Our latest blog posts

Special offer on fiction books from Penguin Random House

This month we have two special offers available on a range of award-winning and popular fiction titles from Penguin Random House.

ONLINE OFFER

We’re offering online customers 25% off the full price of any of the selected fiction titles found here.

Titles include the critically acclaimed Swing Time by Zadie Smith; Margaret Atwood’s unique retelling of Shakespeare’s The Tempest; David Dyer’s astonishing debut novel, based on the true story of the ship that saw the Titanic’s distress…

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What we're reading: Bill Hayes, Thi Bui and Hisham Matar

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 Insomniac City by Bill Hayes

I’ve just finished writer Bill Hayes’s elegy to New York, and to his lover and partner – the late Oliver Sacks.

Insomniac City is a gentle, delightful book, full of humanity yet tinged with sadness. Hayes moved to New York from San Francisco in 2008 after…

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Our 10 best moments from the last year in photos

It’s our 48th birthday on Sunday 5 March.

The last year has been a particularly busy one for Readings. We opened two new shops, Readings Kids and Readings Doncaster, we were awarded both the Bookstore of the Year Award at the London Book Fair International Excellence Awards, and the Independent Book Retailer of the Year at the Australian Book Industry Awards, we took part in over 360 events around Melbourne and we distributed $93,000 worth of grants to community organisations…

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A newspaper for Australian kids

We talk to Saffron Howden, editor of Crinkling News, about wonder, whale vomit and the importance of media literacy.

Tell us a little bit about Crinkling News.

Crinkling News is the only national newspaper for young Australians. We tell all the news – without the boring or scary bits! And it’s a real newspaper printed on real paper to be read at the breakfast table, in bed, lying in a hammock, in a car, in the classroom, or…

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Mark's Say, March 2017

by Mark Rubbo

The first Taipei International Book Fair (TIBE) was held in 1987 which made this year’s fair the 25th. Spread over six days, it is one of the largest trade book fairs in the world with over 621 exhibitors from 59 countries. For many years, Australia has enjoyed a reasonably strong presence at TIBE but after recent cuts to Australia Council and Austrade funding, this year’s stand was only the size of a large cupboard. Adjacent to our country’s cupboard was…

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Best new food and gardening books this month

by Chris Gordon

French Country Cooking by Mimi Thorisson

Just stop it. This book is too much: there are images of the French countryside, tales of successful parenting from a woman with 6 children and 14 dogs (!) who also has an ability to create feasts out of garden scraps and a little cheese. This book makes you realise that there are people out there living each day as if they were playing a part in the French Film Festival. You may already…

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The CBCA notable books of 2017

The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) have announced their Notable Books for 2017. Congratulations to all the authors, illustrators and publishers!

Here are the notable books for each category.

Older Readers

Books in this category may be fiction, drama or poetry and are appropriate in style and content for readers in their secondary years of schooling.

Find the full list of notables for this category here.

Younger Readers

Books in this category may be fiction, drama or poetry and…

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Exciting new releases in March

by Elke Power

We were impressed and profoundly moved by our book of the month, They Cannot Take the Sky, a project from Behind the Wire. Our reviewer urges all Australians to read it; you can begin by reading the review here.

There’s plenty to choose from in politics this month, and in Australian studies you can’t go past The Family by Chris Johnston and Rosie Jones, which looks at the notorious Melbourne cult and its leader, Anne Hamilton-Byne. It’s a…

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Introducing the second season of The Garret

The Garret is a new Melbourne-based literary podcast that explores how the best of the best start, draft, complete and market their writing.

Season two starts this week, and will feature interviews with the following authors:

Andy and Jill Griffiths, authors of The Treehouse Fun Book (2 March)

Carmel Bird, author of Family Skeleton (9 March)

Tony Birch, author of Ghost River (16 March)

Alicia Sometimes, author of From the Outer (23 March)

Jeff Sparrow, author of No Way But

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The Readings Children’s Book Prize shortlist 2017

We’re delighted to reveal this year’s shortlist for the Readings Children’s Book Prize. This Prize recognises and celebrates Australian books that children love to read, and raises the profile of debut and on-the-rise Australian children’s book authors.

The six shortlisted titles are:

Escape to Moon Islands by Mardi McConnochie

A Most Magical Girl by Karen Foxlee

Squishy Taylor and the Bonus Sisters by Ailsa Wild

The Secrets We Keep by Nova Weetman

Elizabeth and Zenobia by Jessica Miller

Grover finds

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