Win a prize-pack of all eight books in the Readings Children’s Book Prize 2014 shortlist!

Calling all kids who love books!

In celebration of our inaugural shortlist for the Readings Children’s Book Prize, we’re giving away a prize-pack of our entire shortlist to one lucky winner. To enter our competition simply tell us why you love to read. Do you like to make new friends in the pages? Do you like to go on adventures? Whatever the reason, we…

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She’d indulge in literary snobbery.

For the most part, I see Hermione’s taste as being rather high-brow and - dare I say - she’d probably be a huge snob when it came to her bookshelves. She’d read all the big awards - which in recent times includes Eleanor Catton’s The Luminaries (winner of the 2013 Man Booker) and Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch (winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize) - as well as the classics. I don’t really envision Hermione getting…

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Author and illustrator Kevin Burgemeestre tells us the story behind Kate, a graphic novel that tells the story of two young people and a battered, heroic hound through words and illustrations.

Writing this novel parachuted me back into my teenage years. I was not a good teenager - I was not cool, not great at sport and, to top it off, I was a bit of a nerd. Like me, my main character in my graphic novel Kate is…

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Australian Notebooks by Betty Churcher

Stoner by John Williams

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

Diary of a Foreign Minister by Bob Carr

The Sleepers Almanac No. 9 edited by Zoe Dattner & Louise Swinn

The Feast Goes on by Monday Morning Cooking Club

Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Playing To Win by Michael Gordon

Flash Boys by Michael Lewis

After a wonderfully intimate luncheon event last week with the author herself, Betty Churcher’s…

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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.

Robbie is reading Flash Boys by Michael Lewis & Made to Break by D. Foy

I am reading two very different books. The first, Flash Boys, tells the story of high frequency trading on the US stock market. It sounds dull, but Lewis is a master at bringing the elements of a…

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This week we interview three small presses about why they started their project, and what exciting projects they have in the works. Here, Kabita Dhara tells us about Brass Monkey Books.

What were your reasons for establishing Brass Monkey Books?

I had long been a bit frustrated that so many of the Indian books written in English that we get in the West either explore the migration story or are historical. There’s nothing wrong with this per se, but…

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We chat with Eliza Boom about where she gets ideas for her experiments, her favourite books and her best friend Einstein.

I imagine that being a junior spy / inventor extraordinaire equals quite a busy life! Can you describe to us a regular day for you?

I know it’s time for me to get up when I hear Einstein’s tummy rumbling. I mean my dog, by the way, not the famous scientist. After I’ve fed Einstein I have to do…

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The inaugural Melbourne Jewish Writers Festival is less that 8 weeks away and the recently unveiled program suggests a literary extravaganza for book lovers.

The Festival opens Saturday, 31 May with a gala event, “It Started With a Word”, hosted by Rachel Berger. Following this are two action-packed days of interviews, panel discussions, book signings, poetry readings and more: showcasing some of the best homegrown and overseas writers who are Jewish or explore Jewish themes in their work.

The Festival…

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Last week saw the release of Boyhood Island, the third volume in Karl Ove Knausgaard’s My Struggle series, and over the weekend the Guardian published a piece by Hari Kunzru asking is the author brave or shameless? Here, bookseller Gerard Elson responds.

I can’t think of a less appropriate descriptor for Knausgaard than ‘shameless’. He’s the converse of that, its blue, black and white photo negative. As anyone who’s read even one of the +3600 pages of his…

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This week we interview three small presses about why they started their project, and what exciting projects they have in the works. Here, Donna Ward tells us about Inkerman & Blunt.

And suddenly you know: It’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings. — Meister Eckhart

What were your reasons for establishing Inkerman & Blunt?

I have a passion for creating beautiful books of exceptional ideas written exquisitely. I love reading those kinds of books…

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