Mark Rubbo
Mark Rubbo is chairman of Readings. He is a past president of the Australian Booksellers Association and was founding chair of the Melbourne Writers Festival. In 2006 he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia.
Blog post — 29 Mar 2020
An important message to all Readings customers
Dear Friends of Readings,
In 51 years of business Readings has really only closed its doors on Christmas day (apart from the time when Carlton’s sewer burst – that was…
Blog post — 1 Apr 2020
Mark's Coronavirus Diary, Thursday 27 March 2020
I email our accountant asking how long can we trade without any income? What are our liabilities? What can we do for our staff? We have a number of casuals…
Blog post — 2 Mar 2020
Mark's Say, March 2020
One of the booksellers at Readings Kids suggested in early January that we do something to support the bushfire victims. We decided to put the money we raised from gift…
Review — 23 Feb 2020
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara
Have you ever been through periods when most books you pick up fail to ignite that magical spark? I’ve just emerged from one and Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line…
Review — 29 Mar 2020
Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler
Micah Mortimer ‘… lives alone; he keeps to himself; his routine is etched in stone.’ Micah’s an ordinary man. He dropped out of college to found a start-up with a…
Review — 23 Feb 2020
Apeirogon by Colum McCann
This is quite a surprising novel in its structure made up of a series of numbered passages. Every passage is connected in some way and at times not in ways…
Blog post — 4 Dec 2019
Mark Rubbo recommends nine favourite reads from 2019
Readings Manager Director Mark Rubbo recommends a sample of nine favourite books he’s read this year – including fantastic Australian fiction, a sprawling family epic, two brilliant crime novels, Helen…
Blog post — 28 Oct 2019
Mark's Say, November 2019
A little over a year ago our shop at State Library Victoria moved into the refurbished Baldwin Spencer room on Russell Street. When I was a child that room was…
Blog post — 25 Sep 2019
Mark's Say, October 2019
About once a month I get together with my old friend Henry Rosenbloom from Scribe. Henry and I were at university together (he was much cleverer and more diligent than…
Review — 21 Oct 2019
Yellow Notebook: Diaries Volume I, 1978–1987 by Helen Garner
When Helen Garner’s debut novel Monkey Grip was published in 1977, a couple of larrikins made some beer money by publishing a pamphlet, ‘Who’s Who in Monkey Grip’ and there…
