New Non Fiction
Aran Design: The Creative Knitter's Handbook. Rita Taylor
With over 100 stitch charts, this inspiring guide will help novice and experienced knitters create traditional style Aran garments.
Christmas in the Crosshairs: Two Thousand Years of Denouncing and Defending the World's Most Celebrated Holiday. Gerry Bowler
Since its controversial invention in Roman times, Christmas has struggled with fierce opposition. It has survived, and this is its fascinating story.
Dark Tourism. Rebecca Bathory
Rebecca Bathory documents her odyssey as a dark tourist, visiting weirdly fascinating and increasingly popular places such as nuclear disaster sites, prisons, concentration camps, killing fields, suicide forests, ossuaries and cemeteries.
Flourish: New Zealand Women and Their Extraordinary Gardens. Juliet Nicholas
This lovely book is a celebration of the vision, strength and perseverance of women throughout New Zealand who have developed gardens into works of art. Dunedin's Margaret Barker at Larnach Castle is included.
Fly!: Life Lessons from the Cockpit of QF32. Richard de Crespigny
A potentially explosive plane with only 3 partially functioning engines has to make an emergency landing. All aboard are saved. The captain tells us how this good outcome happened. He covers leadership, teamwork, risk-assessment, decision-making, crisis management, lifelong resilience and more in this must-read book for everyone who wants to succeed in any walk of life.
Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up. Claire Wilcox
This compilation of Frida Kahlo's colourful clothing and personal belongings together with her mesmerising self-portraits is drawn from a major exhibition at the V&A museum in London.
How To Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us about Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression and Transcendence. Michael Pollan
Bestselling American author and journalist, Michael Pollan tackles a taboo subject in an engaging, insightful and personal way. He delves into the history of the use of psychedelics, talks to researchers and doctors, and tries four different psychedelics (under controlled conditions and with a guide).
Ireland: The Emerald Isle. Martin J Dougherty
A collection of stunning photographs which captures the moods and ethereal beauty of everyone's favourite island, Ireland.
The Library Book. Susan Orlean
Blending history, memoir, biography and science, acclaimed author of The Orchid Thief chronicles a fire in the Los Angeles Public Library that damaged over a million books. In doing so she delivers a passionate and eloquent tribute to libraries and librarians.
The Monarchy of Fear: A Philosopher Looks at Our Political Crisis. Martha Nussbaum
A celebrated moral philosopher makes the case that fear drives us to envy, disgust and intolerance. This accessible book is a timely look at the current political climate in the United States of America.
Orca: How We Came To Know and Love the Ocean's Greatest Predator. Jason Colby
A heartbreaking, but thrilling story of the Orca and human interactions over the years.
Tart and Bitter: Four Decades of Dining Nightmares. David Burton
Restaurant critic David Burton has written lots of reviews for The Dominion Post (and The Evening Post before that) and Cuisine magazine. This is a collection of some of his "scorchers". We get a hilarious insight into the worst moments of the Wellington restaurant scene.
What's Your Type?: The Strange History of Myers-Briggs and the Birth of Personality Testing. Merve Emre
Myers and Briggs were Katharine Briggs and her daughter Isabel Myers. Oxford English Professor Emre has written an impressive and riveting biography of the two women, as well as a fascinating insight into the personality-typing industry.