The Bookshelf

An overview of the books of the year so far, what’s coming up for the rest of the year, and the 'to be read' book pile of regret as Kate and Cassie confess all with bookseller Jon Page and literary interviewer and editor of The Monthly Michael Williams.BOOKS MENTIONED BY CASSIEPercival Everett, JamesCeridwen Dovey, Only the AstronautsIain Ryan, The StripGabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow Kaliane Bradley, The Ministry of TimeFrancis Spufford, Cahokia JazzElizabeth Strout, Tell Me EverythingRobbie Arnott, worksTim Winton, JuiceBOOKS MENTIONED BY JON PAGESarah J. Maas, Court of Thorns seriesRebecca Yarros, The Empyrean seriesTéa Obreht, The MorningsideMurray Middleton, No Church in the WildGarry Disher, worksJane Harper, The DryChris Hammer, worksChristian White, worksHayley Scrivenor, worksMichael Robotham, worksPeter Temple, worksBarbara Kingsolver, worksHaruki Murakami, worksNagi, Recipe Tin Eats cookbooksJock Serong, CherrywoodElizabeth Strout, Tell Me EverythingTim Winton, JuiceCormac McCarthy, The RoadKaliane Bradley, The Ministry of TimeBOOKS MENTIONED BY KATEFrancis Spufford, Cahokia JazzRodney Hall, VortexDylin Hardcastle, A Language of LimbsFiona McFarlane, Highway 13Catherine McKinnon, To Sing of WarAndrew O'Hagan, Caledonian RoadOlga Tokarczuk, The EmpusiumLouise Erdrich, The Mighty RedJames McBride, The Heaven & Earth Grocery StoreBOOKS MENTIONED BY MICHAEL WILLIAMSMelissa Lucashenko, EdenglassieTony Birch, Women and ChildrenKate Grenville, Dolly MaunderJonathan Lethem, Brooklyn Crime NovelRebecca Makkai, The Great BelieversNam Le, 36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese PoemRichard Osman, We Solve Murders seriesSally Rooney, IntermezzoHelen Garner, The SeasonMelanie Cheng, The BurrowAn overview of the books of the year so far, what’s coming up for the rest of the year, and the 'to be read' book pile of regret as Kate and Cassie confess all with bookseller Jon Page and literary interviewer and editor of The Monthly Michael Williams.BOOKS MENTIONED BY CASSIEPercival Everett, JamesCeridwen Dovey, Only the AstronautsIain Ryan, The StripGabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow Kaliane Bradley, The Ministry of TimeFrancis Spufford, Cahokia JazzElizabeth Strout, Tell Me EverythingRobbie Arnott, DuskTim Winton, JuiceBOOKS MENTIONED BY JON PAGESarah J. Maas, Court of Thorns seriesRebecca Yarros, The Empyrean seriesJonathan Lethem, Brooklyn Crime NovelTéa Obreht, The MorningsideMurray Middleton, No Church in the WildGarry Disher, worksJane Harper, The DryChris Hammer, worksChristian White, worksHayley Scrivenor, worksMichael Robotham, worksPeter Temple, worksBarbara Kingsolver, worksHaruki Murakami, worksNagi Maehashi, Recipe Tin Eats seriesJock Serong, CherrywoodElizabeth Strout, Tell Me EverythingTim Winton, JuiceCormac McCarthy, The RoadKaliane Bradley, The Ministry of TimeBOOKS MENTIONED BY KATEFrancis Spufford, Cahokia JazzDylin Hardcastle, A Language of LimbsFiona McFarlane, Highway 13Catherine McKinnon, To Sing of WarAndrew O'Hagan, Caledonian RoadOlga Tokarczuk, The EmpusiumLouise Erdrich, The Mighty RedJames McBride, The Heaven & Earth Grocery StoreBOOKS MENTIONED BY MICHAEL WILLIAMSMelissa Lucashenko, EdenglassieTony Birch, Women and ChildrenKate Grenville, Restless Dolly MaunderJonathan Lethem, Brooklyn Crime NovelRebecca Makkai, The Great BelieversNam Le, 36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese PoemRichard Osman, We Solve Murders seriesSally Rooney, IntermezzoHelen Garner, The SeasonMelanie Cheng, The BurrowCREDITSPresenter, Kate Evans + Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans + Sarah CorbettSound engineer, Beth Stewart + Emrys CroninExecutive producer, Rhiannon Brown

