In the Hands of Strangers: A New Zealand Childhood Stolen, by Beverly Wardle-Jackson (Penguin, RRP $38): When the State steps in to take over the care of a child when families are unable to, those children should be safe. Unfortunately,…
Month: June 2015
Imagination fills gaps in story of James Cook
The Secret Life of James Cook, by Graeme Lay (HarperCollins, RRP $37): The premise for The Secret Life of James Cook sounds a bit naff. A fictionalised account of the famous navigator’s early life up to his first circumnavigation, based…
Dreaming of the impossible
100 Things You Will Never Do, by Daniel Smith (Quercus, RRP $40): I refuse to set myself a bucket list and believe the phrase should be eradicated from our language, but must admit I did enjoy this trip through what…
On the bookshelves: July 2015
New releases coming in July. FICTION China Rich Girlfriend, by Kevin Kwan: A funny tale of social climbing, lovesick bilionaires and art-world scandal. Published in July by Allen & Unwin (RRP $33), this is from the bestselling author of Crazy…
Astronaut’s exploits are out of this world
An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth, by Chris Hadfield (Macmillan, RRP $37): Chris Hadfield is without doubt the world’s most well- known astronaut since the hey-day of the Moon landings and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. He is the…
Cracking good read
The Gods of Guilt, by Michael Connelly (Allen & Unwin, RRP $37): This was my first encounter with the very popular “legal-thriller” genre and so I had no reference point against which to compare it. After reading The Gods of…
Tackling gender debate with lots of humour
Are Men Obsolete: You Decide, edited by Rudyard Griffiths (Ebury Press, RRP $20): This little book takes on the gender debate with four talented feminist writers and critics taking a crack at the argument both for and against those hairy…
Seeing the value in NZ’s dolphins
Dolphins Down Under: Understanding the New Zealand Dolphin, by Liz Slooten and Steve Dawson (Otago University Press, RRP $30): Found only in New Zealand’s waters, Hector’s dolphins are both cute and fascinating. They are also – as the publisher points out…