The Girl in the Mirror by Rose Carlyle
Very clever psychological thriller and it is very clearly, from day one, simply the book that everyone wants to read. I can’t remember a new title from an unknown, first time author going as mad as this one has in the last few days. It was only published on Tuesday but sales have been amazing. Very clever story of twin sisters, Iris and Summer – Iris has always been jealous of her sister who seems to have the perfect life, husband, etc – but then an opportunity arises to take all of that and have it for herself. It’s a terrific book and it’ll be a great movie.
This Farming Life by Tim Saunders
He’s a farmer in the Manawatu and I reckon has the soul of a poet – writes beautifully about the seasons on a New Zealand farm, great descriptions about the land and the animals, with such a huge degree of respect for them. Funny that his wife is a vegetarian. This is a great book to get city folk like me thinking about the reality of life down on the farm, and will really resonate with rural people.
 

New research has finally found the reason why we get that BO smell and it's all to do with an enzyme.
The study has found that the bacteria Staphylococcus hominis, which naturally lives on our skin uses an enzyme to eat Cys-Gly-3M3SH molecules released by our apocrine armpit glands.  While the bacteria eats some of it, they spit out the rest which turns into the pungent thioalcohol, 3M3SH. 
Nanogirl Michelle Dickinson joined Francesca Rudkin to discuss this new find and what it means for deodorants.
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To say debut Kiwi author Rose Carlyle has hit the literary scene with a bang might be an understatement.
Her book The Girl in the Mirror sparked a bidding war between six American publishers and resulted in a six-figure deal.  The same happened in the UK.  It’s also been sold into four other languages, all before it has even been published.
But that’s not the biggest news – she’s also snapped up a huge Hollywood film deal.
The book is an edge of your seat thriller about identical twins Iris and Summer. It involves inheritance, a boat ride on the family yacht to the Seychelles, secrets and deceit.
Carlyle joined Francesca Rudkin to discuss her sudden success.
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Because nobody puts Baby in a corner.
A "Dirty Dancing" sequel is indeed happening, courtesy of Lionsgate, Deadline reports.
Studio CEO Jon Feltheimer confirmed the news on an earnings call Thursday, referring to it as "one of the worst kept secrets in Hollywood," according to the publication.
"It will be exactly the kind of romantic, nostalgic movie that the franchise's fans have been waiting for and that have made it the biggest-selling library title in the company's history," he reportedly said.
The 1987 film starred Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey as dance instructor Johnny Castle and vacationer Frances "Baby" Houseman who find love (and a now-iconic dance routine) at a holiday resort.
Grey is reportedly set to star in the sequel as well as executive produce it. Swayze died at age 57 in 2009 of pancreatic cancer.
The original film sparked other projects including two "Dirty Dancing" TV series, a TV movie, a musical and the 2004 film "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights."

Hearty veggie soup w Parmesan butter bread (serves 6)
2 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
3 carrots, peeled and large diced
1 cup chopped celery
4 bay leaves
1 x 400g can whole peeled tomatoes
1 x 400g can cannellini beans, drained
1 ltr water
1 stock cube
½ tsp crushed toasted fennel seeds
5 large silverbeet leaves, destalked and roughly chopped
zest of 1 lemon
1 x Ciabatta loaf
Preheat an oven to 180*c
Heat oil in a large pot or cast iron dish. Add chopped onion and garlic and sauté until translucent. Add carrot, celery and bay leaves. Cook for 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, beans, water and stock cube. Cook for 20 minutes and add the lemon zest. Cook on a low heat for another 30 minutes.
Take the ciabatta loaf and slice down ¾ of the way into 1 cm slices. Fill the gaps with a generous amount of Parmesan butter and then wrap in tin foil before placing into the oven for 15 minutes.
Serve the piping hot soup with freshly toasted bread, ripped into pieces.
Parmesan butter
150g butter, softened
4 tbsp chopped parsley
4 tbsp finely grated parmesan
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
juice of 1 lemon
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until well combined.

