NZ POETRY BOOKS – 30% plus off for National Poetry Day

30% off poetry books for poetry day - and one week after take advantage of this offer at RONA gallery or contact us through our website www.ronagalery.co.nz

Friday July 30 2010 and applies for a week following.

The discounted price is stated.

Selected Poems of James K Baxter, ed. Paul Millar, $28

$20 books

Fast Talking Pi, Selina Tusitala Marsh [with CD]

Painted Poems – One artist: 20 poets, Eion Stevens

Footfall, Brian Turner [HB]

Shards of Silver, Paul Thompson/NZ poets

The Victims of Lightning, Bill Manhire

Playing God, Glenn Colquhoun

$17.50 NEW & RECENT RELEASES

The Tram Conductor’s Blue Cap, Michael Harlow

Just This, Brian Turner

The Lustre Jug, Bernadette Hall

Dear Sweet Harry, Lynn Jenner

The Moonmen, Anna Livesey

Good Business, Ian Wedde

The Worm in the Tequila, Geoff Cochrane

The Mirror of Simple Annihilated Souls, Kate Camp

The Blind Singer, Chris Price

$16.00 Books

Echolocation, Angela Andrews

Lifted, Bill Manhire

The Pop-up Book of Invasions, Fiona Farrell

After the Dance, Michele Amas

The Propaganda Poster Girl, Amy Brown

Mirabile Dictu, Michele Leggott

How to Survive the Morning, Kevin Ireland

Pocket Edition, Geoff Cochrane

The World’s Fastest Flower, Charlotte Simmonds

In Continents, Richard Reeve

Blame Vermeer, Vincent O’Sullivan

The Lakes of Mars, Chris Orsman

Dream Fish Floating, Karlo Mila

Incognito, Jessica le Bas

The End of Atlantic City, David Beach

Aloe, Diana Bridge

Making Lists for Frances Hodgkins, Paula Green

Walls to Kick and Hills to Sing From, Murray Edmond

How to Live beside the Sea, Lynn Davidson

Beauty Sleep, Kate Camp

When the Sun and Moon Collide, Briar Grace-Smith

Mr Maui’s Dialogues, Peter Bland

The Passage by Justin Cronin

The book everyone is talking about.
An experiment involving Death-Row inmates goes terribly wrong.  An epic disaster of John Wyndham scale hits the world. And then....

Richard read this book and thoroughly enjoyed it, comparing the first half favourably to the Day of the Triffords and one of his favourite authors, John Wyndham. The second half is an extension of the disaster plot, answering the question John Wyndham never did, "What happened next," in true action-adventure style.

Right now Rona Gallery is selling this book for $29.90 - that's ten dollars off.  So get your copy now and see what all the fuss is about.

The Passage by Justin Cronin at Rona Gallery
RRP $39.99 now $29.90

Hyddenworld, Spring

Despite twisting fantasy with reality, despite all the hype, I eventually gave up on ever making my way through this piece of very unevenly plotted fantasy.

It's beautifully presented.  The mythology isn't all completely borrowed.  There is a plot, half of which is not too bad.  But I've read too many similar books to be blown away by any supposed originality here and I suspect despite that despite the fact that this is a "fantasy" book, it's not so much for fantasy readers.  Especially not sophisticated ones who dislike an entire chapter on the set-up of a city. 

I'm happy for anyone to contradict me.  Comment moderation has only been turned on because of the sheer quantity of spam this site has been generating, and I also apologise for the few blogs lately - blame it all on www.richardponder.com
Get great books for great prices
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Tell us if you want a book and we don't have it on the web yet.  For example.  I didn't like this book so it's not going up. 

Life is short, read good books

Our Birthday Celebrations

Rona Gallery's 10th Birthday kicked off with an exhibition, then there were Peter Rabbit and Spot the Dog with a great story time pantomime just after lunch, and finally a readers and writers evening featuring Dame Fiona Kidman and twelve other poets -- hosted by Mary McCallum enjoyed by over seventy Eastbourne writers and readers.

