Latest from Books

Listener’s critics weigh in on 2024 Booker prize shortlist

On the eve of the Booker prize announcement, our reviews of the six shortlisted finalists.

A life in review: TV critic Diana Wichtel looks back

Television seemed like magic to Diana Wichtel, one of our greatest TV reviewers.

State surveillance goes under the spotlight to reveal hidden cost of dissent

The Enemy Within: Personal story of how NZ state surveillance targets political activism.

Rachel Kushner’s Creation Lake is a philosophical maze with little to engage its readers

Melding a spy novel with anthropological discussion struggles to convince.

Waxing lyrical: A round-up of new poetry from Kiwi writers, well-known and new

The latest poetry books reviewed.

Astronauts circle the Earth, reflecting on life & beyond

The fundamental interest of Samantha Harvey's novel lies in what makes us human.

Top 10 best-selling books: November 9

This week's best-selling New Zealand books.

Time of the Child is a dark, lyrical tale of love and community

Niall Williams' third novel sees father and daughter fighting to keep an abandoned child.

This short story collection could be a touchstone for the times

Kirsty Gunn’s new short story collection could be a touchstone for the times.

Revealing the dead: Jacqueline Bublitz’s new novel expands on themes of self-discovery and female empowerment

The question of whose death matters is explored as an amateur sleuth pursues a killer.

Kiwi poet Jeffrey Paparoa Holman explores a distant relative’s admiration of Hitler

Holman painstaking pieces together his great-aunt’s questionable actions in Nazi Germany.

Thrilling rides: three crime reads for a long weekend

Three compelling cop dramas from writers at the top of their game.

Top 10 best-selling NZ books: October 26

Chelsea Winter's latest cookbook is still coming out on top

Evie Wyld’s writing is imbued with the supernatural - her new novel is no exception

Ghostly The Echoes untangles the puzzles and secrets of a difficult relationship.

Revered comics writer Alan Moore turns his hand to tale of post-war London

Dennis Knuckleyard, star of fantastical post-war London novel, is unforgettable lead.

Working for the brand: The corporate threat to free speech

Social media at the heart of exposé into free speech and corporate threats to it.