The Bruce McLaren Scrapbook, by Jan McLaren & Richard Becht (HarperCollins, RRP $60): In the world of motorsport, Bruce McLaren did it all: he was a driver, creator, designer, engineer, constructor and even a team owner. On top of all that, when he took top honours in the 1959 United States Grand Prix he...
Finding the Path by Kelvin Cruickshank with Margie Thomson (Penguin, RRP $42): Celebrity psychic medium Kelvin Cruickshank is well known through his work on the television programme Sensing Murder but he also writes books on psychic ability. In this, his third book, Cruickshank says he wants to help everyone find “peacefulness and pure love...
Stickmen Book of Rugby, by Peter Vegas (Random House, RRP $20): This latest little offering in the Stickmen series focuses on that most Kiwi of games that had (most of) the nation glued to the telly at the business end of the Rugby World Cup. For anyone not familiar with the Stickmen books, they...
Writing poetry probably is not a common pastime for blokes working on the chain at the meatworks – but Terry Lynch is not most blokes. In an interview in The Press in 1995, the meatworker said he was almost scared to go back to work after coming out as a poet. However, his workmates...
Grahame Sydney’s Central Otago (Penguin, RRP $95) A stunning collection of photographs of Central Otago from artist Grahame Sydney provides a new perspective on the beautiful and varied landscape of the region. Over the last decade, since shifting to live in the heart Central Otago, Sydney has captured the unique beauty, austerity and seasonal...
New Zealand’s Hottest Home Baker, with Dean Brettschneider (Penguin, RRP $35): Baking is one of those retro things that has suddenly become cool again and television has jumped on the bandwagon with New Zealand’s Hottest Home Baker, which isn’t quite as dodgy as the name might suggest. No, this show doesn’t involve scantily clad...
4 Ingredients Christmas, by Kim McCoster (Random House, RRP $35): I hate to be the bearer of bad news folks, but Christmas is just around the corner. Really, it truly must officially be the festive season because a certain large coffee-selling corporation broke out their special Christmas cups last week. Christmas is a busy...
99 Ways Into New Zealand Poetry, by Paula Green and Harry Ricketts (Vintage, RRP $44.99): This massive 624-page beast of a book looks a little daunting at first glance but don’t let the size of the thing put you off. New Zealand has a diverse range of very talented people who have produced some...
It’s In The Post, by Richard Wolfe (Craig Potton Publishing, RRP $40): All the emailing and texting going on these days must make it hard for the budding stamp collectors out there, which is really a shame. When I was a kid, bills arrived with stamps on the envelopes, as did birthday cards and...
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