The Notebook Trilogy by Agota Kristof $39.99
In an unnamed country [Hungary] during an unnamed war [WWII], twin brothers from the Big Town are deposited with their unknown grandmother in the Little Town [near the German border]. Their belongings are immediately taken and sold by their grandmother, apart from their father’s big dictionary, which they use to write their story in the big notebook they demand from the local bookseller on the basis of ‘absolute need’.
"The Notebook is one of the great underknown books of the twentieth century. The narrators’ dual identity, the pared-back matter-of-fact prose without metaphor or superfluity, the rigour with which small and horrendous matters are treated with flat equivalence make this book powerful, moving (while remaining unsentimental) and memorable. I recommend you read it as soon as possible." - Thomas (read my full review here)
"I vowed to myself that some day I would go to the region of ice and snow, and go on and on 'til I came to one of the poles of the Earth, the end of the axis on which this great round ball turns." - Ernest Shackleton
How did Shackleton and his crew manage to survive crossing the frozen heart of Antarctica? What drew them there and what drove them on? What was it like to be small in the vast whiteness? This superlatively wonderful children's book will be a treasure for any age.
Winner of Kate Greenaway Medal 2015.
>> Look at this and resist if you can (but why would you resist?)
Temporarily in Auckland while her husband is undergoing treatment, Sarah enjoys a walk in the coolness of the Symonds Street Cemetery. As she pauses at the grave of Emily Keeling, murdered in 1886 by a rejected suitor, a stranger named Hartley strikes up a conversation. Before long he arranges to meet Sarah for coffee. So their friendship begins, and soon blossoms into an affair, rich in mutual understanding and sexual excitement. But love may become obsession, which brings with it disquieting demands, even menace. When love is not madness, it is not love...
Lucy Barton is recovering slowly from what should have been a simple operation. Her mother, to whom she hasn't spoken for many years, comes to see her. Her unexpected visit forces Lucy to confront the tension and longing that have informed every aspect of her life: her impoverished childhood in Amgash, Illinois, her escape to New York and her desire to become a writer, her faltering marriage, her love for her two daughters.
"Writing of this quality comes from a commitment to listening, from a perfect attunement to the human condition, from an attention to reality so exact that it goes beyond a skill and becomes a virtue." - Hilary Mantel
Bayard examines the art of the "non-journey," a tradition that a succession of writers and thinkers, unconcerned with moving away from their home turf, have employed in order to encounter the foreign cultures they wish to know and talk about. He describes concrete situations in which the reader might find himself having to speak about places he's never been, and he chronicles some of his own experiences and offers practical advice.
Ali Shaw takes readers on a strange and vivid journey into an ancient forest that has taken over the world with force. The Trees is a thought-provoking meditation on what it means to be wild. Death, darkness and eerie creatures lurk among the branches, but it's the human characters that surprise the most. What happens when law and order is stripped away and people are left to their own moral codes?
"The Trees does for trees what Hitchcock did for birds. You have been warned." - Irish Times
A wonderful picture-only book telling the story of a bored penguin who sets off on a journey that leads him to England, where he becomes the symbol for Penguin Books.
Hate skews reality even more than love. In the story of a Pakistani woman who has begun a new life in Paris, an essay about the writing of Kureishi's acclaimed film Le Week-End, and an account of Kafka's relationship with his father, readers will find Kureishi also exploring growing up and growing old; betrayal and loyalty; imagination and repression; marriage and fatherhood.
In chronicling the development and demise of the different relationships he's had while living in New York, Augusten Burroughs examines what it means to be in love, what it means to be in lust, and what it means to be confused as to which is which.
Beautifully illustrated and full of monkeys, this book explores the many different types of monkeys from the smallest Pygmy Marmoset to the largest Mandrill, and provides all the facts you wanted to know (and more). Discover where monkeys come from, how they swing from tree to tree, and why they fight and play with each other.
Collected short non-fiction from this superb writer (author of, most recently, This House of Grief), showing her great range and perspicacity.
