Kurt Vonnegut: Drawings       $75.00 
145 of the writer's strange, comic, idiosyncratic, doodle-like drawings, showing affinities with those of Klee, Calder and John Lennon. With an introductory memoir by Vonnegut's daughter Nanette.

The Bookshop That Floated Away by Sarah Henshaw      $25.00
Henshaw launched her 'Book Barge' in 2009, and it has come to represent an ideal of 'slow bookselling' in a world where the personal qualities of life are under threat. Read Henshaw's account of how she became the antithesis of Amazon. It's a pity there aren't canals in New Zealand!
>> Article here.
>> Sarah Henshaw at the tiller.

Growing Apart: Regional prosperity in New Zealand by Shamubeel Eaqub       $14.99
As wealth is becoming increasingly concentrated in some areas of New Zealand, are others in danger of becoming 'zombie zones'? Should we do something about regional economic disparity? If so, what?
"A must-read for any understanding of the future and the options available." - Nevil Gibson, National Business Review editorial

All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews        $35.00
The relationship between two sisters is explored in this remarkable novel.  
"I can think of no precedent for the darkly fizzing tragicomic jeu d'esprit that is Miriam Toews's novel. Its compulsive readability is all the more remarkable since the story issues from such a dark place in the author's heart. Can a work of mourning be a comedy? Uniquely, Toews has created a requiem with an antic disposition." - Guardian
>> Interview with the author here.
>> You'll like this trailer.

A Short History of Nuclear Folly: Mad scientists, dithering Nazis, lost nukes and catastrophic cover-ups by Rudolph Herzog    $35.00
"Meticulously researched and thrillingly told. Reading this is as informative as it is spine-chillingly entertaining" - Die Zeit
"Unflinching. Let's just say that Herzog's use of the word 'folly' is an understatement." - The Village Voice
"It is arguably not possible to imagine human stupidity on a grander scale than what Rudolph Herzog has stockpiled in his new book." - The Brooklyn Rail

Time Reborn: From the crisis in physics to the future of the universe by Lee Smolin     $29.99
The passing of time seems obvious to us but our comprehension of just what that means is very limited. In this fascinating book Smolin shows that our understanding of pretty much everything depends on a rethinking of whatever it is we call 'time'.
"Brilliant and persuasive." -  Guardian
"Provocative and stimulating. Smolin reconceives the universe." - Sunday Times

The Book: A global history edited by Michael F Suarez et al     $95.00
Indispensable. A concise, extended and affordable edition of the highly acclaimed Oxford Companion to the Book.      

Great Maps: The world's masterpieces explored and explained by Jerry Brotton      $55.00
From the earliest rock carvings to the latest geospatial technology, from ancient medieval mappae mundi to the first road atlas, this book shows how maps have influenced and reflected our world throughout history.

Missing Microbes: How killing bacteria creates modern plagues by Martin Blaser     $37.00
For thousands of years, bacteria and human cells have peacefully co-existed in a relationship that has ensured the health and equilibrium of our body. But now, much like the natural world outside of us, our internal environment is being irrevocably destroyed. This book may be the Silent Spring of our age.

The Silent Day: A landmark oral history of D-Day on the Home Front by Max Arthur    $39.99
On 6 June 1944 Britain woke up to a profound silence. Overnight, 160,000 Allied troops had vanished and an eerie emptiness settled over the country. How was this momentous day experienced by ordinary people?

Wellbeing Economics: Future directions for New Zealand by Paul Dalziel and Caroline Saunders      $14.99
Instead of measuring economic growth for its own sake, we could be assessing how well it enables New Zealanders to lead 'the kinds of lives they value and have reason to value'. This book calls for New Zealand's transformation from a traditional 'welfare state' to a progressive 'wellbeing state'.

China's War With Japan, 1937-1945: The struggle for survival by Rana Mitter       $35.00
"A major contribution to the one aspect of the Second World War of which we know far too little. A model of clarity and good writing." - Antony Beevor, The Times 
Someone should send a copy of this book to the Australian Prime Minister.

