Show Notes
More than 280,000 readers voted. Now Kate and Cassie reveal the books that just missed Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books countdown. With special guests literary curator and Top 100 producer Michaela Kalowski, and critic and publisher Geordie Williamson, they unpack the biggest talking points from the vote and spotlight the next 100 books in Australia's literary ranking. Download a printable Top 100 Australian Books 1-100 ranked Also, the list from 101-200 The 'Ones That Got Away' List: 101-200 101 — Phosphorescence (2019) — Julia Baird 102 — Bliss (1981) — Peter Carey 103 — Always Home Always Homesick (2025) — Hannah Kent 104 — Kissed by the Moon (2013) — Alison Lester 105 — The Sound of One Hand Clapping (1997) — Richard Flanagan 106 — A Room Made of Leaves (2020) — Kate Grenville 107 — The Eleventh Hour (1988) — Graeme Base 108 — The Labyrinth (2020) — Amanda Lohrey 109 — Fight Like a Girl (2016) — Clementine Ford 110 — Eggshell Skull (2018) — Bri Lee 111 — Bruny (2019) — Heather Rose 112 — Any Ordinary Day (2018) — Leigh Sales 113 — No Friend But the Mountains (2018) — Behrouz Boochani 114 — The Season (2024) — Helen Garner 115 — Who Sank the Boat? (1982) — Pamela Allen 116 — Bridge of Clay (2018) — Markus Zusak 117 — The Riders (1994) — Tim Winton 118 — Romulus My Father (1998) — Raimond Gaita 119 — Banjo Paterson's Bush Ballads (2007) — A.B. Banjo Paterson 120 — On the Beach (1957) — Nevil Shute 121 — Wake in Fright (1961) — Kenneth Cook 122 — The Transit of Venus (1980) — Shirley Hazzard 123 — The Complete Adventures of Blinky Bill (1939) — Dorothy Wall 124 — The Fortunes of Richard Mahony (1930) — Henry Handel Richardson 125 — All Our Shimmering Skies (2020) — Trent Dalton 126 — Obernewtyn (1987) — Isobelle Carmody 127 — An Imaginary Life (1978) — David Malouf 128 — Mary Poppins (1934) — P.L. Travers 129 — Death of a River Guide (1994) — Richard Flanagan 130 — Disgrace (1999) — J. M. Coetzee 131 — The Rúin (2018) — Dervla McTiernan 132 — Hating Alison Ashley (1984) — Robin Klein 133 — Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge (1984) — Mem Fox and Julie Vivas 134 — He Died with a Felafel in His Hand (1994) — John Birmingham 135 — Sorrow and Bliss (2020) — Meg Mason 136 — Gould's Book of Fish (2001) — Richard Flanagan 137 — Dusk (2024) — Robbie Arnott 138 — Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence (1996) — Doris Pilkington and Nugi Garimara 139 — Tell Me Why (1993) — Archie Roach 140 — Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (2021) — Anita Heiss 141 — The Year of Living Dangerously (1978) — Christopher Koch 142 — Holding the Man (1995) — Timothy Conigrave 143 — How To End a Story: Collected Diaries (2021) — Helen Garner 144 — The Drover's Wife (1892) — Henry Lawson 145 — Journey to the Stone Country (2002) — Alex Miller 146 — Grand Days (1993) — Frank Moorhouse 147 — Grug (1979) — Ted Prior 148 — Ransom (2009) — David Malouf 149 — See What You Made Me Do (2019) — Jess Hill 150 — The Songlines (1987) — Bruce Chatwin 151 — The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea (1965) — Randolph Stow 152 — Memorial Days (2025) — Geraldine Brooks 153 — Tirra Lirra by the River (1978) — Jessica Anderson 154 — The First Stone (1995) — Helen Garner 155 — Rowan of Rin (1993) — Emily Rodda 156 — The White Girl (2019) — Tony Birch 157 — The Good People (2016) — Hannah Kent 158 — The Women in Black (1993) — Madeleine St John 159 — Bitter Wash Road (2013) — Garry Disher 160 — The CWA Cookery Book and Household Hints, 54th edition (1993) — CWA 161 — Once (2005) — Morris Gleitzman 162 — Nevermoor (2017) — Jessica Townsend 163 — Tracks (1980) — Robyn Davidson 164 — Poor Man's Orange (1949) — Ruth Park 165 — The Biggest Estate on Earth (2011) — Bill Gammage 166 — Australian Gospel (2024) — Lech Blaine 167 — The Wife and the Widow (2019) — Christian White 168 — Praise (1992) — Andrew McGahan 169 — The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1972) — Thomas Keneally 170 — Illywhacker (1985) — Peter Carey 171 — Migrations (2020) — Charlotte McConaghy 172 — The Barefoot Investor (2004) — Scott Pape 17
More from The Bookshelf
