Book Recommendations Archives

The longlist for the 2013 Women’s Prize for Fiction has been announced, and with Australia’s M.L. Stedman and Carrie Tiffany being joined by New Zealand’s Emily Perkins, the diversity of the list has been applauded the world over. Formerly The Orange Prize for Fiction, the longlist for The Women’s Prize for Fiction will be cut down to a shortlist at the London Book Fair ... Read more

Check out the beautiful Australian Classics series, with a special offer from Booktopia. A&R Publishers launched in 1888 and by 1895 had a bestseller with Banjo Paterson’s The Man From Snowy River. The success of A&R confirmed the existence of Australian literary talent – and an audience hungry for Australian content. The company went on to publish some of the most famous names in Austr... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Asphyxia author of The Grimstones Series 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 in Melbourne, the oldest girl in a very big family, and I immediately set to work bos... Read more

The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth One of the great untold love stories – how the Grimm brothers discovered their famous fairy tales – filled with drama and passion, and taking place during the Napoleonic Wars. The Wild Girl tells the story of Dortchen Wild. Growing up next door to the Grimm brothers in Hesse-Cassel, a small German kingdom, Dortchen told Wilhelm some of the most powerful... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Fiona Palmer author of The Sunburnt Country, The Road Home, Heart of Gold and The Family Farm… Nine Naughty Questions ———————– 1. I wonder, is a Romance writer born or made? Please tell us little about your life before publication. Hmm, you know I’m not sure. Maybe it’s both? I think it was reading romance books ... Read more

Lauren Oliver is mean. Please understand, this criticism comes from a place of love. I say this as a devoted Lauren Oliver fan. I’m not suggesting she is a bad person. I’m sure she’s a lovely person. But she’s downright cruel to her readers. Case in point: The Delirium Trilogy. Anyone who suffered through the heart-breaking ending of Book One in this trilogy will back me up here. Delirium ends ... Read more

Toxic Oil: Why Vegetable Oil Will Kill You & How to Save Yourself by David Gillespie, author of Big Fat Lies: How the Diet Industry is Making you Sick, Fat and Poor , Sweet Poison and The Sweet Poison Quit Plan Everything you believe about fat is wrong. Polyunsaturated oil – everyone knows it’s good for you, right? Wrong! And we all know artery-clogging, cholesterol-forming saturated ... Read more

An IT consultant in his 50s decides to write his first novel. The novel is sold to 30 different countries and advances exceed $1 million. And that’s just the About The Author section, imagine how good the story inside the book is. Don Tillman  needs a wife. He has evaluated data and it’s obvious that this is all that is required in his life. He is a professor of genetics, physically... Read more

If you’re going to dream, dream big. So when my partner and I were throwing around ideas for how to spend our not too far off honeymoon my first thought was a trip on the legendary Orient Express.  As Caroline’s eyes lit up in excitement I knew in a heartbeat that her love for Agatha Christie was going to cost me. This love affair with one of history’s greatest crime writers began with the nove... Read more

The longlist for the 2013 Stella Prize has just been announced, containing a great mix of exciting new talents and familiar faces. Named after one of Australia’s most important female authors, Stella Maria Miles Franklin, the Stella Prize is worth $50,000, and both fiction and non-fiction books are eligible. The 2013 Stella Prize shortlist will be announced on Wednesday 20 March. The inaugural ... Read more