Tea and coffee - 15th Feb 2017

The Book of Coffee and Tea
by Joel Schapira, David Schapira and Karl Schapira

This might be the only book coffee and tea lovers need. It tells you everything you need to know including how to

• distinguish between varieties of coffee
• choose the best method of brewing
• make the perfect cup of coffee at the ideal temperature
• recognize all the myriad types of tea
• blend and prepare your own teas
• appreciate quality and freshness
• find the best coffee, tea, equipment & accessories

This is a thorough and comprehensive reference on the subject of tea and coffee and is packed with lore, tradition and expert information.

Flood - 14th Feb 2017

Massive hail storm hit Dunedin yesterday as you will all know. As a result, we had flooding and water damage in several parts of the shop. Worst hit was the music room which is now waterlogged and will take some time to dry out. But the office and the internet stock did not escape entirely unscathed.

Look at these pictures and weep!

Golf and Humour - 11th Feb 2017

The Art of Coarse Golf
by Michael Green and drawings by John Jensen

"Most of us have no holes-in-one or abatrosses to dream over, merely memories involving .... the humiliating crash of breaking glass that follows the use of a three-wood off the fairway."

This is a must for every golfer or would-be golfer but can also be enjoyed by the non-golfer. The book is entertaining and amusing and is packed full of anecdotes and "advice" on how to manage at golf. It is accompanied by John Jensen's lovely illustrations which perfectly complement the text.

There are lots of other books in this humorous series: The Art of Coarse Cricket, The Art of Coarse Drinking, The Art of Coarse Rugby, The Art of Coarse Acting, The Art of Coarse Sailing and more. It is worth looking to see if Mr Green has written one about your favourite pastime. You will be charmed while you read and then it will double up as a gift for a like-minded friend.
 

Wood engravings - 10th Feb 2017

Lines of Light: The Wood Engravings of Campbell Smith
by Ann McEwan

Campbell Smith is a New Zealand artist who was born in Masterton in 1925. He was a huge admirer of the Englishman Thomas Bewick, who is considered the 'father' of wood engraving, and this led eventually to his own fascination with the medium.

"Wood engraving, with its black and white image, is something close to music. It is a form of art which invites the engraver to make a statement: for me, that is about life and living in this country, New Zealand."

Ann McEwan's lovely book showcases Campbell Smith's art, which itself demonstrates his love of his native country and his feel for rural New Zealand. You cannot fail to be charmed by this book and converted (if you are not already a fan) to this simple, direct and intimate art form.

The Beautiful Game - 9th Feb 2017

A Cultured Left Foot: The Eleven Elements of Footballing Greatness
by Musa Okwonga

Feet, balance, fun, endurance, graft, toughness, guts, aura, madness, luck, vision: if you have all of these in spades, then you have the makings of a real football great (according to Musa Okwonga).

Okwonga's book presents the eleven key qualities that make up footballing greatness, with a chapter on each one. These elements combined create the perfect player: think Pele and Maradona.

This is a must-read for every football fan and player. Pop into the shop and pick up a copy or buy one from our on-line catalogue and find out why being a football great is a lot harder than it looks.

Stupidity - 8th Feb 2017

Stupid, foolish, dull, thick, dense, brainless, ignorant, mindless, idiotic, asinine, dim, witless.

The Encyclopaedia of Stupidity 
by Matthijs Van Boxsel

"Stupidity forced man to develop his intelligence but intelligence is no guarantee of self-preservation. Indeed, intelligence can boost stupidity. For example, stupidity comes to the fore in the smouldering civil war we wage on the highways, which, worldwide, causes hundreds of thousands of fatalities every year - not to mention serious injury. This chronic catastrophe makes less of an impression than a one-off disaster, such as an aeroplane crash."

This book is a compilation from the fields of art, fairy tales, history, poetry, maths, science, and general knowledge. It is entertaining and clever and sometimes quite funny. It will certainly make you think and it will provoke a reaction.

Mad cows are the result of recycled butchers' waste.

The Little Prince - 3rd Feb 2017

The Little Prince is an all-time classic. Antoine de Saint-Exupery said it was a book for children written for adults - and it can definitely be enjoyed by both. The book has been translated into over 200 languages so if you are learning a foreign language, it is a useful idea to buy a copy in that language - good for your vocabulary and grammar, easy to understand (since you have already read it in your own language) and provides a great sense of achievement once finished.

Just in case you haven't already read the book, it is a charming story of a little boy who leaves his own tiny planet to travel the universe. He has a series of encounters which help him to learn about the weirdness of adult behaviour. His odyssey culminates in a voyage to Earth and further adventures ensue.

No more detail or the pleasure of meeting The Little Prince for the first time will be ruined and so will the fun of re-reading after an absence of many many decades. 

A primer in visual awareness - 2nd Feb 2017

What has an ox to do with the letter A?
Are you left-eyed?
Who are you going to believe, me or your eyes?
What is the belly button problem?

An inexhaustible mine of anecdotes, quotations, images, curious facts and useless information, oddities, jokes, science and all of it concrned with the interplay between the verbal and the visual and the resources of the human mind. Even the pages of this book are a superb demonstration of the expressive use of type, space, colour and imagery. A witty exploration of perception, colour, pattern, proportion, paradox, illusion, language, alphabets, words, ideas, creativity, culture, style, aesthetics and value.

If any of the above excites your curiosity or piques your interest, then you need a copy of:

The Art of Looking Sideways
by Alan Fletcher