I Love Dick by Chris Kraus         $32.99
"First published in 1997, long before Knausgaard and Heti, this novel was a well-placed detonation beneath the wall dividing memoir and fiction. Ostensibly an account of Kraus’s all-consuming middle-aged crush on a man she has met only briefly and who has seemingly done nothing to encourage her obsession, the first half of the book consists of a hilarious compilation of letters addressed to ‘Dick’ by Kraus and her husband, with whom she plays a hugely ironic game of cultural and psycho-social toe-to-toe positioning. Kraus pursues her ‘crush’ through a maze of received social constructs and gender-role expectations with a snide irony that both deepens and ridicules the pathos of her rather abject attempts to ‘possess’ ‘Dick’. In any quest for authenticity, each manifestation of the personal is a struggle with the demands of form." - Thomas (read my full review here)
"This is the most important book written about men and women written in the last century. This book will only become more relevant." - Guardian

Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart       $37.00
Constance Kopp doesn't quite fit the mold. She towers over most men, has no interest in marriage or domestic affairs, and has been isolated from the world since a family secret sent her and her sisters into hiding fifteen years ago. One day a belligerent and powerful silk factory owner runs down their buggy, and a dispute over damages turns into a war of bricks, bullets, and threats as he unleashes his gang on their family farm. When the sheriff enlists her help in convicting the men, Constance is forced to confront her past and defend her family - and she does it in a way that few women of 1914 would have dared.

The Art of the Publisher by Roberto Calasso     $15.99
"All the books published by a certain publisher could be seen as links in a single chain." As well as writing some rather interesting and unusual books, Roberto Calasso has been the publisher at Italy's Adelphi Edizoni for several decades. This book is a very thoughtful consideration of the role and possibilities of publishing in the formation and culture and society.
>> 'The Art of Publishing in the Age of Immediacy'.

The Whale by Etha &Vita Murrow       $32.99
There is a legend that a Great Spotted Whale lives in the ocean; local fisherman still talk of it, although the first sighting 50 years ago was never corroborated. Now, two young whale watchers each set out to find the whale, one armed with sound recording equipment, the other a camera. Mid-ocean their boats collide, so they pool their resources and set off together to capture incontrovertible proof that the mythical Great Spotted Whale exists.

No Baggage: A tale of love and wandering by Clara Bensen         $34.99
When Clara Bensen arranged to meet Jeff Wilson on the steps of the Texas State Capitol, after just a few e-mail exchanges on OK Cupid, it felt like something big was going to happen. Jeff is a wildly energetic university professor with a freewheeling spirit. Clara is a sensitive, reclusive writer recovering from a quarter-life existential breakdown. Within a few days of knowing one another, they decide to embark on a crazyexperiment: a 21-day minimalist travel adventure, from Istanbul to London, with zero luggage, zeroreservations, and zero plans. They want to test a simple question: what happens when you welcome the unknown instead of attempting to control it? Find out by reading this book.

The Museum of Intangible Things by Wendy Wunder       $22.00
Hannah and Zoe haven't had much in their lives, but they've always had each other. So when Zoe tells Hannah she needs to get out of their down-and-out New Jersey town, they pile into Hannah's beat-up old Le Mans and head west, putting everything - their deadbeat parents, their disappointing love lives, their inevitable enrolment at community college - behind them. As they chase storms and make new friends, Zoe begins teaching Hannah all about life's intangible things, concepts sadly missing from her existence - things like audacity, insouciance, karma, and even happiness...
"A crisp, beautifully crafted story of adventure, love, and the limits of friendship." - Booklist

Scandinavian Home: A comprehensive guide to Mid-Century Modern Scandinavian designers by Elizabeth Wilhide        $55.00
What characterises Scandinavian Modern is its approachability; the use of natural materials and organic forms combined with clean lines and attention to basic practicality and comfort.

The Importance of Elsewhere: Philip Larkin's photographs by Richard Bradford       $55.00
The most widely read British poet of the twentieth century, Philip Larkin was also a keen amateur photographer and through his life he made images of the people, places and things that meant most to him. The book shows how Larkin, as an individual, as a writer and indeed as a photographer, developed an acute sensitivity to all aspects of the world around him, from his love of open uninhabited landscapes and empty churches to his mixed feelings about crowds. There are also fascinating portraits of those people who were closest to Larkin, including his lovers, his mother and his literary peers.

