{"id":206394,"date":"2025-12-29T08:36:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T08:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/206394\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T08:36:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T08:36:12","slug":"a-book-for-every-year-of-your-life-part-two-ages-31-to-the-grave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/206394\/","title":{"rendered":"A book for every year of your life: Part two, ages 31 to the grave"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Mansfield Park to Jurassic Park, some reading inspiration for every age.<\/p>\n

Summer read \u2013 originally published December 20 2024.<\/p>\n

A book for every year of your life: Part one, ages 0-30<\/a><\/p>\n

Here is the second instalment of a book for every year of your life. After 30, any sort of age recommendation for works of great literature is entirely arbitrary and should be treated more like a horoscope than any sort of serious guidance. Life is precious and there\u2019s no guarantee you\u2019ll make it past the average national life expectancy, so carpe librum.<\/p>\n

Age 31: A book you\u2019ve never read and hate for no reason
\n\"\"Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace, Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov<\/p>\n

An important part of your 20s is taking a principled stand against an author you\u2019ve never read and know almost nothing about, based on some vague sense of ideological superiority. An important part of your 30s is realising you are full of shit. If you spent your 20s casting vague aspersions about \u201cDavid Foster Wallace boys\u201d or making fun of \u201cEat Pray Love divorcees\u201d it\u2019s time to put your money where your mouth is and see for yourself. Even if you don\u2019t love the book, you\u2019ll come away with a deeper and more nuanced hatred.<\/p>\n

Age 32: A book to make you swoon
\n\"\"I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, Life: An Exploded Diagram by Mal Peet, The Ministry of Time by K A Bradley, Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis, Nadja by Andre Breton, Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson, Crush by Richard Siken, First Love and Other Stories by Ivan Turgenev<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to discover a good literary romance, without wading through a hundred Goodreads lists of enemies-to-romance TikTok slop. Any of the above titles are beautiful books about being swept off your feet. For a lesser-known ode to young love, set during the Cold War and Cuban Missile Crisis, you can\u2019t go past Mal Peet\u2019s Life: An Exploded Diagram.<\/p>\n

Age 33: A book to lick your wounds\u00a0
\n\"\"The Sarah Book by Scott McClanahan, The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, The Hour of The Star by Clarice Lispector, Heartburn by Nora Ephron, First Love by Gwendoline Riley, Stag\u2019s Leap by Sharon Olds<\/p>\n

Love affair gone wrong? There\u2019s a book for that too. Stag\u2019s Leap by Sharon Olds is possibly the greatest break-up poetry book ever written. Excoriating but tender, cruel but generous, both comedic and transcendently beautiful. Guaranteed to make you weep hysterically on the bus.<\/p>\n

Age 34: A book of essays
\n\"\"Madness, Rack, and Honey by Mary Ruefle, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, The Fran Lebowitz Reader by Fran Lebowitz<\/p>\n

There are almost too many good contenders in this category to name. Madness, Rack and Honey by Mary Ruefle is a delightful and digressive book of essays about poetry. Braiding Sweetgrass is perfect for anyone interested in the natural world and the great web of life. And for a more lighthearted approach, you can\u2019t go past iconic curmudgeon Fran Lebowitz.<\/p>\n

Age 35: A book for when you truly and completely lose your shit
\n\"\"High Fidelity by Nick Hornby, How Should a Person Be by Sheila Heti, Hunger by Knut Hamsun, Post-Traumatic by Chantal V Johnson, My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh<\/p>\n

