With booksellers for parents, our kids have an endless supply of reading material and are always willing to roadtest for us. Ranging from age 5 to age 16, they told us the books they discovered in 2014 that hooked them the most, including several new releases and some old favourites.

Teens

Charlie, age 16, loved:

The Rookie Yearbooks edited by Tavi Gevinson (Books 1-3). Perfect for fans of fashion, humour and in-depth personal essays by teenagers and celebrities, presented in…

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Elke Power and Bronte Coates share some of their favourite book covers of 2014

The Best 100 Poems of Gwen Harwood by Gwen Harwood

The elements of this cover are perfectly judged by designer Peter Long. At first glance, the exquisite image and simple text are evocative and inviting, and this impression only deepens with every admiring look. The cover is a fantastic match for the poetry within.

Elke

Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill

Described as ‘the story of…

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The campaign #readwomen2014 was launched this year, designed to encourage more people to read, review and discuss books written by women. Here, our staff share some of the books by women they read in 2014.

Nina Kenwood, Digital Marketing Manager:

Many of the most notable books by women I read this year were debuts. I highly recommend The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P, Friendship, The Girls From Corona Del Mar, Life Drawing, The Last Days…

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The gift-giving season has well and truly arrived and if you’re stressing over what to buy for Charlie, Mabel, Bertie, Gertie and more, then, stress no more.

We’ve put together a list of handy guides to help you find the right gift for your friends, families and work colleagues this Christmas.

Are you wondering…

What to buy for your parents?

What to buy for your significant other?

What to buy for hard-to-buy-for people?

What to buy if you’re an ethical…

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Our resident foodie shares four books that epitomise popular food trends of the past twelve months.

I Quit Sugar for Life: 148 Recipes + Meal Plans for Families and Solos by Sarah Wilson

It now seems that there are many people who want to be free of pesky sugar for the rest of their lives. In I Quit Sugar for Life, Sarah Wilson has designed a program complete with 148 sugar-free recipes, to show families and individuals how to…

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Children’s book specialist Emily Gale selects the young adult books that she read in one sitting this year.

The Boy’s Own Manual To Being A Proper Jew by Eli Glasman

With remarkable wit and warmth, Eli Glasman invites his readers into the Orthodox Jewish community that provides the setting for his debut novel. Once I was in, I stayed put. It’s a slim, punchy story, no words wasted, which I found refreshing. I just hope it doesn’t get lost among…

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Looking for something to read? We match your literary inclinations with a prize winner of 2014.

Want to read contemporary American fiction about the Iraq war that doesn’t put a heroic spin on the realities of warfare?

Try Redeployment by Phil Klay

With a hard-eyed realism and stunning emotional depth, former marine captain and Iraq veteran Phil Klay depicts the the human cost of war. Redeployment is a deserving winner for the National Book Award for Fiction. (Find the full…

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It’s the time of year when The Readings Foundation allocates its grants for the following year. The Foundation raises money from 10% of Readings’ profits, individual donations and our customers also contribute by making a small donation when they have an item gift-wrapped. It’s a lovely but also very difficult time as the requests we receive outstrip our resources and each project is very deserving in its own way. The Foundation’s aims are to support literacy, the arts and the…

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The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan

Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi

Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s ‘Learned’ by Lena Dunham

Amnesia by Peter Carey

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

A Short History of Stupid by Bernard Keane & Helen Razer

Only The Animals by Ceridwen Dovey

The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion

Merciless Gods by Christos Tsiolkas

Nora Webster by Colm Tóibín

Please note:…

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The Readings Foundation has announced $113,880 worth of grants to support a range of projects and organisations within Victoria in 2015.

The Readings Foundation grant funding in 2015 will have a strong focus on those organisations directly supporting disadvantaged communities by way of literacy and educational assistance programs. Leaning towards direct human contact at the individual level with subsequent impact on greater social change, The Readings Foundation is proud to award grants to the following organisations:

Somebody’s Daughter Theatre ($10,000)

…

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