Stories of Northern Soul, pigs trotters in performance art and politics in the subtropical 1950s come to life in three new works of fiction including Vortex, the new novel from 88 year old Rodney Hall, twice winner of the Miles Franklin Award; Woo Woo, by another Australian writer, Ella Baxter; and Rare Singles, the latest from English writer and journalist Benjamin Myers.BOOKSRodney Hall, Vortex, PicadorElla Baxter, Woo Woo, Allen & UnwinBenjamin Myers, Rare Singles, BloomsburyGUESTSGretchen Shirm, critic, novelist and teacher of creative writing. Her books include Having Cried Wolf, Where the Light Falls and The Crying Room. (Her book Out of the Woods will be published next year)Stuart Coupe, music writer and promoter. His books include Roadies: The Secret History of Australian Rock N Roll; biographies of Paul Kelly, Tex Perkins and Michael Gudinski; and the memoir, Shake Some Action. (He is currently writing a history of the Australian entertainment industry and its links to organised crime)OTHER BOOKS MENTIONEDJonathan Lethem, worksNick Hornsby, worksWalter Moseley, worksÉdouard Louis, Change; The End of EddyKate Jennings, Snake Bud Smith, TeenagerWilly Vlautin, The HorseCREDITSPresenter, Kate Evans + Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans + Sarah CorbettSound engineer, Tegan NichollsExecutive producer, Rhiannon Brown

Kate and Cassie read Rita Bullwinkle's Headshot, a luminous debut that follows eight teenage girl boxers in Reno, Nevada. Crime writer Michael Robotham discusses Chris Whitaker’s All the Colours of the Dark – a story with a one-eyed boy, missing children, and a character who may or may not be an hallucination, and a nod to True Crime and Australia’s dark history in Fiona McFarlane’s Highway 13, with critic Beejay Silcox.BOOKSRita Bullwinkel, Headshot, DB OriginalsFiona McFarlane, Highway 13, Allen & UnwinChris Whitaker, All the Colours of the Dark, OrionGUESTSBeejay Silcox, critic, essayist and director of the Canberra Writers FestivalMichael Robotham, internationally bestselling crime writer whose books include the Joe O’Loughlin series and the Cyrus Haven series. His latest is Storm ChildOTHER BOOKS MENTIONEDStephen King, worksDavid Owen Kelly, Host CityRebecca Makkai, The Great BelieversRodney Hall, VortexMichael Winkler, GrimmishJ.P. Pomare, Seventeen Years LaterColm Tóibín, Long IslandCREDITSPresenter, Kate Evans + Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans + Sarah CorbettSound engineer, Beth Stewart + Ann Marie DebettencorExecutive producer, Rhiannon Brown

What does the 2024 Miles Franklin shortlist tell us about our shared imagination? Bernadette Brennan and Geordie Williamson join Kate and Cassie to examine the winner, Alexis Wright's epic novel Praiseworthy, and all the finalists for Australia’s most prestigious literary prize.BOOKSWINNER:Alexis Wright, Praiseworthy (Giramondo)REST OF SHORTLIST:Hossein Asgari, Only Sound Remains (Puncher & Wattmann)Jen Craig, Wall (Puncher & Wattmann)André Dao, Anam (Hamish Hamilton)Gregory Day, The Bell of the World (Transit Lounge)Sanya Rushdi, Hospital, (Giramondo)GUESTSBernadette Brennan, literary scholar, biographer, and former judge of the Miles FranklinGeordie Williamson, literary critic and publisherCREDITSPresenter, Kate Evans + Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans + Sarah CorbettSound engineer, Tegan Nicholls and Ann Marie DebettencorExecutive producer, Rhiannon Brown

