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…

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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…

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Every year our staff vote for their favourite books, albums, films and TV shows of the past twelve months. Here’s a round up of all the blog posts featuring our best books, CDs & DVDs of 2015:

The Best Fiction Books of 2015

The Best Non-Fiction Books of 2015

The Best Crime Books of 2015

The Best Young Adult Books of 2015

The Best Picture Books of 2015

The Best Junior Fiction Books of 2015

The Best Middle Fiction Books…

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 10: Old School by Jeff Kinney (both the paperback and hardback editions)

This & That by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek

My Dog Bigsy by Alison Lester

The Red Queen by Isobelle Carmody

The Wonder Garden: Wander Through The World’s Wildest Habitat and Discover More Than 80 Amazing Animals by Jenny Broom and Kristjana S Williams

What Do You Wish for? by Jane Godwin and Anna Walker

The Day the Crayons Came Home by…

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The Moroccan Soup Bar: Recipes of a Spoken Menu and a Little Bit of Spice by Hana Assafiri

The Other Side of the World by Stephanie Bishop

Reckoning: A Memoir by Magda Szubanski

This Annoying Life: A Mindless Colouring Book for the Highly Stressed by Oslo Davis

A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James

Even Dogs in the Wild: The New John Rebus by Ian Rankin

Watson’s Worst Words: A Compendium of Management Gibberish by Don Watson

All…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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

Cloudwish by Fiona Wood

Scholarship student Vân Ựớc is usually very practical, so when she wishes that gorgeous Billy Gardiner would notice her and he suddenly does, she is flattered but worried that it is an elaborate joke. You will fall in love with Vân Ựớc as she grapples with high school, romance and the truth of her…

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

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

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this fascinating guide to the importance of our gut bacteria and its relationship to health. The gut is the latest mysterious frontier in medical science and Guilia Enders, a scientist with a flair for making complex processes understandable, delves into the latest research…

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