Our latest blog posts

Celebrating the arrival of a new Dr Seuss book

by Angela Crocombe

A new Dr Seuss, did I hear you say?
Oh me, oh my, what a fabulous day!

Apologies for the poor rhyming verse, but its not every day you get a newly-published Dr Seuss book into the bookshop. In fact, since he died in 1991, it hasn’t happened for a very long time. Even The Bippolo Seed and Other Stories, released a few years back, was a compilation of stories previously published in magazines. So when a manuscript was…

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Which recipe is the best from Vegetables, Grains & Other Good Stuff?

On Monday we roadtested some recipes from Simon Bryant’s new cookbook, Vegetables, Grains & Other Good Stuff, in a bid to find the best one. Five of our staff selected recipes and Simon himself came in to taste their dishes.

Here are the results.

Stella Charls made Pumpkin, Chickpea and Tahini Soup (pg. 224):

We’ve just come through the middle weekend of MIFF (I’m a bit of an addict), so I’m finding my free time fairly limited and I…

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Ned Kelly Awards Shortlist 2015

The shortlist for the Ned Kelly Awards 2015 was announced last Saturday at the Byron Bay Writers Festival, by bestselling Australian author Michael Robotham. It’s the 20th anniversary of the prestigious award, with the winners being announced at the Bella Union on Saturday August 22, as part of Melbourne Writers Festival.

Congratulations to all the shortlisted authors, listed here in full.

Best Crime

Sweet One by Peter Docker

Eden by Candice Fox

A Murder Unmentioned by Sulari Gentill

Gun

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Fictional bookshops in children's books that we'd love to visit in real life

by Emily Gale

To celebrate National Bookshop Day on Saturday 8 August, here are some fictional bookshops for children to visit in their imagination.

Flourish and Blott’s in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

They bought Harry’s school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and

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What we're reading: Eliza Henry-Jones, Eka Kurniawan and Sally Morgan

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.

Ann Le Lievre is reading In the Quiet by Eliza Henry-Jones

In the Quiet by Eliza Henry-Jones is a radiant Australian debut – full to the brim of beautifully-drawn characters, against the backdrop of a semi-rural Aussie landscape. The plot centres around a family of three teenagers, their father and their close friends…

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A collection of some of our favourite Readings moments

Here are just a few of our favourite memories from over the years at Readings.

The time when Mark Rubbo was just starting out.

new

(current) shop in Carlton.

The time when everyone wanted a copy of the new Harry Potter.

The time our staff dressed up as Where’s Wally.

And the time they all wore their most striking jumper.

And… the time they all wore stripes.

That time we hosted a movie night in a laneway (featuring Graphic Novels!

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A mid-festival update from MIFF 2015

Here’s our mid-festival update from this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival. Staff share what their thoughts on what they’ve seen so far, and tell us what they’re still looking forward to. (You can find the full program here).

Nina Kenwood’s favourite film (so far) has been The Wolfpack

To date, I’ve seen four films at MIFF, and I’ve adored them all.

I watched three documentaries: Do I Sound Gay?, The Cult of JT Leroy and The Wolfpack.

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Join us to celebrate National Bookshop Day this Saturday

This Saturday 8 August is National Bookshop Day – an annual celebration of bookshops across the country. And we’d love you to come by one of our five shops and join in the fun.

If you’re a coffee lover as well as book lover, you’re in luck…

On the day, we’ll be offering 10% off all full-priced books to any customer who presents a coffee cup from Market Lane Coffee that features a special Oslo Davis bike illustration (see image…

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The best showcase of Australian children's book authors and illustrators

by Emily Gale

Introducing one of the most exciting Australian children’s books of the year – The Hush Treasure Book – which showcases our finest children’s book illustrators and authors.

Readings is thrilled to be hosting an event to celebrate the Hush Music Foundation’s latest creative endeavour – a treasury of funny and moving illustrated stories by some of Australia’s finest children’s book authors and artists, published by Allen and Unwin. This free event will be held at our Hawthorn store on Saturday…

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