The Lord Mayors’ Summer Reading List is back for a second time, as announced by Melbourne City of Literature account.

The Lord Mayor’s Summer Reading List is a personally curated list with a Victorian focus, featuring must-read books for this summer. Internationally recognised for its literary heritage and culture, it’s no surprise that Melbourne is an UNESCO City of Literature. Melburnians read more per capita than any other Australian city, which is reflected in the City’s diverse range of writers, thriving publishing industry and many award-winning bookstores and libraries.

We at JdM are delighted to find both Rachel Ang’s graphic novel debut I Ate the Whole World to Find You and Josh Bornstein’s Working for the Brand: how corporations are destroying free speech on the list – both published by Scribe!

Of Ang’s book, fellow comic Lee Lai called it; “a mesmerising collection of dancing lights and shadows, sometimes perplexing and unsettling, always beautiful. Their characters navigate attraction, old hurts, and the eternal dilemma of having a body — ushered with the utmost care by Rachel Ang’s gestural, sensual cartooning.’” While Miles Franklin winner Anna Funder called Bornstein’s book; “a landmark work. Working for the Brand is exhilarating, forensic, funny, shocking, and deeply humane. It is a step towards liberating us from the existential threat faced by both individuals and democracies from unethical corporate control over our lives, starting with our right to express ourselves …”

See Lord Mayor’s Nick Reece’s curated list below (and keep your eyes peeled for these books at one of the CBD’s many bookshops or libraries!):

— Nature’s Last Dance: Tales of Wonder in an Age of Extinction by Natalie Kyriacou, published by Affirm Press.
— Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay, published by Text Publishing.
— I Ate the Whole World to Find You by Rachel Ang, published by Scribe Publications.
— Planting for Native Birds, Bees and Butterflies: How to Create a Garden that Attracts Australian Wildlife by Jaclyn Crupi, published by Murdoch Books.
— Ghost Cities by Siang Lu, published by UQP.
— Working for the Brand by Josh Bornstein, published by Scribe Publications.
— How to End a Story: Diaries: 1995–1998 by Helen Garner, published by Text PublishingText Publishing.
— Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks, published by Hachette Australia Books.
— Quarterly Essay: The Good Fight by Sean Kelly, published by Black Inc.