The Body Economic: Eight experiments in economic recovery, from Iceland to Greece by David Stuckler and Sanjay Basu    $35.00
"An explosive, powerful, morally armour-plated broadside." - Guardian

The Republic: The fight for Irish independence, 1918-1923 by Charles Townshend      $35.00
"Magisterial and essential. The indispensable account of the Irish Revolution." - Irish Times

Graphic Design School by David Dabner and Sandra Stewart     $39.99
A very clear and useful self-teaching guide to all aspects of graphic design theory and practice. Emerge from between these covers ready to make your mark.

An Atheist's History of Belief by Matthew Kneale    $29.99
What have humans believed across the ages, and why have they believed these things? How have beliefs changed as our circumstances and concerns have changed? What role has religion played in the structure of society, and what is its place in a world where science is sieving even the contents of the mind?

She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick     $23.00
Laureth Peak's father is a writer. For years he's been trying, and failing, to write a novel about coincidence. His wife thinks he's obsessed, Laureth thinks he's on the verge of a breakdown. He's supposed to be doing research in Austria, so when his notebook shows up in New York, Laureth knows something is wrong. On impulse she steals her mother's credit card and heads for the States, taking her strange little brother Benjamin with her. Reunited with the notebook, they begin to follow clues inside, trying to find their wayward father. Ahead lie challenges and threats, all of which are that much tougher for Laureth than they would be for any other 16-year-old because Laureth is blind. 

The Numbers Game: Why everything you knew about football is wrong by Chris Anderson and David Sally       $35.00
Statistical analysis helps us to rethink the factors that lead to success.
"As a highly original contribution to our understanding of what we are seeing at a match, their book is unbeatable." - Independent

Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan       $28.00
A novel exploring the relationship between Robert Louis Stevenson and his American wife, Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne, whose hopes to be a painter or a writer herself came up against RLS's belief that a family could only tolerate one creative member.
"Fabulous." - The Times
"A worthy tribute to Stevenson and the woman who stood by him." - Washington Post

Blue Dahlia, Black Gold: A journey into Angola by Daniel Metcalfe      $29.99
"A rich and fascinating book about an overlooked African powerhouse by a travel writer of rare talent." - Tim Butcher, author of Blood River 

Alphabetical: How every letter tells a story by Michael Rosen     $29.99
"A wonderfully eclectic history of the alphabet." - The Times
Now in paperback!

Fairyland: A memoir of my father by Alysia Abbott       $37.00
After his wife's death in 1973, poet and activist Steve Abbott came out of the closet and moved, with his three-year-old daughter, to San Francisco.
"A wonderfully touching account, not just of a distinctly different father/daughter dynamic but also a historic time in San Francisco." - Gay Times

Deep, A Sea Odyssey: Freediving, renegade science and what the ocean tells us about ourselves by James Nestor      $35.00
The sea covers seventy per cent of Earth's surface, and contains answers to questions about the world we are only beginning to ask.

Designing Here/Now: A global selection of objects, concepts and spaces for the future edited by Allan Chochinov and Eric Ludlum    $80.00

A wide-ranging overview of how design can change our lives in fresh and often unexpected ways. From consumer products to speculative ventures, from transportation to visual communication, from design writing to food design, this book presents cutting-edge work from the pivotal Core77 Design Awards.

Wayfaring Stranger by James Lee Burke     $38.00
A sprawling thriller drenched intrigue that takes a young boy from a chance encounter with Bonnie and Clyde to the trenches of World War II and the oil fields along the Texas-Louisiana coast.
"So far above the prevailing standards of crime fiction that it is pointless to make the comparison." - Daily Express

An Englishman Aboard: Discovering France in a rowing boat by Charles Timoney     $30.00
The author foolishly decided to travel the entire length of the Seine in a rowing boat.
"A wonderful view of France as seen from the water, and through the eyes of a genuinely funny writer - I laughed out loud . " - Philip Marsden

Hour of Darkness by Quitin Jardine     $38.00
Another Bob Skinner mystery!
"Remarkably assured, raw-boned. A tour de force." - New York Times

Blackberry Pie: 48 New Zealand ballads by Joe Charles       $35.00
This book of new ballads in the traditional vernacular style will appeal to anyone with an interest in New Zealand folklore. Goldiggers, swaggies, shearers, drovers, rouseabouts and sailors crowd the pages.
Follows Charles' now-legendary 1981 collection Black Billy Tea.

