The Biographical Dictionary of Literary Failure edited by C.D. Rose $39.99
The definitive appreciation of history's least accomplished writers, compiled by the pre-eminent expert on inexpert writers. Actual authors you have never heard of have been immortalised in all their complete absence of success. This book is a 'who's who' of the talentless and deluded, their stories timeless litanies of abject psychosis, misapplication, and delinquency.
Creamy Psychology by Yvonne Todd $60.00
Todd's photographs unsettle the mind long after they have been seen, affecting the viewer in ways very difficult to describe.
Off the Map: Lost spaces, invisible cities, forgotten islands, feral places and what they tell us about the world by Alastair Bonnett $39.99
Off the Map is a journey through the final remaining hidden places around the world. Whether it is Sealand, an abandoned gun platform off the English coast that a British citizen claimed as his own sovereign nation, making his wife his princess, or Baarle, a patchwork of Dutch and Flemish enclaves where crossing the road can involve traversing multiple national borders; or moving villages, unclaimed deserts, secret cities or underground labyrinths.
If you enjoyed Robert Macfarlane or The Atlas of Remote Islands, you will love this book.
Men, Women, Children: A novel by Chad Kultgen $29.99
The novel explores the sexual explorations of a handful of junior high school students and their equally dysfunctional parents. From porn-surfing fathers to World of Warcraft-obsessed sons, from competitive cheerleaders to their dissatisfied, misguided mothers, Kultgen clicks open the emotionally treacherous culture we live in.
>> It has been made into a film by the director of Juno and Up in the Air.
Matchbox Theatre: Thirty short entertainments by Michael Frayn $29.99
Matchbox Theatre presents a miniature sketch show: thirty dialogues and monologues by Michael Frayn, to be played in the smallest theatre in the world - the theatre of your own imagination.
The Laughing Monsters by Denis Johnson $35.00
From the author of Train Dreams and Tree of Smoke.
"In his compact but profound prose, Johnson digs into the corruption found in the hearts of men. Johnson's ability to construct characters who loom powerfully despite their sketchiness and evasiveness makes The Laughing Monsters a compelling read." - Huffington Post
"Johnson is arguably one of America's greatest living fiction writers and his work has been compared to that of Cormac McCarthy and Flannery O'Connor, although writing this good should not need comparison." - The Times
"The God I want to believe in has a voice and a sense of humor like Denis Johnson's." - Jonathan Franzen
Indigo by Clemens J. Setz $37.00
Austria is in the grip of a sinister epidemic: Indigo Syndrome. Children are the carriers, and anyone who comes near them is afflicted with severe headaches, nausea, and vertigo. These Indigo children are sent away to the Helianau Institute in Styria, in the mountainous heart of the country, a protected zone where they cannot affect the wider population. There, one of the teachers, Clemens Setz, witnesses students being taken away in strange masks. They never come back. When Setz tries to find out what is going on, he swiftly loses his job. Fourteen years later, former Indigo child Robert Tatzel notices an article in the newspaper about his old teacher: Clemens Setz has just been acquitted in a brutal murder trial. But Tatzel harbours resentments against Setz from his days at Helianau, and decides to investigate.
"Indigo is the rare example of a literary work that creates its own rules, and isn't determined by anything beyond its own cosmos." - Der Spiegel
>> An interview with the author.
Meeting the Devil: A book of memoir from the London Review of Books edited by Alan Bennett $37.00
Lorna Sage remembers growing up with her grandfather during the Second World War, Jenny Diski imagines her own burial, and Hilary Mantel tackles a strongman on her hospital bed. Julian Barnes writes about not getting the Booker Prize. Andrew O'Hagan confesses to his past as a schoolboy bully. A. J. P. Taylor hallucinates. Alan Bennett reports on the lady who lives in his drive. Tariq Ali relates his misadventures in Pyongyang. Anne Enright describes her obsession with Henrietta Lacks, the woman whose cells grow in petri dishes around the world. Frank Kermode tells his wartime stories. Terry Castle recounts her complicated friendship with Susan Sontag. And more.
A Kitchen in France: A year of cooking in my farmhouse by Mimi Thorisson $59.99
When Mimi Thorisson and her husband moved with their children from Paris to a small town in out-of-the-way Medoc, she did not quite know what was in store for them. She found wonderful ingredients from local farmers and the neighbouring woods and, most important, time to cook. This lovely book contains some of her best French country recipes: Roast Chicken with Herbs and Creme Fraiche, Cepe and Parsley Tartlets, Winter Vegetable Cocotte, Apple Tart with Orange Flower Water, and Salted Butter Creme Caramel.
Bonjour Camille by Felipe Cano and Laia Aguilar $22.00
amille has so many things to do! From jumping on the bed (of course) to choosing a new favourite colour, drawing faces on thousands of balloons, hiding all of the umbrellas, seeking out the unexpected on a map and more, Camille teaches young readers the importance of being guided by a boundless imagination.
Te Tau Ihu o te Waka: A history of Maori in Nelson and Marlborough, Volume 4: The chiefly families of Ngati Tama and Te Atiawa by Hilary and John Mitchell $105.00
The fourth and final volume of this unsurpassable history.
The Emperor Far Away: Travels on the edge of China by David Eimer $39.99
An interesting look at the less looked-at corners of a vast and diverse country.
What If? Serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions by Randall Munroe $34.99
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?
The Mill is Kaiapoi - artwork, story and lyrics by May Kelleher $39.99
A handmade history about the people of Kaiapoi before, during and after the wool years of New Zealand.
