Books and Readers

The encyclopaedia once shaped our understanding of the world. Created by thousands of scholars and the most obsessive of editors, a good set conveyed a sense of absolute wisdom on its reader. Contributions from Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Orville Wright, Alfred Hitchcock, Marie Curie and Indi...

An artist's solitude is a sacred space, one to be guarded and kept apart from the chaos of the world. This isolation allows for uninhibited wandering, uninterrupted meditation and the nurturing of sparks of inspiration into fires of creation. But in the artist's quiet there is also loneliness, se...

A transporting and illuminating voyage around the globe, through classic and modern literary works that are in conversation with one another and with the world around them Inspired by Jules Verne's hero Phileas Fogg, David Damrosch, chair of Harvard's Department of Comparative Literature and foun...

In my case, reading has always served a dual purpose. In a positive sense, it offers sustenance, enlightenment, the bliss of fascination. In a negative sense, it is a means of withdrawal, of inhabiting a reality quarantined from one that often comes across painful, alarming or downright distastef...

Propaganda, pulp fiction, spies and censorship: the fascinating and action-packed story of books in wartime. Chairman Mao was a librarian. Stalin was a published poet. Evelyn Waugh served as a commando - before leaving to write Brideshead Revisited. Since the advent of modern warfare, books have ...

"This is an indispensable handbook for anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of the process of writing a novel or short story. Rather than prescribing restrictive templates or formulae, Sarah Burton and Jem Poster draw on their extensive experience as both successful writers and expert t...

A new anthology of the internationally best-selling science writer's work, bringing together his writing about some of the most important science literature of our age to explore its key themes. Includes exclusive new commentary and conversation with other great science thinkers of our time. At a...

As all book lovers know, a collection of books affords not only access to endless pleasure and knowledge, but also, when skilfully deployed around the home, the opportunity to create a multitude of decorative impressions, whether classically formal, strikingly colourful or apparently artless. In ...

"Books Promiscuously Read is about the pleasures of reading and its power in shaping our internal lives. It advocates for a life of constant, disorderly, time-consuming reading, and encourages readers to trust in the value of the exhilaration and fascination such reading entails. Rather than argu...

Australia's novels lie at the heart of the country. Capturing everyday lives and exceptional dreams, novels have held up a mirror to the nation, reflecting the good and the bad. In this companion book to the ABC TV series, Carl Reinecke looks at the history of Australian culture through the books...