Your holiday’s booked! Kiwi writers share their must-read summer books

This summer, I’m at the beach for Christmas and Boxing Day, but mostly at home, visiting my new grandchild and working on my next writing project. My reading list is quite full, but then it never isn’t. I’ll be reading Helen Garner’s How to End a Story: Collected Diaries, 1978-1998.

A Master of True Crime, Revisited

Helen has long been a favourite writer of mine. Among other topics, she writes the most insightful, considered, true crime I’ve ever read. Also, The Mushroom Tapes: Conversations on a Triple Murder Trial, by Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein. When the trial was saturating the media, I swore I’d had enough of Erin Patterson, but then this came out.

We’re heading away just before Christmas to visit my wife’s family on the Sunshine Coast. I’m excited to see the kids making memories together, although I suspect the Kiwi cousins will swelter in the heat. For my holiday reading, I’ll take The Unlikely Doctor by Dr Timoti Te Moke, a story of hope amid the darkness; The Blood Says Otherwise by Ruben Miller, dark but fascinating and funny; and Lessons on Living by
Nigel Latta – looking for inspiration for 2026.

I’m staying close to home this summer. When I moved back to Auckland in 2024, I set a goal of camping at all the regional parks and visiting the islands in the Hauraki Gulf, so I’m hoping to chip away at both those lists. I’ll be diving into my second novel, tackling the challenge of a story set in Antarctica in winter!

I’ll be reading The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai – it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and is set in India. I’ll be spending a month travelling there in autumn and I like to read books set in places I’ll be visiting.

This summer is about chasing sunshine, beaches, live music and pumping the brakes after a ginormous year. I’ll be spending it with people who matter the most to me and it’s my first summer with a boyfriend in my entire life, so that’s a bit flash!

Dancing into summer with meaningful books

I’ll be dancing my way into 2026 at Rhythm & Vines in Gisborne, and doing plenty of swimming as I train for Challenge Wānaka in February. I’ll be reading Summer Island by Kristin Hannah and The Eyes of Gaza by Plestia Alaqad. I really hope our beautiful country and people have a wonderful summer!

I will spend the summer outside as much as possible – swimming at the beach, hiking in the bush or reading in the hammock. There will be loads of family time and as a special treat, I’m going to watch some tennis at the ASB Classic. 

On my reading list is 1985 by Dominic Hoey, which continues to be recommended to me by all sorts of people, and Life Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson, which I was given as a gift recently by a good friend after a particularly hard week of parenting.

I don’t have any holidays planned, although I’m sure I’ll strike a good mix between work, play and rest. A great summer for me means celebrating a family Christmas, walking the dog on the beach, hitting the golf course, and chipping away at my ever-growing to-be-read pile. And in between, chipping away at the first draft of my next book.

From Tom Petty to page-turning thrills

Having heard tasty excerpts from the audiobook, I’m really looking forward to reading Heartbreaker, guitarist Mike Campbell’s account of his time as Tom Petty’s guitarist. My eagerly anticipated fiction read is Kate Mildenhall’s latest thriller The Hiding Place. I expect this book to allay any FOMO about not having a camping holiday!

I love summer. My main goal is to go on walks, see family, go camping, read in the sun and eat ice cream. And in between times, work on my next novel – my first crime fiction. I’ll be reading at least half a dozen books – some literary, others not – but my list includes The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind by historian Simon Winchester, because he’s visiting New Zealand in early 2026 and I’d love to read his book in advance of that. And Exit Strategy by Lee Child because I’ve read a Jack Reacher book every summer since 2006, so why abandon tradition.

On Boxing Day, I’ll head to Rakino Island in the Hauraki Gulf, where I’ll snorkel, read, start working on novel number two and celebrate the recent passing of The Hauraki Gulf Marine Protection Bill, which is such an incredible win for nature! I also co-curate a literary festival in the Hamilton Gardens called HamLit, so I’ll be reading for that.

Holiday reads on my radar

I intend to read Moderation by Elaine Castillo and Rachael Johns’ The Lucky Sisters. Local novel Hoods Landing by Laura Vincent is also getting lots of buzz, so that too. Aside from groceries, books make up the bulk of my holiday luggage and these are just the tip of the iceberg.

We are almost empty-nesters, so this summer feels like it will probably be the last to be dictated more by our children’s needs. Our teenage daughter is going to Rhythm & Vines, so we’re driving her to Gisborne to be close by, should we be required.

Later in January, we are going to Japan to see our son, who is working in Niseko for the ski season. On my reading list is Polkinghorne: Inside the Trial of the Century by Steve Braunias because why wouldn’t you read it? The most salacious court case in recent memory covered by our very own Truman Capote!

Summer for me is always about whānau. I’ll be heading home to Piopio to spend time with my mum and to visit my dad, brothers and tūpuna at our urupā [cemetery]. Staying connected to where we come from matters – it reminds us of who we are as we move through life.

Relaxing, reading, and learning

Then it’s back to Auckland for slow days, hosting the inevitable visitors and the odd low-key day trip. I’ll be finishing Mel Robbins’ The Let Them Theory and finally starting my online te reo Māori course.  

This summer holds plans for a week off, although no doubt we will be heading to the Rose and Shamrock in Havelock North for a planning session on the next Bookshop Detectives novel and a pint of Guinness. Many trips to the beach with our rescue dog Stevie will also occur. Louise’s list includes Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks, because anything she writes is sublime, and this memoir promises all the stuff life is made from.

A guilty pleasure worth making time for

And Gareth can’t wait to tuck into Stone and Sky by Ben Aaronovitch – we have so much to read for the bookshop, we don’t normally have time to read all the books in a series, but the Rivers of London novels are my guilty pleasure.