For those who don’t follow such literary things, the Booker is THE fiction writing prize to top all prizes. I mean, lordy, it must be good if their own site says the award has “the power to transform the fortunes of authors and even publishers.” Previous winners have shot to fame from obscurity (not to mention shooting to the top of bestseller lists worldwide).

Lloyd Jones is a great writer (I recommend The Book of Fame, a semi-fictional account of the 1905 All Black tour of Europe). His latest work, Mister Pip, has reached the prestigious top six finalists for the Booker Prize. Set in Papua New Guinea amidst some serious civil strife, the book interweaves personal stories with political upheaval; violence with tenderness; and native perspectives with white views. Language-wise, it’s a gem and easy to read. It’s a tale with great momentum, but be ready for some tragic moments.

The odds of a win for our Kiwi writer are put at 2:1. The last time a New Zealand writer won was in 1985 with Keri Hulme’s the bone people. Golly, it’s been more than twenty years. Must be time for a win, eh?

The full 2007 shortlist is:

• Darkmans by Nicola Barker
• The Gathering by Anne Enright
• The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
• Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
• On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
• Animal’s People by Indra Sinh

And if you want to sneak in a bit of light reading, try reading past Booker Prize winners – you can buy them from all good New Zealand bookshops.

I love a good book: printed on leaves of real paper, bound with hard or soft cover, typeface carefully chosen, page layout designed to please the eye, and that smell of just-printed newness. The tactile nature of books is part of their appeal for me, as well as the stories they tell and the information they impart.

But is digital fiction the way of the future? Now there’s a New Zealand online bookstore peddling digital eBooks, covering business, marketing, sports, computing, health and entertainment genres. And while eBookworms don’t sell fiction titles (eBookmarks is geared more towards practical guides and DIY books), they do offer food for thought on the future of hard-copy books.

Ebooks are books in electronic format that can be easily purchased and downloaded to your PC, Mac, laptop or PDA. For luddite readers, ebooks can be printed out to be enjoyed on paper. In digital form, they’re great because:

• You can read them anytime, anywhere
• Trees don’t have to be cut down to make them
• No physical storage space is required
• They can be carried easily and safely from place to place
• Links can be included from the text to useful websites or related information
• Audio and video material can be contained within a book

Check out digital and old-fashioned books in our New Zealand bookshops category.

Good Books is an online New Zealand bookstore with a difference. When you buy a book, all profits go to Oxfam to help fight poverty and social injustice around the world. Oxfam helps people in over 100 countries worldwide, creating opportunities for communities to improve standards of education, health and living.

This is a great way to add to your book collection or give a gift, while knowing that your dollars are going towards a worthwhile cause. It couldn’t be simpler really and there’s no difference in price to you, the shopper. What’s more, delivery is free anywhere in the world and Good Books stock over 2 million titles!

If they don’t have what you’re after, you’ll find all the New Zealand bookstores you could ever want in our New Zealand bookshops category.