Red Rosa: A graphic biography of Rosa Luxemburg by Kate Evans       $35.00
Philosopher, economist, publisher, writer, organizer, political leader, martyr. A lively, rounded, colourful biography of one of the most impassioned revolutionaries. The story follows Luxemburg from her family life in Jewish Poland, where she became the leader of a general strike at age fifteen and was exiled from her homeland at eighteen, to her immersion into the then largest radical party in the world, the German Social Democratic Party, to her founding of the German Communist Party and leadership of the German revolution of 1919.
"Utterly brilliant. Kate Evans is one of the most original talents in comics I've seen in a long time." - Guardian

The World of Mamoko in the Time of Dragons ('Mamoko' #3) by Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski       $26.99
In medieval Mamoko, the king has been kidnapped by a dragon, a fair maiden needs help and Robin Hood's arrow has gone astray. Will everything be put right in time for the royal banquet? Readers are prompted to follow the adventures of Mamoko's quirky cast of characters, telling aloud their discoveries as they use their eyes and uncover the kaleidoscope of stories packed into every page.

The Clasp by Sloane Crosley     $35.00
Reunited for the extravagant wedding of a college friend, Kezia, the second-in-command to an insane jewellery designer; Nathaniel, the former literary cool kid now selling his wares in Hollywood; and Victor, who has just been fired from a middling search engine, soon slip back into their old roles: Victor loves Kezia. Kezia loves Nathaniel. Nathaniel loves Nathaniel. In the midst of all this semi-merriment, Victor has a bizarre encounter with the mother of the groom that triggers an obsession over a legendary necklace.
"Perfectly, relentlessly funny" - David Sedaris
"A 21st century Dorothy Parker" - Jonathan Ames
"Enormously hilarious. This is one of those rare, deeply literary books that also features - a plot!" - Gary Shteyngart

Last Futures: Nature, technology and the end of architecture by Douglas Murphy        $45.00
In the late 1960s the world was faced with impending disaster: the height of the Cold War, the end of oil, and the decline of great cities throughout the world. Out of this crisis came a new generation that hoped to build a better future, influenced by visions of geodesic domes, walking cities, and a meaningful connection with nature. In this brilliant work of cultural history, architect Douglas Murphy traces the lost archeology of the present-day through the works of thinkers and designers such as Buckminster Fuller, the ecological pioneer Stewart Brand, the Archigram architects who envisioned the Plug-In City in the '60s, as well as co-operatives in Vienna, communes in the Californian desert, and protesters on the streets of Paris.

Thicker Than Water by Brigid Kemmerer       $18.99
Thomas is the new kid in town. So who will believe he's not a murderer? Part YA paranormal romance, part crime thriller.

The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands        $19.99
London, 1665. Fourteen-year-old Christopher Rowe is apprenticed to master apothecary Benedict Blackthorn. In Blackthorn's shop, Christopher learns the delicate secrets of transforming simple ingredients into powerful medicines, potions and weapons. His master instils him with confidence and independence that prove increasingly vital as Christopher learns of a mysterious cult preying on the most learned men in London. The murders are growing closer and closer to home and soon Christopher is torn from the shop with only a page of cryptic clues from his master and the unambiguous warning: 'Tell no one'. Helped by his best friend, Tom, Christopher must decipher his master's clues, following a trail of deceit towards an unearthly secret with the power to tear the world apart.

Professor Stewart's Casebook of Mathematical Mysteries by Ian Stewart       $24.99
A miscellany of over 150 mathematical curios and conundrums, packed with Stewart's trademark humour and numerous illustrations.In addition to the fascinating formulae and thrilling theorems familiar to Professor Stewart's fans, the Casebook follows the adventures of the not-so-great detective Hemlock Soames and his sidekick Dr John Watsup...

