Read This – Details, episodes & analysis

Josephine Rowe’s writing has been described by the New York Times as “gorgeous” and “precise”. This is particularly evident in her latest novel, Little World, a slender book that offers a deeper, denser exploration of ideas than its modest page count might suggest. This week on the show, Michael sits down with Josephine to discuss the genesis of Little World and why a library card might be her most prized possession.

Reading list:

Tarcutta Wake, Josephine Rowe, 2012

A Faithful, Loving Animal, Josephine Rowe, 2016

Here Until August, Josephine Rowe, 2019

Little World, Josephine Rowe, 2025

Ritual, Chloe Elisabeth Wilson, 2025

You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 

Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram

Guest: Josephine Rowe

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In addition to being an established novelist, James Bradley is also a journalist and writer of non-fiction, much of it concerned with the natural world and the myriad threats it faces. Set in the near future, in a world that is in the grips of climate catastrophe, his latest novel, Landfall, is a crime thriller at its heart. This week, Michael and James discuss what it means to write into a specific genre and why kindness is so important in both this novel and the world.

Reading list:

Clade, James Bradley, 2015

Ghost Species, James Bradley, 2020

Deep Water, James Bradley, 2024

Landfall, James Bradley, 2025

Highway 13, Fiona McFarlane, 2024

You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 

Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram

Guest: James Bradley

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In Melbourne-based author Sean Wilson’s new book, You Must Remember This, he tackles the complicated, tragic, and often fraught subject of dementia.. This week, Sean joins Michael for a conversation about loss, family, and how to hang on to one’s humanity as illness strips it away. 

Reading list:

Gemini Falls, Sean Wilson, 2022

You Must Remember This, Sean Wilson, 2025

The Bright Sword, Lev Grossmann, 2024

You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 

Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and X

Guest: Sean Wilson

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Two time Miles Franklin Award-winning author Alex Miller is 88, but with 17 books under his belt and more writing on the way, he’s showing no signs of slowing down. On this week’s episode, Michael sits down with Alex to discuss his latest book The Deal, which revisits the life of Lang Tzu, a character in his critically acclaimed novel The Ancestor Game.

Reading list:

The Ancestor Game, Alex Miller, 1992

Journey to the Stone Country Alex Miller, 2003

Autumn Laing Alex Miller, 2011

A Kind of Confession, Alex Miller, 2023

The Deal, Alex Miller, 2024

Joan Lindsay, Brenda Niall, 2025

You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 

Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and Twitter

Guest: Alex Miller

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In 2017, Rachel Khong released her debut novel Goodbye, Vitamin to critical acclaim. In 2024, she followed it with her second novel, a sweeping family saga spanning five decades. Real Americans is a fascinating exploration of what makes us who we are and challenges some of the corrosive myths that underpin America. This week, Michael chats with Rachel about her new book and she shares her thoughts on luck, science, and the ultimate unknowability of each other and sometimes, even ourselves.

Reading list:

Goodbye, Vitamin, Rachel Khong, 2017

Real Americans, Rachel Khong, 2024

Somebody Down There Likes Me, Robert Lukins, 2025

You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 

Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and Twitter

Guest: Rachel Khong

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Two-time Miles Franklin Award-winning author Michelle de Kretser has never been afraid of formal experimentation. Her seventh and latest book supports that idea. It is bold and, once again, a heady mix of serious intellectual inquiry with beautifully observed characterisation and formal play. This week on the show, Michael sits down with Michelle for a conversation about Theory & Practice and she reveals why writing it felt so different to all of her other books.

Reading list:

The Rose Grower, Michelle de Kretser, 1999

The Hamilton Case, Michelle de Kretser, 2003

The Lost Dog, Michelle de Kretser, 2007

Questions of Travel, Michelle de Kretser, 2012

Springtime, Michelle de Kretser, 2014

The Life to Come, Michelle de Kretser, 2017

On Shirley Hazzard, Michelle de Kretser, 2019

Scary Monsters, Michelle de Kretser, 2021

Theory & Practice, Michelle de Kretser, 2024

You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 

Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and Twitter

Guest: Michelle de Kretser

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Lech Blaine’s debut book Car Crash, told the gripping story of his life in the aftermath of a horrendous road accident that killed several of his friends. Since then he’s written political essays and thoughtful journalism: for The Monthly, for the Quarterly Essay and beyond. This week, we’re bringing you Michael’s conversation with Lech at Canberra Writers’ Festival, where they discussed his latest book Australian Gospel: A Family Saga. The book details the outrageous true story of the tangled fates of two couples and the children trapped between them.

Reading list:

Car Crash, Lech Blaine 2019

Australian Gospel: A Family Saga, Lech Blaine 2024

Gunnawah, Ronni Salt, 2024

You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 

Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and Twitter

Guest: Lech Blaine

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For so many, Noni Hazlehurst is the patron saint of early childhood nostalgia, known for her magnetic presence on Playschool. But Noni has had a long and storied career on stage and screen in Australia – from hosting Better Homes & Gardens to starring in the award-winning one-woman play Mother. This week on the show Noni chats with Michael about her new memoir, Dropping the Mask, where she reclaims a lifetime in the public eye and shares it back on the page. 

Reading list:

Dropping the Mask, Noni Hazlehurst, 2024

Martyr!, Kaveh Akbar, 2024

You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 

Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and Twitter

Guest: Noni Hazlehurst

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Read This returns next Thursday 16 January! We’re kicking off 2025 with Australian icon Noni Hazlehurst, who is on the show to discuss her new memoir Dropping the Mask.

Join us for another year of insightful, fascinating, and revealing conversations with some of the best writers from Australia and around the world.

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For our last episode of 2024, Michael heads back to Fitzroy Pool to find out what people are reading as the weather warms up. Plus, some of our previous guests offer book recommendations for the summer holidays.

Reading list:

Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter, Simone de Beauvoir, 1958

The Slap, Christos Tsiolkas, 2008

Ritual, Chloe Elizabeth Wilson, 2025

The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, 2001

I Could Not Believe It, Sean DeLear, 1979

Unlicensed: Bootlegging as Creative Practice, Ben Schwartz, 2024

Deadly Embrace, Jackie Collins, 2001

Of Love and Other Demons, Gabriel García Márquez, 1993

The Season, Helen Garner, 2024

The Safe Keep, Yael van der Wouden, 2024

All Fours, Miranda July, 2024

Time’s Monster, Priya Satia, 2020

The Lovers, Yumna Kassab, 2022

Deep Water, James Bradley, 2024

The Tribe, Michael Mohammed Ahmad, 2014

Edith Trilogy, Frank Moorhouse, 1992-2011

The Even More Complete Book of Australian Verse, John Clarke, 1994

You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store.

Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and Twitter

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.