Short cuts

Being able to read but to not try to read well seems a reckless waste of a skill that’s difficult to acquire and delivers such extraordinary delights, says Will Self. The English author of fiction such as Umbrella and non-fiction like Psychogeography is like many in noticing a decline in the reading habits of his students. In WHY READ (Grove Press) he’s gathered, with all his splendidly chewy sentences and capacious lexicon, his appreciable insights on writing and reading from the past two decades.

POETRY AOTEAROA YEARBOOK 2023: AFTER-BURN (MUP) is a bumper edition edited by Tracey Slaughter, featuring more than 150 new poems as well as reviews and essays. The poetry in it is by the nation’s finest through to promising newcomers (disclosure: your books editor is a contributor), making it a faithful snapshot of the best verse of the year.

THE BRIEFEST ENGLISH GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION GUIDE EVER! (NewSouth) is almost shorter than its title. Author Ruth Colman, an Australian editor and former teacher, tackles all the main bits of language and punctuation in barely 100 pages. Judging from the general level of writing out there, books like this are clearly needed, though she might have pitched this one a little higher. It’s probably best suited to older kids or students of English as a second language.

Another shortish book is THE SWEDISH ART OF AGEING WELL (Scribe), from Margareta Magnusson, the 89-year-old author of “death cleaning” fame. “Old people don’t want to read 400 pages – they may not live that long.” Its gentle, shrewd essays are not about taking saunas or eating reindeer horn, but simple advice: chat regularly with friends, volunteer as much as you can, keep an open mind. ▮