The Bookshelf
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- 13. Nov. 2026
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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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Quirky Japanese bookshops, gothic classics and uncanny Norwegian tales
Rewriting Daphne Du Maurier's arch-villain Mrs Danvers from her classic novel Rebecca, Karl Ove Knausgård on 'lonely men in empty towns at night', and a magical Japanese bookshop that just might save you. New …
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Rewriting Daphne Du Maurier's arch-villain Mrs Danvers from her classic novel Rebecca, Karl Ove Knausgård on 'lonely men in empty towns at night', and a magical Japanese bookshop that just might save you. New fiction discussed, assessed, and recommended.
REVIEWERS
Tom Wright, theatre adaptor and dramaturg from Sydney's Belvoir Theatre;
Hannah Kent, novelist and screenwriter; one of the judges for the Stella Prize
BOOKS
Sawako Natori, The Friday Bookshop (translated from the Japanese by Yui Kajita), Picador
Rose Tremain, The Housekeeper, Chatto & Windus
Karl Ove Knausgård, Arendal (translated from the Norwegian by Martin Aitken), Harvill
Other books mentioned in the program:
M John Harrison, The End of Everything
China Miéville , The Rouse
Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Said the Dead
Daphne Du Maurier, Rebecca
Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
Percival Everett, James
Jo Baker, Longbourne
Nils-Olof Franzén, Agaton Sax detective series
Halldór Laxness, Independent People
W G Sebald, works
Anjet Daanje, The Song of Stork and Dromedary
Sigrún Pálsdóttir, Boudoir
Rebecca Parry, May We Feed the King
Jennifer Croft, The Extinction of Irena Rey
Olga Tokarczuk, The Book of Jacob
Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Before the Coffee Gets Cold
CREDITS
- Presenters: Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh
- Producers: Kate Evans and Sarah Corbett
- Sound engineers: Craig Tilmouth and Ann-Marie Debettencor
- Arts Editor: Rhiannon Brown
Dogs, Time Travel and October Book Releases
On this week’s edition of The Bookshelf: dogs in literature, writing about Alzheimer’s and fragmenting language, big books versus novellas, and why there’s so much time travel in books right now. Reviewers Tony …
Shownotes
On this week’s edition of The Bookshelf: dogs in literature, writing about Alzheimer’s and fragmenting language, big books versus novellas, and why there’s so much time travel in books right now. Reviewers Tony Birch and Beejay Silcox tackle these big reading questions and share an overview of October new releases, with a focus on Carrie Tiffany’s The Lady with the Dog, Favel Parrett’s One for Sorrow and Claire North’s As We Fall Through Time.
Books featured
- The Lady with the Dog, Carrie Tiffany, New South
- One for Sorrow, Favel Parrett, Hachette
- As We Fall Through Time, Claire North, Orbit
Other Books Mentioned
Dogs in literature
- Women and Children, Tony Birch
- The Odyssey, Homer
- Discworld series, Terry Pratchett
- The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, David Wroblewski
- Clariel, Garth Nix
- Flush, Virginia Woolf
- The Famous Five, Enid Blyton
- Tenderfoot, Toni Jordan
- Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend, Susan Orlean
- The Friend, Sigrid Nunez
- The Philosopher's Dog, Raimond Gaita
Big books vs Novellas
- China Miéville, The Rouse
- Marlon James, The Disappearers
- Public Access Afterworld, Jane Schoenbrun
- Claire Keegan, works
- Dark Roots, Cate Kennedy,
- The Song of Stork and Dromedary, Anjet Daanje
- Susanna Clarke, works
- O Now! — Niall Williams
- The Lady with the Little Dog, Anton Chekhov
Time Travel
- Playing Beatie Bow, Ruth Park
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Mark Twain
- The Ministry of Time, Kaliane Bradley
- Time Travel for Beginners, Jaclyn Moriarty
- Life Out of Order, Audrey Niffenegger
- The Other Valley, Scott Alexander Howard
- Time Shelter, Georgi Gospodinov,
- On the Calculation of Volume #5, Solvej Balle
October new releases + other books mentioned
