Mark Lawson , The Battle for Room Service: Journeys to all the Safe Places (Picador). On the basis that Timaru is rumoured to be the most activity-challenged city in New Zealand, itself the world's most differently-interesting place, Lawson selects this modest South Island city as the first port of call, and first chapter, of his wonderfully entertaining world tour of such dull places.

Austin Mitchell , The Half-gallon, Quarter-acre, Pavlova Paradise (OUP). A humorous and insightful vision of 1960s New Zealand as seen through the eyes of a British Labour MP and self-declared Kiwi commentator. Though wildly out of date, in many ways the lifestyles and values he describes still have the ring of truth, and the book stands as a measure of how much New Zealand has progressed, and at the same time how little.

Paul Theroux , The Happy Isles of Oceania (Penguin). Another misanthropic diatribe from Mr Theroux, and one which really put Kiwi noses out of joint. This time he kicks off in New Zealand and subsequently rides a clutch of hobby-horses through the Pacific. Some worthwhile observations on trekking in the South Island and a little historical context on the Polynesian migrations go some way towards saving the book.