Prepare the pav, smooth out the stockings & break out the barbie.
It’s time to countdown to Christmas, and we’re compiling a
very merry bookish wishlist.
Fostering a love of books is one of the best gifts you can offer for a child’s future. Encourage reading with Christmas.
Today’s titles:
Santa’s Kiwi Holiday, Pukeko in a Ponga Tree, Baby’s First Touchy-Feely Christmas,
Mary’s Christmas Yarns, The Little Drummer Boy, Jan Pienkowski’s First Christmas
Rochelle’s Christmas Pick:
One is a celebration of individuality and life. Author Victoria Alexander writes with humour and wisdom about the importance of believing in and valuing ourselves. She reminds us to trust in ourselves, try things on for size, take risks and ask for what we want – after all, we might just get it. At its heart, this beautifully layered collection of stories, quotes, reflections and evocative images is about the power of choice and about enjoying life, with all its shifts and changes. Its message is universal: accept who you are and who you can be, whether you live alone, or whether you are one of many.
Hopefully, most of you have already popped out the first five days on your advent calendar. Christmas comes but once a year, and the lead up to it is the best time of the year. So, get merry and get adventurous with your advent.
We have cardboard advent calendars starting at $10. Yet this year brings a new wave of advent calendars, perfect for those who want something more durable, as an heirloom, environmental or creative.
Pop in to Pop out.
20 days to go!
Love,
The Paige’s / Stead & Daughters team.
wooden advent calendar
Fabric advent: invent your own scene with velcro
Or, what to buy for anyone.
But let’s face it, there are a fair few of us out there who a 1) lament the poor memory of males and 2) never know what to buy them for Christmas. This book will solve both your problems in one hit. Furthermore, it is an entertaining read and up there as one of our best books of 2011. So on the off chance you are battling with a memory malfunction of your own… gift this book to a loved one then have a sneaky read.
“On average, people squander forty days annually trying to remember things they’ve forgotten. Joshua Foer used to be one of those people. But after a year of training, he found himself in the finals of the U.S. Memory Championship. He also discovered a truth we too often forget: In every way, we are the sum of our memories. In “Moonwalking with Einstein”, Foer draws on cutting-edge research, the cultural history of memory and the techniques of ‘mental athletes’ to transform our understanding of human remembering. He learns the ancient methods used by Cicero and Medieval scholars. He meets amnesiacs, neuroscientists and savants – including a man who claims to have memorized more than nine thousand books. In doing so, he reveals the hidden impact of memory on our lives, and shows how we can all dramatically improve our memories. At a time when electronic devices have all but rendered our individual memories obsolete, Foer’s book is a quest to resurrect the gift we all possess, but that too often slips our minds.
We’re proud to be publisher’s of Samuel Alexander’s collaboration: ‘Voluntary Simplicity: the poetic alternative to consumer culture’. Here’s more from Mr Alexander in the Spring Edition of ‘EarthSong Journal’. Read, regard, revivify.
For more information see www.simplicitycollective.com or www.earthsong.org.au
Congratulations to the New Zealand Post Book Award Winners for 2011. Esteemed, worthy and legends of literature, you make us proud to be kiwi.
It’s New Zealand Poetry Day! If there is just one poetry book you get your hands on this year, make it Western Line by Airni Beautrais.
The follow-up to Airini Beautrais’s acclaimed debut collection Secret Heart demonstrates the growing reach and authority of her writing. The three sequences of ‘Love Poems’, ‘Charms’ and ‘Curses’ are an arrestingly original mix of observation, performance and jokes. A section of lyric poems slows the pace, and then four powerful long poems take the reader travelling, through memory and into the present, through the Whanganui backblocks, rural Germany, and other places.
It may well be the best $28.00 you’ll spend this poetry day. Click here to order.
Also be sure to friend us on facebook to learn about upcoming readings with Airni Beautrais at Paige’s Book Gallery. You’ll also find a full list of poetry day events around the nation.
From the Poetic People at Paige’s
Ka puta Matariki ka rere Whānui.
Ko te tohu tēnā o te tau e!
Matariki re-appears, Whānui starts its flight.
Being the sign of the [new] year!
Matariki is the Māori name for the small cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters, in the Taurus constellation. In New Zealand it comes into view low on the north-eastern horizon, appearing in the tail of the Milky Way in the last days of May or in early June, just before dawn. This heralds the Māori New Year.
Each tribe had its own lore around Matariki, a time for considering the rhythms of the land and how to protect and sustain resources. Connected with this were the protocols that taught people how to live in balance with the natural world. Traditionally, it was a time for remembering the dead, and celebrating new life. In the 21st century, observing Matariki has become popular again. Heaven-bound kites, hot-air balloons and fireworks help mark the occasion.
Purchase your Matariki Calendar here
Market gardener, Chow Yat, lived on the outskirts of Whanganui in post-WWI New Zealand, a time of particularly rampant xenophobia. On 31 May 1922 this humble, hardworking Chinese man was brutally shot four times, and the murder remained unsolved.
However notable New Zealand author Joan Rosier-Jones has brought this true and intriguing story to life, scrutinizing the facts. With an objective viewpoint and an inquisitive approach she pulls the threads of evidence into a compelling read, and offers insight into the dismal and friendless conditions faced by Chinese immigrants at the time. The book also unmasks a botched police investigation: which blindly follows one line of enquiry, detrimentally disregarding vital evidence.
The result? An unsolved murder reeking with racial discrimination. Through sound enquiry, a probing approach and leaving no stone unturned, Rosier-Jones single-handedly all but solves the case.
“There was a time when New Zealanders could not have cared less about the death of a lone Chinese man tending a cabbage patch,” stated New Zealand Chinese Association National President Steven Young. “Joan’s efforts in writing this book should be seen in the context of an increasing interest in incorporating New Zealand Chinese history as New Zealand mainstream history.”
In 2002 the New Zealand Government formally apologized to the Chinese community for the conditions faced by immigrants during what is termed the ‘Poll Tax’ period. ‘The Murder of Chow Yat’ is not only a thoroughly good read, but informative into a frequently suppressed period of NZ history.
The Murder of Chow Yat
by Joan Rosier-Jones
9780986453717 RRP $31.99
With the announcement of the Orange Prize 2011 Shortlist, look what our hawk-eye manager spotted:
“medicine for the soul” – inscription over the door of the library at thebes
follow us...