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Romance with distinct ‘kiwi’ backdrop

1/12/2018

Return to Riversleigh
by Anne Ashby

A thrill-seeking adrenaline junkie like Luke Prescott, is the last thing Shannon needs in her life right now. After the death of her reckless husband, she’s financially forced back to her hometown, much to the despair of her teenage son, who still idolises the memory of his famous father.
The storyline focuses on the internal emotional turmoil Shannon endures as she tries to put her life back together, establish financial security, and repair her relationship with her son.
Luke Prescott, is still reeling from a family tragedy, which left him as the guardian of two young children he struggles to connect with. Trapped into a life as a reluctant farmer, his adventurous spirit rebels at the constraints thrust upon him so he decides to build an adventure park.
A love affair is not on Shannon’s agenda, especially with her new boss, but it’s hard to maintain indifference the more time she spends in Luke’s company. The dynamics between these two dysfunctional families change as they learn from each other.
The heat level is sweet romance, which on my scale equates to a story I’d be comfortable sharing with my mother.
As a Southland lass, I related to the setting, and I enjoyed the distinct ‘kiwi’ backdrop of rural and coastal New Zealand with a dash of adventure sport.

Review by Wendy Scott
award-winning author

Title: Return to Riversleigh
Author: Anne Ashby
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
ISBN: 978-1509218998
RRP: ebook US$3.74 via Wild Rose Press; US$5.72 via Amazon, or Barnes & Noble; print $US16.99
Available: paperback andKindle ebook from Amazon; http://www.thewildrosepress.com;and most online bookshops

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Classy, elegant offering of poetry

27/11/2018

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Pasture and Flock: new and selected poems
by Anna Jackson

Why don’t more people read poetry? I’ve always felt, as a voracious reader, that poetry has the habit of deliberately disconnecting us from itself, as if there’s more merit in being cleverer than the reader, to bamboozle us, to confuse us and though these are, sometimes, worthy goals in themselves, there needs to be a connection. Poetry struggles to connect with people who have little in the way of literary education.
Honest acknowledgment first. This is my first review and I was intimidated by the educational achievements of the poet and thought seriously about not even attempting to review her work but after the panic faded, I realised the poet is the most capable person to analyse and critique her own work with a view to literary merit. She’s asking me to review it solely as a reader, an everyday person. So that’s what this is. I won’t mention each poem, only those that had a strong impact positively or not.
Part One: ‘I had a dream I was a ghost’: six sequences
The first part of this book had me reaching for the nearest research tool, Professor Google. For example: Who is/was Mayakovsky? I spent most of Part One finding references to the named writers, some I knew only by name, some as a reader of their works, but every time I was confronted by the unfamiliar, I researched, came back and had to try and rediscover the flow. I wasn’t captivated enough to go back and re-read so up to page 41 the poetry merely happened with the occasional connection. I loved the first stanza, The sun performs the introduction, for example, and gave myself a pat on the back for recognising the deliberate misquote of Oscar Wilde –
Now we are all flying in the gutter
though some of us are looking at the cars.
Also loved the first stanza under I am reacquainted with the furry fish of fraud. Little else remained though.
As I move through the pages I am only an audience member. I’m not taken inside and rarely travel with the writer. I am watching, sometimes in the same room, sometimes through a window and once or twice the window was firmly shut. There are moments of sudden, startling clarity. Page 21 – ‘They weren’t kids’, the General replied. And after the deliberate, understated domesticity and ordinariness of place this slap of cruelty and aggression was poignant, and hurt.
Poet: I loved the last two lines so much I went back and re-read this poem. It became one of my favourites. Bomber Star seemed so closed off in its referencing that I was completely excluded. This was a firmly shut window. Party: I enjoyed the playful, girlish naughtiness.
The Gas Leak intrigued and interested me. Nice, wide open window here, letting in light and a warmth lacking from other offerings.
From I, Clodia:  The rhythm, the imagery, so much to enjoy here. A stand-out from Like a flock of birds the laughter which has lingered with me –
I would not ever wish to see my daughter
   stand as I have stood, still
   as if stitched into/a pose of despair.
I find myself wishing the poet had begun the book with these poems because it was from Page 42 that I felt she was writing to share.
Part Two: ‘Time to hold on to the leash.’
Lots to enjoy, moments to re-read and consider. I mention the ones I enjoyed and got the most out of: Micky the fox terrier at the zoo. Zina at the zoo. Takahe. The fish and I. It was an honour, John. Wondering how to see it. Amanda in the mirror. Roland on the outskirts – a favourite. Sylvia in the supermarket – the bitterness a sharp and lovely taste with a nicely weighted regretful, sad finish.
Part three: ‘From just behind her eyes’ New poems.
The cooking show. Office pastoral. Le Corbusier. To my hen-flock. Read and re-read this one. I think I like it? And I enjoy the question mark of that consideration the most. Reading Horace and thinking about Susan Sontag. A favourite. Late swim. Nothing is too wonderful to be true. Unspoken, at breakfast. Eleanor, on the beach. Radishes.
As I close the final page, having read the endnotes and acknowledgements I am asking myself that first question: ‘Why don’t more people read poetry?’ This book kind of answers that for me. I wish it had been put together differently so the poet’s humanity, warmth and insight were on view first, not her literary endeavour. If I’d picked this book up in a shop and read those first few pages, I‘d have replaced it and would therefore have missed out on the poetry from page 42. And that would have been a pity.
Overall, a classy, elegant offering of New Zealand poetry.

