Culture
Books
Whodunnit: Why were novels by a famous Australian author forgotten by history?
Derham Groves was curating an exhibition about Australian crime literature when he stumbled across five books featuring an eccentric amateur sleuth.
- by Jewel Topsfield
Latest
Farewell to a master of the loose and baggy novel
The late A.S. Byatt’s Booker prize-winning novel Possession may have been big, ambitious and intellectual, but it was also moving, thrilling and funny.
- by Jane Sullivan
Melissa Broder’s mystical desert song to the power of love
In the American writer’s third novel, a woman finds a way inside a giant cactus as a bizarre part of her search to revive her love for her husband.
- by Jessie Tu
Cringeworthy? Maybe. But cozzie livs to fight another day
The Macquarie’s choice for Word of the Year triggered a flood of emails.
- by David Astle
Best reads of the year: The books that writers loved in 2023
We asked writers from Australia and overseas to tell us which books had knocked their socks off in the past year.
- by Various
Eight books to read: A magnificent short story and an enchanting memoir
Our reviewers cast their eyes over recent fiction and non-fiction releases.
- by Cameron Woodhead and Fiona Capp
Series
Literature
That special place: Writers on what takes them back to where they love
In this summer series, writers take us on their journeys – from Lake Eildon to London, Mongolia to Prague, and New England to Jerusalem Bay.
At 22, I was looking for oblivion. But would Mongolia help me forget?
With notebook lost and photographs ruined, there was nothing left but unreliable memories from a trip on the Trans-Mongolian Railway.
- by André Dao
December reads: Twelve books for Christmas my true love might give to me
Here are 12 books out this month.
- by Jason Steger
Why banning or burning books is the start of something terrifying
Ahead of a visit to Australia, the outgoing head of the American Library Association is warning of the resurgence of censorship.
- by Kerrie O'Brien
Opinion
Baby Boomers
Wondering how I’m looking so good? You can thank my enemies
Forget yoga. The secret to youthfulness is to nourish your hatreds.
- by Anson Cameron