What I’m reading

We’re coming to the end of Pantograph Punch and Verb’s collaborative book club called Book Coven and so much of my reading has centred around the spooky vibes of amazing wa¯hine authors in Aotearoa.

One spooky novel which has been taking up a lot of space in my mind is Angelique Kasmara’s debut Isobar Precinct, set on Auckland’s Karangahape Road. For many Aucklanders I imagine the novel feels airily familiar, as it does for me, centred around the central city’s recognisable sights and sounds.

While I came for that warm fuzz you get when you feel something known, I stayed for the freaky twists and turns.

Before that I raced through the pages of Butcherbird by Cassie Hart, another spooky novel although this time set on a farm in Taranaki.

As someone who struggles to watch horror films, I unexpectedly found myself still up at 2am one morning racing to get to the end. Absolutely gripping.

After Loop Tracks by Sue Orr popped up multiple times in people’s recommended reading Twitter threads, I gave in, and my gosh it was brilliant.

The weaving of multiple conversations so pertinent today through complex and flawed, yet incredibly personable characters was effortless.

I’m trying to work my way through all books which feature Auckland, and I know I’m late to the party but I’m currently reading Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly. While I’m not too far in yet, I’m loving it.

I would also highly recommend Megan Dunn’s What I Learned At Art School for more Auckland realness.

And when the fatigue of lockdown sets in and I can’t imagine picking up a book, The Spinoff’s daily updates are a constant feature on my ‘‘what I’m reading’’ shortlist.