Some word queries demand fossicking, or foraging, or hunting shelves in search of enlightenment, even when a word doesn't exist.

Some of Catherine Lacey's novel seems to have been inspired by stories of Tom Cruise and the Scientologists.

This anthology from the Margaret River Press has become a regular feature on the Australian literary calendar.

Lottie Moggach is a force to be reckoned with, as quickly becomes clear in this book.

While the main subject of young-adult novel Living on Hope Street is domestic violence, it's also very much about racism and alcoholism.

Delphine de Vigan's Based on a True Story is a tricky, clever, beguiling bombshell of a book.

He's covered conflicts worldwide, but in Michael Brissenden's first novel he brings the war home.

Covering a whopping 927 species, The Australian Bird Guide is far more comprehensive in its treatment of Australian birds than any previous single-volume Australian guide.

In her panaorama of the Jewish diaspora, Sara Dowse reminds us that social justice remains a persistent and powerful force.

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race was initially the heading on a blog Reni Eddo-Lodge wrote three years ago in a moment of blind frustration. Then it went viral ...

Publisher Mia Freedman tries to dispel any illusions she is some kind of "superwoman".

A cautionary tale of striving to live simply

This entertaining romp through the "wellness industrial complex" is full of contradictions.

This memoir grabs you by the collar and takes you places you wouldn't normally willingly go.

Jeff Sparrow's account of Paul Robeson's life is a compelling portrait of a remarkable man.

Movie critic Luke Buckmaster has plenty of anecdotes about the making of George Miller's four Mad Max movies, but not so many opinions.

• Book review

This book is a close study of an artist famous for one work.

Allen & Unwin are re-releasing Morris West's Vatican trilogy.

The Hogwarts universe is set to expand by an additional two new Harry Potter books

Literary news and events in Canberra,

Michael Robotham took quite a few risks for his latest novel, The Secrets She Keeps

If cryptic crossword clues do nothing else, they dispel distraction.

It might be the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution but the Melbourne Writers Festival isn't entirely dwelling on the past by choosing Revolution as the all-embracing theme for the 33rd instalment of the annual literary beanfeast.

Two new books break new ground in the depiction of Arab and Muslim women's lives.