Books
What to do when grief throws a 'wrecking ball' through your life
Lucy Hone lost her 12-year-old daughter Abi in a car crash. Here's what she learnt.
Book review: Good People by Patmeena Sabit
Carole Beu of The Women's Bookshop in Auckland reviews Good People by Patmeena Sabit, published by Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand. Audio
Book review: Gunk by Saba Sams
Lucy Black reviews Gunk by Saba Sams, published by Bloomsbury. Audio
Ian Kemish: From diplomat to storyteller
After a career in diplomacy Australian Ian Kemish has turned his hand to writing novels - this month publishing his debut non-fiction title. Audio
Feature: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Son?
Spymaster George Smiley was at the breakfast-table for Nick Harkaway growing up. His father, John le Carré, born David Cornwell, would draft the Circus's latest intrigues on scraps of paper at dawn… Audio
Book Critic: New poetry from one of NZ's Greatess
Claire Mabey joins Jesse to review the following books: Stepping Up by David Hill Lyrical Ballads by Bill Manhire What to Wear by Jenny Bornholdt Audio
Summer Reading for Music Fans
For some people, a good summer means kicking back with a big pile of books, which is exactly what our resident music historians Nick Bollinger and Elliott Childs have been doing. They got together… Audio
'It's appalling' - the Auckland academic who appears in the Epstein files
Although there's no suggestion Brian Boyd was involved in any wrongdoing, in 2012 he received an offer from Jeffrey Epstein to fund a book about the 1955 novel Lolita.
Lolita: A Complicated Legacy
Brian Boyd joined Emile Donovan to talk about being named in the files and to reflect on the legacy of Lolita and the sharply differing readings the novel still provokes. Audio
Much-loved secondhand bookshop lives to write another chapter
Hard to Find Books in Auckland was struggling to find a new location after the Catholic Church decided to sell the former convent where the shop had traded for eight years.
Long-running Auckland bookshop saves itself from closure
A much-loved and long-running Auckland secondhand bookshop will live to write another chapter, having saved itself from closure. Hard to Find Books was struggling to find a new location for its… Audio
A year of coping with the grief of losing a daughter
Kirsten O'Connor lost her 24-year-old daughter to suicide. She started making notes to process the grief, which have become a memoir.
Book review: Three of the best from 2025
David Hill reviews three of his favourite books from last year. Audio
The death of the paperback
What's behind the demise of what used to be the most popular reading format in the world? Audio
Books with Pip Adam
Novelist Pip Adam joins Jesse to talk satire - and some good examples of it: A Few More Slices of Heaven (2025) Daniel Vernon Night Night Fawn by Jordy Rosenberg (One World Penguin Random House, 3… Audio
Book review: Three of the best from 2025
Louise O'Brien reviews three of her favourite books from last year. The Hallmarked Man, Familiaris and The Image of Her Audio
Physical book loans more popular than digital at Akl libraries
Auckland library data shows physical book reign supreme with 11 million loaned last year, compared to six million digital books. Book Hero owner Dylan Bland spoke to Corin Dann. Audio
Book review: Three of the best from 2025
What We Can Know by Ian McEwan, Super-Frog Saves Tokyo by Haruki Murakami and Murderland by Caroline Fraser. Audio
George Saunders: Animosity on social media is 'not entirely genuine'
The Booker Prize-winning writer talks about how social media fuels partisanship, the lessons of death and his new novel Vigil.
Book review: Three of the best from 2025
Ralph McAllister reviews three of his favourite books from last year. Audio
