- McCahon Country – Justin Paton
Colin McCahon (1919-1987) is widely recognised as an outstanding figure in twentieth century art. His ground-breaking work over four decades have changed the way people see New Zealand. Celebrated writer and curator, Justin Paton, takes readers on a journey through the landscape of Aotearoa New Zealand.
- Prince: The Beautiful Ones – Dan Piepenbring
Readers get a glimpse of the life of musical genius Prince through never-before-seen photos, original scrapbooks and lyric sheets, and the exquisite memoir he began writing before his tragic death. The autobiography reveals a side of the musician that is unknown to most; a startingly original visionary with an imagination deep enough to whip up whole worlds, from the sexy, gritty funk paradise of his early records to the mythical landscape of Purple Rain to the psychedelia of Paisley Park.
- Against All Odds – Craig Challen & Richard Harris
In June 2018, the Wild Boar soccer team were trapped deep in a cave in Thailand. The whole world watched with breaths held. This is the inside account of the rescue that made the world stand still.
- Feel Good Guide – Matilda Green
When Matilda Green, bestselling author of The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Living a Beautiful Life, found herself facing some hard times, she knew she needed to do something to boost her happiness and her self-esteem. But what? So she set out on a journey of discovery, embracing gratitude, mindfulness and meditation techniques, and learning how to be kind to others and to herself.
In The Feel Good Guide, Matilda pulls together everything she has learnt and shares her own experiences, in the hope that it will help others too. This practical resource, full of helpful tips and real talk, comes complete with an action plan in every chapter to get your own journey kick-started.
As Matilda says, this isn’t so much about changing who you are as it is about loving who you are. It’s about celebrating yourself, embracing and being proud of the person you have grown to be, and finding the right tools to help you remember just how awesome you really are.
- The Witches Are Coming – Lindy West
With Lindy West’s signature wit and in her uniquely incendiary voice, The Witches Are Coming lays out a grand theory of America that explains why Trump’s election was a foregone conclusion. The catastrophic resentment that boiled over in the presidential race has been cultivated by generations of mediocre white men and fed to the masses within popular culture.
Whether it be the notion that feminism has gone too far with the #MeToo movement or that holding someone accountable for his actions amounts to a ‘witch hunt’, The Witches Are Coming exposes the lies that many have chosen to believe and the unexpected figures who have furthered them. Along the way, it unravels the tightening link between culture and politics, identifying the seeds of the neoreactionary movement in popular memes, music and movies. Sprawling, funny, scorching and illuminating, The Witches Are Coming shows West at the top of her intellectual and comic powers.
- Your Own Kind of Girl – Clare Bowditch
Clare Bowditch has always had a knack for telling stories. Through her music and performing, this beloved artist has touched hundreds and thousands of lives. But what of the stories she used to tell herself? That ‘real-life’ only begins once you’re thin or beautiful, that good things only happen to other people.
Your Own Kind of Girl reveals a childhood punctuated by grief, anxiety and compulsion and tells how these forces shaped Clare’s life for better and for worse. With startling candour, Clare lays bare her truth in the hope that doing so will inspire anyone who’s ever done battle with their inner critic. This is the work of a woman who has found her true power—and wants to pass it on. Happiness, we discover, is only possible when we take charge of the stories we tell ourselves.
- Winx – Andrew Rule
Australia’s world champion racehorse Winx has become a sporting giant, transcending racing in the same way that Muhammad Ali transcends boxing and Bradman transcends cricket. She is described by her trainer, Chris Waller, as a supreme athlete—a world-class sprinter with a freakish ability to dominate longer distances ‘like Usain Bolt running in 1500-metre races’. She is the Phar Lap of the modern age and one of the greatest racehorses in 300 years of thoroughbred racing. In Winx: The Authorised Biography, Andrew Rule, her owners, her breeder, her trainer and her rider tell the real stories behind the world’s greatest racehorse.
- Who Am I, Again? – Lenny Henry
A child of the Jamaican diaspora, Lenny Henry was one of seven children in a boisterous, complicated family. With honesty, tenderness and a glorious sense of humour, he conducts a jam session of memories—growing up in the Black Country, puberty, school, friendship, family secrets and unashamed racism. With his mother’s mantra of ‘H’integration’ echoing in his ears, Henry set out on a glittering career—but at every stage wondering: Am I good enough? Is this what they want? Who am I, again? This book answers those questions.
- Dishonesty is the Second-best Policy – David Mitchell
Dive into this brilliantly observed and witty analysis of the farce of recent years. As facts are downgraded to opinions, as customers are preyed upon by algorithm-wielding websites, voters by targeted lies, cinema-goers by superheroes and children by measles, David Mitchell negotiates a path between the commercialisation of Christmas and the true spirit of Halloween. Incisive, hilarious and disappointingly truthful, no other writer is better placed to take on the dumbfounding times we live in.
