Our latest blog posts

The best pop CDs of 2015

by Fiona Hardy

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

I Love You, Honeybear by Father John Misty

J. Tillman’s newest album has emotion writ large enough to fill every corner of the room, and broad, gorgeous music to match. Shot through with his merry-peculiar tales, shucked off his shoulders like a jacket with pockets full of stories for us to sort through, aided by his ethereal voice, fuzzed-out synths…

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The best cookbooks of 2015

by Chris Gordon

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

A Modern Way to Cook: Over 150 Quick, Smart and Flavour-Packed Recipes for Every Day by Anna Jones

The quirky and successful food blogger extraordinaire is back with another collection of delicious, healthy, inspiring vegetarian recipes. Jones’s no-fuss, no-mess approach is refreshing and accessible. I love that the book is divided into time slots (recipes for under 15, 20, 30 or…

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The best art & design books of 2015

by Margaret Snowdon

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

The Social Studio by Grace McQuiltern

This book documents the vibrant social enterprise of The Social Studio in Collingwood. Through fashion, food, art and community the Studio unites distinct cultures in a celebration of knowledge, skill and diversity. The book includes a mix of artworks, fashion photography, food, interviews and portraits of more than 50 of Melbourne’s most…

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The best fiction books of 2015

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

The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante (translated by Ann Goldstein)

Rumour has it Richard Flanagan only allows himself to read six pages a day of Ferrante. He’s more restrained than me, not to mention the many other Ferrante fans I know. I did to The Story of the Lost Child, the final book in the Neapolitan

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The best DVDs of 2015

by Stella Charls

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

Small Is Beautiful

Small Is Beautiful is a special documentary. Filmed in Portland, Oregon, Australian filmmaker Jeremy Beasley documents the tiny house movement, a grassroots response to the housing affordability crisis that currently affects so many people across the developed world. Beasley follows four people, each at various stages of building and living in their homes with little or no prior…

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The best classical CDs of 2015

by Alexandra Mathew

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

Max Richter: The Blue Notebooks by Max Richter

The Blue Notebooks, a tenth anniversary rerelease of Max Richter’s second album, is breathtaking. Richter cites Sigur Rós as an influence, evident in the meditative ‘Horizon Variations’. This, along with tracks such as ‘Written on the Sky’, will similarly appeal to Arvo Pärt fans for its elegance and simplicity. The Blue

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10 gift ideas for ethical and socially responsible shoppers

by Kara Nicholson

Heartland: Celebrating 50 Years of the Australian Conservation Foundation by Australian Conservation Foundation

This lovely celebration of the fifty year history of the Australian Conservation Foundation is fantastic value. The photography is all the original work of MAPgroup documentary photographers, a non profit organisation with a mission to create a visual archive of Australian life for future generations. Heartland is a beautiful gift and a worthy way to commemorate Australia’s oldest and largest national environmental group.

The Invention of Nature:

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What to buy for hard-to-buy-for adults

Your friends who ‘don’t read’

Why would a man escape from prison the day before he’s due to be released? You’ll have to read Michael Robotham’s Life or Death to find out… This crime thriller won the CWA Gold Dagger this year so comes highly recommended.

Music lovers may be tempted by The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic. Jessica Hopper’s short and snappy pieces are immensely readable.

Hadley Freeman’s Life Moves Pretty Fast is…

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What to buy for hard-to-buy-for children

by Holly Harper

It can be tough work buying books for kids. Maybe they’re picky readers. Maybe they’ve read everything. Or maybe the last time you saw them they were in nappies and now you have absolutely no idea what they like. If you’ve got some hard-to-buy-for kids in your life, we’ve got some suggestions for you.

Early readers

Here are some of our favourite picks for kids transitioning from picture books to their very first read-alone novels:

Elephant and Piggie is a…

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Meet Lian Hingee, our new Digital Marketing Manager

by Lian Hingee

We chatted to Lian Hingee, our new Digital Marketing Manager, about her favourite books

Describe your taste in books.

I’m a fiction reader primarily, but I binge-read across a broad range of genres. Usually what happens is that I’ll read one book that really grabs me, then I’ll spend a couple of months powering through similar titles until I hit saturation point and have to start from scratch to find my Next Big Thing.

I’ve got a long history with…

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