Review by TJ Ramsay

Title:Pasture and Flock: New & Selected Poems
Author: Anna Jackson
Publisher: Auckland University Press
ISBN: 9781869408794
RRP: $34.99
Available: bookshops

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How to save the planet

23/11/2018

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Psychology for a Better World: Working with people to save the planet
by Niki Harré

With only a lay-person’s knowledge of psychology, at least at the academic level, I open the book with some misgivings. The subtitle, though, encourages me, especially as I know Niki Harré has done much to champion the environment. And right at the beginning I’m assured that the book is indeed for people like me –
“…contains numerous strategies for making (more) sustainable practices and policies… for the teacher…the office manager…the student…the politician…the builder…the mother…Whatever your social location, if you believe a more sustainable world is possible, then this book is intended for you.”
It’s edition 2 of this title, being an updated look at a book first published in 2011. It’s a chastening thought that as little as seven years can make a deal of difference.
The text is ordered into five chapters –
Positive Emotions and Flow: Encouraging Creativity and Commitment; Copying: The Power of Doing and Telling; Identity: The Role Of Who We Are and Where We Belong; Morality and Cooperation: Making the Most Out of Our Desire to Be Good; A Self-Help Guide for Sustainability Advocates.
The examples of case studies discussed in the chapter on positive and negative emotions are really interesting and, from them, conclusions can be made about how each mode can have its place in motivating people to act for the benefit of the environment.
Further examples in chapter 2 illustrate the human habit of copying behaviour, leading to the conclusion that “modelling is a very powerful means to learn current practices and to transmit new ones.” This includes the telling of stories, not only more formally but as gossip – an activity that can be used to very good effect in setting models of sustainable behaviour.
Chapter 3 changes the focus from the individual to groups, as the author considers where we stand as members of communities – local, national, international, or ideologically based, and how this affects our attitudes and behaviours. Again, we need to assess our relationship to the whole. I’m left wondering whether to sell my car and buy a bicycle.
As interesting as the preceding chapters are, I find the 4th, on morality and consideration, even more so for its examination of the basis of ethics.
The short concluding chapter looks at what can be done at personal, group, and civic levels.
Written by an academic for general readership, Psychology for a Better World is well researched, very readable and accessible. At the end of each chapter there’s a list of key suggestions to help bring about change.
This short summary can’t do justice to the content nor to its worth to those interested in improving their knowledge of the social aspects of attitudes to sustainability.

Review by Paua Blue

Title: Psychology for a Better World: Working with people to save the planet
Author: Niki Harré
Publisher: Auckland University Press
ISBN: 9781869408855
RRP: $29.99
Available: bookshops

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Striking book

19/11/2018

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The Green Fairy
by Alejandro Davila
Illustrations by Vittorio Suhendro

