Our books of the month, November 2024
Explore our books of the month for November.
Each of the below titles has been read and recommended by our booksellers before being selected as our book of the month for its category.
FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH
Theory & Practice by Michelle de Kretser
Reviewed by Alison Huber, head book buyer
'... this novel sparkles with de Kretser’s many excursions, surprising the reader right to the final page.'
The narrator of Theory & Practice relocates to Melbourne from Sydney in the mid-1980s to take up a place in the Masters program in the English Department at the University of Melbourne. She’s going to write a thesis on Virginia Woolf. Theory (with a capital ‘T’) has arrived in full force to wreak havoc on the metaphoric foundations of that institution, and her supervisor, the department’s ‘Designated Feminist’, gives her a reading list, telling her, ‘We find it helps Sydney graduates get up to speed’. Enough said. She signs a lease on a one-bedroom dive in St Kilda. She meets her people in the grunge of this seaside bohemia, including Kit, a person of sexual interest. Kit is in another relationship, which he calls ‘deconstructed’ (or is that code for a vogueishly postmodern take on infidelity?). Her widowed mother remains in Sydney, left to mother her from afar via phone calls and letters, worrying about her daughter’s progress.
I really enjoyed this book and its clever thinking on academia, postcolonialism, privilege, power, and the literary canon, and was entertained by so many of de Kretser’s pithy observations that manage to capture and critique entire debates in a phrase or two with pure perfection. Anyone who has had an academic education in the wake of the turn to theory will find much to enjoy here, but the greater intent of Michelle de Kretser’s cross-genre piece is more broadly appealing. What is the connection between the theory and the practice of living? If life must be experienced as practice, is theory a simple distraction or affectation? Or is the practice itself beside the point, while the theoretical reigns? Of course, it’s not an either/or situation here (or at all), and this novel sparkles with de Kretser’s many excursions, surprising the reader right to the final page. Indeed, the form of this narrative is both the practice and the theory, and the author pushes the reader to swerve around and beyond the writing conventions that often inform and frame our thinking and reading. The result is not a straightforward narrative or reading experience and so it’s an exciting one, an essential novel for anyone interested in the expansive possibilities of the literary form.
CRIME FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH
Leave the Girls Behind by Jacqueline Bublitz
Reviewed by Aurelia Orr, from Readings Kids
'Bublitz’s newest novel challenges the glamourisation, by the media and in pop culture, of male serial killers ...'
The author of the award-winning debut Before You Knew My Name, Jacqueline Bublitz’s newest novel challenges the glamourisation, by the media and in pop culture, of male serial killers and redirects our attention to the lives of the girls and women taken by travesty.
Ruth is haunted by the disappearance and murder of her best friend, Beth, when they were kids living in Hoben, Connecticut. Having moved away to New York as an adult, the only reminder of her past is Beth’s ghost, who she talks to, as well as the ghosts of other young girls who have been kidnapped and killed. Although their music teacher was arrested the same day Beth’s body was found, Ruth has always had her suspicions about what really happened that dreadful day. So, when another young girl, Coco, is also kidnapped in Ruth’s hometown years later, Ruth sees it as her responsibility to uncover the truth herself.
Ruth is as dedicated and resourceful as a detective can be, contacting online chatrooms of amateur detectives hoping to solve unsolved cases, posing as a fake true-crime podcaster, and even travelling across the world for answers. We follow Ruth as she connects the dots with other women whose lives have been uprooted by the music teacher, and whose tragic pasts have left them vulnerable to the whims of more evil men. Within an enthralling murder mystery, Bublitz shines a light on the reality of male violence against women and the ripple effects it leaves behind. Bublitz skilfully makes clear that, much as Ruth often strays from her search for Coco to attempt to answer the questions of her own past, all too often in real life the gore and mystery behind a killer’s actions steal the focus from the people left behind, who must survive without their loved ones, and from the women whose lives are taken every day.
NONFICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH
Australian Gospel: A Family Saga by Lech Blaine
Reviewed by Chris Gordon, community engagement and programming manager
'Buckle in, because Lech Blaine’s story about his family will blow your mind.'
Buckle in, because Lech Blaine’s story about his family will blow your mind. It reads like a crime novel, but it took Blaine 11 years to write this tale because he wanted to be accurate. He interviewed hundreds of people from every facet of his life – perhaps to ensure he wasn’t glamorising the truth. Australian Gospel reminds me of Tim Winton’s Cloud Street, but this story is true.
Michael Shelley and his wife Mary are extreme Christian fanatics who consider most of their fellow Australians to be barbarians obsessed with alcohol and sport. The Shelleys travel around Australia, believing they are disciples of God. Their children are taken from them as infants. Blaine’s parents, Lenore and Tom, are unable to have children except for Lech, so they turn to fostering. They raise their children in the pubs they run. They are loud, generous and without religious faith. They foster three of the Shelleys’ children and love them as their own. However, the Shelleys want their children back – and they are not going to give up. So begins a battle that will last years and years.
