The Bookshelf

ABC Australia
  • 4.5 (33)
  • Books
  • Biweekly

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. 6d ago

    Yiyun Li's music meditation, Marlon James' Booker-shortlisted epic, Bonnie Garmus' latest

    Kate and Cassie discuss Chinese-born American writer Yiyun Li's Music Against the Night, an exquisite exploration of music and time. Plus, with regular guests crime writer Michael Robotham and novelist and university lecturer Roanna Gonsalves, they unpack violence and homophobia in Jamaica in Marlon James' Booker-shortlisted novel The Disappearers; and review Peck & Peck, the latest screwball literary caper from Lessons in Chemistry bestseller Bonnie Garmus. BOOKS  Yiyun Li, Music Against the Night, Farrar Straus and GirouxMarlon James, The Disappearers, Hamish HamiltonBonnie Garmus, Peck & Peck, Manilla Press GUESTS  Michael Robotham, crime writer whose latest, and 20th, novel has just been released. It’s called Tell Me Something TrueRoanna Gonsalves, writer, university lecturer, and editor of the literary journal Southerly, whose 81st edition has recently been published OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED Joyride by Susan OrleanThe End of Everything by M. John HarrisonBlack Bag by Luke KennardMay We Feed the King by Rebecca PerryThe Things We Never Say by Elizabeth StroutJohn of John by Douglas StuartThe Second Child by Malcolm Knox

