Don't wake the baby!

Conversation in the shop today turned to the fun of reading children's books.  Who else has been known to read them aloud without a child present, just for the sheer joy of hearing the words roll off your tongue? Or for the wry humour that only an adult can read into the story?   And then there are the almost children's books, with a sting in the tail. Adam Mansbach is the author of one.Try it sometime ... but don't do as I did and wake the baby with your laughter!

Farewell Lucy, trivial pursuit and a sunny Sunday ...

Last night we all gathered together for a sendoff for our lovely Lucy (she's about to publish a new edition/addition, watch this space!) After a delightful meal we launched into trivial pursuit.  I was blown away by the depth of knowledge our accumulation of booksellers displayed. Virtually no trivia was too elusive for one or other of them not to know the answer! Bookselling provides great practice in the art though.  Our customers have such a wonderfully diverse range of  queries and reading needs and we have great adventures finding the right book for each one. Today, on a sunny Sunday in the bookshop  I learned about tea cosies and meditation, mah jong and model railways, sidestepped into Leunig then did a quick backflip into whales, followed by a good old rummage through the fiction and then straight on into travel writing ... that was just helping customers during the first half hour from opening.

Missing Lucy

It's Lucy's last day today - she's off on maternity leave. We will miss her knowledge, great customer service and wicked sense of humour! All the best with baby2. Here she is buying a farewell stack of books!

The dangers of flowers

Flowers, or rather the water they are contained in are not really that compatible with books. Yesterday a book had a rather unfortunate meeting with flower water when the tulips on the counter toppled over. Amazingly this was the book...

s

No room! No room!

There is no such thing as too many books, but there is certainly such a thing as not enough space. This is just one of the rooms at Stella's and Thomas's house.

What Katie did.

One of our lovely customers made us this special award from some of the bookmarks she has accumulated. We'd like to give a special award to all our lovely customers.
Come and celebrate being part of the 2014 New Zealand Bookshop of the Year: Friday 4 July from 4:30.
 Click here for an Invitation to Celebrate

Not so boring...

The Boring Book by Vasanti Unka last night won the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year award at the New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
We think this is a wonderful book - lots of fun for all ages!
Find out the other award-winners on our website.

These flowers are for you!

Last night we received the 2014 Nielsen Award for NEW ZEALAND BOOKSHOP OF THE YEAR!
Thank you to all our wonderful customers for the enthusiasm and support that make a bookshop possible. And thank you to the publishers, reps, distributors, writers, illustrators, fellow booksellers and everyone else who makes the cogs of bookselling turn. Long live local independent bookselling!
 

Winston goes home.

Winston Churchill  (The Quotable Winston Churchill) was the cause of much mirth among our customers and his collection went home with one .... in his bag between the organic pork chops and the organic leeks!

Short, Dark & Read

Why is our manager so short? Maybe it's the great weight of text upon her head! Note the titles  - short, little, dark all feature in celebration of the shortest day. Happy Solstice.
{Lucy made me include 'Bad Influence'!- Stella}

Come in and receive a complimentary Shakespearean insult

Phil being suitably insulted...

Thanks to the 'Shakespeare Insult Generator'.

Wind in the rigging

Attaching the mizzen sail to a halyard, Thomas the bo'sun (being tallest) climbs aloft whilst Captain Rigg steadies the shrouds and Captain Blackmore, adopting a nautical pose, stands aft.
Ahoy, Cap'n Rigg! There's plenty more sails as needs swabbing!

New Zealandisms...

Maire, Tara and Julie (representing three generations) came in to the shop today to purchase a book of New Zealandisms. They spent quite some time and rather a lot of laughter ensued while deciding on the right book. The winner was...'How to Speak New Zenglish'.

A world remade

Two interesting memoirs have come in, very different, but both viewing the world (re)made by cerebral palsy.



In The Fall, A father's memoir, Diogo Mainardi explores history, art, difficulty and love in 424 short chapters centred around his son, who has cerebral palsy. 424 steps is the greatest number of steps his son has taken before falling over.

