RADIO

Every Saturday morning, around 11.40, I review two books on NewstalkZB's Paul Holmes show. It's usually a matter of the host deriding my choice of books and me justifying it in the scant amount of time available, because the slot is near the end of the show, which inevitably has begun to run a couple of minutes late by the time we get to books. I try to find titles to (p)review that are accessible but do something different, whether it's a thriller with an original style or a non-fiction book that tells us something we don't already know about the world we live in. The books get a final rating of Cover to Cover, Quick Flick or Down the Dunny.

RECENTLY REVIEWED
April 24
Behind Enemy LInes; Kiwi Freedom Fighters in WWII, ed Matthew Wright, Random House, $39.99
NZ soldiers who ended up fighting the war behind enemy lines. Great yarns. Quick flick.
Cannibal Jack: The LIfe and Times of Jacky Marmon, a Pakeha-Maori by Trevor Bentley, Penguin, $40
As described - Marmon, born 1798, assimliated as Maori and lived a long, eventful life. Quick flick.
April 17
The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris, Viking, $38
High-powered lawyer develops mysterious walking OCD. Much better than it sounds. Cover to cover.
Swift to the Sky: New Zealand's Military Aviation History by Errol W Martyn, Viking, $65
Great pictures. Thorough but pedestrian writing. Perfect or enthusiasts. Everyone else: Quick flick.
April 10
2010 Rugby Almanac, ed. Clive Akers and Geoff Miller, Hodder Moa, $49.99.
Has the pre-professional grassroots rugby spirit. Quick flick
Task Force Black: The Explosive True Story of the SAS and the Secret War in Iraq, by Mark Urban, Little Brown, $39.99.
Inside stories abound in this contentious  account of how the SAS fought the politicians. Quick flick.
April 3
Hell Gate by Linda Fairstein, Little, Brown, $38.99.
Competent thriller that doesn't break new ground or try to. Quick flick
Food Rules: An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan, Penguin, $19.95.
Well-informed guide to what's wrong with our food and how to eat well despite that. Cover to cover

SUNDAY PANEL
Every few weeks, on a Sunday at 10.15am,  I can also be heard on NewstalkZB's Kerre's cafe with my unlikely friend Police Minister Judith Collins, talking about current events.