New books to hit the spot


TOUCHDOWN is a weekly selection of outstanding new titles: books either anticipated or surprising, just out of the carton! Follow the links for more information, to purchase these books or to have them put aside for you.

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13 February 2015


http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/842892?barcode=9781444794533&title=Chimes
The Chimes by Anna Smaill     $35.00
What would happen if the written word was replaced by music? In the world of The Chimes, life is orchestrated by a vast musical instrument that renders people unable to form new memories.But what happens when one person begins to remember? What is the danger lurking in the past, concealed by the music?
"The Chimes is a remarkable debut. It's inventive, beautifully written, and completely absorbing. I highly recommend it." - Kevin Powers, author of The Yellow Birds
>> Excerpt here.  >> Q&A here.  >> Glenn Gould meets Kate Bush.
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/864089-NewHokkaido-9780864739766
New Hokkaido by James McNaughton       $30.00
It is 1987, forty-five years after Japan conquered New Zealand, and the brutal shackles of the occupation have loosened a little: English can be spoken by natives in the home, and 20-year-old Business English teacher Chris Ipswitch has a job at the Wellington Language Academy. But even Chris and his famous older brother-- the Night Train, a retired Pan-Asian sumo champion--cannot stay out of the conflict between the Imperial Japanese Army and the Free New Zealand movement. When Chris takes it upon himself to investigate a terrible crime, he is drawn into the heart of the struggle for freedom, guided along the way by the mysterious Hitomi Kurosawa and the ghost of Kiwi rock 'n' roll legend and martyr Johnny Lennon. 
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/841417?barcode=9781927271742&title=WhereisPim%3F
 Where is Pim? by Lena and Olof Landstrom    $19.99
Pim and Pom are back, or at least Pom is. Pim is nowhere to be found. Can a dog help Pom find Pim?

http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/845095-MigratoryAnimals-9780062346032
 Migratory Animals by Mary Helen Specht       $25.00
"Specht’s vivid debut probes the nature of family, the notion of home, and the tender burdens of both. The distinctive prose—rich with sharp observations, nimble language, and lyrical imagery—makes the novel a quirky and memorable read.' - Publishers' Weekly
"Migratory Animals brings to the page an astonishing admixture of ambitiousness, originality, and authority that’s rare among established writers and exceptional for a first effort." - Boston Globe
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/781755?barcode=9780500517345&title=SickRoseDiseaseandtheArtofMedicalIllustration
The Sick Rose: Disease and the art of medical illustration by Richard Barnett       $55.00
A beautifully gruesome and strangely fascinating visual tour through disease in an age before colour photography. This volume, combining detailed illustrations of afflicted patients from rare medical books, forms an unforgettable and profoundly human reminder of mankind's struggle with disease. 
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/866867?barcode=9780473291662&title=PortersinMyPast
 Porters in My Past by John Ewan      $35.00
A fascinating account of three brothers who came to New Zealand and were active in early Canterbury and Whanganui in association with John Robert Godley and Donald McLean.
>> John's book will be launched in our shop at 5pm on Wednesday 18th February. Please come along!
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/854997-TheVegetarianANovel-9781846275623
 The Vegetarian by Han Kang        $29.99
Yeong-hye and her husband are ordinary people. He is an office worker with moderate ambitions and mild manners; she is an uninspired but dutiful wife. The acceptable flatline of their marriage is interrupted when Yeong-hye, seeking a more 'plant-like' existence, decides to become a vegetarian, prompted by grotesque recurring nightmares. In South Korea, where vegetarianism is almost unheard-of and societal mores are strictly obeyed, Yeong-hye's decision is a shocking act of subversion.
"Bracing, visceral, system-shocking, sensual, provocative and violent, ripe with potent images, startling colours and disturbing questions. The Vegetarian is an extraordinary experience." - Guardian
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/863825?barcode=9781781090244&title=TheRoom
 The Room by Jonas Karlsson     $29.99
 The Authority looks favourably upon meticulousness, efficiency and ambition. Bjorn has all of this in spades, but it's only in the Room that he can really shine. Unfortunately, his colleagues see things differently. In fact, they don't even see the Room at all. 
Have you ever worked in an office and felt the world is against you? It is.
"A gripping, tense, demonic fable in which the unease is precision-tooled and the turns of the screw wholly unexpected." - Neel Mukherjee
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/853714?barcode=9781782115045&title=TheFirstBadMan
 The First Bad Man by Miranda July      $35.00
An outwardly boring person's inner life of tangled neuroses sets her askew from her surroundings. The first novel from this film-maker and short story afficcionado. 
"Astounding". - Lena Dunham
"The First Bad Man brings together all of July's talents - it's a book that must be read, a book that must be purchased - in duplicate - one for you, one for a friend. Don't think you can loan this book - you'll never get it back". - A.M. Homes
>> Interview here
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/854980-InRealLife-9781847672629
 In Real Life by Chris Killen      $35.00
"The emotional sincerity in this modern romance makes a refreshing change from the ironic tone found in many novels about young people. Ultimately though, it’s the un-glamour of the internet, and the un-romance of real real life, that Killen is interested in showing." - Guardian
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/843152-NotForgettingtheWhale-9780297608219
 Not Forgetting the Whale by John Ironmonger    $38.00
 When a young man washes up, naked, on the sands of St Piran, he is quickly rescued by the villagers. From the retired village doctor and the schoolteacher, to the beachcomber and the owner of the local bar, the priest's wife and the romantic novelist, they take this lost soul into their midst. But what the villagers don't know is that Joe Haak worked as an analyst and has fled the City amid fears of a worldwide banking collapse caused by a computer program he invented. But is the end of the world really nigh? And what of the whale that lurks in the bay? 