Bruce Isaacs on weird fiction novelist China Mievelle's The Book of Elsewhere, a genre-bending epic written in collaboration with Hollywood star Keanu Reeves. Plus, guest critic Ailsa Piper on The Echoes by Miles Franklin winning author Evie Wyld...set between London and rural Australia it's part love story, part ghost story, and Kate and Cassie discuss Choice by Booker-shortlisted author Neel Mukherjee, a bleak, powerful and viciously funny novel about a publisher at war with his industry and himself. BOOKSNeel Mukherjee, Choice, Atlantic BooksEvie Wyld, The Echoes, VintageKeanu Reeves & China Miéville, The Book of Elsewhere, Del ReyGUESTSAilsa Piper, writer and performer whose latest book is For Life: A Memoir of Living and Dying – and FlyingBruce Isaacs, Associate Prof of Film Studies at the University of Sydney; and co-host of the podcast Film Versus FilmOTHER BOOKS MENTIONEDSarah Winman, Still LifeEdna O'Brien, Girls in Their Married BlissThomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49Alfred Bester, The Stars My DestinationTed Chiang, Stories of Your Life and OthersCREDITSPresenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans and Sarah CorbettSound engineer, Tegan Nicholls and Nathan TurnbullExecutive producer, Rhiannon Brown 

Award-winning U.S. author Willy Vlautin's The Horse is his poignant new novel about the life of a lonely country musician in Nevada and his chance encounter with a half blind horse. Plus, bookseller David Gaunt reviews Ammar Kalia's A Person Is a Prayer, one family's story of migration from Kenya and India to the UK; and Wellington based critic and curator Claire Mabey looks at Laurence Fearnley's At The Grand Glacier Hotel, which follows a stormy family holiday set on New Zealand's South Island.BOOKSWilly Vlautin, The Horse, FaberAmmar Kalia, A Person is a Prayer, Oldcastle BooksLaurence Fearnley, At the Grand Glacier Hotel, PenguinGUESTSDavid Gaunt, co-owner, Gleebooks, Sydney – independent bookshop [and one of the founding board members of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation]Claire Mabey, NZ based books editor and critic; founder of Verb Wellington readers and writers festival, co-curator of the writers program at the Aotearoa Festival of the Arts – and she has just written her first novel for children, The Raven’s Eye RunawaysOTHER BOOKS MENTIONEDPatrick O'Brian, Aubrey–Maturin seriesAnita Brookner, Hotel du LacEvie Wyld, The EchoesKatherine Rundell, Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John DonneSinead Gleeson, HagstoneCREDITSPresenter, Kate Evans + Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans  + Sarah CorbettSound engineer, Russell StapletonExecutive producer, Rhiannon Brown

Kate Evans and Jonathan Green with guests Pip Williams and Sarah Bailey read Dylin Hardcastle's A Language of Limbs, Lev Grossman's The Bright Sword, Valeria Usala's A Woman in Sardinia and Jean-Baptiste del Amo's The Son of Man. Australian fiction, novels in translation, secrets and violence, cities and regions, queer love and emotional truths, and a hint of fantasy.BOOKSDylin Hardcastle, A Language of Limbs, PicadorLev Grossman, The Bright Sword, Del RayValeria Usala, A Woman in Sardinia (trans from the Italian by Katherine Gregor), TextJean-Baptiste del Amo, The Son of Man (trans from the French by Frank Wynne), TextGUESTSPip Williams, writer whose novels include The Dictionary of Lost Words and The Bookbinder of Jericho [Adelaide studios]Sarah Bailey, crime writer whose books include The Dark Lake, The Housemate and – her latest, released in February this year – Body of Lies [Melb studios]OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED:Shubnam Khan, The Djinn Waits 100 YearsItalo Calvino, If On a Winter's Night a TravellerJ P Pomare, Seventeen Years LaterFrederick Backman's BeartownArthuriads (an incomplete list)Thomas Mallory, Le Morte D'ArthurMary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy (The Crystal Cave etc)T H White's Once and Future King + seriesMarion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of AvalonMark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's CourtGuy Gavriel Kay, Fionavar Tapestry/ The Darkest Road trilogyM K Hume's Merlin Emrys trilogyVictoria Gosling, Bliss and BlunderSophie Keetch, Morgan is my NameCREDITS• Presenter, Kate Evans + Jonathan Green• Producer, Kate Evans + James Pattison• Sound engineer, Roi Huberman + Simon Branthwaite• Executive producer, Rhiannon Brown