Jim Bolger entered the New Zealand political scene in 1972.
A self-taught son of Irish Immigrants, the King Country farmer lead the National party to victory in 1990 and became the 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand.
Then came three-terms as head of Government, a business leader and New Zealand ambassador to the United States.
Jim Bolger is a familiar public face, but a couple of years ago, it occurred to journalist and author David Cohen that we didn’t know that much about Jim Bolger the man.
There came about Fridays with Jim, a book based on conversations between the pair about our country.
In it, he speaks about his childhood and love for 'living on the land'.
Bolger told Francesca Rudkin it's something that's driven his view on climate change which he says New Zealand is wonderful at talking about, but not doing anything about it.
"You know, we will get a vaccine to control coronavirus, but there is no vaccine to control climate change."
He also says there needs to be some radical rethinking when it comes to New Zealand's economy.
Bolger says one thing that needs to be dealt with is raising the retirement age. He says his Government lifted the age to 65 because they couldn't afford to give retirement income at 60.
He says it's a challenge facing this Government too.
"We have to address the issue, it won't go away.
"The number of people in the aged 65 bracket is going to double in the next 20 years."

Unions and business representatives are backing Labour's new election policy. 
The Labour Party launched its re-election campaign yesterday by pledging $311 million for its flexi-wage scheme.
It'll give businesses a subsidy of between $7500 and $22,000 to get people off the benefit.
BusinessNZ CEO Kirk Hope told Francesca Rudkin that they are pleased to see the major parties, particularly Labour, talking about jobs and business so far in their policy launches. 
He says that, by and large, this scheme is a good policy.
"It is hard to assess how effective one or other policy would be without seeing the whole economic plan and it's something they'd need to work on, particular with the business community."
Employers and Manufacturers Association CEO Brett O'Riley says while it's a tough time for businesses, sectors like manufacturing and construction are looking to take on workers.
The Council of Trade Unions says Labour's plan will provide some stability for working people in the months ahead.
CTU president Richard Wagstaff says we know the economic headwinds are going to be with us for a while and it's crucial to keep people in work.
"We're glad to see the Government putting its money where its mouth is. It made plenty of statements about unemployment has spiraled out of control, we were wondering what they were going to do about it."
Employers and Manufacturers Association CEO Brett O'Riley says extending the scheme to encourage people into self-employment and entrepreneurship is a good move.
"There are definitely some very good opportunities for using online for example for people to set up their business, and it's great to see that recognised."

It will be a "Covid election", says Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, more out of necessity than anything as the country faces down its "biggest challenge for decades".
As she launched the Labour Party's re-election campaign at Auckland Town Hall on Saturday, Ardern unveiled a $311 million package to protect struggling workers and businesses from the worst impacts of Covid-19.
Three years ago, at the same venue, it was climate change that Ardern boldly claimed to be her generation's "nuclear free moment".
Ardern did not shy away from that statement during her speech, but impressed the immensity of the immediate challenge Covid-19 posed.
"It has been our new reality, and one that the team of 5 million have made work in the most extraordinary way."
Unemployment is expected to rise substantially due to Covid-19, particularly with the Government's wage subsidy extension ending soon.
The new, targeted jobs policy would take a more long-term approach, and built on the existing Flexi-wage scheme - a wage subsidy to help employers hire those on a benefit and/or at risk of unemployment.
Businesses would be able to claim a subsidy of on average $7500, and up to $22,000, to hire up to 40,000 unemployed New Zealanders.
They would have to prove the job was sustainable in the long term, and only receive the subsidy once the person had been employed for six weeks.
Another $30m would be ring-fenced to help out-of-work Kiwis start a business, providing the equivalent of the minimum wage for up to 30 hours a week.
National also has a policy that would allow recently unemployed withdraw up to $20,000 from their KiwiSaver to start a business.
The party has also pledged a $10,000 subsidy per worker for any business that took on a full-time worker, as part of a $500m scheme.
Funding for Labour's policy would come from the Wage Subsidy underspend, with $2 billion of the $2.6b budget spent, rather than the Covid Response Fund, which could be needed to fight the virus again or to reduce debt, Ardern said.
The Flexi-wage scheme was introduced in 2012, but Ardern was at pains to impress it was their policy, not National's.
They were expanding it, because it worked, she said.
In calling it a "Covid election", Ardern said: "Nobody wants it this way. The reality is this is the biggest challenge New Zealand will face for decades to come."
If re-elected they would aim to cushion the blow for the most vulnerable, but also "build back better".
"Not just about roads but make New Zealand 100 per cent renewable electricity, waste infrastructure, deal with our challenges while rebuilding our economy."
Party faithful packed the town hall, with actor and comedian Oscar Kightley MC, and powerful performances from a kapa haka group and Canadian-born country and soul singer/songwriter Tami Neilson getting the campaign under way.
The mood was joyous, verging on celebratory at times - likely buoyed on by polls showing Labour more than 20 percentage points ahead of National, polls that had soared under the Government's Covid response.
Occasional chants of "three more years" and "we love you Jacinda" erupted among some of the more vocal supporters.
Introducing Ardern was "first man" Clarke Gayford.
He received a huge roar, and shared several unique insights from living with a person recently voted the "world's most eloquent leader".
"I know it might sound a bit strange but not even once have I seen even privately her celebrate the role [of Prime Minister]."
Gayford spoke of the Cabinet papers being read in bed at midnight - "worse than toast crumbs" - and the alarm clock tune that will "forever haunt my dreams".
Through her speech Ardern reflected on the tragedies the past three years had seen.
The March 15 Christchurch mosque attacks, Whakaari/White Island, and Covid-19 had "devastated in very different ways", she said.
"[But] they drew...

