Indira Stewart: juicy reads, heartbreak albums and the one place I'll swim in NZ

This year she won Reporter of the Year at the NZ Screen Awards for her indepth investigations for TVNZ+. But for the next few weeks Indira Stewart will be kicking back with juicy reads and summer sounds. She shares her picks for best music, beach reads and swimming spots.

Is it cheating if I name a book I listened to on Audible? It's one of my favourite apps! Lisa Marie Presley's memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown, is a classic example of why audio-narration of a book is worthy. Presley had been recording tapes in preparation to write her memoir when she died in 2023. The memoir includes transcripts from those tapes, narrated by Julia Roberts, as well as audio clips of Presley herself. Presley's daughter Riley Keough who was helping with the memoir project also shares her reflections on her famous mother. An incredible listen (or read, if you choose the book option, which might be better for the beach.)

I've also been fascinated by Wizard of Oz lore all year and have made it my goal this summer to read Gregory Maguire's four-part series of dark fantasy novels The Wicked Years.

Never Meet Your Dreams, by Lepani. I'm a growing fan of this Fijian-born, Rotorua-raised artist, who's now based in the UK. His previous track Wait to Wake Me Up is another fave. Never Meet Your Dreams is his latest and I already know I'll have it on repeat this summer.

I'm also holding out to listen to Lily Allen's now notorious album West End Girl which she wrote in 10 days, after her divorce from actor David Harbour. Rolling Stone called it "the most brutal album of the year". Allen is such a clever lyricist and who doesn't love a good break-up album that spills the tea?

Not in Aotearoa sorry! My absolute top recommends for a summer swim are in the Pacific – it's so hard to beat, especially with New Zealand waterways not being as clean as we’d hope.

I have two favourites: First, Niue – the Limu Rock pools and Matapa Chasm there are breathtaking.

And some of my best childhood memories are of the beaches of Tonga: my late Uncle George taking us swimming at Ha'atafu Beach or spending Sunday after church at Pangaimotu Island. Both these spots were severely affected by the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcanic eruption in 2022 and I hope they're able to rebuild soon.

I rarely swim at New Zealand beaches because of the cold! But if I had to name one pristine summer paradise here it would be the Kai Iwi Lakes, Northland.