The Bookshelf

The best books of 2024 as selected by Cassie McCullagh, Kate Evans, Jason Steger, Lev Grossman and Michaela Kalowski. Keep scrolling for a full (and somewhat idiosyncratic) list.GUESTSJason Steger, literary journalist. Former literary editor at the Age and SMH; and regular guest on ABC TV's Tuesday Book Club.Lev Grossman, bestselling American novelist and journalist — whose books include The Magicians trilogy and (his latest), The Bright Sword (an Arthurian tale).Michaela Kalowski, literary interviewer and the curator of Radio National's Big Weekend of BooksBOOK RECOMMENDATIONS(listed according to the person who made the recommendation)Lev Grossman:Percival Everett, JamesPaolo Bacigalupi, NavolaTana French, The HunterKate Atkinson, Death at the Sign of the RookM.T. Anderson, NickedKarl Ove Knausgaard, The Third RealmNick Harkaway, Karla's ChoiceCassie McCullagh:Percival Everett, JamesKaliane Bradley, The Ministry of TimeFrancis Spufford, Cahokia JazzCeridwen Dovey, Only the AstronautsMichaela Kalowski's selection (in categories)Uplifting (subject matter or style):Ailsa Piper, For LifeJulia Baird, Bright Shining International:Percival Everett, JamesFrancis Spufford, Cahokia Jazz Australian:Robbie Arnott, Dusk Lexi Freiman, The Book of AynTim Winton, Juice Catherine McKinnon, To Sing of War James Bradley, Deep Water Julian Borger, I Seek a Kind Person Books in Translation:Greek Lessons by Han KangFantasy:Kelly Link, The Book of LoveJason StegerUplifting/ positive:Colm Tóibín, Long IslandMelanie Cheng, The BurrowKaliane Bradley, The Ministry of TimeOther highlightsNick Harkaway, Karla's ChoiceHelen Garner, The SeasonSamantha Harvey, OrbitalHeather Taylor Johnson, Little BitKate EvansPositive/ Joy or beauty:Niall Williams, Time of the ChildHanif Kureishi, ShatteredDeborah Levy, the Position of SpoonsInternational:Francis Spufford, Cahokia JazzAlan Hollinghurst, Our EveningsRichard Powers, PlaygroundIn translation:Olga Tokarczuk, The EmpusiumAustralian:Fiona McFarlane, Highway 13Dylin Hardcastle, A Language of LimbsCatherine McKinnon, To Sing of WarRobbie Arnott, DuskInga Simpson, The ThinningCREDITSPresenters: Kate Evans, Cassie McCullaghProducer: Kate Evans, Sarah CorbettSound engineers: Craig Tilmouth, Ann Marie DebettencorExecutive Producer: Rhiannon Brown

What do Kate and Cassie make of Will Self’s Elaine, a portrait of a frustrated fifties housewife, based on his mother's own diaries. Plus, The City and its Uncertain Walls, the much anticipated new novel by Haruki Murakami with a dreamy library in a parallel universe at its centre; and Rosalia Aguilar Solace’s The Great Library of Tomorrow, another novel set in an alternate world that pays tribute to libraries.BOOKSWill Self, Elaine, Grove PressHaruki Murakami, The City and its Uncertain Walls (translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel), Harvill SeckerRosalia Aguilar Solace, The Great Library of Tomorrow, TextGUESTSJon Page, long-time bookseller. General Manager, Dymocks, Sydney CBD store C.S. Pacat, writer whose books include the Dark Rise and Captive Prince series, and the graphic novel Fence series. OTHER BOOKS MENTIONEDStephanie Meyers, Twilight seriesSamantha Harvey, OrbitalAsako Yuzuki, ButterGenevieve Cogman, Invisible LibrariesJorge Luis Borges, The Library of Babel; Labyrinths Anne Rice, The Vampire ChroniclesChristine Dwyer Hickey, Our London Lives Colum McCann, Apeirogon; TwistCREDITSPresenter: Kate Evans, Cassie McCullaghProducer: Kate Evans, Sarah CorbettSound engineer: Craig Tilmouth, Beth StewartExecutive producer, Rhiannon Brown

A focus on literature in translation with special guests Bora Chung and Anton Hur, both of whom are South Korean authors and translators, who translate each others' work, and write outside the system of state-sanctioned literature. Anton translates from Korean into English; Bora translates Russian and Polish works into Korean. In this episode, they describe each others' work, discuss translation, give recommendations, and respond to fellow South Korean writer Han Kang's Nobel Prize in literature.We also meet Chinese podcaster and translator Yu Shi, who has translated Margaret Atwood and Jeanette Winterson's fiction into Mandarin.GUESTSBora Chung, lecturer, fiction writer and translator from South Korea, who translates from Russian and Polish into Korean. Her books include Cursed Bunny (which was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize), Your Utopia and Grocery ListAnton Hur, novelist and translator. He translates from Korean into English. His books are Toward Eternity and No One Told Me Not To. He also translated the global phenomenon I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokpokki by Baek Se-heeYu Shi, Chinese podcaster and translator Bora Chung and Anton Hur were in Australia as guests of the Korean Cultural CentreALL BOOKS MENTIONEDHan Kang, The Vegetarian; Human Acts; Greek Lessons; We Do Not PartFyodor Dostoevsky, worksBruno Jasieński, worksBruno Schulz, worksOlga Tokarczuk, worksStanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, worksWitold Gombrowicz, worksMargaret Atwood, The Testaments; The Handmaid’s TaleJeanette Winterson, Oranges are Not the Only FruitStephen King, worksPaul Auster, worksMishima Yukio, worksCREDITSPresenter: Kate Evans, Cassie McCullaghProducer: Kate Evans, Sarah CorbettSound engineer: Peter ClimpsonExecutive producer: Rhiannon Brown

Derided, disparaged and cursed to the heavens, book critics are depicted as literature’s grand villains – as frustrated creators and gleeful wreckers. But what do critics really do? And why are they necessary for a healthy literary ecosystem? James Jiang, Beejay Silcox and Christos Tsiolkas join Kate and Cassie as part of a panel discussion at Canberra Writers' Festival - five Aussie critics - making the case for criticism.