The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi & Geoffrey Trousselot (trans.)

Good Material by Dolly Alderton

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

Question 7 by Richard Flanagan

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Hector Garcia & Francesc Miralles

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Come and Get It by Kiley Reid

Lola in…

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The Mediterranean Cook by Meni Valle

Meni Valle is a teacher and a culinary tour guide in the Mediterranean. This is excellent news because it means her recipes are easy to follow, considered for a range of skill sets, and include a historical background to each dish. This is her sixth cookbook, and it captures the Mediterranean approach of dishes that spread from the early afternoon through to the evening. Imagine filo pastries, stuffed vegetables, grilled meats, and delicious fruit-based…

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Each week our wonderful staff share the books and music that they've been enjoying.

Mark Rubbo is reading We All Lived in Bondi Then by Georgia Blain

I have been reading the posthumous collection of short stories by Georgia Blain, We All Lived in Bondi Then. It's an exquisite collection, moving, at times funny and so readable. I was reminded of Alice Munro and Tessa Hadley.

I've also just read Nicholas Jose's novel The Idealist. Think le Carré…

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The longlist for the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction has been announced! The Women’s Prize for Fiction celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in women’s writing from throughout the world. The winner receives a cheque for £30,000 and a limited edition bronze figurine known as a ‘Bessie’, created and donated by the artist Grizel Niven. Both are anonymously endowed.

Below are the sixteen longlisted books.

Hangman by Maya Binyam

In Defence of the Act by Effie Black

And Then She Fell…

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Recently our office was blessed with a visit from legendary local baker Natalie Paull. The visit coincides with the publication of her second cookbook Beatrix Bakes: Another slice (yes, we have signed copies), and to celebrate our multi-talented staff participated in an in-house bake-off, where we trialled recipes from Paull's latest collection.

With Paull on-site to judge an array of delicious bakes including tarts, chiffon cakes, buns and pies – this was truly a taste test to relish…

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As regular readers of this publication will know, this is my first column in this space. At the end of last year Mark Rubbo decided to retire his regular column. Although, it won’t be the last you see of ‘Mark’s Say’, as I am told that he might submit a few words here and there, when the inspiration strikes.

In other news, we’re excited to announce The Readings Foundation 2024 recipients this month. The very worthy grassroots organisations will receive…

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The longlist for this year’s Stella Prize has been announced! The Stella Prize seeks to elevate the work of Australian women and non-binary writers. The $60,000 prize is awarded annually to one outstanding book deemed to be original, excellent, and engaging. This year’s prize saw over 200 entries.

Explore the 2024 Stella Prize longlist below or view our collection here.

The Swift Dark Tide by Katia Ariel

What happens when, in the middle of a happy heterosexual marriage, a…

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It’s that time of year again which I approach with equal parts excitement and dread – when I sit down under the weight of a too-close deadline to a blank page plus an overwhelming number of forthcoming titles kindly furnished by our friends in publishing, and try to find a way to cram a year’s worth of output into a jaunty piece of – let’s call it – creative nonfiction (overreach? more likely creative summary?) that doesn’t feel too much…

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Explore our books of the month for March; 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

Thanks for Having Me by Emma Darragh

Reviewed by Annie Condon from Readings Hawthorn

Thanks for Having Me is a novel told in interlinked stories, and even though…

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We are only two months into 2024 and we have already been gifted with some incredible new titles from some of our favourite young adult authors! Here's a list of just some of them!

From The author of House of Hollow and Our Chemical Hearts.

The Invocations by Kyrstal Sutherland

Zara Jones won't accept her murdered sister is gone forever and will do whatever it takes to claw her sister back from the grave – even trading in the…

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