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RECOMMENDED NEW CLASSICAL MUSIC
Chaconnes and Fantasias: Music of Britten and Purcell by Emerson String Quartet
‘At first glance, you might think Purcell and Britten have nothing in common bar their English origin. However, when you dig deeper you find that Britten was somewhat of a fanboy of Purcell and frequently looked to his predecessor (by over 200 years) for inspiration. With this in mind, the American Emerson String Quartet paired these two composers and their most closely aligned works…
Mark's Say, June 2017
A year ago I joined the board of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. In May, I went with the Foundation on a field trip to Melville Island, the largest of the Tiwi Islands. Melville has two primary schools and a secondary boarding school, Tiwi College, on the island. The main purpose of the trip was to run programs for both primary schools and the College. We were accompanied by singer and ILF ambassador Josh Pyke, and authors and illustrators Alison Lester…
The Readings Young Adult Book Prize shortlist 2017
We’re thrilled to reveal the inaugural shortlist for the Readings Young Adult Book Prize! We’re delighted to shout from the treetops about these talented local authors.
The Prize celebrates exciting emerging voices in Australian youth literature. First and second published works of young adult fiction and memoir are eligible, and the Prize is awarded to the best new contribution to Australian young adult literature.
The six shortlisted titles for 2017 are…
Boone Shepard by Gabriel Bergmoser
Freedom Swimmer by Wai…
Our children's and YA top ten bestsellers of the week
A Most Magical Girl by Karen Foxlee
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo
Party Time (Hot Dog Book 2) by Anh Do and Dan McGuiness
My Life as a Hashtag by Gabrielle Williams
Family, Friends and Furry Creatures (Tom Gates Book 12) by Liz Pichon
Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices Book 2) by Cassandra Clare
The Blue Cat by Ursula Dubosarsky
The Bad Guys Episode 5: Intergalactic Gas by Aaron Blabey
…
Our top ten bestsellers of the week
Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami (translated by Philip Gabriel and Ted Goossen)
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
Depends What You Mean by Extremist by John Safran
The Museum of Modern Love by Heather Rose
The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape
Difficult Women by Roxane Gay
Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout
The 7th Function of Language by Laurent Binet (translated by Sam Taylor)
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Haruki Murakami’s new…
What we're reading: Amy Engel, Sally Thorne & Philip Pullman
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.
Lian Hingee is reading The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
I’ve been in a serious reading rut lately, unable to commit the time and attention to finishing any of the many books sitting in an increasingly unstable pile on my bedside table. I was moaning to a friend about my predicament. I asked her what…
The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelists for 2017
Four emerging Australian writers have been named The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelists for 2017. Congratulations to Jennifer Down, Julie Koh, Josephine Rowe and Rajith Savanadasa!
Here are our reviews of their most recent works.
Our Magic Hour by Jennifer Down
‘Jennifer Down’s Our Magic Hour is a brilliant Australian debut. Intimate, raw and occasionally heartbreaking, this is a book that demands to be devoured quickly, but stayed with me long after I finished the final page.
The…
Winners of the Australian Book Industry Awards 2017
The winners of the 17th annual Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs) were announced in Sydney last night.
Australian Publishers Association (APA) CEO, Michael Gordon Smith says: ‘The ABIAs recognise excellence across the book industry, uniting authors, publishers and retailers in celebration of our collective passion for sharing stories and ideas.’
We are thrilled and honoured to have won this year’s Independent Book Retailer of the Year award together with Sydney’s Potts Point Bookshop! In their joint speech, Readings’ Managing Director…
Mouthwatering food in fiction
Our digital marketing manager Lian Hingee shares some of her favourite novels that feature mouthwatering moments of food.
Heartburn by Nora Ephron
The protagonist at the centre of Nora Ephron’s semi-autobiographical novel Heartburn is Rachel Samstat – food writer, mother, and jilted wife. Food plays an important part in Rachel’s journey, whether it’s for comfort (mashed potato with slivers of cold butter added to each forkful), self-assurance (the perfect vinaigrette), memory (her mother’s recipe for lima beans and pears) or…
Eight emerging poets to see at EWF 2017
Here at Readings, we’re getting very excited for Emerging Writers’ Festival, which opens on Wednesday 14 June. Here are eight emerging poets featured on this year’s program that are sure to impress.
Alison Whittaker is a Gomeroi poet and law scholar living on Wangal lands. She is the author of the award-winning poetry collection Lemons in the Chicken Wire.
See her at:
Jesse Oliver is an up and coming trans slam poet from Perth…