A charming story right from the beginning, The Clapperton Diaries is at once gentle, good-humoured, and quintessentially New Zealand. Written virtually as a monologue with judicious editing by Crispin Caldicott, the well-paced story starts with a transcription of the original journal of John (Jack) Clapperton’s grandfather, William Nicol Clapperton. Eloquent, witty, observant, and an excellent draughtsman, William recorded his 1885 journey with his family from Scotland to New Zealand on the clipper,
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This combination of a review and an offering of information on the life and times of Yvonne Rust, recently recieved from John Ball, speaks for itself. The image shows detail of a large statue designed and created by Yvonne Rust with help in the construction from others, which stands at the entrance to the Quarry Arts Centre in Whangarei and is known as Spirit of the Quarry.
5 Feb 2015
Greetings Theresa,
I write primarily to thank you for your wonderful book on the life of Yvonne Rust.
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A Time of Angels is one for the dreamers, the ones with an exquisite palate, who feel the taste of their food before touching it. It's for the ones who know magic happens, that pain exists but love wins. And it's for the ones who know that love might come in disguise, a shadow of the self wearing intricately stitched finery.
Patricia Schonstein's lavish little volume insisted that I continue to read until it was nothing more than a clock ticking the years gently and inexorably by. The characters
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A Thousand Splendid Suns NOT...but a brilliantly written epic following two Afghan women's lives. If you like your emotional pain to feel real, to sit like a swollen lump in your chest, and to get lots of it...read this book. It is utterly masterful. So much so that I'm reluctant to open the next book - this one still owns me.
Khaled Hosseini does his readers the kind turn of leaving them with hope and joy, having run them through every possible kind of agony first...but the appalling
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The Wild Green Yonder is a gentle read, spiced occasionally with self-deprecating humour, and sometimes, downright ironic NZ wit.
Philippa takes us on a two and half year tour with her as she WWOOFs her way around New Zealand. WWOOFing is the participation in a scheme (Worldwide Opportunities On Organic Farms)to stay with and experience working on organic farms. Accommodation and keep are free in exchange for an official four hours work per day. We get to run around a paddock with Philippa
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