We are a community of engaged readers

Through our website, Facebook page, and our live events, our book-loving audience love to talk about books and authors, express their opinions and recommend new books to each other. It’s a safe place to get involved and have your say.

We want to make choosing your next read a better experience

Better Reading aims to be a great source of book recommendations for Australian readers and their families. We’re all about sharing great stories, and helping people discover new books and authors.

We’re about new releases and old favourites

There’s always something new and exciting on the shelves – which is why our ‘to read’ piles never seem to get any smaller. But that’s not going to stop us talking about old favourites. As far as we’re concerned, it’s ‘new’ until you’ve read it!

We’re for all ages

Need book recommendations for a young reader? We have you covered there too! Better Reading Kids has lists of great books on topics that will appeal to your children, hints, tips and observations about motivating young readers, author Q&As, trends in children’s books, insights into how books are created and more.

We’re all about great stories

We all know that choice can be overwhelming. That’s why the best bookshops don’t try to stock everything – just a curated selection. For the same reason, we won’t try to review every new book that comes along. Just the ones we love. That way you can spend less time choosing and more time reading.

Better Reading is about books that won’t let you down. Books to surprise and delight you. Books you’ll want to keep reading in bed, in the kitchen, on holidays. Stories you’ll want to share with your family and friends.

The Stories Behind The Story: Better Reading Podcast

Better Reading hosts a Podcast series called Stories Behind The Story, where Cheryl Akle interviews authors about their books, their lives, and what inspires their writing. Available to listen to on Google PodcastsiTunes and Stitcher.

Live Book Events

Every Wednesday night at 8pm, Better Reading hosts a Live Book Event – where an author is streamed straight to your lounge room. It’s a lot of fun and always interesting. The author discusses their new book and answers any questions readers may have. Head to our Facebook page to view our events listing. We also have Live Kids Book Events hosted by children’s author Adrian Beck chatting with your favourite Kids & YA authors. These run regularly on Tuesday nights at 8pm on our Better Reading Kids Facebook page.

Better Reading Preview

Preview is our new, crowd-sourced book review platform. We invite our trusted community of readers to engage directly with the nationwide conversation about books by registering for Preview to receive a free proof copy of a book in exchange for a short 200-word review. Read more about Preview here.

For a chance at being a Previewer, sign up to our newsletter here.

We’re global

Better Reading will always focus on homegrown authors and Australian stories, but we’ll also include reviews of books from overseas, plus lists of reader favourites, award winners, and our pick of books that won’t let you down.

Introducing the Better Reading Team

Cheryl Akle – Director

Cheryl has been working in the book industry for over 30 years. Some people say she is a book advocate, a champion of reading books and the story. Cheryl loves cooking for people and talking life, books and politics, preferably all together.

Jane Tara – General Manager

Jane is the author of over seventy children’s books, three YA novels and four adult novels, and has written for dozens of magazines and newspapers around the world. Her novel, Tilda is Visible, will be published in April 2024. Apart from reading and writing, Jane’s other interests include meditating and trying to get Cheryl to meditate.

Natalie Mourad – Campaign Manager

Natalie is an avid reader and Master of English Studies graduate. She may have written a dissertation in medieval literature but her reading list is expansive, ranging from literary fiction through to meet-cute romances. When she isn’t reading, she likes to listen to podcasts and brush up on her chess skills.

Dexx Halme – Marketing/Podcast Coordinator

Dexx has always enjoyed reading so it’s no wonder he’s now part of the Better Reading team. When he isn’t putting out tech fires, he loves reading translated and contemporary fiction and checking out used bookstores.

Want to get in touch?

We’d love to hear from you. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to our newsletter and join us on Facebook or Twitter . Or if you’d prefer the traditional way, contact us here.

Want to know more?

Read our Frequently Asked Questions.