A Little Bit Booked

What makes a book perfect for rereading? Does where we are in life influence how we feel about a book? Why do I keep reading books about rabbits? Frazer MacDiarmid joins to talk about what books he rereads (or doesn’t) and how those experiences went.

Books mentioned in this episode:
- Watership Down, Richard Adams
- The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro
- The Unconsoled, Kazuo Ishiguro
- On Beauty, Zadie Smith (Penguin)
- Howard’s End, E.M. Forster
- The Safekeep, Yael van der Wouden
- The Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams (audiobook with Meryl Streep / George Winston)
- The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
- The Dark is Rising, Susan Cooper
- Bringing Down the Duke, Evie Dunmore (Little, Brown Book Group)
- Get a Life, Chloe Brown, Talia Hibbert (Avon Romance)
- Half a Soul, Olivia Atwater (Little)
- Warriors: Into the Wild, Erin Hunter (HarperCollins)
- The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton
- Beautiful World, Where Are You, Sally Rooney (Faber and Faber)
- Pride & Prejudice, Jane Austen
- King Lear, Shakespeare
- The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck
- The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien
- The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
- The Stranger / L'Étranger, Albert Camus
- The Idiot, Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Austerlitz, W. G. Sebald

Sophie Rogers’ latest novel is set in 1800s New Zealand, at the height of the gold rush. She unpicks how she brings historic characters to life, balancing detail with narrative flow and what it’s like to be crowned a Blossom Festival Queen.

Books mentioned in this episode:
- Orchids & Camellias, Sophie Rogers (Flying Books Publishing)
- Nightshades & Paperwhites, Sophie Rogers
- Harry Potter, JK Rowling
- Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, Lisa See (Simon & Schuster)
- Boleyn Traitor, Philippa Gregory (William Morrow)
- The Last Secret Agent: My Life as a Spy Behind Nazi Lines, Pippa Latour and Jude Dobson (Allen & Unwin)
- The Bookseller at the End of the World, Ruth Shaw (Allen & Unwin NZ)
- Bookshop Dogs, Ruth Shaw (Allen & Unwin NZ)

British artist and book cover artist Todd Atticus on his art practice, what makes a good book cover and two recent, impactful covers he designed – And How Are Things With You by Mia Farlane and The Valley by Asher Emanuel.

Books mentioned in this episode:
- The Valley: Crime And Punishment In A New Zealand City, Asher Emanuel (Bridget Williams Books)
- And How Are Things With You, Mia Farlane (Mākaro Press)
- Night, Ma, Elizabeth Knox (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
- Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
- Jude the Obscure, Thomas Hardy
- Labour: The New Zealand Labour Party 1916–2016, Peter Franks and Jim McAloon (Victoria University Press)
- Greta & Valdin, Rebecca K Reilly (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
- Bad Archive, Fiona Feltham (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
- The Rehearsal, Eleanor Catton (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
- Leather & Chains: My 1986 Diary, Kate Camp (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
- Shiver, Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic)
- Hoods Landing, Laura Vincent (Āporo Press)
- The Starving Bride, Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press)
- kluge, pip adam (Te Herenga Waka University Press)

See more about Todd at www.toddatticus.com.

Friends of Founders Treasurer and book connoisseur Peter Rigg takes us behind the scenes of the highly anticipated Founders Annual Book & Record Fair, including the best book he’s ever found and how you can volunteer.

Books mentioned in this episode:
- A History of the World in 47 Borders, John Elledge (Headline)
- The Men Who Killed the News, Eric Beecher (Scribner Australia)
- One More Kilometre and We're in the Showers, Timothy Hilton (Harper Perennial)
- The Penguin History of New Zealand, Michael King
- Pasta, Prayer & Promise: The Story of Nelson's Italian Community, 1860-2014, Karen Stade
- Wildwood Dancing, Juliet Marillier (Knopf)

The 2026 book fair is going on for a few more days! More information at the Founders website: https://www.founderspark.co.nz/new-category-page/founders-annual-book-fair/

After putting his main character, the plucky Honey Chalmers, through the wringer in “The Call,” author Gavin Strawhan is back with “Slash.” He joins to talk about dialogue, developing character and the social issues that underpin his thrillers.

Books mentioned in this episode:
- My Family and Other Animals, Gerald Durrell (Penguin Classics)
- The Covenant of Water, Abraham Verghese (Grove / Atlantic)
- Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese (Penguin)
- We Do Not Part, Han Kang (Penguin)
- Truth, Peter Temple
- Other People’s Bodies, Megan Nicol Reed (Allen & Unwin NZ)

Gavin’s books are:
- The Call (Allen & Unwin NZ)
- Slash (Allen & Unwin NZ)

Gavin’s upcoming talk with author Megan Nicol Reed is called “Creating compelling characters;” 4 June 2026, 5:30-6:30pm. More information at: https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/events/2026/06/creating-charismatic-characters/