THE GROOVE BOOK REPORT

The viral explosion of Kiwi children’s bestseller I Need a New Bum! being read on Facebook has publishers across the world hurrying reprints to meet demand. Scottish Granny Janice Clark posted her reading of the picture book to grandson Archer on 22 September and has had over 850,000 views since then. After Facebook channel Now I’ve Seen Everything picked up the video it generated a whopping 17 million views, with the LADbible page getting another 1.2 million. Even with the book out of stock, the US edition I Need a New Butt! is at #31 on the Amazon bestseller list, following on the heels of Kiwi author Craig Smith’s Wonky Donkey, which holds the #1 spot. The book’s New Zealand publisher Oratia Books also has a rapidly decreasing number left of its compilation I Need a New Bum! and other stories. “The Scottish Granny has done wonders,” said Oratia Books Publisher Peter Dowling. “She’s given what was already a bestseller a massive global boost and shared the joy of readin...

Tuatara Open Late: City Gallery Book Club and Uniforms to Futurist Fashion 5–10pm, Thu 1 November | Entry by donation Emily Perkins is joined by City Gallery Book Club guests writer Lynda Chanwai-Earle, cartoonist Dylan Horrocks, and journalist Donna Miles-Mojab.  Alexander Maxwell presents a short illustrated talk; 'From Uniforms to Futurist Fashion'. And we screen the short Black Panthers documentary Off the Pig!  (1968), and SODA_JERK'S TERROR NULLIUS (2018, R13). Plus DJ Kedron plays Songs for  Never Never Land.  Cash bar and supper treats from La Boca Loca and Boquita .

Mary McCallum reading at Randell Cottage Today we visited three historic residences in Thorndon as part of a combined Open Day at the Randell Cottage, the Lilburn Residency and the Rita Angus Residency. All three residences were open to the public for the afternoon of Sunday 28 October. Visitors could walk through each one, as they are very close to each other.  The Randell Cottage located at 14 St Mary Street, a Category II historic place built in 1867, will be open for visits with reading s by a writer and a casual afternoon tea from 2.30pm. The Randell Cottage is a representative example of an early settler dwelling in Wellington. Since 2001 it has been a writers’ residency. In partnership with the Embassy of France, the New Zealand-France Friendship Fund, the Wellington City Council and Creative New Zealand, the Randell Cottage Writers Trust provides a six-month residency each year to a French and NZ writer respectively. The Category 1 Heritage Listed former home o...

October 16.  Groove Book Report has been celebrity watching.  What a splendid evening! It was marvellous to see two former Randell Cottage residents, Renée and Michael Harlow, honoured by the Prime Minister and Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage, Rt Hon. Jacinda Ardern, for a lifetime's contribution to New Zealand literature. Awesome, too, to hear the Prime Minister speak so movingly about the place of literature in our lives, and in particular to hear how much Keri Hulme's Bone People  had meant to her, as a young adult on her OE. And then to dash down the road to hear Randell Cottage's current resident, James Norcliffe, in conversation with Pippa Werry at the NZSA branch meeting.  Awesome Evening. https://www.randellcottage.co.nz/ http://jamesnorcliffe.com/

Visit three historic residences in Thorndon: a combined Open Day at the Randell Cottage, Lilburn House and the Rita Angus Cottage. All three residences will be open to the public for the afternoon of Sunday 28 October. Visitors will be able to walk through each one as they are very close. A simple map will be available to show the route. The  Randell Cottage  located at 14 St Mary Street, a Category II historic place built in 1867, will be open for visits with readings by a writer and a casual afternoon tea from 2.30pm. The Randell Cottage is a representative example of an early settler dwelling in Wellington. Since 2001 it has been a writers’ residency. In partnership with the Embassy of France, the New Zealand-France Friendship Fund, the Wellington City Council and Creative New Zealand, the Randell Cottage Writers Trust provides a six-month residency each year to a French and NZ writer respectively. The Category 1 Heritage Listed former home of one of the country...

