THE GROOVE BOOK REPORT

This is the first book we've received from the wonderful little publishers Millwood Press, an award winning publishing company established way back in the 1960s.  They are known for producing high quality specialty productions. They cherish books, especially those that touch individuality.  They currently focus on children’s books illustrated by contemporary artists in a fine arts tradition. So it's perfect that the Sophie, daughter of founder and former Wellington Councillor (and Historian) Judy Siers and photographer the late Jim Seirs, and current controller of the business should show her hand with the pen.  Sophie has spent plenty of on a Hawkes Bay farm, so it's natural that her story should revolve about a boy and a tree - nature in it's purest form and its most simple.  And the story is simple too.  It follows little Arlo as he climbs his favourite Ginkgo tree to watch the circle of life revolve around him.  In this case it's a family of pi w...

We found an interesting article about the value of reviews at the Spinoff: https://thespinoff.co.nz/books/20-02-2018/exclusive-book-reviews-dont-pay-much/

The hotly-anticipated Vogue photo shoot with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is out. The American fashion magazine, which describes our PM as "a 37-year-old with a beaming smile" and also "elvish", photographed her at Bethell's Beach, in a pair of sage green Herriot pants and a flowing trench coat from Harman Grubisa.  Read it here:  https://www.vogue.com/article/jacinda-ardern-new-zealand-prime-minister-vogue-march-2018-issue

November feels like a long way off, but we're already planning our 5th birthday party, along with some new programming initiatives to keep you entertained. Head to www.litcrawl.co.nz  

A powerful allegorical tale about humanity and dignity and the ease with which we can justify brutality. Two mysterious strangers turn up at a hotel in a small country town. Where have they come from? Who are they? What catastrophe are they fleeing? The townspeople want answers, but the strangers are unable to speak of their trauma. Before long, wary hospitality shifts to suspicion and fear, and the care of the men slides into appalling cruelty. Lloyd Jones’s fable-like novel The Cage is a profound and unsettling novel.

What makes this book so compelling is that, like Gone Girl , the woman in this book is "a blasting of the sinuses clear," as AJ Finn, author of this wonderful book points out.  "It empowers women in a a way that most literature in the Western world doesn't.  This is because so many books focus on getting men, losing men, falling in love or chasing men.  Men are the catalyst - not the woman.  in ' Gone Girl ' and in my book, I try to show that the woman's character is calling the shots." It’s not often that a debut author takes out the #1 spot on the New York Times bestseller list - but that is precisely what happened to A.J Finn, author of the latest must-read thriller, The Woman in the Window. This is the book that everyone is talking about, and with good reason! Our protagonist is Anna Fox, a psychiatrist who has herself developed a debilitating psychological condition. Her own particular agoraphobia has forced her to abandon her job - she ...

"You can't write a folk song - a folk song becomes...." Influential folk musician, activist and songwriter Peggy Seeger, born in New York in 1935, had a childhood steeped in music and politics. Her father was musicologist Charles Seeger, her mother, modernist composer Ruth Crawford and her brother Pete is the legendary writer of protest songs. After studying at Radcliffe College, Seeger went traveling - arriving in London where she met actor, playwright and songwriter Ewan MacColl, with whom she would spend the next 33 years. Together they are credited with laying the foundations of the British folk revival. As MacColl's muse, Seeger inspired one of the 20th century's most popular love songs 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face'. Seeger has recorded 23 solo albums and has contributed to more than 100 others. In 2014 she won the inaugural UK Women in Music Award for Creative Inspiration . She has recently published her memoir First Time Ever and has re...

From personal hardships to influencing millions of children from the Bronx to Bluff, and incredible successes, Dame Joy Cowley is a national taonga. Children's author Dame Joy was the only person to be made a Member of the Order of New Zealand in the New Year Honours. Just a few weeks later she was shortlisted for the most prestigious award given to creators of children's books - the biennial Hans Christian Andersen Award, which recognises a lifelong achievement in the area. She started out writing novels for grown-ups in the late 60s but children's literature is where she has made her name with her much-loved stories of Mrs Wishy-Washy, The Silent One about a deaf boy's friendship with a white turtle, and Nest in a Falling Tree, made into a film by Roald Dahl. Dame Joy Cowley talked to Wallace Chapman as part of the Life and Influences series.

Mark Cubey From politics and poetry to fiction and food, Writers & Readers to host exciting programme in the Capital this March The full line up for Writers & Readers, part of the 2018 New Zealand Festival , was outlined last night by Programme Manager Mark Cubey, who said the eclectic programme offers something for everyone, whether you’re a voracious reader or just dipping a toe in the literary world. Jamming a whole pile of literature into a four day book binge, this programme was a bit of everything  and guaranteed to challenge and delight. A highlight of the programme will be the opening night event, Women Changing the World , a fast-paced, funny and fascinating series of talks from a group of women who are each doing their part to affect change in the world. The gala event is being held on International Women’s Day, 8 March, and the line-up includes Aotearoa’s Poet Laureate Selina Tusitala Marsh, Australian novelist Charlotte Wood, broadcaster Kim Hill and...