- A Court of Splintered Harmony, Sarah J. Maas
- Finding Justice, Larissa Behrendt
- Dey, Edwidge Danticat
- Bad Words, Rioghnach Robinson
- Fifty Beating Wonders, Michelle Johnston
- Memoir, John McGahern
- Music Against Time, Yiyun Li
- Switzy, Emma Cline
- You Must Remember This, Sean Wilson
- Music Against Time, Yiyun Li
- Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, Roddy Doyle
- The Friday Bookshop, Sawako Natori
- Arendel, Karl Ove Knausgaard
- The Housekeeper, Rose Tremain
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 …
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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 Giroux
- Marlon James, The Disappearers, Hamish Hamilton
- Bonnie 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 True
- Roanna Gonsalves, writer, university lecturer, and editor of the literary journal Southerly, whose 81st edition has recently been published
OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED
- Joyride by Susan Orlean
- The End of Everything by M. John Harrison
- Black Bag by Luke Kennard
- May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry
- The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
- John of John by Douglas Stuart
- The Second Child by Malcolm Knox
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 …
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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
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 …
Shownotes
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 UNSW
- Sue Turnbull – Honorary Professor of Communication and Media at the University of Wollongong, with expertise in crime fiction, television and popular culture
- Maeve Marsden – Theatre maker, performer and Creative Director of Varuna, the National Writers' House in the NSW Blue Mountains
- Fanny Lumsden – ARIA Award-winning country singer-songwriter whose fifth studio album, Traditions, is due for release on 30 October
- Stuart Coupe – Australian music journalist, author, band manager, promoter, publicist and record label founder
Books mentioned and Guest Recommendations
Literary Foundations
- Martyn Lyons, The Uses of Literacy in Colonial Australia
- Jane Austen, works
- Walter Scott, works
- Henry Kendall, poetic works
- Adam Lindsay Gordon, poetic works
- A B ‘Banjo’ Paterson, works
- Henry Lawson, works
- Charles Dickens, works
Classic Australian Fiction
- Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms
- Eleanor Dark, The Timeless Land
- Miles Franklin, My Brilliant Career
Crime & Mystery
- Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes stories
- Fergus Hume, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab
- Lucy Sussex, Blockbuster!
- Peter Corris, The Empty Beach
- Marele Day, The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender
- Sharon Kernot, Night Swimming
- Dorothy Porter, The Monkey’s Mask
- Peter Temple, The Broken Shore
- Garry Disher, Bitter Wash Road
- Jane Harper, The Dry
- Peter Corris, The Dying Trade
Contemporary Fiction
- Geraldine Brooks, Horse
- Pip Williams, The Dictionary of Lost Words, The Bookbinder of Jericho
- Helen Garner, Monkey Grip
- Eda Gunaydin, Root and Branch
- Evelyn Araluen, The Rot
- Jane Harrison, The Visitors
- Jessie Tu, A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous thing
Children's Literature
- Alison Lester, Kissed by the Moon
Music, Culture & Memoir
- Colin Talbot’s Greatest Hits
- Garrie Hutchinson, From the Outer
- Renee Geyer, Confessions of a Difficult Woman
- Stuart Coupe and Toby Creswell, Sounds Like Teen Spirit: The Anarchic Unauthorised Story of Triple J & Double J
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 …
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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 Books
- I Want You to be Happy by Jem Calder, Faber
- The German Ward by Pip Williams, Affirm Press
FIONA KELLY MCGREGOR'S TOP 3 AUSTRALIAN BOOKS
- Working Hot by Mary Fallon
- The Other Side of the Frontier: Aboriginal Resistance to the European Invasion of Australia by Henry Reynolds
- Voss by Patrick White
OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED
