The Woman Reader by Belinda Elizabeth Jack

$25.00 NZD

Category: Books About Books | Reading Level: near fine

This lively book tells a story never told before: the complete history of women readers and the controversies their reading has inspired since the beginning of the written word. Belinda Jack's groundbreaking volume travels from the Cro-Magnon cave to the digital bookstores of our time, exploring how an d what women have read through the ages and across cultures and civilizations. Jack traces a history marked by persistent efforts to prevent women from gaining literacy and to censor their reading. She also recounts the counterefforts of remarkable women - and some men - who have fought back and battled for the educational enfranchisement of girls. The book introduces dissatisfied female readers of many different eras - ancient poetesses disappointed by the limitations of male poets, Babylonian princesses calling for women's voices to be heard, rebellious nuns who wanted to share their writings with others, confidantes questioning Reformation theologians about their writings, famous and infamous wives whose reading provoked their husbands, and nineteenth-century New England mill girls who risked their jobs to smuggle novels into the workplace. Today, a new set of distinctions between male and female readers has emerged, and Jack explores such contemporary topics as the commitment of mothers vs. fathers to children's literacy, women's vocal demands for censorship in school libraries, and the impact of women readers in their new status as the prime movers in the world of reading. ...Show more

The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales by Jack D. Zipes (Editor)

$30.00 NZD

Category: Literature | Reading Level: very good

Where do fairy tales come from? Why do we find them so enchanting? What is it about them that is so magical? From its origins in the oral tradition to the modern methods of storytelling through film and television, the fairy tale has always had a powerful grip over the cultural imagination ofthe Western world.Under the editorial guidance of Jack Zipes, 67 expert contributors have come together to combine their insight and expertise on all aspects of the fairy tale tradition. The result is a unique synthesis of knowledge making this the most authoritative and wide-ranging reference work on the study ofthe Western fairy tale available.To what extent was Enid Blyton inspired by fairy tales, reading 'every single old myth and legend I could get hold of'?What influence has Walt Disney had on the modern perception of certain classic fairy tales?Where did the Moomins come from?Under what title was Alice in Wonderland first published?In what different ways have fairy tales been portrayed on film?To what extent was the story of Hansel and Gretel auto-biographical?Why has Irish folklore had such a big influence on American film and stage?What inspired Edward Elgar to put fairy tales to music?What is the difference between science fiction and fairy tales?What are the philosophical overtones in 'The Little Mermaid'?Who supposedly inspired the character Peter Pan and why is the story so popular?What are the similarities between The Arabian Nights and Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children?Who are the most famous Norwegian fairy tale characters?Which two famous fairy tale characters inspired Stephen Spielberg's E.T.?What traces of the politics and society of the American Midwest during the late 1890s can be seen in The Wizard of Oz?Entries include:Tales - Alice in Wonderland, 'Beauty and the Beast', 'The Frog King', 'Hansel and Gretel', Jack tales, 'Little Red Riding Hood', 'Melusine', The Adventures of Pinocchio, 'The Princess and the Pea', 'Rapunzel', 'Rumpelstiltskin', 'Sleeping Beauty', 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs', 'The UglyDuckling'Characters - Aladdin, Ali Baba, Baba Yaga, Mother Goose, Mrs Pepperpot, Peter PanFilm, Stage, and Television - Babes in Toyland, ballet, Bluebeard's Eighth Wife, Chu Chin Chow, Walt Disney, Hans Christian Andersen, Jim Henson, The Little Prince, Once Upon a Mattress, Sindbad, Steven Spielberg, Shirley Temple, WillowWriters from the past - Louisa May Alcott, Hans Christian Andersen, J. M. Barrie, Lewis Caroll, Kenneth Grahame, Brothers Grimm, C. S. Lewis, Richard Scarry, William Shakespeare, Robert Louis Stevenson, J. R. R. TolkienWriters from the present - Margaret Attwood, A. S. Byatt, Roald Dahl, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Terry Jones, Terry PratchettIllustrators - Edward Ardizzone, Quentin Blake, Raymond Briggs, Kate Greenaway, Maurice SendakComposers - Claude Debussy, Edward Elgar, Leos Janacek, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Richard WagnerOther topics related to fairy tales and folklore - advertising, cartoons, communist folk-tale films, fantasy literature, feminism, greetings cards, mythology, opera, oral tradition, poetry, postcards, science fiction, stamps, televisionFeature entries highlighting countries with a strong fairy tale tradition - British and Irish fairy tales, France, Germany, Italy, North American and Canadian fairy tales, Portuguese fairy tales, Scandinavian countries, Slavic and Baltic countries, SpainWith an in-depth introduction by Jack Zipes and an extensive bibliography to complement the A-Z entries, this is the essential companion for anyone interested in literature, film, or art, or for anyone who values the tradition of storytelling. ...Show more

