
The Bookshelf
What are you reading, loving or being challenged by? We review the latest in fiction for dedicated readers and for those who wish they read more.
Latest episodes

Sep 1, 2023 • 1h 5min
The Book Club: Frank Moorhouse Retrospective
A year on from the death of Frank Moorhouse, we examine the work of this much-loved yet troubled writer with his biographer Catharine Lumby and colleague Angelo Loukakis.

Aug 25, 2023 • 54min
New fiction from Chris Womersley, Jenny Erpenbeck and Tan Twan Eng: Australia, Germany, Malaysia
Kate and Cassie read Chris Womersley's Ordinary Gods and Monsters, Jenny Erpenbeck's Kairos and Tan Twan Eng's The House of Doors with critic Declan Fry and novelist Nilima Rao

Aug 18, 2023 • 54min
New fiction from Peter Polites, Angela O'Keeffe and Guy Guneratne
Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh read Peter Polites' God Forgets About the Poor, Angela O'Keeffe's The Sitter and Guy Guneratne's Mister Mister with poet Madison Godfrey and journalist and novelist Paul Daley

Aug 11, 2023 • 54min
New books by Ann Patchett, Naoise Dolan and Hwang Sok-yong: “Good marriages are never as interesting as bad affairs”
Cassie and Kate read Ann Patchett's Tom Lake, Naoise Dolan's The Happy Couple and Hwang Sok-yong's Mater 2-10 with actor Angourie Rice and novelist Jock Serong

Aug 4, 2023 • 58min
The Book Club - Miles Franklin Literary Award 2023 shortlist
Kate, Cassie and guests examine all six finalists for the 2023 miles Franklin Literary Award.

Jul 28, 2023 • 57min
Crooked Harlem, corrupt Wellington, bereaved London: books by Colson Whitehead, Emily Perkins and Elizabeth McCracken
Kate and Cassie read Colson Whitehead's Crook Manifesto, Elizabeth McCracken's The Hero of this Book and Emily Perkins' Lioness with poet Miles Merrill and literary scholar Bernadette Brennan

Jul 21, 2023 • 54min
A crying room, a road trip and blazing fury: Gretchen Shirm, Richard Ford and Claire Kilroy
Kate Evans and Jonathan Green read Gretchen Shirm's The Crying Room, Richard Ford's Be Mine and Claire Kilroy's Soldier Sailor with historian Peter McPhee and writer Ashley Hay. Cassie McCullagh will be back for the next edition of The Bookshelf.

Jul 13, 2023 • 54min
Fiction: The State of the Art
Kate Evans onstage with writers Colson Whitehead, Eleanor Catton, Richard Flanagan and Tracey Lien at the recent Sydney Writers Festival, on the state of the novel.

Jul 7, 2023 • 54min
Wifedom, hoarded memories and political road rage: New books by Anna Funder, Jen Craig and Priya Guns
Aboriginal, Chinese-Malaysian and Muslim writer and academic Eugenia Flynn co-hosts the Bookshelf this week with Kate Evans, reading Anna Funder's Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life, Priya Guns' Your Driver is Waiting and Jen Craig's Wall with novelists Max Easton (The Magpie Wing) and Amy Taylor (Search History)

Jun 30, 2023 • 54min
The Book Club: The Greek Myths
What is it about the Greek myths that make them so adaptable, reusable, ever popular – and up for all manner of rewrites?