- Corrupt Bodies – Peter Everett with Kris Hollington
In the pre-DNA and psychological profiling years of 1985-87, Peter Everett ran the UK’s busiest murder morgue. Operating in near-Victorian conditions, it was a hotbed of corruption. Attendants stole from the dead, funeral homes paid bribes, and there was a lively trade in stolen body parts and recycled coffins. This is a thrilling tale of murder and corruption with a unique insight into a world of death most of us don’t ever see.
- Make It Scream, Make It Burn – Leslie Jamison
A profound exploration of the oceanic depths of longing and obsession, Make It Scream, Make It Burn is a book about why and how we tell stories. It takes the reader deep into the lives of strangers—from a woman healed by the song of ‘the loneliest whale in the world’ to a family convinced their child is a reincarnation of a lost pilot—and asks how we can bear witness to the changing truths of others’ lives while striving to find a deeper connection to the complexities of our own.
- Just Kids Illustrated – Patti Smith
Patti’s Smith’s exquisite prose is generously illustrated in this full-colour edition of her National Book Award-winning, classic coming-of-age memoir, Just Kids. Along with never-before-published photographs, drawings and ephemera, this edition captures a moment in New York when everything was possible. And when two kids seized their destinies as artists and soul mates in this inspired story of love and friendship.
- Bowie’s Books – John O’Connell
Three years before he died, David Bowie made a list of the one hundred books that had transformed his life—a list that formed something akin to an autobiography. From Madame Bovary to A Clockwork Orange, these were the publications that had fuelled his creativity and shaped who he was. Bowie’s Books is much more than a list of books you should read in your lifetime: it is a unique insight into one of the greatest minds of our times, and an indispensable part of the legacy that Bowie left behind.
- Twinning It! – Sam Rybka and Teagan Rybka
Passionate twin YouTubers, Sam and Teagan Rybka share their story and their best tips for balancing friendship, success, fitness and family.
- Janis – Holly George-Warren
It’s been said Janis Joplin was second only to Bob Dylan as the ‘creator-recorder-embodiment of her generation’s mythology’.
What no one besides Holly George-Warren has captured in such intimate detail is the way Janis Joplin teetered between the powerful woman you hear in her songs and the little girl who just wanted to go home and feel emotionally safe there. The pain of that dichotomy fuelled her music – and ultimately killed her.
- No Surrender – Chris Edmonds
Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds was the highest-ranking American soldier at Stalag IXA, a prisoner of war camp near Ziegenhain, Germany. Through his inspiring leadership and bravery, Roddie saved the lives of hundreds of U.S. infantrymen in those perilous final days of the Second World War.
Growing up, Pastor Chris Edmonds knew little of his father’s actions in the war. To learn the truth, he followed a trail of clues, a journey that spanned seven decades and linked a sprawling cast of heroes, both known and unknown, from every corner of the country.
- Reprehensible – Mikey Robins
Rollicking and informative, Reprehensible: Polite Histories of Bad Behaviour is your guide through some of the most shameful behaviour indulged in by humanity’s most celebrated figures, as told by comedian Mikey Robins.
What are we to make of Catherine the Great’s extensive collection of pornographic furniture, Hans Christian Andersen’s too-much-information diary and Karl Marx’s epic pub crawls?
Our history is littered with those whose work and deeds have rendered them reprehensible.
- Pardiz – Manuela Darling-Ganse
Pardiz is a personal journey into Manuela Darling-Gansser’s “paradise past”. Having lived in Iran for the first nine years of her life, she returned as an adult to reconnect with the country she remembered so fondly. This book is a compilation of memories, stories and beautiful recipes that underline the depth and broad appeal of this great and enduring food culture. Manuela shows how seamlessly Persian food fits with trends of today: flourishing food markets; the primacy of local ingredients; the health-giving aspects of vegetable-centric dishes; and the joys of a shared table. In her choice of recipes, she gives a sense of the diversity of Persian food – whether it is served in a restaurant, eaten at home, prepared for a picnic, or enjoyed on the street.
- The Magic of Spin – Ashley Mallett
Spin bowlers in cricket are masters at making the ball loop slowly through the air to confuse batsmen. Legends of the game know the magic combinations of top-spin, side-spin and off-spin necessary to fool the opposition. The Magic of Spin dissects the various aspects of spin bowling through the stories of the bowlers themselves. In addition, it includes the history and evolution of spin bowling: the wrong’un or googly was ‘invented’ by Bernard (BJT) Bosenquet; Grimmett’ invented’ the flipper, the ball Warne in later years bowled so brilliantly; and Bill O’Reilly learned about spin bowling by watching Grimmett like a hawk in Test matches. The batsmen who have played the great spinners through the years will also help to explain the dark art of spinning.
‘Spin bowling is magical and to a lot of people [a few batsmen included] a mystery.’ – Ian Chappell.