  2. Oct 23

    Beyond the Top 100: The books readers nearly voted in

    More than 280,000 votes were cast. Now Kate and Cassie reveal the books that just missed Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books countdown. With special guests literary curator and Top 100 producer Michaela Kalowski, and critic and publisher Geordie Williamson, they unpack the biggest talking points from the vote and spotlight the next 100 books in Australia's literary ranking. Download a printable Top 100 Australian Books 1-100 ranked Also, the list from 101-200 The 'Ones That Got Away' List: 101-200 101 — Phosphorescence (2019) — Julia Baird 102 — Bliss (1981) — Peter Carey 103 — Always Home Always Homesick (2025) — Hannah Kent 104 — Kissed by the Moon (2013) — Alison Lester 105 — The Sound of One Hand Clapping (1997) — Richard Flanagan 106 — A Room Made of Leaves (2020) — Kate Grenville 107 — The Eleventh Hour (1988) — Graeme Base 108 — The Labyrinth (2020) — Amanda Lohrey 109 — Fight Like a Girl (2016) — Clementine Ford 110 — Eggshell Skull (2018) — Bri Lee 111 — Bruny (2019) — Heather Rose 112 — Any Ordinary Day (2018) — Leigh Sales 113 — No Friend But the Mountains (2018) — Behrouz Boochani 114 — The Season (2024) — Helen Garner 115 — Who Sank the Boat? (1982) — Pamela Allen 116 — Bridge of Clay (2018) — Markus Zusak 117 — The Riders (1994) — Tim Winton 118 — Romulus My Father (1998) — Raimond Gaita 119 — Banjo Paterson's Bush Ballads (2007) — A.B. Banjo Paterson 120 — On the Beach (1957) — Nevil Shute 121 — Wake in Fright (1961) — Kenneth Cook 122 — The Transit of Venus (1980) — Shirley Hazzard 123 — The Complete Adventures of Blinky Bill (1939) — Dorothy Wall 124 — The Fortunes of Richard Mahony (1930) — Henry Handel Richardson 125 — All Our Shimmering Skies (2020) — Trent Dalton 126 — Obernewtyn (1987) — Isobelle Carmody 127 — An Imaginary Life (1978) — David Malouf 128 — Mary Poppins (1934) — P.L. Travers 129 — Death of a River Guide (1994) — Richard Flanagan 130 — Disgrace (1999) — J. M. Coetzee 131 — The Rúin (2018) — Dervla McTiernan 132 — Hating Alison Ashley (1984) — Robin Klein 133 — Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge (1984) — Mem Fox and Julie Vivas 134 — He Died with a Felafel in His Hand (1994) — John Birmingham 135 — Sorrow and Bliss (2020) — Meg Mason 136 — Gould's Book of Fish (2001) — Richard Flanagan 137 — Dusk (2024) — Robbie Arnott 138 — Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence (1996) — Doris Pilkington and Nugi Garimara 139 — Tell Me Why (1993) — Archie Roach 140 — Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (2021) — Anita Heiss 141 — The Year of Living Dangerously (1978) — Christopher Koch 142 — Holding the Man (1995) — Timothy Conigrave 143 — How To End a Story: Collected Diaries (2021) — Helen Garner 144 — The Drover's Wife (1892) — Henry Lawson 145 — Journey to the Stone Country (2002) — Alex Miller 146 — Grand Days (1993) — Frank Moorhouse 147 — Grug (1979) — Ted Prior 148 — Ransom (2009) — David Malouf 149 — See What You Made Me Do (2019) — Jess Hill 150 — The Songlines (1987) — Bruce Chatwin 151 — The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea (1965) — Randolph Stow 152 — Memorial Days (2025) — Geraldine Brooks 153 — Tirra Lirra by the River (1978) — Jessica Anderson 154 — The First Stone (1995) — Helen Garner 155 — Rowan of Rin (1993) — Emily Rodda 156 — The White Girl (2019) — Tony Birch 157 — The Good People (2016) — Hannah Kent 158 — The Women in Black (1993) — Madeleine St John 159 — Bitter Wash Road (2013) — Garry Disher 160 — The CWA Cookery Book and Household Hints, 54th edition (1993) — CWA 161 — Once (2005) — Morris Gleitzman 162 — Nevermoor (2017) — Jessica Townsend 163 — Tracks (1980) — Robyn Davidson 164 — Poor Man's Orange (1949) — Ruth Park 165 — The Biggest Estate on Earth (2011) — Bill Gammage 166 — Australian Gospel (2024) — Lech Blaine 167 — The Wife and the Widow (2019) — Christian White 168 — Praise (1992) — Andrew McGahan 169 — The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1972) — Thomas Keneally 170 — Illywhacker (1985) — Peter Carey 171 — Migrations (2020) — Charlotte McConaghy 172 — The Barefoot Investor (2004) — Scott Pape 173 — Past the Shallows (2011) — Favel Parrett 174 — Blueback (1997) — Tim Winton 175 — Girt: The Unauthorised History of Australia (2013) — David Hunt 176 — Sabriel (1995) — Garth Nix 177 — The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow (2002) — A.J. Mackinnon 178 — Barracuda (2013) — Christos Tsiolkas 179 — The Muddleheaded Wombat (1962) — Ruth Park 180 — Reckoning (2015) — Magda Szubanski 181 — Killing for Country (2023) — David Marr 182 — Fly Away Peter (1982) — David Malouf 183 — The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia (2010) — Nicolas Day and Ken Simpson 184 — A Fraction of the Whole (2008) — Steve Toltz 185 — The Lost Thing (2000) — Shaun Tan 186 — The Tea Ladies (2023) — Amanda Hampson 187 — The Getting of Wisdom (1910) — Henry Handel Richardson 188 — Flames (2018) — Robbie Arnott 189 — Bodies of Light (2021) — Jennifer Down 190 — Love and Virtue (2021) — Diana Reid 191 — The Weekend (2019) — Charlotte Wood 192 — The Will of the Many (2023) — James Islington 193 — Homecoming (2023) — Kate Morton 194 — The Lucky Country (1964) — Donald Horne 195 — Capricornia (1938) — Xavier Herbert 196 — Ten Steps to Nanette (2022) — Hannah Gadsby 197 — Poor Fellow My Country (1975) — Xavier Herbert 198 — Discipline (2025) — Randa Abdel-Fattah 199 — The Nowhere Child (2018) — Christian White 200 — Cocaine Blues (1989) — Kerry Greenwood

  3. Oct 16

    Australian artists, writers and readers share the Australian books they love most

