Better Read Than Dead Bookstore Newtown

AUGUST Book of the Month

Pan

By Michael Clune

I know that authors blurbing books can be problematic and not an indicator of anything at all, but once Ben Lerner and Maggie Nelson appeared on the cover, I immediately paid attention. Clune has managed the amazing feat of making a story about a 15-year-old boy having panic attacks funny. Actually funny. Because, of course, teenagers equate panic attacks to the Greek god Pan. Parents are absent and merely plot drivers to ensure the characters get home on time, teachers are inconveniences, the lights are coloured, and perhaps reading Ivanhoe in a single sitting without stopping will help cure the central character’s anxiety.

Clune revels in the mundanity of high school and teenage crushes and is his work is evocative of The Topeka School – just with a few more paper bags to breathe into.

– LEXIE –

$34.99

AUGUST ILF Book of the Month

Yilkari

By Nicolas Rothwell & Alison Nampitjinpa Anderson

How to describe this unusual, affecting, inspiring and symphonic piece of work? Writer Rothwell and artist Nampitjinpa Anderson have combined their considerable talents to create a feast for the senses that explores the beauty, danger, music, peace and exhilaration of the desert landscape. As the unnamed narrator speaks and travels with friends and strangers (both traditional owners and colonisers), and an irascible Siberian searching for meaning, a vivid picture is painted of the physical, spiritual and philosophical regions they traverse, often across time and possibly even space.

For me, the writing created a mesmerising world that felt like it was at my fingertips yet untouchable, and left me yearning to experience the characters’ unknowable realm.

– SYLVIA –

$34.99

AUGUST Kids Book of the Month

Oceanforged Book 1: The Wicked Ship

By Amelia Mellor

When thirteen-year-old Cori finds the mystical Oceanforged gauntlet, she just might have a chance to bring back the glory to Aquanita, her realm, which has fallen into a Dark Age. If she can find the rest of the enchanted armour and escape her treacherous captain and avoid the monsters of the deep and hopefully find allies and keep them safe AND keep herself alive, she just might, just might stand a chance.

From the pen of Amelia Mellor – one of fantasy’s true talents – comes this exciting, swashbuckling, magic casting, draw dropping, seat-of-your-pants adventure. Think Hermione Granger on pirate ships!

– ROBERT –

$16.99

AUGUST Cookbook of the Month

Sesame

By Rachel Simons

Rachel Simons loves sesame so much that she started her own tahini-making business – now that’s commitment! So it’s no surprise that her debut cookbook is sure to open even more people’s eyes and stomachs to the joys of this small-but-mighty seed. And why ever not? This ancient, delicious and versatile ingredient has been used for eons in countless cuisines, particularly in the Middle East and Asia, to glorious effect.

Rachel’s recipes include Pear & Pistachio Breakfast Loaf with Sesame Streusel; Sumac Sesame Salt; Radicchio Tahini Caesar Salad; Lemony Orecchiette with Sesame Pangrattato (ooh); Vegetarian Tahini Ramen; Triple Sesame Thumbprint Cookies (I love a good sesame biscuit); and Rhubarb and Strawberry Galette with Halva Cream. Heaven!

– SYLVIA –

$49.99

Australian Fiction

By Her Hand: An engrossing historical fiction debut, a tale of family, battles and female empowerment, for readers who love Geraldine Brooks and Maggie O'Farrell

Theory & Practice: Winner of the 2025 Stella Prize

Fiction

The Pretender: 'A frontrunner for historical fiction book of the year' - The Times

Young Adult

Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games)

The Forest King's Daughter: an enemies-to-forbidden-lovers fantasy romance from the New York Times bestselling author of Frostblood

Middle-Grade Fiction

Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow: Nevermoor 4

After: Dystopian sci-fi adventure for kids aged 9, 10, 11, 12 – a thought-provoking story of AI and humanity

Relic Hamilton, Genie Hunter: From the former Children's Laureate comes a fast-paced new adventure series

Cooking

The Australian Ingredients Kitchen: Simple recipes using bushfoods

Third Culture Cooking: Classic Recipes for a New Generation

Slow Cooking: Wholefood recipes | Every recipe for slow cooker and oven or stove

Konbini: Cult recipes, stories and adventures from Japan’s iconic convenience stores

Biography

Australian Non-Fiction

Annette Kellerman, Australian Mermaid: The inspiring true story of the swimming champion and Hollywood star, from the bestselling author of SISTER VIV and THE REMARKABLE MRS REIBY

Unsettled: A Journey Through Time and Place

Mean Streak: A moral vacuum, a dodgy debt generator and a multi-billion-dollar government shake down - the powerful story of robodebt, shortlisted for the ABIA Social Impact Book of the Year 2025

Non-Fiction

The Fran Lebowitz Reader: The Sunday Times Bestseller

Lifestyle

Stress Tested: How the New Science of Stress Hormones Can Transform Your Health

Pain Free: The easy four-step method to reduce pain naturally

How to be Enough: Seven life-changing steps for self-critics, overthinkers and perfectionists

All I Ever Wanted Was to Be Hot: Self image, beauty ideals and desirability

Art

This Morning, This Evening, So Soon: James Baldwin and the Voices of Queer Resistance

The Japanese Tattoo: The History and Evolution of an Art Form

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