Beside Myself by Ann Morgan        $32.99
Helen and Ellie are identical twins - like two peas in a pod, everyone says. The girls know this isn't true, though: Helen is the leader and Ellie the follower. Until they decide to swap places: just for fun, and just for one day. But Ellie refuses to swap back...And so begins a nightmare from which Helen cannot wake up.
“The novel is a deep, troubling, painful exploration of identity, genetics, and mental illness, but along the journey, the main character (Helen/Ellie/Smudge) becomes truly fascinating … Ambitious and gritty; a modern take on the age-old question of fate versus free will” –  Kirkus

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta       $21.00
Thomas Mackee wants oblivion. Wants to forget fathers who leave, and parents splitting up, and friends he used to care about, and a string of one night stands, and favourite uncles being blown to smithereens on their way to work on the other side of the world. When his flatmates turn him out of the house, Tom moves in with his single, pregnant aunt, Georgie. And starts working at The Union pub with his former friends, Francesca and Justine. And winds up living with his grieving alcoholic father again. And in a year where everything's broken, Tom realises that his family and friends need him to help put the pieces back together as much as he needs them."It's a story so full of heart - sorrowful, but warm and funny - it won't be easy to forget." - The Sydney Morning Herald

Politics in a Time of Crisis: Podemos and the future of European democracy by Pablo Iglesias           $35.00
Iglesias and his Podemos party have radically shaking up Spain's political establishment. Iglesias is an outspoken critic of political elites in Spain and Europe, and their austerity-led response to the recent financial crisis. Does this party show a new way forward?"There are few precedents for such an explosive political ascent in modern western Europe. Podemos has thrived because it has shredded the old left rulebook." -  Owen Jones 

Social Class in the 21st Century by Mike Savage        $26.00
Proposes a new British class system composed of seven classes that reflect the unequal distribution of three kinds of capital: economic (inequalities in income and wealth); social (the different kinds of people we know) and cultural (the ways in which our leisure and cultural preferences are exclusive).

Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon         $32.99
Destructive habits have cost Alex a marriage and a journalism career. All she has left is her routine: a morning run until her body aches, then a few hours of forgettable work before the past grabs hold and drags her down. Then she discovers Amy, seemingly in a coma since a brutal assault fifteen years ago. Unbeknownst to her doctors, Amy remains locked inside her body, conscious but paralysed, reliving the past. Alex begins to develop an obsession with Amy and her story.

Peace Talks by Andrew Motion         $36.99
Poems bearing witness to the futility of war and the suffering of those left behind. 

The Illustrated Herdwick Shepherd by James Rebanks      $48.00
"I am the luckiest man alive, because I get to live and work in the most beautiful place on earth: Matterdale in the English Lake District. When I was a child we didn't really go anywhere, except a week in the Isle of Man when I was about ten years old, and I never left Britain until I was twenty. Even now, years later, the best bit of any travelling is coming home. "Bringing us into the world of shepherd's baking competitions, sheep shows and moments out on the fell watching the sheep run away home, James Rebanks interweaves thoughts and reflections on the art of shepherding with his photographs of the valley, people and animals that make up the daily life of the fells. From the author of The Shepherd's Life.

Am I Cold by Martin Kongstad           $32.99
Is there any room for (errhm) love among the orgies and excesses of pre-Crash Copenhagen? This freewheeling satire was described by Elle as "this autumn's funniest and most provocative book about relationships".
"A spiky, witty satire that's highly engaging." - Independent

The Sea Detective by Mark Douglas-Home       $37.00
Cal McGill is an Edinburgh-based oceanographer, environmentalist and one-of-a-kind investigator. Using his knowledge of the waves - ocean currents, prevailing winds, shipping records - McGill can track where objects came from, or where they've gone. It's a skill that can help solve mysteries ranging from disappearances to murder. Two severed feet wash up on two different islands off the coast of Scotland. Forensics shows that the feet belong to the same body. As Cal McGill investigates, he unravels a web of corruption, exploitation and human trafficking, which threatens many lives across the globe - including his own ...

Beast: Blood, struggle and dreams at the heart of Mixed Martial Arts by Doug Merlino         $33.00
What is it that gives these men the drive and discipline to regularly beat each other to a pulp in the name of sport? What does this highly ritualised combat reveal about the society in which it takes place?







