Book Recommendations Archives

I’m going away for the whole month of October and will not be writing the Buzz for November, so you get a break from me. Instead, the Buzz will be in John Purcell’s capable hands. So for the first time this year I get to choose the books  that are going with me on the basis of pleasure – or at least anticipated pleasure. In case you are interested in what is coming with me here is the lis... Read more

It’s been 29 years since Morrissey pleaded please, please, please, let me get what I want, but now fans everywhere finally have what they want. An autobiography from one of the modern era’s finest song writers and most intriguing public figures. And true to form, he only agrees to be published if he can be published straight into Penguin Classics. Read more

The Gift of Kindness by Pam Ahern Some stories change your life, some events change your life, but a single act of kindness can save a life. Meet Ruby the working dog who got a second chance and found her perfect job, and Macho the orphaned alpaca who found happiness among his sheepy friends. Then there’s Edgar Alan Pig, Ginger the chirping chicken, Lucky Bunny, Othello the goat, Coco the... Read more

I was saddened to learn that bestselling author Tom Clancy had died. I was saddened because I thought of what this loss would mean to his family and friends. I was saddened too, for as a young man I enjoyed his books and subsequent the movies starring Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan. I was also saddened because as a bookseller at Christmas time when asked what book would be good for a bloke, a Tom C... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Jenny Bond author of Perfect North 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. I was schooled in the public system and enjoyed it immensely. It’s no wonder that I went from school to ... Read more

UPDATE: The winner of our James Bond competition has been announced. Congratulations J. Wilson of NSW! The voice on the phone was steady and clear: Be at Sydney Airport for the arrival of British Airways Flight B15. British Airways Captain, Thomas Clark will be escorting James Bond, 007, through customs. You are to deliver him unharmed to Booktopia’s Headquarters where he will stay until ... Read more

This September we’ve been running Operation GMR, Get Men Reading. To celebrate, we’ve asked some of our favourite Australian authors to give us Five Books Every Man Should Read. Today’s guest is the one of Australia’s finest thriller writers, L.A. Larkin. Thrillers are a hugely popular genre with both men and women, so I work hard to please both sexes, constantly asking ... Read more

This September we’ve been running Operation GMR, Get Men Reading. To celebrate, we’ve asked some of our favourite Australian authors to give us Five Books Every Man Should Read. Today’s guest is Hannah Richell, author of the award-winning Secrets of The Tides and The Shadow Year. Hannah, take it away… The Stand by Stephen King No man should be allowed to reach adulthood ... Read more

This September we’ve been running Operation GMR, Get Men Reading. To celebrate, we’ve asked some of our favourite Australian authors to give us Five Books Every Man Should Read. Today’s guest is the one of Australia’s most exciting new writers and author of the exquisite Past The Shallows, Favel Parrett. Favel, take it away… The Road by Cormac McCarthy McCarthy is ... Read more

It is with deep sorrow that we share the sad news that Christopher Koch passed away peacefully in the early hours of this morning near his home in Tasmania. A leading Australian literary novelist, Christopher Koch was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for his contribution to Australian literature in 1995 and was twice winner of the Miles Franklin Award for fiction. Born and educated in ... Read more