- Famesick by Lena Dunham
- The Book of George by Kate Greathead
- Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte
- Lean Cat, Savage Cat by Lauren J. Joseph
- Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
- Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados
- Johnno by David Malouf
- Night Boat to Tangier, Beatlebone by Kevin Barry
- A Suitable Man by Jock Serong
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 …
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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, Faber
- Colm Toíbín, The Bridge, Picador
- Ayad Akhtar, The Radiance, Summit
Zoe Terakes' Top 3
- Christos Tsiolkas , Loaded
- Chelsea Watego, Another Day in the Colony
- Timothy Conigrave, Holding the Man
Other Books mentioned
- Stephanie Alexander, The Cook's Companion
- Alison Lester, Magic Beach
- Shirley Hazzard, The Great Fire
- Hannah Moloney, The Good Life: How To Grow A Better World
- Christina Stead, Seven Poor Men of Sydney
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 …
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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 Estate
- Louise Kennedy, Stations, Bloomsbury Circus
- Catherine Chidgey, The Starving Bride, Penguin
Matthew Lamb's Top 100 picks
- Forty-Seventeen (1988) by Frank Moorhouse
- Tourmaline (1963) by Randolph Stow
- Writer Reader Critic (1992) by Dorothy Green
Other books mentioned
- Janet McCalman, Struggletown
- Peter Carey, The Fat Man in History
- The Women's Weekly Birthday Cake Book
- Leonie Norrington, Djawundil Maymuru, Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubbs and Djawa Burarrwanga, A Piece of Red Cloth
- Gretchen Shirm, Out of the Woods
- Colleen McCullough, The Thorn Birds
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 …
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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, Picador
- John Boyne, The Weight of Angels, Doubleday
- Kenan Orhan, The Renovation, Hamish Hamilton
Anna Clark's Top 100 picks
- Raimond Gaita, Romulus, My Father
- Gay'wu Group of Women, Songspirals: Sharing Women’s Wisdom of Country through Songlines
- Billy Griffiths, Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia
- The Macquarie Dictionary, first edition published 1981
- Ken Simpson and Nicolas Day, Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, first edition published in 1984
Other books mentioned
- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude
- James Joyce, Ulysses
- Alexis Wright, PraiseworthyChina Miéville, The City & the City
- Claire G. Coleman, works
- Curtis Sittenfeld, Rodham
- Peter Carey, Illywhacker
- Steve Toltz, A Fraction of the Whole
- Alexis Wright, Carpentaria
- Kim Scott, Benang: From the Heart
We 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.
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 …
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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, Doubleday
- Emma Cline, Switzy, Chatto & Windus
- Max Easton, Now, Autonomy, Giramondo
- Sebastian Barry, The Newer World, Faber
OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED
- Sigrid Nunez, What Are You Going Through
- Meg Howrey, Body Language
- Colum McCann, Apeirogon
- Melina Marchetta, Looking for Alibrandi
- Abigal Ulman, Hot Little Hands
- Patrick White, The Tree of Man
- Heather Rose, The Museum of Modern Love
- Elizabeth Jolley, The Well
We 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.
New Fiction from Melissa Harrison and Malcolm Knox + Mandy Sayer's Top 3
Kate and Cassie with regular reviewer Tom Wright discuss new releases including Melissa Harrison’s The Given World and Malcolm Knox’s The Second Child. Plus, novelist and memoirist Mandy Sayer on her Top 3 …
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Kate and Cassie with regular reviewer Tom Wright discuss new releases including Melissa Harrison’s The Given World and Malcolm Knox’s The Second Child. Plus, novelist and memoirist Mandy Sayer on her Top 3 Australian books ahead of Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books Countdown.
