Best books: Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge, written by Mem Fox and illustrated by Julie Vivas; The Longest Memory, by Fred D’Aguiar; The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought by Marilynne Robinson; The Puppet and the Dwarf: The Perverse Core of Christianity by Slavoj Žižek; Always the Sound of the Sea: The Daily Lives of New Zealand’s Lighthouse Keepers by Helen Beaglehole.

Best music: Blair Douglas, Stay Strong; Don McGlashan and the Seven Sisters, Marvellous Year; Neil Finn, Try Whistling This; Placido Domingo, Amore Infinito: Songs inspired by the Poetry of John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla); Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, The Assassination of Jesse James; Conor Oberst, Conor Oberst; Bob Dylan, Together Through Life.

Best films: Pan’s Labyrinth [2006]; Hunger [2008]; Pride and Prejudice [2001].

Best drink: PNG Coffee (Fairtrade) from Izon Coffee. (BTW: the folk at Izon are great to deal with)