To the Top of the Mountain by Arne Dahl      $38.00
There is something dangerous approaching Sweden, and the Intercrime Team are the only people who can do anything to stop it.

Retro Caravans: Vantastic Kiwi collections by Don Jessen        $39.99
Tempting. Very tempting.

The Wandering Mind: What the brain does when you're not looking by Michael C. Corballis      $35.00
While psychologists write bestsellers about humans’ smarter side—language, cognition, consciousness—and self-help gurus harangue us to be attentive and mindful, we all know that much of the time our minds are just goofing off. So what does the brain do when you’re not looking?
Rooted in neuroscience, psychology and evolutionary biology but written with Corballis’s signature wit and wisdom, The Wandering Mind takes us into the world of the ‘default-mode network’ to tackle the big questions. From the author of Pieces of Mind.         >> Corballis speaks here. 
We are pleased to announce that Corballis will be appearing at the Page & Blackmore Readers & Writers festival in October!

Never Any End to Paris by Enrique Vila-Matas       $37.00
An account of four years spent in Paris in the 1970s, hoping and trying to be a 'writer'.
"Enrique Vila-Matas has pioneered one of contemporary literature’s most interesting responses to the great Modernist writers. Taking the Modernists as towering giants that will never be equalled, Vila-Matas works to inscribe himself—at times literally—in the margins of their works. His tools are irony, parody, paradox, and futility, and his goal is to mix fact, fiction, and autobiography in order to depict not reality but truth." - Paris Review
>> Interview here.

Skylight by Jose Saramago        $35.00
An early novel by the Nobel Prize-winner, lost for decades in the offices of his Lisbon publisher and only brought to light after his death. Skylight demonstrates Saramago's dual concerns for the differing experiences of ordinary people and for sentences that capture the texture of those experiences (actually these might be just one concern).

Vulgar Things by Lee Rourke    $35.00
"Sad, lost men looking for maps in the starry Essex sky, small-town strippers, absent mothers, angry brothers, planets photographed on smart phones, cider and a lot of rare steak - Rourke is on his way to becoming the J. G. Ballard of Southend-on-Sea." - Deborah Levy
"As poignant and unsettling as a beam of light hitting the night sky from across the far-off wastes." - Eimear McBride

Mods, The New Religion: The style and music of the 1960s Mods by Paul Anderson    $45.00
For some it was sharp clothes, music and dancing; for others it was pills, thrills and violence. The original Mod generation tell it exactly how it was, in their own words.
"This is the book you need to know about the real Mod scene - and the nearest you can get to a Mod Bible." - Steve Ellis (60s Mod)

The Lonely Nude by Emily Dobson     $25.00
At once present in the world and totally isolated from it, the life model's perspective is similar to the poet's.

"These poems have a lively assertiveness, a voice that is not afraid to declare itself and its feelings." -Dominion Post

"The poems are very assured and a joy to read." - James Brown

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman      $38.00
Irrepressible curmudgeon Ove decides to end it all after the death of his wife, but his neighbours keep interrupting...
If you enjoyed The Lonely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window, this one's for you!
 

Chop Chop by Simon Wroe      $37.00
An unsparingly funny novel set in the fast-paced and treacherous world of a restaurant kitchen.
"A brutally funny look at the world of professional cooking." - Gary Shteyngart
"Oven-fresh and inventive, peopled with technicolour characters, and savagely funny." - A.D. Miller

Cairo Kitchen: Recipes of the Middle East inspired by the street food of Cairo by Suzanne Zeidy     $55.00
Middle Eastern food is made for sharing, and Cairo Kitchen is filled with standout recipes, perfect for any gathering.

The Story of Design by Charlotte Fiell      $69.99
A multi-stranded and well-illustrated survey, from the ancient world to the digital age.

