Non-fiction Highlights

Non-Fiction Highlights

New to our shelves this issue.

Abandoned Places: 60 Stories of Places Where Time Has Stopped. Richard Happer
A collection of places from around the world that have been abandoned due to wars, natural and man-made disasters, rising sea levels, dam construction, and industrial collapse.

Find the Good: Unexpected Life Lessons from a Small-Town Obituary Writer. Heather Lende
A delightful memoir from a small fishing village in Alaska. A quick read but full of heartwarming insights and beautiful stories of people's lives.

Foggydale Farm Jam Sessions. Lynda Hallinan
Fun, witty and full of practical wisdom, this sumptuous book is a joy to look at. It is packed full of gorgeous illustrations, great recipes and gardening tips too. There are old favourites plus new things to try – what about greengage vanilla jam and easy microwave lemon curd? Yum.

The Givenness of Things: Essays. Marilynne Robinson
This celebrated American fiction writer gives us insights into her life and her craft. The essays are wise, beautifully-written and full of surprises.

Landskipping: Painters, Ploughmen and Places. Anna Pavord
This popular British gardening writer explores some of Britain's most iconic landscapes in the past, in the present, and in literature. This is a fascinating read for travellers, history-lovers and gardeners alike.

Outlaw Marriages: The Hidden Histories of Fifteen Extraordinary Same-Sex Couples. Rodger Streitmatter
Bite-sized biographies give the reader a real sense of the people in this book - their emotions, motivations and accomplishments.

Real Modern: Everyday New Zealand in the 1950s and 1960s. Bronwyn Labrum
Featuring hundreds of photographs of objects from Te Papa and accompanied by lively text from the author, this book documents and celebrates all aspects of New Zealand life in the 50s and 60s. If you are a baby boomer, be warned – you will be overwhelmed by nostalgia!

Rust: The Longest War. Jonathan Waldman
Who knew that corrosion could be so interesting! Read all about the on-going battle with an enemy that costs the world billions and shapes the modern world.

Saving Alex: When I Was Fifteen I Told My Mormon Parents I Was Gay, and That's When My Nightmare Began. Alex Cooper
A courageous memoir that tells the harrowing story of Alex's experiences in a residential treatment programme where fellow Mormon's attempted to "save" her from her homosexuality.

SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. Mary Beard
In her engaging and erudite style, Cambridge University Professor of Classics Mary Beard provides a new look at the history of Senatus Populusque Romanus, the Senate and People of Rome.

Street Smart: The Rise of Cities and the Fall of Cars. Samuel I Schwartz
A transportation expert argues that an urban transformation has begun with the Millennial generation, who are choosing not to drive cars and live in the suburbs but to live in cities and use their streets to create walkable communities that are safer and healthier to inhabit.

Topiary: A Practical Guide to the Art of Clipping, Training and Shaping Plants.
Jenny Hendy
Learn how to create living sculptures with plants, using ideas and advice on topiary style, geometrical elements, ground patterns, colour, light and shade.

Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind. Scott Kaufman
Each highly-readable chapter explores one of the ten attributes and habits of highly creative people: Imaginative Play; Passion; Daydreaming; Solitude; Intuition; Openness to Experience; Mindfulness; Sensitivity; Turning Adversity into Advantage; Thinking Differently.