During his time at the Otago University Medical School, John Gillies was conscripted for National Military Service and served in the Combined Services Medical Company in South Vietnam between 1969 and 1970. During his tour of duty and in his spare time, John painted portraits of Vietnamese civilians and military personnel, some of whom were patients in the hospitals in which he worked. During his long medical career, John maintained an active art interest, exhibiting regularly since the late 70s. In 1989, he established the New Zealand Association of Artist Doctors to foster creative activ ..read more

'How are you feeling?' It’s a question we’re often asked but may struggle to answer honestly in today’s increasingly fast-paced world. Thankfully, bestselling author Rebekah Ballagh returns with 101 Ways to Find Calm - how to use your body to soothe your mind.  'Many people feel like their body isn’t peaceful to live in and their lives are a source of overwhelming triggers and trials, it doesn’t have to be this way,' says Rebekah. A healthy nervous system doesn’t have to always be calm. It’s normal to experience the full range of human emotions, says Rebekah. However, a well-fun ..read more

Lee Murray's work, Fox Spirit on a Distant Cloud, is a haunting and sublime bringing together of biography, mythology, and poetic prose. Interweaving the tragic tales of Chinese diasporic women in Aotearoa with the ancient legend of the nine-tailed fox spirit, this genre-defying book illuminates the shadows of our history and the silenced voices that call out from the margins. Blending fact and fable, Murray inhabits the lives of her characters - women who came to New Zealand seeking a new life, only to be met with isolation, prejudice, and untold suffering. We meet a sixty-year-old woman w ..read more

It's the beginning of the summer holidays in 1967 when 10-year-old Atama moves with his family into a new army base. His father, Atama's hero, departs for Vietnam, asking Atama to look after his mum and younger sister while he's gone. Atama is nervous about making friends at the new camp. But his father offers up his Koro's 1939-45 star medal. The talisman gives Atama the courage to make friends, but he's unprepared for what lies ahead. Author Claire Aramakutu's characters are well-defined and realistic. She understands people have flaws, and her characters do too. They are vulnerabl ..read more

My Food Bag has been a revolution in the dinner prep landscape for New Zealanders. While overseas, the concept of bagged meals for a week has long been a staple of supermarkets and pop-up brands; My Food Bag certainly made itself known when it arrived over 10 years ago. In that time, quintessential Kiwi chef Nadia Lim has taken the brand from strength to strength. Now, taking some of those tricks learned over that decade in the food prep business, the My Food Bag team brings out this newest cookbook: Dinner Done Better. Offering sections like ‘Fast & fuss-free’, ‘Foodie Favour ..read more

What a fascinating book! Using diaries, letters and memoirs, Nailed Boots and Crinoline Gowns brings to life real women in rural colonial New Zealand, and their extraordinary lives starting on the other side of the world in a place that was rugged and uncompromising. Many histories of colonial history have sidelined the many women who came to our shores, but historian Robert Peden puts them centre stage in this well written book. It shows women who were industrious partners to their men in farming and business, and they were not just busy with domestic chores. These are women who toil ..read more

In 1946, Stella is hired as a mountain guide in the Southern Alps, an unconventional career for a woman but one that she loves. She likes nothing better than to roam the mountains with her mentor Philip, and Jim, a man troubled by his past. But Stella and her friends cannot prevent a tragedy that will change everything. In 2019, experienced journalist Kate disappears from her life, searching for the truth after her grandmother’s deathbed confession. Her daughters follow the small clues that Kate has left behind, including an old mountaineering photograph, and in doing so they uncover the st ..read more

Becoming co-owner and managing director of creative agency Moxie in 2010 was a natural extension of a career focused on helping great ideas reach the world. Previously, Frances co-founded several businesses, including a pioneering technology start-up and held senior management and governance roles in four countries across several sectors. Most recently, she has launched a book drawn from her professional practice Brands with Moxie: Eight Steps to a Winning Brand. Originally from the Scottish Highlands, Frances was London-based for 14 years before moving to New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay in ..read more

  Colombian novelist and Nobel Laureate Gabriel García Márquez died ten years ago and some of his most enduring fictions such as Love in the Time of Cholera, Chronicle of a Death Foretold and One Hundred Years of Solitude date from as long ago as the late-sixties through to the mid-eighties. They are books I read once but only have a faint memory of the plots and stories. His works spanned whole lifetimes or followed intergenerational sagas, frequently with the theme of love, both lost and found, behind each story. The preface to this new work, written by his two sons, te ..read more

You can easily carry this little book with you and refer to it wherever you go. It will build your confidence to speak Māori and grow your understanding of the Māori world. Scotty Morrison, who wrote it, is the bestselling author of the Māori Made Easy series. Part One contains words and phrases which you can use in many everyday situations, as well as a sentence or two about their historical or cultural significance. I found these sections especially useful: He Mihi. Greetings: We all know how to say Kia Ora but here, Scotty takes us to the next level by providing us with many ..read more