The Book Show

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1. 01 | The Agatha Christie Murder Club: Who was Agatha?

   25 oktober 2026 · 18 min

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   At the first meeting of The Agatha Christie Murder Club we investigate the life of Agatha Christie to find out what led to a lifetime of writing detective fiction. How did her failed ambitions as an opera singer force her to pivot? What really happened when she was the subject of her own missing persons case? Lees meer

   Also, Agatha Christie is officially the best-selling novelist of all time. She was the author of 66 detective novels, 14 short story collections and she wrote The Mousetrap, the world's longest running play. Did she revel in this fame or try to protect her privacy?

   Laura Thomspon, author of Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life, helps solve the case.

   David Astle, the ABC's resident puzzle master has devised devious cryptic puzzles inspired by Agatha Christie's books. Each episode he'll provide a new clue and the answer will be the title of one of Agatha Christie's books.

   Episode #1 Clue: Unsure hint? Delve on the rocks

   David Astle will be back next time with the answer, and a new mystery for you to solve.

   Email thebookshow@abc.net.au if you know the answer to the puzzle.

   Find out more about the five-part series here.

2. Why R.F. Kuang won't stay in the world of Yellowface

   25 oktober 2026 · 23 min

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   Is there any genre RF Kuang can't master? Her work continually surprises readers and for her latest novel, Taipei Story, she explains why she's shifted gears to tell a quiet story infused with subtle humour. Lees meer

   Taipei Story follows a Chinese American student trying to connect with her heritage while uncovering some confronting family secrets. The novel's origins lie in RF Kuang's own experience of attending an intensive Mandarin course in Taiwan when her grandfather died. As she describes to Claire Nichols, as well as mourning his loss, his death was a profound blow to her search for a meaningful connection with her Chinese heritage and she struggled to find the right language to express her feelings. And she wondered, how much harder it would be for a younger person from the diaspora seeking a link to their heritage?

   Listen to Claire's interview with RF Kuang about Katabasis and Yellowface.

   Love Agatha Christie mysteries? Dive into The Book Show's new series The Agatha Christie Murder Club as we solve mysteries about Christie, her books and legacy. Each week you'll have a chance to solve a cryptic puzzle devised by puzzle master, David Astle.

   Relive your favourite moments of the Top 100 Books countdown. Download a printable Top 100 Australian Books 1-100 ranked and also, the list from 101-200.

3. The Top 100 Australian Books afterparty

   19 oktober 2026 · 55 min

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   You voted, we counted and now we know: Tim Winton's Cloudstreet is our favourite-ever Australian book. In this Top 100 Australian Books afterparty we relive the highs, the lows and the controversies of the countdown. Lees meer

   Claire Nichols and Hilary Harper take a deep dive into conversations from The Book Show with your favourite Top 100 Books authors. Tim Winton reflects on how Cloudstreet saved him, Markus Zusak shares the stories that made The Book Thief and we hear from other favourites: Melissa Lucashenko on Too Much Lip and Charlotte McConaghy on Wild Dark Shore.

   We also dig into the ABC archives for a 1987 interview with Sally Morgan on her seminal memoir, My Place.

   Download a printable Top 100 Australian Books 1-100 ranked.

   Relive your favourite moments of the weekend countdown.

   Tune into our sister show, The Bookshelf, for the ones that got away (and the 101-200 list).

   Donate to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, our Top 100 Australian Books partner.

   Top 100 Australian Books: Ranks 1–100

   1. Cloudstreet by Tim Winton2. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak3. Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton4. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent5. A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey6. Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden7. The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams8. The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan9. The Secret River by Kate Grenville10. The Dry by Jane Harper

   11. Possum Magic by Mem Fox and Julie Vivas12. Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe13. Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta14. Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks15. The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas16. Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy17. Storm Boy by Colin Thiele18. My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin19. Magic Beach by Alison Lester20. Wifedom by Anna Funder

   21. My Place by Sally Morgan22. The Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book by Maryanne Blacker and Pamela Clark23. Stasiland by Anna Funder24. The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay25. Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner26. Pic…

4. INTRODUCING — The Agatha Christie Murder Club

   15 oktober 2026 · 2 min

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   Before Knives Out, escape rooms and true-crime podcasts, there was Agatha Christie. The 'Queen of Crime' perfected the murder-mystery format and, 50 years after her death, we still can't get enough of her trailblazing take on cosy crime. Lees meer

   Each episode we solve a case together. What made her mysteries so propulsive? What happened when she was the star of her own missing-persons case? And would The Thursday Murder Club, or Only Murders in the Building exist, without Agatha Christie?

