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We will miss Martin Shaw when we wave him and his family on their way to their new adventure in Germany, but as oceans are no barrier to flurries of emails about new book discoveries, we will be saying bon voyage to Martin, not goodbye. We are excited to welcome Alison Huber to the role of head book buyer – we’re already in the habit of exchanging book recommendations with Alison as she…
A beginner's guide to...
Sometimes you want to begin reading an author but you’re not sure where to start. We’re here to help. We’ve written six beginner guides, covering the work of five of our favourite authors and an entire genre of cookbooks.
Emily Gale is the ‘ultimate fanwoman’ for Liane Moriarty. She writes: “…Moriarty feels like my incredibly funny, sharply observant and quietly clever friend. She’s no show-off. She can be warm and perceptive, artful and surprising.”
Read our beginner’s guide to Liane…
What we're reading: Sarai Walker, Patrick Ness and Amanda Lohrey
Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films we’re watching, the television shows we’re hooked on or the music we’re loving.
Stella Charls is listening to the podcasts from this year’s Sydney Writers’ Festival
Who needs to travel interstate for the Sydney Writers’ Festival (or even leave your house) when you can listen to the incredible range of festival session now available as podcasts. I am completely addicted!
The festival are releasing two…
The beginner's guide to Curtis Sittenfeld
Curtis Sittenfeld is one of my all-time favourite authors. I love her books passionately. There’s a quality to her writing I find addictive, in a way I can’t quite explain. I like the way she puts her sentences together, I like her (often times infuriating) characters, I like the way she captures little details about people or places that bring them to life.
If you’ve never read Sittenfeld before, I’m here to guide you through the process. Here’s the order…
Elke Power interviews Antonia Hayes
Antonia Hayes talks with Elke Power about relative truth and her debut novel, Relativity.
EP: Your debut novel, Relativity, has been likened to A Beautiful Mind and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. However, it seems likely that another comparison will be hard to avoid, and that is between Relativity and Christos Tsiolkas’ award-winning, bestselling novel The Slap. Without wanting to reveal one of the compelling central questions at the heart of Relativity…
The beginner's guide to Rainbow Rowell
I adore Rainbow Rowell. Her work is funny, smart and deeply interesting, plus she writes maybe the best first kiss scenes of anyone, ever. If you’re a Rowell newbie and you’re considering reading her books, first ask yourself if you are open to books that may include a combination of these three things: teenage protagonists, pop culture references and romantic entanglements. Did you answer yes? Excellent, come right this way.
Here’s my recommended reading order for Rowell’s books:
1. Eleanor…
The beginner's guide to Liane Moriarty
When it comes to Liane Moriarty, I’ve been the ultimate fanwoman since 2009, the year that What Alice Forgot was published. That’s just my overblown way of saying that I’ve read all of her novels and drop everything when a new one comes out, suddenly finding time to sit for hours straight while the children starve, work piles up and my home turns to rubble.
For the duration of each book, Liane Moriarty feels like my incredibly funny, sharply observant…
The beginner's guide to vegetarian cookbooks
If you’re a reluctant vegetarian try…
Who you are: You’ve agreed to ‘test the waters’ of the no-meat lifestyle, barely. You just really, really love burgers/pies/sausages okay. You remain unconvinced any vegetarian dish could be as simple as a steak. You think tofu is weird.
Why this book: A Modern Way to Eat is my new favourite cookbook and conversation topic. I bought it a few weeks ago and have already made its vegetarian versions of burgers and pies (sausages…
Which dog should you take to work?
Happy Take-Your-Dog-To-Work Day!
Although there are many dog owners among our staff, unfortunately not one of our beloved friends have the qualifications necessary for work experience at Readings. So to console ourselves until the working day is over and we can return home to… see what they’ve destroyed this time… we’ve made a list of fictional dogs in picture books and junior fiction who would be a real asset to your workplace.
Bookseller:
Dog from Dog Loves Books by Louise…
The beginner's guide to Emily Rodda
If you haven’t picked up a fantasy novel since childhood but want to introduce your children to the magic of reading about magic – never fear. Here I provide a stepping-stone guide for your children to follow, through the books of Emily Rodda, the deserved queen of the junior fantasy genre.
Step One: Rowan of Rin
Rodda’s Rowan of Rin series is a gentle and exciting introduction to traditional fantasy for 7+.
Rodda has deliberately kept the fictional world of…
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