Libby Reads with Ben Hobson

Sunshine Coast Libraries are excited to participate in Libby Reads with Ben Hobson, a monthly online event hosted by Ben Hobson best-selling author of Snake Island.   

Join Ben Hobson in conversation with author Amy Taylor to discuss their novel Ruins.

During this digital book club, guests will have the opportunity to ask questions, interact with the authors, and enjoy a well-rounded bookish discussion.  

Date and time	Registration
Tuesday 26 May, 7.30-8.30pm (AEST)	Libby Reads featuring Amy Taylor A Zoom link will be sent via email upon registering

About the book

A simmering, provocative novel about a couple whose affair with a young Greek woman over the course of a summer in Athens threatens to crack their relationship wide open.

At a crossroads in their lives, a couple arrives in Greece to house-sit for a friend. Emma is searching for a meaningful next step beyond work or motherhood, and Julian is struggling to come to terms with the failure of his academic career. Their visions for the future seem to be pulling them in different directions, and they hope that this summer away will help them to mend their frayed connection.

But Emma and Julian’s plans take an unexpected turn when they meet Lena, an enigmatic young Greek woman,  who presents an opportunity for them to explore their relationship in uncharted and excitingly risky ways. However, as sultry nights turn to oppressive days, Emma and Julian become far more entangled in Lena’s life than they’d bargained for.  Engaged in a struggle for control, the three of them are suddenly faced with consequences far greater - and far more explosive - than they could have predicted.

Voyeuristic and thrilling, Ruins delivers the drama of a modern Greek tragedy as it exposes the tensions between privilege and power, desire and intimacy.

About the author

Amy Taylor is a writer based in Naarm/Melbourne. She is the author of Ruins and Search History, which was shortlisted for the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction and named as one of The Guardian's Top Australian Books of the Year.

Ben Hobson

The monthly online book club host, Ben Hobson is a teacher and author, based in Brisbane. To Become a Whale, his debut novel, was released in 2017. It was longlisted for the ABIA Debut Fiction award and shortlisted for the Courier-Mail’s People’s Choice Award. His second novel, Snake Island, a literary thriller, was released in 2019. The Death of John Lacey is his third novel, which was released in February 2023. He also runs the Burgers, Beers and Books podcast.