The Readings blog

Our wise bookseller Agatha answers all your tricky questions. If you have a question for Agatha please email [email protected]. Readings recently suggested The Scarecrow’s Wedding as a cute gift for a couple getting married (see here). I like the idea…

My Story by Julia Gillard The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi This House of Grief: The Story of a Murder Trial by Helen Garner The Children Act by Ian McEwan The Rosie Project by Graeme…

On one point Erik Jensen is emphatic when discussing his book Acute Misfortune: The Life and Death of Adam Cullen: ‘This book is not about art. It’s a character study.’ Adam Cullen was a Sydney artist who flamed out…

A couple of years back I had the honour of judging the Commonwealth Book Prize for a best first book. When it came to final deliberations, it was an almost unbearable choice between two of the regional winners: Lisa O’Donnell’s…

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. Kara Nicholson is reading This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate by Naomi…

Given the sizeable number of new releases that arrive in store each month, it’s easy to miss some hidden gems. We’ve compiled a short list of books you might have missed this September. Shark by Will Self Will Self’s follow-up…

With all the wonderful international film festivals in town, it’s sometimes easy to lose sight of one’s roots. In celebration of our local talent, we have a selection of Australian films on offer for less than $20 each. Take home…

Our resident foodie Chris Gordon chats with chef Adam Liaw about being a workaholic, and his recommended cooking plans for a variety of evening plans. First, congratulations of your new book! Second… are you a workaholic? Haha I think I…

To celebrate our inaugural New Australian Writing (NAW) Award shortlist, we’re running a NAW Reading Challenge. This week our participants have read The Tribe by Michael Mohammed Ahmad. Here are their responses to the novel (Ed. note: may contain…

We interview Julia Gillard about her autobiography, My Story. You can watch the interview in the below video. We have limited signed copies of My Story available from all five of our shops but hurry! Our stock is limited.

Anaïs Lellouche is the curator of the world-first exhibition, Victor Hugo: Les Misérables – From Page to Stage, now showing at the State Library of Victoria until Thursday 9 November. Here she talks on what it was like to prepare…

Our crime specialist Fiona Hardy talks with Nadia Dalbuono about her writing process, Italy and her debut crime novel. You’ve spent the past fifteen years travelling the world as a documentarian for various companies in the UK. Were you scribbling…