Our latest blog posts
Q&A with Readings Children's Book Prize winner J.C. Jones
We sat down with J.C. Jones – author of the 2016 Readings Children’s Book Prize winner Run, Pip, Run – and asked her about her ideas, her road to publication, and what we can expect next.
Where did the first spark of the idea for Run, Pip, Run come from?
When I was growing up, I always loved stories about kids who weren’t afraid to take their destiny into their own hands. Shortly before I wrote the book, I’d met…
J.C. Jones wins the 2016 Readings Children’s Book Prize
The winner of the Readings Children’s Book Prize 2016 is… Run, Pip, Run by J.C. Jones!
Run, Pip, Run is a book for readers nine and up that manages to be both heartfelt and action-packed. Pip is on the run from the authorities after her foster grandpa, Sully, falls ill. Things aren’t easy for a young girl on her own, especially when it feels like everybody is looking for her, but Pip is a smart girl and with the help…
Our children's and YA top ten bestsellers of the week
Pax by Sara Pennypacker and Jon Klassen
Circle by Jeannie Baker
The Detective Dog by Julia Donaldson and Sara Ogilvie
In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek and Christine Roussey
The Bad Guys: Episode 1 by Aaron Blabey
Kizmet and the Case of the Smashed Violin by Frank Woodley
Tom Gates: Super Good Skills (Almost) (Book 10) by Liz Pichon
The Other Side of Summer by Emily Gale
The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker…
Our top ten bestsellers of the week
The Dry by Jane Harper
Barkskins by Annie Proulx
The Paper House by Anna Spargo-Ryan
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Firing Line – Australia’s Path to War (Quarterly Essay 62) by James Brown
Everywhere I Look by Helen Garner
The Last Painting of Sara De Vos by Dominic Smith
A Hero in France by Alan Furst
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (translated by Ann Goldstein)
Three Australian novels…
What we're reading: Rick Yancey,Meg Medina and Elspeth Muir
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.
Angela Crocombe is reading Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina
I loved reading this atmospheric young adult novel set in Queens, New York during the infamous summer of 1977 when a serial killer was on the loose, a spate of arson attacks were plaguing the city, and a blackout turned the entire city…
Our favourite books of 2016 (so far)
Our staff share the best books they’ve read so far this year, including new releases and older titles just discovered.
Mark Rubbo, managing director:
It’s always challenging to select the ‘best’ books when faced with so many wonderful offerings. However, the first book that comes to mind is Helen Garner’s latest collection of essays, Everywhere I Look. This collection of pieces from the last 15 years of her writing career is a pleasure to read – and a reminder…
Our top picks of the month for book clubs
For a night of dysfunctional family stories…
The Healing Party by Micheline Lee
We recently included this fantastic debut from Australian author Micheline Lee in a list of brilliant new novels featuring dysfunctional families, and our reviewer writes that Lee ‘breathes new life’ into these kinds of narratives. A young woman returns home to her estranged family to care for her sick mother. One day her father says he has received a message from God that his…
Best new crime reads in June
CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH
Sunset City by Melissa Ginsburg
Short and anything but sweet, Sunset City paints a neon-soaked picture of Houston’s grimiest places, visited by a drunk and bereaved Charlotte Ford, trying to find solace after the death of her oldest friend. Danielle was murdered – beaten to death in a hotel room – and the cops are wondering why, after years of distance, Charlotte spoke to her just days before she died. Charlotte wonders the same thing…
Our top ten bestsellers of the week
The Dry by Jane Harper
Saved to Remember by Frank Vajda
The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood
The Last Painting of Sara De Vos by Dominic Smith
Dead Men Don’t Order Flake by Sue Williams
Everywhere I Look by Helen Garner
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (translated by Ann Goldstein)
The Vegetarian by Han Kang (translated by Deborah Smith)
The Course of Love by Alain de Botton
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Our bestselling book of…
Our children's and YA top ten bestsellers of the week
The World’s Worst Children by David Walliams and Tony Ross
The Bad Guys: Episode 1 by Aaron Blabey
Tom Gates: Super Good Skills (Almost) (Book 10) by Liz Pichon
Circle by Jeannie Baker
In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek and Christine Roussey
The Other Side of Summer by Emily Gale
New Guard (Book 17) by Robert Muchamore
Run, Pip, Run by J.C. Jones
The Treehouse Fun Book by Andy Griffiths, Jill Griffiths and Terry Denton
The…