First Person Singular by Haruki Murakami This is a new collection of short stories by the thought-provoking Murakami.  There are eight stories and they are all told in the first person (hence the obvious title).  Some could be read as real-life...... Read More

Bad Habits By Flynn Meaney This riotous novel is aimed at those 15 years old and over. The story starts with Alex, the main protagonist, climbing out of a boy’s dorm window as she is out after school curfew and she’s trying to evade the...... Read More

Everything Changes By Stephanie Johnson Col has talked her family into leaving Auckland after buying a rundown motel at the top of the Brynderwyns. There she aims to create a retreat for paying guests away from modern devices. Her husband, Davie,...... Read More

The Burning Girls By C J Tudor After a scandal at her previous city post, Reverend Jack Brooks has been sent to fill in at the small rural village of Chapel Croft. Neither her nor her teenage daughter, Flo, are happy with the move and find the close-knit...... Read More

The Sentinel (Jack Reacher 25) By Lee and Andrew Child Penguin Random House, rrp $37.00 Another brilliant Jack Reacher novel, but this time Lee Child collaborates with brother Andrew. Jack Reacher gets off a bus in Nashville looking for food, somewhere...... Read More

Pull No Punches By Judith Collins, Allen & Unwin, rrp $36.99 Judith Collins and the National Party obviously didn’t win the 2020 election, but no doubt there’s another book in it for Ms Collins. Pull No Punches is a straightforward account...... Read More

The Wine O’Clock Myth By Lotta Dann. Allen & Unwin, rrp $36.99 This book’s subtitle is ‘the truth you need to know about women and alcohol’. Have you noticed on social media how many memes and gifs focus on wine o’clock,...... Read More

Into The Unknown: The secret WW1 diary of Kiwi Alick Trafford By Ian Trafford,  Penguin rrp $38 Firstly, it must be said that non-fiction is not my forte and secondly, I have noticed there seems to be a resurgence of books based on war stories...... Read More

Being Black ‘N Chicken, & Chips by Matt Okine In this novel set in Australia in the late 1980s, we follow Mike Amon.  His parents are divorced and he has a lot to deal with – his first crush, school bullies and becoming a star athlete....... Read More

I am sure that every book lover has a pile of books that are sitting at home just waiting to be read.  This year, I have decided to go through my pile and share some of them with you.  Here are two classic novellas, which I encourage you to...... Read More