READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Two Kiwi brothers head off to WWII but only one comes home. A graphic, realistic portrayal of war that pulls no punches but also a tender story of grief and love amongst the brutality of conflict. ● Just when you think you’ve heard all the war stories, along comes Stephen Daisley and his historical contribution to New Zealand fiction. A Better Place is graphic and relentless and almost too much, but that’s what war was. Once I realised the horror wasn’t just a shocking opener to lure in the reader but rather the majority of the book, I gritted my teeth and settled in ..read more

READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Therese Thorn is a luxury homewares retailer and married to a wealthy man who is accused of corruption. Newly 50, Therese must now take control of her life and reinvent herself, with the help of her kind-of-muse and friend, Claire. A story about female rage and female power; about women who seem poised on the outside but are on fire on the inside. You know how we say we devoured a story, and also that we were consumed by it? Eating and being eaten. It was like that with Claire, for me. ● As I shudder through perimenopause it was reassuring to read a work of fiction t ..read more

READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS A guerilla gardening group and an immigrant billionaire are both using beautiful New Zealand land illegally. Unsurprisingly they discover one another and clash but when trouble strikes there is benefit in them colluding. A political and eco thriller about greed and corruption, influenced by Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Every little thing now has to be about maximising your potential, and perfecting yourself, and honing yourself, and getting the best deal out of your life, and out of your body, and out of your precious fucking time. Everything’s a corporate retreat now. Ever ..read more

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Rachel Kim Jiyoung is a new wife and young mother living in Seoul. One day she begins channelling dead women from her past, speaking eerily. The book is a look at important events in her life and the way in which women are ill-regarded and ill-treated in Korean society. It became a cult classic when it was first published in 2016. You’re right. In a world where doctors can cure cancer and do heart transplants, there isn’t a single pill to treat menstrual cramps.’ Her sister pointed at her own stomach. ‘The world wants our uterus to be drug-free. Like sacred ground ..read more

READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Pet is a psychological thriller, about 12-year-old Justine and her fascination with her glamorous new teacher Mrs Price. She, and many of her classmates, are determined to be the teacher’s pet, clambering to help or do after-school jobs and not blinking an eye when the tasks become questionable. She was new to town and new to St Michael’s that year, and younger than our parents and prettier than our mothers, who wore fawn slacks and plastic rain bonnets. She made us feel special just by the way she looked at us, as if we had something important to say and she couldn’t ..read more

READ FOR NZ BOOK AWARDS Backwaters addresses the consequences of feeling distant from your ethnic heritage. It starts with fourth generation New Zealander, Laura, being asked “but where are you from from?” New Zealand has been her family’s birth place and home for generations, yet acquaintances and strangers want to pigeon hole her to her great-great-grandparents’ homeland of China. Laura is ambivalent about her heritage so the questioning not only bugs her but guilts her about not knowing more. My Chinese roots are tangled, messy, unwanted and yet still there. They’re still there, even if I ..read more

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Jodie Remarkably Bright Creatures features an all-knowing giant Pacific octopus as its key narrator. Marcellus knows only captivity and is astute in his observations of those observing him, which helps connect missing family members. Day 1,361 of My Captiv- Oh, Let Us Cut the Shit, Shall We? We Have a Ring to Retrieve. ● Marcellus the Octopus was one of the three main narrators and was very cleverly written. He truly made this novel come together. I really enjoyed Marcellus’s observations on the humans in the novel which were laced with humour and wisdom. The nov ..read more

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Suzy Set in Japan with memories of New Zealand, Bird Life is about Dinah, a young Kiwi woman who moves to Tokyo to escape grief only to gravitate towards a colleague who is also in the grip of loss. Both tell their stories of the past and the current, experiencing a spiral into madness as they try to rescue themselves and one another. “When you are a child, you should have a chance to be a child. That is what I think. There are some kinds of love that are very hungry. It is probably very selfish of me, but I wanted a chance to live without getting eaten up”. ● Pr ..read more

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Jo Gladiators fight to the death to win their freedom In America’s private prisons. Loretta Thurwar and Hamara “Hurricane Staxxx” Stacker are the stars of Chain-Gang All-Stars, a televised, profit-making programme. This book is an exploration of the American prison system, asking what freedom really means. Does disappearing one person from the earth clean it some? I seen men I knew were a danger to the world and they too deserve better than this. A shame for me to hope for better, but I know it’s better that can be done. Ain’t no magic potions for these bleeding h ..read more

Bookclub has come of age – it is 18 years old, officially grown up! And what an upbringing it has had. From simple beginnings, it has changed and flourished and developed a life of its own. Now, with a mass of memorable evenings, blog posts, discussions and analysis behind it, bookclub has a unique and distinct identity. That identity is made up of our club members’ sometimes complimentary, sometimes contrasting opinions and is buoyed by the feedback and thoughts of our friends, whanau and followers. As bookclub comes of age, so too does our evolving literary knowledge, our ability to analyse ..read more