A Little Bit Booked

Poet and writer Kate Camp took the brave step of publishing her teenage diary from 1986 in full as a memoir, Leather & Chains: My 1986 Diary. She joins me to talk feminism, the diary as postmodernism expression and the fallibility of memory. Books mentioned in this episode: - Lyrical Ballads, Bill Manhire (Te Herenga Waka University Press) - What to Wear, Jenny Bornholdt (Te Herenga Waka University Press) - Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves, Sophie Gilbert (John Murray) - The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank - How to End a Story, Helen Garner (Orion Publishing Co) Kate’s books mentioned in this episode: - The Mirror of Simple Annihilated Souls (Victoria University Press) - You Probably Think This Song is About You (Te Herenga Waka University Press)

Author and restaurateur Erin Palmisano joins A Little Bit Booked to talk about her newest novel, “The Secrets of the Lost Vineyard,” and the food, friendship, and family that underpins her writing. Books mentioned in this episode: - People We Meet on Vacation, Emily Henry (Penguin) - Foster, Claire Keegan (Faber) - Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan (Faber) Erin’s books are: - The Secrets of the Little Greek Taverna (Moa Press) - The Secrets of Maiden’s Cove (Moa Press) - The Secrets of the Lost Vineyard (Moa Press)

Historian and writer Karen Stade joins A Little Bit Booked to talk about her career from journalist to historian, the importance of regional social history and the questions everyone should ask their grandparents for posterity. Books mentioned in this episode: - The Private Life of Helen of Troy, John Erskine - Finding Private Webber, Angela Fitchett (Writes Hill Press) - No, I Don't Get Danger Money: Confessions of an Accidental War Correspondent, Lisette Reymer (Allen & Unwin NZ) - John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs, Ian Leslie (Faber & Faber) - Everything But the Medicine: A Doctor’s Tale, Lucy O’Hagan (Massey University Press) Karen’s books mentioned in this episode are: - Aim High – Nelson Central School 125 - Pasta, Prayer & Promise (co-written with Karen Price) - The Suttons of Richmond: Farming, Family, Faith - Appo Hocton - Driven by the Wind: The Memoir of Captain Henry Rose - The Nelson Club: 1874-2024 Learn more about Karen, her books and commissioning your own family or business history at www.historinz.co.nz

Mountain lover and writer Hazel Phillips on what she always has in her tramping pack, “topselling” stories, and the many great women behind her upcoming book and how they made their mark on New Zealand mountaineering. Books mentioned in this episode: - An Offer from a Gentleman, Julia Quinn (Avon US) - See How They Fall, Rachel Paris (Hachette Aotearoa NZ) - The Girl in the Mirror / No One Will Know, Rose Carlyle - Axeman’s Carnival / The Book of Guilt, Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press) - Greta & Valdin, Rebecca K Reilly (Te Herenga Waka University Press) - Northbound, Naomi Arnold (HarperCollins NZ) - Enough: Climbing Toward a True Self on Mount Everest, Melissa Arnot Reid - Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found, Cheryl Strayed - The High Pathways: Mountain Scrambles and Snow Climbs of Te Waipounamu, Paul & Shelley Hersey You can support Hazel’s latest book Great Hearts: First Ladies of Aoraki Mount Cook online at https://www.thearts.co.nz/boosted/projects/great-hearts Hazel's books are: - Fire & Ice (2025) - Solo: Backcountry adventuring in Aotearoa New Zealand (2022) - Wild Westie (2014) - Sell! (2013)

Paper Plus Nelson book buyer Michaela Smith opens up about how she approaches book reviews, breaking containment on bookstagram, and learning to love reading with dyslexia. Books mentioned in this episode: - The Poppy War, R.F. Kuang (HarperCollins) - Babel, R.F. Kuang (HarperCollins) - Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, Virginia Giuffre (Transworld Publishers) - The Book of Guilt, Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press) - Pet, Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press) - The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Australia) - Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Rick Riordan (Penguin Random House) - Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Mary Shelley - 1984, George Orwell - Heated Rivalry, Rachel Reid (HarperCollins)

Reader Services Librarian Lucy Mitchell on all the things the Nelson Public Libraries have to offer, what being a librarian actually entails, and some of the weird things found in the returns slot. Plus a whole heap of upcoming 2026 titles you should put on hold right now! Books mentioned in this episode: - What We Can Know, Ian McEwan (Vintage) - Dry, Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman (Simon & Schuster) - Secret Water, Arthur Ransome (Vintage) - I Who Have Never Known Men, Jacqueline Harpman (Vintage Classics) - The Women, Kristin Hannah (Pan Macmillan) - Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Quercus Publishing) - Butcherbird, Cassie Hart (Huia Publishers) - Moon of the Crusted Snow, Waubgeshig Rice (ECW Press) - The Mires, Tina Makereti (Ultimo) - Bunny / We Love You, Bunny, Mona Awad (Penguin) - Soldier Sailor, Claire Kilroy (Faber & Faber) - Frankenstein, Mary Shelley - All the Colours of the Dark, Chris Whitaker (Orion Publishing Co) 2026 BOOKS - Land, Maggie O'Farrell (June 2026, Knopf Canada) - Exit Party, Emily St. John Mandel (September 2026, Knopf) - The Things We Never Say, Elizabeth Strout (May 2026, Viking) - Platform Decay, Martha Wells (Tor) - Whistler, Ann Patchett (June 2026, Bloomsbury)