Blaine is considered one of Australia’s most talented writers and this story is a clear indication why. He switches from one side to the other and, alongside, gifts us with a portrait of how the system of social workers and foster carers works. It is not a flattering picture. There is tremendous sadness in this narrative; a grief that runs through each page, born of Blaine’s mother, who wanted only to provide comfort and safety to her children. She died before Blaine could bring the story together, although he used her files and notes as a springboard.
By telling us his story, Blaine opens his arms and invites us in to an extraordinary tale of love and survival. Australian Gospel is a riveting and exceptional read.
KIDS BOOK OF THE MONTH
Australia’s Baby Animals by Jess Racklyeft
Reviewed by Kim Gruschow, co-manager Readings St Kilda
'... a beautiful book that showcases an array of Australia’s animals which is not only magnificent but also extraordinarily cute.'
Melbourne illustrator Jess Racklyeft has created a beautiful book that showcases an array of Australia’s animals which is not only magnificent but also extraordinarily cute. The spreads in this book display the various habitats of Australia in gorgeous watercolour and present illustrations of babies of the species that live within them. Each species is accompanied by an interesting fact.
From underground burrows to treetop nests, and from sandy beaches to riverbeds, Australia’s unique landscapes provide homes for baby animals to live and thrive in. Here is a celebration of the animals that are born in this incredible country, from Snubfin Dolphin calves to Pygmy Possum joeys, Rainbow Lorikeet fledglings, Huntsman spiderlings, Thorny Devil hatchlings, and many more.
How delightful it is to learn about species with such spectacular names as the Eastern Gobbleguts, the Pobblebonk, and the Gumleaf Skeletoniser. This book will inspire young readers to love and care for our fascinating creatures. To assist with this, there are notes at the back of the book which provide information and links for further habitat and wildlife care and conservation organisations. This book is perfect to share with anyone aged 3+ and will surely be an excellent resource for primary schools, libraries and all nature-loving homes.
YOUNG ADULT BOOK OF THE MONTH
Don’t Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews
Reviewed by Bella Mackey, digital content lead
'This is a dark and emotional fantasy thriller, and a must-read for fans of dark-academia ...'
C.G. Drews’ return to young adult fiction is a gloriously gothic exploration of fairytales, isolation and obsessive friendship, set in an elite boarding school and a dark, untouched forest.
Andrew feels too fragile to exist properly in the world, thanks to the intense anxiety that either paralyses him or sends him spiralling. But between his polished and high‑achieving twin sister Dove, and his bold and fearless best friend Thomas, he’s able to keep himself mostly together.
But now, after a long summer apart, something is different. The close trio of friends is fractured but Andrew can’t work out why. And there’s something lurking in the dense forest that surrounds their secluded boarding school – something that’s following Andrew. Is it related to the bloody disappearance of Thomas’s parents? Or the twisted, macabre fairytale monsters that Andrew and Thomas have concocted together? And what price will they have to pay to keep the forest at bay?
This is a dark and emotional fantasy thriller, and a must-read for fans of dark-academia books like Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House or M.L. Rio’s If We Were Villains. It’s spooky and evocative, and C.G. Drews perfectly balances the style with richly nuanced characters that provide plenty of substance. It’s also full of heart-rending pining, so I heartily recommend it for fans of romance – especially any readers who are keen to see romance for an asexual character. For readers 14+.
YOUNG ADULT CLASSIC OF THE MONTH
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Reviewed by Rosalind McClintock, head of marketing
'... an inspiring story of rising to the occasion and accepting your whole self to do so.'
There is a great pleasure in re-reading the classics with a child. While my child is not yet a young adult, he was very keen to read The Hobbit. So, as a dutiful mother, I dusted off a copy and dived into Middle-earth, the world of Bilbo, Gandalf and Thorin et al. I was struck by the slower pace of the book in comparison to modern-day odysseys, but it is this pace that allows for the building of a rich world full of intricate characters, nuanced relationships and the realistic yet magnificent character arc of one Bilbo Baggins. J.R.R. Tolkien is a masterful world builder; while others have tried, no one since Tolkien quite captures the level of detail he does, right down to Bilbo’s buttons.
The basic plot is Bilbo, a Baggins (revered for their steady nature) and a Took (Hobbits with a wild and adventurous streak), is called upon by Gandalf (a wizard) to help 13 dwarfs defeat Smaug (a dragon) and so reclaim their home and treasure. Bilbo, very much a Baggins, is not at all keen. In fact, he is bamboozled into the mission. Along the way, he is forced to forego his creature comforts (he is particularly fond of food and hankies) and learns he is more than the sum of his parts. With the help of the ring (yes, THE ring), his wits and growing resourcefulness surprises Bilbo himself, his companions and his reader.
The Hobbit is a tale full of adventure, cunning and, of course, fights and battles. It transcends all ages; it’s great to read-aloud to a child, as a read-alone for a young adult and as a journey into the past for an adult. It is an inspiring story of rising to the occasion and accepting your whole self to do so.
