Omar Musa, Maxine Beneba Clarke and Nadine Garner share the Australian books that shaped their reading life. Find out what they want to do with problematic classics like My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin.
The event was recorded with The Book Show's Sarah L'Estrange at Melbourne Writers Festival for ABC Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books vote which is now open.
In the Top 100 Australian Books you can choose any ten Australian titles from fiction to non-fiction, kids books to cookbooks, history, biography or memoir.
Be part of the countdown and cast your vote for your favourite Australian books here.
Tune in to ABC Radio National for the countdown weekend: Saturday, 17 and Sunday, 18 October.
Guests:
Maxine Beneba Clarke is a poet, a children's book author and illustrator. She's also the author of the memoir The Hate Race and an award winning book of short stories, Foreign Soil. Her latest book is Beautiful Changelings.
Nadine Garner has been on our screens since the 1980s and The Henderson Kids. She's also starred in The Doctor Blake Mysteries, won Best Actress at the 1988 Australian Film Institute Awards and appeared in many TV roles and on the stage.
Omar Musa is a visual artist, poet, spoken word performer, playwright, novelist, short story writer and rapper. He's the author of two novels, Here Come the Dogs and his latest Fierceland won the 2026 Miles Franklin Literary Award. Listen to his interview on The Book Show with Claire Nichols here.
Books discussed
Omar Musa's favourites:
The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay
The Monster that Ate Canberra by Michael Salmon
Tiddalick the Frog Who Caused a Flood by Robert Roennfeldt
Strange Objects by Gary Crew
Obernewtyn by Isabelle Carmody
Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden
Kim Scott's True Country
The Boat by Nam Le
The Year of Living Dangerously by Christopher Koch
Shadow boxing by Tony Birch
The Monkey's Mask by Dorothy Porter
Nadine Garner's favourites:
Playing Beatty Bow by Ruth Park
Unpolished Gem by Alice Pung
My Place by Sally Morgan
Dear Sun: The Letters Of Joy Hester And Sunday Reed edited by Janine Burke
Burial Rights by Hannah Kent
Mullaway by Bron Nicolls
Power Without Glory by Frank
The Women of Little Lon: Sex Workers in Nineteenth-century Melbourne by Barbara Minchinton
Maxine Beneba Clarke's favourites:
Tram to Bondi Beach by Libby Hathorn, illustrated by Julie Vivas
Possum Magic by Mem Fox, illustrated by Julie Vivas
Hating Alison Ashley by Robin Klein
My Place by Sally Morgan
Does My Head Look Big in This by Randa Abdel-Fattah
Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta
Swallow the Air by Tara June Winch
Rock Flight by Hasib Hourani
Chinese Fish by Grace Yee
Praise by Andrew McGahan
Loaded by Christos Tsiolkas
Candy by Luke Davies
He Died with a Felafel in his Hand by John Birmingham
Unpolished Gem by Alice Pung
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