What Am I Reading?
A Short History of Longans – Mirandi Riwoe
Author Mirandi Riwoe’s latest novel A SHORT HISTORY OF LONGANS (UQP 2026) once again showcases her extraordinary literary style, her lilting and evocative prose, her intimate characterisations, her ability to paint an enormous multigenerational portrait, her carefully...
Sisters in Arms – Sarah Cochrane Ridout
A good book keeps the reader entertained with lively prose, interesting characters and an intriguing plot. A great book does all this but also conveys information and facts, encourages discussion and provides readers the opportunity to learn something or to see the...
Mantle – Romy Ash
Romy Ash’s second novel MANTLE (Ultimo Press 2025) explores our natural environment, community, isolation, fear, infection, love, desire, death, decay, ends and beginnings. MANTLE is full of contradictions: it is lovely literary prose yet highly engaging and...
Two Tongues – Maria van Neerven
Maria van Neerven’s stunning and beguiling debut collection of poetry, TWO TONGUES (UQP 2026) is charmingly naïve in form and style, yet devastatingly profound in content and themes. This slim collection celebrates Blak history and contemporary culture, raises an...
The Hurt – Catherine De Saint Phalle
Author Catherine De Saint Phalle composes thoughtful, meditative, introspective words that come together into works of great insight and profound curiosity, whether it be fiction or non-fiction. THE HURT (Transit Lounge 2026) is a memoir of a transformational time in...
Yeah The Boys – Holden Sheppard
YEAH THE BOYS (Pantera Press 2026) is author Holden Sheppard’s much anticipated sequel to his award-winning novel INVISIBLE BOYS, and while you can definitely read this one as a standalone, your experience will be much richer if you’ve read INVISIBLE BOYS first. Same...
When The Cranes Fly South – Lisa Ridzen
For fans of characters like Ove (Fredrik Backman) and Olive (Elizabeth Strout), the elderly Bo, and his dog, Sixten, are your new obsession. WHEN THE CRANES FLY SOUTH (Penguin Random House 2025) by debut author Lisa Ridzen (translated from Swedish by Alice Menzies) is...
People Like Us – Sally Piper
Author Sally Piper writes insightful novels that incorporate crucial social issues and the beauty of the natural world, and tells these stories through the perspective of relatable, contemporary characters. In her most recent novel, PEOPLE LIKE US (UQP 2026), she...
Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolver
What is there left to say about award-winning Barbara Kingsolver that hasn’t already been said? She’s a brilliant writer, a skilled crafter of moving prose, she produces epic novels spanning ages of time yet manages to highlight every small detail and ensure it sings....
The Long Night – Christian White
Christian White is a master of the crime twist, so much so that now I go looking for the twist or reveal as soon as I begin a new White book. Despite this, he still manages to surprise me with the complicated layers of deception and secrets that are hiding in plain...
The Things We Never Say – Elizabeth Strout
I thought I could never love another Elizabeth Strout novel more, then along comes THE THINGS WE NEVER SAY (Penguin Random House 2026) and I realise again this author’s quiet, restrained power, her empathy, her understanding of the human spirit, her devotion to...
Tin Man – Sarah Winman
TIN MAN (Tinder Press 2017) by Sarah Winman has been on my TBR list ever since I read STILL LIFE, years ago now (still one of my favourite ever books). I had no idea what TIN MAN was about, only that it was written before STILL LIFE and everyone had good things to say...