Our latest blog posts
Zoë Morrison on music and language in her debut novel
by Zoë MorrisonWe’re delighted to be hosting an event next week with Zoë Morrison – a talented new voice in Australian fiction. Morrison will discuss her debut novel, Music and Freedom, with author Alice Pung. Find more details and booking information here.
In the lead-up to this event, we asked Morrison what role she saw the language of music as playing in her story. Here’s her response.
I started playing the violin when I was three and the piano when…
Our children's and YA top ten bestsellers of the week
Run, Pip, Run by J.C. Jones
The World’s Worst Children by David Walliams and Tony Ross
In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek and Christine Roussey
The Readings Children’s Book Prize 2016 Shortlist Pack
The Treehouse Fun Book by Andy Griffiths, Jill Griffiths and Terry Denton
Tom Gates: Super Good Skills (Almost) (Book 10) by Liz Pichon
Pax by Sara Pennypacker and Jon Klassen
The 65-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton
The BFG (film tie-in…
Our top ten bestsellers of the week
The Dry by Jane Harper
Barkskins by Annie Proulx
Speaking Out: A 21st-Century Handbook for Women and Girls by Tara Moss
The Last Painting of Sara De Vos by Dominic Smith
Everywhere I Look by Helen Garner
The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Vinegar Girl: The Taming of the Shrew Retold by Anne Tyler
The Vegetarian by Han Kang (translated by Deborah Smith)
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (translated by Ann…
What we're reading: Sabahattin Ali, A.J. Rich and Jay Kristoff
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.
Mark Rubbo is reading Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali
I’m currently reading this novel from Sabahattin Ali, a Turkish writer and teacher who was murdered by the Turkish Secret Service in 1948.
When Madonna in a Fur Coat was first published in Turkey, back in 1943, it was largely ignored…
Novels inspired by the art world
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
A small, captivating painting of a goldfinch lies at the heart of Donna Tartt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning third novel. When the life of 13-year-old Theo Decker is set spinning off-course by an act of terrorism, he commits an impulsive act of his own that will come to define the rest of his life. What follows is a haunted odyssey through present-day America, and deep into the art underworld of New York.
We recommend queer reads from Australian authors
Inspired by our Queer Book Club (hosted by our St Kilda shop!), our staff have been talking about some of their own favourite queer Australian writing. Here, they share their picks.
Holding the Man by Timothy Conigrave
Published in 1995 and not long after the author’s death, Holding the Man has been described as a real-life gay Romeo and Juliet story. Tim Conigrave met and fell in love with John Caleo, the captain of the football team while they…
Judges' report for Run, Pip, Run
Run, Pip, Run by J.C. Jones is the winner of the 2016 Readings Children’s Book Prize. Here’s the judges’ report from our panel of Readings children’s book specialists Athina Clarke, Angela Crocombe, Alexa Dretzke, Holly Harper, Isobel Moore and special guest judge Sally Rippin.
Every once in a while a special book comes along with a unique main character so compelling and so full of heart that you can’t help but fall madly in love. Run, Pip, Run, the…
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…
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