Following the progress of a group of hard-case Kiwis riding across America, Work Can Wait is a travelogue, a diary and a whole lot of fun. The book has been put together by Dennis Deavoll, using e-mails that Wayne Perkins had sent back to family and friends in New Zealand as he made his way from […]
Diary of a hard-case road-trip Read Post »
It may come as a surprise to some who know me when I say I like poetry. Not the flowery stuff of Shakespeare (no, that’s not an invitation for Shakespeare geeks to inundate me with reasons his poetry isn’t flowery) and not the new-age stuff that I can’t make head nor tail of. My favourite
C K Stead’s latest offering a real gem Read Post »
There’s been quite a buzz both online and off about this book, which delves into the world of auction website Trade Me as a basis for its plot. A trader auctions off her father’s jacket, not knowing it contains something important. The story then follows the jacket’s travels as it is passed between traders and
Trade Me tale doesn’t quite hit the mark Read Post »
When Mt Tarawera erupted early on the morning of June 10, 1886, 153 people died and New Zealand lost what was at the time the country’s greatest tourist attraction, the spectacular pink and white terraces. Widely acclaimed as the eighth wonder of the world, the terraces were magnificent naturally formed staircases that rose from Lake
A chronicle of Mother Nature’s damage Read Post »
Over nearly four decades, the late Joanna Paul accumulated a body of work brimming with graphic invention and poetic observation. An artist, film-maker, poet and writer, she died in 2003 in tragic circumstances that most will remember from the news. During a visit to Rotorua she collapsed while bathing in a thermal pool and died
When thinking about gothic, most people imagine intense black-clad teenagers, pale and interesting with smudged mascara and a never-ending supply of depressing music. However, there’s more to gothic that that. New Zealand’s culture is swimming in gothic-ness. Co-author Jennifer Lawn suggests that gothic is a “shifting warp of the familiar”. It shows up in many
A taste of gothic NZ Read Post »
This is the story of the last bastion of aviation exploration — the Antarctic. The United States Naval aviators, who in the early years of Operation Deep Freeze flew their twin-engine DC-3s over the frozen Antarctic waters from New Zealand to McMurdo Sound, were going where no one had gone before and in the process
Celebrating the last bastion of aviation exploration Read Post »
While there is growing interest in New Zealand’s history there are few genuine debates about the topic. This book brings together leading historians seeking to disrupt conventional reading of our history in order to open up exploration and debate. About now, you might be thinking that this sounds like it might just be a bunch
Taking a look at an almost forgotten chapter in New Zealand’s history, The Bookmen’s Dominion focuses on the activities and networks of historians and literary critics during the 1920s and 1930s. Author Chris Hilliard — who studied New Zealand history at the University of Auckland — was the recipient of one of Harvard’s most prestigious
Interesting look at not-so-well-known NZ history Read Post »
The Trade Me phenomenon doesn’t show any sign of slowing down so it’s no surprise that there are now how-to books on the market covering the uniquely Kiwi world of online auctions. The name of this book is a bit of a mouthful but looking beyond that I expected big things from the guide, which
