In this episode, a conversation with writer Ana Schnabl, author of Flood Tide.

In moderate physical decline, and with an immoderate weed habit, the novelist Dunja Anko returns home to the Slovene Adriatic coast to play detective and solve the mystery of her brother’s death. The going is arduous, the people inscrutable; her old friends have had years to forget – or to convince themselves they don’t remember. Dunja must contend with desire and disgust, curiosity and fear, as she begins to doubt her reasons for returning.

Elegantly plotted, funny and self-reflexive, Flood Tide is a psychologically deft exploration of the trauma wrought by human limitation and indecision.

Enjoyed what you heard? Click here to purchase the book: https://www.readings.com.au/product/9781739516154/flood-tide--ana-schnabl--2025--9781739516154

In this episode, a conversation with Patrick Ness, acclaimed author, screenwriter and journalist. Ness has made a return to his bestselling Chaos Walking series and the setting of New World, with Piper at the Gates of Dusk.

Something has been spotted in the night sky. Something that’s bringing back dreams of Noise, dreams of terror. Brothers Ben and Max have never really gotten on, each being more like one of their parents – Todd and Viola. But now they will have to come together, for something is coming. Blending sci-fi, speculative fiction and adventure with themes of power, division and hope, Ness has found another story he wants to tell, one that answers interesting questions and explores fascinating new frontiers but never loses sight of the heart that was so important to those first three books.

Enjoyed what you heard? Click here to purchase the book: https://www.readings.com.au/product/9781529537581/piper-at-the-gates-of-dusk--patrick-ness--2026--9781529537581

In this episode, another instalment of the Comics Question, where Bernard Caleo is in conversation with acclaimed comics artist, Mandy Ord. Ord’s work has been featured in numerous publications, and her books have received both national and international awards and nominations. In her new book, Sassy, Ord captures an animal-related encounter every day for a year bringing whimsy and delight to the weird and wonderful.

Enjoyed what you heard? Click here to purchase the book: https://www.readings.com.au/product/9780646733371/sassy-a-year-of-animals--mandy-ord--9780646733371

In this episode, a conversation with Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston, a neuroscientist and author of the book The Future Loves You: How and Why We Should Abolish Death. This book puts forward a bold and, at times, unsettling idea – that death may not be as inevitable as we’ve long assumed.

In the book, he argues that as medicine continues to advance – from ventilators to brain implants – we’ve already begun to blur the boundary between life and death. And if what truly defines us is not our heartbeat or our breath, but the structure of our minds – encoded in the brain – then perhaps preserving that structure could allow future generations to revive us. It’s a provocative shift in perspective. Because if death is not simply biological failure, but the loss of personal identity, then the question becomes: can that identity be preserved? And if it can, what would it mean – for us, and for the kind of future we’re building?

Enjoyed what you heard? Click here to purchase the book: https://www.readings.com.au/product/9781802063790/the-future-loves-you--dr-ariel-zeleznikow-johnston--2025--9781802063790

In this episode, another instalment of the Readings Kids Podcast, and an interview with Fiona Wood, author of The Boy and the Dog Tree, an exceptional middle-grade novel about the special bond between a dog and his boy; a heart-lifting tale of friendship, courage and belonging.

Enjoyed what you heard? Click here to purchase the book: https://www.readings.com.au/product/9780702269226/the-boy-and-the-dog-tree--fiona-wood--2026--9780702269226

In this episode, a conversation with award-winning playwright George Kemp, about his debut novel, Soft Serve.

Stuck in a regional McDonald’s, as bushfires close in, three twenty-somethings and their dead friend’s mum all face a reckoning. Fern longs for Ethan, Ethan longs for Jacob, and Jacob struggles to long for anything. Meanwhile, Pat just wants her grief to ease up. Soft Serve proves that small-town lives are huge, and that anyone can get stuck in limbo between their past and their hoped-for future. The book is described as ‘drive-thru Chekhov’, full of wit and heart.

