Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits of Aotearoa writers, and guests. This week: Gavin Bishop, author of The Gavin Bishop Treasury: 10 Favourite Fairy Stories and Original Tales.
The book I wish I’d written
The Book of Dirt by Monika Utnik-Strugala and Piotr Socha. This is a funny and informative big book for children about personal hygiene through the ages. I have read the whole book but continue to dip into it whenever I see it lying around. I love it.
Everyone should read
The New Zealand Wars | Ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa by Vincent O’Malley. This is a very approachable account of the Land Wars that took place in the country we live in and until recently were told little about. It is essential reading for everyone.
The book I want to be buried with
Piano Rock and Teddy One Eye, two books by me that tell of my early life and the family members I loved and have lost.
The first book I remember reading by myself
I can’t remember the first book, but a very early book I became besotted with was The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. I was introduced to it through a single chapter, ‘Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire’, that was printed in a school journal.
The book I pretend I’ve read
Ulysses by James Joyce. I have tried reading this book many times but can never finish it. I finally beat it though by borrowing a talking book from the library. Many years ago I did see the film version of it, with men in one theatre and women in another. The segregated audiences were New Zealand’s way in the late 1960s of coping with a film with lots of bad language.
The book that haunts me
The Waikato Journals of Vicesimus Lush edited by Alison Drummond. In these journals I came across several mentions of Tainui family members who lived at Port Waikato during the 19th century. It is tantalising to read these fleeting entries that tell me only so much. There is no mention of my grandfather but Vicesimus Lush mentions he stayed with my grandfather’s oldest sister and her family on several occasions.
The book I wish would be adapted for film or TV
The film rights for my book The Horror of Hickory Bay were purchased some years ago by James Ashcroft. This book was a favourite of his when he was a child. His plans came to nothing unfortunately. I felt particularly disappointed about this when I saw his amazing version of Owen Marshall’s short story, Coming Home in the Dark.
Encounter with an author
My wife, one of my daughters and I had dinner one night at a restaurant in New York with Arnold Lobel, the author of the Frog and Toad books. He signed several small slips of paper for us so we could glue them into the books we had of his sitting on shelves at home in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was a wonderful occasion and sitting at the next table was Quentin Crisp.
Greatest New Zealand writer
Margaret Mahy. Her ability to write about ethereal matters and make them utterly believable is mind-blowing.
What are you reading right now
Rēwena and Rabbit Stew: The Rural Kitchen in Aotearoa 1800 – 1940, by Katie Cooper.
The Gavin Bishop Treasury ($45, Puffin NZ) is available to purchase from Unity Books.