningful and fun Australian queer story. Both books, particularly Yeah the Boys, explore what it means to be part of the queer community.
Sheppard really hones in on the 'chosen family' trope, which is one of my favourite things to have in a book. Hilariously funny and quite spicy, this little duology is hard to put down. I devoured them within a few days.
Chris recommends ...
Three different books!
I recently travelled to Vietnam to escape the cold and soak up its warmth, food and sights. As we journeyed from one end of the country to the other, my bloke and I read excellent novels about Vietnam. I highly recommend the following three novels if you, by chance, are also heading to Vietnam. They gave us both a broader understanding of this country’s history and its hope for the future.
We read The Mountains Sing by the extraordinary author Nguyen Phan Que Mai, which follows two families surviving the American War, as it is known in Vietnam. Set in 1971, the story focuses on the devastation wrought by the Americans.
The Quiet American by Graham Greene is a devastating novel about the decline of French rule in this proud, exceptional country. It is considered a classic not only for its tight prose but also for its critique of US intervention before the American War.
We also read Ingrid Nunez’s For Rouenna, a novel about life as a combat nurse during the war. It is another devastating account of the pain and suffering caused by conflict.
Lili recommends ...
Stellarphant
James Foley
Stella is an elephant and she wants to be an astronaut. But despite her best efforts to appease the men behind the desk at the space agency, Stella is not allowed to start her training. Determined, Stella sets out to prove the boring space agency managers wrong about elephants and their inability to become astronauts.
Featuring all kinds of animals, rockets and the power of believing in yourself, Stellarphant is a brilliant picture book for anyone. And if that's not enough to convince you, the final page of this wonderful story lists all the animals who have ever gone to space!
Alicia recommends ...
The Game of Oaths
S. C. Bandreddi
This is an awesome new YA release, following a group of indentured magical circus performers who are forced to fight for their lives in 19-century France. It’s the game mechanics of The Hunger Games in the setting of Caraval, with the criminal found family of Six of Crows. I was super engaged by the plot and couldn’t help but root for the characters and swoon-worthy romances.
I highly recommend this great debut for all fans of classic YA fantasies looking for something fresh to read.
Lucie recommends ...
Call Girl Confidential
Blue-Eyed Kayla Jade
Finally, it's my turn! I recently listened to Call Girl Confidential on Libro.fm. And what a wild ride it was!
For those who haven't heard of Blue-Eyed Kayla Jade, let me fill you in. Kayla, best known by her username Blue-Eyed Kayla Jade, rose to fame on social media for breaking taboos and talking about her full-service sex work and OnlyFans. Her charisma and incredible storytelling ability have attracted a majority female audience of over 3 million followers.
Call Girl Confidential is a brutally honest memoir of how Kayla got into the sex work industry and many of the sometimes sexy, sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking experiences she's had along the way; from some of the weird requests from clients to the heart-wrenching moment she was doxxed and the world discovered she has two young children.
Whether you're a fan of Kayla or have just found out about her now, this is a must-read. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook as Kayla narrates it herself!
Check out our blog for more recommendations, or head into our shops – our booksellers are happy to help!
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