http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/864589-WonkyOptics-9780864739810
Wonky Optics by Geoff Cochrane       $27.00
His fifteenth collection of poetry.
"The Cochrane tone is one of the great pleasures in our literature - and somehow sweeter for appearing not to be part of that literature." - Damien Wilkins
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/848469-PuttingtheBootIn-9781409150237
 Putting the Boot In by Dan Kavanagh      $38.00
Things are hotting up in the Third Division and it seems someone's nobbling players. Following the loss of one of his best strikers, Jimmy Lister, former England player and now ineffectual club manager, calls on the expertise of the inimitable Duffy. Duffy must investigate the troubled world of lower-league football while also facing questions of his possible encounter with AIDS, whether he's cooked his frozen pizza for too long and whether he's too short to be a decent goalkeeper.
A new humorous crime novel from the Julian Barnes alter-ego.

http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/813174?barcode=9780718179465&title=RachelKhoo%27sKitchenNotebook
Rachel Khoo's Kitchen Notebook: Over 100 delicious recipes from my personal cookbook by Rachel Khoo    $49.99
From a Ham Hock Tiffin Box to Slow Roasted Pork Belly with Sloe Gin, and Rhubarb and Custard Millefeuille, this book will inspire even the most jaded cook to try something new. From the author of The Little Paris Kitchen and My little French Kitchen.
"Rachel Khoo is the queen of creating culinary masterpieces". - Glamour

