It will probably come as no surprise to learn that way back in the mists of time, when I was a young’un, I was a bit of a bookworm. I had an extensive collection of hard-cover Little Golden Books (including the classic Poky Little Puppy) that filled my own bookshelf and took over most of […]
Christmas treats for the littlies Read Post »
Some Christmas gift ideas for your book-tacular friends and family. Please excuse the dodgy video quality (filmed with my webcam because I was too lazy to get my camcorder from the other room). Happy shopping … books are way better than socks, and much easier to wrap. 🙂 And yes, I have just tweaked this
Holy crap, Batman. It’s December! Read Post »
Butterflies may appear to be fragile creatures but their ability to colonise the tiny, scattered islands of the vast South Pacific ocean proves they are anything but fragile. From Kiribati, Tuvalu and Fiji in the west, to the far-flung Marquesas and Austral Islands in French Polynesia in the east, this book looks at the butterflies
Butterflies prove resilient travellers Read Post »
It’s been 36 years since Colleen McCullough’s epic The Thorn Birds was first published, 30 years since it was made into that massive miniseries starring such luminaries as Richard Chamberlain, Barbara Stanwyck and Christopher Plummer. I remember both the book and the miniseries as being dramatic and just a little bit awesome. Given that, I was looking
Epic sequel not so epic Read Post »
It’s been called the forgotten war, but for the New Zealanders who served in the Korean War during the 1950s, and their families, it hasn’t been forgotten. Forty-five Kiwis died during that conflict in a land many knew nothing about, in a war most didn’t understand. And still, decades later, it is a Cold War
Korean War veterans’ voices Read Post »
In the latest installment in the Rizolli and Isles thriller series, three children are brought together by seemingly random and extreme acts of violence. Orphaned, the children are taken in as students of a boarding school for emotionally traumatised children in a remote area of Maine. However, forensic pathologise Maura Islas suspects the Evensong School
Rizzoli and Isles tackle school menace Read Post »
I haven’t read all of Donna Leon’s books but have managed to make my way through half a dozen of the series featuring Venetian police commissioner Guido Brunetti and have found them a little hit and miss: all were well-written but for me, the storylines ranged from gripping to dull. This latest book is a
Intrigue rates with the best Brunetti novels Read Post »
Museums are interesting places and it is the natural history collections that are often the most interesting. Author Brian Gill has taken on the task of telling the stories of 15 intriguing objects in New Zealand museums: how they got there, why they are of interest and their impact. He has done a fantastic job,
Behind the scenes at museums Read Post »
Following on from the earlier success of her Gran’s Kitchen and Gran’s Family Table cookbooks, Natalie Oldfield has produced another winner packed with recipes that are both desirable and accessible. All too often, modern cookbooks tend to feature ingredients that no normal person has in their pantry or food that looks like it’s been painted
A classic for the kitchen Read Post »
Dunedin-based children’s author Diane Miller has used the Josephine, the 21-tonne steam locomotive that has been on display at the Otago Settlers Museum for years, as the inspiration for this story. Josephine gets to realise a long-held fantasy, and escapes her museum display. She Heads off down the tracks in the hops of helping a
Otago tale brings local star to the fore Read Post »