Mandy Sayer's Top 3 Australian Books
- Christina Stead, The Man Who Loved Children (1940)
- Robin Dalton, Aunts up the Cross (1965)
- David Malouf, Johnno (1975)
Other books mentioned
- A.B. Facey, A Fortunate Life
- George Johnston, My Brother Jack
- Eric C. Rolls, They All Ran Wild
- Emily St John Mandel, Exit Party
- Colm Toibin, The Bridge
- Barbara Kingsolver, Partita
- John Boyne, The Weight of Angels
- Marlon James, The Disappearers
- Max Porter, works
- Patrick Gale, works
- Sarah Moss, works
- Joseph Furphy, Such is Life
- Peter Carey, Illywhacker
- Gerald Munane, The Plains
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 …
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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 Thiele
- Hating Alison Ashley by Robin Klein
- Cole's Funny Picture Book by E.W. Cole
- The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay
- Johnno; Fly Away Peter by David Malouf
- Wake in Fright by Kenneth Cook
- The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson
- Ruth Park, works
- Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
- The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith; Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally
- Possum Magic by Mem Fox
- The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
- Carpentaria by Alexis Wright
- Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
- Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
- Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
- The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
- She Is Me by Tahlia Isaac
- Dropbear by Evelyn Araluen
- Zigzag Street by Nick Earls
- The Garden Book by Brian Castro
- The Children's Bach by Helen Garner
- A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey
- My Brilliant Career by Miles Stella Franklin
- A Room Made of Leaves by Kate Grenville
- The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough
- The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazard
- The Vivisector by Patrick White
- A Short History of Longans by Mirandi Riwoe
- The Lebs by Michael Mohammed Ahmad
Credits
- Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh
- Producer, Kate Evans and Sarah Corbett
- Sound engineer, Steve Fieldhouse
- Arts editor, Rhiannon Brown
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 …
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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 Furphy
- Translations from the Natural World by Les Murray
- The Eye of the Crocodile by Val Plumwood
Other books mentioned
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
- The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
- Mine by Adam Ousten
- Dark Places by Kate Grenville
- John Brown, Rose, and the Midnight Cat by Jenny Rose
- Little Bear series by Maurice Sendak
- Tell 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:
Credits
- Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh
- Producer, Kate Evans and Sarah Corbett
- Sound engineer, Craig Tilmouth and Micky Grossman
- Arts editor, Rhiannon Brown
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.
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 …
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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.
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.
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 …
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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:
Books 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 Kraus
- The Children - Melissa Albert
- Their Brilliant Careers - Ryan O'Neill
Ashley Hay's Top 3 Australian picks
- The Commandant - Jessica Anderson
- Edenglassie - Melissa Lucashenko
- The Great Fire - Shirley Hazzard
Credits
- Presenter - Kate Evans
- Producer - Kate Evans and Sarah Corbett
- Sound - Tim Jenkins and Isabella Tropiano
- Arts editor - Rhiannon Brown
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 …
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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 Eggers
- Country People - Daniel Mason
- The End of Romance - Maria Takolander
- Cloudstreet - Tim Winton
- The Sun Walks Down - Fiona McFarlane
- Cold Enough for Snow - Jessica Au
Guest recommendations
- Dream Girls - Hannah Goldstein
- Brother of the More Famous Jack - Barbara Trapido
- The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark
- Riverboy - Jim Ewing
- A Suitable Man - Jock Serong
- Fifty Beating Wonders - Dr Michelle Johnston
- Flights - Olga Tokarczuk
Credits
- Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh
- Producer, Kate Evans and Sarah Corbett
- Sound, Micky Grossman and Tegan Nicholls
- Arts editor, Sarah L' Estrange
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 …
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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-Browne
- I'll Take the Fire, Leïla Slimani (translated by Sam Taylor)
- Rite of Spring, Kris Kneen
- Benang: From The Heart, Kim Scott
- Every Secret Thing, Marie Munkara
- Mullumbimby, Melissa Lucashenko
Guest recommendations
- Whistler, Ann Patchett
- The Hunter, Tana French
- Tomb of Sand, Geetanjali Shree
Credits
- Presenter: Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh
- Producer: Kate Evans and Sarah Corbett
- Sound: Craig Tilmouth and Micky Grossman
- Arts editor: Sarah L'Estrange
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 …
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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, Middlesex
- Michael Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
- Eric Puchner, Dream State
- Rebecca Makkai, The Great Believers
- Emily Maguire, Rapture
- Mariana Enríquez, A Sunny Place for Shady People
- Susan Hampton, Anything Can Happen
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.