http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/864087?barcode=9780864739841&title=HalfDark
Half Dark by Harry Ricketts      $27.00
In his new collection, Harry Ricketts addresses the people and places that fill a life and the gaps they leave behind. These are poems of friendship, romance, youth, and moments that still glow or ache decades after.
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/862979-YoungSkins-9780099597421
Young Skins by Colin Barrett       $29.99
Winner of the 2014 Guardian First Book Award.
Winner of the 2014 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award.
Winner of the 2014 Rooney Prize for Irish Literature.
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/824201-LeonardCohenonLeonardCohen-9781783055678
Leonard Cohen on Leonard Cohen edited by Jeff Burger      $29.99
A revealing (and sometimes typically obfuscating) compilation of interviews from a wide range of sources, 1966-2012.
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/843342-TheUtopiaExperiment-9781447261322
 The Utopia Experiment by Dylan Evans      $35.00
In 2006 Evans sold his house in the Cotswolds and moved to the Black Isle in Scotland to found a self-sufficient community in a remote valley, with a group of acolytes he had recruited on-line. The project was called the Utopia Experiment, and the idea was to attempt to imagine, through real-life roleplaying, the conditions that might exist in the aftermath of society's collapse. As the months went by, what began as an experiment became deadly earnest.
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/854982-TheLightningTree-9780571254019
 The Lightning Tree by Emily Woof      $35.00
"Woof finds humour and poignancy in the gulf between how things are and how they ought to be." - Guardian
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/865731?barcode=9780959785333&title=StopTheClock
Stop the Clock! by Gordon McLauchlan      $25.00
"A rollicking good read about growing old from this long-time journalist, author and commentator. It might well have been called The Wit & Wisdom of Gordon McLauchlan. It frequently brought a smile to my face. Enjoyable, thoughtful and entertaining." - Graham Beattie
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/854999-TheVirtuesoftheTableHowtoEatandThink-9781847087157
 The Virtues of the Table: How to eat and think by Julian Baggini        $29.99
How we eat, farm and shop for food is not only a matter of taste. Our choices regarding what we eat involve every essential aspect of our human nature: the animal, the sensuous, the social, the cultural, the creative, the emotional and the intellectual. Thinking seriously about food requires us to consider our relationship to nature, to our fellow animals, to each other and to ourselves.

http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/841381-LastLeavesFalling-9781909531222
Last Leaves Falling by Sarah Benwell       $22.00
Japanese teenager, Sora, is diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). Lonely and isolated, Sora turns to the ancient wisdom of the samurai for guidance and comfort. But he also finds hope in the present; through the internet he finds friends that see him, not just his illness. This is a story of friendship and acceptance, and testing strength in an uncertain future.
"Deeply emotional and poignant, handling difficult themes with great sensitivity and without being sentimental. Beautifully written, heart-breaking and hopeful." - The Bookseller
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/852741-LoveHurts-9780552573979
Love Hurts edited by Malorie Blackman       $25.00
Love against the odds from the very best teen writers, including Gayle Forman, Markus Zusak, Philip Pullman, David Levithan, Malorie Blackman and Patrick Ness.
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/848478-HowtoBuildaUniversefromtheBigBangtotheEdgeofSpace-9781844038091
How to Build a Universe: From the Big Bang to the end of the universe by Ben Gilliland      $29.99
The introductory guide to everything from hydrogen fusion to supermassive black holes. Useful.
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/841547-TheFlywheel-9781742978178
 The Flywheel by Erin Gough       $25.00
Seventeen-year-old Delilah's crazy life is about to get crazier. After a misjudged crush on one of the cool girls, she's become the school punchline as well and she's struggling to keep her feet on the ground. How can she help her friend Charlie with his relationship problems? 
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/855025?barcode=9781408855430&title=OwningtheEarthTheTransformingHistoryofLandOwnership
 Owning the Earth: The transforming history of land ownership by Andro Linklater     $26.00
"A beautifully measured and extremely important book on the history of the idea that one person could own part of the Earth exclusively." - Telegraph
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/851983?barcode=9780732299217&title=TheAnchoress
 The Anchoress by Robyn Cadwallader      $34.99
"You might think there would be nothing to tell about those four walls, two windows, a squint and darkness, but the stones carried so many stories. And they would carry my story, every moment of my time here. My only witness."
England: 1255. 17-year-old Sarah withdraws from the world to live a life of prayer in a tiny cell beside the village church, but even those thick stone walls cannot keep the world at bay. 
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/855046-Sophia-9781408862001
 Sophia: Princess, suffragette, moderniser by Anita Anand       $37.00
 Sophia Duleep Singh, Sikh princess and god-daughter of Queen Victoria, was raised as an aristocratic Englishwoman: presented at court and photographed wearing the latest fashions for the society pages. But when, in secret defiance of the British government, she travelled to India, she returned a revolutionary.
"Sophia is the sort of remarkable, almost unbelievable untold true story that every writer dreams of chancing upon. A wonderful debut, written with real spirit and gusto." - William Dalrymple
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/843338-TheDiaryofLenaMukhinaAGirlsLifeintheSiegeofLeningrad-9781447284352
The Diary of Lena Mukhina: A girl's life in the siege of Leningrad    $35.00
A remarkable first-hand account by a teenage girl of some of the darkest days of 1941. 
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/853793-TheWinterWar-9781846689932
 The Winter War by Philip Teir      $35.00
 On the surface, the Paul family are living the liberal, middle-class Scandinavian dream. Max Paul is a renowned sociologist and his wife Katriina has a well-paid job in the public sector. They live in an airy apartment in the centre of Helsinki. But look closer and the cracks start to show. As he approaches his sixtieth birthday, the certainties of Max's life begin to dissolve.
"Somewhere between Richard Yates and John Updike, but with a cooler Nordic temperament." Expressen

