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The Spinoff
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
Live updates from the 2025 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards
Books editor Claire Mabey blogs this year's Ockham New Zealand Book Awards ceremony live from Aotea Centre, Tāmaki Makaurau. Welcome to the 2025 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards! These are the awards for writing for adults across fiction and nonfiction. The prize money is the largest in the land and a win can change a book's life. Tune in from 4pm for some warm-up posts, and from 7pm for a blow-by-blow of the ceremony as it unfolds. The Spinoff Books section is proudly brought to you by Unity Books and Creative New Zealand. Visit Unity Books online today.
NZ Herald
08-05-2025
- NZ Herald
The Best Independent Bookstores In Auckland
Want to buy your books from local sellers? Consider these expertly stocked independent bookstores. What do you want from a really good bookshop? It's different for every reader. Maybe you want a broad offering of genres. Or perhaps it's the exact opposite: a niche and highly specific collection catered to your interests. Maybe you want international bestsellers, or local stories and independent zines. Within this list of local bookstores, you'll find all of the above. But the benefit of buying books locally is being able to tap into the comprehensive knowledge of the people selling them. You'll certainly find this at these institutions of Tāmaki Makaurau. Unity Books & Little Unity Unity Books on High St is cosy (much cosier than its expansive Wellington counterpart), but it remains a rich source of new and exciting stories. Stop by the last table before the counter to pick up the latest releases by New Zealand authors. Perhaps because of its proximity to two huge Auckland universities, it boasts a good collection of academic texts – the store offers a particularly good curation of non-fiction related to philosophy, social theory and technology. Just around the corner, you'll also find Little Unity. This store exclusively stocks children's literature, from poppy picture books to longer reads for those coming of age. There is an encompassing collection from authors in Aotearoa, as well as some interesting picks from abroad. 19 High St & 31 Vulcan Lane, Auckland Central Searching for something slightly more niche? Across the road from Unity, you'll find Rare Books, an antiquarian book seller. This store stocks antique books, maps and artefacts – ideal for the historically inclined and those deep in a research project. Rare Books is only open by appointment, but you can also buy the ephemera online. Level 1, 6 High St, Auckland Central View this post on Instagram A post shared by Hard To Find Books (@hardtofindbooks) Hard To Find Bookstore If you've ever taken a bus over the Symonds St bridge, you'll know this bookshop is actually not so hard to find – a huge sign rises over the buildings and fences of Eden Terrace to beckon curious readers. There's a storybook romance to this second-hand bookstore, which has shelves and piles of novels, comics and non-fiction arranged within a huge brick building that was once a Catholic convent. If you're touring bookish visitors around Tāmaki Makaurau, start here – it's a feast for the senses and stocks lots of wonderfully niche local texts. 2 Saint Benedicts St, Eden Terrace The Women's Bookshop Te Toa Pukapuka o Wāhine This Ponsonby bookstore opened in 1989 and has become an icon of the popular road. It was founded with an aim to platform women who write and has maintained this since its inception (though you can find works by people of all genders here). There's also an encompassing section of feminist literature. Often, local authors pop in to sign their books, so with some lucky timing, you could go home with an inscribed copy. 105 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby Time Out Bookstore If you're window shopping in Mt Eden Village, you'll likely find yourself drawn into Time Out Bookstore by their themed displays. The shop, which has existed since 1988, is small but mighty. You'll likely find yourself surprised at the range of materials contained in the space. If you find yourself browsing shelves without a clear idea of what you're looking for, consider the walls of staff picks – the experts provide blurbs for their chosen book, providing more clarity for whether it's your thing or not (if you have questions about your picks they almost always have comprehensive answers). The back room also stores an extensive collection of children's books, giving young readers some agency in their choices and their caregivers some peace in their own. If indecision is an issue for beginner readers, there is also a clarifying bestseller section. A room upstairs also hosts book clubs, readings and other literary events – keep an eye on their Instagram for events. The store is open until 9pm seven days a week, making it a nice stop after a walk up Mangawhau for sunset (and a convenient place for panicked, last-minute presents). 