Our latest reading suggestions guide is out now – packed full of new and upcoming books for all ages.
Category Archives: Recommended Reading
Librarians’ Choice – May 2018
The top 10 May 2018 release books as voted for by library staff around Australia is here. There are a variety of genres in the list with the Australian Vogel Literary Award 2018 Winner – The Yellow House being one of them. Click on a title to reserve a copy now.
Whisper – Lynette Noni (Librarians’ Choice Favourite)
For two years, six months, fourteen days, eleven hours and sixteen minutes… Subject Six-Eight-Four, ‘Jane Doe’, has been locked away and experimented on, without uttering a single word. Life at Lengard follows a strict, torturous routine that has never changed. Until now.
When Jane is assigned a new—and unexpectedly kind—evaluator, her resolve begins to crack, despite her best efforts. As she uncovers the truth about Lengard’s mysterious ‘program’, Jane discovers that her own secret is at the heart of a sinister plot.
…. And one wrong move, one wrong word, could change the world.
The yellow house – Emily O’Grady
The jade lily– Kirsty Manning
LIFEL1K3 (Lifelike) – Jay Kristoff
Lovesome – Sally Seltmann
The perfect mother – Aimee Molloy
Hot pursuit – Rebecca Freeborn
The making of Martin Sparrow – Peter Cochrane
Flames – Robbie Arnott
Staying – Jessie Cole
Garden Spells – a Book Club Review
Garden Spells – Sarah Addison Allen
Summary
Welcome to Bascom, North Carolina, where it seems that everyone has a story to tell about the Waverley women. The house that’s been in the family for generations, the walled garden that mysteriously blooms year round, the rumours of dangerous loves and tragic passions. Every Waverley woman is somehow touched by magic. Claire has always clung to the Waverleys’ roots, tending the enchanted soil in the family garden from which she makes her sought-after delicacies – famed and feared for their curious effects. She has everything she thinks she needs – until one day she waked to find a stranger has moved in next door and a vine of ivy has crept into her garden …Claire’s carefully tended life is about to run gloriously out of control.
Review
What a magical read!! We loved this book. A beautifully written story that painted gorgeous pictures. Very sweet and filled with optimism. Great characters (Evanelle was a favourite) and we also loved the cooking element. We really enjoyed this book. Would definitely recommend to anyone who loves a good “chicklit” read.
Rating – 8/10 Read by – Cultcha Club Book Club
Librarians’ Choice – April 2018
The top 10 April 2018 release books as voted for by library staff around Australia is here. There are a nice mix of books, mainly fiction, a very interesting non fiction and a title (Amelia Westlake) described as “a queer yA rom-com”. Click on a title to reserve a copy now.
The Lace Weaver – Lauren Chater (Librarians’ Choice Favourite)
A breathtaking debut about love and war, and the battle to save a precious legacy.
Each lace shawl begins and ends the same way – with a circle. Everything is connected with a thread as fine as gossamer, each life affected by what has come before it and what will come after. 1941, Estonia. As Stalin’s brutal Red Army crushes everything in its path, Katarina and her family survive only because their precious farm produce is needed to feed the occupying forces. Fiercely partisan, Katarina battles to protect her grandmother’s precious legacy – the weaving of gossamer lace shawls stitched with intricate patterns that tell the stories passed down through generations.
While Katarina struggles to survive the daily oppression, another young woman is suffocating in her prison of privilege in Moscow. Yearning for freedom and to discover her beloved mother’s Baltic heritage, Lydia escapes to Estonia. Facing the threat of invasion by Hitler’s encroaching Third Reich, Katarina and Lydia and two idealistic young soldiers, insurgents in the battle for their homeland, find themselves in a fight for life, liberty and love.
The Paris Seamstress – Natasha Lester
Sunburn – Laura Lippman
Amelia Westlake – Erin Gough
The Death Of Noah Glass – Gail Jones
Circe – Madeline Miller
Every Note Played – Lisa Genova
Dear Mrs Bird – AJ Pearce
The Colour Of Bee Larkham’s Murder – Sarah J Harris
Growing Up Aboriginal In Australia – Anita Heiss (ed)
NSW Premier’s Literary Awards 2018 – Shortlists
The NSW Premier’s Literary Awards provide an opportunity to highlight the importance of literacy and to encourage everyone to enjoy and learn from the work of our writers. These annual awards honour distinguished achievement by Australian writers, contribute to Australia’s artistic reputation, and draw international attention to some of our best writers and to the cultural environment that nurtures them.
Past winners have included such notable writers as Peter Carey, David Malouf AO, Elizabeth Jolley, Thomas Keneally AO and Helen Garner.
The awards allocate prizes to a range of Australian literature – the shortlists cover: adult fiction; adult non fiction; poetry; young people; children; play writing; script writing; multicultural NSW and Indigenous writers. View the entire NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Shortlists
Vote for the People’s Choice Award – Vote for your favourite book from the 2018 Christina Stead Prize for Fiction Shortlist and go into the draw to win a prize pack of all 6 books. Voting closes midnight Sunday 22 April 2018. Winners announced Monday 30 April 2018. To vote click here.
To reserve your title for the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction Shortlist click on the title:
Common People – Tony Birch
Seabirds Crying in the Harbour Dark – Catherine Cole
Pulse points: stories – Jennifer Down
The book of dirt – Bram Presser
The restorer – Michael Sala
Taboo – Kim Scott