Our latest blog posts

Why you should read Elena Ferrante

Here’s a collection of testimonials from Readings staff who have read, and loved, Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels: My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name and Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay.

It’s no hyperbole to say that My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name and Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay are collectively one of the greatest literary undertakings I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading.
– Gerard Elson, Bookseller

I…

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Four books that resonated with me in 2014

by Bronte Coates

Bronte Coates shares four books she read in 2014 that have stayed with her.

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante (translated by Ann Goldstein)

But although we were all women, we struggled to understand what a woman was. Our every move or thought or conversation or dream, once analysed in depth, seemed not to belong to us.

In my review of Elena Ferrante’s most recent release (the third in her series of novels about two women…

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Dani Solmon reflects on Cat Out of Hell by Lynne Truss

by Dani Solomon

I have to confess that even though I do own a cat I am not – as I discovered in the early days of my cat ownership – a cat person. Not at all. Not in any way. And perhaps it was because of this that this book resonated with me so strongly.

Cat out of Hell starts off with freshly retired librarian, Alec, escaping to a cottage by the sea to mourn the recent and not yet suspicious passing…

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What we're reading: Richard McGuire, Charles D'Ambrosio and Octavia E. Butler

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.

Stella Charls is listening to podcasts

For me this has been the summer of public transport which means it’s also been the summer of podcasts. Since developing an addiction to Serial in 2014, I’m now hoarding recommendations for anything and everything worth listening to. When my colleague Nina put together a beginner’s guide

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The 25 bestselling albums at Readings in 2014

Here are our 25 bestselling albums from the past year.

Our top sellers for music features a diverse range of talent – from Australian C.W. Stoneking’s ‘scintillating gumbo brew of delta blues and old time Dixieland jazz’ (Gon’ Boogaloo), to a new exciting collaboration between the Coen Brothers and T. Bone Burnett (Inside Llewyn Davis (Soundtrack)).

Of the following albums listed 10 are from Australian musicians including some great compilations. (When The Sun Sets Over) Carlton

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The 25 bestselling DVDs at Readings in 2014

Here are our 25 bestselling DVDs from the past year.

Crime and politics dominate our top sellers with every currently available season of The Bridge, House of Cards (both the US and UK versions) and Borgen all listed below. Three new crime shows have also proved popular: The Fall which stars Gillian Anderson of The X-Files fame, Morden: The Fjällbacka Murders which is based the books of Swedish crime writer Camilla Läckberg and True Detective which was one of…

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The 100 bestselling books at Readings in 2014

Here are our 100 bestselling books from the past year!

Of all the authors (as well as illustrators, translators, editors, photographers) listed here…

50 are female

51 are male

45 are Australian

Of all the books listed here….

21 are books for children and young adults (including six young adult novels and four Minecraft books)

44 are non-fiction books (including 11 food and wine books, 11 memoirs and biographies and two true crime reads)

35 are fiction books (including four…

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Ask Agatha: Is it rude to admit I dislike a book that was a gift?

Our wise bookseller Agatha answers all your tricky questions.

I’m half-way through a book I received as a Christmas gift and have just considered throwing it across the room. If the gifter asks me what I thought, is it rude to come clean about how much I hated it? Should I just pretend I enjoyed it?

In this situation, you’re going to need to do some risk assessment: How often do you receive gifts from this person? How likely is…

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