The Bookshelf

Catch up on the best books and discussions about them from the last year. A songwriter, a plaintive guitar, time travel and a motel are all in the mix.Kate and Cassie's review of Willie Vlautin's Horse was originally was originally broadcast on 26 July 2024Cassie and Jonathan Green's appraisal of Kaliane Bradley's Ministry of Time was originally broadcast on 30 May 2024Kate, Kate Mildenhall and Beejay Silcox disagreed over Miranda July's All Fours back on 21 June 2024And bookseller David Gaunt and NZ Festival Director Claire Mabey gave their book recommendations on 26 July 2024

Detectives, tea ladies, journos, psychologists – what's the appeal of the crime series and repeat protagonist? Kate Evans with crime writers Michael Robotham, Tim Ayliffe and Amanda Hampson onstage at the BAD Sydney Crime Festival.GUESTSMichael Robotham, internationally bestselling crime writer, whose books include the Joe O'Loughlin series and the Cyrus Haven series. His latest is Storm Child.Tim Ayliffe, journalist and novelist, whose central character is also a media man. John Bailey is his name – and the latest book in that series is The Wrong Man.Amanda Hampson is an author of many novels, whose crime novels, set in the 1960s, feature tea ladies. Her latest is The Cryptic Clue.CRIME SERIES MENTIONED IN THE DISCUSSIONIan Rankin, Rebus seriesMichael Connelly, Bosch and McEvoy seriesAnne Cleeves, Vera seriesJanet Evanovitch, Stephanie Plum seriesKerry Greenwood, Phryne Fischer seriesStieg Larsson, Lisbeth Salander seriesPeter Høeg, Miss Smilla's Feeling for SnowStephen King's Holly Gibney seriesPatricia Cornwall's Kay Scarpetta seriesMick Herron's Slow HorsesTom Clancy, worksPeter Temple's Jack Irish seriesJohn Le Carre, worksJack Beaumont, Frenchman seriesWalter Mosley, Easy Rawlins seriesAdrian McKinty, Sean Duffy seriesSulari Gentill, Rowland Sinclair seriesCandice Fox, worksSujata Massey, Perveen Mistry seriesChris Hammer, worksCandice Fox, worksDon Winslow, worksPresenter: Kate EvansProducer: Kate Evans + Sarah CorbettSound engineers: John Jacobs + Tegan NichollsExecutive Producer: Rhiannon Brown

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