Our latest blog posts
February highlights for children & young adults
For those of you who live and breathe books and consider many of them to be close personal friends, my first pick for February is going to make your hearts sing: A Book is a Book by Jenny Bornholdt (and illustrated by Sarah Wilkins). Written from a child’s perspective - essentially, everything you could say about books in the simplest and most charming way - this title is very much something for book-lovers of all ages to cherish. There are…
Introducing the Readings New Australian Writing Award and Readings Children’s Book Prize
One of the things I’ve always liked to do is support Australian writing and publishing. Over my career, it has been a thrill to see how the local publishing industry has grown, and how Australian readers have embraced the exciting writing being produced. However, it has always been a struggle for Australian writers to gain an audience and secure a living from their works. Of course, there have been well deserved success stories where debut authors gain almost immediate recognition…
Mandy Sayer chats to Krissy Kneen about The Poet's Wife
by Krissy KneenMandy Sayer’s third memoir vividly details her marriage to the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, Yusef Komunyakaa, and their unconventional life lived across the United States and in Sydney’s Kings Cross. Here, Sayer talks with Krissy Kneen about committing her tumultuous marriage to the page.
When reading a review of a memoir we often come across a repeated set of related words. ‘Brave’ is the first one that springs to mind, along with ‘courageous’, ‘fearless’, ‘bold’. But what is so brave about…
February highlights
February of course is back-to-school month, but with the new Liberal government signalling education is in need of ‘pulling its socks up’, as it were, it’s salient that two new books address issues that will surely only be perpetuated under Minister Pyne. Marion Maddox, in Taking God to School, considers the surprising impact that Christian groups are having on what was once the proudly free and secular public school tradition. David Gillespie, meanwhile, in Free Schools, considers whether…
Last week's top ten bestsellers
Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Little Golden Book by Diane Muldrow
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Barracuda by Christos Tsiolkas
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (film tie-in edition)
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort
Ink Inc. by Jack Heath
Diane Muldrow’s funny and gentle ‘guide to life’…
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 giving up on reading House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
This year I made a resolution to read every book on my shelves that I have not yet given a chance – or at least attempt every book. My list notably included Mark Z. Danielewski’s cult classic House of Leaves…
The Indie Awards Shortlist for 2014
The shortlist for the 2014 Indie Awards have been announced!
As well as category winners, all sixteen shortlisted titles are vying for the top spot as the Indie ‘Book of the Year’ for 2014. The Indie Awards are voted for by independent booksellers from around the country.
The shortlisted titles for 2014 include:
Fiction Award Shortlist:
Barracuda by Christos Tsiolkas
Coal Creek by Alex Miller
Eyrie by Tim Winton
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
Non-fiction…
Matching TV Series to Books
If you love Borgen…
The story of charismatic politician Birgitte Nyborg who unexpectedly becomes the first female Prime Minister of Denmark was our bestselling DVD of the last year - and justifiably so! This fast-paced political drama is an excellent, addictive show which touches on issues that are very close to the surface in our own homegrown politics as well. For an Australian spin on the show, pick up a copy of Bewitched and Bedevilled: Women Write the Gillard…
A reading list for an ideal child (and one for the real deal)
Parents start out with certain ideals: I will never use bribes, I will never raise my voice, I will never use the television as a babysitter…
So, just for fun, here’s a list of gorgeous children’s books for the new, discerning parent, and another list of equally brilliant books that give a slightly more realistic picture of life with kids. As a professional in the field, I recommend a healthy dose from both of these lists.
IN AN IDEAL WORLD…
Our most anticipated books of 2014
Well, what a bountiful year 2014 is shaping up to be! There will be legions of fans awaiting new novels from the likes of Haruki Murakami, Marilynne Robinson, Sebastian Barry, Emma Donoghue, Ian McEwan, Sarah Waters, David Mitchell and Siri Hustvedt. Short-story aficionados have new collections from Lorrie Moore and Lydia Davis to look forward to. A new Gerald Murnane novel is always a cause for celebration.
And towards the end of the…
Browse our blog by category