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 …
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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 Mozley
- What We Can Know, by Ian McEwan
- The Ruiners, by Ellena Savage
- The Shepherd's Life; A Place of Tides, by James Rebanks
- The Animators; Returns and Exchanges, by Kayla Rae Whitaker
- Fruit Fly, by Josh Silver
- Yellowface, by R.F. Kuang
- A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara
- Shuggie Bain, by Douglas Stuart
~ CREDITS
- Presenter, Cassie McCullagh and Jonathan Green
- Producer, Cassie McCullagh and Sarah Corbett
- Sound, Antonia Gauci and Ann Marie Debettencor
- Arts editor, Rhiannon Brown
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 …
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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, works
- Andrew Sean Greer, Less
- Graham Greene, Travels with My Aunt
- Patrick Dennis, Auntie Mame
- Steve Toltz, works
- Ilka Tampke, Skin; Songwoman
- Debra Adelaide,When I Am Sixty-Four
- David Sedaris, The Land and Its People; Me Talk Pretty One Day
- Rashida Murphy, Old Ghosts; The Historian's Daughter
- Olga Ravn, The Wax Child; The Employees
~ CREDITS
- Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh
- Producer, Kate Evans and Sarah Corbett
- Sound engineer, Tegan Nicholls and Harvey O'Sullivan
- Arts editor, Rhiannon Brown
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 …
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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, works
- Ann Patchett, works
- Christine Balint, works
- George R.Stewart, Names On The Land
- Sumner Locke Elliott’s Careful, He Might Hear You
- Tusiata Avia, Big Fat Brown Bitch
- Dominic Hoey, 1985
- Ingrid Horrocks, All Her Lives: Nine Stories
- Tāme Iti, MANA
~ CREDITS
- Presenter: Kate Evans
- Producer: Kate Evans, Sarah Corbett
- Sound: Micky Grossman, Isabella Tropiano
- Arts editor: Rhiannon Brown
Beejay Silcox & Bernadette Brennan review: Doireann Ní Ghríofa/Chloe Wilson/Deborah Levy
Kate Evans is joined by Bernadette Brennan and Beejay Silcox to talk three striking new releases: Doireann Ní Ghríofa’s Said the Dead, a haunting, archive-rich exploration of a derelict Irish asylum; Chloe …
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Kate Evans is joined by Bernadette Brennan and Beejay Silcox to talk three striking new releases: Doireann Ní Ghríofa’s Said the Dead, a haunting, archive-rich exploration of a derelict Irish asylum; Chloe Wilson’s The Thornbacks, a darkly comic debut of morticians, dating apps and unsettling female entanglements; and Deborah Levy’s My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein, a playful meditation on literary life in Paris.
~ OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED
- Amitav Ghosh, Ghost-Eye
- Susan Choi, Flashlight
- S.A. Cosby, works
- Doireann Ní Ghríofa, A Ghost in the Throat
- Shirley Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle
- Angela Carter, Wise Children
- Jeffrey Eugenides, The Virgin Suicides
- Daisy Johnson, Sisters
- Gillian Flynn, Sharp Objects
- Oyinkan Braithwaite, My Sister the Serial Killer
- Deborah Levy, works
- Kim Scott, Benang
- Alexis Wright, Carpentaria
- Francesca Wade, Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife
- Gertrude Stein, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
- Prudence Bussey-Chamberlain, Bone Horn
- Erin Vincent. Fourteen Ways of Looking
- Claire Thomas, On Not Climbing Mountains
- Gwendoline Riley, The Palm House
- Chloe Wilson, Hold Your Fire
- Robin Robertson, The Long Take
- Joseph Furphy, Such is Life
- Elizabeth Jolley, works
~ CREDITS
- Presenter: Kate Evans
- Producer: Kate Evans, Sarah Corbett
- Sound: Antonia Gauci
- Arts editor: Rhiannon Brown
Launching ABC Radio National’s 2026 Top 100 Books countdown at SWF
The Bookshelf comes to you from a sold out session at Sydney Writers’ Festival, for a conversation that brings together an exceptional line-up: acclaimed novelist and poet Tony Birch, Miles Franklin …
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The Bookshelf comes to you from a sold out session at Sydney Writers’ Festival, for a conversation that brings together an exceptional line-up: acclaimed novelist and poet Tony Birch, Miles Franklin Award-winning author Siang Lu, and internationally celebrated writer Lily King. Together, with Cassie, Kate and special guest Claire Nichols from The Book Show, they mark the launch of ABC Radio National’s 2026 Top 100 Books countdown, this year turning the spotlight on the very best of Australian writing, fiction and non-fiction, across all time.
~ ABC RADIO NATIONAL TOP 100 AUSTRALIAN BOOKS COUNTDOWN
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/radionational/top-100-books-2026/106621398~ BOOKS MENTIONED BY LILY KING
- Colleen McCullough, The Thorn Birds
- Shirley Hazzard, The Transit of Venus; The Evening of the Holiday
- Kate Grenville, The Idea of Perfection
- Christina Stead, The Man Who Loved Children
~ BOOKS MENTIONED BY TONY BIRCH
- William Dick, A Bunch of Ratbags
- Ruth Park, works
- Colin Johnson, Wild Cat Falling
- Kenneth Cook, Wake in Fright
- Frank Hardy, Power Without Glory
- Peter Carey, American Dreams; Crabs
- Pi O, 24 Hours: Ulysses in Fitzroy
~ BOOKS MENTIONED BY SIANG LU
- Nam Le, The Boat
- Michael Winkler, Grimmish
- Peter Carey, The True History of the Kelly Gang
- Helen Garner, Monkey Grip
- Charlotte Wood, Stone Yard Devotional
~ BOOKS MENTIONED BY CASSIE MCCULLAGH
- Miles Franklin, My Brilliant Career
- Peter Temple, Broken Shore
- Peter Carey, The Fat Man in History
~ BOOKS MENTIONED BY KATE EVANS
- Ethel Turner, Seven Little Australians
- Florence James and Dymphna Cusack, Come in Spinner
- Peter Carey, Illywhacker; Oscar and Lucinda
~ BOOKS MENTIONED BY CLAIRE NICHOLS
- The Australian Women's Weekly Birthday Cake Book
- Mem Fox, Wilfrid Gordon McDonald
- Kim Scott, works
- Tim Winton, works
- Josephine Wilson, Extinctions
~ OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED
- Tim Winton, Cloudstreet
- Trent Dalton, Boy Swallows Universe
- Charlotte McConaghy, Wild Dark Shore
- Sally Morgan, My Place
- Archie Roach, Tell Me Why
- Jimmy Barnes, Working Class Boy
- Ruby Langford Ginibi, Don’t Take Your Love to Town
- Thea Astley, works
- Helen Garner, The Children's Bach; The Spare Room
- Melina Marchetta, Looking for Alibrandi
- Richard Flanagan, The Narrow Road to the Deep North; Question 7
- Madeleine St John, Ladies in Black
- Shankari Chandran, Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens
- Ruth Park, Playing Beatie Bow
- Andrew McGahan, Praise
- Markus Zusak, The Book Thief
- Robbie Arnott, Limberlost
- Hannah Kent, Burial Rites
- Norman Lindsay, The Magic Pudding
- A.B. Facey, A Fortunate Life
- David Malouf, Johnno
- Jane Harper, The Dry
~ CREDITS
- Presenter, Kate Evans, Cassie McCullagh, Claire Nichols
- Producer, Kate Evans, Sarah Corbett
- Sound, Harvey O'Sullivan
- Arts Editor, Rhiannon Brown
