What I’m reading — Kiran Dass
Kiran Dass is set to join us at Kete Books as Editor in Chief, read more here! Kiran who is also the WORD Christchurch Programme Director, joins Kete in September. Kete spoke with Kiran to find out what she’s been reading, the book events she’s found most memorable and a few other bookish things besides.
Keep an eye on Kete for a series of articles from Kiran coming soon!
What’s on your reading pile right now?
The consistent thing is that I always have multiple, growing towering TBR piles in different parts of the house. The past year has been such a thrilling blockbuster year for Aotearoa fiction — with so many established literary heavyweights coming at us with new books. For the end of 2023 and the first part of this year I was completely immersed in Aotearoa fiction as one of the judges of the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Juliet Blyth, Anthony Lapwood and I read and spent hours and hours discussing a whopping 53 books!
But I am even more excited about the brilliant new voices that are emerging in Aotearoa fiction. Saraid de Silva and romesh dissanayake both have excellent debut novels and I have just started the poet Louise Wallace’s first novel Ash. I am hooked.
I’m deep into reading for WORD Christchurch 2024 programming but Hine Toa: A Story of Bravery by Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku is another of my current reads. I have five ravishing books sitting on my immediate TBR pile for when I can catch my breath. I’m dreaming of having a few days off to dive into Parade by Rachel Cusk, Caledonian Road by Andrew O’Hagan, The Vast Extent: On Seeing and Not Seeing Further by one of my favourite writers Lavinia Greenlaw, All Fours by Miranda July and My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes.
The last book I read and reviewed was Hagstone by Sinéad Gleeson for the NZ Listener (and more on hearing Sinéad in person in a moment). It’s already a strong contender for my novel of the year. It’s exquisite and I highly recommend it! Set on a rugged and remote Irish island, it’s such a beautifully written and atmospheric wonder of art, human nature, folklore, the mysteries of faith and the magic of the natural world.
In an alternate universe with no books (the worst timeline), what would you be doing instead?
A bewildering, dystopian concept. I’m at my happiest when I am reading. A universe with no books would be a universe with no heart or mind. I would most likely turn my attention to writing more, and to listening to records and watching films. Storytelling comes in many different formats!
What do you think about people who peek at the last page of a novel before they're anywhere near the end?
Is this something that people do? Maybe it’s some kind of compulsive impulse. I’m not sure if it is a useful thing to do, there would be no context! I’m not one to judge how people read though. When someone is unsure about a book I just tell them to read the first ten or so pages to see if they want to stick with it or not. And my advice is that if you’re not enjoying a book, it’s OK to just move on to something else. There are so many books and too little time to muck around.
What's the best book related event you've ever attended or programmed for that matter?
Way too many to itemise from over the past 19 years of my book-related professional life! Anything that combines music/sound, writing and books is my kind of event.
After Airini Beautrais won the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction in 2021, I saw her read and have some of her poems set to music by Elizabeth de Vegt at a spectacular spot on Durie Hill, overlooking the majestic Whanganui awa with interjections from ruru at dusk. That was special. I’ve just started dipping into her new essay collection The Beautiful Afternoon.
One of my favourite writers (well before I was wowed by Hagstone) Sinéad Gleeson in conversation with Kim Hill at Verb Wellington was an excellent session. Her superb book Constellations is one of the best essay collections I have ever read and I am so excited to be taking her Writing From Life: The Personal Essay masterclass at Auckland Writers Festival. What a treat to learn craft from one of the very best.
At WORD in 2022 I participated in a session Words, Wine & Sound which looked at the way words, wine and sound can intersect. That was fun and interesting, not to mention that it combined three of my greatest loves!
It was a real honour to have Roy Montgomery and Clementine Valentine join us for a live show as part of WORD Christchurch last year at the beautiful St Michael and All Angels Church. I was sitting in the front pew basking in the epic reverb drenched, swirling majesty of Clementine Valentine and had a fever dream moment where I couldn’t be sure if it was a dream or really happening. Real goosebumps. Roy Montgomery’s eloquent and moving reading from his collection of verse Endurance published by Kōwhai Press which was launched that night was generous, raw, and a privilege to be sitting in on. Quite a few people have told me they doubted there was a dry eye in the church.
We have two unmissable out-of-season events coming up in May at WORD Christchurch before the festival (27 August—1 September).
The beloved bestselling Australian writer Trent Dalton will be in conversation with Alex Casey.
And Sinéad Gleeson will join me in conversation. Don’t miss her when she comes to Auckland Writers Festival, Verb Wellington and WORD Christchurch in May. She’s such a thoughtful writer and a fascinating, generous speaker.
Kiran’s reading list includes:
Amma by Saraid de Silva
Ash by Louise Wallace
The Beautiful Afternoon by Airini Beautrais
Hine Toa: A Story of Bravery by Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku
When I Open the Shop by romesh dissanayake
All Fours by Miranda July
Caledonian Road by Andrew O’Hagan
Hagstone and Constellations both by Sinéad Gleeson
Parade by Rachel Cusk
My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes
The Vast Extent: On Seeing and Not Seeing Further by Lavinia Greenlaw
Meet our new Kete team — read more here.