New Zealand nature expert Gerard Hutching has pulled together some of the quirkiest Kiwi questions in his new book, Why can't Kiwis fly? Here's five of our favourite head-scratchers:

The 25-year-old former porn superstar has reinvented herself as a novelist, and her first book, The Juliette Society, revolves around a woman's introduction to a highly secretive sex club.

Nicky Pellegrino delves into a harrowing tale of survival that's also a story about love.

Peter Hayden - nature history filmmaker and author, and actor.

A running regime that would defy most of us is soul food to Malcolm Law, writes Andy Kenworthy.

People write - or want to write - for many reasons. For some, it is a compulsion, an itch that must be scratched. For others, it has more to do with the narcissistic conviction that the world wants to know what they're thinking and feeling.

For those readers eagerly anticipating the next effort from Sarah Waters, the queen of historical revisionism, look no further than Kate Worsley's debut novel.

If the adage "you are what you eat" rings true then I'm some sort of pickled mollusc given my penchant for clams, mussels, oysters and a crisp chardonnay. But I suspect "you are what you read" is more to the point.

Meet just-turned-105-years-old romance novelist Ida Pollock, the world's oldest producer of bodice rippers.

Nicky Pellegrino bones up on the damage fast food does.

Stephen Jewell talks to esteemed British author Max Hastings about battles won and lost.

A previously unpublished novel by Janet Frame, In the Memorial Room was written in 1974 and comes out of her experience as a Katherine Mansfield Fellow in Menton, France.

“Houses have their own ways of dying,” wrote E.M. Forster, “some with a tragic roar, some quietly.” Ashenden Park, the honey-stoned Palladian villa at the heart of Elizabeth Wilhide’s debut novel.

Gus van Sant is reported to have shot a steamy sex scene featuring Alex Pettyfer a bid to direct the film version of Fifty Shades of Grey.

A softer side to the Iron Lady is disclosed in Margaret Thatcher's authorised biography, including details about a love triangle involving her sister's future husband.

To mark the 60th anniversary of the first ascent of Mt Everest, a new book published this week collects photographs from the other New Zealander in the 1953 British Everest Expedition.

Stephen Jewell talks to American writer Hugh Howey about why his post-apocalyptic tale is more grounded than its contemporaries.

As the number of living New Zealanders who have actually fought in a war declines, attendance at Anzac Day ceremonies continues to rise and ever more books about military history are published. Jim Eagles looks at the latest offerings.

Seat-of-the-pants expedition filmmaker Brian Armstrong has an eye for weird and wonderful alcoholic concoctions.

When Ben Crawford and sister Libby renovated the winning house in the first series of The Block NZ, one of the most distinctive features was the weatherboard wall in the living room.

Oldies reveal a rich, ripe vein of charm for Nicky Pellegrino.

The secret to putting together a really satisfying literary journal is to make sure you have an editor with catholic tastes at the helm.

My fairly positive "experience" with this book was abruptly, even rudely, spoiled by the very last item, a contribution by John Key, former merchant banker and Prime Minister of this country.