Our latest blog posts
A Battle Royale: Villains in children's and YA books (Round 1)
There are plenty of memorable villains in children’s and young adult books, the kinds that get their hooks into you when you’re young and then creep into your nightmares and shape your adulthood. But WHO is the evilest of all?
This week, we’re hosting a Battle Royal to determine just that. Here is round one…
Warning: This post contains spoilers!
Battle of the evil mages
Valentine Morgenstern (The Mortal Instruments) vs. the Mage (Carry On)
Both…
Our top 10 bestsellers of the week
First Person by Richard Flanagan
Force of Nature by Jane Harper
The Life to Come by Michelle de Kretser
The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur
The Dry by Jane Harper
Maggie’s Recipe for Life by Maggie Beer and Professor Ralph Martins
Origin (Robert Langdon Book 5) by Dan Brown
The Barefoot Investor (2017 updated edition) by Scott Pape
Two Steps Forward by Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
Man Booker Prize winner Richard Flanagan’s…
Our children's and YA top 10 bestsellers of the week
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo
Magnus Chase and the Ship of the Dead (Magnus Chase Book 3) by Rick Riordan
The Bad Guys Episode 6: Alien vs Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey
The 91-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton
The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon
…
We test out recipes from Mr & Mrs Wilkinson's new cookbook
Earlier this week we roadtested different recipes from Matt Wilkinson and Sharlee Gibb’s new cookbook, Mr & Mrs Wilkinson’s How it is at Home, and invited Matt and Sharlee to come in and select the best one. Here are the results of our office cook-off…
Anthony Shaw made ‘Zucchini & feta fritters’ (pg. 40):
The combination of flavours and the ease with which the recipe is put together make these fritters a winner. Basically you grate and drain some…
What we're reading: Jennifer Mathieu, Deborah Rodriguez & Jesmyn Ward
Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films and TV shows we’re watching, and the music we’re listening to.
Ellen Cregan is reading Sally Rooney and Jesmyn Ward
I’ve just returned from a two week holiday, and I read so many great books while I was there. Out of the books I read, though, there were two stand-out favourites.
The first is Sally Rooney’s excellent debut, Conversations with Friends. The book tells the…
The best new crime reads in October
CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH
A Dangerous Language by Sulari Gentill
About halfway through this book, I had to put it down – for something trivial like sleep, or dinner, or spending time with my family – and saw a review on the cover comparing Gentill to Evelyn Waugh. This holds some truth – there are a lot of ridiculously wealthy young people having far too much fun spending the early decades of the twentieth century getting into salacious situations…
Entries are open for the Hope Prize
The Hope Prize is open for entries for its second year.
The Hope Prize is the Brotherhood of St Laurence’s national short story competition. It encourages writers to explore stories of resilience in the face of poverty and disadvantage, and to look beyond stereotypes to depict the strengths that people and communities show in dealing with hardship.
Readings was a proud supporter of the inaugural Prize last year, and we’re so thrilled to see it return. Last year the Brotherhood…
Read about fascinating lives this month
The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein
The Trauma Cleaner is an exploration of the extraordinary life and work of Sandra Pankurst. Born a little boy who was shunned by his adopted family, she’s been a husband and father, drag queen, one of Australia’s first gender reassignment patients, a sex worker, a small businesswoman and a trophy wife… This book focuses on perhaps her most intriguing aspect of all: her job as a trauma cleaner, working with people who’ve suffered their…
Seven delectable cookbooks to inspire you this month
Our food and gardening columnist Chris Gordon shares seven delectable and inspiring cookbooks released this month
Maggie’s Recipe for Life by Maggie Beer and Professor Ralph Martins
Maggie Beer says, ‘I have two great passions – sharing my love of cooking delicious simple food and improving the health and nutrition of older people.’ Her enthusiasm is very evident in this wonderful new cookbook. Here she has joined up with Professor Ralph Martins (Professor of Neurobiology and Foundation Chair in Aging…
Our top picks of the month for book clubs
For book cubs willing to go to dark places…
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
13-year-old Jojo is one of the three narrators in this richly evocative novel from National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward. This tender-hearted yet resilient teenager lives with his grandparents in rural Mississippi, where he’s become the primary carer for his toddler sister, Kayla. When their father is released from prison, Jojo’s mother packs the children into her car with a friend, and together they set…