Hey You: A Kiwi Compendium of Baby Names, by Rosemary Hepozden (Renaissance Publishing, RRP $25): I’m sure we’ve all, at some point, looked up the meaning of our own name in one of those dinky little books that list all…
Category: NZ books
Farmers’ heritage: gritty determination
Carse Head & Crichton Park Farms: A story of the land and its people By Margaret Pullar (Wrights Hill Press, $49.50) Intergenerational histories are treasures for local communities, telling the stories of the people who built the present. In this…
A big, interesting history
Illustrated History of New Zealand, by Matthew Wright, illustrations fom the Alexander Turnbull Library (Bateman Publishing, RRP $50): It could be said that it’s something of a surprise that a book on the history of a country as small and…
Highly recommended collection
Huia Short Stories 10: Contemporary Maori Fiction (Huia, RRP $30) This collection of stories kept me thinking and eager to read on. It made me look forward to the 11th collection and want to read the previous nine too. It’s…
All things collectable
Kiwi Collectors: Curious and Unusual Kiwi Hobbies, by Matt Elliott (HarperCollins, RRP $37): The things collected by Kiwis are as many and varied as the collectors themselves and this book offers a fascinating glimpse into just a tiny portion of…
Whole-patient care is vital
Time to Care, by Dr Robin Youngson (RebelHeart Publishers, RRP $35): For most of us, dealing with sickness is something that happens occasionally and on a very personal level. However, for health care professionals, dealing with illness – minor and…
Well-tuned mix of Kiwi songs
On Song: Stories Behind New Zealand’s Pop Classics, by Simon Sweetman (Penguin, RRP $65): Every song has a story to tell and New Zealand’s pop classics are full of great stories. Freelance music writer and Stuff blogger Simon Sweetman had…
Killer’s web of deceit ably described
The Black Widower, by Charles Lavery (Mainstream, RRP $35): It was a case that shocked everyone on both sides of the world: Malcolm Webster was convicted of murdering one wife in Scotland and trying to kill a second wife in…
Zombie turns up in romp through southern lands
The Prince of Soul and the Lighthouse, by Fredrik Brouneus (steampress.co.nz, RRP $30): I’m more than a little fed up with the whole vampire craze so I am enjoying the resurgence of interest in the other undead: zombies. Author Fredrik…
Quake-city humour to tickle your funny bone
You Know You’re From Chch When … 2, compiled by Bruce Raines (HarperCollins, RRP $17): It’s hard to believe it has been three since the deadly aftershock that hit Canterbury, following the September 2010 quake. Cantabrians have had an awful…