Our latest blog posts

The Stella Prize longlist 2017

The longlist for this year’s Stella Prize has been announced. This $50,000 prize is awarded for the best work of literature, fiction or non-fiction, published in 2016 by an Australian woman.

The 12 longlisted books are:

Victoria by Julia Baird

Between a Wolf and a Dog by Georgia Blain (Read our review)

The Hate Race by Maxine Beneba Clarke (Read our review)

Poum and Alexandre by Catherine de Saint Phalle

Offshore by Madeline Gleeson

Avalanche by Julia…

Read more ›

Mark's Say, February 2017

by Mark Rubbo

The book industry is mourning the end of Barack Obama’s presidency. Obama was a powerful advocate for the importance of books and regularly released lists of books that had influenced him and that he was reading. Often they went on to become bestsellers because of his endorsements. He and his family made regular and public visits to independent bookstores in the Washington area, although a 2013 visit to an Amazon fulfilment centre sent bricks-and-mortar booksellers into a frenzy. In an…

Read more ›

Our children's and YA top ten bestsellers of the week

Ida by Alison Evans

When Michael Met Mina by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Lion by Saroo Brierley (Young Readers’ Edition)

Girl Stuff for Girls Aged 8-12 by Kaz Cooke

Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth

Unleashed (The Adventures of Dog Man Book 2) by Dav Pilkey

Welcome to Country by Aunty Joy Murphy and Lisa Kennedy

The Midnight Gang by David Walliams and Tony Ross

Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky

The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon

We were delighted to…

Read more ›

Our top ten bestsellers of the week

The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape

Between a Wolf and a Dog by Georgia Blain

Lion by Saroo Brierley

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

Fight Like a Girl by Clementine Ford

4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster

City Of Friends by Joanna Trollope

The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben

The Good People by Hannah Kent

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

Last week’s bestselling books include new novels from Paul Auster (his first in seven years) and…

Read more ›

What we're reading: Anna Jones, Nathan Hill and Francine Prose

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.

Michael Skinner is reading The Nix by Nathan Hill

I’m about a third of the way into Nathan Hill’s sprawling, tragicomic family drama and I’m loving it so far. Samuel is a middling academic and video game addict who is forced to confront his past when his estranged mother comes hurtling, very publicly, back into…

Read more ›

The most anticipated books of 2017

by Elke Power

Another year, another bounty of books! To cover every book the Readings team is excited about would be impossible, but here is a sample of the books we are looking forward to in 2017.

International fiction

Several much-loved authors return after long breaks with new novels: Paul Auster’s 4 3 2 1 is his first novel in seven years (Faber & Faber, February). Arundhati Roy also returns with The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (PRH, July), her first novel since the…

Read more ›

Gruesome crime and detective fiction for teens

by Leanne Hall

The fourth season of the BBC TV series Sherlock has just screened (although some might balk at calling three episodes a ‘season’). If you are – or know of – a young viewer craving more crime and detective work, then luckily there’s plenty of books on offer.

I’ve been on a delightful crime bender for the last few years, devouring huge swathes of adult and young adult crime fiction. The best thing about young adult crime fiction is that teenage…

Read more ›

New food and gardening books for healthy habits

by Chris Gordon

Our food and gardening expert shares four new food and gardening books to help you kick off the year with some healthy habits.

Challenge: Eat breakfast every day.

Breakfast Bowls by Caroline Griffiths

The good news is that this is not a book filled with 52 different varieties of muesli, but rather it’s a shake-it-all-up type of cookbook. It allows you to dream big in the wee hours of the morning – and that has to be a great way…

Read more ›

Winners of the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards 2017

Congratulations to all the winners of the 2017 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards!

The winner of the Fiction Award is Georgia Blain for her final novel Between a Wolf and a Dog. Blain died in December of last year and her award was accepted by her partner, Andrew Taylor.

The winner of the Non-fiction Award is Madeline Gleeson for Offshore, an uncompromising overview of what actually happens in Australia’s offshore detention centres.

The winner of the Poetry Award is…

Read more ›

Story time at Readings in 2017

Readings is pleased to offer a free weekly half-hour children’s story time at our Kids, Doncaster, Malvern and St Kilda stores.

Here are the details of the story time sessions at each store:

Readings Kids
315 Lygon Street, Carlton
10am - 10.30am, Fridays

Readings Doncaster
Ground level, Westfield Doncaster, 619 Doncaster Road, Doncaster
10am - 10.30am, Fridays

Readings Malvern
185 Glenferrie Road, Malvern
10.30am - 11am, Thursdays

Readings St Kilda
112 Acland Street, St Kilda
10.30am - 11am, Saturdays

Children’s…

Read more ›