Mirabel Osler, as one friend has said of her, "could make a shopping list seem lyrical".

The default opening for any review of a Neal Stephenson novel is the "cult author, but not really" explanation. Here's how it goes.

Many of us go through the daily grind, but sometimes, even those ordinary moments add up to an extraordinary and life-changing day - that's the premise of December's feature book, Animal People.

Boyd Tonkin talks to Victoria Hislop about being inspired by landscapes and why she is ready for passionate criticism of her new book.

Jane-ites may quail at first, but should enjoy this, says Nicky Pellegrino.

The producer of 7 Days shares his insight on what it's like to be a bookworm.

"The best travel," wrote Paul Theroux in his book Dark Star Safari, "is a leap in the dark".

New Zealand writer Paula Morris has travelled the word in her novels, but the inspiration from her latest release, Rangatira, came from closer to home. It was in her blood.

Parents wishing to change the attitude of their science-averse teenage boys could do worse than to drop into their Christmas stocking this account of Tim Flannery’s adventures as a young zoologist.

William Bligh, he of the mutiny on the Bounty, was arguably the most complex, interesting and observant of the European explorers in the South Pacific.

When you are Stephen King, you get to use numerical date codes as titles. Because who’s going to stop you?

If you get past the crushingly obvious title, subtitle and cheap looking cover, you'll find a collection of provocative, insightful essays.

Gritty and funny - Jenny Wingfield's debut novel charms Nicky Pellegrino.