Craig Cliff
@craigcliff.bsky.social
Writer in residence at my house | Climate change mahi at University of Otago | Dad life Ōtepoti
#61-#64 I've only read two books in the Booker Longlist so far, but really rooting for Szalay...
August 8, 2025 at 10:24 PM
#61-#64 I've only read two books in the Booker Longlist so far, but really rooting for Szalay...
Catch-up time again... #57-#60
August 8, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Catch-up time again... #57-#60
Friday packages are the best. Can now plug those unsightly gaps in my Geoff Cochrane collection! Thanks @thwupbooks.bsky.social
August 8, 2025 at 4:39 AM
Friday packages are the best. Can now plug those unsightly gaps in my Geoff Cochrane collection! Thanks @thwupbooks.bsky.social
#53-56 Highlight from this bunch: The Proof of My Innocence
June 28, 2025 at 12:26 AM
#53-56 Highlight from this bunch: The Proof of My Innocence
#44-48 (Been neglecting this thread but not the TBR pile)...
June 28, 2025 at 12:26 AM
#44-48 (Been neglecting this thread but not the TBR pile)...
Tried spotting hoiho 🐧 on this, the shortest day of the year, at Roaring Bay in the Catlins, but no dice
June 21, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Tried spotting hoiho 🐧 on this, the shortest day of the year, at Roaring Bay in the Catlins, but no dice
Was visible to the naked eye, but not as vivid as captured on my wife's iPhone. My android? yeah, nah
June 1, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Was visible to the naked eye, but not as vivid as captured on my wife's iPhone. My android? yeah, nah
Aurora from Blackhead Beach, Dunedin
June 1, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Aurora from Blackhead Beach, Dunedin
#41-#44 Can confirm The Book of Guilt is worth the hype. Actually, a strong quarter here.
May 30, 2025 at 9:08 PM
#41-#44 Can confirm The Book of Guilt is worth the hype. Actually, a strong quarter here.
#37-#40 Recent audiobook listening...
May 30, 2025 at 9:08 PM
#37-#40 Recent audiobook listening...
#33-#36 Physical books by NZ authors read in Aparima Riverton this week.
April 25, 2025 at 9:26 PM
#33-#36 Physical books by NZ authors read in Aparima Riverton this week.
#29-#32 in my 2025 in reading. All audiobooks. Still thinking about Rejection (lol). Tony Tulathimutte really went there!
April 25, 2025 at 9:26 PM
#29-#32 in my 2025 in reading. All audiobooks. Still thinking about Rejection (lol). Tony Tulathimutte really went there!
It has always been important to count blessings... Like discovering your wife's second cousin has a crib in Aparima Riverton and it's available this week.
April 23, 2025 at 10:31 PM
It has always been important to count blessings... Like discovering your wife's second cousin has a crib in Aparima Riverton and it's available this week.
Still bathing in the afterglow of a fantastic morning event on campus, a collab with the DCC. The end of daylight saving doesn't have to be the end of active commuting!
April 10, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Still bathing in the afterglow of a fantastic morning event on campus, a collab with the DCC. The end of daylight saving doesn't have to be the end of active commuting!
And #26-#28 to close out the first quarter of 2025
March 30, 2025 at 4:16 AM
And #26-#28 to close out the first quarter of 2025
And #22-#25. My daughter's class had to memorise a sonnet by Shakespeare, so I learnt one of Neale's poems...The young house surgeon / jogs the tree canopied avenue (etc)
March 30, 2025 at 4:08 AM
And #22-#25. My daughter's class had to memorise a sonnet by Shakespeare, so I learnt one of Neale's poems...The young house surgeon / jogs the tree canopied avenue (etc)
Been neglecting this thread but not the reading... here's #18-#21
March 30, 2025 at 3:56 AM
Been neglecting this thread but not the reading... here's #18-#21
#14-#17 Was in the mood to fill in some gaps in my reading history, plus a review for the Listener (McCann)
February 20, 2025 at 9:32 PM
#14-#17 Was in the mood to fill in some gaps in my reading history, plus a review for the Listener (McCann)
#13 When it All Went to Custard by Danielle Hawkins (novel, 2019)
I was once on a panel with Hawkins & Lloyd Jones (who demonstrated zero curiosity in commercial fiction/romance). Turns out, Hawkins is just as interested in the economics of farming as affairs of the heart. Time for Take 2.
I was once on a panel with Hawkins & Lloyd Jones (who demonstrated zero curiosity in commercial fiction/romance). Turns out, Hawkins is just as interested in the economics of farming as affairs of the heart. Time for Take 2.
