This new collection of stories from the winner of the 2013 New Zealand Book of the Year (The Big Music) offers a candid peek at infidelity in all its guises. These are tales of lust, deceit, resentment and regret - and of the secrets and lies that can chip away at human relationships.
"Gunn is good at pinpointing the small flaws and irregularities in the knit of relationships at which unravelling will seemingly inevitably begin." - Thomas
Another subtle and perceptive novel from the remarkable Colm Toibin, this time capturing the inner life of a recently-widowed middle-aged mother of four in 1960s rural Ireland.
"Beautiful and heartbreaking." - Independent
>> Watch this.
The arrival of a deep sea diver upsets the balance in the lives of an artist and her veterinary husband. What will come to the surface?
"Wonderfully written and highly recommended New Zealand fiction." - Peter
From the days when abortion, homosexuality and even telling fortunes could see a person hauled before the courts, to sensational cases of wrongful imprisonment and police corruption, Peter Williams QC was instrumental in defining moments in the evolution of our modern judicial and penal systems. Here he recalls the people (Ronald Jorgensen, Arthur Allen Thomas, "Mr Asia", James K Baxter, Winston Peters) and the cases (both celebrated and obscure) that have defined his remarkable career, and illuminates the ways in which a legal system mirrors its society, for good and bad.
Gawande examines the systems we have evolved to govern our mortality, systems that routinely fail to serve - or even acknowledge - people's needs and priorities beyond mere survival. The consequences are devastating lives, families, and whole economies. It doesn't have to be this way.
Ghosts and ghouls beware! London's smallest, shabbiest and most talented psychic detection agency is back. Lucy and George are trying to solve the mystery of the talking skull trapped in their ghost jar, while Lockwood is desperate for an exciting new case. Things seem to be looking up when the team is called to Kensal Green Cemetery to investigate the grave of a sinister Victorian doctor... We all loved The Screaming Staircase, and this book is even better! Read them both. >> Get scared here.
"Stroud is a genius." - Rick Riordan
>> Buy a copy of either 'Lockwood' book and go in the draw to win a copy of The Screaming Staircase signed by the author.
Ranging from inner-city homes to remote retreats, each house demonstrates how thoughtful design and environmentally-responsive building techniques can work together to produce beautiful and ecologically sound living spaces. Part design inspiration, part practical guide, Green Modern offers examples of homes that adopt a wide variety of responses to enhance energy efficiency, environmental impact, health and comfort.
Life in a small village on the Suffolk coast is disrupted not only by the First World War but by the arrival of a mysterious Scotsman, Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
"A compelling tale beautifully told, Mr Mac & Me is as close to a perfect novel as anything I've read in a long time. I loved every page of it." - Ann Patchett
"Attending to Esther Freud's still, truthful voice becomes not only a pleasure but a necessity." - Jonathan Coe
230 stunning images spanning the six decades of this important New Zealand artist's work, with thoughtful supportive text. Exquisite production by Ron Sang.
500 iconic covers telling the story of these ubiquitous children's books.
Which is your favourite Ladybird Book?
The splendid whitestone facades have presided over an artisanal renaissance and an imaginative resuscitation of a lost lifestyle.
New Zealand's manuka honey is known around the world. It fetches extremely high prices, and beekeepers do everything in their power to produce as much of it as they can. Wound dressings containing manuka honey are used in leading hospitals, and it has saved the lives of patients infected with disease-causing bacteria that are resistant to standard antibiotic drugs. In so doing, it has forced the medical profession to re-think its position on the therapeutic properties of natural products. You can also eat it like the honey it is. >>>Cliff Van Eaton will be in the shop on 6 November at 6pm - mark your diary now.
The heart-warming, scary and funny story of a boy's life, told through a teddy bear's eyes. A teddy bear comes into a little boy's life in 1950 when his mother is about to have a new baby. The teddy tells the story of his life - being dragged around, inside and out, on bikes, in wheelbarrows, on all sorts of adventures - and always being well loved. He even learns to read with the boy. As Teddy tells his story, he's also telling the boy's story. And the boy, of course, grows up... [and becomes one of New Zealand's most loved children's illustrators and authors]. This is a very special book.