Claire and Erica share some of their standout fiction and non-fiction Kiwi reads from 2025, plus what book events and launches they’re looking forward to for 2026. The book snake pattern I mentioned is by Han Lee (@bookaroundfindout) and you can purchase it on Ravelry: www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-book-snake. Books mentioned in this episode: -Wonderland, Tracy Farr (The Cuba Press) -Hoods Landing, Laura Vincent (Aporo Press) -The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton (Te Herenga Waka University Press) -The Book of Guilt, Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press) -Good Things Come and Go, Josie Shapiro (Allen & Unwin NZ) -The Last Living Cannibal, Airana Ngarewa (Moa Press) -Pātea Boys, Airana Ngarewa (Moa Press) -Everything But the Medicine, Lucy O’Hagan (Massey University Press) -Fire and Ice: Secrets, Histories, Treasures and Mysteries of Tongariro National Park, Hazel Phillips (Massey University Press) -No Words for This, Ali Mau (HarperCollins NZ) -I’m Glad My Mom Died, Jeanette McCurdy (Simon & Schuster) -Speaking My Language Te Kōrero i Tōku Reo, Mike McRoberts (HarperCollins NZ) -Whenua: Māori Pūrākau of Aotearoa, Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Hachette) -Apple Man, Anne Cleary (Allen & Unwin NZ)

Editor and writer Philippa Tucker joins me to talk about how editing is an art, the trust and vulnerability involved and (yes) our grammar pet peeves. Books mentioned in this episode: -Orbital, Samantha Harvey (Vintage) -All Her Lives, Ingrid Horrocks (Te Herenga Waka University Press) -Wonderland, Tracy Farr (The Cuba Press) -Headlands: New Stories of Anxiety, edited by Naomi Arnold (Te Herenga Waka University Press) -Ulysses, James Joyce (which does have a sentence that is 3,000 words long!)

From her lifestyle block in Central Otago, “Gill of all trades” Gillian Swinton talks about her accessible homesteading guide, “The Good Life,” and the importance of community. Books mentioned in this episode: -The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, Kim Michele Richardson (Sourcebooks Landmark) -The Book of Guilt, Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press) -Northbound, Naomi Arnold (HarperCollinsNZ) -Outlander, Diana Gabaldon (Cornerstone) -Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder -Farmer Boy, Laura Ingalls Wilder

Writer and educator (and ex-cage fighter) Airana Ngarewa dives deep into the history behind his latest book, “The Last Living Cannibal,” which is set in rural Taranaki during World War II. Books mentioned in this episode: -The Last Living Cannibal, Airana Ngarewa (Moa Press); -Te Āhua o Ngā Kupu Whakaari a Te Kooti, Tā Pou Temara (Auckland University Press; -Poor People with Money, Dominic Hoey (Penguin); -Mana, Tāme Iti (Allen & Unwin NZ); -Pātea Boys, Airana Ngarewa (Moa Press); -The Bone Tree, Airana Ngarewa (Moa Press); -Pounamu Pounamu, Witi Ihimaera (Penguin); -Appleman, Anne Cleary (Allen & Unwin NZ); -Good Things Come and Go, Josie Shapiro (Allen & Unwin NZ) -Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts, Josie Shapiro (Allen & Unwin NZ)

Writer and poet Harold Coutts joins me in a quest to read half of the notable Booker Prize 2025 shortlist. We talk about why literary prizes can feel so intimidating, what we liked about each book, and make some predictions before the award ceremony on 10 November. Books mentioned in this episode: Flashlight, Susan Choi (Jonathan Cape) Audition, Katie Kitamura (Fern Press) The Loneliness of Sonia & Sunny, Kiran Desai (Hamish Hamilton) AUP New Poets 9, Sarah Lawrence, harold coutts and Arielle Walker (Auckland University Press) For My Lady’s Heart, Laura Kinsale – NOT Lorraine Heath, sorry (Berkeley Trade)

Journalist, tramper, and author Naomi Arnold channels the confidence of a white male CEO while discussing her latest memoir, “Northbound,” and reliving the experience of hiking Te Araroa trail and then writing about it. Books mentioned in this episode: Rocco, Sherryl Jordan (Scholastic) Descending Fire: The Story Behind The Stories, Sherryl Jordan (David Bateman Ltd) Feijoa, Kate Evans (Moa Press) No Words for This, Ali Mau (HarperCollins NZ) Surplus Women, Michelle Duff (Te Herenga Waka University Press) High Heels and Gumboots, Rebecca Hayter (HarperCollins NZ) The Book of Guilt, Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press)

Ahead of Bookshop Day on 11 October, Claire is joined by Jo Dippie, proprietor of beloved Nelson independent bookshop Page & Blackmore, to talk book buying, matching the right story to the right person, and penguins. Books mentioned in this episode: An Inconvenience of Penguins: Epic Voyages in Pursuit of the World's Most Beloved Bird, Jamie Lafferty (Headline Publishing Group); Life Cycle of a Moth, Rowe Irvin (A&U Canongate); Hard-Case Heroes, Gerard Hindmarsh (Swamp Press); Up the Lake: The Story of Rotoiti, Annette Walker; The Compound, Aisling Rawle (Hemlock Press GB)