Just started I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith and already I’m hooked. Love the self deprecating, funny voice. Any Dodie Smith fans out there? #booksky #litfic

Excited to share my new story in takahē and read the other contributions. Weekend reading sorted! #booksky #litfic #pukapuka

Turns out No Good, by Sophie van Waardenberg, was very good indeed, revealing an attention to craft lacking from many contemporary poems. #booksky #poetrysky #pukapuka

Excited to share my new story with you all, in the new issue of takahē, coming soon!

Happy Poetry Day Aotearoa. I’m celebrating by reading the just released No Good, by the wonderful Sophie van Waardenberg. How about you? #booksky #pukapuka #nzpoetry

Late to the party, which is very on brand for me, but just finished Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, by Mario Vargas Llosa. Loved the increasingly unhinged radio serials and the backdrop of 1950s of Lima. #booksky #litfic

Started Air, the final book in the elements series, by John Boyne. I’ve really enjoyed the way these novels interconnect, so I’m looking forward to seeing how he brings it all together #booksky #litfic

Gave a school talk to an auditorium full of Y13s today. Was great to see them excited and engaged in the craft exercises. #writersky

I’m really enjoying Walk Through Walls, Marina Abromović’s memoir of her life and career as a performance artist. Her stories are wild. #booksky

In a bit of a reading slump. DNF on a book everyone raved about and not sure what to read next?

Really enjoying the food descriptions in Butter. Reminds me of MFK Fisher’s sensuous food writing; an area of life too often overlooked in contemporary fiction. #booksky #litfic

Started Butter, by Asako Yuzuki and there’s a discussion about the size of one of the characters, described as huge, at ahem, 70kgs—which per a quick search is less than the average NZ woman. Love how fiction can give you a glimpse of another culture, without leaving your house. #booksky #litfic

When did the paper stock of novels become so thin? Started Dream Count, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and not sure if it’s the font (Goudy Oldstyle for my typography nerds) or the stock, but I can see the words on the other side of the page showing through and damn it’s distracting #booksky #litfic

Late to the party, I’ve finally read Audition, by Pip Adam; a book that explodes the idea of what a novel can do. The dialogue-laden first chapter was particularly hypnotic. Woolfian-Frameian genius. Pip is criminally underrated in NZ. I hope the US release gives her the recognition she deserves.

Finished Pale Fire and damn if it isn’t the cleverest novel I’ve ever read. The depth and layering, and in-jokes! Sadly, I can’t see many contemporary readers enjoying such a formally challenging book, and even more depressing, I wonder if it would even have found a publisher today? #booksky #lific

Reading Nakabov’s Pale Fire. He’s so inventive. Modern readers might struggle with the form, but a novel written as commentary on an invented poet’s masterwork is so damn clever. Reminds me a bit of Anne Carson’s Autobiography of Red, wonder if she read Pale Fire? #booksky #lific

Was so engrossed by the Auckland Writers Festival I forgot to post. Never fear, I’ll write a newsletter wrap up, so sign up if you want to read my ramblings (it’s free) Topics may include: silicone body suits, skeletons missing skulls and horror as a literature of resistance eepurl.com/cXlbmX

Excited to start on my Mother’s Day present. Heard so many good things! #booksky #litfic #pukapuka #nzbooks

This absolute beauty by my friend Yvette Thomas is available now in select bookshops and online. Featuring her Caselberg International Prize winning poem, ‘Not What You Wanted’, Ten Thousand Nights is a thoughtful, finely wrought collection. castlestreetpress.com #booksky #poetry #pukapuka

Love reading writers on writing. Grab your weekend coffee and settle in

Where are my Patricia Lockwood fans at? I just finished No One Is Talking About This, and I have to talk to someone about it! One of the most beautiful and devastating books I’ve read in a long time #litfic #booksky #poets

From my newsletter this week. So many sentences I wanted to highlight in Chelsea Girls, but this one felt most prescient #booksky #litfic #poetry

Can’t think of a better cyclone read than the cyclonic Chelsea Girls, by Eileen Myles. Often I get frustrated by publishing’s insistence on linear plot-driven narratives, then I read a book like this and my faith in literature is restored. #booksky #litfic #poetry

Reading Chelsea Girls, by Eileen Myles. A poet’s novel; fragmentary and strange and I’m so here for it #litfic #booksky

Stormy tonight in Tāmaki Makaurau, which calls for a cosy read. Currently reading Women Talking, by Miriam Toews, which is excellent, but dark. What’s your go-to #litfic for a rainy evening #booksky?