Money, kidnapping, reality TV, politics, corruption, families, love, and betrayal in all three books on this edition of The Bookshelf. Kate Evans and Jonathan Green, with guests Farz Edraki and Johan Gabrielsson, read Taffy Brodesser-Akner's Long Island Compromise, Porochistaa Khakpour's Tehrangeles and Patrick Holland's Oblivion. Awfully rich, richly awful.BOOKSTaffy Brodesser-Akner, Long Island Compromise, WildfirePorochistaa Khakpour, Tehrangeles: A Novel, Ultimo PressPatrick Holland, Oblivion, Transit LoungeGUESTSFarz Edraki, Iranian-Australian writer and producer. Presenter of the ABC audio series, 'Days Like These'Johan Gabrielsson, Swedish-born, Sydney-based filmmaker – and Bookshelf regularOTHER BOOKS MENTIONEDJonathan Franzen, The CorrectionsMarcel Proust, In Search of Lost TimeHossein Asgari, Only Sound RemainsLouisa May Alcott, Little WomenTaffy Brodesser-Akner, Fleishman is in TroubleKaveh Akbar, Martyr!James Joyce, UlyssesGraham Greene, The Quiet AmericanGraham Greene, A Burnt-Out CaseClaire Keegan, Walk the Blue FieldsClaire Keegan, AntarcticaJames Salter, worksJonathan Franzen, worksPhilip Roth, worksMiranda July, All FoursClive James, Poetry NotebookNiklas Turner Olovzon, Iceberg

The band is back together! Join Cassie and Kate as they head to an island off North America in Julia Phillips’ Bear, plus two Australian novels – Jessie Tu’s The Honeyeater and Finegan Kruckemeyer’s The End and Everything Before It.BOOKSJulia Phillips, Bear, ScribeJessie Tu, The Honeyeater, Allen & UnwinFinegan Kruckemeyer, The End and Everything Before It, TextGUESTSTom Wright, theatre writer and literary adaptor; Artistic Associate at Belvoir TheatreNicole Abadee, books writer for the Good Weekend, interviewer at festivals, and Board Member, Indigenous Literacy Foundation OTHER BOOKS MENTIONEDJulia Phillips, Disappearing EarthJessie Tu, A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous ThingBen Okri, The Freedom ArtistRobbie Arnott, Limberlost; The Rain HeronWillem Frederik Hermans, Beyond Sleep Catherine Newman, Sandwich; We All Want Impossible ThingsClare Lombardo, Same as it Ever Was​CREDITSPresenter, Kate Evans + Cassie McCullaghProducer, Kate Evans + Sarah CorbettSound engineer, Russell Stapleton + Beth StewartExecutive producer, Rhiannon Brown

Mark Mordue, a poet and rock journalist known for his works like 'Boy on Fire,' and Patrick Carey, a writer and digital producer, explore Catherine McKinnon's novel 'To Sing of War,' set in WWII Papua New Guinea. They discuss the book's immersive journey and emotional depth, highlighting the character complexities of nurses and soldiers. The duo also dives into two debut novels, 'Big Time' and 'Evenings and Weekends,' connecting dystopian themes with rock music, societal challenges, and personal struggles, offering a rich tapestry of human experience.