The Blog: where all the good stuff happens.
Well, rather like 2020, 2021 was another year where books provided shelter and escapism from the outside world, especially during the rolling lockdowns of the pandemic. I read very little non-fiction and instead fled into the pages of Middle grade and YA fantasy adventures or much loved gentle classics. Whittling down 153 books to a top 10 is never easy, but here are my are current favourites in no particular order
Read MoreI don’t know whether it’s being back in lockdown, but I seem to be happy spending a reasonable slice of my reading life on the British Homefront during World War II. It may be something to do with the “make do and mend” or the classic “keep calm and carry on” attitudes that pervade the four books that I’ll discuss
Read MoreWhen adulting gets a little too much and concentration is in short supply, I turn to middle grade fantasy. In the last two years alone, I have set sail on The Jolly Bonnet, caught a train beneath the sea, seen a Svart and had my first taste of Flurschen. The removal of reality in these books can create space to explore our slightly tender human spots in a safe way.
Read MoreAs much as we might pretend it is, winter is not all hot chocolate, knitted mittens and s’mores Sometimes, it’s damp and grey and miserable and you long for a little sun on your face and a single patch of blue in the sky. If you find yourself looking longingly through your holiday snaps, here are three books to transport you to the height of summer at a holiday destination of your choosing.
Read MoreThis took some serious discipline, but I have cheated slightly and given a further six books honourable mention for the period from January to July 2021. As you can probably tell from this list I am entirely unfaithful to any one genre. Typically, I also enjoy everything from middle grade to adult fiction, but so far this year, no middle grade or YA books have risen to the top of my list! I’d love to know if you’ve read any of these or if there’s anything that you think should be on the reading list for the rest of the year.
Read MoreIt’s always struck me as slightly odd that summer reading lists consistently hit the headlines when, for me, winter is my favourite season to hide under the blankets with a good book. As someone who reads according to my mood and the seasons, one of my greatest pleasures is sitting down each quarter to decide on my seasonal reads.
Read MoreWe’ve had Scandi Noir and Aussie Noir, but there’s a fine tradition of Kiwi crime fiction starting with Ngaio Marsh. One of the “Queens of Crime” alongside the likes of Agatha Christie, Marsh was an actor, interior designer and crime writer, publishing the first of thirty-three detective novels in 1934.
Read MoreIt started off with The Worst Witch, this bookish obsession of mine. Miss Cackle’s Academy, where you were given kittens in assembly and broomstick lessons were on the timetable, was so much more appealing than my boring run-of-the-mill primary school.
Read MoreI am a late bloomer when it comes to audiobooks. Despite growing up listening to taped stories at bedtime (does anyone else remember the slightly terrifying Sparky’s Magic Piano) I struggled to listen to novels in audio format because my attention would wander
Read MoreIn true Desert Island Discs style, I’d be unable to pick just one book off my shelves to “save from the waves” but if I was able to take an armful, these are some of the volumes that I would pick. Each of them is meaningful for me or reminds me of someone that I love. I tend to cluster these books on my favourites shelf so it would be an easy sweep to get them out of the door in event of an emergency.
Read MoreI never thought that I’d turn into someone who would plan my reading in advance at the beginning of each year, but two things happened
Read MoreIt’s March now here in New Zealand and the official start of autumn. Although the days are still warm, the early mornings have a decided nip in the air and the leaves have just started to turn. It’s the perfect time to reflect back on a summer of reading and decide on some standout books.
Read MoreAs a reader, I am completely unfaithful to any one genre. I love anything from middle-grade fantasy to historical fiction. The only genres I don’t read a huge amount of are romance and pure science-fiction, mainly because the only thing worse than badly written sex is badly written sex with androids. So my top 2020 reads are a mixed bag, but each of them has left its mark in one way or another.
Read MoreWhere should you go if you find yourself in the city of sails for a day with an empty tote-bag and the time to fill it with books? Here are my four favourite bookshops in Auckland (so far!)
Read More2020 is feeling like the year of outstanding debuts and I’ve been privileged to read some fantastic works, particularly of non-fiction and memoir, by first-time New Zealand authors.
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