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.

James Bradley's Landfall reveals a flooded, baked and dilapidated city
Apr 24, 2025 – 0:54:06
The Bookshelf Easter Special: Irish writer Niall Williams
Apr 18, 2025 – 0:54:00
A love triangle set against the beauty of Montana in Eric Puchner's Dream State
Apr 17, 2025 – 0:54:07
Folk horror, dreams under surveillance, lonely in Guatemala
Apr 10, 2025 – 1:13:09
Andrea Goldsmith's The Buried Life - and a train steaming towards disaster . . .
Apr 3, 2025 – 0:54:06
Curtis Sittenfeld's Show Don't Tell + Tim Rogers and Zan Rowe on two new debuts
Mar 27, 2025 – 0:54:36
This week’s novels takes us to Zanzibar, Budapest and Renaissance Florence
Mar 20, 2025 – 0:54:05
On stage at Adelaide Writers' Week with Niall Williams, Charlotte Mendelson and Brian Castro
Mar 13, 2025 – 0:54:06
Australian bestseller Diana Reid returns with Signs of Damage
Mar 6, 2025 – 0:54:06
Irish writer Colum McCann’s Twist dives deep under the ocean and takes on a charismatic mystery
Feb 27, 2025 – 0:54:03
Mothers and Sons...is the story as fraught as the title suggests?
Feb 20, 2025 – 0:53:46
Alaska, folktales, mothers and daughters
Feb 13, 2025 – 0:54:06
A story of yearning, belonging, secrets and identity from Native America
Feb 6, 2025 – 0:57:06
Sweden, France, New Zealand: books from around the world
Jan 30, 2025 – 0:54:06
A medical crisis brings one man close to love, art, and beauty
Jan 23, 2025 – 0:54:06
Summer Reading: Quick, give me a recommendation!
Jan 17, 2025 – 0:54:06
Summer Reading from Australia and the World
Jan 10, 2025 – 0:54:06
Summer Reading: Fiction for a new year
Jan 3, 2025 – 0:54:06
Summer Reading: Books to get your teeth into
Dec 27, 2024 – 0:54:06
Summer Reading: What did you miss?
Dec 20, 2024 – 0:54:06
Crime fiction and why we keep coming back: The repeat protagonist
Dec 13, 2024 – 0:54:05
Best Books of 2024
Dec 6, 2024 – 0:54:06
The much anticipated new novel by Haruki Murakami, and plenty more...
Nov 29, 2024 – 0:54:06
Literature in translation with special guests Bora Chung and Anton Hur + Yu Shi
Nov 22, 2024 – 1:00:18
The Case for Critics - on stage at Canberra Writers' Festival with Christos Tsiolkas, Beejay Silcox and James Jiang
Nov 15, 2024 – 0:54:06
Niall Williams’ Time of the Child might just be the big ‘feel-good book of the year’
Nov 8, 2024 – 0:54:06
Dark Skies, a quest and nature writing in Inga Simpson’s The Thinning
Nov 1, 2024 – 0:54:06
Matricide, the (Virginia) Woolfmother, Norwegian woods: Graeme Macrae Burnet, Michelle de Kretser, Karl Ove Knausgaard
Oct 25, 2024 – 0:54:04
Melanie Cheng's The Burrow: can a pet rabbit heal a family dealing with tragedy?
Oct 18, 2024 – 0:54:06
Twins, pumas and a colonial western in Robbie Arnott’s Dusk
Oct 11, 2024 – 0:54:05
Tim Winton and the ruined future of his novel Juice
Oct 4, 2024 – 0:54:08
What's the verdict on Sally Rooney's new novel Intermezzo?
Sep 27, 2024 – 0:54:36
French provocateur Michel Houellebecq + Olga Tokarczuk's health resort horror
Sep 20, 2024 – 0:54:37
The rich and entitled are back but so are Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton
Sep 13, 2024 – 0:54:46
Malcolm Knox's The First Friend: a black comedy set in Stalin's Soviet Union
Sep 6, 2024 – 0:54:06
2024 mid-year review
Aug 30, 2024 – 0:54:46
Vortex: a new novel from Rodney Hall, twice winner of the Miles Franklin Award
Aug 23, 2024 – 0:54:07
Rita Bullwinkle's Headshot: a luminous debut that steps into the boxing ring
Aug 16, 2024 – 0:54:06
Miles Franklin Literary Award 2024
Aug 9, 2024 – 0:54:35
Weird fiction writer China Miéville's surprising collab with Keanu Reeves
Aug 2, 2024 – 0:54:06
Willy Vlautin's The Horse: drenched in twangy music and heartbreak
Jul 26, 2024 – 0:54:06
Dylin Hardcastle's A Language of Limbs: emotionally true, structurally complex
Jul 19, 2024 – 0:54:06
Awfully Rich: Taffy Brodesser-Akner's Long Island Compromise and more
Jul 12, 2024 – 0:54:06
Fairytales are at play in Julia Phillips' Bear
Jul 5, 2024 – 0:54:06
Catherine McKinnon's To Sing of War takes us to PNG during WW ll
Jun 28, 2024 – 0:54:06
A new fiction title from bestselling author Bruce Pascoe
Jun 21, 2024 – 0:54:04
Jenny Erpenbeck's Kairos, winner of the 2024 International Booker Prize
Jun 17, 2024 – 0:54:00
In Parade Rachel Cusk blurs reality and fiction
Jun 7, 2024 – 0:54:06
Kaliane Bradley's extraordinary time travel love story
May 31, 2024 – 0:54:04
Booker Prize winner Paul Lynch joins an all-star panel from SWF
May 25, 2024 – 0:53:56

Recent Reviews

A teacher-writer

Literary criticism at its best

Love listening to the hosts and their guests each week talk about the latest in fiction. Discovered many new authors and titles, and always look forward to a new episode.
Michelle Bernstein

A Must Listen for Booklovers

As an adult who recently became visually impaired, I have become increasingly reliant upon podcasts to keep up with new releases and backlist titles I may have missed. The Bookshelf is a terrific resource. Unlike many other book podcasts, Kate and Cassie (and their guest reviewers) delve deeply into each book. It is obvious that each reviewer has given the book serious consideration as the conversations explore more than just the basic themes and a brief analysis of the characters. But the conversations are fun, not academic, and are geared for readers who enjoy literary fiction. They explore novels from around the world which introduces me to new authors, although some of the titles have not been made available in audiobook format in the U.S. where I live. Just a wonderful podcast- so glad I found it. Thanks, Michelle
incognito82

Really great book podcast

I am so glad to stumble upon this podcast. I read tons of podcasts and many of them are intolerable. This is so good.
JustEmilyC

Best of the best

Perhaps up their with the Good Read podcast by the BBC this may be the best book-related podcast in all of book-related podcasts. And I listen to a ton of book-related podcasts.
Lord Montdore

Insightful and entertaining

I only stumbled across this show a few weeks ago but it is now a must-listen podcast for me, along with the NY Times Book Review (mostly new fiction and non-fiction) and BBC’s A Good Read (Books and Authors, mostly fiction). The episodes I have heard so far discuss books from around the world rather than being unduly parochial. I like the guest reviewers and especially that Kate and Cassie do not shy away from (polite) negative reviews. One of the most valuable aspects of a book review for me is an indication that I should probably not spend my time on a particular book. There is enough over-praising of books already; this show strikes me as very impartial. Oh, and Kate has one of the most mellifluous voices you could hope to hear.