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The CBCA notable books of 2016

The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) have announced their Notable Books for 2016. Congratulations to all the authors, illustrators and publishers!

Here are the notable books for each category.

Older Readers

Books in this category may be fiction, drama or poetry and are appropriate in style and content for readers in their secondary years of schooling.

Find the full list of notables for this category here.

Younger Readers

Books in this category may be fiction, drama or poetry and…

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What we're reading: Michael Grant, Dodie Smith and Roald Dahl

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.

Isobel Moore is reading The Town in Bloom by Dodie Smith

I just finished this novel from the always delightful Dodie Smith, which tells the story of a young actor and her first summer in London. It’s beautiful – of course it is, thank you Dodie – and sublimely written. Everything that I’ve…

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A record that made me sit up and take notice

Tomorrow is Record Store Day and to celebrate we’re offering 20% off vinyl throughout April. Find out more here. Here, our music specialists (and vinyl enthusiasts) each share a record that made them sit up and take notice.

Live at Max’s Kansas City by The Velvet Underground

This reissue captures the final, brilliant moments of the Velvets; by this stage they’d cast off the atonal experiments of the first two records and were writing straight up, smart pop songs…

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A guide to Pride and Prejudice adaptations

by Bronte Coates

For a reader who’s looking for smart, irreverent contemporary fiction…

Eligible is one of my favourite adaptations – of anything! – I’ve ever read. Curtis Sittenfeld (who wrote the bestselling novel Prep) has a sharp tongue, a keen ability for crafting cutting social commentary and a snarky sense of humour – all perfectly suited to a modern adaptation of Austen. Set in suburban Cincinnati, her depiction of the story includes cross-fit, reality TV stars, hate sex, and more.

For…

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The Kibble and Dobbie Literary Awards longlists 2016

The longlists for this year’s Kibble and Dobbie Literary Awards have been announced.

The Kibble and Dobbie Literary Awards are open to Australian women writers who have published a book of fiction or nonfiction classifiable as ‘life writing’. The Kibble Literary Award recognises the work of an established Australian woman writer and the Dobbie Literary Award recognises the work of a first-time published Australian woman writer.

The longlisted titles for the $30,000 Kibble Literary Award are:

The Women’s Pages by…

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The Man Booker International Prize shortlist 2016

The Man Booker International Prize shortlist has been announced. This Prize celebrates the finest global fiction translated into English.

Here are the six shortlisted titles…

A General Theory of Oblivion by José Eduardo Agualusa, translated by Daniel Hahn (Angola)

The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein (Italy)

The Vegetarian by Han Kang, translated by Deborah Smith (South Korea)

The Four Books by Yan Lianke, translated by Carlos Rojas (China)

A Strangeness in My Mind

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Five reasons we love The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey

by Holly Harper

Aaron Blabey’s The Bad Guys: Episode 1 is one of the six books shortlisted for this year’s Readings Children’s Book Prize. Here are five reasons why we think it’s brilliant.

1. It’s funny. Seriously funny.

Mr Wolf, Mr Piranha, Mr Snake and Mr Shark are four bad guys who want to be good. This isn’t as easy as it sounds when doing evil deeds is in your nature. Between the snappy dialogue and the comic book-style illustrations, the kids will…

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Best new crime reads in April

by Fiona Hardy

CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH

All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage

Over the few days I read this book, I wouldn’t steal small moments to read a page when I could, but instead find a place to relish the act of reading with the same slow-burn intensity the book itself has: only on my own in a room, only when it was silent. But not when I was alone, and certainly not when I was alone in the…

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