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.

Chris Somerville is reading Small Acts of Disappearance by Fiona Wright

I’ve been looking forward to this essay collection since reading different versions of them in various magazines. While being subtitled, ‘Essays on Hunger’ and being based around her struggle with anorexia, the collection, like the best essay writing, covers a wide and…

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With Father’s Day just around the corner (Sunday 6 September), we’ve put together some bookish gift ideas for dads.

Please place your online orders for Father’s Day by 10am on Friday 28 August 2015, to ensure timely delivery of your gifts. (Don’t forget, we offer free shipping for all orders over $19.95, and free gift wrapping online too!)

If your father likes politics…

Try Two Futures: Australia at a Critical Moment by Clare O'Neil and Tim Watts

In this agenda-setting…

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The 65-Storey Treehouse (paperback edition) by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton

The Hush Treasure Book

Rivertime by Trace Balla (this year’s winner of the Readings Children’s Book Prize)

The 13-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton

The 65-Storey Treehouse (hardback edition) by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton

In My Heart by Jo Witek and Christine Roussey

What Pet Should I Get? by Dr Seuss

Kizmet and the Case of the Tassie Tiger by Frank Woodley

Peter Pan by…

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Our staff share what they’re most excited to see at this year’s Melbourne Festival, which kicks off on Thursday 8 October. You can find the full program here.

Bronte Coates’ top pick is Desdemona

My favourite kind of live performance to attend is dance. Since moving to Melbourne a few years ago, I’ve been lucky to attend some previous dance shows as part of Melbourne Festival including Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter’s Sun and Sylvie Guillem’s 6000 Miles Away…

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Last year saw us announce two new literary prizes that support new Australian authors – one for children’s books (which has already been awarded this year to the talented Trace Balla, author and illustrator of Rivertime) and one for adult fiction books.

This year, we’ve changed the name of the adult fiction prize to The Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction (it was previously known as The Readings New Australian Writing Award).

Our inaugural winner for the adult…

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This month is a treasure trove for all ages.

You’ve probably heard about the new Dr Seuss book, What Pet Should I Get?, which Children’s Book Buyer Angela Crocombe wrote about in this blog post. The publisher’s notes at the back of the story are a very worthwhile addition as they cover the author’s life as well as the process of creating this book posthumously. Do I think it’s up there with The Cat In The Hat…

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Our events manager Chris Gordon chats with Patrick Ness about his highly anticipated new YA novel, The Rest of Us Just Live Here, which will be released next Thursday 27 August.

Special note: Five lucky people who pre-order The Rest of Us Just Live Here limited edition will also receive a copy of More Than This signed by Patrick Ness. Pre-order online by Tuesday 25 August to automatically go into the draw. Only the five winners will be notified.

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Matteo Bruno is the owner of the very popular The Meatball & Wine Bar restaurants in Melbourne, and his new book Meatballs: The Ultimate Guide contains 60 fabulous recipes for meatballs, plus recipes a further 60 recipes for sides, sauces and garnishes.

To celebrate book’s release, everyone who buys a copy of Meatballs: The Ultimate Guide from Readings before 31 August will go in the draw to win a lavish dinner for four at any of The Meatball & Wine…

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Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee

A Guide to Berlin by Gail Jones

The Mindfulness Colouring Book: Anti-Stress Art Therapy for Busy People by Emma Farrarons

The Girl With the Dogs by Anna Funder

St Gill & His Audiences by Sasha Grishin

Millie Marotta’s Animal Kingdom by Millie Marotta

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

Millie Marotta’s Tropical Wonderland: A Colouring Book Adventure by Millie Marotta

All the Light We Cannot See…

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Buy two Routledge classics in August and you’ll receive a third for free!

This is a perfect opportunity to stock up on key titles in cultural theory, philosophy, history, psychology and literary studies. There’s a great range to choose from including Michel Foucault’s Archaeology of Knowledge, bell hooks’s Outlaw Culture, Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble, Jean-Paul Sartre’s What is Literature?, Luce Irigaray’s Je, Tu, Nous: Towards a Culture of Difference, Marshall McLuhan’s Understanding Media – to…

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