   

The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra      $37.00
A remarkable series of interlocking short stories that hopscotch nimbly through time and place, from the 1930s into the present and beyond, from Leningrad to a Siberian city called Kirovsk to Chechnya and back again.
"Each story is a gem in itself. But the book is greater than its parts, an almost unbearably moving exploration of the importance of love, the pull of family, the uses and misuses of history, and the need to reclaim the past by understanding who you really are and what really happened. Read the stories in order. You’ll see how they build on one another. It’s as if the author has taken a series of transparencies, each containing part of a picture, and carefully laid them on top of one another, layer by layer, so that by the end they make a whole. Mr Marra starts this miracle of a book by showing us how a system can erase the past, the truth, even its citizens. He ends by demonstrating, through his courageous, flawed, deeply human characters, how individual people can restore the things that have been taken away. And if you’ve been worrying that you’ve lost your faith in the emotionally transformative power of fiction – Mr. Marra will restore that, too." - The New York Times

 Everything is Happening: Journey into a painting by Michael Jacobs         $39.99
 Michael Jacobs was haunted by Velazquez's enigmatic masterpiece 'Las Meninas' from first encountering it in the Prado as a teenager. In this book he searches for the ultimate significance of the painting by following the trails of associations from each individual character in the picture, as well as his own memories of and relationship to this extraordinary work. This is not only the story of a fascinating work, but of how we look at and think about art.

This is Not a House by Dan Rubenstein       $139.99
Where the great experimenters of the last century were stripping away ornamentation and creating free-flowing spaces for the first time, today's pioneers are researching the potential of new materials and techniques to push the boundaries of environmental sustainability, as well as creating new forms and bold, sophisticated explorations in the adaptive reuse of spaces originally designed for any number of other purposes.

People of Print: Independent, innovative design and illustration by Marcroy Smith and Andy Cooke     $85.00
Designers who have eschewed screen-based design to make their work directly onto paper using a wide range of traditional and innovative techniques.

 Rubies in the Dust: Voices from Afghanistan by Tariq Habibyar       $22.00
As a teenage student in Afghanistan, Habibyar cycled to the homes of female students forced out of school by the Taliban, and gave them lessons. Now a doctoral student at Canterbury University, Habibyar returned to Afghanistan and collected these stories of women and girls struggling for education in Afghanistan. With the proceeds of this book, Habibyar will have it translated back into Dari and distributed in Afghanistan to build awareness of the empowering effects of education. 
 

One by Sarah Crossan       $22.99
Grace and Tippi are twins - conjoined twins. And their lives are about to change. No longer able to afford homeschooling, they must venture into the world - a world of stares, sneers and cruelty. Will they find more than that at school? Can they find real friends? And what about love? But what neither Grace or Tippi realises is that a heart-wrenching decision lies ahead.

Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom        $22.99
Parker Grant doesn't need perfect vision to see right through you. That's why she created the Rules: Don't treat her any differently just because she's blind, and never take advantage. There will be no second chances. When Scott Kilpatrick, the boy who broke her heart, suddenly reappears at school, Parker knows there's only one way to react - shun him so hard it hurts. She has enough to deal with already, like trying out for the track team, handing out tough-love advice to her painfully naive classmates, and giving herself gold stars for every day she hasn't cried since her dad's death. But avoiding her past quickly proves impossible, and the more Parker learns about what really happened - both with Scott, and her dad - the more she starts to question if things are always as they seem.

On Sculpture by Antony Gormley      $65.00
An insight into the mind and theoretical bases of this important artist, encompassing archaeology, anthropology, Asian and Buddhist traditions, as well as Western sculptural concerns.

