Our latest blog posts
Q&A with Justin Heazlewood
Justin Heazlewood – AKA The Bedroom Philosopher – talks about his rogue self-help book.
In Funemployed, you look at the actualities of being a working artist in Australia. Can you tell about your motivation to write this book, and how the process unfolded?
I was down and out! I was thousands of dollars in debt from an overly ambitious Melbourne Comedy Festival campaign. I was bitter and burnt out and hadn’t been enjoying live performance for a couple of…
The story of my book: Last Bets
by Michaela McGuireI was overseas when I first read the news report, ‘Man dies in casino fray.’ I’d been scanning the newspapers for weeks out of homesickness and habit, but this headline caused my heart to stop beating as I waited for the story to load. A few weeks earlier, I’d had a huge fight with my boyfriend in a grand old casino in the Czech Republic. He wanted to gamble, and show off his Russian, and I wasn’t interested. I’ve always…
Our top ten bestsellers of the week
Capital in the Twenty-First Century Thomas Piketty
The Feel-good Hit of the Year: A Memoir by Liam Pieper
The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins by Irvine Welsh
Foreign Soil by Maxine Beneba Clarke
The Fictional Woman by Tara Moss
Shy: A Memoir by Sian Prior
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
Dirty Secrets: Our ASIO Files by Meredith Burgmann
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joël Dicker
Our top seller for the week…
Liam Pieper chats to Lorelei Vashti about The Feel-Good Hit of the Year
by Lorelei VashtiThe photo on the cover of The Feel-Good Hit of the Year is of a boy who looks like he’s running away from something. It was taken at Labassa, the National Trust-listed nineteenth-century mansion in Caulfield where the author, Liam Pieper, lived as a child.
‘Dad took the photo,’ Pieper says. ‘I can’t remember it, but I assume we were playing Robin Hood, ’cause that was my Robin Hood outfit.’ He points out a spot to the left of the…
What we're reading
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 is reading American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
One of the best things about working in a bookshop is being surrounded by people who have Lots of Important Opinions about Books. Of course, the problem of working in bookshops is that someone always knows of ‘something better you should be reading right now’…
Martin Shaw's top picks for June
Of all the book titles I’ve ever come across, Janet Frame’s You Are Now Entering the Human Heart remains one of my all-time favourites. It’s wonderful news then that the Text series of generally overlooked Australian and New Zealand classics now includes Frame’s debut novel, Owls Do Cry. Evocatively, Angela Meyer in her review writes: ‘At the end, you are lying down, there is weight on your chest, but your mind is lit up.’
Turning to an…
The story of my book: Conversations with Creative Women: Volume II
by Tess McCabeProducing the Conversations with Creative Women series was very much a classic case of creating the type of book I wanted to read.
I love learning about how people manage their small businesses, but I don’t love reading business books. I want to be inspired but I don’t want to be overwhelmed or feel that I can’t relate to other people’s paths to success. I want to read Australian stories. And I want to know how creative’s manage their careers…
Miles Allinson wins the 2014 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript
Congratulations to Readings staff member Miles Allinson for being named the winner of the 2014 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript!
The award was announced last night at the opening of the Emerging Writers’ Festival where Allinson read from his prize-winning manuscript, ‘Fever of Animals’ which the judges described as elegant and thoughtful. Dense and moody, this is a layered story about one man’s lack of self-knowledge, and about the people, places and memories that slip through his…
Q&A with Andrew Solomon
Bronte Coates talks with Andrew Solomon about unorthodox families, including his own.
Far from the Tree is frequently described as a ‘life-changing’ book, and I’d absolutely agree with this statement; after reading the book I’ve viewed my own relationship with my family differently. Do you feel a sense of responsibility for such a reaction from readers?
I’m of course honoured by the designation of it as a life-changing book, and have been especially moved by letters I’ve received that emphasize…
Top picks for Emerging Writers' Festival
The Emerging Writers’ Festival kicks off tonight with an electrifying new line-up of writers, events and venues trailed across the Melbourne CBD. To help you navigate this jam-packed-with-goodness program, we’ve asked some of the festival’s guests to share their top picks.
Luke Ryan, author of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Chemo:
Is there any festival on Earth as unlikely as the Emerging Writers’ Festival? A fully-packed, 11-day bacchanal of writing, wisdom and whimsy dedicated solely to…
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