35. Too old for a quarter-life crisis. Too young for a midlife crisis. But while there is no age-specific term for the existential panic you encounter in your mid 30s, there are plenty of great books about the experience of completely and utterly losing your shit. Try Post-traumatic by Chantal V Johnson, for a sharp, witty and emotionally devastating book about trauma and recovery.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Age 36: A book to procreate to
\n\"\"Life Among The Savages by Shirley Jackson, Night Walking by Sarah Moss, A Life\u2019s Work by Rachel Cusk, Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re busy perpetuating the human race, or are simply curious about the experience of parenthood, Shirley Jackson, Sarah Moss, Rachel Cusk and Anne Lamot have you covered. If you want a rose-tinted-glasses approach, read Shirley Jackson\u2019s delightful Life Among The Savages. If you want brutal honesty, try Rachel Cusk\u2019s A Life\u2019s Work.<\/p>\n

Age 37: A book you can\u2019t trust\u00a0
\n\"\"The Turn of The Screw by Henry James, The Driver\u2019s Seat by Muriel Spark, The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith, Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet<\/p>\n

I won\u2019t say too much about any of these books, because any kind of synopsis would instantly spoil them. Do yourself a favour and read them before looking them up online.<\/p>\n

Age 38: The greatest book in the English language
\n\"\"Middlemarch by George Eliot<\/p>\n

Skip the Russians, for all I care. Put Dickens off another decade. But read Middlemarch, the greatest novel in the English language.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Age 39: A book to up your dinner game
\n\"\"Tonight and Dinner by Nagi Maehashi (Recipetin Eats)<\/p>\n

These two recipe books by Australian darling Nagi Maehashi of Recipetin Eats, have brought me more joy than almost any other book I have read this year. Most recipe books have about 12 useable recipes, and you have to sift through endless papaya salads and raisin-studded chutneys to find something you\u2019d actually want to eat. Tonight and Dinner are everything I have ever wanted in a cookbook. The ingredients are modest and easily available. There are short and clear instructions with short accompanying videos. Nagi provides excellent explanations on what can and can\u2019t be substituted, how long things keep, and whether or not you can prepare ahead. I am far from a Michelin-star chef, but I\u2019ve been making several new dishes from these books every week, and so far they\u2019ve all been insanely easy, and utterly delicious. My new cooking bible(s).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Age 40: A gossipy biography\u00a0\u00a0
\n\"\"The Talented Miss Highsmith by Joan Schenkar, Erotic Vagrancy by Roger Lewis, Super-Infinite by Katherine Rundell, The Silent Woman by Janet Malcolm<\/p>\n

Sometimes memoir just doesn\u2019t cut it. Here are four great biographies you won\u2019t be able to resist gossiping about. The Silent Woman by Janet Malcolm is one of the most fascinating biographies I have ever read, even if \u2013 like me \u2013 you have no particularly strong feelings about Plath. Psychoanalysis: The Impossible Profession also by Malcolm is another excellent contender with an unexpected New Zealand connection.<\/p>\n

Age 41: A seriously fucking miserable book\u00a0
\n\"\"The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Tess of the d\u2019Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, Giovanni\u2019s Room by James Baldwin, The Road by Cormac McCarthy<\/p>\n

Sometimes the only thing to take the edge off is an unremittingly bleak and upsetting book. Giovanni\u2019s Room by James Baldwin is an excellent novel that is guaranteed to ruin your week.<\/p>\n

Age 42: A brilliant short book\u00a0
\n\"\"Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss, Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, Fup by Jim Dodge<\/p>\n

Sometimes the best things come in small packages. Three exceptional short novels you can devour in a single afternoon. Try Fup, a hilarious, bawdy, little-known classic about grief, moonshine and a big beloved duck.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Age 43: A doorstopper\u00a0
\n\"\"Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes, Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright<\/p>\n

On the other end of the literary spectrum are the doorstoppers. Like the Mitch Hedberg joke \u2013 great for when you\u2019re bored and want 1,000 (pages) of something.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Age 44: A book incandescent with rage
\n\"\"Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand C\u00e9line, The Trial by Franz Kafka, The Sellout by Paul Beatty, Ash by Louise Wallace<\/p>\n

