Latest from Books

Book of the day: Always Homes, Always Homesick by Hannah Kent
A satisfyingly nuanced back story to Aussie writer’s smash debut, Burial Rites.

Top 10 bestselling NZ books: May 24
Writers festival sales keep The Book of Guilt in poll position.

Book of the day: Speak To Me Of Home by Jeanine Cummins
Place and identity are central to American Dirt author’s latest.

Book of the day: The Book Of Records by Madeleine Thien
Philosophy, science and history swirl together in engrossing latest from Canadian author.

Book of the day: The Names by Florence Knapp
Debut a restrained and compelling exploration of alternative lives.

Book of the day: Ignorance and Bliss by Mark Lilla
Political scientist Mark Lilla tries to get to the bottom of why we prefer not to know.

Book of the day: The Good Mistress by Anne Tiernan
A husband’s death brings together three school friends.

Top 10 bestselling NZ books: May 17
Catherine Chidgey's latest takes top spot after just one week on sale.

Book of the day: We’re Not Us Without You by Christine Keighery
Tale of a guru’s influence on friends who share a secret lacks sufficient charisma.

Book of the day: Fire & Ice by Hazel Phillips - a compelling exploration of NZ’s oldest national park
Insightful account of human adventure in the Volcanic Plateau and its playgrounds.

Book of the day: Dominic Hoey's 1985 has all the hallmarks of a future NZ classic
Novelist-poet Dominic Hoey’s latest dwells on trying to get ahead in the big city.

Mission critical: Expert eye on frightening fallacies and fantasies behind tech titans’ AI visions
Hot air rising? The Trump-led tech bro space race gets debunked.

What to know before the Ockham Book Awards are announced next week
A cheat sheet to the Ockham finalists (and what we wrote about the books).

Book of the day: The Pretender by Jo Harkin
A take on the fascinating true story of a man who would be king falls short.

Guilty pleasure: Catherine Chidgey’s The Book of Guilt reviewed
Addictively readable new novel explores a parallel dystopian 1970s.

Book of the day: The Origins of an Experimental Society by Erik Olssen
A novel account of Māori influence, enlightenment and God 25 years in the writing.

Book of the day: Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang
A pacy examination of influencers' power and the dangers of fame in a world of privilege.

Book of the Day: The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs
Much-heralded debut about midlife disenchantment among a group of friends disappoints.

Fresh takes: The best new NZ poetry releases
New poetry finds inspiration in natural world, tourist hot spots and living with cancer.

Book of the day: Letters To Our Robot Son by Cadance Bell
Off-kilter tale about Arto, who wakes up to find he’s a robot on an existential quest.

Will NZ author Catherine Chidgey's new novel be the book of 2025? Global publishers think so
The Book of Guilt was subject to a bidding war, now it's being billed as a 2025 must-read.

AC Grayling on his sortie onto the battlefield of woke: Social media has turned out to be an absolute sewer
Ahead of NZ visit, renowned philosopher and author AC Grayling on his latest 'woke' book.

Miramar surprise hideaway in imaginative retelling of Marie Curie
Book of the day: Wonderland by Tracy Farr.

Book of the day: My Name is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende
Allende follows-up on debut novel The House of the Spirits nearly four decades on.

The man who emerged at liberation was a very different being: Art historian remembers her father
Mary Kisler's raw and personal account of her father’s rage-filled struggle with trauma.

Book of the day: Moral Ambition by Rutger Bregman
Dutch writer-activist delivers provocative guide to how to make the world a better place.

When the Going was Good: An editor’s adventures during the last golden age of magazines
One of the magazine world’s giants looks back.