Books Archive
Book of the Week: Good Picasso, Bad Picasso, Great Picasso
Anthony Byrt reviews a massive new study of Pablo Picasso - the greatest artist there ever was, but who Hannah Gadsby has called out as a disgusting #metoo pig.
Calling all aspiring Māori writers: this one’s for you
Nadine Anne Hura is one of six writers who have been selected for Te Papa Tupu 2018, a writing programme for Māori voices. We asked her what it means for her as a Māori writer.
David Lynch and cookbooks: Meet the new head of NZ’s biggest publisher
Linda Herrick profiles Claire Murdoch, former publisher of beautiful, brainy art and natural history books for Te Papa Press, and now about to take charge of Penguin New Zealand.
Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending July 13
The week's bestselling books at the Unity stores in Willis St, Wellington and High St, Auckland.
The Friday Poem: ‘Ode to Johnsonville’s Cindy Crawford’ by Tayi Tibble
New verse by Wellington poet Tayi Tibble.
Book of the Week: The revolutionary live email interview with Tayi Tibble
Spinoff Review of Books editor Steve Braunias revives the revolutionary live email interview with a new star of New Zealand literature - the wildly talented Tayi Tibble.
Bridget Jones goes to the White House: a racy new political memoir
Chloe Blades finds joy in a memoir of the Obama Presidency by a millennial stenographer, who is instructed to 'exude femininity in a strictly non-sexual way'.
‘Where have you been?’: An essay on heritage, the holocaust, and architecture
Chris Barton writes about his own profound experience - and life-changing revelations - when he accompanied his partner Diana Wichtel to the Nazi death camps.
The Monday Extract: New Zealand’s disgraceful role in the ‘slow genocide’ of West Papua
A new study by human rights activist Marie Leadbeater looks at New Zealand's reluctance to do anything to halt the crimes against humanity in our Pacific neighbor, West Papua.
Unity Books bestseller chart for week ending July 6
The week's best-selling books at the Unity stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.
The Friday Poem: ‘Witchy Wellington’ by CK Stead
New verse from Auckland writer CK Stead.
Wherefore Art thou? Paul Simon’s ‘defining biography’ is missing something
A new biography is being lauded as an 'inspiring narrative that helps us at last understand Paul Simon'. But is that possible when there's no sign of Art Garfunkel?
Did Bob Jones create the housing crisis? Revisiting his 1977 bestseller
Danyl Mclauchlan reads the 1977 Bob Jones on Property, and wonders about the role it played in creating today's housing market.
Announcing the winners of the 2018 Surrey Hotel writers residency award!
Huzzah! We announce the winners of New Zealand’s most coveted writers residency in central Auckland.
The Monday extract: the rehabilitation of a Māori mentally abnormal offender
Forensic psychiatrist Rees Tapsell tells the story of "Tama", who killed his aunt in a psychotic episode, and was referred to a kaupapa Māori rehabilitation unit.
The Friday poem: ‘Lines from way back’ by Vincent O’Sullivan
New verse by Dunedin writer Vincent O'Sullivan.
Unity Books best-seller chart for the week ending June 29
The week's best-selling books at the Unity stores in Willis St, Wellington, and High St, Auckland.
The feminist manifesto that isn’t, thank God, a feminist manifesto
"I am wary of reading any more feminist manifestos these days because they are very exhausting," writes Charlotte Graham-McLay, in her review of a new memoir hailed as a feminist manifesto but it isn't, really.
Papercuts Podcast: PANZ preview, books about mothers, and Anthony Bourdain RIP
Papercuts is here to give you both book goss and a pile of recommendations to get you through this wintery weather.
The 2018 Surrey Hotel Steve Braunias Memorial Writers Residency Award in Association with The Spinoff: shortlist announced!
Over 80 writers entered New Zealand’s premier literary award – but only 10 have made the shortlist.
Joan Didion, Flannery O’Connor, Carson McCullers – and now Rachel Kushner, author of a powerful new US novel
Louisa Kasza reviews Rachel Kushner's novel The Mars Room, which features in this week's New Yorker as one of America's best new books.
A professor of psychology has an epiphany and discovers how we can save the planet
Niki Harré, professor of psychology at the University of Auckland, explains how we can make the world a better place by playing something she calls "the infinite game".
Unity Books best-seller chart for the week ending June 22
The week's best-selling books at the Unity Books stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.
The Friday Poem: ‘Jacinda and Clarke and the Baby and Us’ by the NZ poet laureate
New Zealand poet laureate Selina Tusitala Marsh marks the very fine and wonderful occasion of the birth of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's baby daughter.
