Friday 23 October 2020

 NEW RELEASES

I is Another (Septology III—V) by Jon Fosse          $38
Fosse continues his remarkable 'slow prose' project with an exploration of the two artists, Asle and Alse, doppelgängers or alternate versions of the same person, whose parallel lives intersect (at least in one direction!), leading the reader into philosophical and ethical considerations of great subtlety. 
"Fosse’s fusing of the commonplace and the existential, together with his dramatic forays into the past, make for a relentlessly consuming work: already Septology feels momentous." —Catherine Taylor, Guardian
"The reader of I is Another is both on the riverbank and in the water being carried forward, and around, by the great, shaping, and completely engrossing, flow of Fosse’s words. It’s a doubleness of view that is reflected in the characters, named Asle, who are both one and other, and through which we can see and feel the world, and ourselves, more clearly." —David Hayden, author of Darker with the Lights On
The Well Gardened Mind: Rediscovering nature in the modern world by Sue Stuart-Smith             $55
The garden has always been a place of peace and perseverance, of nurture and reward. A garden can provide a family's food, a child's playground, an adult's peaceful retreat. But around the world and throughout history, gardens have often meant something more profound. For Sue Stuart-Smith's grandfather, returning from the First World War weighing six stone, a year-long horticulture course became a life raft for recovering from the trauma. For prisoners in today's justice system, gardening can be a mental escape from captivity which offers, in a context when opportunity is scarce, the chance to take ownership of a project and build something positive up from seed. In The Well Gardened Mind, Stuart-Smith investigates the huge power of the garden and its little-acknowledged effects on health and wellbeing.
Ramifications by Daniel Saldaña París (translated by Christina McSweeney)         $36
A thirty-two-year old man can’t get out of bed or leave his apartment. All he can do is recall his life so far, dissect it, write it, gathering all the memories around what would mark his existence forever: his mother’s departure in the summer of 1994, when he was only ten, so that she could join the Zapatista uprising that was shaking up the whole country. Her mysterious escape from one day to the next only worsens with his clumsy father’s secrecy, silence and awkwardness, a man unable to carry the responsibilities for his son and teenage daughter. This worsens with the boy’s erratic investigations to uncover the reasons for his mother’s decision to leave. All he can do is create an anguish-filled parallel world: he will unsuccessfully seek refuge in his origami obsession, or in his sensory deprivation tank in which he locks himself up to see if he can erase his existence. Finally, with the help of Rata, a young delinquent dating his sister, he will undertake a voyage of discovery to the darkest corners of his Mexico City, where he will meet the face of gratuitous cruelty, as well as the selfless kindness of strangers. 
We Will Work With You: Wellington Media Collective, 1978—1998 edited by Mark Derby, Jenny Rouse and Ian Wedde       $60
A fascinating and full illustrated record of the work of the group of designers and political activists committed to left-wing principles and politics. 
>>WMC [no relation].  
The Platform: The radical legacy of the Polynesian Panthers by Melani Anae         $15
Auckland's Polynesian Panther movement were modelled on the US Black Panther Party — but without guns. The Polynesian Panthers was founded in response to the racist treatment of Pacific Islanders in the era of the Dawn Raids. Central to the group was a three-point 'platform' of peaceful resistance against racism, Pacific empowerment and a liberating education aimed at changing the landscape of race relations. The Polynesian Panthers defined an emerging group of Pacific people whose legacy still resonates. 

Two Cities by Cynthia Zarin         $22
Zarin's deeply personal response to the contrasting cities of Venice and Rome  intimate something of the relationship between person and the cumulative culture of places with long histories embedded in art. 


Timeline: Science and technology by Peter Goes           $40
In his signature playful style, Peter Goes illustrates the most fascinating technologies, from the first tools to the most specialized IT, from medical breakthroughs to the creation of YouTube. He includes remarkable scientists and innovators and highlights lesser-known stories. A compelling history of technology from the Stone Age to the present day, from America to the Southern hemisphere and beyond. A companion volume to Timeline: A visual history. 
The House of the Happy Spirits: A children's book inspired by Hundertwasser by Géraldine Elschner and Lucie Vandevelde         $32
Children can rethink cities and discover ways of living with nature with this imaginative story of the creation of the Hundertwasser House in Vienna. 
Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek myths by Nathalie Haynes           $40
Taking Pandora and her jar (the box came later) as the starting point, Haynes puts the women of the Greek myths on equal footing with the men. After millennia of stories telling of gods and men, be they Zeus or Agamemnon, Paris or Odysseus, Oedipus or Jason, the voices that sing from these pages are those of Hera, Athena and Artemis, and of Clytemnestra, Jocasta, Eurydice and Penelope.

The Dragon Ark by Curatoria Draconis            $48
With dragon numbers in rapid decline, time is running out to ensure the survival of the species. Curatoria Draconis, also known as the Dragon Protector, is on a mission to find the rarest dragon on Earth: the Chinese Celestial Dragon. Aboard the Dragon Ark, you'll travel all over the globe and see some of the most incredible dragons—care for Deep-Sea Dragons off the coast of New Zealand, journey into the Amazon Rainforest to spot plant-loving Parvula Dragons, and travel alongside the Ice Dragons in Antarctica. 

Brief and inspiring biographies paired with stunning full-page illustrations. 



A Wild Winter Swan by Gregory Maguire           $33
A reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Wild Swans' as the story of an Italian immigrant's coming-of-age in 1960s New York. From the author of Wicked and Mirror, Mirror.
Stuck Together: Recipes to share with the people you love by Sarah Tuck      $65
Positively delicious food from the  sensation behind fromthekitchen.co.nz
Plantopedia: The definitive guide to house plants by  Lauren Camilleri and Sophia Kaplan          $65
Definitive. 150 plant profiles and practical advice.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales from the café by Toshikazu Kawaguchi       $20
In this sequel to the wildly popular Before the Coffee Gets Cold, four more customers avail themselves of the time-travelling offered by the Cafe Funiculi Funicula. 



The Madman's Library: The greatest curiosities of literature by Edward Brooke-Hitching          $53
Books written in blood and books that kill, books of the insane and books that hoaxed the globe, books invisible to the naked eye and books so long they could destroy the Universe, books worn into battle, books of code and cypher whose secrets remain undiscovered...
A Journey through Greek Myths by Marchella Ward and Sander Berg          $45
Travel around the Mediterranean is this beautifully illustrated book and learn about the myths associated with each place you visit. 

Scandinavian Green: Simple ways to eat vegetarian, every day by Trine Hahnemann           $55
Scandinavian and Scandinavian-inflected recipes for each season, including mains, breads, sweets, pantry staples and some special dishes for cooking outside.
Classic Paperbacks Memory Game by Richard Baker         $45
Match the jackets. Fun!
COMING SOON: ORDER NOW!
The Dark is Light Enough: Ralph Hotere, A biographical portrait by Vincent O'Sullivan            $45
Hotere invited O'Sullivan to write his life in 2005, and this nuanced and insightful portrait of one of Aotearoa's most important and interesting artists is the long-awaited and supremely fulfilling result. 

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