Our latest blog posts

Books that made us laugh in 2016

Our staff share the books that made them laugh this year.

‘I laughed myself stupid the whole way through Jennifer Wright’s book, It Ended Badly. This hilarious collection of essays about terrible break-ups in history gives some well-needed perspective to my own romantic escapades, and I loved Wright’s sympathetic, witty narrative style. I can’t wait to read her new book, Get Well Soon which is all about plagues, so more of the same, really.’ – Lian Hingee, digital marketing

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Where to buy the best mince pies (& other festive treats) near our shops

Do your gift shopping and Christmas lunch shopping in one hit… Here’s a guide to where you can find the best mince pies (plus some other delicious treats) near each of our seven bookshops. Happy eating!

Carlton & Kids

We can’t resist Baker D. Chirico this time of year, or really, any time of year… Their mince pies are as spectacular as everything else they do. We’re also long-time fans of iconic Italian cafe Brunetti Cafe, which is a…

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Our favourite book covers of 2016

Staff share their favourite book covers of the past year.

‘My favourite book cover (I could just eat it!) is The Secret Lives of Colours.’ – Jan Lockwood, human resources manager

‘The cover of Moonglow by Michael Chabon makes it the hardcover book of my dreams – it has a matte base with a few shiny bits, minimal colour on a classy screen-print style design, and it even has the name of my favourite author on the front. I’d…

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Our top ten bestsellers of the week

The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape

Fight Like a Girl by Clementine Ford

The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben

The Sellout by Paul Beatty

The Good People by Hannah Kent

Fucking Apostrophes by Simon Griffin

Smith & Daughters: A Cookbook (That Happens to be Vegan) by Shannon Martinez and Mo Wyse

Light and Shadow: Memoirs of a spy’s son by Mark Colvin

Hope: An Anthology by various

The Boy Behind the Curtain by Tim Winton

Scott Pape (AKA…

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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

Ruby Red Shoes Goes to London by Kate Knapp

Double Down (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 11) by Jeff Kinney

A Most Magical Girl by Karen Foxlee

Pig the Elf by Aaron Blabey

Withering-By-Sea by Judith Rossell

Wormwood Mire (A Stella Montgomery Intrigue) by Judith Rossell

Girl Stuff for Girls Aged 8-12:

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Indie Book Awards longlist 2017

Congratulations to all the authors longlisted for the Indie Book Awards 2017.

Each year, independent booksellers from around the nation get together and vote for their favourite titles in four different categories, as well as their favourite book overall. Here are the longlistees for each category.

Fiction

The Easy Way Out by Steven Amsterdam

Between a Wolf and a Dog by Georgia Blain

The Better Son by Katherine Johnson

The Good People by Hannah Kent

An Isolated Incident by Emily…

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What we're reading: Nicola Yoon, Tana French and Patrick Ness

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.

Bronte Coates is reading Nicola Yoon and C. Robert Cargill

I’ve just finished reading two great books, and both were thanks to other people’s recommendations. A colleague put me onto Nicola Yoon’s new YA novel which is romantic, heartwrenching and packed with all kinds of big questions and complications. In short, The Sun

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Exciting YA books to look out for in 2017

Earlier this week we attended the Centre for Youth Literature’s YA Showcase for 2017. At this fantastic annual event, a host of different publishers share the most exciting new releases for teen readers coming out next year.

Here’s a round-up of some of the biggest, buzziest books from the night…

Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth – The first book of a brand-new sci-fi and fantasy series from the bestselling author of Divergent.

We Come Apart by Sarah Crossan…

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Roadtesting our best cookbooks of the year

We invited our staff to test out recipes from our top 10 cookbooks of the year for an office Christmas lunch. Here’s what ended up on the menu…

The Zen Kitchen by Adam Liaw

We made…

An adaption of ‘Chilled Tofu with Tomato and Ponzu’ (pg. 198)
‘“Spring Rain” Noodle Salad with Spinach and Shiitake’ (pg. 116)
‘Fruit Jellies’ (pg. 211)

Here’s our review…

The tofu was perfectly flavoured and its soft, silken texture made it easy and enjoyable to

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Children's classics paired with their modern counterparts

by Leanne Hall

I adored the Anne of Green Gables series as a 10-year-old and it pleases me no end that these books are still popular with our young customers. When it comes to your own favourite classic children’s books, you might want to gift the original to the youngsters in your life, or you might want to find a contemporary book that delivers the same spirit and joy. Or, dare we say, you might even want to give them both.

If you…

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