Francesca Martinez's What the **** is Normal?! shows how having cerebral palsy gave her a unique perspective on the society she grew up in, and is an inspiring and spirited re-examination of 'being different'.

Edmonds Cookery Book

HOW many editions?!

What happens overnight in a bookstore?

Arriving at the bookstore on a chilly Sunday morning my thoughts turned to warming the place up before opening.  I was thwarted in this as the heat-pump's vital round "ON" switch had done a disappearing act. It was there when we closed up yesterday, but had vanished  into thin air overnight.  Maybe it was inspired by our travel books to go on a journey of its own?   It was eventually located under the depths of the false floor of our display window, having been on a bit of a drop and roll adventure overnight.

Our crafternoon tea

Congratulations Emily who won our Once Upon A Knit competition with her entry Little Red Riding Hood. Tessa with her entry ...and I'm still hungry!. We were all amazed by the level of creativity and skill amongst the entries this year.

Howling at the moon

Tonight we experience a phenomenon that won't occur again until 2049. A full moon, on Friday the 13th. So watch out for black cats, ladders, werewolves and nudists dancing on the beach.

Autumn leaves....

This morning we came to work to find a path of autumn leaves leading to the bookshop.

Peter made quick work of clearing the way...

Four books about autism

These four books help provide a better understanding of autism:
 The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida. This invaluable book, written by a 13-year-old boy using a cardboard keyboard, provides astounding insight into a mind so acutely wired it is overwhelmed by every impulse and sensation.
The Autistic Brain by Temple Grandin, one of the world's most accomplished and well-known adults with autism.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon features an autistic protagonist. 
The Panicosaurus by K.I. Al-Ghani is a book for children, parents and teachers about managing anxiety, with particular consideration of Asperger Syndrome.

(Click the titles to find out more.)

Temptations

Many boxes have arrived and Ann has started unpacking our special winter selection of craft and art books. Here's a quick snap to tempt you... come to our Crafty Afternoon Tea this weekend and you can browse with tea & chocolate.

A flying kakapo

A kakapo will be winging its way to the UK, not a real one but the fun read-aloud version. Lynn found this delightful book to send to her grand children in the UK. 'Wacko Kakapo', will be the perfect rhyming tale for them to learn about New Zealand's iconic birds.

How do you find time to read?

On a rainy Sunday afternoon the conversation in the shop turned to finding time to read. A customer earnestly asked for "time". No, he wasn't after one of our many books about Time, Thyme or even  "Once upon a time". He simply wanted to know how to find the time to read not only the books he was purchasing today but also the many books he already has waiting. A dilemma we all share!

Once upon a knit

Our winter crafting window is in now. Come and have a look, it's even more amazing up close. The winner will be announced at our Crafty Afternoon Tea next Saturday.

Slothful Stella

This is about the only time you will find our industrious manager Stella slothing about.

We are celebrating an impromptu International Sloth Day, with the release of The Lazy Friend by Badel Ronan, new from Gecko Press.

Rosie Belton & Wild Blackberries

A delightful evening with Rosie Belton. Rosie has been touring the country talking about her new book Wild Blackberries (pub. by Allen & Unwin). It was very lovely to have her at the bookshop tonight, with family and friends, talking about her love of cooking and the pleasures of food.

(Stella & Rosie take a quick break)

Poppy & Wombat

Poppy & Wombat visit the bookshop today. They are helping to buy birthday presents.

They both look happy to be here. 

NZ Music Month Winner

Congratulations to Peter (he promised to share the chocolate with his wife!)

Totally fair

The annual Founders Book Fair is a great way to find a stack of books you weren't particularly looking for (and, by donating, to make room on your shelves for more).

31 May - 8 June. 10am-4:30pm.

We'll probably see you there!

The Winner Takes It All

Congratulations to Peter who was the lucky winner of our New Zealand Music Month giveaway.