Our latest blog posts

Our top ten bestsellers of the week

Everywhere I Look by Helen Garner

The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (translated by Ann Goldstein)

Heart Hungers by Winsome Thomas

The Waters of Eternal Youth by Donna Leon

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Massoni: Rinaldo & Leon by Michele Massoni-Dubuc

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

The Killing Season Uncut by Sarah Ferguson with Patricia Drum

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Two major literary prizes were…

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Our children's and YA top ten bestsellers of the week

The Treehouse Fun Book by Andy Griffiths, Jill Griffiths and Terry Denton

I am Doodle Cat by Kat Patrick and Lauren Marriott

In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek and Christine Roussey

Pig the Winner by Aaron Blabey

The Bad Guys: Episode 1 by Aaron Blabey

Rockhopping by Trace Balla

Crazy Weird: WeirDo Book 6 by Anh Do and Jules Faber

Pax by Sara Pennypacker and Jon Klassen

Girl Detective: Friday Barnes Book 1 (Special edition) by…

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Tomorrow, When the War Began makes its television premiere

The first episode of ABC3’s new adaptation of John Marsden’s groundbreaking Tomorrow series kicks off tomorrow night at 7:30pm. Here at Readings we are SO excited.

This series follows a group of teenagers-turned-guerrilla soldiers after the invasion and occupation of Australia by an unnamed foreign power. The seven novels in the series were all published between 1993 and 1999, and have since been translated into five languages. The Tomorrow series remains one of the most significant contributions to the Australian…

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What we're reading: Justine Larbalestier, Maggie Nelson and Sulari Gentill

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.

Lian Hingee is reading My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier

I’ve been wanting to read Justine Larbalestier’s My Sister Rosa since it started doing the rounds with my workmates at the beginning of this year. This story of Che, a young man trying to keep the world safe from his pathological younger sister…

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10 books for Mother's Day (that aren't pink)

Sometimes Mother’s Day gift ideas can feel a little too same-y. Some mothers like horror! And politics! And sport! Here is a list of books to buy a mother for Mother’s Day that aren’t about cooking, child-rearing, baking, gardening, heartbreak or personal triumph.

From the Outer edited by Nicole Hayes and Alicia Sometimes

In this terrific anthology dedicated to AFL, Nicole Hayes and Alicia Sometimes bring together 30 personal stories from unexpected voices: those who are female, Indigenous or gay…

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Literary bundle ideas from our Faber 3-for-2 offer

Throughout April, we’re offering a special offer on a select range of award-winning and popular Faber titles – buy two books, and receive a third book for free. Find out more here.

Here are some suggestions for which three books to buy – based on what kind of book you’re looking for.

Smart fiction exploring family dynamics

Suggested bundle…

Family Life by Akhil Sharma

Bark by Lorrie Moore

Swimming Home by Deborah Levy

Why…

These three novels all explore…

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Great reads for tweens becoming teens

by Bronte Coates

Bridging the gap between middle fiction books and young adult books can be tricky for readers. Here are some books that speak to those late childhood and early teen years. (As an added bonus, many of the authors listed here have terrific backlists to dive into if they prove a hit with your young reader.)

TRICKY RELATIONSHIPS

Tweens are often coming to terms with shifting friendships and first crushes – as well as growing independence and responsibility in familial roles…

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Best Translated Book Award shortlist 2016

The ten fiction finalists and six poetry finalists for this year’s Best Translated Book Awards have been announced.

These sixteen finalists represent an incredible array of writing styles and reputation. These titles were selected from the nearly 570 works of fiction and poetry published in English translation in 2015 and are translated from nine different languages and thirteen different countries.

Fiction:

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

Arvida by Samuel Archibald…

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Five reasons we love The Cat With the Coloured Tail by Gillian Mears

by Holly Harper

The Cat with the Coloured Tail 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 lovely and life-affirming.

Mr Hooper has a magical cat with a colour-changing tail, and the two of them use their unusual magic to bring colour to the lives of the people around them. They spend their days selling moon-creams (these are like ice-creams with the power to make sad…

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Brilliant new novels featuring dysfunctional families

Here at Readings we love stories that explore difficult families dynamics – from Leo Tolstoy’s enduring story of Anna Karenina, to the shifting allegiances and political manoeuvres in George R.R. Martin’s bloodthirsty Game of Thrones series; from a tense dinner between two brothers in Herman Koch’s The Dinner to an overbearing, erratic father in Christina Stead’s Australian classic The Man Who Loved Children.

Here are some recent new releases featuring even more wonderful, fantastic stories about dysfunctional families…

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