The Bookshelf

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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.

  1. 1 DAY AGO

    Still Turning Heads at 250: Jane Austen’s Enduring Charm

    In the year of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, this lively and thought-provoking discussion explores her life, legacy, and literary brilliance — her novels are charming, sure, but also radical, political, witty, and entertaining. Presented in partnership with the State Library of NSW, this event brings together Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh with Scott Stephens from Radio National's The Minefield, and Sophie Gee, English Professor at Princeton, Vice-Chancellor's Fellow in the humanities at the University of Sydney, and co-host of the Secret Life of Books podcast, for a conversation that delves into Austen’s sharp observations on friendship, ambition, money, love, power, and equality. CREDITS Presenter: Kate Evans, Cassie McCullagh, Scott Stephens, Sophie GeeProducer: Kate Evans, Amanda RobertsSound engineer: John JacobsExecutive producer: Muditha Dias

    55 min

  2. 4 SEPT

    Superstar children's author Andy Griffiths reviews! Plus, Omar Musa's Fierceland and Geoff Dyer's Homework

    Australian poet, artist, hip hop musician and author, Omar Musa, tells a story of Australia and Borneo, forests and fathers, in his new novel Fierceland.  An American saga of love, war, and complicated families in Patrick Ryan’s Buckeye, and experimental British author Geoff Dyer returns with Homework, a look back on his childhood and coming of age in sixties and seventies England. BOOKS  Omar Musa, Fierceland, Penguin Random House  Geoff Dyer, Homework: A Memoir, Canongate  Patrick Ryan, Buckeye, Bloomsbury  GUESTS  Andy Griffiths, bestselling children’s author whose works include the Treehouse series, and his latest, You & Me series (You & Me and the Peanut Butter Beast has just been released)  Geordie Williamson, literary critic for The Australian, The Saturday Paper, and publisher (Picador/ Pan Macmillan). His latest book is on Alexis Wright, in Black Ink’s Writers on Writers series  ANDY GRIFFITH'S TOP 100 LIST Kate Grenville, The Secret RiverLech Blaine, Australian GospelRobert Skinner, I'd Rather NotGEORDIE WILLIAMSON'S TOP 100 LIST Cormac McCarthy, The RoadAlexis Wright, CarpentariaOTHER BOOKS MENTIONED Frank Moorhouse, Dark PalaceHannah Kent, Burial RitesDaniel Kehlmann, The DirectorCREDITS Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans and Sarah CorbettSound engineer, Roi HubermanExecutive producer, Rhiannon Brown

    54 min

  3. 28 AUG

    Greyhounds, dark academia and an Amish community in new fiction by Toni Jordan, R.F. Kuang and Ron Rindo

    An Australian story of the tender, eager lives of greyhounds and their owners in Tenderfoot by Australian author Toni Jordan. Dark academia in Yellowface author R.F. Kuang’s new fantasy novel, Katabasis. Sport, miracles, and the Amish, in Ron Rindo’s Life, and Death, and Giants. BOOKS  Toni Jordan, Tenderfoot, Hachette  R.F. Kuang, Katabasis, Harper Voyager  Ron Rindo, Life, and Death, and Giants, Pan Macmillan  GUESTS  Seth Robinson, writer, producer, and lecturer at the University of Melbourne. He is also co-hosting a new podcast with Tony Birch – Unfolded – in which writers take apart short stories to see what makes them work.  Michael McGirr, writer, reviewer, and mission director at Caritas Australia. His own books include Ideas to Save Your Life, Books that Saved my Life, and The Story of a Road  MICHAEL'S TOP 100 LIST Patriot by Alexei Navalny.  This is Happiness by Niall Williams Apeirogon by Colum McCann King by Jonathan Eig People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright Emily Wilson’s Translation of the Odyssey The Shepherd’s Hut by Tim Winton Unpolished Gem by Alice Pung The Fig Tree by Arnold ZableSETH'S TOP 100 LIST Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt Educated, Tara Westover Boy Swallows Universe, Trent Dalton Less, Andrew Sean Greer The Overstory, Richard Powers Still Life, Sarah Winman  The Passage (Trilogy), Justin Cronin Station 11, Emily St John Mandel James, Percival Everett  OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Melissa Lucashenko, Too Much LipGillian Mears, Foal's BreadKim Scott, That Deadman DanceKaliane Bradley, The Ministry of TimeGabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and TomorrowTony Birch, Pictures of YouBehrouz Boochani, No Friend but the MountainsCharles Dickens, David CopperfieldLucia Berlin, A Manual for Cleaning WomenCREDITS Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans and Sarah CorbettSound engineer, Roi HubermanExecutive producer, Rhiannon Brown

