Each week Megan Nicol Reed talks through what's on all of our minds.

"Plots set in the future are about what people fear in the present," says one of Lionel Shriver's characters in her latest novel set in a dystopian America of the near future.

Zhang's bleakly lyrical first YA novel brought a cascade of admirers and superlatives; now comes this intricate narrative of adolescents in all their vulnerability, idealism and savagery.

From the sure hand of historian Joan Norlev Taylor comes the tricky manoeuvre of binding fact and fiction into a convincing historical novel.

About two years ago I bought a euthanasia drug online from China.

I want to know why it is that everyone suddenly has a medical degree and knows the one thing that will cure you of all your pain?

Winter is well and truly on the way. From thigh-highs to ankle grazers, here are the best boots to buy right now.

A few words with documentary film-maker Justin Webster.

Heroic actions are not always done by heroes. Greg Bruce meets some ordinary people whose lives have led them to perform extraordinarily good deeds.

A brunch or weekend lunch? Try the shakshuka - this popular breakfast dish - originally from North Africa - works just as well for lunch.

Madeleine Walker asks 16 New Zealand celebrities what advice they would give their 19-year-old selves.

Greg Fleming reviews the latest crop of crime fiction

People think wine writing is glamorous. My diary today has "worm the cat", "get dog's anal glands drained", "buy school shoes for Jake", "sort Southern Cross receipts" and "buy new tweezers" written in it. So, yeah. Jealous?

Comedian Rose Matafeo tells Greg Bruce why her life isn't always a barrel of laughs.

The worlds of technical sportswear and fashion collide for an inspiring take on this season's best waterproof offerings.

A restaurant that feels like money also serves unbelievably good chips.

We are now being routinely alerted to words that might elicit traumatic memories. but, asks, Kim Knight, is this just a cotton-wool response to real life?

In recent years there have been far too many reworks of Jane Austen novels.

As they knead our scalps over the basin, touching us with a familiarity a lover does not always enjoy, we come to think of hairdressers as confidantes, counsellors, friends even.

This slick refit, in the space that was once Quay St Cafe, caught my eye when I was at the Britomart markets.

Here are the highlights from tomorrow's Canvas magazine.

Susie Orbach is a psychotherapist.

How familiar should the relationship between customer and server be? Kim Knight considers the issue.

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.

If there's a queue, it's worth the wait at Balmoral's newest eatery

Lisa Carrington is an Olympic kayaker.

Phil Lynott's name is a byword for rock 'n' roll excess. Now a new book explores why the shy church-goer found it so hard to resist temptation, writes Neil Armstrong.