With the long weekend upon us, the team is hopefully getting some time in the sunshine or cozying up at home to do some reading, or puzzling! Here's what they're up to.
Alex:
In the Room: I have a weak spot for a political memoir that is heavy on backroom drama and intrigue. Andrew Campbell’s insights into his years supporting the Jacinda Ardern years hits the sweet spot between drama, authenticity and a touch of inspiration - this is a perfect (and literal) labour weekend read.
Exit Party: When I picked up The Glass Hotel one random day in 2020 I didn’t realise I was picking up a book by someone who was about to discover one of my favourite authors. Haunting and thoughtful, I quickly jumped into Station 11 next (which hit a little too close to home when Covid pandemic hit) and have slowly worked through her other novels - I am very excited to tackle her latest work Exit Party this weekend!
Hannah:
Like Lizzy, my currently reading is out of control (although I think Lizzy's is a little more dire). This weekend I'm hoping to make some decent progress on The Great Imperial Hangover, or at least finish the Britain section and move onto the EU section. I am also excited to do a start to finish read of Lucas Jones' I Still Believe In Miracles. This is a beautiful poetry anthology where I have been dipping in and out of random pages, but I would like to read them in order to make sure I haven't missed any!
I'm also excited to play some quick games while on our camping trip; I'm hoping to take Dutch Blitz and Spot It, although I'll probably leave the house with many more games and books than I have time for this weekend!
Alastair:
I will continue working through "An Echo of Things to Come" by James Islington. It is narrated by Michael Kramer, who also narrated the Mistborn and Stormlight Archive series, which can make for occasional confusing crossovers. Both Kaladin and Syl have made a number of surprise appearances when my attention lapses during my runs.
Shannon
I'm planning on grabbing myself the second book in the housemaid series (The Housemaid's Secret) I finished the first in about 4 days after putting it off for so long (about 4years). I'd recently finished a book that was a negative star review (sadly you can't actually leave those so it was 1 star).
I have a puzzle and game night planned with my partner where I'm hoping we'll be starting the Stardew Valley board game otherwise we'll be on the lookout for a new game to play together while at Armageddon.
Eve:
I have just picked up the newest book of Matthew Reilly's, 'King’s Ransom'! When I won't be working in the bookshop this long weekend, I'll be settled down either out in the sun or curled on the couch engrossed in the story following one of my favorite protagonists, Sam Speedman!
'The Detective' is one of my all-time FAVOURITE reads, so I'm sure I'm going to thoroughly enjoy this. I'm lucky to own the special edition, so the reading experience will be top tier!
Happy long weekend!
Shirl:
I'll be spending the weekend finishing Min Jin Lee's American Hagwon, I'm currently a quarter of the way through and really enjoying it. I'm so invested into every character and even though I'm keen to see where it goes, I feel like I don't want the story to end. I love Min Jin Lee's writing and story-telling when it comes to family sagas.
I'll probably also play a few games of Sea Salt & Paper to relax and unwind, it's such a cute fun quick game to play to get me settled into the weekend.
Jade:
I asked Jade and he says he'll be reading this book called Don Quixote this weekend (you might have heard of it!). Apparently it's about a guy who has been reading so many medieval books that he now thinks he's a traveling knight, and sounds like fun!
Dylan:
My book club is trying something new this month. We each get to pick a different book and report back to the group on what we thought. The only catch? It has to be by a New Zealand author!
I was planning to read In the Room this long weekend, but it was so good I demolished it in 24 hours, so now I need to pick something else! You can read my full review of In the Room here, but basically it's a must-read for anyone interested in NZ politics and the toll demanding jobs can take on people (and not just the Prime Minister!).
This weekend I'll be reading one of Shirl's recommendations, Ordinary People Like Us. I respect Shirl's opinion a lot, so I can't wait to let my imagination drift up to the Far North and explore the lives of some extraordinary Māori women.
Roopa:
I'm determined to finish ACOTAR this weekend (I know, I'm very behind!), but with all the excitement around the new book release, I'm feeling extra motivated to get caught up!
And I love a good long weekend for puzzles, so I've picked up the Wasgij Mystery #24 1000-piece puzzle, Blight at the Museum, to work on too. We're heading to Auckland Museum on Saturday for the March of the Triceratops exhibition, so it feels like the perfect puzzle for the occasion!
Edd:
Becky Chambers is one of my favourite authors so I am going to be finishing off her new release As You Wake, Break The Shell. Told through an alternating timeline between their first meeting and future domestic bliss, it's a really interesting sci-fi love story centred around survival. Nobody else comes close to the way she captures the real feeling of human relationships and I am looking forward to seeing how this ends
Marnie:
Marnie is working her way through Robin Hobb's incredible Farseer trilogy (highly recommend!). She says: "My goal is to get more of Royal Assassin done, and my next puzzle up is the Terry Pratchett Discworld puzzle. I did the World of Shakespeare one a bit ago and LOVED it."
Tim W:
I was lucky enough to get an early copy of this upcoming biography of Franky Hurley by Grantlee Kieza. I really enjoyed his biography of Joseph Banks, so was excited to pick this up! I'm about a quarter of the way through and am already hooked into what is quite an unbelievable life of someone I had never previously heard of. Frank Hurley has taken some iconic photographs, namely of the ill-fated ship, the Endurance (another great book by Alfred Lansing of Shackleton and his expedition). Hurley was a true adventurer, running away from Sydney and escaping to the Blue Mountains on a freight train when he was only 12. He went on to be a renowned photographer, capturing the war and some of the most extreme locations on the earth on many perilous journeys.
I'm looking forward to reading it this weekend and encourage people to think about this book as a great gift for the people in your life who love to read about adventure!
Lizzy:
This long weekend I am trying to complete some of the books that I've had hanging out on my currently reading list (it's a little out of control). Ideally I'll find some reading time to get stuck into The Fires of December by Brandon Sanderson which I am absolutely loving so far. Because I know myself and know that I'll want the dopamine rush of starting a new book I'll probably also get reading The Nerd Reich, a new non-fiction release that I bought on absolute impulse.
Puzzle wise I've been loving 500 pc puzzles lately and have the beautiful Galison Bookshop Afternoon waiting for some time to hopefully sit down and put it together over the long weekend! It's the most beautiful puzzle with lots of gilding and it's going to be BEAUTIFUL.
We're open all long weekend so you can shop in store so if you find yourself needing a new book, puzzle or boardgame - just pop on in to our store in Hobsonville, Auckland, or shop online!