Madeleine Gray & Tim Rogers review: Wayne Marshall/Ellena Savage/Lena Dunham/Douglas Stuart
We head by rackety ferry to Scotland in John of John, the latest, quietly devastating novel from Shuggie Bain author Douglas Stuart. Henry Lawson reimagined - brawling poets, strange tunnels, time loops, and a …
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We head by rackety ferry to Scotland in John of John, the latest, quietly devastating novel from Shuggie Bain author Douglas Stuart. Henry Lawson reimagined - brawling poets, strange tunnels, time loops, and a warped tussle between city and bush in Wayne Marshall’s Henry Goes Bush, reviewed by You Am I's Tim Rogers. From there, novelist Madeleine Gray turns her eye to Lena Dunham’s sharp, self‑aware memoir Famesick, before moving to Ellena Savage’s The Ruiners, which shifts between a Melbourne lobster shack and a smoke‑wreathed Greek island.
~ OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED
- Norman Lindsay, Bohemians of the Bulletin
- Ruth Park, Playing Beatie Bow
- Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist: Essays
- Lena Dunham, Not That Kind of Girl
- Joan Didion, works
- Eve Babitz, works
- Ellena Savage, Blueberries
- Charles Dickens, works
- Charmian Clift, works
- George Johnston, works
- Michael Winkler, Griefdogg
- Rachel Yoder, Nightbitch
- Colum McCann, Apeirogon
- Steve MinOn, First Name Second Name
- Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
- James Bailey, Like a Cat Loves a Bird: The Nine Lives of Muriel Spark
- Lee Lai, Cannon
~ CREDITS
- Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh
- Producer, Kate Evans and Sarah Corbett
- Sound engineer, Craig Tilmouth and Roi Huberman
- Executive producer, Rhiannon Brown
Elizabeth Strout returns, Caro Claire Burke's Yesteryear and more new fiction
This week’s Bookshelf features the latest from Elizabeth Strout, creator of Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton, returning with a stand‑alone novel called The Things We Never Say. We’re also reading an ambitious …
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This week’s Bookshelf features the latest from Elizabeth Strout, creator of Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton, returning with a stand‑alone novel called The Things We Never Say. We’re also reading an ambitious, genre‑bending novel that moves from 1980s gaming culture to far‑future space travel, and Daniel Kehlmann’s The Director, a German novel in translation that explores film, power and propaganda. Joining us to review are Geordie Williamson - critic, publisher and writer; and Robert Forster - singer‑songwriter, founding member of The Go‑Betweens, memoirist and brand new novelist with Songwriters on the Run.
~ REVIEWERS
~ BOOKS
- Daniel Kehlmann, The Director (translated from the German by Ross Benjamin), Riverrun
- Elizabeth Strout, The Things We Never Say, Viking Penguin
- Portia Elan, Homebound, Chatto & Windus
- Caro Claire Burke, Yesteryear, Fourth Estate
~ OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED
- Daniel Kehlmann, works
- Elizabeth Strout, My Name is Lucy Barton
- The Boundless Deep, Richard Holmes
- Johnno, David Malouf
- Keeley Jobe, The Endling
- Ana Paula Maia, On Earth as It Is Beneath
~ CREDITS
- Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh
- Producer, Kate Evans and Sarah Corbett
- Sound, Craig Tilmouth and Roi Huberman
- Arts editor, Rhiannon Brown
Hannah Kent & Tom Wright review: Amanda Lohrey/Deepa Anappara + International Booker
In this episode, superstar reviewer Hannah Kent tackles the rugged terrain of a journey that edges towards the Tibetan border in Deepa Anappara's The Last of Earth, and theatre writer Tom Wright ponders …
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In this episode, superstar reviewer Hannah Kent tackles the rugged terrain of a journey that edges towards the Tibetan border in Deepa Anappara's The Last of Earth, and theatre writer Tom Wright ponders extraterrestrial encounters in Amanda Lohrey's new one, Capture. Plus, Kate and Cassie take a look at two titles on the International Booker Prize shortlist, from France and Bulgaria, one follows a not‑very‑successful witch who weeps tears of blood; and the other is the story of a woman in Albania who switches genders through an ancient ritual.