Some Photos
Enjoy

Seeing Further, the Story of the Science of the Royal Society -- edited by Bill Bryson

The Royal Society was founded by curious scientists able to "see further" to change the world around them. Today it illuminates the vast achievements of modern science and continues to push back the frontiers of knowledge.

Sir David Attenborough

From it's humble beginnings in 1660 where a dozen men came to hear a lecture on astronomy from the young Christopher Wren, it became the most prestigious scientific institution on the world. Wherever you lived, whatever language you spoke, if you loved science this was where you wanted to be.

From the crazy, to the improbable to the downright they looked at everything, were fascinated by everything. Taking nothing for granted. Refusing to be bowed by external politics or wars. Recognising science and not just wealth - a big step in the 1600's - the royal society epitomises scientific thought and discovery.

This book has essays spanning not just the giants of Newton and Darwin, but the birth of modern science, and how this impacted on everything from "pure" maths, to bridge construction, from evolution to the Mars mission. The fascination and the passion and the much fought over methodology. Even the idea of the mad scientist is explored as a reaction to the almost magical way in which science not only changes the landscape, but changes the very perspective from which we see it.

22 authors provide 22 windows into this remarkable institution, from the dusty basements filled with 350 years worth of scientific discovery to the lofty individuals that strode through science turning the world in their wake.

Buy now NZ $49.90 Free postage in NZ

At the Gates of Darkness by Raymond E. Feist

There's a nasty demon thing trying to break through into Midkemia, and the intrepid characters are trying to stop it.

With Magician, Raymond E Feist created a stunning world rife with potential, but the latest instalment, "At the Gates of Darkness", takes about half a book just to get everyone up to date with all his characters. As a reader I don't need character arcs that are completely unrelated to the plot -- however cool they were the first time round.

Of course if you've read many, most or all of the previous books, this is a great re-union, and on the plus side it does star demon-fighting good guys with shady pasts. The elf brothers sneaking through demon country were great -- and if only Raymond had focussed more on them, and less on Pug and that cast of "old favourites", it would have been a better story. One of the reasons his collaboration "Daughter of the Empire" series with Janny Wurts worked so well, was that although some of Raymond's characters popped up on occasion, but they didn't get in the way of the plot, stomp all over it and.... no, I wont give away the ending, but you can probably guess.

It's also a shame that like many other long-running series, some of the simple charm struggling to break through the story is overwhelmed by the huge and unbelievable forces arrayed against the protagonists -- and the huge and unbelievable resources they have to fight back with.

Review by Alicia Ponder

NZ Post Children's Book Awards

Congratulations to all the winners.
Of the short listed books my favourites were E3 Call Home,(non fiction) Banquo's Son and The Crossing.(young adult fiction) I would have been hard pressed to choose between the two young adult books if I had been a judge so as only one could win  I was happy with the judges decision.

The Crossing by Mandy Hager is set in an apocalyptic world where the elite set up a cult that  systematically abuses the followers.  Not for the faint-hearted, definitely a fourteen plus read.
However if you enjoy a novel with an historical theme then try TK Roxborough's Banquo's Son.

E3 Call Home, by Janet Hunt ticks all the boxes for a non--fiction picture book.  It tells a true story about two bar-tailed godwits, with beautiful photography, diagrams and accessible text.

As a minority of one I did not like "The Wonky Donkey," based as it was on an old drinking song, and a poor handicapped donkey that everyone can laugh at.  Unfortunately this did win children's choice, so check it out, you might love it! Just like Richard and Rhyna and not Alicia.

The overall winner Old Huhu is a beautifully presented book with charming pictures (except for the huhu beetles eyes) and was a popular choice. Click on http://www.booksellers.co.nz/awards/new-zealand-post-book-awards To check out all the awards and runners up.


Review by Joanna Ponder

The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White - Happy Birthday 40 years strong

You might wonder why I'm reviewing a book that's forty years old.  Mostly it's because, (for some reason probably the rather ho hum cover,) the Trumpet of the Swan has never received the recognition it deserved.

