Fiction Addiction: Virtual cake, real conversation

Reading, thinking about and chatting about great books. That's what Fiction Addiction is all about.

Welcome to Fiction Addiction, nzherald's shiny new book club.

Personal time is too precious to waste on rotten reads. That's why this blog will be about choosing and road-testing only the most promising new novels.

Each month we'll do our research and pick two intriguing novels that we hope will tempt you to keep reading well past bedtime. During the month we'll read them, blog about them, review them and (whenever possible) talk to the authors. We'll also serve up a "fiction fix" each month - a rundown of the freshest and most appealing novels in your local book shop.

But two people do not make a book club. If you decide you like the sound of one (or both!) of our monthly books, we'd love you to join us on the reading journey. We'll update this site a couple of times a week, so feel free to pop by and weigh in, just like book club at a friend's place. We can offer only virtual glasses of wine and slices of cake, but we can offer real giveaways (read on for details of our first competition) and plenty of opportunities to contribute to the conversation regardless of whether you read along.

We don't pretend to have any particular literary expertise. Our sole qualification is that we love books. We know - and crave - that magical feeling you get when lost in a great book. A book that compels you to squeeze a page or two into every possible moment - at a red light, walking down a crowded street, in the shower... A book that lingers long after you've turned the last leaf.

Finding, reading, thinking about and chatting about great books. That's what Fiction Addiction is all about. And you, dear fellow reader, are invited into the club.

For our debut month we've chosen two debut novels, The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht and When God was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman. We'll post more information about these books over the next week, but feel free to track down a copy in the meantime and get a head start.
And don't forget to throw a packet of Tim Tams and a bottle of cab sav into the trolley next time you're at the supermarket. Because virtual treats just don't cut it.