Archive for March, 2015

Tracking a moment in history

March 30, 2015
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Tracking a moment in history

The Trigger, by Tim Butcher (Chatto & Windus, RRP $40): Most people know that it was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo that eventually triggered the beginning of World War I, but the story of the man who fired that opening shot is not so well known. Although the actions of the...

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Sinister story cranks up the terror

March 24, 2015
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Sinister story cranks up the terror

Wolf, by Mo Hayder (Bantam Press, RRP $38) A little girl finds a stray dog with a note attached to its collar: “HELP US”. She passes the dog on the a vagrant – known as the Walking Man – in the hopes he will be able to find its family. Oliver and Matilda Anchor-Ferrers, along...

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Climate debate heats up

March 19, 2015
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Climate debate heats up

Living in a Warmer World: How a changing climate will affect our lives, edited by Jim Salinger (Bateman, RRP $40): Eighteen essays by chiefly Australian and Kiwi scientists detail what is happening as our planet gets warmer and examine both political and ethical issues. It is certainly an eye-opening read as there are impacts...

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What shaped our evolutionary path?

March 16, 2015
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What shaped our evolutionary path?

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari (Harvill Secker, RRP $38): With a PhD in history from Oxford University, Dr Yuval Noah Harari is well-qualified to examine the history of us – the human species. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind looks at the whole of human history, from the very first...

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A good read, if you ignore the annoyances

March 11, 2015
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A good read, if you ignore the annoyances

The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins (Doubleday, RRP $37): Every morning, Rachel catches the same train to the same destination, to her same job, and passes the same houses on her journey. And every morning that train stops at the same signal, overlooking a row of houses and their back gardens. Rachel...

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Hold it in your hands and feel the history

March 11, 2015
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Hold it in your hands and feel the history

Paper: An Elegy, by Ian Sansom (Fourth Estate, RRP $30): Where would we be without paper? Sure, the digital age has changed the way we read our books, magazines and newspapers, but we didn’t get there without killing a few trees first and as an avid reader, there’s nothing like that new book smell:...

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New name for publisher

March 6, 2015
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Craig Potton Publishing is having a wee name change  (to Potton & Burton), in a move the company says reflects the increasingly diverse range of New Zealand books it publishes. The change happens on today and marks the end of a 25-year era for the original name. Photographer Craig Potton founded Craig Potton Publishing in 1989...

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Book brings new-found appreciation of watercolours

March 1, 2015
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Book brings new-found appreciation of watercolours

New Zealand in Watercolour, by Denis Robinson (New Holland Publishers, RRP $49.99): Showcasing a selection of beautiful watercolour paintings by 30 of our leading artists, New Zealand in Watercolour is an affordable coffee table or bookshelf addition for lovers of New Zealand art. Each of the artists has supplied four or five paintings and they...

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