Tuesday, November 28, 2006

HOLLOW WRITING


I can't believe punters are wasting their hard-earned money on Nicky Hager's latest diatribe, The Hollow Men.
This is tabloid journalism in book form, and in any case it has already been largely dissected by the weekend papers with any so-called juicy bits having already been well reported.
If you are a non-fiction reader save your money for a title that is worth reading, something for example from the entertaining GINGER SERIES published by Wellington's Awa Press.
My favourites so far are:

How to Look at a Painting by Justin Paton
How to Drink a Glass of Wine by John Saker
How to Catch a Fish by Kevin Ireland
How to Read a Book by Kelly Ana Morey


Another wonderful series of non-fiction titles come from Four Winds Press.

I refer to their Montana Estate Essay Series.

I particularly enjoyed Kevin Ireland's "helpful" On Getting Old, Lydia Wever's On Reading, Kate Camp On Kissing but there are loads of other gems too including essays by Harry Ricketts, Jack Lasenby, Simon Morris,Margret Mahy, Vincent O'Sullivan, Paula Boock, and Damien Wilkins.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have to agree with you on this one. What I can't fathom is why a publisher like Craig Potton, who publishes so much wonderful stuff on the mountains and forest and seas of New Zealand, would have anything to do with such garbage.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, what a load of boring old stuff.Who gives a shit except for the politicians and party hacks?
Craig Potton is an environmentalist from way back and he should be saving the trees by declining to publish Hager and his ilk in future.