Philip French looks at a new biography of Robert Redford.

So many books, so little time. Selecting books for Fiction Addiction is a delicious but sometimes difficult task, so this month we sought help by asking you what makes a good book club read.

The Girl In The Polka-dot Dress could be described as a "road novel", since most of the action takes place on the freeways of America as Harold Grasse drives his newly bought, second-hand camper from Maryland to California in the 1960s.

When anyone precious dies, most people attempt to keep their memory alive. This can be done by using their name a lot. Valuing the things they once touched. Or even wore.

When Michael King died in a road accident in 2004 at the age of 58, New Zealand lost one of its most admired writers and this collection, edited by his novelist daughter Rachael King, reminds us how he earned his reputation.

Tanya Moir's first novel is an example of historical fiction that brings to life a moment in time in a way that is graceful and thoughtful.

One of the hazards of this job it that I feel compelled to read books about finance from time to time.

Sarah Quigley - or should I say Dr Sarah Quigley, for she has a doctorate in English literature from Oxford, no less - has long been recognised as one of New Zealand's finest writers.

We ask the author of more than 60 books what he loves as a bookworm.

Michael Robotham's wife keeps him grounded, finds Nicky Pellegrino.

It's a pop-up world of panama hats and outdoor reading (when it's sunny), scarves and cups of coffee (when it's not), and an erudite audience.

Authors discover the brazen pioneers and their wheelings and dealings to create the affluent area.

It could be a scene from a cheesy Hollywood movie. An aspiring writer receives a cardboard box containing $6000, and a note: "No Strings Attached".

Those TV cooking shows may be inspiring a new generation of Kiwi chefs. By Gill South.

The compensation for reading a disappointing book is that it makes you better appreciate a satisfying one, writes Bronwyn Sell.

As with many of his generation, American president Franklin D. Roosevelt had been taken by the idea of "Shangri-La". Writer Mitchell Zuckoff shares this fascination in his new tale about a collision of cultures during the early war era.

Hedda Hopper was a remarkable woman. Not necessarily likeable, but her influence and reach as Hollywood's premier gossip columnist through the middle of last century is without dispute, as this enlightening book makes clear.

Sarah Quigley is a novelist, poet and critic whose latest book, The Conductor (Vintage, $39.99) is on the NZ fiction bestseller list.

Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series gained massive success in the shadow of Harry Potter. Expansion into the tricky adult fiction market is the next mission, writes Susie Mesure.