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See you all in 2017
2016 has been a huge year for Readings.
We returned as the official bookseller at Melbourne Writers Festival; we opened two new bookshops; we were named Independent Book Retailer of the Year at the 2016 Australian Book Industry Awards; and we won Bookstore of the Year Award at the 2016 London Book Fair International Excellence Awards. We also hosted a stack of fantastic events (including sell-out Town Hall extravaganzas with Gloria Steinem, and Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton), collaborated with…
What we're reading over summer
Our staff share the books they’re planning to read over summer.
‘As usual, I’ll be spending the summer catching up on everything I missed during the year. So far on my pile I’ve got Elspeth Muir’s Wasted, Rajith Savanadasa’s Ruins, Sean Rabin’s Wood Green and Paul Beatty’s The Sellout, just to name a few!’ – Alan Vaarwerk, editorial assistant for Readings Monthly
‘I’m hoping to read all the unread books on my shelves at home this summer…
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…