The Commuting Book began as a humble homage to centuries of storytelling - something which we believe to be an essential fibre in the very fabric of what it means to be human. We present a diverse range of pieces to better represent our many different interests and beliefs ... a story meaning little to one may mean a lot to another. This is the wonderful wisdom of literature! We have some beautiful short stories and poetry written by Year 8 and Year 10 students. These will take but a minute to read. We also have essays, non-fiction pieces, book extracts, more poems, and short stories, by both published and unpublished writers. Most of these might take 5 -10 minutes to read. None of them will take more than 20 minutes, at most. Time well spent.
Inspiration: Artwork by Anne McDonald Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/770 Scratching on a hair ...More
December 3 ● 1 min read
Get your daily dose of words for those who can’t live without them or who don’t usually have time to read. Find a QR code on a bus, scan it and rea ...More
May 11 ● min read
Inspiration: Artwork by Berst Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/456 A strange creatu ...More
December 3 ● 1 min read
Inspiration: High Pressure/Low Pressure by Josh O’Rourke Artwork location, details and photo credits https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/7 ...More
December 3 ● 1 min read
Inspiration: Artwork by Berst Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/456 Picture this … ...More
December 31 ● 1 min read
Jerry and his friend, Ross, were playing in Jerry’s sandpit. Charlie appeared. “What are you playing?” Charlie asked Jerry. “Planes.” Jerry h ...More
September 21 ● 5 min read
because of their size they gather crystals and clouds sharp and sparse collections of sun-catchers until that first nasty week in June then they look soft – ...More
August 1 ● 1 min read
His hatred of cordyline australis was spawned in his ancestry. When the council planted them along the coastal path he couldn’t sleep, so strong ...More
August 1 ● 2 min read
This isn’t the beginning, but somewhere in the middle; she’s clambering the leftover scaffold like the flying fox on YouTube she saw scaling a ...More
December 15 ● min read
Meet her in the forest You’ll find her fascinating She may not welcome you but she has no choice in this The tree which she is forever linked to creaks E ...More
September 22 ● 1 min read
Oh bicycle, Oh bicycle, I shall call you Amelia. Amelia, Amelia, I love you so. You carry me around. Amelia, Amelia, Riding you is divine. You are the reaso ...More
November 17 ● 1 min read
I remember the clock He liked to count down Whether we liked it or not, Whether we smiled or frowned He hung in my house On the nursery wall We saw ...More
September 22 ● min read
“I”m pregnant again”. I was measuring flour into the sieve and gently banging it against the heel of my hand. He was hunched over the comp ...More
September 7 ● 4 min read
If you are on the bus, go to QR Code 0007 to read this chapter in English or QR Code 0016 to read in Te Reo. To read previous chapters go to Sto ...More
February 24 ● 3 min read
knitted scarves wrap around her neck while legs freeze beneath leopard- print leggings ca ...More
February 23 ● 1 min read
“Come on, Moon, it’s time to hunt.” Sunrise went first to check if there was any danger. Moon tried to go before Sunrise had said the coast was clear ...More
February 24 ● 4 min read
Miraculously the Yellow dagger Somehow appeared on the Table next to the Elevating bottle Really, this was all very strange Yet, started making sense. ** ...More
September 16 ● 1 min read
Feijoas roll down the roof to be pecked by the birds startling the rats which scurry above. A grimy workbench dusty with tools next to a soggy, wet lead chewed ...More
December 19 ● 1 min read
Being the middle child of five girls and three boys in 1940’s and 50’s in my native Ireland, I never had the chance to actually own a bicycl ...More
November 17 ● 4 min read
Inspiration: Artwork by Jacob Yikes Artwork location, details and photo credit: https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/454 Construction, the thoug ...More
December 31 ● 2 min read
She lay in bed, eyes tight shut against the grey light, trying not to notice it as it becomes paler and paler through her eyelids. “Concentrate” s ...More
September 22 ● 3 min read
Find the hidden sequence of words: the first letter of each makes the puzzle answer. e.g. he offers trust = HOT Sometimes fresh air feels like waking ...More
August 1 ● 1 min read
Zzzzz ….. zzzz ……. An annoying noise was causing hindrance to my much desired afternoon nap. I somehow manage to open my eyes partially, and ...More
February 23 ● 4 min read
Inspiration: Artwork by Haruko Furukawa Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/775 The sun settled as i ...More
December 3 ● 2 min read
If you are on the bus, go to QR Code 0007 to read this chapter in English or QR Code 0016 to read in Te Reo. To read previous chapters go to Stories Upoko ...More
February 24 ● 3 min read
Google maps you take me though the underpass fast on my bike in the night my lights flash on the shapes of down and outs the louts, layabouts who shout obsceni ...More
November 17 ● 1 min read
Kiss frogs. Sleep for 100 years. Turn into a human and not speaking. Sneak out late at night. Change your mum into a bear and back again. Lose your shoes. F ...More
March 27 ● 1 min read
Prefabricated tilt-slab with steel reinforcing shipped from a Guangzhou factory a city street long. Delivered by a bevy of cranes criss-crossing a hung ...More