So thrilled to attend the launch of my friend Rachel Paris’ new novel, See How They Fall last night. Billed as Succession meets Big Little Lies, this is a debut to watch. #booksky #nzbooks

Lil snippet from my monthly newsletter that went out yesterday. Sign up if you enjoy mini #litfic reviews. I always forget to mention it’s free! #booksky eepurl.com/cXlbmX

Low key horrified at how competent the OpenAI short story is. Shouldn’t be surprised that limiting its corpus to works stolen from literary greats results in some evocative imagery. I suppose the best writers can hope for at this point is for ‘human made’ to become a selling point. #booksky #litfic

That feeling when for *plot reasons* two events have to be weeks apart, but for *fact reasons* they have to occur within a few days of each other. Send help. #writersky #authorsky #writingcommunity

I finished Orbital, by Samantha Harvey, and all I can say is: when the writing is this good, who needs plot? #booksky #litfic

Reading update: I’m continuing with the Renaissance power players—some bad ass broads—but also picked up a copy of Orbital, by Samantha Harvey. Been some chat on here about this one, so I’m looking forward to letting you know what I think. #booksky #litfic

Hit a bit of a reading slump. Three consecutive books discarded after the first chapter. What to do when fiction fails? Life never fails to fascinate me, so I’ve turned to Twenty-Five Women Who Shaped The Italian Renaissance, by Meredith K. Ray. Only two in, and already these ladies slay. #booksky

Living in Aotearoa, I don’t have the same level of fear as the author, but as a person of Lebanese descent, this essay hit hard.

#booksky I need your help! Looking for recent #litfic in the vein of Eileen, by Ottessa Moshfegh or Looker, by Laura Sims. Any suggestions?

So, I finished Arcadia by Lauren Groff. Beautifully written #litfic, as always, but not my favourite of hers. Huge cast of characters and quite a slow burn. But she is frighteningly prescient. There’s a pandemic storyline—lockdowns & mass deaths, published in 2012! What did you think #booksky?

Thanks for the shout out, Kass. Obviously you have great taste

Libraries are the best! #booksky

Lil snippet from my newsletter, where I talk about what I’ve read this month, and get all fan-girly over Lauren Groff. eepurl.com/cXlbmX #booksky #litfic

Am I the only one who finds it difficult to find non-dirty synonyms for the word ‘damp’? Even my trusty Rogets has let me down. I feel like it’s time we reclaim ‘moist’ from the squeamish. Who’s with me? #writesky #authorsky #writingcommunity

Best thing about writing a newsletter is being forced to summarise my reading and having a record of my impressions. Like an online reading journal. This month’s standouts were Florida, by Lauren Groff and Soldier, Sailor by Claire Kilroy. #litfic #booksky, have you read? Thoughts??

Hey #booksky which #litfic should I read next: Arcadia, by Lauren Groff or All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews?

What are the chances? Just be revising a scene where my characters are talking about the trolley problem. Must be in the zeitgeist #authorsky #writersky #writingcommunity

Whoops. Newsletter is a bit late this month, friends, but have some great reads to share when it drops next week—recent books by Olivia Laing & Claire Kilroy, & backlist bangers from the likes of Lauren Groff & Rachel Cusk. Sign up here eepurl.com/cXlbmX #authorsky #writersky #liffic #writingnews

I’m fascinated by omniscience. Once the dominant mode, contemporary novels tend to be close third, or first. While these bring the reader closer to the character, perhaps this moment calls for a more expansive viewpoint; the so-called ‘eye of god’? Will be adding some of these to my tbr to find out.

I know this will make me sound pretentious, but my favourite translations would have to be In Search of Lost Time, or Anna Karenina

At the pools timing my daughter’s laps. One lane over a guy is doing freestyle with a full mask and snorkel, while an acoustic version of Shania Twain’s ‘You’re still the one’ plays on the speakers. I love this country. #nz

I’m a discovery writer for sure. Though I’m getting better at using a loose outline as a guide, while still allowing my characters to surprise me. #writesky #authorsky

Is there anything this woman can’t make interesting? I’ve read her books on alcoholic writers, a meandering river, the loneliness of cities, and now gardening. Not my forte, as my withering house plants can attest, but I think I’d read anything Olivia Laing writes #booksky

Just finished Immediate Family, by Ashley Nelson Levy. Takes the form of a long address from the narrator to the brother her family adopted. The story is mostly summary, which I enjoyed but I’m sure many readers would hate. Tell me #booksky, have you read this #litfic and what did you think?

Happy Waitangi Day Aotearoa. Hope people take the chance to reflect on Te Tiriti and maybe learn a bit about our history. Spoiler: it’s worse than most people think. #waitangi