SUMMER HOLIDAY READING

There is nothing nicer than long lazy days 

when you can start a new series of books 

and hopefully reach the end before your holidays finish.

Most people read a little at night when they are tired and sleepy but holidays are a different matter. You can start the day slowly with a good book, read over lunch, laze away the afternoon in a hammock with a book and a box of chocs and then because there is nothing worth watching on tv most nights you can finish the day with a good read.

The Elm Creek series by Jennifer Chiaverini are a heartwarming, friendly 13 book series set around a quilting school and the friends who run it. Lots of historical quilting information is sewn into tales of close female friendships.

Another of the same warm, friendly type is the Ladybug farm series by Donna Ball. Four retired women friends buy and renovate a lovely old house then launch a catering business.

A good time to start the Diana Gabaldon Outlander series. 7 books (so far) of a long family historical saga that starts in Scotland and moves to America.

I really enjoy a good murder mystery and the best way to get to know the main characters is to read the books in sequence. The development or degeneration of the detective is clearly seen in this way. Henning Mankel with his Wallander set, Kate Ellis with Wesley Petersen and the archaeology series, Simon Beckett’s great forensic anthropologist quartet, all show the development of the police main character.

Happy summer reading.

Another idea for Christmas!

It's only occasional that someone comes up with a great idea that has to do with books.  Not writing or selling books but something that can enhance the bookreader's life.

A new product on the market, and available through the bookshop, is the Book Seat.  A great little invention, simple in concept, but has countless ways of making the life of a bookreader even more enjoyable.

This little but smart Book Seat supports books and magazines.   Be able to read - "hands-free".

Think along the lines of a craftsperson trying to follow a knitting or craft pattern and having to pick up the instruction book every few minutes to check what they're doing;  think along the lines of a person in hospital who loves reading heavy novels but the books are too thick and heavy to hold for lengthy periods;  think of someone cooking and again having to check the recipe book laying flat on the bench.   And for the young Mum trying to feed her Bub who decides to take his/her time in feeding, how can Mum hold even a paperback in one hand while holding the baby and feeding him/her in the other?  

There's never quite enough hands to do these simple jobs.

The Book Seat answers all these questions, and many more.   A child who is laid up in  bed with a cold perhaps but who wants to read their favourite book - the Book Seat is the answer here too.

It's available in a variety of colours, and has a special little device that will allow you to hold the pages in place but just as easily allow you to turn the pages, all without having to take the book out of it's little "seat".

A uniquely Australian invention.     Contact Meryll and have a chat about this lovely little gift idea.

The days are flying!

Books are high on the list of Christmas gifts this year, and orders are still being placed for favourite books for family and friends, and even for the regular customer who has found a new author to love.

Children's books are a specialty too.  A good stock of near new Children's Picture Books are now available so if your child has a special one in mind and lets you know in time for Santa Claus (or Father Christmas) to get in plenty of time, contact Meryll right away.   Hard to find and rare books are her speciality.

Already in December

The past few weeks have flown.   The weather has been contrary with many cold days when the shop is a welcome warm haven for shoppers eager to get in from the cold, but just as eager to look through the bookshop and to take time to see what may be new in the book shelves.

The first Christmas window display is just about complete and already has attracted people to come in and to have a chat - orders are being furiously made with the hope they'll arrive before Christmas and many of course will.