Teen reader Claire Long recently spent some time living in France. Here she reflects on the significance of graphic novels – or le bande dessinée – in the nation’s literary imagination, and how it compares to Australian attitudes.

Now unless you have learnt French, you have no idea what le bande dessinée is. Well for starters, le bande dessinée is a French term and translates to graphic novel.…

Read more ›

Oliver Driscoll works as a bookseller at Readings Doncaster and we’re delighted he has also just released his first book! I Don’t Know How That Happened is a funny and unsettling collection of poems. Here, Oliver talks about writing, his doubts about publishing trends, and shares what’s on his TBR pile. Tell us about your book!

So, I don’t mean to sound as though I’m playing I Don’t Know How …

Read more ›

A Bigger Picture by Malcolm Turnbull See What You Made Me Do by Jess Hill Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler The Adversary by Ronnie Scott Phosphorescence by Julia Baird The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens The Loudness of Unsaid Things by Hilde Hinton

M…

Read more ›

Here are four book recommendations for readers who’ve already devoured (and adored) Sally Rooney’s two bestselling novels, and are hungry for more. The Adversary by Ronnie Scott

If what you love about Sally Rooney’s writing is its wittiness, The Adversary is the book for you.

In a creaky house in Brunswick, a young man has devoted himself to recreational showers, staring at his phone, and …

Read more ›

Slime by David Walliams & Tony Ross Bluey: Time to Play! Eddie Woo’s Magical Maths by Eddie Woo Bluey: Big Backyard Landing with Wings by Trace Balla Sherlock Bones and the Natural History Mystery by Renee Treml I’ll Always Be Older Than You by Jane Godwin & Sara Acton E-Boy (E-Boy, Book 1) by Anh Do & Chris Wahl Bluey: Bob Bilby Where the Wilderness Lives by Jess Butterworth

Young readers pr…

Read more ›

Jess Hill has been named the winner of the 2020 Stella Prize for her meticulously researched account of domestic violence in Australia, See What You Made Me Do.

Women are abused or killed by their partners at astonishing rates: in Australia, almost 17% of women over the age of fifteen have been abused by an intimate partner. In See What You Made Me Do, Hill puts perpetrators – and the systems th…

Read more ›

Chris Gordon is our events and programming manager extraordinaire, as well as our monthly food and gardening columnist. Here is the latest instalment of her self-isolation cooking diary.

As part of the great experiment of having our adult kids cook for us on a regular basis, I would like to share with you some observations…

Please do note that these observations should not be construed as adv…

Read more ›

Readings Prizes Manager Bronte Coates shares an update on the Readings Prizes in 2020.

The impact of Covid-19 at Readings has been significant, including the closure of our physical shops.

Since their inception in 2014, Readings has run three annual literary prizes that support emerging Australian authors: the Readings Children’s Book Prize, the Readings Young Adult Book Prize and the Reading…

Read more ›

The Readings Children’s Book Prize was established in 2014 to celebrate early-career Australian authors and illustrators who write for children aged 5 to 12. Finding the books which we believe kids will love the most has always been a guiding principle of the prize, so what do young people think of our 2020 Children’s Book Prize shortlist? We’ve compiled a sample of thoughts from some of the kid…

Read more ›

Bluey: Time to Play! Bluey: Easter Fun! Bluey: Bob Bilby Landing with Wings by Trace Balla Eddie Woo’s Magical Maths by Eddie Woo Sherlock Bones and the Natural History Mystery by Renee Treml E-Boy (E-Boy, Book 1) by Anh Do & Chris Wahl Bluey: Big Backyard Timmy the Ticked-Off Pony and the Poo of Excitement by Magda Szubanski & Dean Rankine His Name Was Walter by Emily Rodda

Bluey marched al…

Read more ›