Sam Beaver discovers a swan's nest and has the opportunity to protect it from predators.  The swans trust him, and he gets to see the eggs hatching.  The last cygnet, Louie is born without a voice. This lack is sorely felt by his parents, but he goes to school with Sam to learn how to read and write.  This seems to work very well until Louie realizes it hasn't worked at all because unfortunately all the other swans don't know how to read and write...

The swamplands are well gorgeous, the school scenes are just delightful and so are the characters.  The book, with its sense of wilderness and wonder is a must for any child who loves nature, or any child you want to cultivate a love of nature in.  And as with, "Charlotte's Web"  and "Stewart Little,"  E.B. White's almost laconic style is a pleasure to read aloud.

I would mention some of the delightful touches of humour, but I wouldn't do them justice.  It's just brilliant.  My children and I believe this to be his best children's book, saving his best for last.  So all you E.B. White fans out there, now that you know this book exists it's time to make your collection complete.

Review by Alicia Ponder

Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier

For all you romantics out there this is a beautifully written tale of an impossible love.

Young, beautiful, and abused scribe Caitrin is running from her past.  She finds both work and shelter with the chief of a village.  But this is no ordinary home, it is plagued by the past, a past she must delve into if she is to help the tortured chieftain, broken, crippled and horribly alone -- even while her own past is but a footstep behind.

Inspired, but not constrained by Beauty and the Beast, this gorgeous book was well worth the read.  Having not a romantic bone in my body, I still enjoyed it for the gorgeous writing and the wonderful sense of presence this writer has.  I can't wait to read Wildwood dancing!

And it's not jsut me that thinks she's well worth reading, Juliet Marillier has won quite a few awards for her historical fantasy novels:
Winner of the Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel (2006)
Winner of the Beehive Book Award for Young Adult Fiction, sponsored by the Children's Literature Association of Utah and decided by popular vote (2009)
Best Children's Books of the Year, published by the Bank Street College of Education (2007)
A YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) Best Book for Young Adults (2007)
A US Board of Books for Young People and Children’s Book Council Outstanding International Book (2008)

Review by Alicia Ponder of Rona Gallery and Bookshop, 151 Muritai Rd, Eastbourne, NZ. 

The Phoenix Files:Contact by Chris Morphew

With only 88 days until the end of the world, our three friends from "Arrival" must get the news out to the rest of the world -- or everybody outside of Phoenix will die.  But the phones are down, the roads are closed and it's miles to anywhere.   Somehow they must find a way -- but when they do, the three friends know they are walking into unbelievable danger that threatens not only themselves, but everyone they care about.

The story was another good fast paced read from an accomplished writer (Author of some of the Zac Power series).  Unfortunately though, I didn't like the change of the point of view character from Luke to Peter.  Mostly because for me Luke was a more empathetic character.  So while I was slightly, very very slightly dissapointed with "Contact" I'm looking forward to the sequel even more because "Contact" felt like it was building up for something big, without really being satisfying in and of itself.  Moreover it's going to be written from Jordan's point of viewm and she is the character I like the best and the one I most want to read about so I'm looking forward to the next book in the series "mutation," is coming out in August 2010 in Australia.  Hopefully it will be here not long after.  I will be on the edge of my seat and there will be 70 days until the end of the world.   

Review by Alicia Ponder

New Titles Arriving in Rona Gallery Every Day

There have been some great books by very popular authors coming out over the last week or so,  Nicky Pelligrino is a particular favourite using such earthy inspirations as food and family to create wonderful enriching fiction.  -- Ariana couldn't wait to read this book after having truly enjoyed other Nicky Pelligrino stories, the writing is beautiful and the story catchy, but don't expect this story to be wildly different to the others, Nicky Pelligrino writes intimately about food and Italy and embracing the wonderful little moments in life  -- Other favourite authors include the award winning "Small island's" -Andrea Levy's "The Long Song," Jenny Patrick's "Inheritance," and Ian McEwan's "Solar."  To celebrate we're offering 15% off any of these books until the end of March - just mention this blog

We'll have some more reviews for you soon!