 Notes on Suicide by Simon Critchley       $24.99
"Suicide, in my view, is neither a legal nor moral offence, and should not be seen as such. My intention here is to simply try to understand the phenomenon, the act itself, what precedes it and what follows. I'd like to consider suicide from the point of view of those who have made the leap, or have come close to it - we might even find that the capacity to take that leap is what picks us out as humans." - Critchley
"Critchley makes us think anew about old questions. We must talk about suicide without shame or sanctimony. This book is a good place to start." - Independent 

 Lunch with the FT: 52 classic interviews edited by Lionel Barber     $50.00
 From the very first mouthful, 'Lunch with the FT' was destined to become a permanent fixture in the Financial Times. One thousand lunches later, the FT's weekly interview has become an institution. From film stars to politicians, tycoons to writers, dissidents to lifestyle gurus, the list reads like an international Who's Who of our times. 

Women Garden Designers, 1900 to the present by Kristina Taylor      $139.99
An interesting survey, charting not only changes in garden design and gardening practices but also correlating these with the emancipation of women.
 

Crossroads: Extraordinary recipes from the restaurant that is reinventing vegan cuisine by Tal Ronnen, Scot Jones and Serafina Magnussen        $79.99
>> He's a conscious cook.

 The Ottoman Endgame: War, revolution and the making of the making of the modern Middle East, 1908-1923 by Sean McMeekin       $75.00
From the Italian invasion of Tripoli to the establishment of Turkish independence. Magisterial.

 Ivory Vikings: The mystery of the most famous chessmen in the world and the woman who made them by Nancy Marie Brown     $49.99
In the early 1800s, on a Hebridean beach in Scotland, the sea exposed an ancient treasure cache: 93 chessmen carved from walrus ivory. Norse netsuke, each face individual, each full of quirks, the Lewis Chessmen are probably the most famous chess pieces in the world. Questions abounded: Who carved them? Where? This book demonstrates the interconnectedness of Norway and Scotland, Ireland and Iceland, and Greenland and North America in the Viking era, and reveals the artist who made these chess pieces in the 12th century: Margret the Adroit of Iceland.

Other Americas by Sabastiao Salgado       $66.00
First published in 1986, Other Americas established Salgado's credentials as visionary reportage photographer. It assembles images from Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Guatemala, and Mexico, ranging in subject from spiritual and religious practices to changing rural landscapes to intimate domestic life. Salgado's sincerity and sympathetic eye helps us see the Americas anew.

More Than Just a Place of Work: A history of Dunedin's Hillside Railway Workshops by Ian Dougherty       $65.00
Covers both the engineering history to interest railway enthusiasts, and a political, economic and social history, from the 1860s until the workshops' closure in 2012. Illustrated.

Adam Spencer's World of Numbers by Adam Spencer     $45.00
Numbers are everywhere, and underpin our thinking about the world in often unexpected ways.
>> He talks with Kim Hill.

A Guest at the Shooters' Banquet: My grandfather's SS past, my Jewish family; A search for the truth by Rita Gabis      $39.99
Five years ago, Gabis discovered an unthinkable dimension to her family story: from 1941 to 1943, her grandfather had been the chief of security police under the Gestapo in the Lithuanian town of Svencionys, near the killing field of Poligon, where eight thousand Jews were murdered over three days in the fall of 1941. In 1942, the local Polish population was also hunted down. Gabis felt compelled to find out the complicated truth of who her grandfather was and what he had done.

 Between River and Sea: Encounters in Israel and Palestine by Dervla Murphy     $44.00
A perceptive, sympathetic look at lives on both (or all) sides of the divide. Murphy finds compassion and empathy in both communities, but is also appalled by instances of its lack on both sides. Holding onto hope, she comes to believe that despite its difficulties the only viable future lies in a single democratic state of Israel/Palestine, based on one person, one vote - a One-State Solution.

Canyoning in New Zealand by Daniel Clearwater        $79.99
51 popular canyons are given the full treatment: canyon overviews, access maps, cross sections, water level recommendations; over 100 further canyons are given briefer treatment.

 Spark Joy: An illustrated guide to the Japanese art of tidying by Marie Kondo       $37.00
Although proposed as a decluttering tool, the 'sparks joy' test could be usefully employed in (for instance) our bookshop as a method of choosing new things to take home and add to what you already have there. 
>> You can use it on books (especially with the hand movements). 

 The Widow by Fiona Barton   $37.00
A woman whose recently deceased husband was the prime suspect in a horrific crime struggles with how—and if—she wants to step out from behind his shadow.

