The Good Life on Te Muna Road by Deborah Coddington

$40.00 NZD

Category: Non Fiction | Reading Level: very good

An engaging, affectionate reflection on life in a small rural community, finding love and making wine. The first time Deborah Coddington lived in Martinborough was in the height of the hippie era, when the old mansion Waiura attracted poets, protesters, novelists, photographers, artists and activists. I t was a counter-culture scene of some privilege and distinction. However the music stopped when, crushed by debts, she and her partner were forced to leave town. Nearly forty years on, with a successful career as a journalist, a stint as a restaurateur and a term in parliament behind her, Deborah returned to Martinborough not quite sure of the welcome she would receive. In this wry, amusing and heart-warming memoir she writes of finding a community full of outstanding and entertaining individuals that demonstrates the can-do, all-in-this-together spirit of provincial New Zealand. Now a good deal wiser and very much in love with her new husband, Colin Carruthers QC, Deborah lays some ghosts to rest, writes movingly about the death of her mother, details the vicissitudes of being a wine grower and shares the joy of life with her beloved animals. Confiding, candid, and generous of heart, this is a tribute to small town New Zealand. ...Show more

Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words by Randall Munroe

$39.99 NZD

Category: Non Fiction | Reading Level: General Adult

Have you ever tried to learn more about some incredible thing, only to be frustrated by incomprehensible jargon? Randall Munroe is here to help. In Thing Explainer, he uses line drawings and only the thousand (or, rather, "ten hundred") most common words to provide simple explanations for some of the m ost interesting stuff there is, including: food-heating radio boxes (microwaves) tall roads (bridges) computer buildings (datacenters) the shared space house (the International Space Station) the other worlds around the sun (the solar system) the big flat rocks we live on (tectonic plates) the pieces everything is made of (the periodic table) planes with turning wings (helicopters) boxes that make clothes smell better (washers and dryers) the bags of stuff inside you (cells) How do these things work? Where do they come from? What would life be like without them? And what would happen if we opened them up, heated them up, cooled them down, pointed them in a different direction, or pressed this button? In Thing Explainer, Munroe gives us the answers to these questions and so many more. Funny, interesting, and always understandable, this book is for anyone--age 5 to 105--who has ever wondered how things work, and why. ...Show more

Starry Night, Blurry Dreams by Henn Kim

$29.99 NZD

Category: Non Fiction

who are you when you're alone Starry Night, Blurry Dreams is a collection of graphic poetry about loneliness, love and existing in our world. a heavy heart is hard to carry hold on When words aren't enough to describe our emotions, this book will offer comfort, joy and a friend in the dark. we al l have our own beautiful universe ...Show more

Be Happy - 35 Powerful Methods for Personal Growth & Well-Being by Rebecca Ray

$16.99 NZD

Category: Non Fiction | Series: Live Well Ser.

With tips and techniques on self-improvement, making choices, cultivation, positive habits, and making space, Be Happy is an easy-to-read, inspirational guide on developing habits for happiness.

Red Notice: How I Became Putin's No. 1 Enemy by Bill Browder

$26.00 NZD

Category: Non Fiction | Reading Level: very good

I have to assume that there is a very real chance that Putin or members of his regime will have me killed some day. If I'm killed, you will know who did it. When my enemies read this book, they will know that you know. In November 2009, the young lawyer Sergei Magnitsky was beaten to death by eight poli ce officers in a freezing cell in a Moscow prison. His crime? Testifying against Russian officials who were involved in a conspiracy to steal $230 million of taxes. Red Notice is a searing expose of the whitewash of this imprisonment and murder. The killing hasn't been investigated. It hasn't been punished. Bill Browder is still campaigning for justice for his late lawyer and friend. This is his explosive journey from the heady world of finance in New York and London in the 1990s, through battles with ruthless oligarchs in turbulent post-Soviet Union Moscow, to the shadowy heart of the Kremlin. With fraud, bribery, corruption and torture exposed at every turn, Red Notice is a shocking political roller-coaster. ...Show more

At The Pond: Swimming At The Hampstead Ladies' Pond by Drabble Margaret - Editor

$24.99 NZD

Category: Non Fiction

Tucked away along a shady path towards the north-east edge of Hampstead Heath is a sign: Women Only. This is the Kenwood Ladies’ Bathing Pond. Floating in the Pond’s silky waters, hidden by a canopy of trees, it’s easy to forget that you are in the middle of London. On a hot day, thousands of swimmers from eight to eighty-plus can be found waiting to take a dip before sunbathing in the adjoining meadow. As summer turns to autumn and then winter, the Pond is still visited by a large number of hardy regulars in high-vis hats, many of whom have been swimming here for decades. In these essays we see the Pond from the perspectives of writers who have swum there. Esther Freud describes the life-affirming sensation of swimming through the seasons; Lou Stoppard pays tribute to the winter swimmers who break the ice; Margaret Drabble reflects on the golden Hampstead days of her youth; Sharlene Teo visits for the first time; and Nell Frizzell shares the view from her yellow lifeguard’s canoe. Combining personal reminiscence with reflections on the history of the place over the years and through the changing seasons, At the Pond captures fourteen contemporary writers’ impressions of this unique place. Contributors: Ava Wong Davies | Margaret Drabble | Esther Freud Nell Frizzell | Eli Goldstone | Amy Key Jessica J. Lee | Sophie Mackintosh | So Mayer Deborah Moggach | Nina Mingya Powles Leanne Shapton | Lou Stoppard | Sharlene Teo ...Show more

