Dogs, elephants, geese and families
Bad Dogs Have More Fun: Selected Writings on Family, Animals and Life
by John Grogan
John Grogan was a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer and this book is a collection of 75 newspaper articles from that publication. The columns comment on animals, families, life, and his interviews with various memorable people.
To give an idea of the variety, some titles are:
Celebrity and Me
Zero Tolerance running Amok
SKip the Gun, Try Four-legged Security
You've got Spam: AOL's Trial CDs
Flying's Fearful New Annoyance
A bit of philosophy
with Introduction, Notes & Illustrations by Bradley Trevor Greive
What an appealing idea: that realising your full potential and enjoying the greatest possible success and happiness in life is not accomplished by working harder or longer but by harnessing the extraordinary power of idleness. (Not sure Russell quite envisaged lounging on a sofa in front of a roaring fire with large glass of wine in hand, or relaxing in deckchair in the sun with chilled wine as the grass on the lawn passes knee-height, though).
This is a lovely book. It is a beautiful mix of captivating illustrations, clear informative notes, a most readable introduction and a careful selection of Bertrand Russell's best quotes, along with his famous essay In Praise of Idleness.
If I could write as well and as entertainingly as Bradley Trevor Greive, I would say more. However, as I can't, I shall simply pinch a Lord Russell quote from Greive's introduction:
"There are two motives for reading a book: One, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it." Both motives are rewarded here.
Native Wisdom for White Minds
Daily Reflections Inspired by the Native Peoples of the World
by Anne Wilson Schaef
Native Americans, Aborigines, Africans, Maoris, the Irish, Pacific Islanders and many many more share sayings that represent their view of the world and their philosophy on life. Through these quotes and sayings you begin to get an understanding of their view of the earth, spirituality, family, work, loneliness, change and much more. Such things as serentiy, leisure, work, trust, land, knowledge, meditation, openness. to name but a few, are dealt with in succint one-page coverage.
The book is set out with one thought for each day. The quote comes first, then an explanation and some context,
Te Mana-O Manutuke / Youth talks-Age teaches. ( A Maori proverb)
becomes The msot important teachings are often the ones that require with, and then the teaching may be learning to wait with.
Shakespeare scholars & fans
Richard Paul Roe's
The Shakespeare Guide to Italy: Retracing the Bard's Unknown Travels
Sir Derek Jacobi said this book is "exciting, original and convincing" and another reviewer said it was "part thrilling detective story and part sober scholarly treatise".
The author used Shakespeare's plays Romeo & Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado about Nothing, The Tempest etc (all the 'Italian' plays) and tried to determine the exact location of nearly every scene. This book is the result of 20 years of travel around Italy and much painstaking analysis. It will apparently change the way we read Shakespeare and alter our opinion of who he really was.
The above is just one example of a whole load of books on Shakespeare that we have recently bought. Here are a few more to whet your appetite: How Shakespeare changed everything; Shakespeare's Insults; Gender in Play on the Shakespearean Stage; Bardisms; and Bill Bryson's Shakespeare.
Food lovely food
Dinner: crab bruschetta and parmesan twists to start followed by salmon with lemon-cream sauce, and then raspberry ripple semifreddo for dessert
That's making me hungry so how about spinach ravioli with basil oil, or baked haloumi with cherry tomato tarte tatin, or miso salmon with sesame aioli and a nice crunchy green salad?
If any of that sounds good to you, get a copy of one of Donna Hay's cookbooks such as
Donna Hay: Seasons: The Best of Donna Hay Magazine
Or any one of the many lovely books in our cookery section. Come in and have a look.
Agatha Christie fans
by Francois Riviere and photography by Jean Bernard Naudin
This book is a must for all Agatha Christie aficionados. It starts off with her Torquay childhood and moves on to her time working as a volunteer nurse there in World War One, which is where her fascination with poisons came from. The book then traces Christie's life through the places she lived and where her stories were set.
Visit Devon, which is the setting for many of her stories. Have a sojourn on Burgh Island, the setting for Ten Little Niggers or stop off in Nether Wallop and Middle Wallop where the Miss Marple series was filmed.
It's not only a really beautiful, lavishlly illustrated volume, it is also an interesting approach to the biography of a much loved crime writer.
An un-put-down-able New Zealand novel
Sue Younger's
Days are Like Grass; A Novel
This is a novel about the wounds a family can make; about a woman caught between the past and the present and about her need to keep everybody safe. Especially herself
A beautiful New Zealand summer. An ugly past that won't stay buried. Paediatric surgeon Claire Bowerman has returned to Auckland from London. She loves her job repairing her small patients' wounds; tragically, wounds sometimes made by the children's own families. Her partner wants to marry Claire. He thinks New Zealand is the safest place on earth, worlds away from the violence he knew growing up. But Claire's daughter is full of questions about their past. When a family refuses medical treatment for their boy, Claire's story is in the headlines again. (Copied that from the blurb on the back of the book)
This should be a good read so I'm taking a copy home for the weekend hoping for some sun and some reading time in between the gardening tasks!
Curious English expressions
Why do we go Dutch? Why does someone kick the bucket? Who let the cat out of the bag? Why do you have a gut feeling? Why will you go come hell or high water? What do you butter someone up with? Why is it a seven-year itch?
If you've ever wondered about any of the above phrases, then this is the book for you:
The Guinness Book of Curious Phrases
by Leslie Dunkling
You can find out how and when approximately 2000 expressions came into use and what their original meaning was (which in many cases was totally different). It is full of intriguing information and fascinating quotes.
So why not indulge in a little bone idleness while you peruse this book and learn a few facts by heart so you can take a leaf out of someone's book at the next do you attend!