Chance Developments: Unexpected love stories by Alexander McCall Smith      $45.00
McCall Smith has taken 15 found, anonymous photographs and imagined the stories of their subjects.

 Thank you for your support throughout the year. We have discovered some wonderful books together. 
We wish you all the very best for 2016! (There will be yet more wonderful books). 

 

 

101 Works of Art       $79.99
A beautifully designed and produced survey of some of the most interesting art works - paintings, drawings, sculpture, film and photographs - in the collections of the Christchurch Art Gallery, with thoughtful text by Lara Strongman, Ken Hall, Felicity Milburn, Nathan Pohio, Peter Vangioni and Jenny Harper and interviews with artists and curators. One of the finest art books we have seen this year!

Nocilla Dream by Augustin Fernandez Mallo      $29.99
 An arborescently structured novel, hailed as one of the most daring experiments in Spanish literature of recent years. Full of references to indie cinema, collage, conceptual art, practical architecture, the history of computers and the decadence of the novel, Nocilla Dream finds beauty in emptiness.
"An encyclopedia, a survey, a deranged anthropology. Nocilla Dream is just the cold-hearted poetics that might see America for what it really is. There is something deeply strange and finally unknowable to this book, in the very best way - a testament to the brilliance of Agustin Fernandez Mallo." - Ben Marcus

Te Whiti o Rongomai and the Resistance of Parihaka by Danny Keenan      $45.00
This is an account of the life and times of Te Whiti o Rongomai set against the politics and Crown policies of the nineteenth century. It traces the forces that shaped his life's journey from Ngamotu, where he was born, to his settling at Parihaka and his evolving sense of the injustices and disempowerment Maori experienced and his response to these. The book discusses the struggles Te Whiti had, as understood by some of his living relatives, against native policy of the time, and it gives insights into the motivations of Te Whiti and his actions. It explores the community at Parihaka, its resistance and the consequences of this and looks at Maori and government actions and responses up to the present day.

Unearthly Landscapes: New Zealand's early cemeteries, churchyards and urupa by Stephen Deed       $49.99
By the nineteenth century the ancient parish churchyards of Britain, burdened with generations of dead, were unable to cope with the strain of rising numbers of corpses. Partially decomposed bodies were regularly disinterred and dumped in pits to free up room for the newly dead. Public concern about health problems eventually put an end to the local parish churchyard burial, and by the time settlers set sail for New Zealand new, larger ‘modern’ cemeteries were being established on the edges of towns. Immigrants therefore brought with them a range of burial traditions, and of course Māori, already long established, had their own rituals. Over time, the various customs borrowed from one another to form a uniquely New Zealand way. Today, old cemeteries dot the countryside, but are ignored by most. Yet the resting places of the dead are, ironically, a reflection of the life of the surrounding community, and New Zealand’s early cemeteries have fascinating stories to tell.

New Eco Homes: New ideas for sustainable living by Manel Gutierrez    $79.99
Today's architects, designers, building craftsman, and homeowners are becoming more environmentally conscious, choosing eco-friendly living spaces with small carbon footprints that are built with sustainable materials.
>> If you are disappointed that Small House Living won't be available before Christmas, this book would be a good substitute as a gift.

Stalin's Englishman: The lives of Guy Burgess by Andrew Lownie        $39.99
Guy Burgess was the most important, complex and fascinating of 'The Cambridge Spies' - Maclean, Philby, Blunt - all brilliant young men recruited in the 1930s to betray their country to the Soviet Union. An engaging and charming companion to many, an unappealing, utterly ruthless manipulator to others, Burgess rose through academia, the BBC, the Foreign Office, MI5 and MI6, gaining access to thousands of highly sensitive secret documents which he passed to his Russian handlers. 

New York Drawings by Adrian Tomine      $33.00
Two strangers, both reading the same novel, share a fleeting glance between passing subway cars. A bookstore owner locks eyes with a neighbor as she receives an Amazon package. Strangers are united by circumstance as they wait on the subway stairs for a summer storm to pass. Instantly recognizable, Adrian Tomine's illustrations and comics have been appearing for over a decade in the pages (and on the cover) of The New Yorker.