"It is Garner's willingness to look at and truly see the failures of human behaviour, in herself no less than in others, that lends her work its power." - Guardian
Investigates the last days of six great thinkers, writers and artists as they come to terms with the reality of approaching death. Pays particular attention to Susan Sontag, Sigmund Freud, Dylan Thomas, John Updike and Maurice Sendak.
Why are we driven to make a record of the world around us, and of the moments in which we find ourselves? Looking at photojournalism, war photography and work recording our culture, Franklin identifies some of its driving impulses: curiosity, outrage, reform and ritual; the search for evidence, for beauty, for therapy; and the immortalisation of memory.
When Glory O'Brien is transformed by a power to see a person's infinite past and future, she's bombarded with visions of a terrifying world: a second civil war breaks out, and girls vanish daily. And even though Glory may not see a future for herself, she'll do anything to make sure this one doesn't come to pass.
Rosalie Laurent is a graphic artist and proud owner of a little postcard shop in Saint-Germain. Her specialty is producing 'wishing cards', and every birthday Rosalie sends a card inscribed with her heart's desire fluttering down from the Eiffel Tower - but none of her wishes have ever been fulfilled. Then one day a famous author of children's books enters her store and her life. When the elderly gentleman asks her to illustrate his new (and probably last) book, Rosalie is only too glad to accept, and the two very different maverick artists become friends. Rosalie's wishes seem to be coming true at last, until a clumsy American professor accuses her of plagiarism. Rosalie is unsure whether love or trouble is blowing through her door, but when in doubt, she knows that Paris is always a good idea.
It's been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses. Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn't lead her in treacherous directions... A sequel to the 'Mortal Elements' series.
A collection of poems providing insight into the beloved writer's life and concerns.
Britain's most eminent publicly engaged intellectual explains how, fuelled by original and unorthodox thinking, war and technological invention, the seventeenth century became the crucible of modernity.
A spell-binding sequel to the immensely popular The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul. Six women around the world are united by the little coffee shop. Will the world deliver on their hopes?
These are the meals and special treats Alex makes at her Hawkes Bay farmhouse when she's not working in her iconic Havelock North restaurant.
In eighteenth-century London, twelve-year-old linkboy Philo Grey has spent most of his childhood out on the streets, collecting information to sell. One of his best customers, Mr Bishop, pays him good money for intelligence about the Jacobites, who are plotting to overthrow King George. But spying on the Jacobites is a dangerous business - especially when Philo becomes the target of a rival gang of linkboys. And then there's Philo's old master, Garnet Hooke, who's never forgiven Philo for leaving him. Garnet feels so betrayed, he'll stop at nothing...Luckily, Philo has friends as well as enemies. He can trust his crew of linkboys, his team of informants, and his staunch friend Nathaniel Paxton, a surgeon with a background in espionage. Even his new friend, actress and master of disguise, Caroline Cowley, is a valuable ally. But with his enemies closing in, Philo has to ask himself: where should his loyalties really lie?
They are trapped, frozen. Waiting. Straining against the wood that holds them. The unwary catch a glimpse now and then - feel their desperate hunger, see a glint of red eyes - and scurry out of the shadows of the wood, back to the light. She's coming; it will be soon. They will run free on the moors again. The Hunt will return. And the ground will run with blood. Tell a lie and the darkness will find you. Quinn and Piper are twins, but they've never met. A tragic event brings them together, and draws them into a family curse that stretches across centuries. From the author of the 'Slated' trilogy.
"We swear, on these trees, to always be friends. To protect each other - and this place." The trees forged a bond between Jay and her four childhood friends and opened their eyes to a wider world. But their attempt to protect the grove ends in disaster, and that one day on the river changes their lives forever. Seventeen years later, Jay finally has her chance to make amends. But at what cost?
You will need to have a look at this special book to fully appreciate it. Artist Joshua Yeldham tells the story of his life in photographs, drawing and words, intimating his very deep connection with the place he was born and the places in which he has learned to live.
Hair, luxuriant in some places and almost absent in others seems an evolutionary eccentricity. This book is a thorough examination of the place of hair in human culture.