February 5, 2025 at 6:55 AM
#13 When it All Went to Custard by Danielle Hawkins (novel, 2019)
I was once on a panel with Hawkins & Lloyd Jones (who demonstrated zero curiosity in commercial fiction/romance). Turns out, Hawkins is just as interested in the economics of farming as affairs of the heart. Time for Take 2.
I was once on a panel with Hawkins & Lloyd Jones (who demonstrated zero curiosity in commercial fiction/romance). Turns out, Hawkins is just as interested in the economics of farming as affairs of the heart. Time for Take 2.
#12 A Good Winter by Gigi Fenster (novel, 2021)
A creepy tour de force of narrator voice. Everyone will know an Olga (but this Olga out Olgas them!). So, so good. I can't believe it's 4 years since it came out already (blame the COVID years). Highly recommended.
A creepy tour de force of narrator voice. Everyone will know an Olga (but this Olga out Olgas them!). So, so good. I can't believe it's 4 years since it came out already (blame the COVID years). Highly recommended.
February 5, 2025 at 6:55 AM
#12 A Good Winter by Gigi Fenster (novel, 2021)
A creepy tour de force of narrator voice. Everyone will know an Olga (but this Olga out Olgas them!). So, so good. I can't believe it's 4 years since it came out already (blame the COVID years). Highly recommended.
A creepy tour de force of narrator voice. Everyone will know an Olga (but this Olga out Olgas them!). So, so good. I can't believe it's 4 years since it came out already (blame the COVID years). Highly recommended.
#11 Magic Pill by Johann Hari (non-fiction, 2024)
Hari both sides the Ozempic debate, with a heavy dose of Supersize Me-style autoethnography.
Hari both sides the Ozempic debate, with a heavy dose of Supersize Me-style autoethnography.
February 5, 2025 at 6:55 AM
#11 Magic Pill by Johann Hari (non-fiction, 2024)
Hari both sides the Ozempic debate, with a heavy dose of Supersize Me-style autoethnography.
Hari both sides the Ozempic debate, with a heavy dose of Supersize Me-style autoethnography.
Been on an audiobook binge lately...
#10 Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (novel, 2023)
Game of Thrones meets Harry Potter "romantasy" that was apparently big on BookTok (shrug) & people took the day off work to read the 3rd book when it came out last month. The engine runs but no need to ride again.
#10 Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (novel, 2023)
Game of Thrones meets Harry Potter "romantasy" that was apparently big on BookTok (shrug) & people took the day off work to read the 3rd book when it came out last month. The engine runs but no need to ride again.
February 5, 2025 at 6:55 AM
Been on an audiobook binge lately...
#10 Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (novel, 2023)
Game of Thrones meets Harry Potter "romantasy" that was apparently big on BookTok (shrug) & people took the day off work to read the 3rd book when it came out last month. The engine runs but no need to ride again.
#10 Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (novel, 2023)
Game of Thrones meets Harry Potter "romantasy" that was apparently big on BookTok (shrug) & people took the day off work to read the 3rd book when it came out last month. The engine runs but no need to ride again.
#9 Foraging New Zealand by Peter Langlands (non-fiction, 2024)
The author's Instagram is full of quirky finds & unique dishes, but this is more of a straightlaced field guide. Kinda wished the book had more personality, & maybe a few place-based 2 page spreads (foraging at the beach, etc)
The author's Instagram is full of quirky finds & unique dishes, but this is more of a straightlaced field guide. Kinda wished the book had more personality, & maybe a few place-based 2 page spreads (foraging at the beach, etc)
January 24, 2025 at 6:36 AM
#9 Foraging New Zealand by Peter Langlands (non-fiction, 2024)
The author's Instagram is full of quirky finds & unique dishes, but this is more of a straightlaced field guide. Kinda wished the book had more personality, & maybe a few place-based 2 page spreads (foraging at the beach, etc)
The author's Instagram is full of quirky finds & unique dishes, but this is more of a straightlaced field guide. Kinda wished the book had more personality, & maybe a few place-based 2 page spreads (foraging at the beach, etc)
#8 Orbital by Samantha Harvey (novel, 2024)
...unlike this one, which felt like an extended creative writing exercise. No liftoff, no new layers exposed, dead on arrival.
...unlike this one, which felt like an extended creative writing exercise. No liftoff, no new layers exposed, dead on arrival.
January 24, 2025 at 6:36 AM
#8 Orbital by Samantha Harvey (novel, 2024)
...unlike this one, which felt like an extended creative writing exercise. No liftoff, no new layers exposed, dead on arrival.
...unlike this one, which felt like an extended creative writing exercise. No liftoff, no new layers exposed, dead on arrival.