    55 min

  4. 21 AUG

    A simmering summer in Greece, rare snails, dystopia with a twist: new fiction by Amy Taylor, Leif Enger and Maria Reva

    The Bookshelf continues to explore new fiction, beginning in this episode with Ruins by Amy Taylor, a plunge into holiday chaos during a simmering summer in Greece. Maria Reva’s Endling takes us to Ukraine, where an eccentric scientist is breeding rare snails. And, Leif Enger’s I Cheerfully Refuse...dystopia with a twist. BOOKS  Amy Taylor, Ruins, Allen & Unwin  Maria Reva, Endling, Virago  Leif Enger, I Cheerfully Refuse, Grove Press  GUESTS  Mark Mordue, music writer, journalist, and poet – whose books include Boy On Fire: The Young Nick Cave  Robert Goodman, critic who writes regularly for the Newtown Review of Books and on his website, Pile by the Bed OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED Never Let Me Go, Kazuo IshiguroThe Hare with Amber Eyes, Edmund de WaalOn Chesil Beach, Ian McEwanLouise Erdrich, worksLanny, Max PorterThe Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, Shehan KarunatilakaBy Night in Chile; 2666, Roberto BolañoLeviathan Wakes, James S.A. Corey Ancillary Justice, Ann LeckieChronicles, Bob Dylan Just Kids, Patti Smith Road Series, Hugo Race Love Goes to Buildings on Fire, Will Hermes Perdido Street Station, China Mieville Babel; Yellowface; Katabasis, R.F. KuangThe Animals in That Country, Laura Jean McKay The Third Reich of Dreams: The Nightmares of a Nation, Charlotte BeradtThe White Hotel, D.M. ThomasSalvage, Jennifer MillsJuice, Tim WintonArborescence; Hovering, Rhett DavisDeaf Republic, Ilya KaminskyCREDITS Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans and Sarah CorbettSound engineer, John Jacobs and Tegan NichollsExecutive producer, Rhiannon Brown

    55 min

  5. 14 AUG

    AI in America, a kidnapping in Corsica, the transformative power of boxing: books by Gary Shteyngart, Darrow Farr, and Lucas Schaefer

    Kate and Cassie discuss Vera, or Faith, Gary Shteyngart’s new novel about a ten-year-old Korean-American girl growing up in a dystopian United States. Alongside guest critics, they also look at The Bombshell by Darrow Farr, which traces the radicalisation of a young French woman in Corsica, and The Slip by Lucas Schaefer, the story of a missing teenage boy and the transformative power of boxing. Books: Darrow Farr, The Bombshell, Atlantic Lucas Schaefer, The Slip, Simon & Schuster Gary Shteyngart, Vera, or Faith, Atlantic  GUESTS Sarah Gilbert, writer and documentary producer; head of UTS Impact Studios, which makes the literary podcast Fully Lit. Her first book of non-fiction - Unconventional Women: The story of the last Blessed Sacrament Sisters in Australia - came out last year Michael Winkler, critic and novelist. His book, Grimmish, was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award in 2022. His novel Griefdogg will be published next year  OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED Brian Castro, Chinese PostmanMichelle de Krestser, worksMarilynne Robinson, GileadDenis Johnson, Train DreamsCarys Davies, WestPeter Carey, True History of the Kelly GangHilary Mantel, Wolf HallElena Ferrante, My Brilliant FriendO. Henry, The Last LeafLoïc Wacquant, Body and Soul: Notebooks of an Apprentice BoxerArmistead Maupin, Tales of the City seriesRhett Davis, ArborescenceRaaza Jamshed, What Kept YouAlexis Wright, CarpentariaCREDITS Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans and Sarah CorbettSound engineer, John Jacobs and Tegan NichollsExecutive producer, Rhiannon Brown

    55 min

  6. 7 AUG

    People turning into trees, mythical rivers rising...new novels by Rhett Davis and Gurnaik Johal (plus, Irish fiction with Colm Tóibín)

