Author P J O’Rourke has a knack for making hilarious observations on life, as shown by his earlier bestsellers, so I was expecting big things from his latest offering. Unfortunately, I was just a wee bit disappointed. Don’t get we wrong, The Baby Boom is still a pretty decent read, it just doesn’t live up […]
Satire fails to fire Read Post »
I’m a big P G Wodehouse fan. I’ve been reading his novels and short stories on and off since high school, when friends of mine put me on to Jeeves and Wooster. Jeeves and the Wedding Bells by Sebastian Faulks is an effort to replicate that singular wit, and it almost gets there. Wodehouse had
Close but no cigar, old bean … Read Post »
New releases coming in November and December. FICTION Taking My Mother to the Opera – Diane Brown’s Memoir in Verse: From Otago University Press, a personal memoir in verse. Out in November, RRP $30. Playing with Fire, by Tess Gerritsen: Julia doesn’t understand what is happening to her daughter, but she thinks she knows what’s causing it.
On the bookshelves: Nov-Dec 2015 Read Post »
No sooner had volume two of this detailed history of early New Zealand history hit the decks after being published in July, 2013, but volume three (A Passion for Flight: New Zealand aviation before the Great War Volume Three: The Joe Hammond Story and Military beginnings 1910-1914) followed, distinguishing Martyn as a true scholar uninterested
Martyn a true flight history scholar Read Post »
This is Katie Fforde’s 20th novel and is a Sunday Times bestseller. One doesn’t have to read too many pages to discover why. It’s basically a light-hearted love story with 20-something real estate agent, Bella, as the protagonist. She’s been with Nevil for three years and now he’s proposed. However, he is also her boss
Light-hearted love story Read Post »
The critically acclaimed “short books on big subjects” have moved from the digital world to print. BWB Texts were launched in March last year and although the series was initially released in digital format, the publisher is now making selected books available in paperback form. In Thorndon, Wellington and Home: My Katherine Mansfield Project,
Short and to the point Read Post »
For a generation of young Kiwis, Starship hospital has always been there: the place the the very young and very sick can rely on to provide care for both its patients and their families. However, some of us who are a tad older remember a time when we didn’t have a national children’s hospital in
Celebrating Starship’s first 21 years Read Post »
Denny Enright has done his Southland family proud and is rendering disabled babies, children and adults from his home province generous assistance with the publication of his first book that was 25 years in the making when it was published last year. The 1970 New Zealand champion light welterweight boxer – now of Mt Maunganui
Fighter throws gloves in for disabled Read Post »
From the author of the quintessentially Kiwi Bach, Beach, Boat, Barbecue, comes a collection of recipes that are packed with flavour but won’t have you spending hours in the kitchen cleaning up. As you can probably gather from the title, all the recipes in Penny Oliver’s book need just one pot, pan, bowl, baking dish
A tasty line-up of cookbooks Read Post »
This comprehensive guide is based on the Natural History New Zealand-produced TV series of the same name, that was made to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the country’s first national park. As Kiwis, we are generally pretty proud of our whole “clean, green” image but I think most of us realise that image isn’t becoming
Exploring NZ at ground level Read Post »
