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Our books of the month, September 2023
Explore our books of the month for September; 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
Ordinary Gods and Monsters by Chris Womersley
Reviewed by Pierre Sutcliffe, Readings St Kilda
'...an outstanding tale of the terrors of facing adulthood in the days when adolescence had a definite finish date.'Chris Womersley is one of the most interesting…
Our August 2023 children's and young adult bestsellers
One of Us is Back by Karen M. McManus
Welcome to Sex! by Dr Melissa Kang & Yumi Stynes
The World’s Worst Monsters by David Walliams
Ghost Book by Remy Lai
Scar Town by Tristan Bancks
Never a hero by Vanessa Len
The Skull by Jon Klassen
It’s the Sound of the Thing by Maxine Beneba Clarke
This Camp is Doomed by Anna Zobel
Ember and the Island of Lost Creatures by Jason Pamment
Storm by Jane Bunn
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
What we're reading: Aoyama, Nolan & McKinty
Each week our amazing staff bring you a sample of the books or music they're immersed in.
Megan Wood is reading What You Are Looking for is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
This delightful book features five people who are feeling stuck and questioning their place in the world. Each finds themselves at the local library, getting recommendations (and a bonus gift) from the mysterious librarian who has a particular talent for knowing what people need to read to…
Melissa Keil meets The Readings Teen Advisory Board
Melissa Keil is one of the most talented romantic comedy writers for young adults today. We are delighted that her three stunning YA novels have been re-released with gorgeous new covers for a new generation of readers to discover. She recently visited our Teen Advisory Board and below is what they had to say.
'Her books read like a love letter to Melbourne, and you will find yourself falling in love with both the story and the city!’ — Aalia…
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…
Debut fiction to read this month
Before we dive headfirst into September new releases, we're taking the time to spotlight some of the wonderful August debut novels that you may have missed!
Firelight: Stories by John Morrissey
An imprisoned man with strange visions writes letters to his sister. A controversial business tycoon leaves his daughter a mysterious inheritance. A child is haunted by a green man with a message about the origins of their planet.
In this striking collection of stories, the award-winning John Morrissey investigates…
What we're reading: Cohen, Batrouney & Yu
Each week our amazing staff bring you a sample of the books or music they're immersed in.
Lian Hingee is reading Bad Men by Julie Mae Cohen
Having read Aurelia's rave review in our most recent Readings Monthly, Julie Mae Cohen's crime novel Bad Men rocketed to the top of my TBR list. Saffy Huntley-Oliver is a former supermodel, a socialite on the board of several charities (including one for donkeys that she doesn't want to talk about), a devoted…
The Readings Prize 2023 shortlists
The Readings Prize, now in its 10th year, has been an important barometer of up-and-coming literary talent since 2014. We began with The Readings New Australian Fiction Prize and shortly thereafter extended it to include children’s fiction for ages 5–12 years and then young adult fiction for ages 12 and up. It’s a prize for debut and second novels, and it really does put writers on the map, giving them a much-needed boost (and financial support) for their career. Writers…