   Plus, each episode we'll put your little grey cells to work with a cryptic puzzle brought to you by David Astle, the ABC's resident Puzzle Master.

5. Min Jin Lee and Bonnie Garmus: After Pachinko and Lessons in Chemistry

   11 oktober 2026 · 41 min

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   The surprising Australian links in Min Jin Lee's latest novel American Hagwon. And Bonnie Garmus stresses the importance of poetry in Peck and Peck, the follow up to Lessons in Chemistry. Lees meer

   Why did it take ten years to write American Hagwon, the third novel exploring the Korean diaspora after Pachinko? Find out as Korean American author Min Jin Lee describes to Claire Nichols the ideas behind this family saga set just after the Asian financial crisis. The novel which centres on the sacrifices parents make to educate their children, but is also about expectations, class, migration and ultimately a celebration of family unity. While tackling the endemic Korean private cram academies called Hagwon, the story takes us to Korea, Sydney and California. And as a regular visitor to these shores, Min Jin Lee has some interesting conclusions about Australia's education and health systems.

   And while Bonnie Garmus tells Claire Nichols the themes in her latest novel are very different from Lessons in Chemistry, the idea for Peck and Peck also came to her after a bad day at work. This time though it was a poem on the radio that sparked a story about a young man with an ear for identifying good poetry. And the complexities of twins.

6. Jeffrey Archer's final Australian interview

   6 oktober 2026 · 21 min

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   Conservative politician and bestselling author, Jeffrey Archer has died at 86. In one of the final interviews of his life, he recounts how his changing financial, personal and political fortunes propelled his writing career. Lees meer

   Jeffery Archer's own life story was just as colourful as those in the pages of his books. He was a British MP until he went bankrupt, then in 1976 he published the novel Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less which began his 50 year career as a novelist. He was made a British Lord, worked for Margaret Thatcher and went to jail for perjury.

   With his days in politics long behind him, Jeffrey Archer was in a reflective mood for this interview. He told Claire Nichols that his new novel, Adam and Eve, was the best thing he'd written and it would be his last.

7. Shaun Micallef gets silly

   4 oktober 2026 · 41 min

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   Why Shaun Micallef's latest novel DeAth Takes a Holiday features a cast of gothic characters including a vampire suffering from ennui, zombie slaves and the resurrection of the skeletal remains of Queen Victoria's husband. Lees meer

   What happens when you have to step in to a gig at the last minute? With almost zero preparation Claire Nichols had to draw on all her skills to fill in as host at the Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival. But with a guest like comedian, author, TV presenter Shaun Micallef perhaps even the most rigorous research can never prepare you for what's about to unfold. Thank goodness Claire had actually read and interviewed him about his new book DeAth Takes a Holiday, a unique perspective on the Gothic romance horror where the harbinger of Dracula attempts mortality. You can hear that interview here. From his hilarious description of the font used, to the inspiration for the book; the 19th century satirical utopian novel Erewhon, Shaun pokes affectionate fun at the format of books, reprises his favourite historical figures and ponders more serious questions about the current state of the world. And is that Trump making an appearance?

8. Geraldine Brooks on 25 years of wonder and Zoe Foster Blake's girlfriend getaways

   28 september 2026 · 44 min

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   Geraldine Brooks explains how she stumbled across the story that inspired her 17th century plague novel, Year of Wonders and Zoe Foster Blake channels her favourite getaways and strong female friendships in her latest novel Group Chat. Lees meer

   For Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books vote, Geraldine Brooks takes Claire Nichols back to the beginnings of her beloved debut Year of Wonders and reflects on whether it's an Australian novel despite being set in 17th century England. Now, 25 years after publication, Geraldine is amused by how she depicted horses in the novel (she's now a keen horserider), but she's still proud of it and offers wise words about the importance of accepting our younger selves.

