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Books & Authors
John Boyne: writing satire in a highly strung world
After being the victim of relentless trolling by people who objected to his last book, Irish writer John Boyne has turned the tables on them in his new satirical novel, The Echo Chamber. Audio
Bookmarks - Christopher Walsh
For today's Bookmarks we're joined by Christopher Walsh, the founder of MoneyHub - a website that has a guide to help answer almost any question about personal finance you might have. Audio
Afternoons Book Quiz Robert Kelly for 15 September 2021
Afternoons Book Quiz Robert Kelly for 15 September 2021. Audio
Book review: The Book of Difficult Fruit by Kate Lebo
Melanie O'Loughlin of Lamplight Books reviews The Book of Difficult Fruit by Kate Lebo, published by Picador. Audio
Book Critic: Claire Mabey
Claire Mabey reviews She's A Killer by Kirsten McDougall and Matrix by Lauren Groff. Audio
Dr Himali McInnes - stories from the medical frontline
Himali McInnes was a GP for a decade in South Auckland, based in Mangere and now works at Three Kings. Over the years she's has seen first hand how the human spirit shines through, despite hardship… Audio
Book review: The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
Ralph McAllister reviews The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris, published by Headline Publishing Group. Audio
Kate Macdougall: London's No1 Dog Walking Agency
Kate Macdougall's memoir London's No. 1 Dog Walking Agency is an entertaining perspective on a left-field profession and a coming of age story. Armed with a degree in Art History, and eschewing a back… Audio
Covid-19: Publishers not counting on post-lockdown boom
You could probably write a book about what's happening in locked down Auckland, but publishers in the city would be hard pressed to do much with it under the level 4 rules.
After last year's big… Audio
Book review: Our Own Backyard by Anne Kayes
Louise Ward of Wardini Books in Havelock North reviews Our Own Backyard by Anne Kayes, published by Bateman. Audio
How our smartphones are turning us into dopamine junkies
World-leading addiction expert Professor Anna Lembke says our smartphones are turning us into dopamine addicts. As chief of Stanford University's dual diagnosis addiction clinic, Lembke has treated… Audio
Dr Sue Stuart-Smith: Sense of purpose grows in those who garden
Dr Sue Stuart-Smith is a psychiatrist, psychologist, gardener and literature lover who, in her much hailed UK bestseller The Well Gardened Mind brings all her passions together to look at the… Audio
Ahmed Rashid: what's next for the Taliban?
Ahmed Rashid's bestselling 2000 book Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia was used extensively by American analysts in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. The Lahore-based… Audio
Book review: Julia and the Shark by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Briar Lawry from Unity Books Auckland reviews Julia and the Shark by Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Tom de Freston, published by Orion Audio
Driving civilisation : Tom Standage - A Brief History of Motion
Deputy editor of The Economist Tom Standage's new book is A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next. It is in fact, five and a half thousand years of the history of… Audio
Forgiving the fines to bring in the readers
Library fines can be so scary they'll stop a borrower from ever going back. Now there's a world-wide trend to change that.
Book review: Things I Learned at Art School by Megan Dunn
Airini Beautrais reviews Things I Learned at Art School by Megan Dunn, published by Penguin. Audio
The power of words: Cody Keenan on writing for President Obama
Cody Keenan, a speechwriter for former US president Barack Obama helped craft speeches for the UN but says his most important contribution focused closer to home, in South Carolina. He tells Jesse… Video, Audio
Afternoons Quiz Robert Kelly
RNZ producer and onetime bookseller Robert Kelly presents his weekly quiz. Audio
Book review: The Dark by Emma Haughton
Bronwyn Wylie-Gibb of University Book Shop, Dunedin reviews The Dark by Emma Haughton, published by Hachette Bronwyn says: "The Murder. The Suspects. The Isolation… Not so much a locked room as a… Audio