>> Do you know any redheads?
Kenyon's close association with Blake makes this a fascinating insight into the artist and his art.
Twelve years ago, Linda's sister Anna was murdered. Her killer was never caught, but Linda saw him. Now, all these years later, she's just seen him again on TV. He's become a well-known journalist, and Linda - a famous novelist and infamous recluse - knows no one will believe her if she accuses him. She does the only thing she can think of: she sets a trap, writing a thriller called Blood Sisters about the unsolved murder of a young woman. When Blood Sisters is published, Linda agrees to give just one media interview. At home. To the one person who knows more about the case than she does...
How can the principles of wabi-sabi be applied to interior decorating. How have digital technologies been used to enhance the 'authenticity' of objects and physical spaces? This book will inspire you to live in spaces that feel lived in.
Wes and Corey are convinced nothing cool can come of their lame summer at jazz camp, when along comes Ash and cracks their world wide open. Finally, something they can't seem to hate. When Ash convinces them that a great musician is made on the road, the three friends flee camp and begin an epic, hilarious road trip: The Haters 2016 Summer of Hate Tour. Amid sneaking into seedy bars, evading their parents and the police, and spending every minute together in a makeshift tour bus, romance blossoms and bursts, and hygiene takes a back seat. Wes begins to realise the limitations of hating everything: it keeps you at a convenient distance from something, or someone, you just might love. But when you can find something to hate about every band, how do you make a sound you love?
The true story of Gladys Stanford, ambulance driver in WWI and the first woman to gain a pilot's licence in New Zealand.
The world is dying, overcrowded and polluted. Storms rage over the immensely tall tower blocks, attracted to Movers. Movers are connected to people in the future, their Shadows. And moving your Shadow is highly illegal. Patrick knows all too well what happens if you break the law: his father has been in the Shelves ever since he moved his Shadow. And now Patrick and his family are in danger again. Following a catastrophic event at their school, Patrick must go on the run. Through filthy, teeming markets, forebrawler matches, a labyrinth of underground tunnels and beyond, he'll need his wits and courage to escape the forces that want to take everything he loves.
...And wild about colours, too. Acetate sheets with colour overlays make animals leap out of the backgrounds as the pages are turned. Children will learn a lot about colour blending while enjoying this book.
This book is the complete package for everyone who needs to cook quick, healthy and tasty recipes during the week.
Lying at the bottom of his apartment stairs, a postman is found dead. At first glance, his death appears to be a tragic accident. However, when Detective Superintendent Konrad Simonsen is called to investigate, he notices that something doesn't add up. Did he fall? When life-sized images of a vanished girl are discovered plastering the walls of the dead man's attic, the case takes a new and sinister turn. Who is she? Could she be alive? Soon the homicide team find themselves delving into the past, but as they approach the truth, Simonsen is forced to confront long-hidden skeletons in his own cupboard.
"The best Danish crime fiction in years." - Lars Kepler
An ingenious circus-themed pop-up, fold-down, pull-out book.
Originally published in France between 1876 and 1888, Auguste Racinet's Le Costume historique was the most wide-ranging and incisive study of clothing ever attempted. Covering the world history of costume, dress, and style from antiquity through to the end of the 19th century, the six volume Work remains completely unique in its scope and detail. All the illustrations are reproduced here.
When a man's body is discovered at the base of some cliffs in the small resort town of Hari Cove, the police at first suspect a tragic accident, a misstep that cost the man his life. However, when the victim is found to have been a former policeman and that the cause of death was actually carbon monoxide poisoning, they begin a murder investigation.
"The Japanese Steig Larsson." - The Times
Don't Be Interesting by Jacob McArthur Mooney $39.99
A poetry collection that grapples with 'The Future' as public morality-keeper and private reckoner. The book explores the lines dividing the present from both the future and the past. Its channels include all the breadth of mass experience, from film and sport to science fiction novels, war, history, technology, and biography.
>> He speaks Canadian.
Good Friday: closed.
Saturday: 9-4 (as usual).
Sunday: closed.
Monday: 10-4.
