Book Recommendations Archives

The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy was a fun, engaging read. While at times I was filled with anxiety for the characters I was also laughing really hard at other moments. And trust me, it takes something really special to make me laugh hard. That’s what I love about regency books and authors today, especially Julia Quinn. The stories reflect humans that are just as strange, endearing an... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Jacinta Tynan author of Mother Zen Ten Terrifying Questions ____________ 1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled? I was born and raised in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire (known simply as ‘The Shire’) as one of six kids in a suburb called Yowie Bay, but I went to high school in the eastern suburbs co... Read more

The importance of valuing the hard work of writers. The effort that goes into good short form writing is frequently undervalued. People often imagine that all it takes is for someone to come up with an idea, sit down and type out an essay, run a spell check, then deliver their work. Of course writing a strong essay is so much more than this; for most of us it’s a long and arduous process, from ... Read more

My favourite chocolate recipe: chocolate beetroot cake… This recipe comes from The Saffron Girl. I talk about chocolate a lot. I think about it a lot. And, yes, I even eat it a lot. But what I’ve learned while doing research for The Chocolate Promise, is that you need to know how to eat it in order to get all the great health benefits without all the fat and sugar nastiness that comes wit... Read more

In celebration of the release of Testament of Youth, which has been described by the Evening Standard as “Stunningly good…desperately moving”,  we are giving you a free double pass to see the film when you order a copy of the book. Synopsis: Testament of Youth is a powerful story of love, war and remembrance, based on the First World War memoir by Vera Brittain, which has beco... Read more

Melbourne author Murray Middleton was announced the winner of the coveted Vogel’s Literary Award on Monday night for his exquisite short story collection When There’s Nowhere Else To Run. The award, which offers publication by Allen & Unwin and $20,000 prize money, has been the launching pad for some of Australia’s most successful writers including Tim Winton, Kate Grenvil... Read more

Tuesday night saw Melbourne writer Emily Bitto take out the Stella Prize for her incredible novel The Strays. The Stella Prize, which Booktopia was honoured to be a major sponsor of, is fast becoming one of the most prestigious awards on the literary calendar, celebrating Australian women’s writing. The prize is named after one of Australia’s iconic female authors, Stella Maria Sarah ‘Miles’ Fr... Read more

It’s always hard trying to find the perfect Mother’s Day gift, so Booktopia has made it easy by selecting great books for every type of mum with our Mother’s Day Gift Guide, which right now has all the books and bobs at 30% off or more. It can’t last long though, get in before midnight April 23rd. Here’s just the very tip of the iceberg…. Love a True Story Bo... Read more

While you were sleeping the shortlist for the 2015 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction was announced, an intriguing list selected by this year’s judges. This year’s six shortlisted books were whittled down from a twenty-strong longlist, which can be found here. The shortlist selection includes five previously shortlisted authors and one debut novelist, playwright Laline Paull. The award wil... Read more

Let’s talk about the future. Sci fi is a seriously big genre. Futurological Sci Fi is a subgenre that has fun with projecting future societies. It’s all about enjoying the exploration of ideas and projections of what our world isn’t. And those differences indicate the fears, hopes and humour of any given author. So here are my top ten FSF books. ————... Read more