Cakes galore
The Cake Decorator's Motif Bible
by Sheila Lampkin
This is a collection of 150+ foolproof designs, from simple to chic, elegant and elaborate.
Each entry has a template which can be scaled up or down, clear instructions, a list of materials & tools, and a photo of the finished design. There are also instructions on the basic techniques you need and suggestions on colour schemes.
Get a copy of this book and start making fabulous, fun, tempting, special, memorable, unique cakes which are well worth a photo!
Great Places to Stay
501 Great Places to Stay
The sun is shining. It's unexpectedly hot. The skies are blue. And summer appears to be here at last (although autumn is only a week away). Alternatively you're not in Dunedin and you're stuck in mid-winter in cold, wet, rainy, miserable weather. Either way, your thoughts naturally turn to holidays and travel.
Grab a copy of this book and flick through all the amazing places you can stay almost anywhere on the planet: an underwater bedroom, a treehouse, an old bull ring in Mexico, a riad in Morocco, a safari camp in the Galapagos, a mud hut in India, an ice hotel in the Arctic Circle, an eco-resort or an island paradise, whatever you fancy, you'll find it in this book. In fact, you'll undoubtedly find far more and varied options than you expect.
If you have already used up your holiday or have no money for travel, you can still dream away a fair few happy hours browsing through this selection of exotic and stimulating places to stay. The myriad fascinating possibilities are a feast for the eyes as well.
Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg / Juanita Lieberman Plimpton & Bill Morgan (Eds)
Allen Ginsberg kept a diary his entire life starting at the age of eleven. The most important and formative years of his life are covered in these early journals. Ginsberg insisted that they not be published during his lifetime because of their candour.
Some were written during the years he formed friendships with the likes of Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady and William S Burroughs, widely known as the Beat Generation. They cover tragedies, murders, burglary, psychiatric hospital admission, broken hearts and his struggle to fit in a heterosexual world.
Get yourself a copy of these journals of Allen Ginsberg - you won't regret it. Also in the same volume are 50 previously unpublished poems and some rare photographs:
How Love Works
Me in You and You in Me: How Love Works
by Portia Nelson
This book calls itself a warm, wise and funny guide. It purportedly explains in a simple and concise way how life works.
Here's a taster:
It's a dreary day...
Let's just stay inside.
We can pretend that
Kisses are brushes
and that we are
each other's canvases.
Come in and get a copy and find out what it's all about. Alternatively, if this isn't your sort of thing, just get a good book, go home, relax and spend the evening reading.
Myths
by Justin Brown
Do we really have a Number 8 wire mentality - and if so, what do we use it for?
Whatever happened to the 'good keen man'?
Where is the new generation of Burt Munroes?
Why can't you find pavlova in restaurants if it is the national dish?
Is it still a great place to bring up kids?
All these questions and many more are addressed in this lighhearted look at some popular Kiwi myths.
Whether you're a Kiwi or not, this is an interesting and thought-provoking look at modern New Zealand and if you enjoy it, Justin Brown has written many more books you might like to look at.
Physics and Super Heroes
The Physics of Super Heroes
James Kakalios, who wrote the above book, is a professor of physics at the University of Minnesota. He wrote the book because of the popularity of his seminar titled "Everything I Know about Physics I Learned by Reading Comic Books".
If superheroes stepped out of the comic, could they work their wonders in a world constrained by the laws of physics?
How strong would Superman have to be to leap tall buildings in one bound?
Could Storm of the X-Men control the weather?
James Kakalios provides brilliant explanations while introducing both classical and cutting-edge concepts in physics, including what Superman's strength can tell us about the Newtonian physics of force, mass, and acceleration; what villains like Electro and Magneto tell us about electricity and magnetism; how Iceman's powers show the principles of thermal dynamics; what the Human Top can tell us about angular momentum.... and more!
His love of both comics and physics shines through and makes this a must-read.
Tea and coffee
The Book of Coffee and Tea
by Joel Schapira, David Schapira and Karl Schapira
This might be the only book coffee and tea lovers need. It tells you everything you need to know including how to
- distinguish between varieties of coffee
- choose the best method of brewing
- make the perfect cup of coffee at the ideal temperature
- recognize all the myriad types of tea
- blend and prepare your own teas
- appreciate quality and freshness
- find the best coffee, tea, equipment & accessories
Flood
Look at these pictures and weep!
