I am slightly late with this news but a big congratulations to Albert Wendt on his win of the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize for the Asia Pacific Region, ahead of more well-known names (at least outside Asia Pacific) as Peter Carey, J.M. Coetzee and Thomas Keneally. Congratulations also to his publisher Huia Publishers.
Congratulations to Albert Wendt
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Mar 152010
Naming the Bones by Louise Welsh Text Publishing, RRP $35, Release date 29 March 2010 So it feels like ages since I posted a review. And I’ve just looked back and the last one I posted was February 15! Argh, that’s bad. In my defence: it has been busy, busy times, and will continue to be as we are about to embark on matrimonial bliss. Plus I’ve realised I start far too many posts with “So…”. But what can you do? …So… that brings me to this review which is for a brand spanking new release title to be brought to our fair shores by Text Publishing – Naming the Bones by Louise Welsh. Which is presented with more than a whiff of “mystery/crime fiction” about it (more on that shortly) so initially I was a bit unsure, being not so much of a “mystery” fan, as I’ve previously explained. [...read more...]
A week’s worth of reading
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Mar 092010
Selections this week from our stock of new books: If you fancy some well-written and gripping historical fiction then I highly recommend New Zealand writer Barbara Ewing’s Rosetta – we have a new copy for $20.95. If you have young kids you know that the pre-school years are a great time for encouraging their natural curiosity and desire to learn (not to mention answering a million questions a day). How to Be Your Child’s First Teacher is a great title chock-full of suggestions and guidance on how to encourage your child and covers the full spectrum of learning. Just $22.95 from BookieMonster! If you follow me on Twitter (@bookiemonsternz) you’ll know I’m rather upset because my beloved Nana-car is broken (apparently a transmission is a wonderful, but expensive, thing). So I’m thinking I need to read Dare to Repair Your Car and start paying a leeetle bit more attention to my [...read more...]
Morning beauty
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Mar 082010
So I just have to draw your attention to this amazing post from Craig Mod on book design and e-book design (more specifically the iPad). It’s a lovely, intelligent, almost meditational, piece. Highly recommended reading, as are many of the considered comments underneath. And on a reading note, I am currently reading Naming the Bones by Louise Welsh, for review, courtesy of Text Publishing. Review in a few weeks!
Morning giggle
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Mar 082010
see more Lolcats and funny pictures This just reminded me of someone I know…
Continuing my tradition of appreciated unappreciated classics, this story on The Bookseller about the 40th anniversary and re-release of Mog the Forgetful Cat by Judith Kerr prompted me to reminisce happily about how much I adored this picture book when I was a kid. Perhaps this is where my love of silly looking cats began. Mog is a kitteh with a memory problem – she forgets how to get inside the house, forgets she’s washing herself, forgets that she’s eaten and generally forgets where she is half the time. So far, so BookieMonster Kitteh. But the events of one night turn Mog into a hero… This is such a cute and cool book, and perfect for reading to kids. The expressions on Mog’s face in many of the pictures are just hilarious, and still make me giggle. My parents have our original copy and I annoy Mr Monster every time [...read more...]
Extra BookieMonster Blathery Goodness!