2019 Highlights ... so far: The Better Reading Team Chooses the Books They've Loved This Year

November is the busiest month of the year in publishing, and we’re swamped with incredible new titles coming in for Christmas and the holiday period. So we thought it was time to take stock and look at some of our favourite titles of the year, so far. With two months to go… we’re sure we’ll be adding to these lists.

Cheryl, Director

I loved Mary Moody’s The Accidental Tour Guide. What a wonderful, empowering, honest read. We just had Mary in the office to record a podcast and I could’ve talked to her for hours. She’s such a fascinating woman. But other contenders for favourite read so far this year are The Godmother by Hannelore Cayre, The Rip by Mark Brandi and Thirty Thousand Bottles of Wine and a Pig Called Helga by the very funny Todd Alexander. And of course, one I’m recommending to everyone at the moment is Judy Nunn’s Khaki Town.

Melissa, Head of Marketing and Children’s Content

A standout kids’ book is You Can Change the World by Lucy Bell. It’s a practical guide designed to empower kids to make changes in their lives to help make a difference in the world. I’ve gone through it with my own children and it has become a favourite in our home. Because I read so many kids’ books for work, I’m quite choosy about the adult titles I read. I absolutely loved There Was Still Love by Favel Parrett. It’s a beautiful book about memory, family and love. Like so many other women around the world, I really enjoyed Lisa Taddeo’s Three Women. And a recent title I couldn’t put down was The Bee and the Orange Tree by Melissa Ashley.

Jane, Lifestyle Editor

I read so many great books but the standout for me this year has been Paris Savages by Katherine Johnson. I am raving about it to everyone. Friends, family, people I know… randoms at the bus stop. Everyone. It’s an utterly brilliant book based on the true story of three Badtjala people from Fraser Island who were taken to Europe to perform in ‘human zoos’. Intelligence, empathy and brutal honesty permeates this exquisitely written book. I could rave about this book for hours. In fact, I do. Other highlights? Definitely After the End by Clare Mackintosh. Devastating but so well written. And I’ve got to add the book I’m currently reading, Against All Odds by Craig Challen and Richard Harris, about the rescue of the Thai soccer team from the cave. An absolutely gripping read.

Bec, Marketing Coordinator

The Burnt Country by Joy Rhoades is my favourite book this year. It’s a fantastic Australian historical. I loved it so much. Other highlights are The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary which was just a great, fun, modern read, and the last book I read, The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. This is definitely a book that you will want to read and then push feverishly into the hands of your friends. It’s one of the richest and most fulfilling stories I have read in a very long time.

Alice, Marketing Coordinator

A real highlight for me since starting work at Better Reading was discovering Christian White. I loved The Nowhere Child and have just finished his second novel, The Wife and the Widow. It’s equally gripping. Other great reads have been Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris and The Boy with Blue Trousers by Carol Jones. It’s so well written. I couldn’t put it down.