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TOP 5 BOOKS
KID'S BOOKS
Thanks so much to all of our Lit Reads members whose sharp insights, generosity and love for books has made this an especially memorable year of reading! What began as a small group of dedicated members tucked on couches, soon became a sprawling group of familiar and unfamiliar faces perched on benches and folding ladders (the new year will bring new chairs!). Lit Reads began as a way for us to connect readers who yearned for great literary conversation but struggled to find book clubs to call home. Time Out has had the pleasure of serving engaged book lovers for three decades and we are thrilled to be able to expand this community beyond the retail space.
Photo: Inaugural Lit Reads Book Club Frankenstein in Baghdad April 23rd 2018
Photo: Lit Reads Book Club This Mortal Boy October 15th 2018
Reader’s Pick Competition
One of my reading highlights from Lit Reads was Sing, Unburied, Sing - a harrowing Southern literary Gothic exploring the harsh environment of Mississippi and the legacies of trauma woven through DNA. Melancholic and beautiful, Sing, Unburied, Sing firmly cemented itself as one of my favourite books this year. We’d also love to hear about your Book Club favourites! If you have a favourite title from our Lit Reads list or a favourite book club moment that you’d like to share, send through your thoughts to books@timeout.co.nz with ‘Lit Reads Readers Pick’ in the subject line. We will pick one of these to be published in our Time Out Newsletter and our winner will also receive a $100 store voucher. We’ll also be giving out our Time Out Enamel Cat pins to the first ten entrants which can be collected in-store, and will keep all of your wonderful recommendations in a Google Doc which we will send to our mailing list.
2019 Surprises:
Thank you everyone for your feedback from last book club! I’ve taken these all on board and am working away at some changes for next year. I can confirm that starting in January we will have a Google Document for every book club that lists all recommendations from the beginning of our discussion. We will also have a ‘Lit Reads Meets…’ author Q&A every few months, a ‘Dispatches from Lit Reads’ newsletter providing reportage from the night, an Instagram page and are diligently working away on a few other extras to keep our little community growing and dynamic.
2019 Dates:
These are all locked in now:
JANUARY 21ST
Killing Commendatore - Haruki Murakami
FEBRUARY 18TH
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MARCH 18TH
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APRIL 15th
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MAY 20TH
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JUNE 17TH
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JULY 22ND
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AUGUST 19TH
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SEPTEMBER 23RD
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OCTOBER 28TH
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NOVEMBER 18TH
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Our next book club pick is the new door-stopping epic by Haruki Murakami, Killing Commendatore. What better way to spend summer than with an immersive, surreal novel by one of our favourite authors at Time Out? I look forward to seeing you all again (and hearing your New Year Book Resolutions!) when we reconvene on January 21st. A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of our Lit Reads friends! Thank you for reading with us this year.
Warm bibliographical regards,
Suri
Our mission with Lit Reads is to connect communities of readers and hear new and varied perspectives on fresh, contemporary titles. If this sounds like you, sign up to the Lit Reads Newsletter below.
Jenna has started reading through a few customer favourites for 2018 and this is one of them. Everything I know about Love, is a great read for fans of Caitlin Moran, Lena Dunham, Bridget Jones & Sex and the City.
A smart and honest memoir, that is easy to dip into during this busy time of year. Also, check out Dolly’s podcast, The High Low.
Listen below!
Last week, Kiran chatted to the bFM crew about the Man Booker winner, Milkman. This week, Jenna goes back to the shortlist to review Everything Under, a quiet novel that evokes an eerie feeling of dark family secrets, misunderstanding, destiny and myth. Listen below!
On RNZ’s Nine to Noon, Kiran reviewed one of her favourite novels of 2018 In the City of Love’s Sleep by Lavinia Greenlaw. An elegant and eloquent story of love, recovery, repair and beautiful objects.
Is the recently announced 2018 Man Booker Prize winner worthy of a read? Listen to Kiran’s thoughts on Milkman below:
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TOP 5 BOOKS
KID'S BOOKS
Jenna reviewed the brilliantly funny The Ice Shelf on 95bFM's Loose Reads today. Listen in to hear why a book about a woman wheeling a fridge around Wellington could be so dang good!
This week on RNZ’s Nine to Noon, Kiran reviewed Human Relations and Other Difficulties by Mary-Kay Wilmers. Wilmers co-founded the London Review of Books in 1979 and has been its editor since 1992. This collection brings together 23 polished, informative and entertaining self-contained pieces which are fine examples of her wonderfully dry and brittle wit.
On 95bFM’s Loose Reads, Kiran and Mikey talked about Mars By 1980: The Story of Electronic Music by David Stubbs. A thrilling deep dive into technology and invention, it propels us into sonic space and charts how developments in technology have shaped music over the years. One of the best music books of 2018!
Today we have a special school holiday edition of Loose Reads. Jenna & Eli (13) popped into the 95bFM studio to chat to Mikey about Munmun by Jesse Andrews.
