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In 2024, the Book People – Australian Booksellers Association – have been supporting Australian bookshops for 100 years!
To celebrate, they asked booksellers from around Australia to help compile a list of 100 Must-Read Australian novels!
A reading challenge that not only supports Australian authors, but encourages you to visit your local independent bookshop!?
Sign me up!
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We encourage you to always source books from your local independent bookshop.
However, we understand this is sometimes not practical based on location or budget.
Therefore, this post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means, if you click on the link and purchase the book from that link, I get a few dollars at no extra cost to you! This way we can both stock up on more Aussie books! 😀
Happy Reading, Friends!
The BookPeople list of 100 must-read Australian novels covers a lot of different genres and might introduce you to a new favourite author! How many have you read?
“Boy Swallows Universe” by Trent Dalton, set in my home town of Brisbane – was a 5 star read for me. We follow young Eli as he navigates life in 1983 – learning what it takes to be a ‘good man’, as he breaks into Boggo Road Gaol on Christmas Day to save his mum. This was wonderfully written – Dalton did a fantastic job of sustaining an interesting plot while also injecting a lot of heart and warmth into the story. We suggest reading the book before checking out the new Netflix series!
“Limberlost” by Robbie Arnott is on my to-be-read shelf currently. The story of Ned – his two brothers away at war, their whereabouts unknown, and his father and older sister struggling to hold things together on the family orchard. Ned’s desperate to ignore it all—to avoid the future rushing towards him—dreaming of open water.
I really enjoyed Arnott’s first book “Flames” – beautifully written and, though it almost felt like a collection of short stories, connected all the threads together nicely at the end. I loved the natural themes and the folklore elements. A wonderful surprise of a book that’s drawn me to Arnott’s other work.
“The Dry” by Jane Harper is a staple for lovers of mystery and crime thrillers – which is right up my street. The first book in the Aaron Falk series, ‘The Dry’ is a great read for a rainy day. A well-written page turner that showcases the Australian countryside while still maintaining a solid plot.
“Picnic at Hanging Rock” by Joan Lindsay is an absolute classic – three schoolgirls climb into the shadows of Hanging Rock, and never return. The novel is a little dated, but suitably mysterious and enjoyable. Lots of quirky, and potentially shifty, characters to pin the disappearances on & the Australian bush was an atmospheric backdrop.
“The Secret River” by Kate Grenville is a great historical fiction read. Set in 1806, William Thornhill, an illiterate English bargeman and a man of quick temper but deep compassion, steals a load of wood and, as a part of his lenient sentence, is deported, along with his beloved wife, Sal, to the NSW colony in what would become Australia.
“Schindler’s Ark” by Thomas Keneally you may know from the movie adaptation ‘Schindler’s List’. Based on a true story – the unlikely saviour, Oskar Schindler, is a heavy-drinking, womanising industrialist who defies and outwits the SS to save more Jews from the gas chambers than any other single person during WWII. A tale of huge risk and great courage in the face of unspeakable evil.
Find some new stories that will stay with you. Characters that will feel like friends, novels that you’ll recommend for years to come.
“The Thorn Birds” by Colleen McCullough was a nice surprise for me, as a ‘family-saga’ story is not usually one I gravitate towards. We follow the Clearys as they live their lives through generations on an Australian sheep station, ‘battling the land – relentless in its demands, brilliant in its flowering, prey to gigantic cycles of drought and flood, rich when nature is bountiful, surreal like no other place on earth.’
“Jasper Jones” by Craig Silvey has been compared to coming-of-age stories by Mark Twain and Harper Lee. Late on a summer night in 1965, Charlie Bucktin, a precocious and bookish boy of 13, is startled by Jasper Jones urgently knocking on his window. They steal into a simmering summer night where everything will change. I loved this book, and still recommend it highly.
“Big Little Lies” by Liane Moriarty, “The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart” by Holly Ringland, and “Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence” by Nugi Garimara – have all been adapted into hugely successful film or TV productions. As we all know though, books are always better than the movie! So check out these beloved stories and see what insight you can gain, that just couldn’t be captured on screen!
Looking for a sweet romance with quirky characters? “The Rosie Project” by Graeme Simsion may be what you’re after! I enjoyed Don’s character & would totally eat the same meals on weekly rotation for the rest of my life. A sweet 3-book series to keep you reading.
For something a little more heart-wrenching, check out “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak – an emotional story set in 1939 Nazi Germany and told from Death’s own viewpoint. We follow Liesel as she steals books from Nazi book-burnings, and wherever there are books to be found.
There are so many great reads on this list – 100! – that will keep you page-turning well into the evening. Some may even reignite your passion for reading!
This list barely scratches the surface of all the diverse and amazing Australian reads out there waiting for you – but it’s a great place to start!
Save this post into your favourites as a reading guide. Let us know how many books on this list you read, which were your favourites, and which Aussie novels do you think should make the list next time?
Go and visit your local independent bookshop. You won’t regret it, and they’ll love you for it!
Happy Reading, Friends!
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