Alicia

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

A romance develops between the retired Major and the village shop owner that is to die for...  This book is about our humanity, our foibles, predjudices, struggles and the things we take delight in - Wendy Pharyzyn


A war of words is raging in Rona Gallery, or to be more accurate a war of books.  Wendy loves this book, she thinks it's far superior to Richard's favourite, Mr Rosenblum's List. 

I wouldn't like to argue.  They are both fantastic books, filled with love and dreams and humanity.

Dragon Haven, by Robin Hobb

The dragons of the Rainwild are stunted pitiable things, huge and misshapen that are nothing more than a burden to the fragile Rainwild settlement. They are sent up the river to die, along with their handlers, people like Thymara, children barely crossing into adulthood, scaled and deformed and reviled. But the dragons have a dream, a city where dragons and humans lived together and some of their human companions are willing to face death to find this city -- others are only driven by greed, intending to slaughter the dragons and anyone who stands in their way.


This is the second book of "The Rain Wild Chronicles," so I can only really say that if you liked book one of this series you'll probably like book two. In some ways the story is about as subtle as a sword, and as gentle as an ogre stomping on butterflies. But then I like such things and I also enjoyed this -- in a slightly annoyed, my goodness the publisher could have taken a minute to edit this, frame of mind. The odd spelling mistake I can live with -- the excess repetition not so much. Still, I read the book in about two days, in a please-don't-make-me-put-this-down haze.

Review by Alicia Ponder

Mr Rosenblum's List by Natasha Solomons

This is such a great book  - I got a reading copy about a month ago and I couldn't put it down.  Best read for two years!  So I was really excited to see it come into the shop yesterday. 

Eight years after WWII  Mr Rosenblum still feels like a stranger in a strange land, so he determines he will become an English gentleman at all costs.
There's some sad bits, and some unexpected turns in the plot. It's charming and funny and I thought it was brilliant. Did I mention best read in two years!


Review by Richard Ponder

The Horrible Books I've Read Lately

This is a bit like my personal raspberry awards for 2009/2010.  I've just had a run of books I"ve absolutely hated - here are a few of them. 

And the winner for Unreadably Awful Prose is Andy McNab's, "DropZone".  Of course nobody reads his stuff for the prose, they read them because he was a SAS covert ops commander, and I presume because he can come up with a decent plot.  I really couldn't get that far. 

And the winner for - Don't Ask Me Why but I just HATED it,  goes to Michael, C. Thorpes', "Ben Brown's Adventure Beyond the Universe, the Return of the Nephilim."  Old fashioned sci fi that feels like it might have come from a WWII bunker - but possibly on the wrong side.  I was probably just in completely the wrong space, I know other people who have just loved this book, but I found it distasteful - maybe I just couldn't get past those wheat fields.  It didn't help that a UFO crashed in one, killed a whole lot of cows- presumably from fire damage, but the wheatfield didn't go up .  After that I was just looking for trouble.

The winner for, Used Someone Else's Idea for a Story and it Really Didn't Work goes to Ben H. Winters', "Sense and Sensibility and Seamonsters".  Seriously, "Pride, Prejudice and Zombies" was entertaining on more than one level.  I might have hated the characters and been crossing my fingers for the to die, but with this particular "conversion" I hardly know who any of the cahracters are -- and I certainly don't care.  Adding fish guts and grossness might amuse a few adolescent boys, but it's just dumped in every few pages whether it fits in with the plot or not.  So the story ends up - oh- they cooked something gross for dinner - so what?  Someone falls into the water for no real reason...




Alicia Ponder


There may be more yet to come -- but I hope not!

Starclimber by Kenneth Oppel

Starclimber, sequel to "Skybreaker," the Times Children's book of the year, seems to be an attempt at an old fashioned sci fi adventure. The plot starts with a big bang, and then Matt Cruse, the intrepid hero, has to undergo gruelling training and disappointment before being picked to be part of Starclimber's crew alongside his photographer girlfriend. They turn out to be right about all sorts of bizarre things, and end up in an awful lot of danger.