Let me start by saying this book is certainly well worth the wait!
The presentation is immaculate and the binding exquisite. The binding is the second thing that caught my eye. This book opens flat, which is a plus as it is a substantial work.
The art work is stunning and professional. It’s a delight to see and the colours create the perfect mood for our little green fairy.
This is truly a book to retain.
Good versus evil. Kindness versus greed.
This little green fairy finds herself displaced and at the mercy of The Fairy Catchers who have come up to the mountains specifically to hunt fairies with their nets.
With all she possessed, the Green Fairy flew off into the night.
When she settled into a tall tree, she discovered shops, and stalls selling flowers and cherries, set up inside on the branches. This was the Fairy Markets.
From there, she headed off to the city. Her intention was to find an empty street lamp in which to set up her home. But she was the wrong colour. She was green. The yellow fairies around her stood together and demanded the green fairy leave.
So off she goes again, into the night, bewildered and afraid.
Will the little green fairy ever find her place in the world?
I hope so.
Now if you skip through this glorious book and find yourself truly caught up in the tale, you will barely notice the lack of proofreading, wrong punctuation and typos littered throughout. And I did notice a couple of words that seemed a little age inappropriate.
But what a striking book!

Review by Susan Tarr

Title: The Green Fairy
Author: Alejandro Davila; Illustrator: Vittorio Suhendro
Publisher: Duckling Publishing
ISBN: 9780473437497
RRP: $24.95
Available: bookshops

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Attention to history in novel

14/11/2018

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The Landwaster (Chronicles of The Scraeling Vol 1)
by MJ Burr

There is something to be said for historical fiction as a genre. I avoided it for many years until finally being introduced to it properly. History is a passion, as is reading, and the two coming together to form a well-researched story is something I lose myself in.
The Landwaster does just that.
The story has the depth that only passion can bring and, from cover to cover, it is clear that Burr has a dedication to history that many authors don’t quite understand. History is messy. It is a long road, rough and bloody, and The Landwaster is no different.
First, we are introduced to the main characters as they assault the convent of Les Trois Etoiles. Assault is the only way it can be described. A bloody, savage assault on the senses, which has a visceral effect on the reader. There is no clean, light Knights of the Round Table view of history here. Burr has kept away from making the mistake many historical fiction writers make by adding a clean sheen to history, and I commend him for this. Rape, murder, blood, the Vikings did it all, and so too do the characters in The Landwaster as they satisfy every urge in the first chapter.
As the book continues, the attention to history is constant, as the characters travel from Norway, to Constantinople, to Sicily, to London, each new location dragging me further into the complex world of Harald Hardraada.
However, as much as I enjoyed being there, I felt that the format of the book did little to keep the reader enthralled for too long. I don’t know if it was decision made by Burr to allow the reader a reprieve from the heavy world but having The Chronicles after every passage really tore me from the immersion. I am fully aware that this, and subsequent instalments are The Scraeling, telling us what happened from his own viewpoint, a function I actually really enjoy, but the simple act of labelling The Chronicle so frequently began to get repetitive, and as result, kept me from truly losing myself in the story, as I knew there was a break coming up. Even omitting The Chronicle would do much to keep the immersion, as it would have a more natural flow.The Italics work perfectly well on their own, so the labels seem somewhat superfluous and break up the rich tapestry of the 11th century.
And it is rich. Burr’s use of description throughout does, at times, seem to be a bit heavy handed but for the most part, he paints a very clear picture of the tyrant’s conquest.
This book does not paint a pretty picture of the 30 years in which Harald Hardraada, who acted with nothing but avarice during his conquest in the 11th century, but will leave the reader in awe of his accomplishments, as well as admiration of The Scraeling’s cunning as The Landwaster carves a bloody path to satisfy his own desires at the cost of any who made the misfortune of getting in his way.

Review by Cameron Lines

Title: The Landwaster (Chronicles of The Scraeling Vol 1)
Author: MJ Burr
Publisher: Cliowrite Ltd; 36 Wairau Road; Oakura; Taranaki 4314
ISBN: 978-0-473-41124-4
RRP: US$4.34 Amazon Kindle; $31.29 The Book Depository paperback
Available: paper as above or $25 from author, info@cliowrite.com

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Social history of sport

9/11/2018

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Sport and the New Zealanders: A History
by Greg Ryan & Geoff Watson

