Our latest blog posts
Make your own salami with these terrific cookbooks
It’s salami time! Chris Gordon shares the three very best books to get you started making your very own preserved meat.
Let us start at the beginning…
The origin of meat processing likely began some thousands of years ago when humans learned that salt is an effective preservative. The procedure of stuffing meat into casings remains basically the same today, however, over time it has become highly skilled and competitive field.
It is true that I’m married to a salami…
Recommendations from our booksellers
We asked our staff to share some of the books they most love to pass on to customers. Here are 14 of their favourite recommendations.
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
‘Brit Bennett is supremely talented and her debut novel is extraordinary. Reading it reminded me a little of how I felt watching the first season of Friday Night Lights – there’s a small-town community, flawed young adults struggling to find a life for themselves, relationship drama, gossip, love, secrets, pain…
Inky Awards shortlists 2017
The Centre for Youth Literature at State Library Victoria has announced the shortlist for the 2017 Inky Awards for young adult literature.
The 2017 Inky Awards shortlist includes five Australian and five international works of young adult literature. The Australian novelists are eligible for the Gold Inky Award and a $2,000 prize. International books are eligible for the Silver Inky Award.
The shortlist was selected from a longlist of 20 novels by a panel of seven teen judges from around…
Feminist memoirs from young women
No Way! Okay, Fine by Brodie Lancaster
No Way! Okay, Fine, by young Melbourne writer Brodie Lancaster, was shortlisted for the Richell Prize for Emerging Writers. This witty and whip-smart memoir blends pop culture and feminism in the style of Roxane Gay’s Bad Feminist or Lena Dunham’s Not That Kind of Girl. Our reviewer says that Lancaster speaks honestly to the experience of being a young, millennial woman. Read the full review here.
Our top 10 bestsellers of the week
Live Lead Learn by Gail Kelly
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (including sales of other editions)
Back to Broady by Caroline van de Pol
The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape
Halliday Wine Companion 2018 by James Halliday
Watching Out by Julian Burnside
The New Puberty by Amanda Dunn
Every Lie I’ve Ever Told by Rosie Waterland
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
Taboo by Kim Scott
Gail Kelly sits at the top of our…
The winners of the Environment Award for Children’s Literature 2017
The winners of this year’s Environment Award for Children’s Literature were announced over the weekend. This annual Award is organised by the Wilderness Society and encourages children to take an interest in nature and feel a sense of responsibility for the places we love and our unique wildlife.
Here are the winners for all three categories…
Non-fiction
Chooks in Dinner Suits by Diane Jackson Hill and Craig Smith
Chooks in Dinner Suits is the warmly funny account of one man’s…
Our children's and YA top 10 bestsellers of the week
The 91-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo
The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Lion (Young Readers’ Edition) by Saroo Brierley
The Wayward Witch and the Feelings Monster (Polly and Buster Book 1) by Sally Rippin
A Most Magical Girl by Karen Foxlee
The 13-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton
The Treehouse Fun Book 2 by Andy Griffiths, Jill Griffiths…
Ned Kelly Awards shortlists 2017
The Australian Crime Writers Association has announced the 2017 shortlists for the Ned Kelly Awards for the best in Australian crime writing.
Here are the shortlists in each category:
Best Fiction
Crimson Lake by Candice Fox
The Golden Child by Wendy James
An Isolated Incident by Emily Maguire
Police at the Station and They Don’t Look Friendly by Adrian McKinty
The Rules of Backyard Cricket by Jock Serong
Out of the Ice by Ann Turner
Best first fiction
What we're reading: Jennifer Down, Ben Aaronovitch & Les Twentyman
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.
Jo Case is reading The Mouth that Roared by Les Twentyman with Robert Hillman
I initially picked up a copy of Les Twentyman’s memoir, written with award-winning author Robert Hillman, because it was on my desk. But I’m now carrying it around because it’s so compelling, charismatic and full of rough-hewn heart.
Les is that…
Our top picks of the month for book clubs
For a provocative discussion…
Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash by Eka Kurniawan (translated by Annie Tucker)
Eka Kurniawan’s English-language debut, Beauty Is a Wound, was released to much acclaim in 2015, introducing the Indonesian writer to a whole new audience. Told in short, cinematic bursts, his follow-up is gloriously pulpy as it continues to explore familiar themes of female agency in a violent and corrupt male world. Kurniawan is not for the faint-hearted, but his gritty, comic…
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