Book Recommendations Archives

Doris Lessing, one of the most prolific and inspirational writers of the last century and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, has died at her London home in the early hours of the morning. Born in Iran in 1919, Lessing was raised in Zimbabwe before moving to Britain at the age of 30 with the manuscript of her first novel, The Grass Is Singing, about the relationship of a white farmer̵... Read more

[youtube=https://youtu.be/Ss-BVEWuJo0] Writing a follow up to The Slap was never going to be easy for Christos Tsiolkas. John Purcell casts an eye over his latest, Barracuda. This is a difficult book to write about. It has a personality rather than a plot. It is built upon emotion rather than reason. It is all shouts and whispers and nothing in between. As a boy Danny Kelly wants only one thing ... Read more

Alain de Botton’s early successes How Proust Can Change Your Life and The Consolations of Philosophy attempted to teach us that literature and philosophy are not rarefied artefacts to be shut between leather binding, studied and venerated but are instead practical, useful guides to living well. In his new book, Art as Therapy, de Botton joins forces with philosopher John Armstrong to remake our... Read more

Looking for the perfect Christmas gift? How about the Ultimate Stephen King Collection! Order Doctor Sleep (the follow up to The Shining) before December 10th 2013 to go in the draw to win the Ultimate Stephen King Collection – over 50 titles! (See the full list below) Winners will be announced on December 16th 2013 right here on The Booktopia Blog. Grab a copy of Doctor Sleep here Doctor... Read more

Last week, after a slight (okay, six week) reading hiatus, I guiltily reached for my pile of advanced reading copies, looking for something that would entertain and delight, without asking too much of my poor out-of-use brain. I picked up Monkey Business by Kathryn Ledson, and boy am I glad I did. Much like the hypercolour cover,  Ledson’s latest proved to be the perfect pick-me-up for my... Read more

Booktopia’s Romance Specialist asks Sophie Jordan author of Foreplay Nine Naughty Questions ———————————- 1. I wonder, is a romance writer born or made? Please tell us a little about your life before publication. Well, this romance writer was born when she picked up her first Sweet Valley High novel in the seventh grade. Fro... Read more

In this, a year of so many extraordinary gifts from the literary world, how can one work shine so brightly on the Australian landscape? Richard Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North finds its voice in haunting, stark prose and the deeply personal story of a POW on the Burma death railway his father was a survivor of. From the opening pages Flanagan surges across generations and lan... Read more

Susan Duncan, author of Gone Fishing, the sequel to the bestselling The Briny Cafe, tells us her five favourite books of all time. Cloudstreet  by Tim Winton It reminds me of what it is to be deeply Australian – the good, the bad, the ugly and the very, very funny. From separate catastrophes two rural families flee to the city and find themselves sharing a great, breathing, shuddering joint cal... Read more

Bestselling author Matthew Reilly is one of Australia’s most reliable writers. Every couple of years he delivers his fans quality popular fiction and every couple of years he can be counted on to break Australian sales records.  But till now, all of his successes, Ice Station, Seven Ancient Wonders, Temple, The Five Greatest Warriors, Scarecrow, to name just a few, have one thing in common, the... Read more

Writing a follow up to The Slap was never going to be easy for Christos Tsiolkas. John Purcell casts an eye over his latest, Barracuda. This is a difficult book to write about. It has a personality rather than a plot. It is built upon emotion rather than reason. It is all shouts and whispers and nothing in between. As a boy Danny Kelly wants only one thing – to be the greatest swimmer of ... Read more