Our latest blog posts

Comics and graphic novels we loved in 2015

Our staff share some of their favourite comics and graphic novels from the past year.

Angela Crocombe, Children’s Book Buyer

One of my favourite graphic novels this year was Kidglovz. This spellbinding graphic novel is both beautiful and heartbreaking. It is the story of a musical child prodigy exploited by his mentor who discovers freedom when he meets petty thief, Shoestring. Kid’s epic hero’s journey from naivety to knowledge of his past, appreciation of his talent and ultimately, awareness…

Read more ›

20 gift ideas under $20

This Annoying Life: A Mindless Colouring Book for the Highly Stressed by Oslo Davis ($9.99)

Within This Annoying Life you’ll find scenes of angst and stress ready for you to add your creative flourishes to. And why not - we’re all in this mess together and there’s nothing we can do about it! So pick up your pencils, give yourself a moment, then colour your way through the pain of everyday life. For adults of all ages.

Men and Cats

Read more ›

The story behind BOLD

by David Hardy

David Hardy is the editor of BOLD: Stories from older lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people, a new anthology from Melbourne not-for-profit book publisher, The Rag and Bone Man Press. Here, Hardy tells us about the process of making the book, and why it matters.

BOLD is a collection of stories from more than 60 older lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people. They are largely unknown stories outside their circle of family and friends, and all…

Read more ›

The 10 best books I shared with my children this year

by Emily Gale

When I told my children I was leaving my job at Readings, they were shocked. “But where will we get our books from?” they said, which sounds a bit dramatic unless you’ve seen the volume of books I’ve been bringing home since I started the job. I’ve felt very lucky these past four years to have access to such a huge array of beautiful books to test-drive with them. So you can be assured that my family’s top ten books…

Read more ›

2015 PM's Literary Award Shortlist

Congratulations to the authors shortlisted for the 2015 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards

The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards recognise and reward excellence in Australian literature and history. Award Categories are fiction, poetry, non-fiction, Australian history, young adult fiction and children’s fiction.

Fiction

Amnesia by Peter Carey

Golden Boys by Sonya Hartnett

In Certain Circles by Elizabeth Harrower

The Golden Age by Joan London

To Name Those Lost by Rohan Wilson

Non-fiction

Encountering the Pacific: In the Age of Enlightenment by John…

Read more ›

The best picture books of 2015

Here are our top ten picture books of the year, voted for by Readings staff. Displayed in no particular order.

Mr Huff by Anna Walker

Anna Walker’s latest picture book is a beautiful insight into that ‘huffy’ feeling; you know, when nothing is turning out right, and it definitely isn’t going to be your day? The tale is uplifting, but isn’t magically solved in the end – a more realistic, relatable outcome for children and adults. A beautiful story in…

Read more ›

The best junior fiction books of 2015

Here are our top ten junior fiction (ages 5 to 9ish) books of the year, voted for by Readings staff. Displayed in no particular order.

The Bad Guys: Episode 1 by Aaron Blabey

Who said the bad guys always have to be bad? Maybe they want to have a go at being good too. At least, that’s Mr Wolf’s plan when he rounds up his bad buddies Mr Snake, Mr Shark and Mr Piranha, but being the good guys isn’t…

Read more ›