Sick of polite literary fiction about hope, redemption and the transcendent power of love? Here are a few excellent books, blistering with rage, sarcasm and general incredulity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Age 45: A literary blockbuster
\n\"\"Kushiel\u2019s Dart by Jacqueline Carey, Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, Riders by Jilly Cooper, Pet Sematary by Stephen King<\/p>\n

Sometimes the International Booker Shortlist just isn\u2019t the ticket. If you\u2019re an earnest reader of accomplished literary fiction, why not swap the latest Granta young novelist for a great airport novel?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Age 46: A book on how to write a book
\n\"\"Daemon Voices by Philip Pullman, Several Short Sentences About Writing by Verlyn Klinkenborg, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, Story by Robert McKee<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve put in the hard yards. Maybe it\u2019s time to think about writing a book of your own. Here are four of the best how-to guides, for the aspiring midlife novelist.<\/p>\n

Age 47: A book about everything\u00a0
\n\"\"Debt by David Graeber, Godel Escher Bach by Douglas Hofstadter, Chaos by James Gleick<\/p>\n

The best books of nonfiction are sprawling, digressive, and impossible to categorise because they cover too much sociological ground. Debt by David Graeber is a thrilling anthropological look at monetary systems, debt and human economies, and that\u2019s just scratching the surface.<\/p>\n

Age 48: A book you\u2019ve been meaning to get around to\u00a0\u00a0
\n\"\"Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be real. If you don\u2019t read Crime and Punishment now, when will you get around to it?<\/p>\n

Age 49: A jolly memoir\u00a0\u00a0
\n\"\"The Egg and I by Betty Macdonald, Brother of the More Famous Jack by Barbara Trapido, Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford, All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot, The Mermaid Chronicles by Megan Dunn<\/p>\n

All of these books have a special place in my heart, but one of the great joys of the Covid lockdowns was listening to James Herriot\u2019s series of memoirs about his career as a rural veterinarian. A beautiful read, punctuated by the occasional prolapsed cow vagina.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Age 50: A less jolly memoir\u00a0\u00a0
\n\"\"Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward, Giving Up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel, Bandit by Molly Brodak, The Liar\u2019s Club by Mary Karr<\/p>\n

Some lives are funnier than others. Giving up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel is an incredible memoir about chronic pain, infertility and various hauntings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Age 51: A contemporary New Zealand book\u00a0 \u00a0
\n\"\"Amma by Saraid de Silva, Katarina by Becky Manawatu, Delirious by Damien Wilkins, Becoming Tangata Tiriti by Avril Bell<\/p>\n

How about a little literary patriotism? Try Damien Wilkins\u2019s Delirious, reviewed glowingly here<\/a> by Gabi Lardies and Claire Mabey.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Age 52: A book of fantasy\u00a0 \u00a0
\n\"\"A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin, The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, Assassin\u2019s Apprentice by Robin Hobb, The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox<\/p>\n

What\u2019s better than one great book of fantasy? One great book of fantasy with 15 equally strong sequels. My most beloved fantasy series is Robin Hobb\u2019s Realm of the Elderlings, which begins with a young boy, training to be an assassin\u2019s apprentice. But if 16 books is too much of a commitment, try Scott Lynch\u2019s excellent Gentlemen Bastard series.<\/p>\n

Age 53: A book of philosophy
\n\"\"Either\/Or by Soren Kirkegaard, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, Being and Nothingness by Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Time by Martin Heidegger<\/p>\n

For those going through the existential wringer, why not make a little time for one of the great works of philosophy? I\u2019m not personally brave enough to attempt Heidegger, but Le Guin\u2019s translation of the Tao Te Ching is a beautiful and mysterious short read that won\u2019t have you sweating over the dictionary.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Age 54: A book of short stories\u00a0
\n\"\"The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis, Denis Johnson, Lorrie Moore<\/p>\n

Read them all at once, or space them out over the course of a year. If you\u2019ve already made your way through Lydia Davis, Denis Johnson and Lorrie Moore, try Raymond Carver, Kelly Link, Chekhov, or Claire-Louise Bennet.<\/p>\n

