Review: Draft No. 4 by John McPhee

March 4, 2018 | Draft No. 4 by John McPhee is published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux available through Text. Hardcover and Paperback.

John McPhee wrote and refined the essays in this book while lecturing at Princeton University. He is a multiple award winner (including the Pulitzer), long time staff writer for the New Yorker and a literary legend. During his long career he has nurtured some of the great writing talents of our ...

Review: The Cookbook Roundup!

September 28, 2016 | Reviews of various cookbooks (from a variety of publishers), available now from any good bookseller.

It is no secret to the people who know me that I love to cook. We eat hardly any takeaway food and not a lot of processed snacks. I’m not a chef, nutritionist, personal trainer, food blogger or an aspiring Masterchef contestant. I don’t follow any particular eating plan. I’m an ordinary pe...

Review: Release The Bats by DBC Pierre

August 29, 2016 | Release The Bats by DBC Pierre is published by Faber and Faber. RRP $32.99, available now

  If you are a writer, or interested in the craft of writing, you will love this offering from Man Booker Prize winner (2003 - VERNON GOD LITTLE) DBC Pierre. This how-to is an irreverent, often satirical look at the practicalities of writing. It explores the mystery of why we tell sto...

Review: The View From The Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman

June 9, 2016 | RRP $29.99

On publication day, I headed out to my local bookstore in search of The View From The Cheap Seats, a collection of selected non-fiction by Neil Gaiman. Gaiman, author of juggernaut novels like American Gods and Coraline and The Ocean at the End of the Lane, was featured in the newspaper a while ...

Recipe Extract: Sumac Lamb & Eggplant Kebabs with Mint Yogurt

March 31, 2016 | This is an edited extract from What's For Dinner? by Nadia Lim and My Food Bag, RRP $34.99, published by Allen & Unwin, available now.

      Maybe I have just what you are looking for on the blog today and an answer to that often asked question, 'What's for Dinner?'  Tonight, why not try Sumac Lamb and Eggplant Kebabs with Mint Yoghurt?  In our family, anything wrapped in flatbread is a winner a...

Review: More Letters Of Note by Shaun Usher

February 10, 2016 | RRP $59.99

This book is an irresistible treasure to people who love words in all their forms and find letters fascinating. The art of writing a letter is ancient and is quickly becoming a lost skill in these modern times. It is kind of ironic that a hard copy of a book like this, which began life as a tho...

Review: The delights of ‘Little Loves’ by Rachael Hale McKenna

October 28, 2015 | RRP $45.00

  Who wouldn’t love this beautiful book? It’s choc full of stunning photographs of children and their pets in one of my all time favourite places – New Zealand. There are cute and funny stories from the children about their relationships with the animals, including insights from some o...

© 2015 Melissa Sargent