New releases coming in September. FICTION Rush Oh!, by Shirley Barrett: From the director of hugely popular TV show Offspring, a novel with drama, misadventure and a wee dose of comedy. Published by Macmillan (out September 1, RRP $35). X is for… , by Sue Grafton: The latest in the popular Kinsey Millhone thriller series (Macmillan, […]
On the bookshelves: September 2105 Read Post »
There was a popular ad campaign a year or three back that proudly proclaimed you’d never be a Kiwi until you loved a particular brand of sauce, but I reckon a love of rugby is probably of greater importance. It’s our national pastime and while I hear the odd anti-rugby piker complaining about the amount
Understanding our national game Read Post »
British author Bill Bryson has come up with an interesting concept for this fact-packed trip back in time, telling the story of one summer in the history of America that changed the world forever. In 1927, the world between the two world wars, the United States was half-way through Prohibition and facing a time of
The summer that changed the world Read Post »
New releases coming in August. FICTION I’m Travelling Alone, by Samuel Bjork: Published by Doubleday on August 1, with an RRP of $38. A six-year-old girl is found hanging from a tree. Around her neck is an airline tag which says ‘I’m travelling alone’. A special homicide unit in Oslo is re-opened and the race is
On the bookshelves: August 2015 Read Post »
It’s so easy to feel a disconnect between the vacuum packed offerings in the meat aisle at your local supermarket and the origins of that product on the farm, but it is important that we know – and care about – where our meat comes from. As the world’s population grows, the need to produce
Will we pay the price? Read Post »
When the State steps in to take over the care of a child when families are unable to, those children should be safe. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case, and Beverly Wardle-Jackson’s story highlights just how badly things can go wrong. She was born to a broken family, her father drifting in and out of
State’s failure of care a sad tale Read Post »
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 many would see as the ultimate bucket list. Author Daniel Smith has compiled a fun and diverse list of 100 things most of us are unlikely to
Dreaming of the impossible Read Post »
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 Rich Asians. The Festival of Insignificance, by Milan Kunder: The first novel in twelve years,
On the bookshelves: July 2015 Read Post »
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 dude who made us all smile last year with his music video of David Bowie’s Space Oddity because, aside from anything else, he is probably one of few
Astronaut’s exploits are out of this world Read Post »
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 creatures we share our lives with: Men. In centuries past, women have tended to end up getting a bit of a raw deal: We’ve put careers (and sometimes
Tackling gender debate with lots of humour Read Post »