This book, which traces the history of sport in New Zealand, will be of interest to any sports enthusiasts in New Zealand who want a long read. It covers most of the recorded history of the country, including an initial chapter for the pre-1840 era.
It is written by two academics, rather than sports journalists or fans, and shows that sport has been a topic of significant scholarship within the universities. There are 40 pages of endnotes at the back.
The book is certainly well-written. However, the authors do place their story within an academic context, and the historiography of the wider society, which results in an emphasis on the early years. It is very much a social history of sport, followed by an assessment of the effects of the commercialism of sport, and societal change on the mass participation in sport. So anyone expecting a lot of detail on recent professional sportspeople will actually find the balance tipped back towards the amateur era.
It has to be said that much of the focus of the authors is upon the development of rugby union, even though many sports are woven into the narrative. This can be justified on the idea that rugby is the ‘national game’, and has the broadest range of participants in terms of town and country. It certainly has the most popular depth, and therefore commercial appeal. And it has developed over time, as we witness the increased participation of urban Pasifika players, and the rise of the women’s game. But inevitably the sporting links with South Africa have to be covered, and the 1981 Springbok Tour examined, especially as other sports had a temporary moment in the limelight. Questions remain over whether one dominant sport is helpful to the others.
While the text moves into the emphasis on commercialised sport and the elite level, there is another perspective provided by the photographic plates. All of these are presented well in black and white, and the most recent is from the 1980s (apart from two cartoons). The research for these photos in the archives has provided an emphasis on the participation of ordinary folk, with a few elite national representatives from yesteryear. The only downside is that the participants are mostly unknown, and the places are sometimes vague as well. The photo for the cover is also a curious choice: an unknown weightlifter at the Petone Recreation Ground, circa 1956. There seems to be no weightlifter mentioned in the text, even for the 1974 Commonwealth Games.
Some of us may want to see the Christchurch Commonwealth Games as something of a high point, before the political controversies of the later 1970s, and the rampant commercialism of more recent times. The authors contemplate the issues of social change for its effect on sport in the chapter “And Sport for All?”, and in a brief conclusion. Certainly, there is more diversity in sport, with stereotypes of sexuality being challenged and overcome; and there has been more focus on disabled and Paralympian participation, with some particular individuals becoming prominent.
However, the ‘prominence’ of individuals reflects the commercial branding that they can achieve, even within a team culture. The overriding commercial imperative in modern professional sport is acknowledged by the authors, but they emphasise the continuity in the sporting culture in New Zealand. Perhaps there is still a strong element of an amateur culture, but it now appears that money actually rules the game.

Review by S A Boyce

Title: Sport and the New Zealanders: A History
Author: Greg Ryan & Geoff Watson
Publisher: Auckland University Press
ISBN: 9781869408831
RRP: $65.00
Available: bookshops

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Book’s ideas recommended

5/11/2018

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The Infinite Game
by Niki Harré

All life is a game. Or is it? If so, what type of game? How do you play and win? Or is winning not important?
These are some of the questions that must have rattled around Niki Harré’s mind before she conceived the ideas behind writing ‘The Infinite Game’. And she answers these questions quite early on in the book.
  The first part of the book is a dry read and it will take a persistent reader to get through it without bouts of nodding off. But she makes her point: competition sucks. What Harré calls ‘finite’ games have an end-point, winners and losers, less of the first, many many more of the second, which, looked at in that way, is a mug’s game. But we all get trapped in these games, so much so, we forget there might be another way. The alternative is to live in a world we create where winning is more about the process of life than the end result. Where people come and go without competition. Where we live together well, the infinite game. That is Harré’s message.
  The second part of the book is far more personal and the dry style is dropped. And it is far shorter. But how many readers will make it to the second part (which, by the way, is only the last quarter or so of the book)?
  Personally, I liked the chapter about the Trickster best of all – how we get seduced into playing by the rules of one or more finite games even when we think we’re in total sympathy with switching to an infinite game. Sigh.
This is a semi-academic book with a nod to the ordinary reader interested in a better way of life (and of bringing up our children). Perhaps bits of the second part could have been inserted into the first to lighten up the load. The message Harré conveys is a message worthy of dissemination.
I heartily recommend the book’s ideas and the second part conveys Harré’s humility in bringing these ideas forth. If interested, do persist. And if we all carry out her recommendations, maybe, just maybe, we’ll create a more friendly world devoid of much unnecessary stress.

Review by Kiw1

Title: The Infinite Game: How to live well together
Author: Niki Harré
Publisher: Auckland University Press
ISBN: 9781869408787
RRP: $29.99
Available: bookshops

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Romance with distinct ‘kiwi’ backdrop

Classy, elegant offering of poetry

How to save the planet

Striking book

Attention to history in novel

Social history of sport

Book’s ideas recommended

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