Books we read in one sitting
Our booksellers share the books that they could not put down – their most memorable one-sit reads.
‘In a former life, I worked for a children’s book publisher and reading a book for my work was always a different experience than reading a book for pleasure – a part of me always had to sit back from the story and think about who the market for the book was, and how I was going to pitch it to buyers. So when I first heard that we would be publishing a book called A Monster Calls – based on a concept developed by Siobhan Dowd but written by Patrick Ness, who took up the project after Dowd’s untimely death from cancer – I started thinking about how to approach the challenge of selling an illustrated hardcover fiction book. So nothing prepared me what a gut punch of a novel it was.
A Monster Calls tells the story of Conor, a 13-year-old boy who is struggling to deal with his mother’s terminal illness. One night a monster appears and promises that he will help Conor by telling him three stories. But these stories aren’t your traditional happily-ever-after fairytales. Lessons aren’t learned, wrongs aren’t righted, the good don’t always triumph, and the wrongness of the narratives just serves to increase Conor’s rage and distress.
I cracked the cover on my copy of A Monster Calls and was immediately swallowed into a black hole only to be spat out hours later, heaving with tears, to find the cat starting at me like: 'RUOK?’. Don’t try to read it in one go. Or do, I don’t know. I’ve been too scared to pick it up again, but with the movie about to hit (the trailer looks fabulous) maybe it’s time.‘
– Lian Hingee, digital marketing manager
'I still distinctly remember the experience of reading Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl for the first time. I had been lucky enough to attend Book Expo America in New York, and had lugged about one million books home with me, most of which were advance proof copies of yet-to-be released titles. One of these proofs was Fangirl. I had never heard of Rainbow Rowell before (at this stage, I don’t think Eleanor and Park had been released in Australia) but Fangirl was on the YA Buzz Book panel at the conference, and there had practically been a physical fight among the crowds to get your hands on one of the limited proof copies afterwards. Right after returning home to Melbourne, I sat down on my couch and spent all of Saturday afternoon reading the book. Every page filled me with delight, and I fell in love with Rowell’s writing style. It was one of those special reading experiences where I knew from the first few pages that this was a book – and a writer – for me.’
– Nina Kenwood, marketing manager
‘One day I started reading Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca on the way home from work. Thank goodness I’m a fast reader because I didn’t even take my shoes off when I got home. I literally walked in, sat down and powered through. For some reason, I’d thought the story was going to be a bodice-ripper – maybe because of Du Maurier’s name? – and I was SO wrong. It’s a slow-boiling thriller, filled with a growing sense of dread and tension. Not only did I race through it but I was desperate to talk about it with someone – anyone! Rebecca is completely compulsive reading.’
– Isobel Moore, children’s and YA specialist at St Kilda
‘I was a little wary of reading Melina Marchetta’s adult crime novel. I love her young adult novels (especially Looking for Alibrandi which was a very important book for me to discover as a teenager) but the premise of Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil didn’t appeal to my usual taste. However, when an early reading copy was put in my hands, I thought that I’d at least give it a go. I started reading the book on the tram home, and I didn’t stop until I finished the final page. (Like Isobel, I’m a fast reader, which truly is a blessing when you work for a bookshop.) Often when I race through books in a single sitting, I’m left with a hollow, dazed sensation at the end – I’m bereft! – but when I finished Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil I actually felt a deep swell of satisfaction.’
– Bronte Coates, digital content coordinator
‘Last year I was in a reading slump for a few months, maybe because I was being too hard on books or maybe because I was reading the wrong books. Then I happened to pick up Vendela Vida’s The Diver’s Clothes Lie Empty, which was lucky as it felt like the exact novel I wanted to read at that exact time. Set in Morocco, it follows the adventures of a tourist who loses her bag and makes a series of poor decisions. It’s a wonderful read.’
– Chris Somerville, bookseller
‘Earlier this year I’d complained to a colleague that, while I’d read some really good books lately, there hadn’t been anything that had gripped me in that feverish can’t eat, can’t sleep, must keep reading until I’m done sort of way. And that was when my colleague put the The Widow by Fiona Barton in my hands. I read one chapter. Then another. When I looked up again I realised I’d forgotten about dinner, and I could either stop reading or skip dinner. I skipped dinner. I spent my entire day off sprawled on the couch, reading The Widow because I just couldn’t put it down. If you’re after a gripping read that’ll have you shunning the outside world, look no further.’
– Holly Harper, children’s and YA specialist at Carlton
‘This year I had the privilege of interviewing Australian author Jennifer Down about her debut novel, Our Magic Hour. I read a lot of new Australian fiction as part of my work for the Readings Monthly, and this novel had me hooked from the first page. I read it in one day and I’m still thinking about it, months later.’
– Elke Power, editor of Readings Monthy
