At 5am this morning, like a dawn chorus, the embargo lifted on the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards longlist. Here are the 40 books that made it, followed by some frank thoughts from our books editor, Catherine Woulfe. ACORN FOUNDATION FICTION PRIZE The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox (Victoria University Press) Lonely Asian Woman by … Read more
Summer reissue: Three Women is a fervent, scrupulous qualitative review of female desire. It’s also a lesson in commitment – and the powerful act of paying attention. First published 8 July, 2019. Imagine a pole vaulter strolling into the Olympics, eyeing the bar – the women’s world record is 5.06m – and casually hitching it like … Read more
Three Women is a fervent, scrupulous qualitative review of female desire. It’s also a lesson in commitment – and the powerful act of paying attention. Imagine a pole vaulter strolling into the Olympics, eyeing the bar – the women’s world record is 5.06m – and casually hitching it like a metre higher. Then fucking nailing the … Read more
As Wellington and Waikanae face a winter without two beloved libraries, Marion McLeod reviews The Library Book, a hymn to a library that burned. This is a book for Wellingtonians. I don’t usually adhere to the geographical school of reviewing but this book, sadly, is published at a perfect time for Wellington, for its librarians, … Read more
All week this week we present the 20 best books of the year. Today: the 20 best books of non-fiction. Previously: The 20 best kids books of 2018 The 20 best poetry books of 2018 Māori Made Easy: For everyday learners of the Māori language by Scotty Morrison (Penguin, $38) Oh just give this guy a … Read more
A guide to the 20 very best books of non-fiction – essays, memoirs, biographies, even a cookbook and a self-help book for God’s sake! – published in 2017. The Mother of All Questions: Further Feminisms by Rebecca Solnit (Granta, $27) These succinct essays focus on the importance of empathy, the white noise around silence, and the silencing … Read more
Charlotte Grimshaw reviews a new study which claims methamphetamine abuse in the Nazi regime. In the 90s, when the Berlin Wall had just come down, German novelist Norman Ohler began experimenting with ecstasy and LSD. After learning that drugs were widespread in the Nazi era, he got the idea to write a novel on … Read more
In which we take a deep breath and declare the best 50 works of New Zealand non-fiction – books, journals, and various assorted printed material. Yow! Right then! Let us continue with the countdown to the greatest works of non-fiction ever published in New Zealand, as selected by a conscientious, hand-wringing panel of male and … Read more