This giveaway ends Monday 12 July at 5.30pm and I’ll announce the randomly drawn winner at 8pm.

Usual blurb: As usual,  judges decision is final, no correspondence will be entered into, yada yada yada. Oh, and sorry overseas readers, but I can only post to New Zealand addresses, so New Zealand address holders only, please.  And, uh, I reserve the right to change these rules because there may have been something I’ve forgotten.

Right, I’ve got myself together and here’s the first book giveaway! Leave a comment on this post and you could win one of three books – Shadow Sister by Simone van der Vlugt, Thief by Maureen Gibbon or A Matter of Life and Death by Sue Armstrong.  This giveaway will run until Sunday night at 5pm, and I’ll post the winner at 8pm Sunday 11 July.

Tomorrow I’ll start a giveaway for Gunshot Road by Adrian Hyland and on Friday it will be The Crime of Huey Dunstan by James McNeish. You can enter all giveaways!

As usual,  judges decision is final, no correspondence will be entered into, yada yada yada. Oh, and sorry overseas readers, but I can only post to New Zealand addresses, so New Zealand address holders only, please.  And, uh, I reserve the right to change these rules because there may have been something I’ve forgotten. One winner will be drawn at random for each giveaway.

So comment away free book lovers! And don’t say I never do anything for you!

CAN IT TEXT?

BLOG?

SCROLL?

WI-FI?

TWEET?

No . . . It’s a book.

For lovers and defenders of book culture of all ages – arm yourselves with this book and unite!

 

A new technological breakthrough! It doesn’t involve tangled cords, won’t  require the upload of apps and never needs charging.

Who can deny the simple appeal of a good book?

Playful and lighthearted with a subversive twist that is signature Lane Smith, IT’S A BOOK is a delightful manifesto on behalf of print in the digital age. This satisfying, perfectly executed picture book has something to say to all readers of all ages.

Monkey is reading a book, but his friend wants to know what the book can do. Does it have a mouse like his computer? Can you make the characters fight? And does it make loud noises? No, it’s a book. Monkey’s friend has a delightful epiphany when he discovers that a good book doesn’t need fancy electronic accessories.

From New York Times bestselling author Lane Smith.

‘A must read for every publisher concerned about the impact of electronic publishing issues and every child who wants to enjoy more of their childhood and Lane Smith’s arch style. A devilish ending may scare a few . . . if it’s you? Lighten up.’

Publisher’s Weekly Staff Picks 2010

There was a bidding war over this book when it was presented at Bologna earlier this year and Walker scooped the ANZ rights! So far, It’s a Book is going to be published in Australia, New Zealand, England, Netherlands, France, Italy, Japan, Korea and Sweden!

Published: September 2010

AUD$27.95   NZD$29.99

Hardback Picture Book

Isbn: 9781921720147

For more information:  http://www.walkerbooks.com.au

It’s A Book! I love it!

SO GOOD. Two words that sum up my entire reaction to this fabulous book. Yes, this is another crime/thriller but I have nothing bad to say about this one – what amazing writing! What fantastic characterisation! What a stunning hold on pacing and tension Hyland has!

Gunshot Road is Hyland’s follow up to Diamond Dove and, like that title, follows Emily Tempest – the new Aboriginal Community Police Officer for the outback town of Bluebush. We get straight into the problems involved for Emily in dealing with her white bosses and her Aboriginal friends and townmates, problems which only get compounded with the death of an old friend in a seemingly open and shut murder.

Emily, though, suspects that there is nothing open and shut about the case and embarks on an investigation of her own, one that puts her in physical danger. The story progresses at a great pace – not necessarily fast chronologically but perfectly timed to keep the reader hooked and involved. The tension is perfectly balanced with some beautiful domestic scenes and witty one-liners. The whole story really put me in mind (oddly enough) of the old TV mini-series Edge of Darkness (god, no, not the movie) – it had the same feeling of a local story that becomes something much larger and with genuinely thrilling moments interspersed with haunting personal introspection.

At the same time Hyland has an amazing ear for voices and Emily’s in particular is charming, rough and humourous – which describes the whole book, really. The location is outback Australia and there are no pulled-punches here – Hyland shows both the whites and Aborigines viscerally responding to and interacting with the land around them, and his portrayal of the social problems in the Bluebush community is both casual and heartbreaking. Over all of this looms the land itself – large, open, wide, hot, dusty. Empty. Watching.

It’s all brilliant stuff and I honestly can’t recommend it highly enough. Buy it! Don’t question me! Just do it!

Scribe Publications

Ken Crispin is a former Australian state Supreme Court judge, as well as an attorney who’s worked in both defence (Lindy Chamberlain!) and prosecutions so he’s really excellently placed to give a wide-ranging and thoroughly accessible overview of the Western democratic legal system. Whilst concentrating, obviously, mostly on Australia there really isn’t a major difference  between our system and Australia’s – nor is there a major difference between the willful ignorance of both countries’ general populations as to what our legal system does and doesn’t do and how and why it does it.

Oh, and apparently politicians and media everywhere have discovered the stunning ability of the “justice sucks” stick to both entertain and scare their audience.

Ah, soapbox.

Leaving aside my own views however, The Quest for Justice is a highly recommended read from me, both for its ability to discuss legal complexities in an appealing and enlightening manner whilst retaining a sense of inquiry into both the ethics and practicalities of the law.  So there’s a certain amount of philosophy but Crispin always brings it back to actual practice.

As said, a lot of the examples and issues are Australian, particularly in the chapters on the creeping impingement on individual freedoms in the name of fighting “terrorists” – but, let’s face it, that isn’t really a million miles from NZ when you think of incidents like the Tuhoe raids in 2007.

Mostly the writing is well done with only the occasional tendency to repetition – which can sometimes cause a bit of tooth grinding.

So, there are many people I wish I could send a copy of this book to. Of course, most of them would never read it, sadly. Because that might involve thinking.

AFP: Paris bookshop shows French love for Asia-Pacific

For those of you unaware of TradeMe it is New Zealand’s answer to e-Bay and is by far the most popular auction website in New Zealand – and it’s open to buyers and sellers from Australia also. The introduction of the Pay Now system of secure credit card payment processing has done a lot to smooth the way for Australian buyers. To pay by credit card with Pay Now the buyer must be able to choose a specific postage cost, which is why we are spending time adding these costs for Australian buyers.

We hope this means we’ll see a lot more of you on TradeMe and we look forward to selling some great books to Aussie!

P.S. It will take us a small amount of time to work through changing all our listings, if you find a title you wish to purchase that doesn’t yet have a postage cost for Australia on it just ask us to add it for you using the Question & Answer facility on all our auctions. And remember that all prices on TradeMe are in New Zealand dollars.