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Mark's Say, February 2017
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…
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…
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…
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…
The most anticipated books of 2017
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…
Gruesome crime and detective fiction for teens
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…
New food and gardening books for healthy habits
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…
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…
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…
The Wellcome book prize longlist 2017
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