September 2010

Free Domestic Freight With the help of our genius web-monkeys, we've made all General Books freight free anywhere within NZ! For details, see our vicbooks blog. Keep an eye on our Literary Prizes page for the announcement of the NZ Post Book Award winners.
New Zealand Books
Gifted by Patrick Evans rrp $30.00 vicbooks price $27.00 Victoria University Press In 1955 a much-lauded writer finds himself playing host to a young woman who is looking for a safe place to write after a long stay in hospital. An intriguing re-imagining of a pivotal moment in New Zealand's literary history, this is Evan's first novel in many years. Buy now In related news, a new edition of Frank Sargeson's Stories edited by Janet Wilson is also being published this year by Cape Catley for $47.99. Due in October. 99 Ways Into NZ Poetry edited by Paula Green & Harry Ricketts $44.99 HB Vintage This anthology includes a wide geographical and historical spread of poems, analysis by the editors and chapters about form, context and other aspects of the genre. Rounding out the collection is commentary from twenty-five poets about specific works. An essential book for anyone who reads or writes poetry, or wants to do so. Buy now	Words Chosen Carefully edited by Siobhan Harvey $44.99 Cape Catley Fifteen authors and fifteen literary critics engage in separate question-and-answer sessions to discuss each writers work, what it means to be a writer and the role which various thematic icons - land, family, art - play in their writing. Buy now The Power of Mothers by Celia Lashlie $36.99 HarperCollins Lashlie tackles the myth that youth crime is the result of bad parenting by "criminal" families. She claims it is irrational for the middle class to turn a blind eye to children who aren't from their world, because whatever destructive background a child comes from, the effect is magnified by an indifferent society - and if nobody takes responsibility, everybody pays the price. Buy now Abortion Then & Now by Margaret Sparrow rrp $50.00 vicbooks price $45.00 Victoria University Press Sparrow presents personal stories from women who have had abortions; police and doctors involved in the process and pro-choice advocates, from the forties to the present day. Significant law reform in 1977 saw many of the legal and safety issues involved in abortion improve, but personal and social difficulties remained. This timely book assesses how far New Zealand has come since then, and tackles the inconsistent nature of the present system. Buy now
Ten New NZ Popular Penguins $13.95 each
Penguin presents ten more classics of New Zealand literature in the super-affordable, super-collectable Popular Penguin format. More information is available in store.


New Non-Fiction
Atlantic by Simon Winchester $39.99 HarperCollins Winchester tells the "life story" of the Atlantic Ocean, from its origins in prehistoric times to its probable demise at an uncertain time in the future. He explores the intersection between the ocean and humankind, investigating the history of islands, ports and coastal cities which rely on the ocean for their survival, and also narrates the exploits of explorers, trader and pirates, émigrés, and rival navies on the sea. Buy now	Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home by Nigella Lawson $75.00 HB Chatto & Windus Lawson presents feel-good food, from quick-fix, mid-week meals to all-out weekend luxuriousness. Her mission is to reconnect readers and cooks with the pleasure which making, sharing and eating real food can bring. Buy now
New Fiction
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen $38.99 Fourth Estate Franzen is a master of character-driven storytelling. Here he takes Walter and Patty, a pair of old hippies fast becoming everything they've tried to avoid; their teenage son, who has moved in with their fanatical Republican neighbours; and their old - somewhat contentious - friend Richard, and shakes them around to see how they'll cope (or not). Advance reports indicate this book is of the same calibre as his novel The Corrections, in which case it should be a wild, uncomfortably realistic but ultimately enjoyable ride. Buy now Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart $35.00 Granta In a deeply indebted US, in a near-future New York, riots and rampant consumerism abound. But Lenny is oblivious to the chaos surrounding him, distracted as he is by the chaos in his heart. He has fallen - far too heavily - for the beautiful Eunice Park, a woman who can still use whole words and speak in proper sentences, skills unvalued by what remains of society. Buy now The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig Larsson $28.99 Quercus Timed to coincide with the release of the third movie in the Millenium trilogy, the third book in the Salander/Blomkvist series is now available in paperback. Buy now	The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver $28.99 Faber The Lacuna of the title stands for the gap between private truth and public perception, for the absence of guidance or love and for the unsaid and the unsayable. Aware that he is an impediment to the social goals of his mother, Harrison Shepherd finds his way into the service of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, and becomes tangentially involved in artistic and political revolution. When the exiled Trotsky is murdered in their home, their brief idyll is shattered and Harrison relocates to North Carolina to begin a new life. But despite his success as a writer of pulp novels, he is not conventional enough for McCarthy-era America, and his loyal friends cannot protect him from the government's crushing power. Buy now Started Early Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson $38.99 Doubleday The fourth in Atkinson's loosely connected "Jackson Brodie" novels, this book features security chief Tracy Waterhouse, who accidentally swaps a life of agreeable tedium for one of constant danger and fear. Forming a third side to this uneven triangle is elderly actress Tilly, as the three try to forget the wrong turns of their pasts and predict the bumps in the road to the future. Buy now
Vintage Film Series $19.99 each
Vintage present eight books which have been made into films, with stunning covers which place the emphasis back on the text of the books. For more detail, visit one of our stores.