Our latest blog posts

Our top ten bestsellers of January

We’ve tallied up the numbers to give you our top 10 bestselling books for the month of January. All four of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels are on the list, alongside visiting chef Nigella Lawson’s new book Simply Nigella, and the hilarious Australian memoir The Family Law.

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

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Simply Nigella: Feel Good Food by Nigella Lawson

The Story of a New Name by Elena…

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Books to get kids in the back-to-school spirit

by Holly Harper

Love it or hate it, school is back. If your kids spent their holidays trying to forget everything they learned the year before, these non-fiction titles are the perfect way to sneak in a bit of learning while still having fun.

Wordburger by David Astle

Cryptic crosswords are notoriously tricky, so it’s a good thing David Astle is here to help! In 20 quick bites, the king of crosswords introduces readers to concepts like anagrams, pangrams, spoonerisms, tongue-twisters and homophones…

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Story time at Readings in 2016

Story time will resume again in February, 2016!

Readings offers free weekly half-hour story time sessions at our Carlton, Malvern and St Kilda stores, with the aim of promoting literacy and encouraging a love of books and bookshops in our newest generation.

Malvern

When: Thursdays at 10.30am
Where: 185 Glenferrie Rd, Malvern
Find out more: (03) 9509 1952

Carlton

When: Fridays at 10am
Where: 309 Lygon St, Carlton
Find out more: (03) 9347 6633

St Kilda

When: Saturdays at 10.30am…

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Our top ten bestsellers of the week

Simply Nigella: Feel Good Food by Nigella Lawson

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

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

The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante (translated by Ann Goldstein)

The Moroccan Soup Bar by Hana Assafiri

Gut: the Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Under-Rated Organ by Giulia Enders

The Whites by Richard Price

Reckoning by Magda Szubanski

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante (translated by Ann Goldstein)

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What we're reading: Martin McKenzie-Murray, Leanne Hall and Kurt Vile

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.

Stella Charls is watching The Jinx

I’m obsessing over crime right now. Not committing it, but consuming it, from true-crime tales to fictional thrillers. I’ve binge-watched Making a Murderer on Netflix (refusing to acknowledge 2016 had started until I finished all 10 episodes), am stuck into Season 2 of the podcast Serial, and…

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Our Stella Sparks

The Stella Prize has recently announced their Stella Sparks campaign, which celebrates writing by Australian women. A Stella Spark is the book by an Australian woman that struck a spark for you, igniting ideas, creativity and a passion for great writing. You can find out more about this fantastic campaign here.

Here, our staff share their own Stella Sparks.

My Stella Spark is Tara June Winch’s Swallow the Air. I read this when I was about 19 and…

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12 novels set during key historical events

The Roving Party by Rohan Wilson

Set during the 1830 Black Line of Tasmania

The Black War saw the indigenous population of Tasmania hunted, and killed by British Colonialists. Rohan Wilson has drawn inspiration from the real life figure of John Batman – a grazier who rose to prominence as a government-authorised bounty hunter – and imagined the ‘roving party’ that set out under his direction. The Black Line is a dark period in Australia’s history that should never be…

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Indie Book Awards shortlist 2016

The shortlist for the Indie Book Awards 2016 has been announced.

Each year, independent booksellers from around the nation get together and vote for their favourite titles in four different categories. Here are the shortlisted books in each category.

Fiction

A Guide to Berlin by Gail Jones (Read our review)

The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood (Read our review)

The Other Side of the World by Stephanie Bishop (Read our review)

The

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Finalists for National Book Critics Circle Awards 2015

The finalists for the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) awards have been announced. The NBCC honours outstanding writing and fosters a national conversation about reading, criticism and literature.

Fiction

The Sellout by Paul Beatty

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli

The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

Non-fiction

SPQR: A History of Rome by Mary Beard

Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights

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