The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin, illustrated by Luis Royo $24.99
An enchanting tale of courage and sacrifice for children and adults from the creator of The Game of Thrones.
Piano Forte: The colonial New Zealand piano by Kristine Moffat $45.00
The title inevitably conjures up the image of the grand piano on a deserted beach that is the leitmotif of Jane Campion's 1993 film The Piano: both a powerful symbol of the incongruity of the piano in this context, its status as 'alien' intruder, and a moving testimony to the personal and cultural value of the instrument that accompanied its owner to the far side of the world. Did nineteenth-century European settlers share the fictional Ada McGrath's passionate attachment to her instrument? Was the instrument particularly valued by middle and upper class women, or did it transcend gender and class divides? How did Maori react to the melodies the piano released?
Duffy by Dan Kavanagh $28.00
When Brian McKechnie finds his wife attacked, his cat killed, and himself blackmailed by a man with a suspiciously erratic accent, he engages the services of London's most unusual private eye - Duffy. A bisexual ex-policeman with a phobia of ticking watches and a love of Tupperware, Duffy is anything but orthodox. But he's street smart, savvy and takes no nonsense from anyone.
Kavanagh bears more than a passing resemblance to Julian Barnes!
The Book of Evidence by John Banville $26.00
25th anniversary edition of Banville's wonderfully dark, insightful and unnerving crime novel that takes us deep into the unreliable mind of an improbable murderer. Remarkable.
"Remarkable. If all crime novels were like this one, there would no longer be the need for a genre." - Ruth Rendell
"The Book of Evidence is a major work of fiction in which every suave moment calmly detonates to show the murderous gleam within. Banville writes a dangerous and clear-running prose and has a grim gift of seeing people's souls." - Don DeLillo
50 Foods: A guide to delciousness by Edward Behr $35.00
A culinary
Baedeker from the editor of the esteemed
The Art of Eating magazine.
West by Julia Franck $35.00
Scientist Nelly Senff is desperate to escape her life in East Berlin. The father of her two children has supposedly committed suicide, and she wants to leave behind the prying eyes of the Stasi. But the West is not all she hoped for. Nelly and her children are held in Marienfelde, a processing centre and no-man's-land between East and West.
The Water Diviner by Andrew Anastasios and Meaghan Wilson-Anastasios $25.00
This is not a war novel, not even an anti-war novel. Instead it focuses on the battles that go on inside the hearts and minds of a small group of Australians and Turks as they struggle to bury their dead and rebuild their lives after the First World War. The story is based on first-hand resources, diaries and official records.
The Vanishing Game by Kate Kae Myers $19.99
The bond between twins is unmistakable. For Jocelyn and Jack, that bond was all they had. But now Jack is dead. Then Jocelyn receives a letter from Jason December--the code name Jack used when they were children. Has Jack faked his own death?
The Crash of 2016: The plot to destroy America, and what we can do to stop it by Thom Hartmann $35.00
The United States is more vulnerable today than ever before-including during the Great Depression and the Civil War-because the pillars of democracy that once supported a booming middle class have been corrupted, and without them, America teeters on the verge of the next Great Crash. Hartmann argues that the facade of the once-great United States will soon disintegrate to reveal the rotting core where corporate and billionaire power and greed have replaced democratic infrastructure and governance.
Alan Turing: The enigma by Andrew Hodges $28.00
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown released a statement of apology in 2009 on behalf of the British government for the "appalling" treatment of Turing, the computing pioneer whose brilliant team at Bletchley Park cracked the German 'Enigma Code'.
>> This is the book that inspired the film The Imitation Game.
Marrakech Express by Peter Millar $29.99
By train through Morocco. Why not?
In America: Travels with John Steinbeck by Geert Mak $39.99
In 1960 John Steinbeck and his dog Charley set out in their green GMC pickup truck to rediscover the soul of America, visiting small towns and cities from New York to New Orleans. The trip became Travels With Charley, one of his best-loved books. Half a century on, Geert Mak sets off from Steinbeck's home in his own truck to trace the journey.
The Eye of the Sheep by Sophie Laguna $37.00
"Australian writer Sofie Laguna has created an authentically involving novel about a boy who lives his life out of step with all life around him. This book about a different and difficult child stands out as insightful, moving and honest." - Maclean
Ohinetahi: Garden, house and art by Myles Warren $45.00
In this delightful description of his house, his garden and the major artworks within the garden, the renowned architect tells the history of the property, details the many architectural changes made since construction of the house began in the 1850s and describes the development of the garden that is now visited by many hundreds of people every year.
Havel: A life by Michael Zantovsky $59.99
Vaclav Havel: iconoclast and philosopher-king, an internationally successful playwright who became a political dissident and then, reluctantly, a president. His pivotal role in the Velvet Revolution, the end of Communism and the birth of a modern, west-facing Czech Republic makes him a key figure of the twentieth century.
The Dangerous Book for Idiots: 100 death-defying projects for the reckless fool by Adrian Besley $19.99
Are you stark raving bonkers? Have you no care for life and limb? Too much adrenaline and not enough brain cells? Like hospital food? Then this is just the book for you.
How To Be Normal: A guide for the perplexed by Guy Browning $29.99
Useful.
SPECIAL OFFER:
Buy a copy of Derek Smith's excellent Hometown New Zealand and get a FREE 2015 Hometown NZ calendar (while stock lasts). This stunning photography book will make the perfect gift for anyone you care to think of (and it's only $29.99).
>> See more of Derek's photographs here.
