Dear Reader, with Alison Huber
Somehow or other we have arrived at the final issue of Readings Monthly for 2022, and we are busily prepping our stores for something like ‘normal’ festive trading, the kind that doesn’t involve QR codes, density limits or immunisation passport checks at the door (to future readers of the Readings archive, this is not a joke!). To celebrate, our Fiction Book of the Month is Inga Simpson’s brilliant Willowman, a book about life told through cricket. All of us who have read advance copies of this book (whose interest in cricket ranges across the spectrum, from complete disinterest to full tragic) have been transfixed (once again) by Simpson’s writing style and the characters she brings to the page. Our reviewer goes so far as to say it ‘may well be the perfect Australian novel’. Our reviewers also speak highly of new novels from Gail Jones, Yumna Kassab, Michelle Johnston and Alex Miller.
What could be better than the long- awaited publication of a new Cormac McCarthy novel? The publication of a second novel the following month, of course! Our reviewer tackles both on page 8. Our staff also recommend books from Alan Moore, Ainslie Hogarth, Mariana Enríquez, An Yu, and Banana Yoshimoto. You might recall The Eighth Life (for Brilka), the huge (in every way) novel from acclaimed Georgian writer Nino Haratischvili; her new book is My Soul Twin. I loved stepping into the ballet world of They’re Going to Love You by Meg Howrey, and read it in two sittings. Also on my radar are the new books from Amit Chaudhuri, Jonathan Coe, Kevin Wilson and Jane Smiley.
Our Nonfiction Book of the Month is the memoir from Gomeroi/Gamilaroi/Kamilaroi author Amy Thunig. This memoir about growing up in the shadow of poverty and addiction is moving and open-hearted. Thunig is in good memoir company this month, with books from Haruki Murakami, Kim Mahood, Ash Barty, Wendy Whiteley, Heather Rose, Matthew Perry (yes, Chandler from Friends), and bookseller Shaun Bythell, who wins my Best Titled Book of the Year Award with his third memoir, Remainders of the Day. Niki Savva’s Bulldozed: Scott Morrison’s Fall and Anthony Albanese’s Rise is the essential account of our recent political past. A Guest at the Feast is a collection of essays from Colm Tóibín. It’s a very musical gifting season this year, with books by or about Bono, Bob Dylan, Vika and Linda Bull, Stevie Nicks, Graham Coxon, Patti Smith and Kate Bush (among others). Our Melbourne City Reads pick is The Passion of Private White by Don Watson, described as a ‘towering achievement’ by one of our national literary treasures.
And finally, dear Reader, I have two votes of thanks to offer. First, to our beloved crime aficionado Fiona Hardy, who is retiring from her Dead Write duties after 12 years of introducing you to the best of local and international crime fiction. Fiona’s page of recommendations has been a highlight to read, whatever your literary inclinations, and I will miss her voice, her gags and her rock-solid attention to the seriousness of the Readings Monthly deadlines (nothing can stop her, not even the deadlines she’s had for the three middle-fiction books she has published: she’s a powerhouse!). Fiona, we can’t wait to see what you write next! Second, to our incredibly talented and wise editor, Jackie Tang, who has guided the good ship Readings Monthly flawlessly over the last two years, always with a cool head, a sharp eye and a kind word: it’s been a journey all involved in this publication will treasure. Jackie has been covering the editorial desk for the wonderful Elke Power, who we’ll welcome back for the first issue of 2023.
