Our Reading Group takes place on the first and third Thursday of the month. Reading group 21 November:
The wonderful Briony Hogg, owner of Marsden Books will be our guest, showcasing interesting and popular books from her shelves. We will be joined by author Clare Gleeson for a reading from her book The Fairer Side of Buxton, along with Q & A.
This week’s line-up:
Fiction: Dusk – by Robbie Arnott
“In the distant highlands, a puma named Dusk is killing shepherds. Down in the lowlands, twins Iris and Floyd are out of work, money and friends. When they hear that a bounty has been placed on Dusk, they reluctantly decide to join the hunt. As they journey up into this wild, haunted country, they discover there’s far more to the land and people of the highlands than they imagined. And as they close in on their prey, they’re forced to reckon with conflicts both ancient and deeply personal.”
Non-fiction: The Fairer Side of Buxton – by Claire Gleeson, who will be in attendance for a reading and to answer questions.
“Alfred Buxton was the father of landscape design in New Zealand. Working in the early twentieth century, he was one of the first in the country to create expansive and sophisticated gardens that transformed people’s properties and way of life. His rural gardens became creative outlets for the wives of the farmers who commissioned them, recreational spaces for their families and meeting places for the community. Independent women commissioned Buxton gardens for their own enjoyment and for the schools they worked for, while mothers and wives raised funds for gardens to enhance the memorials being built to remember those lost in the Great War. Clare Gleeson tells an intriguing story of a man who played an important role in developing Aotearoa’s horticultural landscape, through the lens of the ‘fairer sex’ who supported and took pleasure in his work. With a foreword by Julian Matthews.”
A NZ thriller: Better The Blood – by Michael Bennett.
A killer in search of retribution. A clash between culture and duty. The Past never truly stays buried.
Koha will be collected at the meeting. All proceeds go towards the purchase of acid free envelopes for document storage.
Please register for this group by booking your free ticket. We will meet by the blue couches by the display of the Treaty of Waitangi on level 4 at 1.50pm.