April 2014 - Books By George

■ REVIEW: Wild South, Hunting and Fishing the Southern Hemisphere
A must-have for hunters

Written from the heart, this beautifully produced book is a must-have for hunting enthusiasts, both practising and armchair. He doesn’t exactly detail how he’s managed it, but Peter Ryan has done a fair amount of hunting and fly fishing in many parts of Africa and South America, as well as in Australia and New Zealand. […]

■ REVIEW: Wild South, Hunting and Fishing the Southern Hemisphere
A must-have for hunters Read Post »

■ REVIEW: Screw You Dolores
Lynch delivers a fresh approach to happiness

General non-fiction

In the first book in her “Wicked Approach to” series, author Sarah-Kate Lynch tackles the tricky subject of happiness. Life can be a bit of a roller-coaster and while most of us dream of finding Mr or Mrs Right, winning the lottery, developing a super power or some other form of excitement, it’s a safe

■ REVIEW: Screw You Dolores
Lynch delivers a fresh approach to happiness Read Post »

■ REVIEW: Dead People
Maverick a curious mixture

Mysteries & thrillers

I missed the first book in this new series by Ewart Hutton but will be tracking it down while I await the next in the series. Detective Sergeant Glyn Capaldi is half Welsh and half Italian. And, according to the back cover of the book, all maverick. And now having read my first DS Capaldi

■ REVIEW: Dead People
Maverick a curious mixture Read Post »

■ REVIEW: Crisis
Bollard gives fascinating insight to financial crisis

Business & money, NZ books

There’s no denying the global economy is in pretty bad shape and the forecasts for where it’s heading go from one extreme to the other. However, there are few people as well qualified to comment on the New Zealand economy as Dr Alan Bollard, governor of the Reserve Bank on New Zealand for a decade

■ REVIEW: Crisis
Bollard gives fascinating insight to financial crisis Read Post »

■ REVIEW: A Treacherous Paradise
Engrossing, dark story of tragedy

General fiction

Best known as author of the chilling Kurt Wallander crime novels, Henning Mankell has certainly opted for a change of pace with his latest novel. A Treacherous Paradise is a complex and powerful historical novel set in early 20th Century Sweden and Mozambique. Based a true story (A Sullied Angel), it tells the story of

■ REVIEW: A Treacherous Paradise
Engrossing, dark story of tragedy Read Post »

■ REVIEW: After Liff
Cute, quirky and a lot of laughs

Advice, guides & self-help, Humour

Subtitled “the new dictionary of things there should be words for”, this little hard-covered gem picks up where The Meaning of Liff left off back in 1983. That original book was written by John Lloyd and the late Douglas Adams of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy fame. Adams died in 2001 and while his

■ REVIEW: After Liff
Cute, quirky and a lot of laughs Read Post »

■ REVIEW: I Am Pilgrim
Cracking thriller a hefty, compelling read

Mysteries & thrillers

Award-winning screenwriter Terry Hayes has made an undoubtedly successful move from writing for the viewer to writing for the reader. Hayes has an impressive track record: he trained as a journalist, then worked in newspapers and produced a radio programme in Australia before writing the screenplay for Mad Max 2. He also co-produced and wrote

■ REVIEW: I Am Pilgrim
Cracking thriller a hefty, compelling read Read Post »

■ REVIEW: The Mighty Totara
Remembering New Zealand’s ‘Big Norm’

History

Norman Kirk was the first politician I was truly aware of as a kid. I remember as a tender wee seven-year-old, seeing the mountain of a man on the news, the first famous person beyond Basil Brush to register in my world. I also vividly remember hearing the news that Norman Kirk died on August

■ REVIEW: The Mighty Totara
Remembering New Zealand’s ‘Big Norm’ Read Post »

■ REVIEW: The Stig: The Untold Story
Good laugh for Top Gear aficionados

Humour, People

Some say he naturally faces magnetic north and has two sets of knees. He is, of course, The Stig. Forget that frilly wannabe Austin Powers, the true international man of mystery is the elusive and enigmatic Top Gear test driver The Stig. Simon du Beaumarche has penned biographies for many a famous subject – from

■ REVIEW: The Stig: The Untold Story
Good laugh for Top Gear aficionados Read Post »