    On this special edition of The Bookshelf, ahead of the Top 100 Australian Books Countdown, Kate Evans speaks with historian Professor Martyn Lyons about the history of reading in Australia and what our reading lives can reveal about the nation. Plus, crime fiction expert Sue Turnbull traces the evolution of Australian crime writing before sharing three books she loves. Singer-songwriter Fanny Lumsden and artist-performer Maeve Marsden also reveal their top three Australian reads. And in the podcast edition, music journalist Stuart Coupe joins us with three Australian books he can't live without. Guests Martin Lyons – Emeritus Professor of History and European Studies in the School of Humanities and Languages at UNSWSue Turnbull – Honorary Professor of Communication and Media at the University of Wollongong, with expertise in crime fiction, television and popular cultureMaeve Marsden – Theatre maker, performer and Creative Director of Varuna, the National Writers' House in the NSW Blue MountainsFanny Lumsden – ARIA Award-winning country singer-songwriter whose fifth studio album, Traditions, is due for release on 30 OctoberStuart Coupe – Australian music journalist, author, band manager, promoter, publicist and record label founderBooks mentioned and Guest Recommendations Literary Foundations Martyn Lyons, The Uses of Literacy in Colonial Australia Jane Austen, worksWalter Scott, worksHenry Kendall, poetic worksAdam Lindsay Gordon, poetic worksA B ‘Banjo’ Paterson, worksHenry Lawson, worksCharles Dickens, worksClassic Australian Fiction  Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under ArmsEleanor Dark, The Timeless LandMiles Franklin, My Brilliant CareerCrime & Mystery Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes storiesFergus Hume, The Mystery of a Hansom CabLucy Sussex, Blockbuster!Peter Corris, The Empty BeachMarele Day, The Life and Crimes of Harry LavenderSharon Kernot, Night SwimmingDorothy Porter, The Monkey’s MaskPeter Temple, The Broken ShoreGarry Disher, Bitter Wash RoadJane Harper, The DryPeter Corris, The Dying TradeContemporary Fiction  Geraldine Brooks, HorsePip Williams, The Dictionary of Lost Words, The Bookbinder of JerichoHelen Garner, Monkey GripEda Gunaydin, Root and BranchEvelyn Araluen, The RotJane Harrison, The VisitorsJessie Tu, A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous thingChildren's Literature Alison Lester, Kissed by the MoonMusic, Culture & Memoir Colin Talbot’s Greatest HitsGarrie Hutchinson, From the OuterRenee Geyer, Confessions of a Difficult WomanStuart Coupe and Toby Creswell, Sounds Like Teen Spirit: The Anarchic Unauthorised Story of Triple J & Double J

  4. Oct 9

    Chris Hammer, Jem Calder and Pip Williams reviewed on this week's Bookshelf

    Kate and Cassie are joined by rockstar Tim Rogers and novelist Madeleine Gray to discuss some big new releases. Australian crime heavyweight Chris Hammer swaps the outback for the world of high finance in Full Circle, a thriller of money, power and corruption. Then there's Jem Calder's I Want You to Be Happy, a zeitgeisty portrait of young Londoners searching for connection in an increasingly disconnected world; and Pip Williams' The German Wife, her eagerly anticipated follow-up to The Dictionary of Lost Words and The Bookbinder of Jericho, a sweeping World War I story of forbidden love and art. Plus, as Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books countdown draws closer, novelist, essayist and art critic Fiona Kelly McGregor discusses three Australian books that have had an impact on her life and writing.  FEATURED BOOKS Full Circle by Chris Hammer, Summit BooksI Want You to be Happy by Jem Calder, FaberThe German Ward by Pip Williams,  Affirm Press FIONA KELLY MCGREGOR'S TOP 3 AUSTRALIAN BOOKS Working Hot by Mary FallonThe Other Side of the Frontier: Aboriginal Resistance to the European Invasion of Australia by Henry ReynoldsVoss by Patrick WhiteOTHER BOOKS MENTIONED Famesick by Lena DunhamThe Book of George by Kate GreatheadRejection by Tony TulathimutteLean Cat, Savage Cat by Lauren J. JosephDetransition, Baby by Torrey PetersHappy Hour by Marlowe GranadosJohnno by David MaloufNight Boat to Tangier, Beatlebone by Kevin BarryA Suitable Man by Jock Serong