Age 55: An epic
\n\"\"The Odyssey by Homer, Paradise Lost by John Milton<\/p>\n

Come on. Give it a punt. There\u2019s something in Homer and Milton for everyone.<\/p>\n

Age 56: A fictional diary
\n\"\"Bridget Jones\u2019s Diary by Helen Fielding, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne, Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith, Diary of a Provincial Lady by E M Delafield<\/p>\n

Technically Sterne might not fit the definition. But fictional diaries are a great literary niche, and it\u2019s high time they had a renaissance. I\u2019ve already included Adrian Mole in the first part of this article, but I can\u2019t resist giving him a second mention. Try The Diary of a Provincial Lady for a dry, witty, semi-autobiographical book about a disaster prone English housewife in 1930\u2019s Devon.<\/p>\n

Age 57: A damn good book
\n\"\"The Dog of the South by Charles Portis, Black Swan Green by David Mitchell, At Freddie\u2019s by Penelope Fitzgerald<\/p>\n

What the heading says. The Dog of the South is one of the funniest books I have ever read. David Mitchell has yet to write a dull novel.<\/p>\n

Age 58: A book about sex
\n\"\"The Right to Sec by Amia Srinivasan, All Fours by Miranda July, Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill, A Sport and a Pastime by James Salter<\/p>\n

An incisive feminist essay collection, a collection of risque short stories, and two spectacularly horny novels.<\/p>\n

Age 59: A book about travel
\n\"\"Don\u2019t Tell Mum I Work On The Rigs by Paul Carter, A Walk in The Woods by Bill Bryson, Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck, Stranger on a Train by Jenny Diski<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re tormented by wanderlust, but can\u2019t afford the plane fare.<\/p>\n

Age 60: A famously difficult book\u00a0
\n\"\"Foucault\u2019s Pendulum by Umberto Eco, Gravity\u2019s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon, Flatland by Edwin Abbott Abbott, House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski, Ulysses by James Joyce<\/p>\n

Are any of these any good? I have no idea. They\u2019re too (famously) difficult.<\/p>\n

Age 61: A book from the perspective of an animal\u00a0
\n\"\"Fox 8 by George Saunders, I Am a Cat by Soseki Natsume, Flush by Virginia Woolf, Fire Bed & Bone by Henrietta Branford<\/p>\n

While this is admittedly a niche genre, there are too many great contenders. I Am a Cat by Soseki Natsume is a comic masterpiece about Japanese high society, narrated from the perspective of the resident feline.<\/p>\n

Age 62: A book with a cult following
\n\"\"Geek Love by Katherine Dunn, The Stories of Breece D\u2019J Pancake, The 13 1\/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers, The Vet\u2019s Daughter by Barbara Comyns, Actual Air by David Berman<\/p>\n

In my experience, when someone describes a book as a \u201ccult classic\u201d you\u2019re either in for a thrilling and unconventional read or one of the most insufferable books you\u2019ve ever encountered in a lifetime of niche reading. Fortunately, I can promise you these five books have earned their legend. The 13 1\/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear is one of those uncategorisable books I would recommend to anyone over the age of 12 who has forgotten the pleasure of reading.<\/p>\n

Age 63: A book that spans a life\u00a0
\n\"\"Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Stoner by John Williams, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert<\/p>\n

From the cradle to the grave. These books span a single life, or in the case of Follet, lives. Try Stoner by John Williams for a beautiful rendering of an ordinary life.<\/p>\n

Age 64: A book of historical fiction
\n\"\"The Wolf Hall Trilogy by Hilary Mantel, Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset, The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis, The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff<\/p>\n

Wolf Hall had me howling at the moon. Hillary Mantel didn\u2019t win two Booker prizes by eating soup with a fork.<\/p>\n

