The Bookshelf

ABC Australia
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Books
  • Every two weeks

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. 3 days ago

    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: 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

  2. 14 Aug

    The Haunting Wild, a Trip to Mars and Dreaming of Escape in 1980's France

    We review the latest in fiction for dedicated readers and for those who wish they read more.

  3. 7 Aug

    Miles Franklin winner Omar Musa + Booker-longlisted All Them Dogs and Téa Obreht's Sunrise

    Omar Musa joins us after winning the 2026 Miles Franklin Literary Award. Plus, Michael Robotham and Madeleine Gray review Djamel White's Booker Prize-longlisted debut All Them Dogs and Téa Obreht's sweeping new novel Sunrise.

  4. 31 Jul

    Meg Mason's new novel + reviews from Hannah Kent, Andy Griffiths, Tom Wright (BONUS: Anna Funder's Top 3)

    From the nightclubs of 1930s Berlin to the heartache and awkwardness of high school, and into the green rooms and backstage spaces of writers' festivals.

  5. 24 Jul

    From Covid-era China to the world of Frida Kahlo and Colson Whitehead's latest

    Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead’s latest novel Cool Machine is a vivid portrait of Black New York in the 1980s. The book reunites readers with furniture salesman and part-time fence Ray Carney. Kate Evans and regular reviewer, critic and essayist Beejay Silcox discuss. Also this week, Isabelle Li’s The Northern Tomb offers an intimate and richly textured portrait of life in Northeast China during the Covid pandemic, while Claire Berest’s Frida brings the passion, colour and complexity of artist Frida Kahlo vividly to the page.  Plus, Kate speaks with Ashley Hay, novelist and interim editor of Meanjin, about the magazine's rich literary history and how its archive can help guide your vote in the ABC's Top 100 Australian Books countdown. (Ashley also shares her top three Australian picks). Each week, a specially curated selection of archival material will be released at Meanjin: Meanjin – The Finest New Writing in AustraliaBooks discussed Cool Machine - Colson Whitehead (Fleet)The Northern Tomb - Isabelle Li (Puncher & Wattmann)Frida - Claire Berest, translated from French by Stephanie Smee (Mountain Leopard Press)Also mentioned But Won't I Miss Me - Tiffany Tsao (Harper Via)Beejay Silcox's recommendations Angel Down - Daniel KrausThe Children - Melissa AlbertTheir Brilliant Careers - Ryan O'NeillAshley Hay's Top 3 Australian picks The Commandant - Jessica AndersonEdenglassie - Melissa LucashenkoThe Great Fire - Shirley HazzardCredits Presenter - Kate EvansProducer - Kate Evans and Sarah CorbettSound - Tim Jenkins and Isabella TropianoArts editor - Rhiannon Brown

  6. 17 Jul

    Art, apocalypse and country people

    Dave Eggers explores the messy intersection of art, friendship and growing up in Contrapposto, while Daniel Mason's Country People follows an academic family into a Vermont landscape full of stories and believers in worlds beneath the earth. Then Maria Takolander's The End of Romance imagines life after collapse. Joining Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh are our regular reviewers, novelist Madeleine Gray and musician Tim Rogers.  Plus, playwright and novelist George Kemp shares three favourite Australian books ahead of the ABC's Top 100 Australian Books countdown. Books discussed Contrapposto - Dave EggersCountry People - Daniel MasonThe End of Romance - Maria TakolanderCloudstreet - Tim WintonThe Sun Walks Down - Fiona McFarlaneCold Enough for Snow - Jessica AuGuest recommendations Dream Girls - Hannah GoldsteinBrother of the More Famous Jack - Barbara TrapidoThe Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel SparkRiverboy - Jim EwingA Suitable Man - Jock SerongFifty Beating Wonders - Dr Michelle JohnstonFlights - Olga Tokarczuk Credits Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans and Sarah CorbettSound, Micky Grossman and Tegan NichollsArts editor, Sarah L' Estrange

  7. 10 Jul

    Laura McPhee Browne, Leïla Slimani, Kris Kneen & Bruce Pascoe's favourite Aus books

    This week on The Bookshelf, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh discuss new novels including Laura McPhee-Browne's Worry Doll, a story of desire, obsession and uncertainty; Leïla Slimani's I'll Take the Fire, the acclaimed French-Moroccan writer's rich, politically charged exploration of family, memory and identity; and Kris Kneen's Rite of Spring, an eerie island novel where strange creatures lurk in the mist. Joining the program are regular reviewers, bestselling crime writer Michael Robotham and novelist and academic Roanna Gonsalves. Plus, as ABC Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books Countdown approaches, writer and historian Bruce Pascoe shares three Australian books he loves. Books discussed Worry Doll, Laura McPhee-BrowneI'll Take the Fire, Leïla Slimani (translated by Sam Taylor)Rite of Spring, Kris KneenBenang: From The Heart, Kim ScottEvery Secret Thing, Marie MunkaraMullumbimby, Melissa LucashenkoGuest recommendations Whistler, Ann PatchettThe Hunter, Tana FrenchTomb of Sand, Geetanjali Shree Credits Presenter: Kate Evans and Cassie McCullaghProducer: Kate Evans and Sarah CorbettSound: Craig Tilmouth and Micky GrossmanArts editor: Sarah L'Estrange

  8. 3 Jul

    Melbourne Writers' Festival with Hannah Kent and Beejay Silcox

    A live recording from the 2025 Melbourne Writers Festival, with guests Hannah Kent and Beejay Silcox. Hannah Kent, Always Home, Always Homesick (Picador)Eimear McBride, The City Changes Its Face (Faber)Susan Choi, Flashlight (Jonathan Cape)Edward St Aubyn, Parallel Lines (Jonathan Cape)Caryl Phillips, Another Man in the Street (Bloomsbury)Guests Hannah Kent is the author of the novels Burial Rites, The Good People and Devotion. Her latest book is the memoir, Always Home, Always Homesick Beejay Silcox is a critic, writer, festival director and literary interviewer Other Books Mentioned Jeffrey Eugenides, MiddlesexMichael Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & ClayEric Puchner, Dream StateRebecca Makkai, The Great BelieversEmily Maguire, RaptureMariana Enríquez, A Sunny Place for Shady PeopleSusan Hampton, Anything Can Happen

See All (590)

Hosts & Guests

About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    ABC Australia
  • Years Active
    2012 - 2026
  • Episodes
    590
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All right reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Bookshelf

More From ABC Podcasts

You Might Also Like