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Zoë Morrison wins the 2016 Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction
The winner of The Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction in 2016 is Music and Freedom by Zoë Morrison.
The Readings Prize was launched in 2014, with the aim of supporting new and emerging Australian authors. It is unique in the Australian literary prize landscape as it is the only significant prize to be managed entirely by a bookshop, and it considers both first and second works of fiction by Australian authors – a point of difference that is important…
Our children's and YA top ten bestsellers of the week
Girl Stuff for Girls Aged 8-12: Your Real Guide to the Pre-Teen Years by Kaz Cooke
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (including the film tie-in editon)
Do Not Open This Book by Andy Lee and Heath McKenzie
Lots by Marc Martin
The Gobbledygook and the Scribbledynoodle by Justine Clarke, Arthur Baysting and Tom Jellett
Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard Book 2) by Rick Riordan
We…
Our top ten bestsellers of the week
The Good People by Hannah Kent
Fight Like a Girl by Clementine Ford
The Boy Behind the Curtain by Tim Winton
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
The Girl on the Train (film tie-in edition) by Paula Hawkins
Who Gave You Permission? by Manny Waks with Michael Visontay
Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen
Conclave by Robert Harris
Black Rock White City by A.S. Patrić
Neighbourhood by Hetty McKinnon
Australian Hannah Kent’s heart-rending second novel is our bestselling…
What we're reading: Emily Maguire, Briohny Doyle and iO Tillett Wright
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.
Nina Kenwood is reading Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
I’m obsessed with the US election at the moment, to a probably unhealthy degree. I listen to podcasts about it (my favourites are Slate’s Trumpcast and NPR’s Politics Podcast), read almost every article that…
Why you should read the entire Readings Prize shortlist
This year’s shortlist for the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction features six impressive first and second works of fiction from emerging Australian authors. Here’s why we think you should read every single one…
Here’s why you should read Portable Curiosities…
1. Portable Curiosities is a bold, wildly imaginative story collection.
2. This book is very, very funny.
3. As well as being entertaining, these stories are biting critiques of racism, class, and other important issues in Australia.
4.…
Bob Dylan wins the 2016 Nobel prize in literature
This year’s Nobel prize for literature has been awarded to American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan.
This is a historic (and controversial!) decision as it’s the first time this honour has ever gone to a musician. The Swedish Academy credited Dylan with ‘having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition’.
Here’s a short round-up of some interesting articles from around the internet about the news:
Our favourite Dylan lyrics (via The New Yorker)
10 words for booklovers, bookworms and bibliophiles
1. Bibliosmia: The smell and aroma of a good book.
2. Abibliophobia: The fear of running out of reading material.
3. Tsundoku: Japanese word for the condition of acquiring reading materials but letting them pile up in one’s home without reading them.
4. Shelf-righteous: The feeling of superiority about one’s bookshelf.
5. Librocubicularist: A person who reads in bed.
6. Book-bosomed: An individual who carries a book with them at all times.
7. Ballycumber: Coined by Douglas Adams, this term…
YA romances from male perspectives
Boys. We know they have feelings – Big Feelings. But while there’s many YA books that speak of love and romance from a girl’s point of view, it’s a little more difficult to find stories coming straight from a teenage boy’s heart. Which could give everyone the inaccurate impression that boys don’t overthink, worry about, obsess over and get completely floored by love, or lust or a crush or something in-between.
So here are some recommended YA novels that show…
Why you should read Music and Freedom by Zoë Morrison
We’re delighted that Zoë Morrison’s debut novel is one of the six books shortlisted for this year’s Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction. Here’s why we think you should read this book.
1. Music and Freedom is a profound portrait of a woman’s life.
Music and Freedom follows one woman from early childhood through until her old age, and along the way it captures not just the personal story of a single person’s life, but touches on many universal themes…
Recommended new crime reads in October
The Silence Between Breaths by Cath Staincliffe
On the 10.35 to London, Euston, a carriage full of strangers ambles along the rails, its inhabitants bored, frustrated, impatient for something. Meg and Diana are going on a walking holiday, but Meg is hiding something from her partner. Nick is fed up with his wife and children and their never-ending needs. Jeff is on his way to a job interview. Rhona is regretting leaving her sick daughter at school for the sake…
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