December 15 ● min read
The murmur of voices Are symphony to flashing lights Tapping keys Coloured lines of code Changing Adjusting Advancing. Jumbles of letters Make up words I can ...More
March 27 ● 2 min read
“And the prize for the bravest pirate goes to …” Greybeard, the oldest of all the pirates, held up a piece of paper and waved it around dramat ...More
September 22 ● 5 min read
Inspiration: Artwork by Jacob Yikes Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/416 The afternoon sun has made ...More
March 3 ● 2 min read
Trailing my clackity clack bumblebee Golly in the other hand, I follow the tall back of my Dad down the garden path. Full of questions, I shadow him ...More
August 1 ● 1 min read
To send a letter you must have something important to say. Got it? Good, now write it on a piece of paper, then pop it in an envelope and seal it ...More
March 27 ● min read
If you are on the bus, go to QR Code 0007 to read this chapter in English or QR Code 0016 to read in Te Reo. To read previous chapters go to Stories Cha ...More
February 24 ● 5 min read
Inspiration: “Hide and Seek” by Wongi “Freak” Wilson Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/a ...More
February 13 ● 1 min read
Flowers. There are a lot of flowers. Every day someone crouches by me, one hand on their heart and the other holding a bunch of flowers. Lilies, lilacs, ...More
September 22 ● 1 min read
Take some Milky Way dust Mix in some galaxies Wrench some light from inside a black hole It should be spaghettified and tender Knead in some rusty coloure ...More
March 27 ● 1 min read
Walking across the multi-story car park, her heels clicked and echoed amongst the few silent vehicles. The sound vanished into the dark exit ramps. He ...More
November 21 ● 5 min read
I was two years old when I got my first bike It was better than your little trike We found it in the bushes My dad fixed it up for me He welded it ...More
November 17 ● 1 min read
She chewed her biro, and read the evaluation form. “On a scale of one to five, five being highest, how much did you enjoy this activity?” One. “On ...More
September 22 ● 3 min read
Inspiration: “Elephants” by Owen Dippie Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/386 A family, ...More
February 13 ● min read
Help us build a map! We are mapping real places in New Zealand mentioned in books. Rivers, mountains, towns and cities, famous buildings and monume ...More
January 24 ● 1 min read
Once I was riding on a weekend group ride. We were strung out along a straight, flat stretch of road. It occurred to me that the cyclists ahead ...More
November 17 ● 1 min read
Inspiration: Artwork by Cracked Ink Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/625 Silver fences keep ...More
March 3 ● 1 min read
The Commuting Book presents Paint n’ Pen, a creative writing programme in collaboration with Christchurch City Libraries, The School For Young Wr ...More
May 11 ● min read
Inspiration: Artwork by Richard “Pops” Baker Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/477 ...More
December 3 ● 1 min read
The baby’s finally asleep. The father is home from work. I haven’t been alone in days. This is it…. “She’s asleep”…”I’m ...More
November 17 ● 1 min read
When I pick her up she feels warm and frail. She’s like a giraffe sticking her neck high above the canopy searching for a decent snack. When she flies you c ...More
December 19 ● 1 min read
The dragonfly’s eyes are made up of multiple hexagons. Inside each hexagon is a black and white picture of my face. I’ve printed the photos from my file ...More
August 31 ● 2 min read
It’s what I could do to help Fleur out. Family is family. The last Friday each month, we’d drive into the city from opposite directions, and i ...More
September 22 ● 2 min read
Inspiration: Artwork by D Side Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/757 Cluck, cluck, cluck, A pirate di ...More
December 3 ● 1 min read
This line is the marriage line. It’s open-ended. This line is the intellect. It’s a circle inside a circle. This line is the heart line. Like the water. ...More
March 3 ● 1 min read
Inspiration: Artwork by Cracked Ink Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/625 Cluttered clouds br ...More
December 3 ● 1 min read
Today, my feelings are too big for my body They catch and hold fast in my throat They stream down my face And burn on my skin May they emerge as kindness ...More
May 11 ● 1 min read
I ate my brother. I was always fond of him, looked up to him. He was older than me. I measured myself against him. We stood back to back. At first I onl ...More
September 20 ● 2 min read
The trick is to hear the voices in the rain but not to listen. What’s the phrase? Feel the fear and do it anyway. Well not only can I feel the fear but I ...More
September 22 ● 2 min read
I am lost in countless dizzying turns and endless corridors. A bare light bulb flickers as I pass beneath it. I flinch involuntarily. Ping! The familiar wei ...More
September 22 ● 4 min read
Inspiration: She came from the stars by Vexta Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/375 Cracks ...More
December 3 ● 1 min read
Inspiration: Forces by Dr. Suits Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/800 Geometry at odds And ...More
December 3 ● 1 min read
Pull-my-Finger the Giant only had one joke, probably like your dad or grandad. But he was very fond of it and he told it as often as he could. This was it: ...More
September 20 ● 6 min read
Inspiration: High Pressure/Low Pressure by Josh O’Rourke Artwork location, details and photo credit https://watchthisspace.org.nz/artwork/79 ...More
November 26 ● 1 min read
