THE GROOVE BOOK REPORT

  No, this is not a trashy airport porn novel.  Instead it's a gritty, often challenging, inspired and highly engaging 'crazier-than-fiction memoir of personal liberation and self-empowerment.  if anyone could own such a story it would be author Faith Jones, who is honest and candid about her time in, and out, of the oppressive and extremist cult, known as the Children of God. We've already books like this, like those on Gloriavale, and we are weary of the potential for exploitation and sensationalism.  Even the title reads like a tabloid headline. So, there's a bit of reluctance to pick this one up. But when I finally did, I was rewarded by a very human approach and honesty that is pure but not overwhelming in detail or unnecessarily over the top. Jones grew up in the cult, situated on an isolated farm in Macau, as an active member of an elite army preparing for the End Times, when God would return and destroy all sin - and the world!  She prayed for many...

Press statement from WOMAD 2022: WOMAD NZ wants to thank everyone for being patient and understanding while we've worked through all our options to safely present the festival in March. With deep sadness, we are announcing WOMAD NZ is no longer going ahead for 2022. We all had great expectations of bringing the festival back to Taranaki after disruptions due to COVID 19 in 2021. It is heartbreaking to cancel for the second year in a row due to circumstances entirely out of our control. Our team has cautiously forged ahead with planning for 2022 over the last few weeks. The decision to cancel has not been made lightly. There is too much uncertainty surrounding large festivals and events, and what the growing threat of Omicron's spread in the community means. Ensuring the safety of our festival and the people of Aotearoa continues to be at the forefront of our response. To our artists, performers, traders, crew, volunteers, and sponsors who continued to stand by us an...

  This time the CoffeeBar Kid interviews Nashville based author and musician Simon Stanley (he's actually a Kiwi) who along with illustrator Emily Boswell has created his first book, 'Floating Down The River'.   The book is accompanied by a video with music by Stanley and stunning images from Boswell.   Building on the acclaim of his first single ‘Marley Sitting on a Pumpkin Seed’ (winner of the 2019 NZ music award for best children’s song), Stanley's vivid storytelling paints a very familiar scene for the intrepid little one.  What started as a hobby to connect with his niece who lives across the ocean, Marley, has now become a real passion: Stanley says that he "loves how colourful you can be with kid’s music, it’s like you can use all the paints in your palette and not have to worry about looking silly!’. The instrumentation reflects his professional life as a Nashville session musician, performing with a number of Grammy Award winning artists, with s...

Tramping experts reprise their acclaimed 2016 guide to Aotearoa's best back country huts.  In these Covid days, when we spend so much of our lives trying to connect with others digitally, it's imperative that we also remain in touch with the natural world - for the good of our mental health and wellbeing. Enter a book that reminds us of what's there, outside our windows.    This book is more than a guide, though. It's a connection.  It's a diary.  It's a social record. It's a history lesson. For so many Kiwis tramping and camping has long been our happy place. We need to be in the outdoors, in the mountains and on the river.  We desire to head out from the cities to the Central Plateau, stroll the great walks of the South Island, the windy heights of the Tararuas and the incredible coastlines of Abel Tasman National park - and everywhere else.  Shaun Barnett   We often book into those huts, we stay in them along the way. Most are maintained by ...