 One Night, Markovitch by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen        $22.99
 In the late 1930s, two men - Yaacov Markovitch, perennially unlucky in love, and Zeev Feinberg, virile owner of a lustrous moustache - are crossing the sea to marry women they have never met. They will rescue them from a Europe on the brink of catastrophe, bring them to the Jewish homeland and go their separate ways. But when Markovitch is paired with the beautiful Bella he vows to make her love him at any cost, setting in motion events that will change their lives in the most unexpected and capricious of ways.

The Glass Sentence ('Mapmakers' trilogy #1) by S.E. Grove      $24.00
Boston, 1891. Thirteen-year-old Sophia Tims lives with her uncle, cartologer Shadrack Elli, in a world torn to pieces by the Great Disruption of 1799 - when all of the continents were mysteriously thrown into different time periods, from the prehistoric era to the fortieth century. Sophia's parents are explorers. She has not seen them in years, since they went on an expedition and never returned. When Shadrack is kidnapped from their home, Sophia sets out-along with her new friend, Theo - to find him. Their journey takes them across the country. Along with a group of lawabiding pirates, and a wayward botanist and his daughter, they search for Sophia's uncle, and run for their lives. What they learn-about mapmaking, the changes taking place in the world, and the legends of the land-transforms Sophia forever.

 The Scent of a Dream: Travels in the world of coffee by Sabastiao Salgado     $99.99
Acclaimed photographer Sebastiao Salgado documents traditional methods of sustainable coffee farming across the globe, revealing rituals deeply steeped in history and pride.The book spans nearly a decade of research into the hidden world of coffee, highlighting relationships characterised by respect, fair exchange and a shared understanding that ever-improving quality has the power to improve lives.

 Number 11, Or, Tales that witness madness by Jonathan Coe       $38.00
A sequel of sorts to What a Carve Up! this book continues to exemplify Coe's obsession with political degeneration and public paranoia.

Polynesian Panthers: Pacific protest and affirmative action in Aotearoa New Zealand, 1971-1981 by Melani Anae        $39.99
Formed in 1971, the Polynesian Panthers sought to raise consciousness and took action in response to the racism and discrimination Pacific peoples faced in New Zealand in the 1970s and 1980s. The Panthers organised prison visit programmes and sporting and debating teams for inmates; provided a halfway-house service for young men released from prison; ran homework centres; and offered ‘people’s loans’, legal aid and food banks that catered for 600 families at their height. Drawing on interviews, memoirs, poetry, newspaper articles and critical analysis, Polynesian Panthers is a thought-provoking account of this period in New Zealand.

Fishes of New Zealand poster          $25.00
A large and attractive poster made from the images in the monumental The Fishes of New Zealand. 

 The Happy Reader, Issue 4      $7.99
Interviews! Articles! Reviews! Pick up a copy of this lively literary magazine.

The Sceptical Gardener: The thinking person's guide to gardening by Ken Thompson       $27.99
Why is that we seem to care more for common rather than rare animals? How can a gardener improve the flavour of their vegetables? And what do bees do that improves strawberries? From the difference between British and Spanish bluebells, why Matucana and High Scent sea peas are far superior to the Valerie Harrod variety, and the easy way to sex an earwig, Thompson provides an expert's miscellany of gardening knowledge, aimed at making you not necessarily a better gardener - but quite probably a far more thoughtful one. 

 Tackling Depression and Bullying: A young person's guide by Mitchell Richards     $22.00
Focuses on the author's personal experiences and on the strategies he used to deal with bullying and depression.
 

Sourdough: recipes for rustic fermented bread, sweets, savouries and more by Sarah Owens      $65.00
Demystifies the whole gamut of sourdough baking without reducing the magic.

 Classic Beetle: A VW celebration by Keith Seume      $59.99
Displays every variant Beetle, from the WWII military vehicles to the last German-manufactured model in 1979.  

Pohara Sports Climbs by Michael Cartwright       $22.00
A guide to climbing the rewarding Bullock Creek crags.