432 Mount Eden Rd, Mount Eden The Open Book This bookstore is housed within a Ponsonby villa and also boasts a backyard space that can be toured in nicer weather. Since the stock is almost all second-hand, seasoned thrifters will enjoy a hunt for something special – it can be helpful to have an author, genre or specific book in mind, if you're not someone who enjoys wandering. The spot also hosts readings and performances on a regular basis, so carve out some time on your Sunday to pay a visit (you can stay up to date with their schedule on Instagram). 201 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Book Exchange (@caffeineandbookdealers) The Book Exchange If you find yourself with a pile of books you're no longer reaching for, consider contributing to the collection at The Book Exchange. It's a second-hand bookstore that, as the name suggests, welcomes swaps for your books (though it also goes by the moniker Caffeine & Book Dealers). The nature of its curation means the collection is constantly shifting and changing. Generally, the 'classics' shelf is always well-stocked. The small shop also serves coffee and sweet treats and hosts a few spots to sit and read. 10/8 Glendale Rd, Glen Eden Bookmark Secondhand & Antiquarian Books If you've arrived at your ferry with time to spare, this is the bookstore you'll be happy to linger in. The sizeable store is just off The Arcade and hosts more than 20,000 second-hand books. Though the collection is entertaining, you'll likely be even more charmed by a collection of model boats and various maritime-themed decor that draws on the shop's location. 15 Victoria Rd, Devonport More on books From authors to watch to new titles to add to your reading list. The Best Books Of The Year, According To Booksellers. From rugged Westerns to gritty gothics. Han Kang Awarded The Nobel Prize in Literature For The Vegetarian. How a surreal, subversive novel inspired generations of writers. There's An Art To Arranging A Bookshelf. Here's How It's Done. Queer Eye 's Jeremiah Brent shows how he styles his shelves.
The Spinoff
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
‘A medieval Russian fever-dream': Rachael Craw's favourite books
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits of Aotearoa writers, and guests. This week: Rachael Craw, author of The Lost Saint. The book I wish I'd written The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. I want to stuff the pages in my mouth until the words melt around my teeth. Exquisite, lyrical, deeply embedded in a landscape so exotic to me I could not get enough. It's a medieval Russian fever-dream. Everyone should read Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen because then you can enjoy the memes. The book I want to be buried with The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. The first book I remember reading by myself The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. (At an age where half the words in each sentence were too difficult for me and I just slogged my way through it by inference because I knew there was magic waiting for me in those pages. I was also the kid who checked the back of her wardrobe – just in case.) The book I pretend I've read Michael King's The Penguin History of Aotearoa New Zealand because Rachael King is a dear friend and I don't want her to be mad with me. Fiction or Nonfiction Fiction, obviously, because reality is blergh. The book that made me cry The Lord of the Rings, at every re-read: when (spoiler alert) Gandalf dies. The book that made me laugh Jaclyn Moriarty's The Slightly Alarming Tale of the Whispering Wars (I was reading it aloud to my daughter and had to put it down because I was laughing so hard it brought tears to my eyes.) Greatest New Zealand book Hairy Maclary From Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd. Greatest New Zealand writer Elizabeth Knox. Best food memory from a book I know we've cancelled Neil Gaiman, and rightly so, but to this day I still think about the little slab of honey drizzled in jam in The Ocean At the End of the Lane that the little boy eats at the good witch's house after his demonic battle. I don't even think it would taste that nice but there's something about that description that's lodged itself in my synaptic highway. Best place to read Bed. What are you reading right now Physical Book: All Shall Mourn by Ellie Marney. Audio book: The Stand by Stephen King. The Lost Saint by Rachael Craw ($30, Allen & Unwin) is available to purchase through Unity Books. The Spinoff Books section is proudly brought to you by Unity Books and Creative New Zealand. Visit Unity Books online today.
