Sloth, torpor, idleness. Forget the negative connotations, for it turns out they might actuallybe good for us. Kate Bussmann managed to put down her iPad and allowed her mind to wander for the purposes of research.

On the eve of the opening of her award-winning play on reproduction, Elisabeth Easther looks at the business of fertility and asks why making babies can be so simple for some and so complex, expensive and heartbreaking.

Down-to-earth and warm, the new neutral is a sight for sore eyes.

Princess Leia’s back, older but lighter. What a trip, says Carrie Fisher. She talks to Horatia Harrod about the new Star Wars movie, which has just begun filming, the weight loss caveat that came with the role and her life away from the cameras.

This latest novel by the prolific Richard Powers may be summarised very briefly.

Organic desert tones are the neutral palette of choice this season, pairing with pretty much any colour from a block bright for an interesting take on colour blocking, to classic tones of cream and navy for something more tried and true.

Central city hotel offers an adventure in exceptional cuisine in an atmosphere designed for comfort.

With the news that researchers believe they have discovered a compound that could revolutionise the treatments of addiction, Greg Dixon asks why only some people become addicts and why society seems to view some addictions as ‘worse’ than others.

Stack ’em up. Surrender to this season’s bold accessory game-changer.

Growing up on navy bases, Laini Taylor always wanted to write. She tells David Larsen about the blue-haired girl with an unusual collection who helped her realise her ambition.

Una has lung cancer, and just days to live. "I have friends and family ... I have money.

At last, the original Ponsonby village, at the Herne Bay end of the road, is making a comeback.

Danielle Wright talks to the talented folk behind the brand new Family Day at the Auckland Writers Festival.

Block colours and classic lines are where it’s at for ball season. Just don’t leave home without a coat.

The menu sounded super fresh and this was enhanced by the visual delights lined up in the glass cabinets at the counter.

In her second short story collection, her first in 15 years, Lorrie Moore peels back life’s outer layer and reveals what lies within.

The old cliche says you can take the man out of his birthplace but you can't take the birthplace out of the man.

Mum's kitchen Four of our favourite Federal St chefs tell us how their mums cooked with love.

In a Canvas exclusive, Eleanor Catton talks to Professor Jim Al-Khalili about physics, life, the universe and everything.

It’s all go at this family-friendly cafe full of soul.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Colour Purple, Alice Walker, talks to Margie Thomson about the state of American politics, poetry — the lifeblood of rebellion and the richness of a life connected with nature.

I feel pretty confident that this first book by Seattle-based Kim Fu will be the only novel you read this year with an Oriental-Canadian trans-sexual protagonist.