The Bookshelf

ABC Australia

4.5 (32)
Books
Updated 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.

2d ago

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
Jul 17

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, obsessions and believers in worlds beneath the earth. Then Maria Takolander's The End of Romance imagines life after collapse, where survival, motherhood and hope take unexpected forms. 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
Jul 10

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
Jul 3

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
Jun 26

The Bookshelf’s best: Four standout novels from the past year

We review the latest in fiction for dedicated readers and for those who wish they read more.
Jun 19

Zan Rowe and Madeleine Gray review: Chris Ames/Fiona Mozley/Niamh Campbell

Cassie McCullagh is joined by Jonathan Green this time, for a wide-ranging hour of new fiction, from Australia and beyond. First, Fiona Mozley’s unsettling Awake Awake, where a young woman begins to suspect her grandfather may have killed Adolf Hitler, Zan Rowe weighs in. Then, Irish writer Niamh Campbell’s Make Strange, a quietly eerie novel about a four-year-old asking impossible questions, including whether she’s lived before...Madeleine Gray gives her verdict. And we begin with a striking new Australian voice in the short story collection I Made This Just For You by Chris Ames. ~ OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED Elmet; Hot Stew, by Fiona MozleyWhat We Can Know, by Ian McEwanThe Ruiners, by Ellena SavageThe Shepherd's Life; A Place of Tides, by James RebanksThe Animators; Returns and Exchanges, by Kayla Rae WhitakerFruit Fly, by Josh SilverYellowface, by R.F. KuangA Little Life, by Hanya YanagiharaShuggie Bain, by Douglas Stuart~ CREDITS Presenter, Cassie McCullagh and Jonathan GreenProducer, Cassie McCullagh and Sarah CorbettSound, Antonia Gauci and Ann Marie DebettencorArts editor, Rhiannon Brown
Jun 12

Michael Robotham and Roanna Gonsalves review: Andrew Sean Greer/Ilka Tampke/Michael Pedersen

From a sun-drenched Tuscan reset with a side of style advice (Andrew Sean Greer's Villa Coco via Michael Robotham), to Ilka Tampke’s How To Love the World, a tender take on parenting and the pull of the bush (guided by Roanna Gonsalves), and throw in a windswept lighthouse on the edge of the world with Michael Pedersen’s Muckle Flugga. ~ OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED Charles Bukowski, worksAndrew Sean Greer, LessGraham Greene, Travels with My AuntPatrick Dennis, Auntie MameSteve Toltz, worksIlka Tampke, Skin; SongwomanDebra Adelaide,When I Am Sixty-FourDavid Sedaris, The Land and Its People; Me Talk Pretty One DayRashida Murphy, Old Ghosts; The Historian's DaughterOlga Ravn, The Wax Child; The Employees~ CREDITS Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans and Sarah CorbettSound engineer, Tegan Nicholls and Harvey O'SullivanArts editor, Rhiannon Brown
Jun 5

Hannah Kent and Tom Wright review: Maggie O'Farrell/Ann Patchett/Christine Balint

Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh are joined by regulars Hannah Kent and Tom Wright to talk new fiction from three major voices: Maggie O’Farrell’s Land, an expansive novel set in famine-era Ireland that traces memory, myth and the imprint of history on place; Ann Patchett’s Whistler, a sharp story of family, lost fathers and the long shadow of childhood; and Christine Balint’s A Single Witness, which follows a teenage girl confronting her community and the law in 18th-century Italy. ~ OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED Maggie O'Farrell, worksAnn Patchett, worksChristine Balint, worksGeorge R.Stewart, Names On The Land Sumner Locke Elliott’s Careful, He Might Hear You Tusiata Avia, Big Fat Brown Bitch Dominic Hoey, 1985Ingrid Horrocks, All Her Lives: Nine StoriesTāme Iti, MANA~ CREDITS Presenter: Kate EvansProducer: Kate Evans, Sarah CorbettSound: Micky Grossman, Isabella TropianoArts editor: Rhiannon Brown

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Kate Evans

Host
Cassie Mccullagh

Host

4.5

out of 5

32 Ratings

Looking for your next reads? Listen to this.

08/06/2025

Book Shelver

I work in a public library and this podcast keeps me well up to date on books and authors. I base most of my reading selections on this show because the reviews are thoughtful, intelligent and funny. I also love the inclusion of author discussion panels. If you need a good book show- this is my favorite.
Literary criticism at its best

05/13/2020

A teacher-writer

Love listening to the hosts and their guests each week talk about the latest in fiction. Discovered many new authors and titles, and always look forward to a new episode.
A Must Listen for Booklovers

12/05/2019

Michelle Bernstein

As an adult who recently became visually impaired, I have become increasingly reliant upon podcasts to keep up with new releases and backlist titles I may have missed. The Bookshelf is a terrific resource. Unlike many other book podcasts, Kate and Cassie (and their guest reviewers) delve deeply into each book. It is obvious that each reviewer has given the book serious consideration as the conversations explore more than just the basic themes and a brief analysis of the characters. But the conversations are fun, not academic, and are geared for readers who enjoy literary fiction. They explore novels from around the world which introduces me to new authors, although some of the titles have not been made available in audiobook format in the U.S. where I live. Just a wonderful podcast- so glad I found it. Thanks, Michelle
Really great book podcast

09/20/2019

incognito82

I am so glad to stumble upon this podcast. I read tons of podcasts and many of them are intolerable. This is so good.