On this special edition of The Bookshelf, ahead of the Top 100 Australian Books Countdown, Kate Evans speaks with historian Professor Martyn Lyons about the history of reading in Australia and what our reading lives can reveal about the nation. Plus, crime fiction expert Sue Turnbull traces the evolution of Australian crime writing before sharing three books she loves. Singer-songwriter Fanny Lumsden and artist-performer Maeve Marsden also reveal their top three Australian reads. And in the podcast edition, music journalist Stuart Coupe joins us with three Australian books he can't live without. Guests Martin Lyons – Emeritus Professor of History and European Studies in the School of Humanities and Languages at UNSW Sue Turnbull – Honorary Professor of Communication and Media at the University of Wollongong, with expertise in crime fiction, television and popular culture Maeve Marsden – Theatre maker, performer and Creative Director of Varuna, the National Writers' House in the NSW Blue Mountains Fanny Lumsden – ARIA Award-winning country singer-songwriter whose fifth studio album, Traditions, is due for release on 30 October Stuart Coupe – Australian music journalist, author, band manager, promoter, publicist and record label founder Books mentioned and Guest Recommendations Literary Foundations Martyn Lyons, The Uses of Literacy in Colonial Australia Jane Austen, works Walter Scott, works Henry Kendall, poetic works Adam Lindsay Gordon, poetic works A B ‘Banjo’ Paterson, works Henry Lawson, works Charles Dickens, works Classic Australian Fiction Rolf Boldrewood, Robbery Under Arms Eleanor Dark, The Timeless Land Miles Franklin, My Brilliant Career Crime & Mystery Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes stories Fergus Hume, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab Lucy Sussex, Blockbuster! Peter Corris, The Empty Beach Marele Day, The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender Sharon Kernot, Night Swimming Dorothy Porter, The Monkey’s Mask Peter Temple, The Broken Shore Garry Disher, Bitter Wash Road Jane Harper, The Dry Peter Corris, The Dying Trade Contemporary Fiction Geraldine Brooks, Horse Pip Williams, The Dictionary of Lost Words, The Bookbinder of Jericho Helen Garner, Monkey Grip Eda Gunaydin, Root and Branch Evelyn Araluen, The Rot Jane Harrison, The Visitors Jessie Tu, A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous thing Children's Literature Alison Lester, Kissed by the Moon Music, Culture & Memoir Colin Talbot’s Greatest Hits Garrie Hutchinson, From the Outer Renee Geyer, Confessions of a Difficult Woman Stuart Coupe and Toby Creswell, Sounds Like Teen Spirit: The Anarchic Unauthorised Story of Triple J & Double J
Kate and Cassie are joined by rockstar Tim Rogers and novelist Madeleine Gray to discuss some big new releases. Australian crime heavyweight Chris Hammer swaps the outback for the world of high finance in Full Circle, a thriller of money, power and corruption. Then there's Jem Calder's I Want You to Be Happy, a zeitgeisty portrait of young Londoners searching for connection in an increasingly disconnected world; and Pip Williams' The German Wife, her eagerly anticipated follow-up to The Dictionary of Lost Words and The Bookbinder of Jericho, a sweeping World War I story of forbidden love and art. Plus, as Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books countdown draws closer, novelist, essayist and art critic Fiona Kelly McGregor discusses three Australian books that have had an impact on her life and writing. FEATURED BOOKS Full Circle by Chris Hammer, Summit Books I Want You to be Happy by Jem Calder, Faber The German Ward by Pip Williams, Affirm Press FIONA KELLY MCGREGOR'S TOP 3 AUSTRALIAN BOOKS Working Hot by Mary Fallon The Other Side of the Frontier: Aboriginal Resistance to the European Invasion of Australia by Henry Reynolds Voss by Patrick White OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED Famesick by Lena Dunham The Book of George by Kate Greathead Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte Lean Cat, Savage Cat by Lauren J. Joseph Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados Johnno by David Malouf Night Boat to Tangier, Beatlebone by Kevin Barry A Suitable Man by Jock Serong