I found the characterisation shallow, the plot telegraphic, and much of the sci fi element old and tired . Don't get me wrong, some of it was great, and there were even moments where I thought, gosh if this author can sort himself out he's got real potential. But the end result was disappointment. Maybe my expectations were too high. 


Review by Alicia Ponder

Brainjack: the next war starts in cyberspace, by Brian Falkner

Sam Wilson, brilliant teenage hacker, is looking for trouble. And trouble is looking for him. He's trying to get into the most carefuly controlled pieces of cyberspace there is - but he has no idea of the danger that he's getting himself into, it's not just that the police might be after him, he's being chased by an agency he can't even comprehend.
Ok, I'm a science fiction buff, so nothing in this book was particularly new, but it didn't seem to matter, it was a great roller-coaster. Lots of fun, lots of danger, and some really nice touches -- it makes me want to read his other book - the tomorrow code - to see if it's half as good as this one.

About the author:  I'm slow on the uptake (my excuse is that the book was published in Aus):  Brian is actually an NZ author -  born and raised in Auckland - which I wont hold against him, and is the author of several aother books besides this and the Tomorrow code (shortlisted for the 2009 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children - Young Adults and the Esther Glen Award at the LIANZA Awards). The Flea Thing (shortlisted for the LIANZA Esther Glen Award, 2004), The Real Thing, and The Super Freak (shortlisted, New Zealand Post Book Awards, 2006).

Darke Academy - Secret Lives by Gabriella Poole

What can I say? Darke Academy is a bit of a cross between Harry Potter and Twilight. If you liked those, you'll almost certainly love this - it was fun, and I've not met anybody yet who didn't love it.  Even those completely jaded after Twilight.

Ordinary girl from a tough background wins a scholarship to a school so magnificent she can hardly believe it. All the guys are handsome, all the girls are beautiful and very rich, but the Darke academy has a dark secret, (of course it does,) it's a haven for the chosen "Few" who seem to be able to do whatever they like.

But who are these "Few?" and what will it take to join them? Well, of course you know they're vampires, but Cassie doesn't... and she's the one in danger.

Review by Alicia Ponder

Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar

Depressive werewolf girl is hunted by her own family. She has nowhere to go, and no life until she is rescued by two extraordinary humans who find themselves caught in the middle of two power struggles: one centred on a rather crazy clothing-obsessed elemental; and the other, a bid for the werewolf leadership -- a struggle in which the Werewolf girl's dead body would be a very powerful bargaining chip.

I'm so deeply divided about this book. The prose is stultifying, it's almost like eating baby food that's been chopped down until it's so soft all the texture is missing. But even so, and this is where the deeply divided comes in -- this baby food has kick. There's wit and charm, and the odd glimpse of three dimensions in amongst the cut-out two dimensional characters. Even better, against the odds, the apparently rambling plot of feud and counter-feud comes together to a relatively satisfying conclusion, so in the end all I can say is people like this book. They do. My copy went flying across the floor more than once, but I still made it to the end, which is more than I can say about quite a few books lately.
It's the sort of story that can make a so-so author into a name, not because it's brilliant, but because it has the things that teenagers are looking for in a story, sex, drugs, depression, rock and roll, and originality. It's not preachy. It doesn't glamorise, it just gets on with the plot as two -- no three -- very different worlds collide. I'll never love this book, for me it was twilight all over again, maybe edgier, more exciting, and far less sentimental, but still pulp -- a fact proudly proclaimed by the cover as it declares the author has invented a new genre; "pulp fantasy noir."

Review:  Alicia Ponder

The Phoenix Files -- Arrival by Chris Morphew

Review by Alicia Ponder

There are one hundred days until the end of the world...

 

A crazy man, three friends thrown together in a strange town in the middle of nowhere, and a deadline -- this book is adventure through and through.  It's an easy read that's fun, fast paced, and very up to date on modern families, school and adventure -- and of course if you like it there's a whole series.  

 

(From one of the authors of  Zac Powers -- Volcanic Panic and apparently eleven others, this is a couple of steps up in terms of age and difficulty, but the author's experience shines out in this story in terms of pace and action.)