130,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Happy Long Weekend! We're open all 3 days! 📚 Open 7 days, 8:30am–5pm

Book of Longing: Popular Penguins

3.99 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 11,960 ratings, 1,077 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Book of Longing: Popular Penguins by Leonard Cohen is a captivating collection of poetry and sketches that reflect on themes of longing, desire, spirituality, and the human experience. Rich with lyrical beauty and infused with Cohen's distinct voice, this collection explores the depths of emotion and introspection while intertwining elements of humour and wisdom. The book offers insights into Cohen's personal reflections and artistic journey, resonating deeply with readers who appreciate thoughtful and evocative poetry.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$1699
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate a rich blend of poetry and art from one of the most iconic songwriters of our time. Filled with wit, wisdom, and deeply personal reflections, it offers a poignant exploration of love, loss, and longing, delivering Leonard Cohen's unique voice through both verse and sketches. Fans of lyrical introspection and visual expression will find much to admire in this captivating collection.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Leonard Cohen made his name as a poet before he came to worldwide attention as a singer and songwriter. Book of Longing was twenty years in the making and written in Montreal, Mumbai and during his retreat in Mt Baldy. These poems show the full range of one of the most influential and enigmatic writers of his generation.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Leonard Cohen made his name as a poet before he came to worldwide attention as a singer and songwriter. Book of Longing was twenty years in the making and written in Montreal, Mumbai, and during his retreat in Mt Baldy.

These poems show the full range of one of the most influential and enigmatic writers of his generation.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780141399409

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 28 June 2010

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 22.0mm

Width: 110.0mm

Height: 179.0mm

Weight: 138g

Pages: 232

About the Author

Leonard Cohen was born in Montreal in 1934 and published his first poetry collection in 1956. Since then he has published a number of books, including the poetry collection Let Us Compare Mythologies and the novel The Favourite Game. Renowned as a singer and performer, Leonard has recorded a number of albums, the most famous being I'm Your Man and The Future. He lives in Los Angeles.

Also by Leonard Cohen

View all
  • The Flame
    The Flame is the final work from Leonard Cohen, the revered poet and musician whose fans span generations and whose work is celebrated throughout the world. Featuring poems, excerpts from his private notebooks, lyrics, and hand-drawn self-portraits, The Flame offers an intimate look inside the life and mind of a singular artist. A reckoning with a life lived deeply and...
    Paperback
    $3400
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • A Ballet of Lepers
    In A Ballet of Lepers, Leonard Cohen explores themes that would come to permeate his later works—shame stemming from feelings of unworthiness; sexual desire, in all its sacred and profane dimensions; and longing, whether it be for love, family, freedom, or transcendence. A haunting examination of these elements in tandem, this novel and stories are about toxic relationships and the...
    Paperback
    $3999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Let Us Compare Mythologies
    First published in 1956 when he was twenty-two years old, Let Us Compare Mythologies is Leonard Cohen's first collection of poetry. It is an accomplished and passionate collection which demonstrates Cohen's remarkably assured voice, even as a young man. An unprecedented debut published to immediate acclaim, new generations of readers will now rediscover not only the early work of one...
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • A Ballet of Lepers
    In A Ballet of Lepers, Leonard Cohen explores themes that would come to permeate his later works: shame stemming from feelings of unworthiness; sexual desire, in all its sacred and profane dimensions; and longing, whether it be for love, family, freedom, or transcendence. A haunting examination of these elements in tandem, this novel and stories are about toxic relationships and...
    Hardback
    $5000
    Elsewhere:
    $5500
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Flame
    These poems and notebooks are the last word from the late, great Leonard Cohen. The Flame is a stunning collection of Leonard Cohen's last poems and writings, selected and ordered by Cohen in the final months of his life. The book contains an extensive selection from Cohen's notebooks, featuring lyrics, prose pieces and illustrations, which he kept in poetic form...
    Hardback
    $5500
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Book of Longing
    Book of Longing is Leonard Cohen's first book of new poetry since Book of Mercy was published two decades ago. It collects Cohen's poetry written between the 1980s and the present and also includes his wonderfully witty and sensuous illustrations, featuring numerous playful self-portraits. The illustrations interact with, and complement, the poetry in unexpected and fascinating ways. Book of Longing...
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Book of Mercy
    The poems in Book of Mercy brim with praise, despair, anger, doubt, and trust. Speaking from the heart of the modern world, yet in tones that resonate with an older devotional tradition, these verses give voice to our deepest, most powerful intuitions. Internationally celebrated for his writing and his music, Leonard Cohen is revered as one of the greatest writers,...
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Beautiful Losers
    Combining spirituality with intense eroticism, wild and surreal humour with deadly serious intent, Beautiful Losers revolves around four characters - a husband, a wife, their ambiguous mentor, and a mythic seventeenth-century Iroquois virgin. The lives of the couple and their friend, F., are bound together by love, sex, and a lunatic spirit of experimentation, their relationship a tangle of jealousies,...
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • The Favourite Game
    In this, his much-loved first novel, Leonard Cohen etches the youth and early manhood of Lawrence Breavman, the only son of wealthy Jewish parents in Montreal. Finding literary fame as a student, Breavman does penance through manual labour, before eventually fleeing to New York to escape the claims of his family and native city. In a tour de force of...
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from Arts & Culture