Upstairs at the Party by Linda Grant       $38.00
"Seventies radicalism comes vividly to life in this compelling university novel. Straight-talking but far from straightforward in its observations, Upstairs at the Party’s portrait of an era is convincing, its subtle cynicism regarding the pitfalls of freedom something to mull over." - Telegraph

The Secret Ministry of Ag. & Fish: My life in Churchill's school for spies by Noreen Riols      $19.99
"My mother thought I was working for the Ministry of Ag. and Fish." So begins Noreen Riols' compelling memoir of her time as a member of Churchill's 'secret army', the Special Operations Executive. 

Headwinds by Lindsay Pope      $25.00
Headwinds is the story of a man living 'on the lower cheek of the world where the tears fall and turn to ice' who is simultaneously muser and maverick. 
Pope and other Nelson poets whose work appears in the new Essential New Zealand Poems will be reading in the Free House Yurt on 31 July, from 6pm. Click here for details

Painting Death by Tim Parks     $35.00
Morris Duckworth has a dark past. Having married and murdered his way into a wealthy Italian family he has long left aside the paperweight and the pillow to become a respected member of Veronese business life. But it's not enough. Never satisfied with being anything short of the best, he comes up with a plan to put on the most exciting art exhibition of the decade, based on a subject close to his heart: killing. 
From the Italy-based author of Europa, Italian Ways, Destiny, Teach Us to Sit Still, &c.

Rough on Women: Abortion in 19th-century New Zealand by Margaret Sparrow       $40.00
A fascinating study, and a sort of prequel to the author's Abortion Then and Now and Alison McCullough's Fighting to Choose.

The Fastest Boy in the World by Elizabeth Laird      $19.00
11-year-old Solomon loves to run. When his grandfather takes him to Addis Ababa, Solomon hopes to watch his athletic heroes, but his grandfather has other ideas. Solomon finds he has to put his running skills to a use he hadn't envisaged.

Empire's Crossroads: A history of the Caribbean from Columbus to the present day by Carrie Gibson     $38.00

Our Man in Malaya by Margaret Shennan     $26.00
The career of John Davis was inextricably and paradoxically intertwined with that of Chin Peng, the leader of the Malayan Communist Party and the man who was to become Britain's chief enemy in the long Communist struggle for the soul of Malaya. When the Japanese invaded Malaya during World War Two, John Davis escaped to Ceylon, sailing 1,700 miles in a Malay fishing boat, before planning the infiltration of Chinese intelligence agents and British officers back into the Malayan peninsula. With the support of Chin Peng and the cooperation of the Malayan Peoples Anti-Japanese Army, Davis led SOE Force 136 into Japanese-occupied Malaya.

Into a Raging Blaze by Andreas Norman      $38.00
A USB stick activates a security leak that threatens to expose not just the Swedish government but a vast international web of covert operations.
"A brilliantly well-written political thriller in a perfectly depicted Foreign Office environment that keeps the reader on the rack from the first page." - Mats Staffansson, Swedish Ambassador

Ghost Hawk by Susan Cooper       $25.00
"Ghost Hawk is the work of a writer with great imaginative power and long-practised narrative skill. I was swept up in the story, shocked, moved, and enthralled - and completely convinced by the historical background. I haven't read anything better for a long time." - Philip Pullman
>> Trailer here

Blood Family by Anne Fine        $19.99
A though-provoking YA novel bout a boy raised in a dysfunctional family who begins to fear that the potential for abuse may be 'in his blood'.
"Reading Anne Fine's work is always a challenge as well as a delight. She's like a difficult relative who appears at family events and tells everyone a few home truths, yet gets away with it because she has such a wickedly witty turn of phrase." - Guardian

Adventures in the Anthropocene: A journey to the heart of the planet we made by Gaia Vince     $39.99
We are moving from the Holocene to the anthropocene ('the age of man'), where humans shape the planet's characteristics more than any natural force. How are we acting and reacting towards our habitat?Why are Peruvians painting their mountains white?

My Teacher is a Monster! (No, I Am Not) by Peter Brown     $25.00
Miss Kirby is a problem teacher - she won't even let Bobby throw paper planes in class time! One day Bobby meets Miss Kirby out of school...

Lost in the Museum by the Phoenix Writers Group    $29.99 
A collection of fantasy stories based in the collections of Te Papa.