Our latest blog posts
What we're reading: Stoneman, Hermes Gower, Burr
Each week our wonderful staff share the books that they've been enjoying.
Aurelia is reading Alexander the Great: A Life in Legend by Richard Stoneman
The only thing second to the amazing feats accomplished by and longlasting influence of Alexander the Great are the fantastical legends that emerged after his death. Richard Stoneman has written an entertaining, eye-opening novel about how different cultures throughout Europe and Asia have adopted Alexander the Great into their own mythology and religion, painting him…
Debut fiction to read this month
Proving just how strong the Australian literary scene is at the moment, we have a wonderful selection of ten debut fiction and crime fiction books this month to add to your 'to be read' pile. There are also a couple of excellent international fiction titles to throw into the mix!
🦘 Australian fiction
Translations by Jumaana Abdu
Amid a series of personal disasters, Aliyah and her daughter, Sakina, retreat to rural New South Wales to make a new life. Aliyah…
Australian fiction to pick up this month
The Temperature by Katerina Gibson
What brings six very different people together? Fiona is a millennial media writer; Sidney a failed poet; Tomas a thirty-something factory worker and father; Lexi a fading activist icon; Govita a non-binary visual artist; Henry a Vietnam veteran ageing out in rural isolation. On the face of it, they have nothing in common – but when a tweet goes viral, it sends their lives ricocheting off each other and upending their assumptions about each other…
The Melbourne Prize for Literature 2024 Finalists
The 2024 finalists have been announced for the Melbourne Prize for Literature, one of Australia's most valuable and prestigious literary awards.
The Melbourne Prize for Literature 2024 will be awarded to a Victorian author whose body of published work has made an outstanding contribution to Australian literature and to cultural and intellectual life. The prize is supported by major patron, The Vera Moore Foundation, and the winning author will receive $60,000.
2024 also marks the inaugural year of the Falls…
Your guide to the New Australian Fiction shortlist
The Readings New Australian Fiction Prize shortlist is the perfect reading list for the year's best new Australian books. But if you're not sure which of the six shortlisted titles to start with, here's a quick guide to help you find the right book for your current mood.
For an insightful and tense examination of police violence in Melbourne's West
Read No Church in the Wild by Murray Middleton
It's been five long years since violence erupted between young migrants…
Our books of the month, September 2024
Explore our books of the month for September.
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
The Temperature by Katerina Gibson
Reviewed by Alison Huber, head book buyer for Readings
‘ … one of the strongest Australian novels from an emerging writer that I’ve read this year, or any year.’Katerina Gibson was named one of 2023’s…
Living Sustainably through fashion
In May, Australia was revealed to have overtaken the US as the world’s biggest fashion consumers! Australians purchase an average of 56 new clothing items a year, more than the US (53), the UK (33 items) and China (30). If this is as horrifying for you as it was for me, then this blog post is for you! In it you'll find books on how to mend the clothing you already own, upcycle those thriftshop finds, sew your own…
Dear Reader, with Alison Huber
The start of a new month means that there's a new issue of Readings Monthly available online and in our shops. Below you can read Alison Huber's column from the latest issue – and keep an eye on the blog for more updates and recommended new releases throughout the month!
Dear Reader, as another September rolls around, complete with more school holidays (what, again already?), and some high-profile sporting final that curiously involves a ceremonial day off, it’s also the…
Foreword, with Joe Rubbo
The start of a new month means that there's a new issue of Readings Monthly available online and in our shops. Below you can read the foreword from the latest issue – and keep an eye on the blog for more updates and recommended new releases throughout the month!
In case you missed it, we have just announced the 2024 shortlists for The Readings Prizes for Children’s, Young Adult and New Australian Fiction. It is always an exciting…
Winners of the 2024 Davitt Awards
Sisters in Crime Australia has announced the winners of the 2024 Davitt Awards for best crime books by Australian women.
The winning titles in each category in order of how they were presented, from last to first, are:
🔍 Best Adult Crime Novel
When One of Us Hurts by Monica Vuu
Port Brighton hates outsiders. It has its own ways of dealing with the evil, the foolish, the misled, and it holds tightly to them. But the seams start to…
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