THE GROOVE BOOK REPORT

What ever happened to Mary, the middle daughter of the five Bennet sisters, and the plainest of them?  "It is a sad fact of life that if a young woman is unlucky to come into the world without expectations,she had better do all she can to ensure she is born beautiful.  To be hansome and poor is misfortune enough ; but to be both plain and penniless is a hard fate indeed." She's prim, pious and unmemorable.  Not the right material for a wife, in any way possible.  At least not in the patriachial, male dominated world of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, where every word and deed a young lady made or said is part of a ficticious facade that will ensure the success of her future.  Mary is also treated unkindly by her mother, who sees her as a lump of lard to be dealt with.  She has few friends.  Her time is almost exclusively taken up by visiting her  married sisters and being reminded of why she's a loser.  Mary tries to find somethin...

It's a strange writing to you all in this new world we are all in. We hope this finds you well, safe and in good spirits. Even while the creative landscape as the people at VERB know it has radically shifted, but none of their ambition has. In fact,  they'd claim current situation has only concentrated it. Creativity is needed now more than ever.  Their plans for 2020 and 2021 have had to morph. But they've been working hard to adjust and have come up with some exciting new projects. First up, they are be  publishing fresh new writing every month . And are paying artists to create new work that they'll deliver to you. You can read  April's publications from writers  Victor Rodger ,  essa may ranapiri  and  Sinead Overbye  online now .  Second, they are  cooking up some recovery events ... so that we'll be going back to gathering towards the end of 2020, and then have news about a Summer Fest in Feb 2020 ... and the end of 2021 is go...

Our favourite Unity Books has opened an online bookshop and will be shipping orders from today. They have been busy on Social Media letting everybody know that they are ready go. We checked the site and it isn't particularly phone friendly so it's recommended that buyers use a computer in the short term.  Also note that the link below goes to the Wellington store.  If you are closer to Auckland, then there's a link on the page to that store.  Welcome back, Unity.  Yay! Go to  http://www.unitybooksonline.co.nz

World Book Night is a national celebration of reading and books that takes place on 23 April every year. Up and down the country, everyone from libraries, local businesses, health organisations and many more celebrate the difference that reading makes to people’s lives. World Book Night is run by The Reading Agency, a national charity that tackles life’s big challenges through the proven power of reading. Connecting a nation in self-isolation World Book Night 2020 is going digital, as plans are changed due to Covid-19 and the nation is encouraged to share in the pleasure of enjoying a book – in print, or in audio. During this time when many of us are working from home, self-isolating and social distancing, reading has a really important role to play in keeping us connected to others and looking after our mental health. It’s also a great opportunity to enjoy a lovely shared experience with your children so why not join in Reading Hour (7-8pm on 23 April)...

Dear Princess Meghan is a story about Emma, a young girl who is inspired by the actresses rise to royal status. With a new understanding that being on stage is a prerequisite to a royal career, Emma takes on the important role of Anne Boleyn in her school play. But, with her courtiers at home being difficult and fellow actors forgetting their lines, Emma finds that becoming a royal is not as easy as it seems.... Until recently, this book would have been a hoot. But given Harry and Meghan's decision to split from the house of Windsor, it's taken on a whole new perspective. Sophie Siers wanted to capitalise on her success with Dear Donald Trump and has enlisted another fabulous artist, this time Katie Wilson, to make manifest her vision. Siers has an uncanny knack of picking up on the theme a topical celebrity and turning it into a story from a child's perspective. Like the previous book, Emma writes to Princess Meghan (Markle) about her problems and uses the ...

With her third book in the Trilogy, The Mirror & The Light , author Hilary Mantel finally close the book series that she started with Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies . In all three books, she follows the fate and adventures of Thomas Cromwell, the boy who came from nowhere to climbs to the height of power as Henry VIII henchman, only to finally fall from grace. This final book creates the the most portrait of this man - who was a liberator; a political critic; often a predator; and finally, prey. But more than that just a contest between attempts a democratic desire and the bizarre twisted royal will and single bloody mindedness of Henry. His somewhat perverted idea of the common man drives him, and ultimately brings him to his knees, in front of the block. Those familiar with Bring Up the Bodies know that it doesn't end well for Anne Boleyn. The French executioner will dramatically scoop up her severed head from behind the scaffold and “in a yard of linen he swa...

