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'I have control of when I want to end my life'
About two years ago I bought a euthanasia drug online from China.

The fragile American dream
When it comes to crime fiction, New Jersey-based writer Harlan Coben is Big Business.

Book review: Penguin Bloom, Cameron Bloom & Bradley Greive
'The odd little bird who saved a family', is already one of my all-time favourites, and I have loaned and read it to various family members who also adored it.

The books Bill Gates thinks you should read
Gates' 2016 list of reads, complete with an animated video describing his picks.

Playwright's insight hits NZ nerves
It goes to show, as Hare says, the audience - the way it reacts and responds and its current concerns - shapes theatre.

Book review: Eligible, Curtis Sittenfeld
In recent years there have been far too many reworks of Jane Austen novels.

Kapiti short story in Pacific final berth
The winners of the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards aren't the only local authors toasting success.

Scribe doesn't grow out of it
He cuts scrub to make ends meet and used to pretend to be looking at porn to hide his love of poetry from army mates.

Editorial: Written word continues to enrich us
The Auckland Writers Festival, under way at civic centre venues this week, is a testament to the continued value of the written word.

Former shearer wins top fiction prize
Decades of hard work for Stephen Daisley, a former shearer, farmer and soldier turned author, have paid off.

Teenagers get in on book buzz
Sitting in their English teacher's office, seven McAuley High School girls are discussing their favourite books.

Auckland Writers Festival: Suburban subjects
It might more commonly be called the City of Sails, but to sociologist and historian Scott Hamilton Auckland is "a city of text", with multiple stories waiting to be told.

Book reveals animosity between First Ladies
Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama appear to have much in common on the surface, but a new book on the two First Ladies reveals bitter animosity between them, Celia Walden writes.

Paul Little: Self-obsession - it's all about you
COMMENT: We thought we knew who Americans were, but this year we have seen a new side to their character that has set me wondering about its origins.

Is this the next big thriller novel?
Lisa Hilton's new novel is tipped to be the next big thriller, writes Stephen Jewell.

Book review: Lab Girl, Hope Jahren
Strangely, here we have one autobiography of two people.

Book review: Mothering Sunday, Graham Swift
Graham Swift's consummate novella fills a day, 90-plus years ago post-World War I, when the servant class are free to visit their families.

Philosopher on a mission to be useful
Philosopher Julian Baggini talks to Dionne Christian about moral dilemmas and exchanging ideas.

Overdue book? That's $24k please
No overdue fees had been incurred because she got the book out as a child. As an adult, at today's rates, the woman would have racked up a fine of $24,604.

'Fake Steve Jobs' went to work for a real software firm
When a journalist - and tech industry skeptic - went to work for a start up.

Paul Moon: Is Shakespeare now irrelevant?
COMMENT: Four hundred years after the writer's death it's time to acknowledge Shakespeare has less to offer the modern world.

Hanya Yanagihara on male intimacy
Male friendships have always fascinated American author Hanya Yanagihara.

Books on war for younger readers
Former soldier Glyn Harper, now Professor of War Studies at Massey University, has written numerous history books and children's books.

The 'best living American novelist' on her mid-life crisis
Prolific American writer Jane Smiley has been described as 'the best living American novelist'. She talks to Greg Bruce about Donald Trump, perfectionism and her mid-life crisis.