Books

An argument against the new English curriculum released in April 2025.

Why I’ve told my principal I will not teach the new proposed English curriculum

'If the ministry is unable to provide us with something fit for purpose, it is not my job to compound the harm it will cause to my students, but to protect them from it.'

By David Taylor | 28th April, 2025

Two bookcovers side by side with an orange thread wrapping around them.

George Eliot and Daniel Kalderimis and me: on the healing power of Middlemarch

Sometimes a book finds you at just the right time.

By Heidi Thomson | 26th April, 2025

The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending April 25

Fine old friends rejoin the bestseller chart this week.

By The Spinoff Review of Books | 25th April, 2025

The Unity Books children’s book review roundup for autumn

The latest Hunger Games, delightful detectives and the bestselling children’s books of the season.

By The Spinoff Review of Books | 23rd April, 2025

‘Good British stock’: How I found my Surplus Women

Author Michelle Duff on the hidden histories behind her new short story collection.

By Michelle Duff | 22nd April, 2025

Emma Sidnam and her friend Blandine Granier (painter/set designer/lighting designer) at their apartment in Lyon, France where Sidnam studied for a while. (Photo: Supplied)

Can books change the world? A writer makes the case

'When I was 12, I started writing a Percy Jackson-esque adventure novel. My protagonist a white boy – I didn’t realise that Asian girls could be protagonists.'

By Emma Sidnam | 12th April, 2025

Three new local books have stormed the charts.

The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending April 11

The Bookshop Detectives are back!

By The Spinoff Review of Books | 11th April, 2025

All of Jane Austen’s novels, ranked. Image: Claire Mabey and Tina Tiller.

All of Jane Austen’s novels ranked from worst to best

Which beloved novel is most deserving of the number one spot on our dance cards?

By Hannah August | 11th April, 2025

It took years for Heather McQuillan to write and publish her now, very timely, novel.

The dystopian nonfiction I didn’t intend to write

It's 13 years since I started writing Truth Needs No Colour, but its themes feel more relevant than ever today.

By Heather McQuillan | 10th April, 2025

Kimberly Andrews is author of Giraffe the Gardener, and many other picture books. Image: Tina Tiller.

Words to live by: Kimberly Andrews’ books confessional

'I reference it regularly, and am constantly recommending it' – the illustrator and author on a book that changed her approach to life.

By The Spinoff Review of Books | 9th April, 2025

Northbound documents Naomi Arnold’s time walking Te Araroa.

‘The trail was haunting me’: Northbound by Naomi Arnold, reviewed

A rollicking account of walking the length of New Zealand solo.

By Liv Sisson | 8th April, 2025

Commercial editor

Transitions in Action outlines a green transition in Wellington. Image: Joel MacManus

Windbag: Could this book be the new Green manifesto for Wellington?

It sets out a new framework for how Wellington can address a trio of socio-ecological crises. But what’s missing?

By Joel MacManus | 8th April, 2025

Wellington editor

Murdoch Stephens (left), Tariq Habibyar, Hannah Salmon, and Ben Knight in lockdown in Whanganui (Photo: Supplied)

What happened to my friend Dr Tariq Habibyar

'As a policy setting it chafes; as something that happens to a close friend it is infuriating.'

By Murdoch Stephens | 5th April, 2025

Three new homegrown books on this week’s bestseller chart.

The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending April 4

Homegrown crime, dystopia and an essential book about the judicial system.

By The Spinoff Review of Books | 4th April, 2025

Current copyright and IP systems don’t work to protect taonga Māori. Image: Tina Tiller.

What happens to taonga Māori in the age of AI?

Experts explain how copyright and intellectual property frameworks are inadequate protections for taonga Māori.

By Claire Mabey | 3rd April, 2025

See How They Fall by Rachel Paris is a new crime novel set in Sydney.

‘People absolutely hate me’: Rachel Paris on her dream run as a debut novelist

'What I’ve learned is that with publishing there’s so much about luck and being in the right place at the right time.'

By Claire Mabey | 2nd April, 2025