   Will you be voting for Year of Wonders? Vote now in ABC Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books.

   Zoe Foster Blake describes to Claire Nichols how holidays in her favourite Greek island of Mykonos and her enduring friendships with women over decades inspired her latest novel. Group Chat is about five women in their forties who gather for a week of extravagance to support a girlfriend who's discovered her husband is cheating. As they dance till dawn, sip cocktails at beach bars or on luxury yachts, the women also question their own suburban lives and ask themselves, is that all there is?

   We want to know what you think of Radio National's book podcasts (The Book Show and The Bookshelf). Help us understand what's working, what's not, and how we can make our book programs even more useful, relevant and unmissable. Please take this quick survey.

9. Kim Scott and Kate Grenville went to the library, and came away with a story

   20 september 2026 · 46 min

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   Kim Scott was so disturbed by how Noongar people were depicted in the Western Australian archive that he wrote Benang: From the Heart. Plus Kate Grenville explains the origins of her latest genre-bending book and how The Secret River became a novel. Lees meer

   In 2000, Kim Scott's Benang won the Miles Franklin Literary Award making him the first Indigenous author to win the prestigious prize (shared with Drylands by Thea Astley). In this special interview for Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books vote, he tells Claire Nichols why he wrote Benang as a reckoning with his own Noongar identity. Kim shares the rage he felt reading the work of A.O. Neville, the notorious WA "Chief Protector of Aborigines" and his reaction to the photos of Indigenous people used throughout Neville's racist manifesto "Australia's Coloured Minority".

   Will you be voting for Benang: From the Heart? Vote now in ABC Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books.

   Kate Grenville is the author of many books that explore Australian history including her celebrated novel, The Secret River. Her latest The Country Schoolmaster: A Mystery in 88 Letters is a genre-bending exploration of the archive and asks where does truth lie? Kate also tells Claire about how The Secret River began its life and why the book is still special to her.

   Kate Grenville is a regular guest on The Book Show and you can listen to Kate and Claire discuss the novel A Room Made of Leaves, a fictionalised account of the life of Elizabeth Macarthur. Or listen to Kate discussing her novel Restless Dolly Maunder.

   We want to know what you think of Radio National's book podcasts (The Book Show and The Bookshelf). Help us understand what's working, what's not, and how we can make our book programs even more useful, relevant and unmissable. Please take this quick survey.

10. Tim Winton returns to Cloudstreet while Holly Ringland pines for the 90s

    13 september 2026 · 51 min

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    Tim Winton explains why his beloved Cloudstreet is not a nostalgic novel, while Holly Ringland admits she was "nostalgia sick" for the 1990s while writing The World Beneath Her Feet. Lees meer

    Cloudstreet follows the Lamb and Pickles families, who live under the same roof but move in very different circles. Loosely based on the two sides of Tim Winton's family, the novel's distinctive vernacular grew from the stories he heard as a child. In this interview for Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books, Tim tells Claire Nichols why the book's enduring popularity remains a mystery to him more than 30 years after its publication. Ahead of the release of his memoir, Songs from the Firefront, Tim also shares some of the true stories that feature in this classic including the heartbreaking story of his grandmother.

    Will you be voting for Cloudstreet? Vote now in ABC Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books.

    Holly Ringland's debut The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart was voted into the inaugural Top 100 Books in 2025 and now she's published her third novel The World Beneath Her Feet. It's about the troubled past of a gemstone expert growing up in the 1990s which is significant to Holly as the last time teenagers grew up unrecorded without social media and a camera in their pocket

    Listen to Claire's interview with Holly about her second novel The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding.

    We want to know what you think of Radio National's book podcasts (The Book Show and The Bookshelf). Help us understand what's working, what's not, and how we can make our book programs even more useful, relevant and unmissable. Please take this quick survey.

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