|
Hello booklovers!
How is it April already? We hope you had a lovely Easter break and are enjoying these sunny Autumn days. We are beyond excited for the Auckland Writers Festival coming up next month as there is a phenomenal line-up of authors. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the programme, we highly recommend you do. And if you want to hear us chat about which events at the festival we are super excited about, listen to the latest episode of our podcast.
New Zealand books have been selling like hotcakes lately and we couldn't be prouder of all our local authors. We're excited to announce that we'll be hosting a Book Launch for Freddie Gillies (author of Because All Fades which we reviewed in our February newsletter) upon his return to NZ for the Auckland Writer's Festival in May. We're also lucky enough to have Alice Pearce visiting during school holidays to do a book signing and live-reading of her new picture book Ruby Loud Mouse and the Ruru (which Rachel gushed about in our last newsletter!). If you're interested in coming along to these events please find all the information below.
The Booklover Bookclub Book this month is The Husbands by Holly Gramazio. Olivia has reviewed it below so if it tickles your interest and you'd like to join our May Bookclub you can buy tickets here.
That’s it lovely people! We’re keeping this intro short and sweet because we have SO MANY new books to recommend. So settle in with a nice warm cuppa (or a glass of wine) and read on…
Until next month, happy reading xx
- The Booklover Team (Olivia, Rachel & Laura)
|
|
|
BECAUSE ALL FADES - BOOK LAUNCH
We're lucky enough to have the opportunity to host the NZ Launch of Freddie's debut fiction novel Because All Fades! If you've been to our shop lately and asked for a recommendation we've most likely tried to shove this book into your hands, so join us for the launch and listen to Freddie talk about his inspiration, writing process, and what comes next!
Thursday, May 16th - 6:00pm.
Free event, RSVP now.
|
|
|
|
LIVE-READING & BOOK SIGNING
We're so excited to be hosting our first ever children's book live-reading! Grab a coffee and bring your kids along to hear Alice Pearce read her new children’s picture book Ruby Loud Mouse and the Ruru! Alice will also be signing copies.
We love Ruby Loud Mouse so much and we can't stress enough how important it is to encourage children to read from a young age so we hope to see you there!
Saturday, April 27th - 10:30am.
Free event, no RSVP required.
|
|
|
The Husbands $38
Holly Gramazio
One night Lauren finds a strange man in her flat who claims to be her husband. All the evidence - from photos to electricity bills - suggests he's right. Lauren's attic, she slowly realises, is creating an endless supply of husbands for her.
But when you can change husbands as easily as changing a lightbulb, how do you know whether the one you have now is the good-enough one, or the wrong one, or the best one? And how long should you keep trying to find out?
One of my favourite reads of the year so far. Yes you’re possibly thinking the premise of the story sounds ridiculous but trust me this is a gem. The Husbands is absorbing and funny and makes you appreciate everything you have in life. It also examines why, in contemporary culture, so many people are always looking for the next best thing. Brilliant.
- Olivia
|
|
|
Amma $38
Saraid de Silva
Amma shifts between the lives of three generations of women and moves from Singapore to Sri Lanka to New Zealand to London. It’s a moving family drama filled with love and misunderstanding, hope and loss.
Saraid de Silva has written a beautiful story and I particularly enjoyed the parts set in Invercargill - I could picture so clearly two young children thrust into a new culture where they are made to feel so completely out of place and ostracised for being different. A satisfying, powerful read.
- Olivia
|
|
|
Earth $35
Releases 23/04 - PRE-ORDER NOW
John Boyne
The next instalment in John Boyne's elemental series is Earth. Earth follows Evan Keogh, a talented young football player who never wanted to be a footballer but instead always wanted to be an artist. Evan is reflecting on his life up until the moment he's charged with sexual assault.
Wow. This was good. I personally enjoyed it more than Water but I can't exactly put my finger on why. It has everything that Water had, it's short and gritty, written beautifully and is so hard-hitting. I think maybe I just enjoyed Evan's character a lot more than Vanessa, he felt so honest and raw and my heart was breaking for him. John Boyne fans will lap this one up just as they lapped up Water.
