International fiction
Why you should read Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Samantha Harvey's lastest novel Orbital, about six astronauts in their spacecraft contemplating the world below, has been lauded since its release in the UK late last year. Our booksellers are beyond excited that it has finally been released locally and want you to know why you should rush out and purchase a copy – NOW!
This is quite honestly one of the best things I've read – perhaps ever – and is so, so good and special that I…
What we're reading: Due, Paulsen and Armfield
Each week our wonderful staff share the books and music they've been enjoying
Jason Austin is reading The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
The last couple of weeks I have been loving Tananarive Due's amazing ghost story, The Reformatory, which is loosely based on experiences endured by the author's great uncle who died at the Dozier School for Boys in Florida in the 1930s.
With their mother deceased and their father having to flee town after being accused of raping…
The 100 bestselling books of 2023
We've run the reports and crunched the numbers. Here are our 100 bestselling books from the past year.
This year's top 100 includes:
37 works of nonfiction
6 Australian First Nations writers
3 cookbooks
4 stars of the screen
2 works of poetry
1 member of the British royal family
every book in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series
You can discover our 100 bestselling children's and young adult books from 2023 here.
Bestselling books in new, compact formats
With the New Year there is a lot to catch up on. There has been an abundance of fabulous books made available in a more portable format over the past couple of months. So if you missed them on initial release or you're a bit more budget-conscious, especially at this time of year, here's a selection to tempt you!
Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley
One night in New York City's Chinatown, Lola is at a dinner with former colleagues when…
2023 fantasy, sci-fi and speculative fiction highlights
It has been a bonza year for all things fantasy, sci-fi and speculative fiction! We've rounded up some of our favourite reads that include cozy fantasies, epic space operas, and multiple not-too-distant dystopias.
Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong
Every year, thousands flock to San-Er, the dangerously dense capital twin cities of the kingdom of Talin, where the palace hosts a set of deadly games. Those confident in their ability to jump between bodies can enter a fight to the death…
2023 LGBTQIA+ fiction favourites
It’s been a fantastic year for LGBTQIA+ stories in fiction. Below, you’ll find some of our 2023 fiction favourites that centre and celebrate a multiplicity of LGBTQIA+ experiences within their pages.
Bored Gay Werewolf by Tony Santorella
Brian, an aimless slacker, works doubles at his shift job, forgets to clean his room and lays about with his friends Nik and Darby. He's been struggling to manage his transition to adulthood almost as much as his monthly transitions to a werewolf…
12 literary prize winners to read this summer
2023 has been a wonderful year of prize-winning literature. From across the globe readers have been treated to a myriad of deeply satisfying novels. The 12 winners below were judged for their originality and exemplary writing.
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
Winner of The Booker Prize 2023
On a dark, wet evening in Dublin, scientist and mother-of-four Eilish Stack answers her front door to find the GNSB on her doorstep. Two officers from Ireland's newly formed secret police want to…
Festive fiction
These five festive reads are perfect for anyone who wants to bring a little bit of Christmas to their reading list.
Mistletoe Malice by Kathleen Farrell
The fire is going, sherry poured, presents wrapped, and claws are being sharpened. In a seaside cottage perched on a cliff, one family reunites for Christmas.
While snow falls, a tyrannical widowed matriarch presides over her unruly brood. Her niece tends to her whims, but fantasises about eloping; and as more guests arrive, each…
Our November 2023 bestsellers
Question 7 by Richard Flanagan
The In-Between by Christos Tsiolkas
Good Material by Dolly Alderton
Women & Children by Tony Birch
So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan
Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life by Anna Funder
Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton
Bright Shining: How Grace Changes Everything by Julia Baird
Killing for Country: A Family Story by David Marr
All That's Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien
Quarterly Essay 92: The Great Divide: Australia’s Housing Mess and How…
Bookseller spotlight: Joanna Di Mattia’s favourite books of 2023
Joanna Di Mattia is a bookseller at Readings Carlton.
I made an early declaration this year that Jenny Erpenbeck’s Kairos would be the best novel I’d read in 2023, and as the year now comes to a close, that declaration still stands. For me, no other book has touched it – I love its emotional and psychological complexity, and the way it recreates the last days of life in a divided Germany so vividly and sensually. I think about it…
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