Set in a world where your physical size is based on your wealth, this is a compelling and poignant read for a young generation. This is a book that Eli recommends for readers 12+.
Kiran reviewed The Only Girl: My Life and Times on the Masthead of Rolling Stone by Robin Green on 95bFM’s Loose Reads. A juicy, candid memoir from journalist Robin Green who wrote excellent and often damning long-form profiles for iconic magazine Rolling Stone in its 1970s heyday, this is essential reading for lovers of pop and counter culture, West Coast bohemia, political reportage and pacey biographies.
Click on the covers to shop!
TOP 5 BOOKS
KID'S BOOKS
Jenna’s favourite novel of 2018!
It’s the year 2000 in New York, and our unnamed narrator decides to take a year off from life. By carefully mixing a cocktail of prescription medication, she will sleep through the year, emerging a new person, ready to slot back into society.
A laugh out loud, black as black comedy, that is layered, smart and sharp.
If you like to snuggle down with a grisly tale full of twists & turns, Ellen is the staff member for you!
Recently we've had a lot of requests for a great psychological thriller, so as Time Out's resident crime & thriller reader, Ellen’s put together a few recommendations:
Resin by Ane Riel
Narrated both by 7-year-old Liv and various unsuspecting observers, Resin is a dark, captivating look at one man's crumbling mental state and his increasingly disturbing efforts to keep his dysfunctional family together. Translated from Danish, Resin's atmospheric prose builds an ethereal and claustrophobic forest world in which its characters slowly fall apart.
Snap by Belinda Bauer
In 1998, siblings Jack, Joy, and Merry are left to wait in their broken-down car while their mother goes to call for help—and doesn't return. Three years later, Jack, forced to become a serial burglar in order to keep his family afloat, begins to unravel the mystery of his mother's murder just as mum-to-be Catherine's happy world begins to disintegrate. Snap is a tense, dark, slow-burn of a thriller and well worth its praise - including a spot on the 2018 Man Booker longlist.
Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage
Battling her body at the same time she's locked in an increasingly disturbing battle of wills with her daughter, Suzette is nearing her breaking point. 7-year-old Hanna doesn't speak and doesn't go to school, but she knows there's not enough room in the world for both her and mommy—and she's determined to drive her out so she can have her daddy all to herself. Zoje Stage’s sharp, tense prose builds suspense until the very end, creates a deeply unsettling picture of family life, and raises a very uncomfortable question: is it possible for a child to be a psychopath?
The Nowhere Child by Christian White
Sammy Went disappeared three days after her second birthday, taken from her front garden in America. Twenty-eight years later, in Melbourne, photography teacher Kim Leary is approached by a stranger claiming to be her brother. Cutting between past and present, The Nowhere Child unravels the secrets of two families and a small American town, and though there are plenty of tense moments, it is an easy--but compelling--read.
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
Anna Fox's agoraphobia keeps her trapped inside her home, forced to live vicariously through the snippets of life she sees unfolding across the street. Just as she starts to befriend her newest neighbours, she witnesses something she shouldn't. As Anna's carefully constructed life comes under siege, she is forced to confront her demons – and her neighbours. The Woman in the Window is an excellent mix of an unreliable narrator, slowly building suspense, and false starts that lead to an unexpectedly explosive conclusion.
On this 95bFM book review, Jenna takes a look at the first ever graphic novel to be longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Sabrina is a quietly intense story of the people left behind after a woman goes missing. It’s a story of this moment - the internet age, the media & truthers and is well worth a read - even if you’re a graphic novel novice!
Listen below:
Kiran nipped into the bFM studio to talk to the wonderful Rach and Tess about Messing Up the Paintwork: The Wit and Wisdom of Mark E. Smith, a book that celebrates the very quotable late Mark E. Smith from iconic group The Fall. A crabby, belligerant codger, Smith was known and loved for his sharp wit, caustic insults and wonderful way with words. You’ll want to read bits of the book out to anyone who’ll listen!
A spunky and glamorous figure of the 1960s and 70s LA counter culture, Eve Babitz was an alluring ‘It Girl’ who wrote startlingly sharp essays, memoir and fiction. Kiran reviewed the reissued edition of Babitz’s 1979 novel Sex & Rage: Advice for Young Ladies Eager for a Good Time on RNZ’s Nine to Noon.
Te wiki o te reo Māori! Jenna visited the 95bBM studio to kōrero about Maori Made Easy & Maori Made Easy 2 - Scotty Morrison's reo learning series. If you're thinking about making the step to learning, these books are the place to start!
We also gave away a copy of the brand new Gecko Press book, Paraweta. You'll have to listen to find out what that means.
Haere mai koutou ki te Time Out toa pukapuka kia tipu ōu reo. Come to Time Out Bookstore to grow your reo. We've got a great selection in stock.
Suri gets serious on today's Loose Reads review. Dopesick is a deeply human investigation into the American opioid epidemic and the greed of corporations with blood on their hands.
A top pick from the current affairs section! Listen below:
