Our latest blog posts
Favourite reads packaged in smaller formats
The Dry by Jane Harper
$16.99
Jane Harper’s literary thriller was named one of our top 10 crime reads of last year. It’s the story of Federal police officer Aaron Falk, who returns to his hometown to investigate a murder-suicide that is more than it seems. Managing director Mark Rubbo says: ‘I loved this book; it’s some of the best crime I’ve read in years. Rural Australia bristles with menace and desolation as terrible secrets of the past are uncovered…
Winners of the Indie Book Awards 2017
The winners of the Indie Book Awards 2017 have been announced.
Each year, independent booksellers from around the nation get together and vote for their favourite titles in five different categories, as well as their favourite book overall. Here are the winners for each category, along with comments from our booksellers.
The Debut Fiction winner and the overall Indie Book of the Year winner is…
The Dry by Jane Harper
When Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk returns to Kiewarra to…
Our children's and YA top ten bestsellers of the week
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo
Under the Love Umbrella by Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys
Frankie Fish and the Sonic Suitcase by Peter Helliar and Lesley Vamo
I’m Australian Too by Mem Fox and Ronojoy Ghosh
Grover Finds a Home (Grover McBane, Rescue Dog Book 1) by Claire Garth and Johannes Leak
See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng
Escape to the Moon Islands (Quest of the Sunfish Book 1)…
Our top ten bestsellers of the week
They Cannot Take the Sky by Michael Green, Angelica Neville, André Dao, Dana Affleck & Sienna Merope
First We Make the Beast Beautiful by Sarah Wilson
No Way But This by Jeff Sparrow
The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape
Gut by Giulia Enders (translated by David Shaw)
To Know My Crime by Fiona Capp
The Dry by Jane Harper
Between a Wolf and a Dog by Georgia Blain
Why I am Not a Feminist by Jessa Crispin
Insomniac City by…
Picture books that celebrate the variety of family life
Families are formed when people come together to support and love each other unconditionally. We’ve put together some of our favourite picture books that reflect the variety and beauty of modern family life.
We are Family by Patricia Hegarty
We are Family follows a wide variety of families having a normal day, showing the differences and similarities in bright and detailed retro illustrations. Each page spread shows each family in a moment, and kids will have enormous fun comparing details…
The CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Medals shortlists 2017
The shortlists for the 2017 CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals have been announced.
The Carnegie Medal is awarded by children’s librarians for an outstanding book written in English for children and young people. The Kate Greenaway Medal is awarded by children’s librarians for an outstanding book in terms of illustration for children and young people.
Tricia Adams, Chair of the judging panels for both awards, said: ‘Questions of identity, friendship and responsibility, both to others and to the natural…
What we're reading: Melissa Keil, Heather Taylor Johnson and Jessica Friedmann
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.
Chris Gordon is reading Jean Harley Was Here by Heather Taylor Johnson
I read Jean Harley Was Here is one sitting. Heather Taylor Johnson tells the story of what happens to the friends and family in the aftermath of the titular character’s death. It’s a clever novel which somehow manages to avoid being overly emotional…
Our top picks of the month for book clubs
For book clubs who devoured Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels
Flesh and Bone and Water by Luiza Sauma
Doctor André Cabral is living in London when he receives a letter from his home country, Brazil, which he left nearly 30 years ago. The letter prompts André to remember the days of his youth, including his secret infatuation with the intoxicating Luana. Unable to resist the pull of his memories, he embarks on a journey back to Brazil to rediscover his past…
The Man Booker International Prize longlist 2017
The Man Booker International Prize has revealed the ‘Man Booker Dozen’ of 13 novels in contention for the 2017 prize, which celebrates the finest works of translated fiction from around the world.
The Man Booker International Prize is awarded every year for a single book, which is translated into English and published in the UK. Both novels and short-story collections are eligible. The work of translators is equally rewarded, with the £50,000 prize divided between the author and the translator…
Hear from one of the contributors to They Cannot Take the Sky
They Cannot Take the Sky is a collection of first-person accounts of the reality of life in mandatory detention. It has been compiled and edited by Behind the Wire, an award-winning oral history organisation.
Amir Taghinia is a 23-year-old man who has been in immigration detention on Manus Island since 2013. His story appears in They Cannot Take the Sky, under the title ‘We are all convicted to live on this planet’. It is based on two long conversations…