Summer reading: 'Den' tops the pile

The usual problem is that the movie is never as good as the book. But with my first choice for what I'll be reading over the summer, I'll be interested to see if the book is as good as the movie.

I rate In My Father's Den, as the best movie I saw last year, and possibly one of the best of all time. That it was made here only adds to my affection for it. And because it's a book by Maurice Gee, possibly New Zealand's greatest living writer, means I'm looking forward to opening the slim volume as soon as possible.

It's a 1972 copy, which you would quite possibly pick just by looking at the cover: only in the 70s would a book designer have matched that ghastly yellow with those kacky greens. On the back is an excerpt from a very proper sort of review which reads: "This is a novel of quite unusual merit."

The book belongs to a colleague who is quite stern about little things such as looking after books, so I have promised not to read it in the paddling pool.

Now that I'm beginning to feel like the only person left on the planet who hasn't read The Da Vinci Code, I'm planning to make amends on that front as well. At least I'll be able to keep up with the conversation at dinner parties. Well, that's my excuse. And this one is the sort of book you could drop in the pool without anyone kicking up too much of a fuss. There are millions of copies out there destined to end up collecting dust on the shelves of baches for the next 20 years.

And last, because it's summer and because I think "Good on her for doing it and making a living out of writing in this country", I'm going to read Sarah-Kate Lynch's latest: Eating With The Angels.

* Jan Corbett is editor of canvas