Alex by Tessa Duder

$20.00 NZD

Category: Fiction | Reading Level: very good

The moving and inspiring story of Alex, a champion swimmer. Alex is swimming to qualify for the Olympic Games. In the past year she has fallen in love and has known what it is to lose - in swimming and in life.

Any Human Heart by William Boyd

$10.00 NZD

Category: Literary Fiction | Reading Level: very good

Levi's War by Julie Thomas

$10.00 NZD

Category: New Zealand Fiction | Reading Level: very good

Levi's War follows on from The Keeper of Secrets and Rachel's Legacy, tracing the story of the eldest Horowitz son, Levi, who is smuggled out of Berlin to London the day after the Kristallnacht in 1938, where he makes the momentous decision to be parachuted back behind enemy lines and fight as a Partisa n, culminating in the crucial role he plays in saving the Jews of Assisi. What family Levi Horowitz has left after the Holocaust assume that their silent observer spent WW2 interred in a camp for 'foreign aliens' on the Isle of Man and that his experience was so different from Simon's in Dachau, that shame kept him quiet. These assumptions could not be further from the t ... ...Show more

The Divided World - Selected Stories by Owen Marshall

$15.00 NZD

Category: New Zealand Fiction | Reading Level: very good

The Swing Around by Barbara Anderson

$14.00 NZD

Category: New Zealand Fiction | Reading Level: good-very good

New Zealand 20 years ago, when margarine was sold in pharmacies and protective tariffs ruled... The Minister of Cultural Links and Trade, an ex dairy farmer called Hamish Carew, sets of on a Swing Around of New Zealand's Asian friends and neighbours. With him are his wife Molly and two young officials, Freddy Manders and Violet Redpath. It should be a routine affair. But Molly doesn't like shopping, Freddy is consumed by bitterness at the wife who left him and the superiors who have sidelined his career, Violet finds herself at a loose end...and lurking on the horizon is the shadowy terrorist group Lightening Storm. The Swing Around is Barbara Anderson's funniest novel to date, and is also imbued with her compassionate wisdom about the ways people connect with one another. ...Show more

Six Clever Girls Who Became Famous Women by Fiona Farrell

$12.00 NZD

Category: New Zealand Fiction | Reading Level: very good

On 22 September 1960, six girls gather behind the school toilets to read Peyton Place: Caroline the leader, Heather the caregiver, Kathy the actress, Raeleen the explorer, Greer the mystic and Margie the rebel. Like the historical heroines whose stories are repeatedly held up to them as models, these gi rls confront in their various ways the uncertainty and fears of adolescence. On 22 September 1995 we meet them again, confronting the issues of middle age. Caroline's on the way up, Raeleen's now Ra, Margie climbs higher and higher. They re all relearning in the process the joy of making that vital, terrifying, thrilling leap 'out into the sun'... First Publisher 2003 ...Show more

Let the River Stand by Vincent O'Sullivan

$12.00 NZD

Category: New Zealand Fiction | Reading Level: very good

This first novel by Vincent O'Sullivan is set in rural New Zealand in the 1930-40s against a backdrop of the depression and two World Wars. Alex, tall and solitary, finds himself in Spain fighting with the Republicans.