- Rachel
|
|
|
My Favourite Mistake $38
Releases 16/04 - PRE-ORDER NOW
Marian Keyes
Marian Keyes is back with another Walsh story to love and laugh and cry over. Rachel’s sister, Anna, seemingly has it all: a fantastic job, apartment and boyfriend in New York, until she decides to return to Ireland. Suddenly she is 48 years old, with no partner, no job and no direction in life. When she offers to help a friend in a small Irish town, she opens herself up to the possibility of a new life and a love she thought she’d lost. Sounds a tad cliche and maybe it is, but I didn’t care! It’s so wonderfully honest and funny and classic Marian Keyes that I didn’t want to put it down.
- Olivia
|
|
|
Happiness Falls $37
Angie Kim
One of my top if not the top favourite books of 2024 so far! I was sold when I saw the Gabrielle Zevin (author of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow) quote on the front cover. If she loved it then I have to love it too right? So, I already had high expectations going in and I'm happy to report that it more than lived up to them.
Mia's father has gone missing after a walk in the park and the only witness to his disappearance is her younger brother, Eugene, who has Angelman Syndrome so he has no way of communicating what happened. It's a twist on your typical missing persons story and I was so absorbed. Mia has a very strong personality and she is determined to find out what happened to her father. This is an emotional family drama at its finest, a rollercoaster ride right up til the very end and I enjoyed every second of it. This should be your next bookclub read.
- Rachel
|
|
|
|
The Glass House $38
Anne Buist & Graeme Simsion
Both eminent in their own fields, psychiatrist wife and writer husband - you might remember The Rosie Project - have joined together to pen this novel, about mental health. Chapters begin in the outside world with dramas unfolding that lead to people being admitted into the ER and psychiatric wing of Menzies Hospital. Doctors and nurses on the frontline have to make snap decisions that will affect their patients’ lives - and those of their families back home - not to mention their own feelings and careers. Will Dr. Hannah Wright have the “judgement” it takes to become a good member of the team? Or has she already questioned authority one too many times.
- Laura
|
|
|
The Last Murder at the End of the World $38
Stuart Turton
Outside the island there is nothing - the world destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched. On the island - it is idyllic. 122 villagers and 3 scientists (the Elders), living in peaceful harmony.
Then, one of the Elders is found brutally stabbed to death and they learn the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay...
If the murder isn't solved within 92 hours, the fog will smother the island and everyone on it.
My head is in a bit of a spin after this. What did I just read? I loved it. I thought it was fantastically creative, clever and I want more. If you loved Cold People by Tom Rob Smith then I think you'd enjoy this one!
- Rachel
|
|
|
A Better Place $38
Stephen Daisley
If I were a betting woman I’d probably put my money on Eleanor Catton’s Birnam Wood to win the prize for fiction at the Ockhams this year but personally I’d be voting for Daisley’s novel A Better Place. I’ve just placed an order for Coming Rain, which won him his first Ockham in 2016. Yes this is a Second World War novel and yes it depicts the utter senselessness and brutality of war but oh my goodness it is lyrically written from the point of view of identical but very different twins Tony and Roy. Set partly on Crete, it has a feel of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin about it, or Band of Brothers, and like both of those it is an epic tale of love and loss and tenderness and cruelty.
|
|
|
Dame Suzy D: My Story $38
Releases 09/04 - PRE-ORDER NOW
Susan Devoy
People talk about their lives falling into chapters and Dame Susan Devoy’s life really does come under excellent chapter headings in this, her thoroughly engaging memoir. First there is her world champion squash playing career, then her move to the charitable sector while bringing up four boys and on to her important job as Race Relations Commissioner not to mention a stint on Celebrity Treasure Island. She even picked and packed Kiwifruit during the covid lockdowns. From the friendly, smiling face on the front cover you get a glimpse of what makes this woman such a New Zealand icon, speaking truth to power and sense to the rest of us.