I finally managed to steal this from my Nine-Year-Old.  You see, she sleeps with one eye open, so there was no chance she’d share a book like this until she’s finished it.  Now, she doesn’t do this with just any old book.  It has to be quirky, challenging and, in her terms, ‘un-put-a-down-able’.  It helps if the subject matter leads to a bit of a session on Google afterwards.  “What’s Morse Code, Dad?  Never mind, Mr Google told me!”  Kid’s eh? My daughter has never heard of Rhys Darby, or Flight of the Conchords, but she knows a good book when it arrives in the post like this one did.  Written in the same book-style as those ‘Treehouse’ books, with a handwritten font and plenty of ‘random’ sketches, Mr Darby brings us a slice of his awkward, Kiwi humour and out-of-this-world absurdity, served between two slices of mystery-comedy. It’s aimed at kids aged 8-15 yrs.  To be the boy, as it were, Darby assumes the clothes of 12-ye...

Our ticket bundles are a super valuable way to make the most of LitCrawl Extended (our mostly ticketed programme, running from Thurs 8 - Sun 11 November). The  Bookworm Bundle  gives you four tickets for $60 and the  Addict Bundle  gets you eight tickets for $110. This way you can immerse yourself in great conversations and performances and save some coin while you're at it. It's also super easy, just select the events you want to go to, purchase, and you'll be sent the tickets. Ticket bundles are  on our website here . Image above: Australian writer Zoya Patel, author of the essay collection  No Country Woman . Zoya  chatted to RNZ's Kim Hill  about the experiences behind the book which covers racism, feminism, religion, family and growing up in Australia. See Zoya at LitCrawl  here ,  here  and  here . HOW TO CRAWL? The famous crawl is back on Saturday 10 November with 25 events between 6pm and 9.15pm. Our fi...

On April 29, 1986, the great Central Library in downtown Los Angeles was burned to the ground. Although there were no fatalities, 50 fire crew were injured and over a million books were damaged or lost. The fire didn’t attract much attention at the time — maybe in part because that same week a nuclear reactor melted down in Chernobyl and sent the stock market crashing. The New York Times didn’t bother to mention it until the day after it had been extinguished, and only then as an aside, on Page A14. But even after arson was suspected, and a suspect identified, the fire never laid any claim to the public’s imagination. It was just one of the many senseless, regrettable things that happened, was briefly noted and then more or less forgotten. Maybe more to the point, nothing in the subsequent 32 years has occurred to heighten the natural interest of the subject. And yet now Susan Orlean — who, back in 1986, like most of the rest of the world, had failed to notice that there had even...

In her warm and engaging talk  The Power of Story , Joy draws on a lifetime’s experience of inspiring children to read. Recalling her own childhood reading journey, and that of her four children, she describes the circumstances that led her to begin crafting stories for a young audience. Entwining practical advice on how to spark a love for reading with her thoughts on how the power of story can inspire lifelong learning and critical thinking, Joy speaks to parents, educators and avid readers alike. Read  The Power of Story

How technology can enhance the reading experience for children? Alejandro Davila from Conical Interactive Studios wrote children's book The Green Fairy - which can simply be read as a book, or you can ask the Green Fairy to read it to you, by using your iPad or phone in an augmented reality. This is a book, a part-cartoon and part-video game. Quite simply, this is a story about a fairy who follows her dream to live in the Big Little City, after having to abandon her life in the forest due to constant threats from her natural enemy, the Fairy Catcher.  As a 'green' fairy she tries to find a new home in different street lights which are powered by fairies of different colours.  She tries to fit in with her new environment.  But no matter watch she does, the locals won't accept her.  She is too bright, too colourful, or too dull.  It's hard being different. And then the Fairy Catcher, who's been stalking her, arrives and all trust goes out the window....

