The Bookshelf

ABC Australia

What are you reading, loving or being challenged by? We review the latest in fiction for dedicated readers and for those who wish they read more.

  1. 1 day ago

    Emily St. John Mandel and John Boyne alongside a Booker-longlisted debut

    Kate and Cassie take a look at bestselling author Emily St. John Mandel's latest, Exit Party, an epic that follows a doppelgänger and a man who disappears from a Los Angeles party in 2031, leading to a journey across parallel worlds and fractured timelines. Internationally-bestselling crime writer Michael Robotham is in to discuss The Weight of Angels by John Boyne; and Graham Akhurst, novelist, academic and Director of Indigenous Studies at the University of Technology  on Turkish writer Kenan Orhan's Booker Longlisted novel The Renovation; and historian and author Anna Clark is in to share her Top 100 picks. Books featured Emily St John Mandel, Exit Party, PicadorJohn Boyne, The Weight of Angels, DoubledayKenan Orhan, The Renovation, Hamish HamiltonAnna Clark's Top 100 picks Raimond Gaita, Romulus, My FatherGay'wu Group of Women, Songspirals: Sharing Women’s Wisdom of Country through SonglinesBilly Griffiths, Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient AustraliaThe Macquarie Dictionary, first edition published 1981Ken Simpson and Nicolas Day, Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, first edition published in 1984Other books mentioned Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of SolitudeJames Joyce, UlyssesAlexis Wright, PraiseworthyChina Miéville, The City & the CityClaire G. Coleman, worksCurtis Sittenfeld, RodhamPeter Carey, IllywhackerSteve Toltz, A Fraction of the WholeAlexis Wright, CarpentariaKim Scott, Benang: From the HeartWe want to know what you think of Radio National's book podcasts (The Book Show and The Bookshelf). Help us understand what's working, what's not, and how we can make our book programs even more useful, relevant and unmissable. Please take this quick survey.

  2. 28 Aug

    Top 100 Australian Books from Byron Writers Festival

    Voting in Radio National's Top 100 Books countdown is about to open and this year we're celebrating Australian books. As you think about your own Top 10, Kate and Cassie bring together a trio of award-winning writers (including last year's Top 100 Books winner!) to reveal the Australian books they have loved and been influenced by: Trent Dalton, Claire Thomas and Steve MinOn, with a surprise appearance in the audience from Grimmish and Griefdogg author Michael Winkler. Books mentioned Storm Boy by Colin ThieleHating Alison Ashley by Robin KleinCole's Funny Picture Book by E.W. ColeThe Magic Pudding by Norman LindsayJohnno; Fly Away Peter by David MaloufWake in Fright by Kenneth CookThe Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel RichardsonRuth Park, worksPicnic at Hanging Rock by Joan LindsayThe Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith; Schindler's Ark  by Thomas KeneallyPossum Magic by Mem FoxThe Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard FlanaganThe Book Thief by Markus ZusakCarpentaria by Alexis WrightBurial Rites by Hannah KentCloudstreet by Tim WintonBoy Swallows Universe by Trent DaltonThe Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip WilliamsShe Is Me by Tahlia IsaacDropbear by Evelyn AraluenZigzag Street by Nick EarlsThe Garden Book by Brian CastroThe Children's Bach by Helen GarnerA Fortunate Life by A.B. FaceyMy Brilliant Career by Miles Stella FranklinA Room Made of Leaves by Kate GrenvilleThe Thornbirds by Colleen McCulloughThe Transit of Venus by Shirley HazardThe Vivisector by Patrick WhiteA Short History of Longans by Mirandi RiwoeThe Lebs by Michael Mohammed AhmadCredits Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans and Sarah CorbettSound engineer, Steve FieldhouseArts editor, Rhiannon Brown

  3. 21 Aug

    Anjet Daanje's extraordinary The Stork and the Dromedary + Liane Moriarty returns with Big Little Truths

    Anjet Daanje's The Song of Stork and Dromedary, translated from the Dutch, explores the intimate work of death and care in the eighteenth century. Liane Moriarty returns to the world of Big Little Lies with Big Little Truths, reuniting readers with the coastal suburb of Pirriwee and her cast a decade on,  just with a little more menopausal rage, teenage angst, and a severed finger. Joining us are regular reviewer Beejay Silcox, along with Cheryl Akle from Better Reading. Plus, critic and publisher Geordie Williamson shares his Top 3 Australian books. Books The Song of Stork and Dromedary by Anjet Daanje, translated from Dutch by David McKay (Scribe)Big Little Truths by Liane Moriarty (Macmillan)Geordie Williamson's Top 3 Australian Books Such is Life  by Joseph FurphyTranslations from the Natural World by Les MurrayThe Eye of the Crocodile by Val PlumwoodOther books mentioned The Secret History by Donna TarttThe Slap by Christos TsiolkasMine by Adam OustenDark Places by Kate GrenvilleJohn Brown, Rose, and the Midnight Cat by Jenny RoseLittle Bear series by Maurice SendakTell Me Something True by Michael Robotham We want your feedback! Help us understand what's working, what's not, and how we can make our book programs even more useful, relevant and unmissable. Please take this survey: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/RsSBGWuFEUCredits Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans and Sarah CorbettSound engineer, Craig Tilmouth and Micky GrossmanArts editor, Rhiannon Brown

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What are you reading, loving or being challenged by? We review the latest in fiction for dedicated readers and for those who wish they read more.

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