The Bookshelf

Voting in Radio National's Top 100 Books countdown is about to open and this year we're celebrating Australian books. As you think about your own Top 10, Kate and Cassie bring together a trio of award-winning writers (including last year's Top 100 Books winner!) to reveal the Australian books they have loved and been influenced by: Trent Dalton, Claire Thomas and Steve MinOn, with a surprise appearance in the audience from Grimmish and Griefdogg author Michael Winkler.
Books mentioned
Storm Boy by Colin Thiele
Hating Alison Ashley by Robin Klein
Cole's Funny Picture Book by E.W. Cole
The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay
Johnno; Fly Away Peter by David Malouf
Wake in Fright by Kenneth Cook
The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson
Ruth Park, works
Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith; Schindler's Ark  by Thomas Keneally
Possum Magic by Mem Fox
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Carpentaria by Alexis Wright
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
She Is Me by Tahlia Isaac
Dropbear by Evelyn Araluen
Zigzag Street by Nick Earls
The Garden Book by Brian Castro
The Children's Bach by Helen Garner
A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey
My Brilliant Career by Miles Stella Franklin
A Room Made of Leaves by Kate Grenville
The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough
The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazard
The Vivisector by Patrick White
A Short History of Longans by Mirandi Riwoe
The Lebs by Michael Mohammed Ahmad
Credits
Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh
Producer, Kate Evans and Sarah Corbett
Sound engineer, Steve Fieldhouse
Arts editor, Rhiannon Brown

Anjet Daanje's The Song of Stork and Dromedary, translated from the Dutch, explores the intimate work of death and care in the eighteenth century. Liane Moriarty returns to the world of Big Little Lies with Big Little Truths, reuniting readers with the coastal suburb of Pirriwee and her cast a decade on,  just with a little more menopausal rage, teenage angst, and a severed finger. Joining us are regular reviewer Beejay Silcox, along with Cheryl Akle from Better Reading. Plus, critic and publisher Geordie Williamson shares his Top 3 Australian books.
Books
The Song of Stork and Dromedary by Anjet Daanje, translated from Dutch by David McKay (Scribe)
Big Little Truths by Liane Moriarty (Macmillan)
Geordie Williamson's Top 3 Australian Books
Such is Life  by Joseph Furphy
Translations from the Natural World by Les Murray
The Eye of the Crocodile by Val Plumwood
Other books mentioned
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
Mine by Adam Ousten
Dark Places by Kate Grenville
John Brown, Rose, and the Midnight Cat by Jenny Rose
Little Bear series by Maurice Sendak
Tell Me Something True by Michael Robotham 
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Credits
Presenter, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh
Producer, Kate Evans and Sarah Corbett
Sound engineer, Craig Tilmouth and Micky Grossman
Arts editor, Rhiannon Brown

We review the latest in fiction for dedicated readers and for those who wish they read more.

Omar Musa joins us after winning the 2026 Miles Franklin Literary Award. Plus, Michael Robotham and Madeleine Gray review Djamel White's Booker Prize-longlisted debut All Them Dogs and Téa Obreht's sweeping new novel Sunrise.

From the nightclubs of 1930s Berlin to the heartache and awkwardness of high school, and into the green rooms and backstage spaces of writers' festivals.