    Australian author Rhett Davis re-imagines the everyday in his novels. In his latest, Arborescence, ordinary people begin transforming into trees. Is it a cult? Performance art? Or something else entirely? Also on the show: Guest reviewer Roanna Gonsalves discusses Saraswati, the debut novel by Gurnaik Johal, which winds its narrative around a sacred and possibly mythical river in North India. And, Kate Evans speaks with Irish writer Colm Tóibín, delving into the literary influences that have shaped his work.  BOOKS  Rhett Davis, Arborescence, Hachette  Gurnaik Johal, Saraswati, Serpent’s Tail  Colm Toibin, works  GUESTS  Roanna Gonsalves is a writer, teacher of creative writing at UNSW, and editor of the literary journal, Southerly  Colm Toibin, Irish novelist and essayist – whose books include The Blackwater Lightship, Nora Webster, Brooklyn, The Master, The Magician – and his latest, Long Island. He spoke to Kate Evans at the 2025 Sydney Writers Festival  OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED Jane Austen, worksFiona McFarlane, Highway 13Italo Calvino, The Baron in the TreesJ.R.R. Tolkein, worksMalcolm Knox The First FriendRaaza Jamshed, What Kept YouGeorgia Rose Phillips, The BearcatGustave Flaubert, Madame BovaryThomas Hardy, The Mayor of CasterbridgeHenry James, worksThomas Mann, worksJames Baldwin, worksCREDITS Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans and Sarah CorbettSound engineer, Simon Branthwaite Executive producer, Rhiannon Brown

    59 min

  7. 31 JUL

    2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award assessed

    A critical assessment of the shortlist and winner of Australia’s most prestigious literary award, The Miles Franklin Literary Award. Kate and Cassie are joined by guests, scholar and literary biographer (and former judge of the MFLA) Bernadette Brennan; and critic and publisher, Geordie Williamson. BOOKS Brian Castro, Chinese Postman, GiramondoMichelle de Kretser, Theory & Practice, TextWinnie Dunn, Dirt Poor Islanders, Hachette Julie Janson, Compassion, Magabala BooksFiona McFarlane, Highway 13, Allen & UnwinSiang Lu, Ghost Cities, UQP (WINNER)GUESTS Bernadette Brennan, literary scholar; former judge for the Miles Franklin Literary Award   Geordie Williamson, chief literary critic, The Australian; publisher, Picador  CREDITS Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans and Sarah CorbettSound engineer, Roi HubermanExecutive producer, Rhiannon Brown

    54 min

  8. 24 JUL

    Parties, scandals, sex, love: new novels by Nell Zink, Amy Bloom and the controversial James Frey

    Parties, scandals, sex, love, families, friendship, death – these books have, as they say, all the things. Nell Zink’s Sister Europe moves through one night in Berlin, while Amy Bloom’s I’ll Be Right Here sweeps through 80 years of history, and in James Frey’s Next to Heaven, the beautiful and rich fall apart rather spectacularly. BOOKS  Nell Zink, Sister Europe, Penguin Viking  Amy Bloom, I’ll Be Right Here, Granta  James Frey, Next to Heaven, Swift  GUESTS  Shannon Burns, writer and member of the JM Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice at the University of Adelaide. His memoir, Childhood, was published in 2022  Suzanne Leal, writer and literary interviewer. She writes for both adults and children, and her novels include Deceptions, The Watchful Wife and The Teacher’s Secret. Her latest, The Year We Escaped, was published last month OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED James Frey, worksRaynor Winn, The Salt PathColette, worksYuan Yang, Private RevolutionsLenora Thaker, The Pearl of Tagai TownPeter Grose, A Good Place to HidePablo Neruda, The Captain's VersesRobert Calasso, The Marriage of Cadmus and HarmonyBrian Castro, Chinese PostmanJANE AUSTEN EVENT Still Turning Heads at 250: Jane Austen’s Enduring Charm ABC Radio National's The Bookshelf & The Minefield join forces with a literary scholar & the State Library of NSW on Austen the professional. Book your spot here  CREDITS Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans and Sarah CorbettSound engineer, Tegan Nicholls and Emrys CroninExecutive producer, Rhiannon Brown

    54 min
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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 listen
  • Years Active
    2012 - 2025
  • Episodes
    443
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All right reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Bookshelf

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