So here we go. The 2020 election campaigning has officially started.
There’s six weeks until voting day and please, please let us be done with the scandals, the leadership dramas, the attention grabbing outbursts. Okay, so I’m dreaming when it comes to that last one, but let’s get on with talking about leading New Zealand through the next decade.  
We all know we have an aging population, declining fertility rates, growing urban population in the top half of the North Island, and a few stagnating regions. Add Covid 19 to the mix, and the next decade just got even more challenging for New Zealand. As Professor Paul Spoonley mentioned this morning, if you look through the current policies on offer, there is very little that relates to long term issues facing New Zealand.
So where’s the contest of ideas?
So far parties have been reluctant to release policy, except maybe the Greens, who have been criticised for releasing too much too soon. What has been announced is generally around the same issues – employment, support for small and medium sized businesses,  infrastructure and shovel ready projects.
These ideas, Nationals Job and Business Start policies and Labours $300 million Flexi-wage package, are designed to reassure us of growth and employment.
In the current situation, that’s not a bad thing.
Both major parties are keen to convince us that they are the right team to lead us through the next three years. National is campaigning on a capable team experienced in dealing with crisis. Your opinion might differ to theirs, especially if you live in Christchurch.
Labour is riding on their success of containing Covid-19 in New Zealand, and pitching themselves as the best option to steady the ship. They have even been honest enough to say this will be a Covid-19 election – how could it not be – and that we shouldn’t expect a manifesto of policy.
But what seems to be missing from the conversation is what we are going to do about the longer-term issues that have the potential to be just as crushing as Covid over the next few decades, the issues Professor Spoonley reminded us about earlier this morning.
Covid is what’s life, and we need to deal with today’s problem today, but we should not just hope for the best with the other tough, complicated and expensive issues we have getting ever closer.
So, my question is where’s the vision, where’s the big picture? Where’s the courage to think about things differently and challenge the status quo? I can’t help but think it’s coming from the minor parties alone.
It’s certainly not what we’re hearing from the main parties – which is more trains, more roads, more wage subsidies. They are all good and well and make us feel secure, but there needs to be more.
If a crisis such as this isn’t a valuable moment for our leaders to think differently about the future of this country, to find new ways of dealing with inequity and deal with the long-known issues that this country faces, then when is.
What we’ve been offered so far may be smart political tactics, but it feels like an absence of true leadership to me.

Is New Zealand prepared for the future?
The country is facing an ageing population, which means more boomers and fewer children.
Auckland is growing ever bigger while some regions are declining. And then throw into that the curve ball that is Covid-19.
Have we planned for this future?  Are our policy makers up to the task of preparing us to deal with the looming challenges?
Massey University Distinguished Professor Paul Spoonley has discussed all this in his new book, ‘The New New Zealand. Facing Demographic Disruption’. He joined Francesca Rudkin to discuss what needs to be done to prepare.
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