Dominion Post In a typical act of incredible generosity, Wellington author Susan Price has gifted a block of flats (Chevening) to Heritage New Zealand to ensure her family's 40-year legacy lives on. Susan and her sister Beverly was also behind the gifting of writer's cottage, Randell Cottage . Chevening,a block of four apartments at 90 Salamanca Rd – just across the road from Victoria University – has long been a piece of the city's architectural history and now, thanks to Price, will be owned and maintained by Heritage New Zealand, in a gesture the organisation has called "unprecedented". Susan bought the building in 2011 for $70,000 ($20K under value) and has been painstakingly restoring it right down to the furniture and fittings. Giving the building away, rather than selling it and distributing the proceeds, was a deeply personal choice for Price but one she said had been 40 years in the making. Built in 1929, Chevening was designed by Llewellyn E...

Randell Cottage's First Resident, aclaime author Peter Wells passed away on 28 February,  We were deeply saddened by the news.  "Peter was the first writer to live and work at the Randell Cottage," says Randell Cottage Friends President, Lesley Brown, "He was a filmmaker, a novelist, a biographer, an historian, and was instrumental in the establishment of two literary festivals. He wrote, and lived, with extraordinary elegance, grace and humanity." His most recent work, "Hello Darkness", released in the  week before his death, is his diary as a Stage IV cancer patient, first published on his Facebook page, and run as a series by the Spinoff . Stuff has an obituary here:  https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/110681349/obituary-author-peter-wells Peter studied history at the University of Auckland and the University of Warwick, England. His short stories, novels, memoirs and biographies have won many awards and accolades. He spearheaded ...

Last night I watched Hidden Figures , the movie about the Black Southern Women who worked at NASA and overcame the odds to become incredible and famous scientists and leaders in their fields. That movie was not only about the Civil Rights struggle, or the Feminist Struggle. It was also a reminder of what the Space Race of the 60's was all about. US president John F Kennedy’s legacy was not only to 'put a rocket under NASA buried deep in his 1962 “Special Message to Congress on Urgent National Needs” (which mostly about the rationale of increase in Cold War US military spending) but also for a long promised US$75 million to “help give us at the earliest possible time a satellite system for worldwide weather observation”.  Kennedy, argues author Andrew Blum, didn't just kick off the moon race but he did have a hand in the creation of new weather prediction tools.  In a more sutle way his own directives layed the way for future satelite weather reporting.  The ability to...

To help keep everyone entertained during the nationwide lockdown, Harper Collins have created a 'book club' of great titles for kids and adults.   Find chapter samplers, short stories and video content to hold your own book club!  Check out Book Club Online, our space for online resources for adult fiction and non-fiction.  The current edition features books from Lionel Shriver, Bruce Ansley, Adele Parks, Donna Hay, Millie Marotta and Lauren Chater.  There are reading notes and also sample chapters.  Read more here . CNZ Kids! is the best place to find a tonne of fun resources and activities to keep children  and tweens entertained  – from activities and games, to short stories and more.  Books vary from Dr Seuss to David Walliams.  There are interactive activities, videos and even teachers'notes. Check out more here .

Miniature vintage and classic caravans - otherwise known as 'tinies' and 'teardrops' - have become hugely popular in recent years, due to their dinkiness and versatility. Year after year attending WOMAD and other camping events we've noticed how many of these amazing small 'venues' have pooped up. To celebrate these, partners Fan and Marilyn have pulled together a collection of these small but perfectly formed mobile spaces. Each chapter focuses on a caravan and the owner. The camera gets right inside so you can really get a feel for the spaces and the people that own these. There are 24 Teardrop Caravans and 33 Tiny Caravans, designs and restorations that are as early as the 1950s right through to the 1990's. There's plenty of history about local manufacturers,too. And the photography, taken on location in some of the most stunning sites. Don't forget these are tourist accommodations. We can't compliment the writers more on this...

Despite having to indefinitely postpone our annual Storylines awards ceremony ­– the Storylines Margaret Mahy National Awards Day – we maintained a small semblance of normality by announcing the award winners on the scheduled date. Congratulations to all our winners, and to shortlisted entrants – the judges in each category this year commented on the high standard of the manuscripts and submission received. The Storylines Joy Cowley Award for a picture book text Tania Sickling, from Snells Beach, is the winner of the Storylines Joy Cowley Award for her story Grandpa Versus Swing. Sponsored by Scholastic New Zealand, the award carries assurance of publication and a monetary prize. Tania finds inspiration in the chaos and charm of days spent with children and she shapes her ideas into stories in the quiet of the night, playing with meaning and rhythm. Grandpa Versus Swing is inspired by playful grandparents, by the everyday scrapes which become part of family lore, and by the...