- Laura
|
|
|
Evolving $40
Judy Bailey
An inspiring and personal guide to ageing well and with happiness, by national treasure Judy Bailey. When beloved broadcaster Judy Bailey signed off her final news bulletin in 2005, she had no idea that retirement would bring some of the most fulfilling years of her life. In Evolving Judy tackles subjects like taking care of your body and mind through to organising finances, navigating health scares, grieving loved ones and enjoying the finer things, whether shopping or grandparenting. Age is no picnic but we shouldn't feel afraid of a path so many have walked before us. Uplifting, kind and knowledgeable, Evolving is an inspiring guide to ageing well and a reminder that life is something to be relished.
|
|
|
Foraging New Zealand $50
Releases 16/04 - PRE-ORDER NOW
Peter Langlands
An essential guide to foraging in New Zealand.
New Zealand is full of incredible, edible wild foods - fruit, fungi and seaweed; berries, herbs and more - you only need to know where to look and how to do it safely. Foraging New Zealand is the ultimate guide to unearthing more than 250 of our tastiest wild plants. Packed with stunning photography, up-to-date information and helpful tips, this book will have you venturing into the countryside, viewing urban weeds with fresh eyes, and returning to the larder with zest.
|
|
|
Easy Wins $60
Anna Jones
The award-winning and bestselling cook Anna Jones has picked a few of her favourite things: 12 hero ingredients, from lemons to olive oil, miso to mustard and tahini to tomatoes, to dial up the flavour in the kitchen. For these culinary heroes, Anna has created 132 brand new recipes, each one bursting with flavour. Easy Wins will transform your cooking and make your food sing.
|
The Laden Table $60
Ashia Ismail-Singer
'From Africa to India, the Middle East, France, the UK and New Zealand, this book will take you on a journey full of flavours and the melded cultures that are my extended family.'
The Laden Table is the perfect cookbook for anyone who want to create a bit of magic for their next gathering - from canapes, drinks and summer salads to moreish side dishes, hearty mains and luscious cakes and sweet bites. |
|
Impossible Monsters $40
Michael Taylor
What a cool cover!! This is the dramatic story of the crisis that engulfed science and religion when we discovered the dinosaurs. It takes us into the lives and minds of the extraordinary men and women who made and grappled with these heretical discoveries, those who resisted them as well as those pioneering thinkers, Darwin most famous among them, who took great risks to construct a new account of the earth's and mankind's origins. It took seventy years for them to win their case: that the earth was millions of years old and that man, like every other living being, was an accident of evolution. Doing so had plunged Britain into a crisis of faith, liberated science from the authority of religion and ushered in the secular age.
|
|
|
Hard by the Cloud House $40
Releases 11/04 - PRE-ORDER NOW
Peter Walker
The legend of Te Hokioi, the extinct giant eagle of New Zealand, leads Peter Walker from a Canterbury sheep run to the Rare Books Room of the British Library and to ‘sacred’ Raiatea in Polynesia, as he uncovers the story of the predator which once ruled over the Southern Alps.
Was this bird, whose existence was confirmed by scientists only in 2009, the Rukh of Arab legends? Does that mean that medieval Islamic mariners were once blown far into the Pacific, saw the great raptor and made it back home to tell the tale?
From the calamitous encounter of South Island Māori with colonisation to the glories of tenth-century Baghdad, Hard by the Cloud House is a heady mix of history, memoir, science and mythology.
|
|
|
How to Win an Information War $40
Peter Pomerantsev
From one of our leading experts on disinformation, the incredible true story of the complex and largely forgotten WWII propagandist Sefton Delmer - and what we can learn from him today.
|
November 1942 $40
Peter Englund
An intimate history of the most important month of the Second World War - perhaps the century - as experienced by those who lived through it, completely based on their diaries, letters and memoirs. |
|
Three Little Monkeys and the Grand Hotel $30
Quentin Blake & Emma Chichester Clark
Hilda Snibbs is going on holiday to the Grand Hotel - and, of course, she is taking her three little monkeys, Tim and Sam and Lulu. But what starts out as a relaxing break soon begins to unravel in this fun-filled and mischievous tale!