A wieldable selection of stunning ornothographic import.
>> We have stock available of the award-winning slip-cased out-of-print and delectable Buller's Birds of New Zealand: The Complete Work of JG Keulemans at a very special price (perfect for a Christmas present!).
The masterful biographer traces the extent to which Queen Victoria's vast imperial impact was due to her overwhelmingly rich and creative inner life.
"A subtle, thoughtful biography." - Guardian
Is being an artist a radical form of entrepreneurship or a vocational calling like the priesthood? Is it an extension of philosophy or an offshoot of entertainment? In three richly interlinked but distinct 'acts' - Politics, Kinship and Craft - Sarah Thornton compares and contrasts answers to the simple but profound question: What is an artist? From the author of the snidely instructive Seven Days in the Art World.
"Utterly original and compelling, Porochista Khakpour's The Last Illusion weaves Iranian myth with very contemporary American neurosis to create a bittersweet poetry all its own. This ambitious, exciting literary adventure is at once grotesque, amusing, deeply sad - and wonderful, too." - Claire Messud
"Deftly, unexpectedly, blends Persian myth with modern life, and with the perils and pleasures of magic. In a gripping, sinuous, sometimes explosive voice, Porochista Khakpour tell us a story like no other, with a protagonist like no other - and there is not a reader who will not remember him always." - Amy Bloom
At 2047 kilometres long and stretching from the southernmost tip of the South Island to Cape Reinga, State Highway 1 provides the perfect route for a photographer and a writer to survey the people and places of New Zealand.
Everyone knows that a tiny acorn into a mighty oak grows, and a caterpillar emerges into a butterfly. But in this clever, visually enchanting volume, it's also true that a cow can result in both a bottle of milk and a painting of a cow, and an ape in a jungle may become an urban King Kong. Just as day turns into night and back again, a many-tiered cake is both created and eaten down to a single piece. With simple, graphic illustrations sure to appeal to even the youngest of children, this smart exploration of the fascinating theme of before and after will please discerning adult readers, too.
For someone who hates exercise, Kristy Chambers is pretty good at running away, and coming back again when her credit cards are declined. She's not so much an international jetsetter as a loose cannon with a passport. She is accompanied by the most unreliable travelling companion: her mental health. A hilarious - and brutally honest - memoir about mental illness and depression.
How fast can you hit a speed bump, driving, and live? When (if ever) did the sun go down on the British Empire? When will Facebook contain more profiles of dead people than living? How many humans would a T Rex rampaging through New York need to eat a day? At what depth would you survive the fall if all the water in the ocean suddenly disappeared?
Ferrante's novels about the fierce friendship between Lila and Elena, which began with My Brilliant Friend, are beautifully and subtly written and utterly compelling.
Join chef and outdoorsman Tony Smith as he follows a New Zealand river from the headwaters in the High Country, down to the foothills and plains and on to the coast, and explore the amazing variety of food, game and produce he catches, hunts and cooks along the way.
A wide and wonderful selection of really good and interesting poems from big names such as Mahy, Tuwhare and Glover to new voices and new discoveries.
>> Here's Paula Green on The Book Show.
>> Paula Green will bring her Hot Spot Poetry Tour to our shop on Monday 20 October at 4pm. All welcome!
Renowned chef Martin Benn takes the reader on a culinary journey through 60 of his exciting dishes. Based around four degustation menus, this lovely book highlights the technical mastery and sheer beauty of Martin's food, with its deep connections to Japanese cuisine and flavours and its focus on texture and contrast.
The letters of our alphabet work tirelessly to make words that in turn make stories, but what if there was a story FOR each of the letters instead? Turn the pages of this exquisite book to find out...
This is Oliver Jeffers at his most delightful and poignant.
