Our latest blog posts
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Shortlist 2016
The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards shortlist for 2016 has just been announced.
The winners of the five award categories – fiction, non-fiction, drama, poetry and writing for young adults – each receive a prize of $25,000, and go on to contest the Victorian Prize for Literature.
PRIZE FOR FICTION
Fever of Animals by Miles Allinson
The Other Side of the World by Stephanie Bishop
Clade by James Bradley
Forever Young by Steven Carroll
The World Without Us by Mireille Juchau
…
Which literary prize winner should I read over the holidays?
Winner of the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction 2015
The Other Side of the World by Stephanie Bishop
No 2015 prize list would be complete without mentioning the amazing winner of our own Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction. Stephanie Bishop’s exquisite second novel blew our judges away this year. Chair of judges Elke Power described The Other Side of the World as unforgettable, while our reviewer said the writing had, ‘haunting beauty reminiscent of the writings of Emily…
What we're reading: Alison Goodman, Anne-Marie Slaughter and Christopher Currie
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 Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman
I was lucky enough to score an advance reading copy of Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club, which is the first in a new trilogy by Alison Goodman. It’s a fascinating mash-up of two of the most…
Children's classics for Christmas
Classics are classics for a reason – these stories have resonated with their audiences so deeply that they’ve stayed on bookshelves for years, to be read by one generation after the next. If you’re looking for that perfect gift idea, take a look at our list of favourite kids’ classics.
Enid Blyton
No list of classics would be complete without a few suggestions by Enid Blyton. Since she wrote over 700 books in her lifetime, it’s hard to whittle the…
Bookish gift bundles for $50, $75 and $100
If you’re shopping to a specific budget, we’ve come up with some literary gift bundles for literary types – handily sorted by price. (If you’re seeking gift ideas for $20 and under, you can find 20 of our top picks here.)
Gift ideas for $50, and under
This month, you can purchase the first three books of Elena Ferrante’s astonishing Neapolitan Novels for the price of two. That includes My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name…
A passive aggressive gift guide
Christmas might be the season of goodwill, but that doesn’t mean you have to like everybody you’re buying presents for. If you’re finding yourself gritting your teeth at the idea of buying presents for certain people, then our Passive Aggressive Gift Guide is for you!
The misbehaving child
Try… How to Be: Six Simple Rules for Being the Best Kid You Can Be by Munro Leaf
Because… We have it on good authority that Munro Leaf has already helped thousands…
Picture books I just had to own this year
One of the occupational hazards of working in a bookshop is that you want to buy so many more books than you actually need or have room for. Surrounded by these beautiful objects all day, you can’t help but covet them. I really do try hard to restrain myself, but sometimes I just can’t resist and have to bring a book home where it gains pride of place on the mantelpiece for a while (until the next one arrives). Sometimes…
The books that I keep bringing up at dinner parties
Here are my top five books of this year. They are the ones I come back to, the ones I bring up at dinner parties, the ones I give as presents, and, the ones I keep talking about with my partner, my mum, my kids…
Mietta’s Italian Family Recipes by Mietta O'Donnell
This divine book not only supplies the story of Mietta’s own family and friends, but also wonderful recipes for practical Italian dishes and a creative social history of…
Stocking stuffers for every kind of kid
The tree is up, the menu is planned and the playlist of cheesy Christmas carols is set – but are you stocked up on stocking stuffers? Here’s a selection of gifts to hang over the fireplace (or door handle).
If you have a kid with a crafty streak – the kind who’s constantly gluing glitter to everything and colouring in the walls – take a look at The Pointless Book 2, I Scream DIY Nail Art or Dinosaur Origami…
Five books that made me happy this year
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
A Spool of Blue Thread very well might be Anne Tyler’s last book, which made reading it a somewhat bittersweet experience. Tyler’s books are sad, warm, funny and always incredibly insightful about human nature. Slipping into Tyler’s prose is like snuggling under a warm blanket on a rainy night. I know what I’m going to get with an Anne Tyler novel – a character-driven literary story about a complicated family – and…
Browse our blog by category
