Wimmera by Mark Brandi

Open House Melbourne Weekend: 2017 Program by Open House Melbourne

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy

Cardinal: The Rise and Fall of Cardinal Pell by Louise Milligan (this book is no longer available for sale in Victoria)

The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape

The Long Goodbye (Quarterly Essay 66) by Anna Krien

Hunger by Roxane Gay

Random Life by Judy Horacek

The Clever Guts Diet by Michael Mosley

The Museum of Modern Love by…

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Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo

The World’s Worst Children 2 by David Walliams and Tony Ross

The Wayward Witch and the Feelings Monster (Polly and Buster Book 1) by Sally Rippin

A Most Magical Girl by Karen Foxlee

Family, Friends and Furry Creatures (Tom Gates Book 12) by Liz Pichon

The Fall by Tristan Bancks

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone (20 Anniversary Griffyndor Edition) by J.K. Rowling

My Life as a…

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Happy NAIDOC Week! The theme for NAIDOC Week 2017 is ‘Our Languages Matter’ – a chance to focus on the importance, resilience and richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. Here are 10 highly recommended reads that explore Indigenous culture and voices for young people, from toddlers through to teens.

Welcome to Country by Aunty Joy Murphy and Lisa Kennedy

This picture book celebrates the original inhabitants of Melbourne, the Wurundjeri people, by taking the reader through a Wominjeka…

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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.

Mark Rubbo is reading On the Java Ridge by Jock Serong

I’m reading an advance copy of Jock Serong’s third novel. Set in the near future, an asylum seeker boat capsizes and sinks near a remote island, coincidentally where an Australian tourist boat is safely anchored. It’s three days from a tight Federal election and…

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Identity and memory are themes that run through a number of books in this issue. Our Nonfiction Book of the Month is Roxane Gay’s Hunger. It lays bare, in the most generously open way, Gay’s life as lived in her own body, the histories that body contains, and the non-normative identities she inhabits. This book is a vital contribution to the discourse of body politics as it intersects with lived experience.

Melanie Cheng skilfully addresses the vexed question of…

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The world moves in mysterious ways sometimes. Some time ago, we received a complaint from the Anti Defamation Commission (ADC) about some wrapping paper on sale in our St Kilda shop. Produced and designed in the UK, the paper featured a series of ‘quaint’ illustrations of characters from history and contemporary popular culture. At a glance, it seemed just the ticket to wrap a gift in. But if you looked more closely, wedged between Star Wars’ 3-CPO and Madonna, was…

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The latest statistics from the United Nations Refugee Agency state that, globally, one in every 113 people is either an asylum-seeker, internally displaced or a refugee. It can be difficult to imagine or understand the experiences faced by the 21.3 million refugees, but there are an increasing number of books written by, or about refugees. Here are some of our recommendations.

REFUGEES & ASYLUM SEEKERS IN FICTION

The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Pulitzer Prize-winner Viet Thanh Nguyen’s collection of…

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Over the next few weeks we’re participating in a work experience program with students from high schools across Melbourne. Today, Ella Harris from Viewbank College tells us about one of her favourite books, and the mistakes adults can make in recommending a book to a teenager.

How would you describe your taste in books?

I enjoy fiction far more than non-fiction, however I enjoy most genres. I prefer to read realistic fiction mostly as I like relationships and characters more…

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The Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize is awarded annually to the book which most successfully reflects the ethos of renowned nature writer Alfred Wainwright’s work, to inspire readers to explore the outdoors and to nurture a respect for the natural world. Congratulations to the authors shortlisted for this year:

Chair of judges, Julia Bradbury comments: ‘The judges are delighted to have settled on such a strong shortlist and what an honour it is to sing the praises of these terrific…

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Mark Brandi’s debut novel is more than atmospheric: this is visceral Australian noir. Jock Serong introduces us to the next big thing in Australian crime fiction.

Brandi is a writer who pays close attention to the physical; to the shapes and smells and sensations of the human body, set in vivid contrast to the torpor of a dead-end town. Wimmera is the story of two best friends, Ben and Fab, growing up in north-west Victoria in the late eighties. Alongside…

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