Enjoyed what you heard? Click here to purchase the book: https://www.readings.com.au/product/9780702269134/soft-serve--george-kemp--2026--9780702269134

In this episode, another instalment of the Comics Question, where Bernard Caleo is in conversation with acclaimed graphic novelist and comic artist, Lee Lai.

In Cannon, Lee Lai’s follow-up to the critically acclaimed and award-winning Stone Fruit, the full palette of a nervous breakdown is just a part of what is on offer. Lai’s sharp sense of humour and sensitive eye produce a story that explores the intimacy of queer friendship and the weight of family responsibility, and breaks open the question of what we owe both to each other and to ourselves.

Enjoyed what you heard? Click here to purchase the book: https://www.readings.com.au/product/9781923106406/cannon--lee-lai--2025--9781923106406

In today’s episode, a conversation with Francesca Wade, author of Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife, a biography as unconventional and surprising as the life it tells.

'Think of the Bible and Homer, think of Shakespeare and think of me,' wrote Gertrude Stein in 1936. Admirers called her a genius, sceptics a charlatan: she remains one of the most confounding - and contested - writers of the twentieth century. In this literary detective story, Francesca Wade delves into the creation of the Stein myth. We see her posing for Picasso's portrait; at the centre of Bohemian Parisian life hosting the likes of Matisse and Hemingway; racing through the French countryside with her enigmatic companion Alice B. Toklas; dazzling American crowds on her sell-out tour for her sensational Autobiography - a veritable celebrity. Yet Stein hoped to be remembered not for her personality but for her work. From her deathbed, she charged her partner with securing her place in literary history. How would her legend shift once it was Toklas's turn to tell the stories - especially when uncomfortable aspects of their past emerged from the archive?

Using astonishing never-before-seen material, Wade uncovers the origins of Stein's radical writing and reveals new depths to the storied relationship which made it possible. This book truly shows Gertrude Stein as she was when nobody was watching: captivating, complex and human, and of particular note, it grants pertinent insight into her life with, and the life of, her companion Alice B. Toklas. 

Enjoyed what you heard? Click here to purchase the book: https://www.readings.com.au/product/9780571369317/gertrude-stein--francesca-wade--2025--9780571369317

In this episode, a conversation with Fiona Hardy, author of Old Games, a pacey, off-beat Aussie crime story about two best female friends and investigators unravelling the private lives of Melbourne's celebrity sportspeople.

Enjoyed what you heard? Click here to purchase the book: https://www.readings.com.au/product/9781761638275/old-games--fiona-hardy--2026--9781761638275

Morally flexible best mates and private investigators Alice and Teddy pride themselves on fixing every kind of mess imaginable, no questions asked. So, when they're tasked with locating the recently-stolen ashes of long-dead celebrity tennis player Ashley “Perry” Perrineau, it should be a routine job. But it quickly becomes clear that everyone who knew Perry is keeping secrets: his accountant despises Perry's widower; the sculptor of his statue is hiding something in her studio; his ex-doubles partner is a compulsive liar; and his mother is obsessed with preserving his legacy and her image at all costs.

Alice and Teddy will need to travel up and down Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula – all while avoiding more than one person on their tail – to uncover the truth and keep the body count from rising. But will they and the people they love survive what they find?

In this episode, a conversation with Alister Newstead, a music journalist, reporter and music editor with Triple J and Double J, and author of a new book in the 33 1/3 series on Tame Impala’s landmark album, Currents. The album is emblematic of a cultural shift in music production and consumption in the early days of streaming and a project that cemented its creator, Kevin Parker, as one of Australian music's most unlikely success stories and influential exports.

This book dives deep into Currents, examining its context, creation, content and lasting impact on the history of Australian popular music. The album's theme of metamorphosis and genre-blurring sound embodied (and possibly encouraged) a wider shift in the 2010s of popular music trends, consumption and listening habits.

Enjoyed what you heard? Click here to purchase the book: https://www.readings.com.au/product/9798765137017/tame-impalas-currents--alister-newstead--2026--9798765137017