Our latest blog posts
The Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction 2016 longlist
The longlist for this year’s Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction has been announced.
Here is the full longlist:
A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson (Read our review)
Rush Oh! by Shirley Barrett (Read our review)
Ruby by Cynthia Bond
The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks (Read our review)
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Read our review)
A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding by Jackie Copleton
Readings shortlisted for LBF's Bookstore of the Year Award
We’re honoured to have been shortlisted for the London Book Fair’s Bookstore of the Year Award for 2016! Readings has been shortlisted alongside three other bookstores: Hoepli in Italy, Rahva Raamat in Estonia, and Sanlian Bookhouse in China.
Managing director Mark Rubbo says, ‘It’s such a thrill and a wonderful acknowledgement for a great team of booksellers, wonderful writers, innovative Australian publishers and beautiful customers. I am so pleased and proud to be amongst this group of booksellers from around…
The most interesting women we've met in books
Happy International Women’s Day. Here our staff share some of the most interesting women they’ve met in books.
There’s a lot of hate out there for the character of Sansa Stark, but I’m going to come out and say that I think she’s one of the most interesting, smartest, and strongest characters in George R.R. Martin’s Westeros. Over the course of five novels we’ve seen her evolve from a naive young girl who believes in the romantic ideals that she…
Our top ten bestsellers of the week
The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet by Michael Mosley
Our Magic Hour by Jennifer Down
The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine by Alexander McCall Smith
Chance Developments by Alexander McCall Smith
Talking to My Country by Stan Grant
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
Enemy by Ruth Clare
All These Perfect Strangers by Aoife Clifford
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (translated by Ann Goldstein)
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Our bestselling novel for last week…
Mark's Say, March 2016
The 8th of March is International Women’s Day and it’s appropriate that the longlist for the UK Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction will be announced in the same month, on the 8th of March. The Bailey’s Prize was established in 1996 as The Orange Prize, and in 2001 Australian Kate Grenville’s The Idea of Perfection won the prize, beating works by Ali Smith and Margaret Atwood. The Bailey’s Prize was one of the inspirations for the Stella Prize, the shortlist…
Our children’s and YA top ten bestsellers of the week
Pig The Winner by Aaron Blabey
Eggs by EJ Carroll and Emmi Ojala
In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek and Christine Roussey
The Bad Guys: Episode 1 by Aaron Blabey
Iris and the Tiger by Leanne Hall
The Way We Roll by Scot Gardner
Grug and His First Easter by Ted Prior
The Bad Guys Episode 2: Mission Unpluckable by Aaron Blabey
Kissed by the Moon by Alison Lester
Technicolour Treasure Hunt by Nan Na Hvas…
What we're reading: Megan Jacobson,Valeria Luiselli and Jane Harper
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.
Ann Le Lievre is reading Megan Jacobson and Kirsty Eager
The year for OzYA is exploding with some wonderful talent, and I have just finished what I’m sure is one of the best OzYA books ever! That’s a big call, but it’s a call I am very happy to make. Summer Skin by…
The best birthdays in children's books
It’s Readings’ 47th birthday on Saturday 5 March, and to celebrate we’re offering our customers the chance to win a $500 Readings gift voucher! And if you’re looking for birthday inspiration, here are some of our favourite birthdays in picture books.
A Birthday for Bear by Bonny Becker and Kady MacDonald Denton
Bear does not like birthdays. He doesn’t like parties or balloons, cards or candles. In fact, Bear does not like anything to do with birthdays at all…
Staff recommend 8 new Australian novels
A loving, faithful animal by Josephine Rowe
Readings Monthly Editorial assistant Alan Vaarwerk says: “There’s a hint of the Australian Gothic in the book’s portrayal of small town despair, and Rowe’s portrayal of her characters is tender but uncompromising – each is deeply flawed but heart-rendingly sympathetic. A loving, faithful animal is quietly, catastrophically beautiful, a powerful new work by one of Australia’s most gifted writers.”
Wildlight by Robyn Mundy
Bookseller Suzanne Steinbruckner says “Mundy’s…
Elke Power interviews Jennifer Down
Readings Monthly editor Elke Power talks with Jennifer Down about her debut novel, Our Magic Hour.
Those of us at Readings who have been fortunate enough to read Jennifer Down’s debut novel, Our Magic Hour, have struggled with fears that anything we say or write about this outstanding book will be dismissed as hyperbole. Admittedly, we are not the first to recognise Down’s talent. Down won the 2013 Overland Short Story Award in 2013, and is now a…