A remarkable collaboration - that brings together giants of the picture book world - to create a funny, anarchic and utterly delightful picture book. A classic of the future. Ages 3+
|
|
|
Take Me to Your Leader $22
Leonie Agnew
Lucas needs help to save his school from closure. He loves his friends and his family and his town but all these things are threatened if the school closes down. The arrival of Aliens might just capture the attention of the press and the education minister and bring much needed wealth to their town thanks to tourism. And so begins a mad cap adventure that results in chaos and calamity and chicken rescue. Sometimes sad, sometimes silly this is the story of small town residents facing up to the goliath that is the government, not forgetting those pesky germs that Lucas is also so worried about. Ages 8+
- Laura
|
|
|
The Clockwork Conspiracy $20
Sam Sedgman
Isaac Turner is the son of Diggory Turner who looks after the Great Clock (Big Ben) and changes the clocks twice a year. When Diggory goes missing on the night of the time change it's up to Isaac and his friend to save him. In this book there is a concept that humans today don’t even use: Metric Time. Metric Time is where one new minute is one hundred new seconds and one new hour is one hundred new minutes and so on. I really like how it has some great chase moments and the science in it is incredible! It sorta gave me Sherlock Holmes vibes with all its hidden codes and mysteries. With all the amazing characters, plot twists and such, it really is a great book!
Ages 9+
- Booklover Bookworm Lev (age 11)
|
|
|
Smile (Clarice Bean) $20
Lauren Child
Clarice Bean is back! This is funny, heart-warming and full of delightful, larger-than-life characters. I adore all the quirky family members and the way Clarice makes up words and is always day-dreaming and well…all of it. A great one to read aloud. Ages 7+
- Olivia
|
Tweet $22
Morris Gleitzman
Birds. Lots of birds. The people of the world are puzzled. Their feathered friends are trying to tell them something, and they’re not sure what it is. Then a boy and his pet budgie discover the secret. Join Jay and Clyde, and their friends Maxine and Dora, on an exciting, funny, risky journey to save their families. And every other family too.
Ages 10+ |
|
|
The Whisperwicks (The Labyrinth of Lost and Found #1) $21
Jordan Lees
Benjamiah Creek doesn't believe in magic, he believes in science, logic and the power of reason. But when he receives a mysterious gift in the post he is led into the impossible (and most definitely magical) world of Wreathenwold. Here he meets Elizabella who is searching for her missing brother.
I could gush on and on and on about this book but instead of listening to me you should just read it for yourself! This is my top children's chapter book of the year so far. The new children's fantasy books that have come out in the past couple years are really filling the hole that Harry Potter left in my heart long ago. This was STELLAR. I'm obsessed, I will be re-reading and diving into Wrethenwold again and again. This was giving me everything I want in a magical world and tugging at my heartstrings by the very end and I cannot wait for the next book in the series. I mean, with names like Benjamiah and Elizabella you really can't go wrong. Ages 9+.
- Rachel
|
|
|
|
The Reappearance of Rachel Price $23
Holly Jackson
I urge you to read this. I don't care how old you are (but also ages 14+ please) if you have any interest at all in mystery novels you should get this book. Everyone is always disappearing in crime novels and that's what makes this so refreshing! While the family are filming a true crime documentary about Rachel's disappearance 16 years ago, she reappears... (what are the odds right!?). She's back and her 18 year old daughter, Bel, has a million questions but Rachel doesn't have all the answers. Where has she been? How did she escape? What really happened the day she disappeared? Can she be trusted? Is she even who she says she is!? Bel tries to uncover the truth about her mum and sometimes she can be snarky little piece of work but she's dealing with a lot and her family seems like it's falling apart when the pieces should all be coming together so give her a break ok! This is the definition of unputdownable fiction. Ages 14 - 100.
- Rachel (but not that Rachel)
|
|
|
|
