Dunedin today
Clearly, you need to slide down Dowling Street and into the shop to choose a book to take home with you so you can curl up on the sofa in front of the fire or the log burner and read to your heart's content. Whatever you're looking for we are sure to have something for a cold, wet, snowy, sleety Dunedin winter's day.
Calling all sailors
The Physics of Sailing Explained
by Bryon D Anderson
Why do sailors use a 'full' sail like a spinnaker for downwind sailing but not for upwind?
Why are some keels narrow and deep while others are long and shallow?
Why do some keels have wings?
Is it important to have a polished hull?
Why do you trim your sails in tighter for upwind sailing?
What determines the shape of sails and hulls?
Why can some boats sail faster upwind than downwind?
If you answered all those questions easily using fairly straightforward principles of physics, this book might not be for you. However, if you're a sailing enthusiast who wonders about these sorts of things, and other common questions, then this book may well be what you need. To enjoy the book, you just need an interest in sailing and a basic understanding of high school maths and physics. It helps you figure out what is 'going on' as the boat passes through the water. The science behind sailing is explained in a way anyone can understand.
These basic principles underlie all developments in sailing boat design so get reading now and you can show off your knowledge at the next America's Cup!!!!
Hans Christian Andersen
This gorgeous little volume is by Kathleen Fitzgerald and is beautifully and appealingly illustrated by Gilbert James. The text is in French (obviously) so Recueil de Contes d'Andersen would make a lovely present for anyone who likes Andersen's fairy tales, but especially for children learning French.
Brush up your own French by working out which fairy tales these are:
Une Soiree chez Ferme-l'oeil
La Grosse Aiguille
La Princesse sur un Pois
La Paquerette
La Petite Poucette
Where would we be without salt?
Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky
Homer called it a divine substance. Plato described it as especially dear to the gods. (And you can see above for our opinion of it). Salt has shaped civilization and in this book Mark Kurlansky blends political, commerical, scientific, religious and culinary records to produce this magnificent history of an indispensable ingredient.
Strangers & Brothers
It may be a different country, a bygone era and an unfamiliar social class with distinct social mores but that doesn't really matter. Despite all that, it is really just about human nature (in my humble opinion). Whether you read it as a soap opera, a study of power and influence, or an inside look at the worlds of academia, the legal profession and the civil service, you will very quickly be addicted, and then you have the joy of another ten really beautifully written novels still to go!
I recommend reading them in the narrative order (rather than date published order) so you will start with Time of Hope and move on through George Passant,The Conscience of the Rich, The Light and the Dark, The Masters, The New Men, Homecomings, The Affair, Corridors of Power, The Sleep of Reason and finally Last Things. Really highly recommended.
Romancing the Ordinary
Feeling weary? In need of a little comfort? Require some pampering? Looking for sheer escapism? Want a treat?
Sara Ban Breathnach's Romancing the Ordinary: A Year of SImple Splendour is just what you need. It takes you through a year of pampering, 365 days of comfort, twelve months of escapism or four seasons of pleasure.
Learn how to indulge yourself with scented baths or lose yourself in a superb novel, stuff rich lusciously iced chocolate cake down your throat or sink into a welcoming armchair beside a roaring log fire, fall into freshly washed and ironed pure cotton sheets or sob to your heart's content with a romantic tear-jerker of a film. This book will help you to fall in love with your life. Give it a go.
The Golden Turkey Awards
The Golden Turkey Awards: The Worst Achievements in Hollywood History
by Harry & Michael Medved
This book presents awards to honour the worst in cinema history. Half the fun is trying to guess which films will be nominated in each category and then attempting to predict the winner (with very little success in my case).
Some of the categories are:
The Worst Rodent Movie of all Time
The Worst Lines of Romantic Dialogue in Movie History
The Worst Title of All Time
The Most Ridiculous Monster in Screen History
The Worst Actress of All Time
And here are some nominees - see if you can guess the category:
Farrah Fawcett in Myra Breckenridge & John Travolta in The Devil's Rain
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes & Attack of the Mushroom People.
If you like this, you might also enjoy The Fifty Worst Movies of All Time, which they also wrote.
Yesterdays in Maoriland
Andreas Reischek, an Austrian taxidermist, came to New Zealand in 1877 and stayed for twelve years. He travelled extensively throughout the country from the far North to Fiordland and the sub-Antarctic islands, studying the flora and fauna and particularly the unique birdlife.
During the course of his expeditions, he collected 14,000 specimens of birds, fish, reptiles and plants. He presented the entire collection to Austria on his return home.
Before he died in 1902, he recorded his discoveries, adventures and impressions of New Zealand and the Maori people in this book Yesterdays in Maoriland. Reischek wrote in a simple and unaffected style and this book will be a joy to anyone interested in natural history or in the early colonial times or in tales of travel with a faithful dog.