http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/825862-ThousandPiecesofYouFirebird1-9780062357694
 A Thousand Pieces of You ('Firebird' #1) by Claudia Gray    $26.00
A girl chases her father's killer through multiple dimensions.
"With on-the-edge-of-your-seat mystery and suspense, this thrilling fantasy will keep you guessing until the end." - The New York Times
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/841919-ABitofDifference-9780007536108
A Bit of Difference by Sefi Atta     $25.00
An urgent, incisive novel challenging preconceived notions of Africa and bringing to life contemporary Nigeria. 
"A refreshing book from an author with a lot to say." - Guardian

http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/852020-TheSacrifice-9780008114862
 The Sacrifice by Joyce Carol Oates     $35.00
Racism, sexual violence, brutality and power coalesce in an incendiary novel that explores the persistence of stereotypes, the nature of revenge, and how the complexities of truth are lost in our hunger for sensationalism. 
"Joyce Carol Oates is simply the most consistently inventive, brilliant, curious and creative writer going." - Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl)
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/853934-Unspeakable-9780349002064
Unspeakable by Abbie Rushton      $19.99
Megan hasn't spoken in months. She feels compelled to keep things locked inside her head. Then Jasmine starts at school. Megan would love to speak again, but if she finds her voice, will she lose everything else?
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/843395-DontLetsGototheDogsTonight-9781447275084
 Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller    $25.00
 As the daughter of white settlers in war-torn 1970s Rhodesia, Alexandra Fuller remembers a time when a schoolgirl was as likely to carry a shotgun as a satchel.
"Like Frank McCourt, Fuller writes with devastating humour and directness about desperate circumstances. Tender, remarkable." - Daily Telegraph 
"Perceptive, generous, political, tragic, funny, stamped through with a passionate love for Africa. Fuller has a faultless hotline to her six-year-old self." - Independent  
"This enchanting book is destined to become a classic of Africa and of childhood." - Sunday Times
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/855002?barcode=9781848318120&title=TheYearofLivingDanishly%3AUnearthingtheSecretsoftheWorld%27sHappiestCountry
 The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the secrets of the world's happiest country by Helen Russell      $35.00
The author took the opportunity to live for a year in rural Jutland. Where do Danes get it right? Where do they get it wrong?
http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/843141-Sparky-9781444014877
 Sparky by Jenny Offill and Chris Appelhans      $19.99
 A little girl wants a pet. She's not fussy, any will do. Her mother said 'no' to a bird and bunny and trained seal. Then she agrees to the sloth, Sparky! Sloths don't know how to fetch. Or roll over. But they do know how to play dead. What's an eager pet owner to do? Offill is currently short-listed for the Folio Prize.
>> Meet Sparky.
>> Meet some other sloths


http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/841375-AlisonJaysWords-9781760121402
Words by Alison Jay       $18.00
A lovely board book, tough enough for the newest of teeth, filled with words easy enough for the newest of minds.
Also new from Alison Jay: Colours.