What's New McNab
Conversātiō – in the company of bees Anne Noble, with Zara Stanhope and Anna Brown
This book shares its title with Anne Noble’s remarkable artwork shown at the Asia Pacific Triennial in Brisbane in 2018. The artwork involved installing a live colony of bees in the gallery and this book contains Noble’s photographs and other documentation of the show, along with several writers’ meditations on the lives of bees and their interaction with humans. The book, designed by Anna Brown, is a work of art in itself.
Cover Story: 100 Beautiful, Strange and Frankly Incredible New Zealand LP Covers, Volume One Steve Braunias
Steve Braunias has assembled a wonderful collection of LP covers spanning the years from 1957 to 1987, many of which will be familiar to anyone who has spent a few minutes rifling through boxes of records in the local op-shop and others, a bit more exotic. With an accompanying text that pays attention to details as well as the wider social context, all replete with Braunias’ trademark wry sense of humour, Cover Story is a loving portrait of NZ’s cultural history.
New Zealand Seabirds: a Natural History Kerry-Jayne Wilson
Seabirds are defined as birds that obtain all or most of their food from the sea, and New Zealand has an exceptionally large number of seabirds species within its territories. 93 species out of approximately 350 live in our territorial waters. Wilson has been researching the lives of seabirds since she first fell in love with them on a trip to the Snares Islands, part of the NZ subantarctic islands group, in 1969.
Prison Break: the Extraordinary Life & Crimes of New Zealand’s Most Infamous Escapee Arthur Taylor
The long-awaited autobiography of new Dunedin resident Arthur Taylor was released last year. Written by New Zealand's best known career criminal and jailhouse lawyer, Taylor's book will give you a fascinating insight into the prison system.
Te Kupenga: 101 Stories of Aotearoa from the Turnbull Eds., Michael Keith and Chris Szekely
A selection of taonga from the vast breadth of the Alexander Turnbull Library collections chosen by the dedicated professionals that care for them. This is a fascinating book to dip into for education and entertainment.
Things I Learned at Art School Megan Dunn
Megan Dunn completed her degree in fine arts at Elam in the mid-90s and then ran Fiat Lux, one of the best artist-run galleries in the country, with co-conspirator David Townsend. This is a very funny recounting of her early life and coming-of-age in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. A “memoir by a woman who has never kept a diary.” Highly recommended.
Too Much Money: How Wealth Disparities are Unbalancing Aotearoa New Zealand Max Rashbrooke
New Zealand continues along the path of increasing wealth inequality that now sees someone in the top 1% having a net worth 68 times that of the average New Zealander. Rashbrooke delves into the latest research and data to tell the story of how this massive concentration of wealth in a few hands is affecting the fabric of our society and curtailing the life chances of the vast majority of the population.