This Mother's Day we're recommending some of our absolute bookseller favourite titles from recent times. Backed by our well-read bibliophiles, these novels are wonderful choices to gift the special reader in your life.

Trespasses by Louise Kennedy

'A story of intimacies and the minutiae of the day-to-day of ordinary life set against The Troubles. I fell in love with all the characters, as flawed as they were, and felt that I lived the months with them in that small suburb on the outskirts of Belfast.'

– Rosalind McClintock, marketing manager

'The debut novel from the 50-something Kennedy, is a book of tremendous insight, tenderness and emotional intelligence. While the basic premise makes it sound conventional, maybe even clichéd – Belfast, 1975, a 24-year-old Catholic woman has an affair with an older, married Protestant man – it’s the way Kennedy paints inside and outside this central, sensual and completely believable relationship that brings the story to life.'

– Joanna DiMattia, bookseller at Readings Carlton

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

'This is quite honestly one of the best things I've read – perhaps ever – and is so, so good and special that I don't even really want to talk about it.'

– Alison Huber, head book buyer

'A beautifully written meditation on the human condition. Even at great distances, like Harvey's orbiting astronauts, the big guiding philosophical questions are a constant, and act as a tether with the Earth below.'

– Julia Jackson, assistant manager of Readings Carlton

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The Sitter by Angela O'Keeffe

'There is so much to absorb from this slender book that it had me reflecting on its contents for days. I thought a lot about the ethics of historical biography, and the relationship that is manufactured between subject and writer by the act of writing and research: how can a biographer speak for a person they cannot meet? I thought (again) about all those unknown women of history whose stories and lives have been overshadowed by men, and wondered how we can ever know enough about them.'

– Alison Huber, head book buyer for Readings

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Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au

'The combination of love, entitlement, care and frustration which lies within the relationship of daughter and mother is something which is often written about – but here, Au has managed to evoke something unique. The space between what the characters say to one another, the disjointed movements of their interactions, speak far more than even they seem to realise. In this careful and indirect way, Au manages to conjure a level of nuance which is almost beyond language.'

– Molly Smith, bookseller at Readings Emporium

'Au has an extraordinary ability to describe events and places in such minute detail that you feel as though you are living through them.'

– Mark Rubbo, chairman of Readings

Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder

'I purchased a copy of Rachel Yoder’s debut novel Nightbitch after I was seduced by a simple 30-word blurb that managed to say a lot while not revealing much at all. Turns out, this is the only way to talk about this novel about a struggling mother, which pushes her joys and terrors into truly strange and wondrous territory. There are passages here that practically blew my mind with their audacity and intensity.'

– Joanna DiMattia, bookseller at Readings Carlton

'I haven’t yet stopped thinking about Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder.'

— Alison Huber, head book buyer

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

'I'm always on the lookout for fantasy and sci-fi books with older women protagonists who, however begrudgingly, answer the call to adventure. The protagonist of Legends and Lattes, Viv, may not be old – her age isn't mentioned – but her knees hurt when she stands up so that's enough for me. Viv may not exactly be a lady – she's an orc barbarian but who's to say a lady shouldn't also be a barbarian? And her post-retirement call to adventure isn't saving a planet or even a person – it's opening a coffee shop in a city that's never heard of coffee.'

– Dani Solomon, manager of Readings Kids

'I'm delighted to say that this unorthodox tale about a barbarian orc who hangs up her broadsword to open a coffee shop in a city that's never heard of the mighty bean is an unexpected delight. Arguably the first in what is now a burgeoning new genre of low-stakes high fantasy novels, Legends and Lattes is peopled with a cast of delightful characters.'

– Lian Hingee, digital marketing manager

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Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

'It takes incredible authorship to create characters this vivid and stories this affecting, Kingsolver deserves all the praise she gets!' 

– Emma Davison, bookseller at Readings Malvern

'Barbara Kingsolver reimagines and recaptures the soul and spirit of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield in her breathtaking new novel set in modern Southern Appalachia, USA ... Dickens called David Copperfield his ‘favourite child’, and I personally believe that he would have been proud to see Kingsolver’s unforgettable epic, and perhaps would have even called it his ‘favourite grandchild’. It is a wondrous coming-of-age story worthy of comparison to its inspiration.'

– Aurelia Orr, bookseller at Readings Carlton

Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko

'Edenglassie paints a nuanced picture of the complex weave of relationships between the colonists and Goorie people, as well as bearing witness to terrible acts committed on country – massacres, stolen children – but it retains a grim humour, a lightness of foot, and a palpable commitment to never giving up on the ongoing struggle for recognition and respect. It is a rage-informed, joyful, rollicking, straight-talking yarn of the strength and persistence of Goorie people in Brisbane since the coming of the Dagai.'

– Bernard Caleo, bookseller at Readings Carlton

'Set across two time periods of 1854–5 and 2024, in Magandjin-Brisbane, it is a story of love, loss and fighting for independence. It starts with the hope that the Dagai (white people) are leaving, but it is soon apparent that they are not. The characters, are so well developed their actions and words feel like that of a loved one. Having grown up in the area, I learned a lot more about the history both of the place and the people.'

– Rosalind McClintock, marketing manager