Tess, firstly congratulations on taking the very humble smoothie to a whole new level. How did you find out that you had a passion for the drink to end all drinks?

Oh, thank you. It has been so much fun changing the way people think about smoothies with this book. I get messages from people all over the world who are making their way through every single recipe in the book. I love titles that read: I’m on #62 and…

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The Unbroken Line by Alex Hammond

Defence lawyer Will Harris has barely recovered from being hospitalised after going rogue in his first book, Blood Witness, when he and his lover Eva are attacked and threatened by strangers who tell him to back off. Will, who doesn’t enjoy danger as much as it enjoys him, would oblige if only he knew what he was supposed to back off from. He’s already busy fighting a complaint accusing him of some suspicious…

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There are not any other Australian books quite like Becoming Kirrali Lewis. What were the initial motives for writing this novel? What made you decide: “Okay, it’s time to write this story now”?

Great to know that the book is unique! I want to break into new areas, and explore new themes. I do think there is a hunger for Aboriginal stories and yet there is a bit of a gap in the market for contemporary, urban stories. But…

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Congratulations to the six authors shortlisted for the National Biography Award 2015. This year Australia’s pre-eminent prize for biographical writing and memoir celebrates 20 years since it began.

The shortlisted books are:

An Unsentimental Bloke: The Life and Work of C.J. Dennis by Philip Butterss

Moving Among Strangers: Randolph Stow and My Family by Gabrielle Carey (Read our review)

Citizen Emperor: Napoleon in Power 1799-1815 by Philip Dwyer

To Begin to Know: Walking in the Shadows of My…

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

In The Quiet by Eliza Henry-Jones

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

The Other Side of the World by Stephanie Bishop

The Eye of the Sheep by Sofie Laguna

Enchanted Forest by Johanna Basford

The Hanged Man and the Body Thief: Finding Lives in a Museum Mystery by Alexandra Roginski

The Strays by Emily Bitto

The Girl on the Train…

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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.

Bronte Coates is reading Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine

Earlier this week, I read an amazing and upsetting article from Claudia Rankine about the Charleston shootings and ideas of public mourning. (You can find it here.) By the time I finished reading, I knew that here was another author I…

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Book that inspired us to watch the most movies
Life Moves Pretty Fast: The Lessons We Learned from Eighties Movies (and Why We Don’t Learn Them from Movies Any More) by Hadley Freeman

Teen romance most likely to restore your faith in love
Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Best feminist hero
Dietland by Sarai Walker

Most sumptuous and heart-warming picture book
The Most Wonderful Thing in the World by Vivian French and Angela Barrett

Tastiest recipes…

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There are so many exciting Australian books due to be released in the second half of 2015. Here, ten Readings staff share the Australian book that they are most looking forward to.

Alison Huber is looking forward to Salt Creek by Lucy Treloar

Last year I went on an unforgettable camping trip to the Coorong in South Australia – a place I had wanted to visit ever since I saw the windswept sand dunes in the 1976 film adaptation of…

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Over the next few weeks we’re participating in a work experience program with students from high schools across Melbourne. Here, Emily Gough tells us why she loves Australian books.

How would you describe your taste in books?

I don’t have a specific taste in books, but most of my favourites are Australian classics. I think Australian authors are usually far better writers than international authors. The Australian books I have read are very well written, almost poetic. They usually have…

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July is proving a particularly strong month for Australian women’s writing. Nina Kenwood shares four new releases by Australian women that she has read, loved, and can’t stop talking about.

Eliza Henry-Jones’

In The Quiet

is a heartbreaking debut novel. Set on a rural Victorian horse farm, it tells the story of a grieving family as seen through the eyes of Cate Carlton, their mother and wife, who has recently died. It might sound a little schmaltzy and overly sentimental…

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