What Australians are reading this summer Magda Szubanski's memoir Reckoning has been popular with readers, and it contains some surprises for those only familiar with her comedy. Photo: SIMONE DE PEAK. 
By Annita Batliwala and Lauren Ferri There's a good chance the person under the beach umbrella next to you has their nose buried in Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life. And in holiday houses across the country, tables are scattered with yet more colouring books and pencils.
Booksellers in Sydney and Melbourne report that sci-fi, numerology and colouring books have been the hot non-fiction picks this festive season. Colouring books such as Lost Ocean or featuring Dr Who and Harry Potter have been in demand, while Star Wars fans have snapped up The Force Awakens Visual Dictionary.
These books have been a "popular option for gift-giving to friends and family, especially for younger children", said Sydney's Abbey's in the City bookstore owner, Ron Abbey.
A Little Life, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, has been a strong seller at Sydney's Kinokuniya and Gleebooks as well as Melbourne's The Paperback Shop and Readings. "It's a thick, depressing novel that has taken everyone by storm," said Readings manager Robbie Egan.
Elena Ferrante also filled many Christmas stockings with her four- part Neapolitan Novels series.
The first novel in the collection, My Brilliant Friend, creates a realistic and unsentimental portrait of female experience, rivalry and friendship.
It's become a global phenomenon and "people are loving [the series] as they're getting a lovely long look at Italian life, post World War II", says Gleebooks' David Gaunt.
Magda Szubanski's memoir Reckoning has also been a popular seller, with the Kath and Kim star and writer taking readers on a journey through her eventful life.
Egan from Readings says that "many people who love [Szubanski] for her comedy will buy the book, but they'll be in for a real shock when they read it".
Adam Spencer's World of Numbers was an unexpected top seller among men, according to book sellers. Margaret Knight from Lindfield Books in Sydney said she, too, gifted the book to her family this Christmas.
"My son loves it," she said. "It's such an interesting book."
Bill Bryson's latest book, The Road to Little Dribbling, has sold well to fans of his humour and cynicism. Bryson revisits Britain 20 years after writing Notes From A Small Island and no one is spared his wit, especially British shopkeepers: "It might help them win some repeat business if they didn't make it quite so clear how much they loathe you coming into their shop and touching things."