Age 65: A book to overhaul your understanding of reality
\n\"\"The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli, Fundamentals by Frank Wilczek, Ways of Being by James Bridle, The Case Against Reality by Donald D Hoffman<\/p>\n

The galaxy brain meme, represented as fiction. The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli is a short and poetic meditation on time, perfect for those curious about the mysteries of the universe, but lacking an education in quantum physics.<\/p>\n

Age 66: A great detective series
\n\"\"Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie, Whose Body by Dorothy L Sayers, The Complete Bernie Gunther by Philip Kerr, The Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves<\/p>\n

If you ask me, every year of your life is a great year to read a good detective fiction novel. Having already read every Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers under the sun, I\u2019ve recently been taking refuge in Ann Cleeves\u2019s excellent Vera Stanhope mysteries. For those who prefer their detective fiction hardboiled, try Philip Kerr\u2019s gritty noirs, set in Hitler\u2019s Germany.<\/p>\n

Age 67: A book on a prize shortlist
\n\"\"The Gilead Novels by Marilynne Robinson, Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, Orbital by Samantha Harvey<\/p>\n

People are suspicious of prize shortlists, and for good reason. Many gold-stickered novels have aged poorly, or are critically overrated. Not so Elizabeth Strout or Marilynne Robinson. I might not die for Elizabeth Strout, but I would probably donate a kidney if she asked me to.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Age 68: A book in translation\u00a0
\n\"\"The Summer Book by Tove Jansson, If Only by Vigdis Hjorth, The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas, If Not Winter: Fragments of Sappho by Anne Carson, Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto, Un-told Night and Day by Bae Suah<\/p>\n

While no translation can ever capture the true music of the original, if you\u2019re only reading books written in English, you\u2019re missing out. The Summer Book by Tove Jansson, an interlinked collection of short stories about a girl and her grandmother summering on a small Finnish island, is one of the funniest and most touching books I have ever read. It\u2019s one of those books you can truly give to anyone, and know they will find something to love about it, unless of course their heart is made of stone.<\/p>\n

Age 69: A book that defies genre
\n\"\"The Boy Detective Fails by Joe Meno, The Book of Flights by Jean-Marie Gustave Le Cl\u00e9zio, Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, The New Animals by Pip Adam<\/p>\n

One of the best feelings in literature is having absolutely no idea what the fuck is going on. For a quick and brilliant read that confounds traditional notions of genre, you can\u2019t go past Susanna Clarke\u2019s Piranesi.<\/p>\n

Age 70: A history book\u00a0
\n\"\"Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz, Fifth Sun by Camilla Townsend, The Time Traveller\u2019s Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer, Stasiland by Anna Funder<\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing more exciting than a historian with the ability to bring the past to life. As a lifelong Mesoamerican enthusiast, I\u2019m currently enjoying Fifth Sun by Camilla Townsend.<\/p>\n

Age 71: A book you missed the first time around\u00a0
\n\"\"From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg, The Book of Everything by Guus Kuijer, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Bears\u2019 Famous Invasion of Sicily by Dino Buzzati<\/p>\n

At the risk of sounding like an adult quidditch player, children\u2019s fiction isn\u2019t just for children. Pick up a copy of Guus Kuijer\u2019s The Book of Everything and tell me the author doesn\u2019t deserve a Pulitzer.<\/p>\n

Age 72: A generational saga
\n\"\"Cousins by Patricia Grace, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, The Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard, Pachinko by Min Jin Lee<\/p>\n

The Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard is one of the great literary loves of my life. Howard\u2019s five novels follow an upper-middle-class British family, the Cazalets, from the 30s to the 50s, with a particular focus on the interior lives of girls and women.<\/p>\n

Age 73: A properly funny book\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0
\n\"\"Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, Mapp and Lucia by E F Benson, Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, Joy in the Morning by P G Wodehouse<\/p>\n

A lifetime of hyperbolic book blurbs has led me to view the promise \u201claugh-out-loud funny\u201d with immense scepticism. Many books are amusing, but that\u2019s hardly the same thing. Here are four books which live up to the hype. I love Mapp & Lucia, a novel about feuding society ladies in a 1920s British village.<\/p>\n