Huia Short Stories 13: Contemporary Maori Fiction

$12.00 NZD

Category: Maori | Reading Level: very good

Here are the best short stories from the Pikihuia Awards for Māori writers 2019 as judged by Scotty Morrison, Robyn Bargh, Tuehu Harris, Whiti Hereaka, Poia Rewi and Carol Hirschfeld. This competition, run by the Māori Literature Trust and Huia Publishers, is held every two years to promote Māori write rs and their work. This year, the awards sought short fiction from first-time, emerging and published writers in te reo Māori and English. The competition attracts several hundred entries each year from writers of all ages and those who are starting out to seasoned authors. This collection of finalists’ fiction celebrates Māori writing, introduces new talent and gives an opportunity for Māori writers to shine. The stories are: Murray's Special Day by Tracey Andersen, Tunnelling by Cassandra Barnett, Botched by Marino-Moana Begmen, Para Pounamu by Pine Campbell, Tangaroa Pūkanohi Nui by Hineteahurangi Merenape Durie Ngata, Storked by Paipa Edmonds, Tiakina! Tiakina! by Tiahomarama Fairhall, Mumsy by Olivia Aroha Giles, Rocket Ship Pyjamas and Plum Jam by Olivia Aroha Gile,s Kokiri ki mua - Charge forward! by K M Harris, My Three Friends at School by Josh Hema, The Pledge by Nadine Hura, Dust by Kelly Joseph, The School of Life by Lauren Keenan, Tina's Coming on Tuesday by Lauren Keenan, Ko te Ao tō Marae by Hēmi Kelly, Just Holden Together by Colleen Maria Lenihan, One of the Good Ones by Moira Lomas, Aunty's Teeth by Annette Morehu, Te Kai a te Rangatira, he Mahi by Zeb Nicklin, Te Kurī Hīroki o te Āporo Nui by Zeb Nicklin, The Guises of Death Kahuru Pumipi, The Bartender by Michelle Rahurahu Scott, White Sheep by Penny Smits, Whakaurupā Taku Aroha by Amiria Stirling, No te uku - From the Clay by Bronwyn Te Koeti ...Show more

Rotoroa by Amy Head

$14.00 NZD

Category: New Zealand Fiction | Reading Level: near fine

On tiny, isolated Rotoroa Island in the Hauraki Gulf is a treatment facility for alcoholic men. It's here, at the Salvation Army-run home, that three characters at very different points in their lives will find themselves gathered, each for reasons of their own. There is Katherine, known to history as E lsie K. Morton, famous journalist and author; Jim, a sleepless alcoholic sent to the island by his family; and Lorna, a teenage mother who joins the Salvation Army looking for a fresh start. As the stories of their lives are revealed, so too are their hopes and vulnerabilities. Set in the 1950s, as rigid social codes in New Zealand are beginning to evolve and come unstuck, Rotoroa is a compassionate, beautifully unfolding examination of loss and the possibility of renewal. Told with subtlety and intelligence, this novel affirms Amy Head as a remarkable new voice. ...Show more

Trust Exercise by Susan Choi

$14.00 NZD

Category: Hardback fiction | Reading Level: near fine

An electrifying novel that speaks directly to the #metoo movement. In their first term at a highly competitive performing arts high school, two students, Sarah and David, fall deeply and obsessively in love. Under the care of Mr. Kingsley, their magnetic and manipulative drama instructor, they and their peers exist in a rarefied bubble, where the boundaries between students and teachers become first dangerously blurred, and then completely broken. The outside world of family and class, academic pressure and the future can't affect them-until it does-and they must deal with the ensuing rejection, rebellion, and heartbreak. Two decades on we learn that what we were told about these teenagers' lives is not completely true, but not completely false, either. The real story is larger and darker than we imagined, and the consequences have lasted a lifetime. Captivating and brilliant, Trust Exercise is a novel about the treacherous terrain of adolescence, how we define consent, and what we lose, gain, and never get over as we navigate our way into adulthood's mysterious structures of sex and power. ...Show more