I thought it fitting that my first post should be a cycling book. A very fine book it is too. It is however not just for cycling fans, it is also for those who enjoying a good inspirational memoir. The book tells the very entertaining story of Josh's introduction to endurance events and his following development into NZ's leading Ultra Endurance Cyclist. The focus of the book is Josh's first attempt at Race Across America. A mind boggling 5000km ride across all the different terrian America has to offer.

I read Sara Maitland's previous memoir A Book Of Silence a few years ago, and absolutely loved it. This new book is similar in many ways, and I loved it even more. Sara Maitland spends a year walking in the forests of England and Scotland, and, in describing each walk, weaves a history of fairytales into the narrative. She describes the history of Britain's forests, those who lived and worked in and around them, and also the background and source of our best known fairytales, and cleverly links these to our experience of childhood.

This is another of those slightly eccentric English natural history books - beautifully written, just a little obsessive, just a little strange. Perfect if you share the obsession. I've always had a bit of a thing about otters, and so was very keen to read this - to learn more about their habits and habitat, to read lovely descriptions of the English countryside, to be entertained by a warmly odd narrator, but in the end I think I wanted to like the book more than I actually did. Perhaps it's just a little too long.

This is a Hollywood celebrity novel, about the family, friends, lovers and colleagues of an A-list actor in his middle age. The voice shifts between a number of characters, some told in the first person, others in the third person. Despite the structure, it's not hard to follow the narrative, as it moves forward with each chapter, and it's always clear who is who. It looks at the effect that fame, wealth and celebrity have on those in the orbit of the celebrity; the narcissism, the greed, the envy; the easy access to sex and drugs; the unreality.

I don't read an awful lot of thrillers, so I'm not the best judge of a book like this, but it has come VERY highly regarded within Allen & Unwin, so I thought I'd better check it out. It's been widely compared to Michael Connelly, especially The Poet, which I have read, and Lee Child seems to be a fan. It's certainly incredibly exciting! Right from the opening prologue, you're completely hooked.

A first novel by a Montreal-based writer, and one of those discoveries that Canongate are so good at, this is a quirky, warm and funny novels that sits alongside Life Of Pi or Jasper Jones. Set in one street during an ice storm, the un-named 10 year old narrator describes how the storm brings an eccentric group of neighbours together, while hoping the same magic will work on his recently separated parents. It's magical, accessible, light but though-provoking, beautifully written and extremely charming. Lovely!