View all
  • Dylan's Pick
    Bold Types
    A tribute to 32 truly independent bookshops throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, from north of Auckland down to Dunedin, and coast to coast. Jane Ussher's photographs show every bookstore in its unique nature - including behind the counter, smoko rooms, the mess which tells the hardworking story behind the joy of matching books with customers. Jemma Moreira's careful editing has crafted...
    Hardback
    $5999
    Elsewhere:
    $7000
    In Stock
    Ships Tuesday
  • New Release
    I’ll Believe in Anything
    From Jacob Tierney, the creator of Heated Rivalry, in partnership with Brendan Brady and Accent Aigu, comes I’ll Believe in Anything, an official and complete collection of annotated scripts for the biggest cultural sensation of the year, with all new exclusive behind-the-scenes content.Based on Rachel Reid’s blockbuster Game Changers book series, Heated Rivalry premiered on Crave and HBO in late 2025 and immediately took the world by storm. I’ll...
    Hardback
    $5499
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships Tuesday
  • On Sale
    16% off
    New Release
    Home Again
    Join rock-legend, former Shihad frontman and lead singer of The Adults, Jon Toogood in this unflinching and no-holds-barred memoir Home Again.This is more than a rock story. Toogood looks back on a 37-year career that helped define New Zealand rock music, and the personal cost that came with it. From a music-obsessed childhood in Wellington to the deafening roar of international stages, this...
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Tuesday
  • On Sale
    20% off
    The Odyssey
    Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travellers, hospitality, and the yearning for home. This fresh, authoritative translation captures the beauty of this ancient poem as well as the drama of its narrative....
    By Homer
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $3599
    In Stock
    Ships Tuesday
  • On Sale
    21% off
    The Iliad
    When Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey appeared in 2017—revealing the ancient poem in a contemporary idiom that was "fresh, unpretentious and lean" (Madeline Miller, Washington Post)—critics lauded it as "a revelation" (Susan Chira, New York Times) and "a cultural landmark" (Charlotte Higgins, Guardian) that would forever change how Homer is read in English. Now Wilson has returned with an...
    By Homer
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships Tuesday
  • New Release
    A Life in Lyrics
    Freddie Mercury was one of the greatest showmen of the twentieth century. With his unparalleled voice and searing on-stage energy, he was a great pretender, a killer queen and a champion of the world. But behind the glamour lived a musician and lyricist talented beyond measure, and the creative force behind one of the most culturally significant and musically diverse...
    Hardback
    $5000
    Elsewhere:
    $6500
    In Stock
    Ships Tuesday
  • Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    On Sale
    20% off
    Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    Embark on a culinary adventure with Moana of Motunui with Pacific recipes inspired by Moana and Moana 2! After a long day of sailing to see how far you’ll go or keeping the demigod Maui out of trouble with Te Fiti, catch a break with the delicious dishes in Moana: The Official Cookbook! Featuring more than 50 recipes spanning the...
    Hardback
    $3600
    Elsewhere:
    $5299
    In Stock
    Ships Tuesday
  • Birdlands Birdlands
    New Release
    Birdlands
    A rare, intimate journey into the wild islands where Aotearoa's birds live beyond the reach of most human lives. In the most remote outposts of Aotearoa, our islands are populated not with people, but with birds. From the storm-lashed Subantarctic Islands in the deep south to the scattered volcanic islands of Tikapa Moana/Hauraki Gulf in the north, Birdlands offers a...
    Hardback
    $4199
    Elsewhere:
    $5000
    In Stock
    Ships Tuesday
  • On Sale
    21% off
    This Angry Pen of Mine
    This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...
    Hardback
    $5800
    Elsewhere:
    $8999
    In Stock
    Ships Tuesday
  • Beautiful Chaos
    New Release
    Beautiful Chaos
    Featuring five exclusive new poems, this stunning foil-embossed hardback edition is a collector's item and a gorgeous gift. The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller. Selected poems on motherhood from bestselling author and Instagram poet, Jessica Urlichs. 'Reading Jess's poems makes me feel like she's somehow reached into my own personal reflections and articulated them in a way I never could.' –...
    Hardback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships Tuesday
  • Mah Jong Player's Companion
    Since the arrival on the market of Patricia Thompson and Betty Maloney's two previous books, The Game of Mah Jong Illustrated and Improve Your Mah Jong, a wide range of hands from many parts of the world has been sent to them. In this player's companion, the authors have put together a cross-filled reference guide where over 120 hands, illustrated...
    Paperback
    $1999
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Tuesday
  • The Artist's Way
    The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron is a transformative guidebook that has captivated millions, including luminaries such as Elizabeth Gilbert and Tim Ferriss. With its profound ability to inspire and elevate, this book invites readers to embark on an enriching creative journey, fostering a deeper connection to one's artistic process and sense of purpose. The heart of Cameron's groundbreaking programme...
    Paperback
    $3700
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    In Stock
    Ships Tuesday

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.