Staff Picks 2023

Not sure what to read next? Browse through these recommendations from our fabulous City of Perth Library staff.

Updated April 2, 2024
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All systems red
Wells, Martha
Paper Book
A New York Times and USA Today Bestseller Winner: 2018 Hugo Award for Best Novella Winner: 2018 Nebula Award for Best Novella Winner: 2018 Alex Award Winner: 2018 Locus Award One of the Verge's Best Books of 2017 A...
The book of roads & kingdoms
Fidler, Richard
Paper Book
A lost imperial city, full of wonder and marvels. An empire that was the largest the world had ever seen, established with astonishing speed. A people obsessed with travel, knowledge and adventure. Winner of the Indie Book Awards 2023 Non Fiction Book of the Year Shortlisted for the...
Chai time at Cinnamon Gardens
Chandran, Shankari.
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE MILES FRANKLIN LITERARY AWARD HIGHLY COMMENDED FOR THE BARBARA JEFFERIS AWARD 'Deftly traversing time, culture and continent to weave a tale of both home and unbelonging, this is truly a novel not to be missed.' - Maxine Beneba Clarke, author...
Cold enough for snow
Au, Jessica
Paper Book
**Winner, Victorian Premier's Literary Award 2023, Fiction** **Winner, Victorian Prize for Literature 2023** **Shortlisted, Miles Franklin Award 2023** *...
Creative act, the
Rubin, Rick
Paper Book
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERSHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023SHORTLISTED FOR THE FOYLES NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023Many famed music producers are known for a particular sound that has its day and then ages out. Rick Rubin is known for something...
Daisy Jones & The Six
Reid, Taylor Jenkins
Paper Book
THE SUNDAY TIMESAND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'I LOVE it . . . I can't remember the last time I read a book that was so fun' DOLLY ALDERTON_________________ They were the new icons of rock and roll, fated to...
Defy the night
Kemmerer, Brigid
Paper Book
_______________ 'A kinetic tale of the tension between duty, love and trust' - Cassandra Clare 'Defy the Night is everything I crave in a fantasy romance' - Stephanie Garber 'Addicting from page one!' - Jennifer L. Armentrout __...
Family Baggage
Evans, Ilsa.
Paper Book
Packing up her mother's life, George instead unpacks her own... A deeply insightful and wryly funny story perfect for readers of Meredith Jaffe and The Weekend by Charlotte Wood. Things you might be surprised to find when cleaning out your deceased mother's house: ...
The fancies
Lock, Kim.
Paper Book
Abigail Fancy returns to the tiny town that the Fancys have ruled for decades, fresh from her second stint in prison and utterly out of time... A bold, punchy and wry novel from the author of The Other Side of Beautiful. A story about stories: those we tell, those we believe...
Ghost Music
Yu, An.
Paper Book
A gorgeous Beijing-set novel of music, secrets and self-discovery For three years, Song Yan has filled the emptiness of her Beijing apartment with the tentative notes of her young piano students. With her marriage, she gave up on her own career as a concert pianist, but her...
The house in the cerulean sea
Klune, TJ
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, INDIE and WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER! A 2021 Alex Award winner! The 2021 RUSA Reading List: Fantasy Winner! An Indie Next Pick! One of Publishers Weekly's "Most Anticipated Books of...
The Kaiju Preservation Society
Scalzi, John
Paper Book
'John Scalzi is the most entertaining, accessible writer working in SF today' - Joe HillIn New York City, Jamie Gray is a driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls 'an animal rights organization'. Tom's team needs a...
Night watch
Pratchett, Terry
Paper Book
'The best Discworld book in the whole world ever. Until next time.' SFX The Discworld is very much like our own - if our own were to consist of a flat planet balanced on the back of four elephants which stand on the back of a giant turtle, that is . . . ...
Once there were wolves
McConaghy, Charlotte
Paper Book
INDIE FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNER 2022 "So damn good" Jeff VanderMeer, NYT bestselling author "Changes you as you read." Laurie Frankel, NYT bestselling author "This is a stunner." Publishers Weekly (starred review) -...
Once upon a broken heart
Garber, Stephanie
Paper Book
The other side of beautiful
Lock, Kim
Paper Book
What happens when fate says 'go'? Lost & Found meets The Rosie Project in a stunning break-out novel where a vulnerable misfit is forced to re-engage with the world, despite her best efforts. Meet Mercy Blain, whose house has just burnt down. Unfortunately for Mercy, this...
The priory of the orange tree
Shannon, Samantha
Paper Book
THE SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'The new Game of Thrones' Stylist'Puts Samantha Shannon in the same league as Robin Hobb and George R.R. Martin. Shannon is a master of dragons' Starburst'Epic fantasy with added dragons. A...
Project Hail Mary
Weir, Andy
Paper Book
AS SEEN ON BARACK OBAMA'S 2021 SUMMER READING LIST 'THE MOST ENJOYABLE HARD SF I HAVE READ IN YEARS' THE GUARDIANOUT NOW from the bestselling author of THE MARTIAN 'Weir's finest work to date. . ....
Smart ovens for lonely people
Tan, Elizabeth
Paper Book
Conspiracies, memes, and therapies of various efficacy underpin this beguiling short-story collection from Elizabeth Tan. In the titular story, a cat-shaped oven tells a depressed woman she doesn't have to be sorry anymore. A Yourtopia Bespoke Terraria employee becomes...
So lucky
O'Porter, Dawn
Paper Book
*Dawn O'Porter's bold and buzzy new novel, HONEYBEE, is available to pre-order now! **The Sunday Times bestseller and Richard and Judy Book Club pick*'A total joy' Matt Haig'Unputdownable' Marian Keyes Fearless, frank and for anyone whoâe(tm)s ever doubted themselves,So Lucky is the...
Translation State
Leckie, Ann.
Paper Book
'There are few who write science fiction like Ann Leckie can. There are few who ever could' John ScalziThe mystery of a missing translator sets three lives on a collision course that will have a ripple effect across the stars in this powerful new novel by award-winning author Ann Leckie.<...
Wager, the
Grann, David
Paper Book
From the international bestselling author of KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON and THE LOST CITY OF Z, a mesmerising story of shipwreck, mutiny and murder, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth. On 28th January 1742, a ramshackle vessel of...

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