Book Watch for 25 March 2012

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Mar 262012
 
Book Watch for 25 March 2012

Originally published in the New Zealand Herald on Sunday, 25 March 2012. Reproduced here courtesy of the NZ Herald. Runelight By Joanne Harris (Doubleday, $29.99) Joanne Harris is far better known for her adult bestsellers like Chocolat but Runelight marks her second book in a Young Adult series that started with Runemarks. And what a series it is – fun, intelligent and innovative storytelling, using the legends of the Norse gods as a character base but building on that with action and a sense of humour. Runelight is a great read and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a new twist on the YA fantasy genre. A History of the World in 100 Objects By Neil MacGregor (Penguin, $45) Fans of the fantastic BBC radio series and podcast A History of the World in 100 Objects will equally love this accompanying book. A comprehensive immersion in world [...read more...]

Book Review: Tea with Miss Tilly, Written by Justine Payen, Illustrated by Philip Webb

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Mar 012012
 
Book Review: Tea with Miss Tilly, Written by Justine Payen, Illustrated by Philip Webb

Tea with Miss Tilly by Justine Payen, illustrated by Philip Webb, Harper Collins NZ, ISBN 9781869509170, RRP $19.99, Available 9 March 2012. When you take afternoon tea with Miss Tilly, there’s no knowing where you’ll end up … In a gorgeous picture book, that’s where! Tea with Miss Tilly is a wonderfully illustrated little tale about tea… with Miss Tilly. It’s not just tea though – Miss Tilly and our unnamed narrator embark on travels to Atlantis, Loch Ness, the pyramids and even further afield. Then they come home for Warm Milo and apricot banana chocolate chip cookies. Yum! The story is perfect for little kids, not too wordy and not too dorky, and the illustrations are beautiful. Soft and dreamy with lots of detail (like Miss Tilly’s cat who goes on all the adventures too). Kids will just adore this and parents will be equally delighted.

Book Review: A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor

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Feb 292012
 
Book Review: A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor

A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor, Allen Lane (Penguin NZ), ISBN 9781846145117, RRP $45, Available now. A History of the World in 100 Objects from the BBC was one the best podcasts I listened to throughout 2010 (they’ve also been broadcast on Radio NZ) and this accompanying book is the perfect version of those shows in book form. A bit of background: A History of the World in 100 Objects is a different approach to history. Rather than focus on places and times Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, has chosen 100 objects that live in the museum to explore themes of human history – from pre-historic to the present. This approach turned out to be the perfect way to show how everyday lives of people in cultures around the world and throughout time have interconnected and how everything we do, know and think today has been [...read more...]

Book Review: The Half Life of Ryan Davis by Melinda Szymanik

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Feb 222012
 
Book Review: The Half Life of Ryan Davis by Melinda Szymanik

The Half Life of Ryan Davis by Melinda Szymanik, Pear Jam Books, ISBN 9781927182406, RRP $19.99 paperback, $8.49 ebook, Available now. You know how sometimes you get these ideas in your head for stories? Like “imagine writing a book about a unicorn… from the point of view of the unicorn!”¹ What I’m saying is, a great premise can make a book. And in The Half Life of Ryan Davis, Melinda Szymanik has a great premise. What if you were the sibling of a missing child? Ryan Davis is 15 – the same age his older sister Mallory (shout out, 80s kids) was when she went missing. And she’s still missing, now presumed dead, only she looms over Ryan and his younger sister Gemma, particularly because their Mum now thinks of Mallory as the “perfect child”. Part mystery, part family drama, part coming of age tale, The Half Life of Ryan [...read more...]

Book Review: More Six Feet Down Under by Chris Mann

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Feb 112012
 
Book Review: More Six Feet Down Under by Chris Mann

More Six Feet Down Under by Chris Mann, ISBN 978047316325, RRP$24.95, Available now. Ah, self publishing. I could write a whole post on the phenomenon… but it’s taken me a while to just get this post done, so one step at a time. There’s self-publishing and then there’s self-publishing. Chris Mann has now managed to produce two books in the former category. Er, that’s the good one. More Six Feet Down Under is a simple follow up to Six Feet Down Under (a book which I really enjoyed) and Mann uses the same formula to produce another interesting read. He writes reasonably well, he tells a good yarn and he knows a lot about an industry we all come in contact with in one way or another – that of death. Yes, Mann was a funeral director for many years and More Six Feet Down Under answers many of the [...read more...]

Book Review: Gangsta Granny by David Walliams

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Jan 292012
 
Book Review: Gangsta Granny by David Walliams

Gangsta Granny by David Walliams, Harper Collins, ISBN 9780007443888, RRP $24.99, Available now. I know there are plenty of people who don’t like David Walliams and don’t enjoy his comedy, but me? I love him. I love his big blousy lady dress-up, love his slightly creepy sexy-man schtick, love his selling out (well, he was in Dinner for Schmucks and he’s going to be on Britain’s Got Talent, for god sakes).  And since I read The Boy in the Dress, I’ve also loved his writing for kids. Gangsta Granny is a proud addition to Walliams’ oeuvre (The Boy in the Dress, Billionaire Boy, Mr Stink), and like all the others is evocatively and hilariously illustrated by Tony Ross.  Here’s a little taster of the story: After a few moments the front door opened slowly, and out stepped a figure dressed entirely in black … A black balaclava disguised the face, [...read more...]

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