~ BOOKS
- Marie NDiaye, The Witch, translated from the French by Jordan Stump, MacLehose Press
- Rene Karabash, She Who Remains, translated from the Bulgarian by Izidora Angel, Peirene Press
- Deepa Anappara, The Last of Earth, One World
- Amanda Lohrey, Capture, Text
~ OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED
- David Malouf, works
- Chloe Dalton, Raising Hare
- Laura McPhee Brown, Worry Doll
- Ranginui Walker, Struggle Without End
- Patricia Walker, Potiki
- Cameron Sullivan, The Red Winter
~ CREDITS
- Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh
- Producer, Kate Evans and Sarah Corbett
- Sound engineer, Bella Tropiano and Hamish Camilleri
- Arts editor, Rhiannon Brown
Tony Birch & Beejay Silcox review: Inga Simpson/Asako Yuzuki/Helen Bain
This week The Bookshelf leans into the wild as Kate Evans and guests are circled by stories of wolves, wild boar and witches, along with the final year of celebrated poet Sylvia Plath and a sensual story of …
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This week The Bookshelf leans into the wild as Kate Evans and guests are circled by stories of wolves, wild boar and witches, along with the final year of celebrated poet Sylvia Plath and a sensual story of food and obsession from Japan. Kate is joined by regular guests, the novelist, poet and Professor of Australian literature Tony Birch; and critic Beejay Silcox, who arrives fresh from the U.K. ready to talk literary pilgrimages and bookish souvenirs. Plus, a bonus discussion on this year's Stella Prize shortlist.
~ BOOKS REVIEWED
- Inga Simpson, Once We Were Wildlife: Stories, Hachette
- Sarah Walker, The Water Takes, Summit Books
- Asako Yuzuki, Hooked, translated from the Japanese by Polly Barton, Fourth Estate
- Helen Bain, The Daffodil Days, Bloomsbury
- Sally O’Reilly, Hagtale, Scribe
- Evelyn Araluen, The Rot, UQP
- Geraldine Brooks, Memorial Days, Hachette
- Miranda Darling, Fireweather, Scribe
- Lee Lai, Cannon, Giramondo
- Marika Sosnowski, 58 Facets: On violence and the Law, Melbourne University Press
- Tasma Walton, I am Nannertgarrook, Simon & Schuster
NOTE: the winner will be announced on 13 May
~ OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED
- Ian McEwan, What We Can Know
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road
- Kim Scott, Dead Man Dance
- John Higgs, Lynchian: The Spell of David Lynch
- Asako Yuzuki, Butter
- Mieko Kawakami, Breasts and Eggs
- Sayaka Murata, Convenience Store Woman; Earthlings
- Emi Yagi, Diary of a Void
- Colum McCann, works
- Fiona McFarlane, Highway 13
- Guillaume Lecasble, Lobster
- Lucie Rico, Fowl Eulogies
- Robin Robertson, The Long Take
- Jenni Fagan, The Delusions
- James Alistair Henry, Pagans
- Laurie Colwin, Shine On Bright and Dangerous Object
- Tracy Chevalier, Burning Bright
~ CREDITS
- Presenter, Kate Evans
- Producer, Kate Evans and Sarah Corbett
- Sound, Roi Huberman and Tegan Nicholls
- Arts Editor, Rhiannon Brown
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