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Q&A with the 2023 Readings New Australian Fiction Prize shortlist authors
With the upcoming announcement of this year's winner our New Australian Fiction Prize shortlist authors talk about their inspiration, the creative process, their perfect reader, their favourite writing advice, and what they hope readers take away from their books.
What was the initial inspiration for this story?
Amy Taylor (Search History): I’m fascinated by the way our relationships are divided between the online and offline world. When we construct an online version of ourselves and communicate with others…
Bestselling books in new, compact formats
These bestselling books are now available in smaller, more portable formats!
Willowman by Inga Simpson
Allan Reader, one of the last traditional batmakers in the country, keeps his family business alive in a small workshop in Melbourne.
When Todd Harrow, a gifted young batter, catches Allan's eye, a spark is lit and Allan decides to make a Reader bat for him, selecting the best piece of willow he's harvested in years to do so.
As Harrow charts a meteoric rise…
We test recipes from Philoxenia
Recently we tested a selection of recipes from Philoxenia: A Seat at My Table, a new cookbook from Kon Karapanagiotidis, founder of the ASRC, and his mother, Sia.
We were of course thrilled to then have Kon and Sia themselves stop by to taste test our attempts and judge the best replication.
Joe Rubbo made Spanikopita
I made the Spanikopita. Although I cheated by not making the phyllo pastry, using store bought instead. This shortcoming was spotted immediately by…
The October crime review
These are the crime books which have been read and reviewed by our excellent booksellers this month – all in one place!
Everyone On This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson
Reviewed by Lian Hingee from Readings online
Benjamin Stevenson’s bestselling novel Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone was a comedic delight: Agatha Christie meets Knives Out via a distinctly Australian first-person narrator.
In Everyone On This Train Is a Suspect, Ernest Cunningham – mystery-solver and now…
Eggcelent picture books starring chickens
Some chickens cheer from the sidelines and others set their sights on outer space, but all chickens know it's best to be yourself and dare to dream. Below are four new stories about some very unique, but all equally inspiring, chickens!
Woo Hoo! You’re Doing Great! by Sandra Boynton
Whether you are learning to skate, baking a cake, or even making a mistake, this hilarious and heartfelt rhyming book reminds us that trying our best is reason to celebrate. From…
Top picks for book clubs this month
Australian Fiction | Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton
A girl and her mother are on the lam. They've been running for sixteen years, from police and the monster they left in the kitchen with the knife in his throat. They've found themselves a home inside an orange 1987 Toyota HiAce van with four flat tyres parked in a scrapyard by the edge of the Brisbane River.
The girl has no name because names are dangerous when you're on…
What we're reading: Lucashenko, Penelope & Boynton
Each week our amazing staff bring you a sample of the books or music they're immersed in.
Rosalind McClintock is reading Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko
I was lucky enough to see Melissa Lucashenko in conversation with David Marr at the BookPeople conference. Lucashenko came across as fiercely intelligent, generous and funny, that along with the passages she read aloud from her new book Edenglassie prompted me to hunt down a copy. It did not disappoint, it is all these things…
The best food and gardening books of the month, with Chris Gordon
The Farm Table by Julius Roberts
Do you love Matthew Evans’ recipes? Perhaps Jamie Oliver’s? Now, combine those two tremendous cooks and consider the way they both use food in season with simple recipes. Well, move over boys because Julius is in town. This is English farmer and cook Julius Roberts’ first book, although you may have seen him on TV, and it is a beauty. It’s filled with ideas and ideals, all suited to anyone out there with a…
Q&A with the 2023 Readings Young Adult Prize shortlist authors
With the upcoming announcement of this year's winner, our Young Adult Prize shortlist authors talk about their inspiration, the creative process, their perfect reader, their favourite writing advice, and what they hope readers take away from their books.
What was the initial inspiration for your story?
Alice Boyle (Dancing Barefoot): The initial inspiration for Dancing Barefoot came in my final year of my creative writing degree. I was doing a subject on writing for young adults and…
Finding your inner artist through books
by Poppy, Teen Advisory BoardArt is everywhere around us, including in the books we read. To help find the perfect gift for the art lover in your life, or to unlock your own creativity, here are some personal favourites which might provide inspiration.
Prolific children’s author Peter H. Reynolds is probably already on your child’s bookshelf. But I think two of his picture books are as perfect for adults as they are for young readers. Ish shares the story of Ramon, a boy who…
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