A beautiful book. Tasmania has a climate very much like much of New Zealand's, so it is fascinating to see what can be achieved with a bit of imagination and inspiration and quite a lot of money.
Bert has been preparing for this for a long time. He is ready. Mentally and physically. But before he takes the plunge, he might need a bit of encouragement from his friends. You can do it, Bert!
Rosie Jarman and the somewhat autistic Don Tillman from the sensational The Rosie Project are now married and living in New York. Expectant parenthood provides a whole new emotional territory for Don to try to navigate...
"Don Tillman is one of the most endearing, charming and fascinating literary characters I have met in a long time." - The Times
>> Four words: 'Don Tillman is back'!
From human flight to the discovery of DNA to the pavlova to instant coffee to the referee's whistle to the jet pack to the electronic petrol pump. If necessity if the mother of invention, Kiwi ingenuity is the midwife.
No hesitating until you're on the road: journey through sun-drenched Andalusia and savour its cuisine.
From The Birthday Party to the Black Seeds to the solo projects, collaborative projects and other assaults of fame; from manic nihilism to calmer, almost gentle nihilism: Bleddyn Butcher has been capturing the lightning with his camera.
The first of a projected trilogy from this Pulitzer-winning author, tracing an Iowa family's fortunes and misfortunes.
David Walsh - the creator of the astounding MONA art gallery in Hobart - is both a giant and an enigma in the Australian art world. A multi-millionaire who made his money gambling, David turned a wild vision into a unique reality. He is controversial, opinionated, blunt, mysterious and idolised. This is his unconventional and intriguing memoir. What makes him tick?
Standing in line can be dull, but not when you mix tigers and frogs, sheep and skunks. But what could be worth waiting for...?
A sublime 21st-century take on British cuisine from medieval to Victorian times. Blumenthal examines the historical context and science behind everything from Quaking Pudding (1660) to Mock Turtle Soup (1892). You will want to follow him to the kitchen.
The debut novel by the iconic film director.
"An astonishing, seamless continuation of what I call his peerless novelistic film oeuvres. With Consumed, he has become the definitive heir, not just of Kafka and Borges, but of Cronenberg himself." - Bruce Wagner
Hazan reveals a city whose squares echo with the riots, rebellions and revolutions of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Combining the raconteur's ear for a story with a historian's command of the facts, he introduces an incomparable cast of characters: the literati, the philosophers and the artists, and shows the city to be a hotbed of social and cultural innovation.
“This is a wondrous book, either to be read at home with a decent map, or carried about sur place through areas no tourists bother with.”— Adam Thorpe, The Guardian
A charmingly illustrated, delightfully humorous guide to over 100 different breeds of dog (and one cat).
Does violence have a root in the religious impulse or in religious institutions? Armstrong argues that faith is not inherently violent and that the world's religions have had an ambivalent relationship with the wars, persecutions and executions perpetrated in their name.
"By turns tender, beautiful, and devastating, Island of a Thousand Mirrors is a deeply resonant tale of an unraveling Sri Lanka. Incredibly moving, complex, and with prose you may want to eat, this debut is a triumph." - NoViolet Bulawayo, author of We Need New Names
Who better to guide you through the science of detection, from the crime scene to the courtroom?
A companion the truly wonderful Maps, this volume is full of facts, puzzles and activities designed to fascinate young minds and enliven young imaginations.
"A collection of stories about Christchurch cats and the earthquakes – true tales of heroism, odd and quirky stories, funny stories, sad stories – stories that will surprise you, make you chuckle or make you go awwww. There's a lot of love in this book – and Craig Bullock's excellent photographs depict this love beautifully."
>> Prefer dogs? We've got Quake Dogs too! (and it's got the same blurb from the publisher).
This deluxe slipcased two-volume set is an insider's tour of twenty years of film-making magic at Weta Workshop and Weta Digital, the creative companies behind such celebrated films as The Lord of the Rings, Avatar, The Avengers, King Kong, District 9 and The Hobbit.