I must admit, I was quite excited when I heard that a New Zealand female crime writer had just released a new book, and which had won the Ngaio Marsh Award – Best First Novel. Crime novels being my jam, and keen to support New Zealand authors, All Our Secrets seemed like a dream come true. I’ll admit, I was a little less excited when I found out that All Our Secrets is a YA novel. Damn, I thought. Well, I’m pleased to say this gem of a book surpassed all of my expectations of a YA book. Yes, some of the language is simplistic but as it’s told from Gracie’s point of view, and she’s only just turned 12 – it’s entirely appropriate and adds to the multi-dimensional element of this clever novel. Set in Coongahoola, in the mid-80’s, it’s a small town that you’re immediately familiar with. The nosey neighbours, local gossips and dirt-poor families. Gracie is the built-in babysitter for her younger siblings, as was expected in that era. She is the anchor for her siblings in...

Auckland Writers Festival is extremely proud to launch the Mātātuhi Foundation, with the aim of strengthening Aotearoa's literary landscape. The Foundation will provide opportunities for New Zealand writers to develop and promote their works and for readers to increase their engagement with the work of local writers and will fund activities that contribute to literacy in this country. The Foundation will operate independently of the Auckland Writers Festival Trust and initially aims to make up to ten one-off grants of $2000 - $5000 per year whilst building an endowment platform to support its long-term endeavours.  Applicants are invited to submit expressions of interest twice a year, with deadlines of 31 October and 31 May.  For more information, please visit:  Mātātuhi Foundation

Viewers first saw Oliver and his longtime mentor Jamie and Gennaro Contaldo touring Italy in 2005, filming Jamie’s Great Italian Escape, discovering Genaro's Italy and the place that first inspired Oliver. Now they return to hang with the Nonnas.  Yes, it's true.  The TV show, Jamie Cooks Italy, is another ridiculously fabulous road trip, touring the length and breadth of the great boot and 90-year-old women, whose knowledge of local food and traditions is imparted to the viewer and to the men. Rember, this is a place where women still own the kitchen (especially in the kitchen of these Nonnas).  These lovely old ladies learnt to cook out of necessity rather than for pleasure, but along the way, they've picked up some excellent tips, created and refined their dishes to the most fabulous recipes.  Many are created here.  Just as well, because in our newly diffracted society, many of our whanau don't live close.  We have to consult youtube rather than drop...

Sharon Mazer’s  I Have Loved Me a Man: The Life and Times of Mika  is out this week and to celebrate the book and the 30 th  Anniversary of his first solo show, Mika will be running a week-long season of classic comedy and cabaret alongside his costume installation ManaQuin for Artweek, SALON MIKA. Opening 10th October at Shanghai Lil’s on K' Rd, with performances from Penny Dodd on piano and Bare Feet Street, direct from Edinburgh Fringe. Tickets for the show can be purchased at  iticket . Event: Mika in conversation with Sharon Mazer  Devonport Library, Tuesday 23 October 7–9pm, including book signing and sales. The story of the one and only gay Māori performance artist MIKA is on shelves this week! It's a stunning book that covers the Old Mill Disco in Timaru to San Francisco’s ACT UP protests, through Jazzercise and drag, AIDS and homosexual law reform. A powerful view inside the social revolution that has moved New Zealand from the 1960s ...

Sometimes, you read a book that burrows its way under your skin and lodges in your heart. The Trauma Cleaner is one of those books. The book opens with Krasnostein’s author note: ‘The challenges posed by Sandra’s memory loss mean that parts of her biographical story have required imaginative reconstruction…Nothing has been exaggerated’. Good to know – but at times, you’re left wishing that some of Sandra’s story was exaggerated, instead of being all too imaginably real. Part biography, part narrative fiction, Krasnostein spent four years with the book’s subject, Sandra Pankhurst, and writes this book as a love letter to this courageous woman. Sandra Pankhurst is a ‘Trauma Cleaner’. Ever wondered who cleans up if someone dies in their house, a murder or suicide? Exactly. That’s what Sandra does. It’s not all death and decay – well, that’s subjective of course – Sandra also deals with hoarders. Those broken people, crushed under the weight of their mental illness and physica...