Deb Worgan:

Prima facie by Susie Miller, an important and powerful read.

About Grace by Anthony Doerr, an odd but intriguing story, beautifully written, about exile and returning.

The conversion by Amanda Lohrey, a novel about a change of heart paralleled with the repurposing of a church.

Flick Ruby:

The valley, Chris Hammer’s latest tightly woven outback murder mystery, includes greenie protesters, good cops, bad cops, and greedy shysters, set in an imaginary town near us.

Doppelganger: a trip into the mirror world by Naomi Klein helps makes sense of the confusing complexity of online misinformation and the lurch to the right with crisp clarity.

The word for world is forest by Ursula Le Guin, a short but bewilderingly moving classic, hard to put it down.

Georgina Adamson:

The language of food by Annabel Abbs, about the writing of recipe books and their beginnings.

The island of missing trees by Elif Shafak, an intriguing, modern day fable, set in the present and the past.

Lessons in chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, great holiday read, funny and poignant, about a woman who stands her ground and won’t be bullied.

Angela Marshall:

Talking to my country by Stan Grant, not new but still an immensely relevant book about Australia, colonisation, race and our shared history seen through the prism of his family’s history.

Lola in the mirror by Trent Dalton, a novel set in Brisbane with difficult topics like domestic violence, homelessness and crime that is by turns funny, moving and sad but never bleak or hopeless. 

The voyage home by Pat Barker, the just released third book in a trilogy that is a monumental retelling of the Trojan War through the eyes of the women involved – invasion, war, violence and death but so alive and human.

Linda Sang:

Tell me everything by Elizabeth Strout, a deceptively simple novel about sharing stories and histories with characters and places that are familiar to Strout’s fans.

Mr Einstein’s secretary by Matthew Reilly is an engrossing historical thriller that educates and entertains with a brilliant young protagonist.

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, a great retelling of David Copperfield set in Appalachia with an irresistible young hero finding his way through poverty, foster homes and opiates.

Stuart Absalom:

An equal music by Vikram Seth, a beautifully written novel about amazing music, love and relationships.

Waiting for the barbarians by J M Coetzee, a metaphor for human life written with immense depth and considerable ambiguity.

William Cooper: an Aboriginal life story by Bain Attwood, a well researched biography of an important but little known campaigner in the struggle for justice.

Tikka Wilson:

Three wild dogs and the truth by Markus Zusak, a heartfelt, laugh-out-loud funny, and sometimes confronting reflection on family life in Sydney with various rescue dogs.

The overstory by Richard Powers, a novel about nine people, their relationships with trees, and their activism in relation to saving forests and our planet.

Mark Evans:

Gardening down-under: A guide to healthier soils and plants by Kevin Handreck, the ultimate guide to the science of gardening, will teach you how it all works and how to make it work for you.

Yates garden guide, first published by Arthur Yates in 1895 and now into its 45th edition, a family reference for five generations.

The grapes of wrath by John Steinbeck, a master of characterisation and the human condition – this is his masterpiece.

Marita Reynolds:

Going under by Sonia Henry, a darkly funny and sexy novel that blows the lid off the medical profession and life inside a hospital by a young doctor whose anonymous article about the pressures of trainee doctors went viral.

Scenes from my life: a memoir by Michael K Williams, from childhood through his early years as a dancer to his battles with addiction and the bar fight that left his face with the scar that was so prominent in his role as Omar in The wire.

Catherine the Great: life and legend by John T Alexander, covers all aspects of Catherine’s life: brilliance as a political strategist, expansive foreign policy, extensive domestic reforms which revamped the Russian military, political structure and economy and, of course, her infamous love life.