Our latest reviews

Lunatic In My Head: Anjum Hasan

Reviewed by Pip Newling, Readings Port Melbourne

Set in 1990s Shillong, a north-eastern Indian town, high up in the mountains where it is either misty, wintery or rainy – or all three at once – Lunatic In My Head is a lyrical read that takes time to…

Read more ›

Started Early, Took My Dog: Kate Atkinson

Reviewed by Vicky Booth, Program Administrator of CAE Book Groups

Fans of tragi-comedic literary crime fiction rejoice, for Kate Atkinson’s fourth Jackson Brodie novel has arrived. This time, the ex-private detective is a little leaner and meaner, and has discovered Emily Dickinson (hence the book’s title). And he’s back in…

Read more ›

Teenage Dream: Katy Perry

Reviewed by Katherine Dretzke, Readings Hawthorn

This sophomore album really hits the pop spot! After much success with her first album, One of the Boys, it was always going to be interesting to see if Perry could do it all over again. And much to…

Read more ›

God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise: Ray Lamontagne

Reviewed by Dave Clarke, Music Buyer, Readings Carlton

I can’t think of an artist I eagerly anticipate a new album from more than I do from Ray Lamontagne. He is my favourite artist of the noughties. His second album Till the Sun Turns Black is my album of…

Read more ›

Mendelssohn Cello: Zoe Knighton & Farid Amir

Reviewed by Kate Rockstrom, Readings Carlton

Gentle and eloquent melodies are the feature in Zoe Knighton and Amir Farid’s new recording through Move Records. Featuring the cello works of Felix Mendelssohn, it highlights the exquisite musicianship of these two respected Melbourne musicians.

Included are the two…

Read more ›

Le Concert Spirituel Au Temps De Louis XV: Jordi Savall & Le Concert Des Nations

Reviewed by Phil Richards, Readings Carlton

Here we are, barely halfway through the year, and we have another new release from Jordi Savall. Le Concert Spirituel was a series of performances (beginning in Paris in 1725, ending in 1790) to provide entertainment during Lent and on…

Read more ›

Souvenirs Of Russia: The Czar's Guitars

Reviewed by Phil Richards, Readings Carlton

John Schneiderman and Oleg Timofeyev (aka The Czar’s Guitars) have joined together to champion the Russian guitar, hoping to garner it the respect and recognition it deserves. At the centre of this recording is Fernando Sor’s magnificent Souvenir de Russie.

Read more ›

How Did You Get This Number: Sloane Crosley

Reviewed by Jo Case, editor of the Readings Monthly newsletter

I absolutely loved Sloane Crosley’s debut collection of humorous essays, I Was Told There’d Be Cake – and I wasn’t alone. Not only did she get rave reviews from the likes of Jonathan Lethem and David Sedaris (who suggests you…

Read more ›

The Midnight Zoo: Sonya Hartnett

Reviewed by Alexa Dretzke, Children's Book Specialist, Readings Hawthorn

Two young Romany gypsy brothers, escaping war, find themselves in a zoo, at night, amid a war-ravaged village. The starving, woebegone animals tell the boys what has happened, and as the moon shines down on these motley survivors, their stories…

Read more ›

The Ink Garden of Brother Theophane: C.M. Millen & Andrea Wisnewski

Reviewed by Kathy Kozlowski, Children's Book Specialist, Readings Carlton

This beautiful picture book, illustrated from paper-cut prints and watercolours, is a celebration of Medieval Celtic illumination.

A young monk, Theophane, is sometimes restless during the long days bent over his work, and loves above all to be out walking…

Read more ›