What’s on your bookshelf: June

So here we are again and time for this month’s round up of recent reading. I seem to have got through a fair bit again – the joy of having more free time – and a very mixed list it is too. The featured image and those below were taken in Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui (The Window to the Wider World), Wellington’s Central Library which has recently reopened having been closed for a number of years for earthquake strengthening. The new space is impressive, with different seating areas, spaces for meetings, this area below which can be used for lectures or performances, a cafe and of course, lots of reading matter.

So to this month’s books…starting with a round of crime fiction and three Australian ones too. I enjoyed Garry Disher’s Kittyhawk Down, another in the Inspector Challis series, a character I like and who doesn’t seem too angst riven unlike many fictional detectives. The other two Australian crime fiction I read were Kate Horan On the Edge and Patricia Wolf Paradise. Of the three, the Kate Horan was my favourite, with an intriguing tale of a cold case and finding out the truth. The most disappointing was the Patricia Wolf, which was the second in the series of DS Walker books, which seemed to cover old ground, and if you hadn’t read the first one, you would be lost.

Still with crime but moving to the northern hemisphere, Jorn Lier Horst’s Closed for Winter is one of the Inspector Wisting series set in Norway. This was a really gripping tale of murder, celebrity and with just the right amount of twists. I would read more of the series. Then moving across the North Sea, I finally read The Hotel Avocado by British comedian Bob Mortimer. I hadn’t appreciated this is the second in a series (I have the first on order on Libby – might get it in three months), but it was fun all the same and quite ridiculous in a good way. The final crime novel of this month’s reading is Richard Coles Murder at the Monastery, another in the series featuring Canon Daniel Clement. A usual, there is a sneaky mention of The Communards (if you know, you know) and great characterisations, but this book contains a lot of information about church matters, and if that doesn’t appeal, this may not be for you. It is a fun story though, but do read the earlier ones in the series first.

So to other reading and to a New Zealand author. The 2026 winner of the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction was Ingrid Horrock’s book of short stories All Her Lives. The interweaving tales of women at different points in history are a great collection, but as is the way of short stories, I preferred some more to others. A beautiful book to dip in and out of.

Book of the month has to go to Bruce Holsinger’s Culpability. Described as ‘a suspenseful family drama about moral responsibility in the age of artificial intelligence’, it is a whole lot more. The tale begins with an accident – the Cassidy-Shaws’ autonomous minivan collides with an oncoming car, with seventeen-year-old Charlie in the driver’s seat. His father is sitting beside him working on his computer, his mother (an academic in the field of artificial intelligence) and sisters, busy with phones and work are sitting in the back. Charlie and one of the sisters are injured, the passengers in the other vehicle are killed. Who is to blame? There is a lot more to the book than that, with many moral and ethical issues and a lot to make us think about, as well as it being a great story. Highly recommended.

Deborah Levy’s Swimming Home had been on my ‘ought to read’ for a while, and I finally got round to reading it. This is a book you need to be in the mood for, as it does deal with issues of mental health, but it is brilliantly written and I did appreciate the work.

Finally, I had been recommended Jennifer Niven’s Meet the Newmans, and after a10 week wait, finally got to read it. I would describe this as an ideal holiday read, or one to read on a long, wet weekend. Del and Dinah Newman and their sons, Guy and Shep, have ruled television as America’s Favorite Family for years. Millions of viewers tune in every week to watch them play flawless versions of themselves. It is now 1964 and the series is dated and ratings are falling. Then there is an accident, and what happens next is for you to read and find out yourself so I don’t spoil it. I did feel that some aspects of the story were slightly long winded and didn’t really progress the story, but it is a good read and worth picking up.

• Garry Disher Kittyhawk Down 3.5 Kittyhawk aircraft
• Jorn Lier Horst Closed for Winter 4 summer houses
• Bob Mortimer The Hotel Avocado 4 avocados
• Ingrid Horrocks All Her Lives 4 stories
• Kate Horan On the Edge 4 cold cases
• Bruce Holsinger Culpability 5 self-drive cars
• Deborah Levy Swimming Home 4 swimming pools
• Richard Coles Murder at the Monastery 3.5 monks
• Patricia Wolf Paradise 3 beaches
• Jennifer Niven Meet the Newmans 4 sitcoms

What have you been reading recently?

Hosted by Jo of Story Crumbs, Deb from Deb’s World, Jennifer from The Retirement Phase and Bernie from Equipoise Life.

Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer and good food. Thistles and Kiwis can be found on Facebook and Instagram @thistlesandkiwis