Douglas Petersen understands his wife's need to 'rediscover herself' now that their son is leaving home. He just thought they'd be doing their rediscovering together. So when Connie announces that she will be leaving, too, he resolves to make their last family holiday into the trip of a lifetime: one that will draw the three of them closer, and win the respect of his son. One that will make Connie fall in love with him all over again.
From the author of One Day.
This book reveals and celebrates a side of animals that we often think belongs primarily to people—heroism, that indefinable quality of going above and beyond, often at great personal risk. These true tales show animals whose quick acts have saved lives, like the pod of dolphins who protected swimmers in New Zealand from a great white shark. There are stories of animals who simply and unselfishly give, like a llama who helps elderly patients in a rehab centre.
If you loved Unlikely Friendships and Unlikely Loves, it's likely you'll love Unlikely Heroes.
Unlike other books on French style, this illustrated handbook cuts through some of the myths. The authors - Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline De Maigret and Sophie Mas - are bohemian free-thinkers and iconoclasts, and say what you don't expect to hear, just the way you want to hear it. They are not against smoking in bed, and all for art, politics and culture, making everything look easy, and going against the grain. Excellent.
A darkly comic tale of hope and humanity against the grim urban and political landscape of Margaret Thatcher's Britain, from the author of Morvern Callar.
"Warner is one of Scotland's best, a writer who has begun to create his own, often surreal, imaginative world out of the flotsam and jetsam – the detritus – of modern life." - Robert McCrum, Guardian
Sam and Dave are on a mission. A mission to find something spectacular. So they dig a hole. And they keep digging. And they find...nothing. Yet the day turns out to be pretty spectacular after all.
At 22, Marianne Ihlen travelled to the Greek island of Hydra with Norwegian writer Axel Jensen. While Axel wrote, Marianne kept house, until Axel abandoned her and their newborn son for another woman. One day while Marianne was shopping in a little grocery shop, in walked a man who asked her to join him and some friends outside at their table. He introduced himself as Leonard Cohen, then a little-known Canadian poet. The book contains previously unpublished poems, letters and photographs.
A revealing look at the fashion revolution of the 1960s and '70s through the ground-breaking, hip, and now-legendary London emporium Biba - by its founder.
A Viking wooden comb and a 1950s fridge-freezer each tell you a lot about the people who made them.
A gripping story about a young girl's turmoil during the revolution in Romania. Before she knows it, everything in thirteen-year-old Flora Popescu's life has changed.
As the stock-market crash of 1929 plunged the world into turmoil, two men emerged with competing claims about how to restore balance to economies gone awry. John Maynard Keynes, the mercurial Cambridge economist, believed that government had a duty to spend when others would not. He met his opposite in a little-known Austrian economics professor, Friedrich Hayek, who considered attempts to intervene both pointless and potentially dangerous.
This difference of approach is evident in the varying responses of governments to economic troubles today.
The story of one of the 732 Polish child survivors of wartime deportation offered unlikely refuge in New Zealand.
"A riot is the language of the unheard." - Martin Luther King.
Since 2011 swathes of protest, rebellion, and rioting have covered the globe. D'Arcy claims that the crucial contrast is between democratic and undemocratic action, rather than violence and non-violence. Both a consideration of the ethics and politics of militant protest and the story of dissidents and their actions post 1968, this book argues that militancy is not a danger to democratic norms of consensus-building. Instead, it is a legitimate remedy for elite intransigence and unresponsive systems of power that ignore, or silence, the people.
A very readable account of a period when England was presented with several equally-possible futures and tore itself apart trying to decide which one to pursue.
In the contested and unexplored territories at the edge of the Empire, life is hard - and men must be harder. Gritty fantasy for fans of Abercrombie's Red Country or Mark Lawrence's Prince of Thorns.
Sometimes poor skill of dubious intention means that taxidermy just isn't very good. You will laugh (even if you feel that you shouldn't).
>> Visit the website.
