Our latest blog posts
What we're reading: Guy Gavriel Kay, Steve Toutonghi and Riad Sattouf
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 The Other Side of Summer by Emily Gale
This book…. Oh man, I LOVED this book. The Other Side of Summer is Emily Gale’s new novel for readers aged 11+. It tells the story of Summer and her family, who are trying to recover from the tragic death of…
30 reasons to read the entire Readings Children’s Book Prize shortlist
This year’s shortlist for the Readings Children’s Book Prize features six amazing books! Here are 30 reasons why you should read all of them.
If you’d like to buy all six books at once – and we recommend you do! – the entire shortlist is available here at a special price.
The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey
1. It’s funny. Seriously funny.
2. It’s great for beginner readers.
3. It reads like a graphic novel.
4. It’s all about not…
Emily Gale on writing about death for young readers
Emily Gale’s new YA novel features the dreaded ‘D-word'… Here she reflects on death in children’s and young adult books – on why it gives some parents nightmares, and on why it needs to be there anyway.
It struck me that parents could have concerns about my new book when my publisher and I were writing the back cover blurb. Blurbs capture the beginnings of a story so it was impossible to avoid letting readers know that the premise of…
Entries now open for the Melbourne Prize for Music 2016 and Awards
The annual Melbourne Prize runs on a three-year awards cycle, alternating between books, music and urban sculpture and this year sees the focus return once again to music.
Valued at more than $130,000 in total, the Melbourne Prize for Music 2016 and Awards is one of the most valuable music prizes in Australia, providing significant opportunities for Victorian musicians across all music genres and career stages. This year’s judges include six esteemed music sector professionals: Professor Paul Grabowsky AO, Patrick…
Limited signed books from Jonathan Franzen, Hanya Yanagihara and Jon Klassen
We had three international authors visit us this week to sign copies of their books for our Carlton shop and online customers. There’s a very limited number of signed copies available so get in quick.
Jonathan Franzen
Jonathan Franzen is an American novelist and essayist. His 2001 novel, The Corrections, earned Franzen a National Book Award, was a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist, earned a James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary…
The most interesting books customers have special ordered this month
We love hearing new recommendations. Here’s some of the most interesting books customers have special ordered this past month…
Outback Survival by Bob Cooper
Cooking as Fast as I Can by Cat Cora
The New Negro edited by Alain Locke
Cathedral of the Pines by Gregory Crewdson and Alexander Nemerov
True Light and Shade: An Aboriginal Perspective of Joseph Lycett’s Art by John Maynard
_Her Blue Body_by Warsan Shire
Face Paint: The Story of Makeup by Lisa Eldridge
…
Melbourne Writers Festival announce their Schools' Program
Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) have announced their Schools’ Program, which will run from Monday 29 August to Thursday 1 September.
(Spoiler: It looks amazing!)
We are SO excited about this year’s School’s Program for MWF.
Students will have the chance to hear from the likes of performer Magda Szubanski (whose memoir, Reckoning, just won Book of the Year at the ABIA Awards), our recently-appointed Children’s Laureate Leigh Hobbs (the brains behind such delightful creations as Old Tom, Mr…
Animal tales for young readers
Whether they’ve got fur or scales or feathers, animals are a big part of our lives, and so it’s no surprise that you could fill a whole bookshelf with great animal stories for children. Here’s a selection of our favourite animal tales for readers aged 7+.
CAT LOVERS
Carbonel by Barbara Sleigh
If we’re talking books about cats, we can’t go past the King of Cats: the one and only Carbonel. After shopping for a surprise for her mother, Rosemary…
Our top ten bestsellers of the week
My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem
The Course of Love by Alain de Botton
Everywhere I Look by Helen Garner
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
The Last Painting of Sara De Vos by Dominic Smith
The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood
Stop at Nothing: The Life and Adventures of Malcolm Turnbull by Annabel Crabb
Heartlines: The Year I Met My Other Mother by Susannah McFarlane and Robin Leuba
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (translated…
Our children's and YA top ten bestsellers of the week
Pax by Sara Pennypacker and Jon Klassen
The Hidden Oracle: The Trials of Apollo Book 1 by Rick Riordan
The Bad Guys: Episode 1 by Aaron Blabey
The Treehouse Fun Book by Andy Griffiths, Jill Griffiths and Terry Denton
The Cat with the Coloured Tail by Gillian Mears and Dinalie Dabarera
Crazy Weird: WeirDo Book 6 by Anh Do and Jules Faber
The Bad Guys Episode 3: The Furball Strikes Back by Aaron Blabey
The World’s Worst Children by David…
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