  5. Oct 2

    New fiction from Barbara Kingsolver, Colm Tóibín and Ayad Akhtar

    This week, Kate and Cassie are joined by regulars Hannah Kent and Tom Wright to discuss three books that echo one another across themes of art, beauty, family and transformation. In Barbara Kingsolver's Partita, a young woman longs to escape her small town and difficult mother through music (and there are dogs and an accident); Ayad Akhtar's The Radiance follows a man whose vivid, radiant life is shaped by music and ambition (and there’s a terrible accident); And in Colm Tóibín's The Bridge, a son and father navigate change, possibility and belonging in a new world (accompanied by a whole pack of dogs). Plus, voting may have closed for The Bookshelf's Top 100 Australian Books, but we're still taking inspiration from readers' recommendations. Actor, writer and trans activist Zoe Terakes joins us to share their three favourite Australian books. Featured books Barbara Kingsolver, Partita, FaberColm Toíbín, The Bridge, PicadorAyad Akhtar, The Radiance, SummitZoe Terakes' Top 3 Christos Tsiolkas , LoadedChelsea Watego, Another Day in the ColonyTimothy Conigrave, Holding the Man Other Books mentioned Stephanie Alexander, The Cook's CompanionAlison Lester, Magic BeachShirley Hazzard, The Great FireHannah Moloney, The Good Life: How To Grow A Better WorldChristina Stead, Seven Poor Men of Sydney

  6. Sep 25

    Ambition, Rage, Gothic Hunger: New Novels from Min Jin Lee, Louise Kennedy and Catherine Chidgey

    In American Hagwon, the bestselling author of Pachinko, Min Jin Lee, explores family, education, ambition and the long shadow of economic upheaval, set between Seoul, Sydney and California. Louise Kennedy's Stations offers a tough and deeply felt Irish family story, while Catherine Chidgey's The Starving Bride turns hunger into a strange gothic performance. Kate and Cassie are joined this time by regulars, novelist and academic Professor Tony Birch and critic and literary judge Beejay Silcox. And, as we count down to the Top 100 Australian Books, Frank Moorhouse's biographer Matthew Lamb reveals his top three. Books featured Min Jin Lee, American Hagwon, Fourth EstateLouise Kennedy, Stations, Bloomsbury CircusCatherine Chidgey, The Starving Bride, Penguin Matthew Lamb's Top 100 picks Forty-Seventeen (1988) by Frank MoorhouseTourmaline (1963) by Randolph StowWriter Reader Critic (1992) by Dorothy Green Other books mentioned Janet McCalman, StruggletownPeter Carey, The Fat Man in HistoryThe Women's Weekly Birthday Cake BookLeonie Norrington, Djawundil Maymuru, Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubbs and Djawa Burarrwanga, A Piece of Red ClothGretchen Shirm, Out of the WoodsColleen McCullough, The Thorn Birds

  7. Sep 18

    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.

  8. Sep 11

    New Fiction: Donal Ryan, Emma Cline, Max Easton and Sebastian Barry

    We step into Irish bestseller Donal Ryan's world in Where Are the Kings, a tender coming of age story about a boy navigating grief. Inside a fracturing mind in Emma Cline’s Booker Longlisted novel Switzy, read with novelist Madeleine Gray. A chronicle of DIY activism, collectives and autonomous living in Sydney's west in Australian writer Max Easton’s Now, Autonomy, read for us by singer-songwriter Tim Rogers, and a newer world emerges in the wake of the American Civil War in Sebastian Barry’s new novel, The Newer World, read by author Hannah Kent. BOOKS FEATURED Donal Ryan, Where Are the Kings, DoubledayEmma Cline, Switzy, Chatto & WindusMax Easton, Now, Autonomy, GiramondoSebastian Barry, The Newer World, FaberOTHER BOOKS MENTIONED Sigrid Nunez, What Are You Going ThroughMeg Howrey, Body LanguageColum McCann, ApeirogonMelina Marchetta, Looking for AlibrandiAbigal Ulman, Hot Little HandsPatrick White, The Tree of ManHeather Rose, The Museum of Modern LoveElizabeth Jolley, The WellWe 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.

See All (398)

Hosts & Guests

4.5
out of 5
33 Ratings

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
    596
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All right reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Bookshelf

More From ABC Podcasts

You Might Also Like