Check out what the staff have read and enjoyed. Periodically Waitakere
Libraries will update a list of staff recommendations for you. The will
cover all areas of our collection and may include new and not so new
titles.
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Its always excellent to read a novel which you find yourself reading slowly because you don't want it to end.
The Road Home by Rose Tremain I found like that. Lev, amiidle-aged Russian man whose wife recently died, just before he lost his job, decides to make the long journey (by bus) to England to find work.
He leaves behind his mother, his daughter and a good friend who loves his American Chevvy (tschevi).
I found myself caring what happened to Levin in modern England. Plenty does happen - some good, some bad. I'll just say that the ending is reasonably happy.
Yes - the storyline is reminiscent of Two Caravans. Perhaps not as extreme but just as enjoyable.
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If you like historical fiction and you would like to read something a little different - read this.
It is set in Japan at the time of great politcal and social upheavel and centres around Sachi who is brought up in a mountain village and rises to become the last concubine of the last Tokugawan shogun.
Fascinating read.
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The 'Babylon' series of books are excellent insiders look at the glamour industry - hotels, airlines, fashion, resorts..all told anonymously - giving us good, the bad and the ugly.
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Ramblings of a spoilt american teenage brat full of angst.
I remember liking this as a teenager, because I could relate to it.
I'm not sure if I would enjoy it as much now I've grown up.
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A quirky tale with a twist. I enjoyed it!
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This fascinating book reveals some of the realities behind the glamour of the big cruise ships.
The book describes the worst of death, theft, disease and debauchery on board the world's floating hotels.
Also revealed are stories of significant ecological disaster caused by ship dumping and stories of piracy and smuggling on the high seas.
This is a great book for the armchair travel lover and anyone who's fascinated by cruises.
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The Secret Service series : Set at the time of the German Reich, this is a thrilling series describing the life of Anna Fehrbach, the daughter of an anti-Nazi newspaper publisher.
When Anna's family are captured and sent to a concentration camp, the German secret service see great potential in the stunningly attractive, highly intelligent Anna.
They force her to use these attributes to get top secret information from their enemies.
Anna works for them while at the same time trying to bring down the Nazi regime.
A series with everything - suspense, history, sex, the series is written so convincingly that it is often easy to forget that this is a fictional story.
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In a thorough and occasionally sideways look at New Zealand, Chris Trotter treats us to an engaging and reflective look at the impact of politics and power on New Zealand history and its influence on us today.
Well written this is the book I wish we had studied in high school.
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An intriguing, and often surprising, look at what the world would be like within days decades and centuries of humankind disappearing.
Weisman has consulted a range of scientific experts and using examples from areas already abandoned by mankind and reclaimed by nature, such as Chernobyl, he has produced a rich descriptively written and easy to read book.
A book that?trade;s morbid yet optimistic, scientific yet poetic.
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An excellent resource for critical thinking.
Focusing on the common mistakes that everyone's prone to, it also covers the methods and approaches that we should be using when confronted with a claim.
The authors use real-life examples, such as homeopathy, psychics, dowsing, astrology, ESP, and even whether people can beat the stock market. |
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One of the best books I've ever read about critical thinking, scepticism, and the way people can fool themselves.
The authors examine a wide range of odd beliefs and pseudo-sciences in a fair and balanced manner, while teaching you how evaluate strange and unlikely claims.
A must read for anyone who cares about finding the truth, not just in strange or implausible claims, but in everyday life...
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Emerging from Eastern Europe and a mess of a family, Sasha, undergoes some harrowing events but this does not diminish her desire to experience life.
In forming attachments to those who are considered undesirable and in not conforming to expectations of her Sasha is labelled as a troublemaker and shuffled from one branch of the family to another until she makes her own way to America.
Throughout it all, a strong sense of self shines through, with Sasha bringing a non-judgemental, passionate and often hard eyed look to her world.
The structure of this story is intense and jagged, a series of deeply impressionistic scenes that propels the reader forward.
This is by no means a comfortable read but it is compelling with a strong redemptive streak that avoids becoming either saccharine or moralising
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In modern China it is still vital to produce a son - women are only chopsticks whereas men are the roofbeam that holds up the house.
Three and her sisters Five and Six, who have been given numbers instead of names by their disappointed father, move from their village to a vastly different environment when they seek work in the city.
Follow up this fascinating novel with "What the Chinese don't eat", a collection of the author's columns from The Guardian newspaper.
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Within its glossy pages one finds gems of invaluable information; from where to buy the best fish and chips to the tenderest chicory-fed lamb.
Recipes for artichokes and almond milk, roasts and rose water pepper the pages, incorporating history and magic into evey entry.
Presented as a dictionary it reads like a novel; the light easy style blending charming anecdotes with well researched fact. If food were ever to become a character, it is Peta Mathias who breathes the life into it.
A joy to read and a pleasure to know, "A Cook's Tour.." will change you shopping habits and bring only the best to your table.
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