Stained glass
Stained glass may not be as horrendously difficult as you think and the results are certainly impressive. Whether you want to make a leadlight window, a lamp, a bowl, a candle-holder, a decorated mirror or a small gift for a friend, there is an easy way to find out how to do it.
You can pop into the shop and buy a book which will soon have you cutting and grinding glass and nonchalantly using a kiln and brandishing a soldering iron like a pro. You can't beat books when it comes to learning how. We have a selection from basic introductions to full-scale cathedral windows.
cricket
Take this cricket quiz challenge and see if you know as much about the sport as you'd like to or whether you need to come in to the shop and grab a few cricket books to bone up.
1. Ian and Greg Chappell's grandfather also captained Australia. Who was he?
2. Who was the first New Zealand bowler to take five wickets in a one-day international?
3. Who was the first cricketer to complete the Australian double of 1000 runs and 50 wickets in a season?
4. Who captained New Zealand to their first-ever test victory over England in 1978?
5. What momentous event in the world of cricket occurred in 1848?
6. Who is the home side in an international match at CHurchill Park?
Answers
Victor Richardson /Richard Collings (5-23 v India 1976) /Gary Sobers
Mark Burgess / WG Grace was born / Fiji (Churchill Park is in Lautoka)
literature
I wonder how many of you remember this old Peanuts comic strip of Peppermint Patty and Marcie in the classroom - you can just about make it out in the photo but I've typed it below just in case your eyesight is as bad as mine.
Peppermint Patty: Yes, Ma'am? Charles Dickens.
Marcie: Sir, how did you know that?
Peppermint Patty: If you go to school long enough, sooner or later the answer is going to be Charles Dickens.
Clearly correct. So why not pop into the shop and pick up a copy of one of the Dickens' novels that you haven't yet read. You would't want a constant diet of Dickens but it's good to immerse yourself in one every once in a while. Assuming you haven't read them all (has anyone?), come on in and get a copy of one that's new to you. However, if you have read them all, treat yourself to The Annotated Dickens.
Niue
Dick Scott's
Would a Good Man Die? Niue Island, New Zealand and the Late Mr Larsen
A fascinating read which does not reflect at all well on New Zealand's presence in Niue. It will appeal to anyone who is interested in Niue, in Polynesia and its history in general, and those who want to know the truth about the Larsen administration.
Hector Larsen ruled Niue as commissioner for 10 years and was killed in 1953 by three young Niueans. The last of these three was not actually set free until 1970. You need to read this book to find out the whys and wherefores (and be horrified and shamed by our colonial past).
What is the common thread here?
What do all these people have in common?
Mary Astor, Bonnie Rait, Ruth Park, Golda Meir, Nadia Comaneci, Patricia Grace, Itsuko Hasegawa, Luce Irigaray, Irene Joliot-Curie, Lotte Lehmann
You may have noticed they are all women - and you would be correct. You may also have noticed that they are gymnasts, scientists, writers, architects, politicians, and actresses and wondered what they could possibly have in common apart from being female. But the other thing they have in common is that they all appear in Chambers Biographical Dictionary of Women.
So get yourself a copy of this fascinating book and dip into it at random for sheer interest or look up particular entries to find out a bit more about a woman whose name you've just heard. Once you've got your own copy, you can find out why Kate Wilhelm, Elisabeth Soderstrom, Camilla Ravera, Rigoberta Menchu, and Ruth Ellis are famous - or maybe infamous. It's not just the famous who are covered here.
Chess Players
We have a great selection of books that you can look through (or order on line) but why not try this one:
639 Essential Endgame Positions: The Key Endgame Positions that Allow You to Mate, Draw, Save Lost Positions, and Win Drawn Ones
by Eric Schiller
Schiller is a chess expert and has written widely on the subject, including being author of the Encyclopaedia of Chess Wisdom. It sounds as if you couldn't go wrong with his books. And maybe you'll turn into a grand master yourself (to the dismay of all your friends and fellow players).
New Zealand books
How about Musterer on Molesworth by Bruce Stronach - a musterer on one of the greatest high-country sheep stations in New Zealand. What about an autobiography Peter Graham Mountain Guide; He was a great name in NZ mountaineering and chief guide at Mount Cook.
Maybe you'd enjoy The West Coast Gold Rushes fby Philip Ross May for a little history of gold and the West Coast (before you read Eleanor Catton's book) and try a bit of travel in FWG Miller's West to the Fiords: The History of Western Southland.
You are spoilt for choice here when it comes to New Zealand non-fiction
Yesterday's answer
This is the quote which was on our Facebook page yesterday:
"It occurred to Jessie, feeling the freshness of the hills and the cicadas singing, that it would be about as good a summer as they'd ever had on the Coast."
It is the last line of a novel called Coal Flat written by New Zealand author Bill Pearson. I highly recommend this book. If you haven't read it, you should. It is beautifully written and is a superb portrait of a small town on the West Coast in 1940s/1950s' New Zealand.
I know we've been featuring a lot of relatively 'old' NZ writers - that's because they are all very good ones - but keep in mind the huge array of current New Zealand writers (ie living and writing now) and bring your mental list into the shop. Think of Fiona Kidman, Emma Neale, Vincent O'Sullivan, Vanda Symon, Laurence Fearnley, Jenny Pattrick, to name but a few. See you at the NZ literature section.
