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General reads
Side Quest Book Club reads
General reads
Gripping read, epic twist. Liane Moriarty's books are always worth a read
Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
A generational drama that tries to pinpoint where it all went wrong for an Irish family.
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
Continuing the series that asks the question: what would you do if you were stuck in the 18th of November? I'm so keen to continue the story, I've got the 4th book in Danish.
On the Calculation of Volume III - Solvej Balle translated by Sophia Hersi Smith ...
A lovely, chatty memoir about the power of working really hard to find your niche in life that brings people joy.
Average at Best | Book by Astrid Jorgensen | Official Publisher Page
The 2025 Booker Prize winner. To quote the main character, “It was… okay.”
Flesh by David Szalay
Heartwarming, sad, brutal fiction set in a German village in WW2.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Not to be confused with the book of the same title, The Correspondent is Peter Greste's memoir of being a foreign correspondent and being imprisoned in Egypt in the mid-2010s. He does a great job of responding to the question: how did the (geopolitic...
The Correspondent
Glad to have read Ocean Vuong's work. He can describe the tedium of working in a fast food restaurant really well but some of the plot and characterisation was off.
The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
I always enjoy a TJR book and this one about the rise and demise of 1970s rock band was no different.
Daisy Jones & the Six: Reese's Book Club
A historical view of schizophrenia treatment throughout the 20th century told through the story of Galvin family.
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker
Would recommend this novel to better understand the fraught relationship between First Nations folks and settler-colonialists in 1800s Australia. A necessary read.
The Secret River
One of those books where I wasn't fully sure what was going on half the time and just had to let the words wash over me.
Will There Ever Be Another You: : Patricia Lockwood
Cute read about not so much time travel but communicating with loved ones through time with a magic landline telephone.
Landline: A Novel: Rowell, Rainbow: 9781250049377
This was a book a friend of mine left at my place when she was visiting. A nice, short book, recounting separated poet's summer without men back in her regional hometown. I really liked the subplots with each of the groups she encountered in the town...
The Summer Without Men by Siri Hustvedt
I listened to this on audiobook because it was narrated by the author. I love Helen Garner's book about following her teenage grandson's Australian Rules Football team over the course of a season. A nice book about the importance of teamwork, family ...
The Season by Helen Garner – a 'nanna's book about footy' from an Australian ...
Picked this up at the second hand shop. Have watched the Netflix series and thought it'd be nice to read the original graphic novel. It's uncanny how much the characters resemble the actors who ended up playing them!
Heartstopper Volume 2: Bestselling Graphic Novel
Listened to this book on Spotify and found it to be a short but beautiful story.
Seascraper by Benjamin Wood
These cuties go to Paris on school trip. Delightful graphic novel.
Heartstopper Volume Three (Alice Oseman) (z-lib.org)
This book is already out in Australia and it's a great read about friendship, family and the preconceived ideas we have about others. Great to spend a lazy reading day with.
Mad Mabel eBook : Hepworth, Sally
Enjoyed this book, kept me guessing. Really beautiful themes of art, friendship and loyalty
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
The second book in the My Brilliant Friend series. Everyone in Neopolitan neighbourhood gets a little older, a little meaner, a little more complicated.
The Story of a New Name: A Novel (Neapolitan 2)
Finally got around to reading the first book in this series. Charming characters, somewhat grizzly murders, good plot twists galore.
The Thursday Murder Club
What happens when family vlogging goes terribly wrong. A memoir from Shari Franke; a difficult read because of the emotional abuse aspect, but a necessary read because it will make you think twice about consuming family content online.
The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest
The fourth book in this septology about being stuck in the 18th of November. I love how the inhabitants and boundaries of this world are slowly revealed to us over the course of the series. As usual for this series, the fourth book ends on quite the ...
On the Calculation of Volume (Book IV)
Cute novel that looks at letting go of past relationships through food, objects, memories and growing new friendships. Includes recipes :)
The Ex-Boyfriend's Favorite Recipe Novel
This is an excellent book which provides a realistic lens on artificial intelligence that asks the reader to look beyond the hype and urgency.
The AI Con: Fight Big Tech's Hype & Future
A divorce novel with cringe, sad, and funny moments in equal measure. It was fine. In a moment of whimsy, I found that a musician had slipped a card with their song lyrics inside the book. I love random ephemera in books.
Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey | Goodreads
A practical book that can help you understand your attachment style in different spheres of your life along with some tips and tricks to create more secure relationships in your life. Listened to it as an audiobook, may be a slightly different experi...
Secure: From the bestselling author of Attached
snowy, whimsy, cute romance novel.
And Now, Back to You (Heartstrings, #2) by B.K. Borison | Goodreads
Listened to this book. Well narrated, brought the characters to life. It's a grief novel which explores life, death, coping and relationships. TW: infant death, drugs.
Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead: Novel
My favourite book of the year so far. The premise is original: a woman washes ashore on a remote island on the brink of death. Why is she here? There is so much suspense in this novel, along with amazing descriptions of nature, many twists and turns ...
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
Side Quest Book Club reads
Side Quest Book Club is reading books from BRICS+ countries this year
2026 is Side Quest book club's BRICS+ challenge. The Obscene Madame D was our read for Brazil. It was not my usual kind of read but good to discuss over lunch.
Obscene Madame D - Hilda Hilst, translated by Nathanael and Rachel ...
A Side Quest Book Club read for Russia. A meandering journey from Moscow to Siberia that explores grief, family and illness. Another book where you've got to let the words wash over you.
Wound - by Oksana Vasyakina
Our India read on our BRICS+ challenge for 2026. My favourite book in this year's book club list so far. It's a long epic, which is one part family drama, another part relationship drama and yet another part magical realism. I wish this had won the 2...
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai
This is what our book club read for China in our BRICS+ theme for 2026. I wanted to add it to this list as a record of what we read, but the book was a DNF at this stage for me as I need space between reading violent, war themed books. Would consider...
Red Sorghum: A Novel of China - Amazon.com