This week, Kate and Cassie are joined by regulars Hannah Kent and Tom Wright to discuss three books that echo one another across themes of art, beauty, family and transformation. In Barbara Kingsolver's Partita, a young woman longs to escape her small town and difficult mother through music (and there are dogs and an accident); Ayad Akhtar's The Radiance follows a man whose vivid, radiant life is shaped by music and ambition (and there’s a terrible accident); And in Colm Tóibín's The Bridge, a son and father navigate change, possibility and belonging in a new world (accompanied by a whole pack of dogs). Plus, voting may have closed for The Bookshelf's Top 100 Australian Books, but we're still taking inspiration from readers' recommendations. Actor, writer and trans activist Zoe Terakes joins us to share their three favourite Australian books. Featured books Barbara Kingsolver, Partita, Faber Colm Toíbín, The Bridge, Picador Ayad Akhtar, The Radiance, Summit Zoe Terakes' Top 3 Christos Tsiolkas , Loaded Chelsea Watego, Another Day in the Colony Timothy Conigrave, Holding the Man Other Books mentioned Stephanie Alexander, The Cook's Companion Alison Lester, Magic Beach Shirley Hazzard, The Great Fire Hannah Moloney, The Good Life: How To Grow A Better World Christina Stead, Seven Poor Men of Sydney
In American Hagwon, the bestselling author of Pachinko, Min Jin Lee, explores family, education, ambition and the long shadow of economic upheaval, set between Seoul, Sydney and California. Louise Kennedy's Stations offers a tough and deeply felt Irish family story, while Catherine Chidgey's The Starving Bride turns hunger into a strange gothic performance. Kate and Cassie are joined this time by regulars, novelist and academic Professor Tony Birch and critic and literary judge Beejay Silcox. And, as we count down to the Top 100 Australian Books, Frank Moorhouse's biographer Matthew Lamb reveals his top three. Books featured Min Jin Lee, American Hagwon, Fourth Estate Louise Kennedy, Stations, Bloomsbury Circus Catherine Chidgey, The Starving Bride, Penguin Matthew Lamb's Top 100 picks Forty-Seventeen (1988) by Frank Moorhouse Tourmaline (1963) by Randolph Stow Writer Reader Critic (1992) by Dorothy Green Other books mentioned Janet McCalman, Struggletown Peter Carey, The Fat Man in History The Women's Weekly Birthday Cake Book Leonie Norrington, Djawundil Maymuru, Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubbs and Djawa Burarrwanga, A Piece of Red Cloth Gretchen Shirm, Out of the Woods Colleen McCullough, The Thorn Birds
Kate and Cassie take a look at bestselling author Emily St. John Mandel's latest, Exit Party, an epic that follows a doppelgänger and a man who disappears from a Los Angeles party in 2031, leading to a journey across parallel worlds and fractured timelines. Internationally-bestselling crime writer Michael Robotham is in to discuss The Weight of Angels by John Boyne; and Graham Akhurst, novelist, academic and Director of Indigenous Studies at the University of Technology on Turkish writer Kenan Orhan's Booker Longlisted novel The Renovation; and historian and author Anna Clark is in to share her Top 100 picks. Books featured Emily St John Mandel, Exit Party, Picador John Boyne, The Weight of Angels, Doubleday Kenan Orhan, The Renovation, Hamish Hamilton Anna Clark's Top 100 picks Raimond Gaita, Romulus, My Father Gay'wu Group of Women, Songspirals: Sharing Women’s Wisdom of Country through Songlines Billy Griffiths, Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia The Macquarie Dictionary, first edition published 1981 Ken Simpson and Nicolas Day, Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, first edition published in 1984 Other books mentioned Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude James Joyce, Ulysses Alexis Wright, PraiseworthyChina Miéville, The City & the City Claire G. Coleman, works Curtis Sittenfeld, Rodham Peter Carey, Illywhacker Steve Toltz, A Fraction of the Whole Alexis Wright, Carpentaria Kim Scott, Benang: From the Heart We want to know what you think of Radio National's book podcasts (The Book Show and The Bookshelf). Help us understand what's working, what's not, and how we can make our book programs even more useful, relevant and unmissable. Please take this quick survey.