Our Dogs, Ourselves. The story of a unique bond by Alexandra Horowitz

$37.99 NZD

Category: Non Fiction | Reading Level: very good

In this book Alexandra Horowitz examines what's called the 'dog-human bond': examining all aspects of the complexity of this unique interspecies pairing. From her position as a dog scientist, she uses the science of dogs and dog-human interaction to ground a consideration of the various ways that dogs, as a species, reflect us, and how they reflect (sometimes badly, sometimes well) on us. And she goes beyond the cognitive science to consider the culture, laws, and human dynamics that reveal and restrict this bond between two disparate species. Horowitz shows that when each person makes the decision to breed, own, or adopt a dog, we enter into a relationship that will change us. It changes the course of our days: dogs need to be walked, fed, attended to. It can change the course of our lives: dogs weave their way into our lives with their constant silent presence by our sides. There are still many (often non-'scientific') questions that remain unanswered about dogs: about their minds, yes, but especially about living with dogs in our society, and how we can best treat them now and in the future. This books addresses those questions. It is intended for the curious dog owner and science-lover alike, who wants to read good, intelligent thinking on dogs, not overly sentimental but not without heart.  ...Show more

Self Sufficiency: Bread Making by Kathryn Hawkins

$19.99 NZD

Category: Non Fiction | Series: Self-Sufficiency Ser.

Making bread can be therapeutic and creative and is achievable with even a basic level of culinary skill. Filling your kitchen with the delicious smells of baking bread is reward enough in itself but it is important that the finished product tastes great too. Food writer and culinary stylist Kathryn Haw kins covers the basic steps to get you started, including essential equipment and simple breadmaking techniques. Also included are 40 tasty bread recipes, from plain white to whole wheat loaves, sourdough to French baguettes, as well as recipes for flavored bread and international fare from every corner of the globe, including brioche, pita bread, naan, stolen, and soda bread. Charming artwork, simple instructions, and informative writing make Breadmaking an invaluable guide for anyone whos always wanted to make warm, delicious bread in their own home while becoming a little less reliant on processed, pre-packaged food. Get started today, and get ready to enjoy a lifetime of hot, fresh bread straight from your own oven ...Show more

Word Drops: A Sprinkling of Linguistic Curiosities by Paul Anthony Jones

$22.99 NZD

Category: Non Fiction

If you're logofascinated, you are literally spellbound by language. Word Drops is a language fact book unlike any other, its linguistic tidbits all falling together into one long interconnected chain just with each fact neatly 'dropping' into place beside the next. What's more, throughout, footnotes ar e used to give informative and intriguing background to some of the most bizarre facts, covering everything from traditional Inuit games to the origin of the Bellini cocktail, from the precise length of one 'jiffy' to what the Romans thought hoopoe birds ate, and from what to expect on a night out with Dr Johnson to Samuel Pepys's cure for a hangover. Want to know the longest palindrome in Morse code, or who The Great Masticator was? Curious to know what Norwegian steam is, or what a jäääär is? The answers are all here. For all of the logofascinated among us, this is an immensely pleasurable and unpredictable collection that is guaranteed to raise eyebrows (the literal meaning, incidentally, of supercilious). 'Brilliant for anyone interested in the effervescent oddness of English' --Stig Abell ...Show more

A Tree A Day

$39.99 NZD

Category: Non Fiction

The Mummy Animal Book by Jennifer Cossins

$14.99 NZD

Category: Children's

   An adorable and informative picture book about mummy animals and their babies from the author of The Baby Animal Book and 101 Collective Nouns. Did you know that a mother peacock is called a peahen and a baby peacock is called a peachick?The Mummy Animal Book is an adorable and informative picture book about mummy animals and their babies that is perfect for Mother's Day, from the author of the CBCA Notable The Baby Animal Book. ...Show more

Birds NZ: Beauty like No Other - 2nd edition by Paul Gibson

$60.00 NZD

Category: Non Fiction

This new book is uniquely different from anything else on the market and has been fully updated and expanded for 2018. It is no ordinary book, comprising 320 pages of absolute beauty. An extremely appealing book for everyone. Over 300 birds are detailed, there are 700 photographs, and 50 pages of inform ation on subjects like migration, feathers, eggs, flyways, bird photography etc. ...Show more