Age 74: A book set on a boat
\n\"\"Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Wager by David Grann, Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome, Moby Dick by Herman Melville<\/p>\n

Sometimes only a book set on a boat will do. For those wanting a rollicking non-fiction adventure on the high sea, read The Wager by David Grann. For a slapstick voyage down the Thames, grab a copy of Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome.<\/p>\n

Age 75: A book of science fiction\u00a0
\n\"\"The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin, The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells<\/p>\n

Whether you are interested in ambisexual anthropology, Jesuit priests in space, a cyberdrug epidemic or a hysterically funny series about a cyborg searching for the meaning of life, science fiction has something to offer everyone.<\/p>\n

Age 76: A homage to the classics\u00a0
\n\"\"Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon, Memorial by Alice Oswald, Beowulf by Seamus Heaney, Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson, Home Fire by Kamilla Shamsie<\/p>\n

Five great books that take on the classics. Alice Oswald\u2019s Memorial is one of the most beautiful and harrowing books of poetry, a tribute to the dead soldiers of the Iliad with the Gods scratched out.<\/p>\n

Age 77: A great reference book\u00a0
\n\"\"Kew Gardener\u2019s Companion to Medicinal Plants, The Flavour Thesaurus, Brewer\u2019s Dictionary of Phrase & Fable, History Year by Year<\/p>\n

Want to know what Foggy Bottom or Furnace (The burning fiery) refers to? Brewer\u2019s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable has you covered.<\/p>\n

Age 78: A book with an elderly protagonist
\n\"\"The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington, Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles, Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner, Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor, Old Filth by Jane Gardam<\/p>\n

None of that twee Scandinavian old-man-who-ran-away-on-a-novelty-paddleboat feel-good Netflix adaptation literature. Five excellent novels about characters in their twilight years.<\/p>\n

Age 79: A book of top-shelf poetry\u00a0
\n\"\"Rainer Maria Rilke, Issa, Louise Gluck, John Donne<\/p>\n

Time to get the best stuff down from the top shelf.<\/p>\n

Age 80: A ghost story\u00a0
\n\"\"The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel, The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald, Beloved by Tony Morrison, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier<\/p>\n

Every love story is a ghost story, according to either Virginia Woolf or David Foster Wallace.<\/p>\n

Age 81: A literary retelling\u00a0
\n\"\"Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, James by Percival Everett, Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t read the great works of literature these retellings are based on, that\u2019s two for the price of one. Read James by Percival Everett, currently sweeping the prize shortlists.<\/p>\n

Age 82: A book you can listen to
\n\"\"I Partridge by Alan Partridge, Under Milkwood by Dylan Thomas, Blandings Castle by P G Wodehouse, Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders<\/p>\n

Some books are better heard, not seen. Everyone should experience Milkwood by Dylan Thomas, read by Richard Burton.<\/p>\n

Age 83: A book about death, god and the great beyond
\n\"\"99 Stories of God by Joy Williams, The Five Invitations by Frank Ostaseski, Sum by David Egelman, Mort by Terry Pratchett and Life after Life by Kate Atkinson<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve made it this far, congratulations, you\u2019ve exceeded the average national lifespan. From this point forward, I think you can be safely trusted to choose your own books. But here\u2019s one for the road. David Eagleman\u2019s Sum, comprising 40 extremely short tales from the afterlife(s) is much more enjoyable than it has any right to be. See you all in chicken hell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From Mansfield Park to Jurassic Park, some reading inspiration for every age. Summer read \u2013 originally published December…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":206395,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[489,492,156,33928,126005,111,139,69,123306],"class_list":["post-206394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-books","tag-comments-enabled","tag-entertainment","tag-gift-guide","tag-hera-lindsay-bird","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-tourism-fiji-summer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}