Books

Reviewed by Gyles Beckford Audio

Published by Hamish Hamilton. Reviewed by Davd Hill. Audio

Published by Penguin Random House. Reviewed by Caitlin Cherry. Audio

Young adult author Laurie Halse Anderson doesn't shy away from the tough subjects such as addiction, mental health, sexual assault and suicide. Her books have been best sellers, and she has been… Audio

Ian Fleming, the assistant to the director of British Naval Intelligence in 1943, visited Jamaica to deal with U-Boat raids in the Caribbean. He vowed to return after the war to swim in the sea and… Audio

Reviewed by Jane Westaway. Audio

Writer Tim Winton has been named an Australian national treasure. His book 1994 The Riders was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, as was his 2002 book Dirt Music.  Audio

Gregory O'Brien discusses two new collections: Otherwise by John Dennison, and Song of the Ghost in the Machine by Roger Horrocks. Audio

Published by Jonathan Cape. Reviewed by Tilly Lloyd. Audio

Written by J K Rowling, published by Little Brown, reviewed by Charlotte Graham. Audio

Written by Catherine Robertson, published by Random House NZ, reviewed by Harry Rickets. Audio

Wendyl Nissen has been reading Sara Gruen's latest; At The Water's Edge. Audio

Alice Arndell from Martinborough is a self taught baker, drawing from cooking with her grandmother, whipping up ginger gems and other items to fill the tins. The sandwich and sweet recipes we are… Audio

'The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot' by Blaine Harden, published by Mantle. Reviewed by Quentin Johnson. Audio

David Brooks is an award-winning Australian poet, novelist, essayist and short fiction writer. He's also an animal activist, committed vegan and says his latest book of poetry is a way of exposing… Audio

Novelist and poet Ben Okri had his first novel, Flowers and Shadows, published when he was 21, and has devoted much of his work to describing the social and political chaos in Nigeria, where he was… Audio

Xinran on her latest book 'Buy Me The Sky', about the impact of China's one-child policy on those born after 1970. She is coming to New Zealand for next month's Auckland Writers Festival. Audio

Andrew Dean was born during the time of National Party finance minister Ruth Richardson's 'mother of all budgets' an experience he's written about in his book 'Ruth, Roger and Me - Debts and… Audio

Author and Labour politician John A. Lee describes the advance at the battle of Messines, read from his book 'Civilian into Soldier' about his World War 1 experiences, published in 1937. Audio

The first edition of the New Zealand Book Council's Talking Books is hosted by novelist Catherine Robertson, and features writer Rachel O'Neill, author Pip Adam and book critic Guy Somerset. Catherine… Audio