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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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The longlist for this year’s Wellcome book prize has been announced.

This prize is awarded annually to the best new work of fiction or non-fiction that ‘celebrates the topics of health and medicine in literature’. This year’s list includes seven non-fiction and five fiction titles, and we’re especially delighted to see Australian author Joan London’s remarkable 2014 novel included.

Here is the full longlist:

How to Survive a Plague by David France

Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari

When Breath…

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Looking for a novel that will quicken your heartbeat and jump-start your brain in equal measures? One of these eight novels may just fit the bill. They’re all smart, thought-provoking reads – with a thrilling hook.

All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld

Jake Whyte is the sole resident of an old farmhouse on an unnamed island, a place of ceaseless rains and battering winds. It’s just her, her untamed companion, Dog, and a flock of sheep. But then something…

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Lion by Saroo Brierley (Young Readers’ Edition)

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

Girl Stuff for Girls Aged 8-12 by Kaz Cooke

In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek and Christine Roussey

The Bad Guys: Episode 1 (Book 1) by Aaron Blabey

Danger Ahead (Friday Barnes Book 6) by R.A. Spratt

Hotdog (Book 1) by Anh Do and Dan McGuiness

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling

…

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The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape

Lion by Saroo Brierley

Fight Like a Girl by Clementine Ford

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

The Sellout by Paul Beatty

The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben

The Good People by Hannah Kent

The Dry by Jane Harper

Tools of Titans by Timothy Ferriss

Difficult Women by Roxane Gay

Scott Pape tops our bestsellers list for the fourth week in a row – The Barefoot Investor is the only money guide you’ll…

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Here’s a preview of some of the most exciting local releases for the first half of 2017!

FICTION

An Uncertain Grace by Krissy Kneen (March) – A thought-provoking erotic sci-fi told in five parts.

From the Wreck by Jane Rawson (March) – Inspired by the life of George Hills, who survived the sinking of the steamship Admella off the South Australian coast in 1859.

Do You Love Me or What? by Sue Woolfe (March) – A collection of eight sparkling…

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