Our latest blog posts
Our literary resolutions for the new year
Our staff share their literary resolutions for the new year.
‘I so enjoyed the books that my workmates recommended to me this year that one of my resolutions for 2017 is definitely to read more of the books that other people rave about – even if they’re a bit outside what I would normally read. I also probably need to get over my phobia of leaving books unfinished, since every not-so-great book that I slog through until the final page…
TV series to watch over summer
It’s been a really tough year, and summer is the perfect time to log off from social media for a little while, give yourself a break and binge watch your troubles away.
You’ll find my many suggestions below, with a few caveats: I have excluded reality TV, I watch far too many American shows, and my blind spots include Scandinavian crime and animation (sorry, BoJack Horseman fans).
If you’re seeking comfort…
You might be in need of the kind of…
Book series to read over summer
IMMERSIVE LITERARY FICTION
Jay McInerney has written about Russell and Corrine Calloway in three linked novels that are deeply moving in their exploration of contemporary life in America. The first novel is Brightness Falls.
Corrine Calloway is a young stockbroker on Wall Street, her husband Russell an underpaid but ambitious publishing editor. The happily married couple head into New York’s 1980s gold rush, awash with prospects and promise, where the best and brightest vie with the worst and most…
Podcasts to listen to over summer
If you need to laugh…
The breakout star of the year was the delightful My Dad Wrote a Porno. I can truly say I’ve never laughed so hard at a podcast before – especially when standing on a packed, silent train. The conceit of the podcast is very simple: Jamie’s father self-published an erotic novel, and Jamie and his two friends read said erotica out loud, interspersed with their commentary. The podcast is so popular it spawned it’s very…
Our staff share their Summer Reading Stacks
Stella Charls, Marketing and Events Coordinator
The Odd Woman and the City by Vivian Gornick
The Secret Place by Tana French
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (translated by Ann Goldstein)
The Art of Frugal Hedonism by Annie Raser-Rowland and Abam Grubb
Future Sex by Emily Witt
The Bricks that Built the Houses by Kate Tempest
Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
Chris Somerville, Online Team Member
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Midnight…
Genre-crossing books for pulpy summer reading
It’s summer and you’re hitting the beach or relaxing in the park. All you want is a satisfying holiday read to devour on your hard-earned days off, but maybe, like me, you’ve grown tired of the same old tropes popping up in stories.
Here are some hot literary recommendations that challenge readers, but will still hit the mark when it comes to the popcorn factor…
You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott
Contemporary Fiction meets Crime fiction
Megan Abbott started…
Behind the scenes at Readings this Christmas
Drop by Readings this week and get all your last-minute Christmas shopping needs.
You can find our Christmas opening hours here and contact information for all seven of our bookshops here. And don’t forget that we also offer gift vouchers for hard-to-buy for friends and family.
Here’s what our booksellers are hoping to find under their own Christmas trees this year.
Ellen, from our Doncaster shop, is keen to dive into our Readings Prize winner, Music and Freedom.
…
Our children's and YA top ten bestsellers of the week
The Midnight Gang by David Walliams and Tony Ross
Lots by Marc Martin
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (the original screenplay) by J.K. Rowling
A Most Magical Girl by Karen Foxlee
Wormwood Mire (A Stella Montgomery Intrigue) by Judith Rossell
Ruby Red Shoes Goes to London by Kate Knapp
The Call by Peadar Ó Guilín
Withering-By-Sea (A Stella Montgomery Intrigue) by Judith Rossell
Hotdog (Book 1) by Anh Do and Dan McGuiness
Double Down (Diary of a…
Our top ten bestsellers of the week
Fight Like a Girl by Clementine Ford
The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape
The Good People by Hannah Kent
The Sellout by Paul Beatty
Swing Time by Zadie Smith
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
The Dry by Jane Harper
Fucking Apostrophes by Simon Griffin
Light and Shadow: Memoirs of a spy’s son by Mark Colvin
Music and Freedom by Zoë Morrison
Clementine Ford’s searing memoir/manifesto is our bestselling book of last week. Our reviewer writes that Fight…
What we're reading: Stacy Schiff, Georgia Blain and Nicola Yoon
Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films we’re watching, the television shows we’re hooked on or the music we’re loving.
Ellen Cregan is reading The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff
I have always been the sort of reader who tends to devour books in hours, rather than days. This year I’ve been consciously attempting to slow down and take my time with the books I read. While I was relatively unsuccessful with…