Book scene in NZ

Hello to New Zealanders. I shall be visiting NZ in February and would welcome advice and information about the book scene in NZ , good book stores, used book shops etc. We shall be touring n and s islands and so plan to see as much as is possible of your v beautiful country.

I hope you enjoy your trip, Africansky1! I can recommend Unity Books Auckland and Wellington and University Bookshop Dunedin as good places to look for new books, and ArtyBees Wellington is a very good used bookshop which also has a large section of new imported science fiction & fantasy. There are some very good bookshops in many of the smaller towns, too - there's a bookshop directory here but it's in alphabetical rather than geographical order:

http://booksellers.co.nz/directory

I also suggest that you subscribe to the NZ Book Council's monthly e-newsletter for the next three months to get news of literary events during that period - see

http://www.bookcouncil.org.nz/Overview/Introduction/Home.htm

I hope this helps!

Thank you Tim much appreciated. I just knew some fellow book soul would reply. happy to return the favour if you are in SAfrica .

Hi Africansky - I'm in Wellington too and wanted to add my voice to Tim's Unity suggestion. It's a lovely bookshop. Other favourites are Parsons (at the Parliament end of Lambton Quay), Quilters (secondhand on Ghuznee Street - the funky end of town), and Pegasus Books (secondhand) in the Left Bank Arcade on Cuba Street. Books are pricy over here compared to most parts of the world but we have some nice bookshops.

Our main chain here is Whitcoulls but it is getting worse as time goes on... there's a big one on Lambton Quay. Ick!

Hi Africansky - I'm from Auckland and there are a few secondhand shops worth visiting.
First up is one of my favourites, the Hard to Find (But worth the Effort) Books. In Onehunga, a colourful corner of Auckland well worth visiting. Also here is The Library Cafe, situated in old library building.
Take a ferry trip over to Devonport where you can visit Evergreen Books.
In the city itself is Jasons Books, they are a couple of streets away from Auckland's branch of Unity Books, which is much smaller than the Wellington Unity Books. In nearby Ponsonby, Herne Bay & Grey Lynn which is more of a foodie destination is Dominion Books and Classics and Suchlike Books.
Independent bookshops - Dear Reader in Grey Lynn, Timeout in Mt Eden, The Womens Bookshop on Ponsonby Road, Arcadia in Newmarket, The Dorothy Butler Children's Bookshop in Ponsonby.
Our annual Auckland Writer & Readers Festival is in May.

You could visit Frank Sargeson's house, not only a writer himself but he nurtured many other New Zealand writers including Janet Frame, who wrote her first novel here in a little hut in the back garden.

In the Waikato are another two worth mentioning Hamilton's Browsers Books, and Tirau's I Spy Books which is owned by the local midwife so if it's closed it means she is out delivering!
Also off the beaten track a little, but in rural Katikati, Bay of Plenty is the relocated used book business Titles. They used to have a great shop in my local suburb here in Auckland but moved their whole business south about ten years ago and mainly sell through abebooks.
No books but don't forget to visit Hobbiton in Matamata.

The NZ Book Council have an excellent video clip introducing Maurice Gee's West Auckland: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_jyXJTlrH0

Hawera, Taranaki is the hometown of Ronald Hugh Morrieson who wrote New Zealand gothic. A couple of his books are available again in those reasonably priced orange Popular Penguins. Also look out for Text Classics - affordable editions of Australasian classics.

Ronald Hugh Morrieson - http://www.pukeariki.com/Research/TaranakiResearchCentre/TaranakiStories/Taranak...
Katherine Mansfield - http://www.katherinemansfield.com/
Janet Frame - http://janetframe.org.nz/default.htm

New Zealand book news blog: Beattie's Book Blog - he covers everything, international as well as just NZ book news but it's all in there.
also The Big Idea for creative arts: http://www.thebigidea.co.nz/

Hi AfricanSky1, I hope you have a wonderful trip! I can only reiterate the votes for Unity Books and Arty Bees here in Wellington, and the University Bookshop in Dunedin.

If you're in Central Otago, there's a used book store in Alexandra - I'm sorry I forget the name, it had only recently opened on my last trip home, but it's opposite the PaperPlus store on Centennial Avenue. I remember it having a very good non-fiction section, and particularly a lot of local history.

Hi Katherine,
It is so great to look on your profile and see so many books. wow.
I hope you have a great trip around NZ, and that you are able to find a few good use book shops. I am in Christchurch, the biggest South Island city. We have a very shrunken inner city thanks to an earthquake in Feb 2011, but the suburbs are busy and have books.

At Church Corner, in Riccarton there is a great used book shop. It is hidden a little bit back from the road, amongst other shops in an open air arcade. Good fiction mostly, at $3 or $4 a book. Ill see if I can figure out the name and get back to you. Otherwise, Scorpio Books also on Riccarton Road (about 2kms closer to the city centre than Church Corner) stocks a lot of interesting non fiction. They also have a smaller boutiquey version of the shop in the "Re Start" Container Mall on Cashel St, in the city centre.

Come back as just ask if you want travel tips or ideas on great spots to visit!

excellent stuff everyone ......

5 > I was just getting round to posting something myself, but you have covered more than I could ......

thank you everyone ... You are such stars to reply and make me already feel welcome in NZ ... If you are representative of NZ people we shall meet, we are going to have a wonderful adventure. We shall be driving from Queenstown back to Auckland via Wellington in about 16 days so welcome advice and info of all types . Got a new edition Lonely Planet guide , we find it's strong on the great outdoor sporting activities and brilliant scenery, but thin on the cultural scene and zilch on books. At the end of the visit I shall write up our book experiences and send to LP as feedback ... And send to the NZ book Council

That sounds like a good itinerary, Africansky1 - and if you felt like posting your writeup of your book experiences here or somewhere else online as well, I'd be most interested to read it!

hi all, Home again after the New Zealand adventure and we had a brilliant time . We hired a neat older Ford and travelled through the South island and North island (at least from Wellington, Napier, Taupo, Rotorua to Auckland). As this was a first visit a matter of first experiences and where we would like to spend more time on a second visit. We only had three weeks so a bit rushed . I was too optimistic about the time available for book browsing . Happy though to report that we enjoyed the experience of two bookshops in Wellington on Cuba Mall and bought a folio Society book at Pegasus books. Also liked The Ferret bookshop also in Cuba St. I encountered two used bookstores in Nelson .-Booklovers on Bridge St and Litterarty Bookshop on Hardy Street Nelson . Devonport in Auckland worth visiting for its bookshops .. Liked Books at Devonport Wharf (a good location if you are waiting for the ferry) and the better quality Evergreen Books in Victoria Road. In Oamaru there is an attractive bookshop in a warehouse type emporium (all antiques, old and new) in the tourist part of town the Victorian precinct with a very large selection of appealing books on New Zealand. Seemed like a great many NZ themed books have a blueish hued binding or dust wrapper .. Perhaps this is decorative taste!

We did not stay in Christchurch but spent only an afternoon in the city centre . Accommodation seemed hard to find . We met a taxi driver who insisted on giving us a complimentary drive and tour of the damaged centre and told us his story. Many people wanted to share their personal earthquake experience. Very moving to see the determination and guts of the people of the city and I am filled with admiration for
The rebuilding and replanning process.. So good to see a man on the Avon offering a punting interlude. New Zealand scenery is stunningly beautiful .. And the bookscene deserves a tour itinerary of its own. I talked about the Library Thing community and no one I spoke to had heard of it ... So time to spread the word. I was pleased to find a copy of David Day's Tolkien illustrated Encyclopaedia . My very small New Zealand collection will be receiving active attention. Thank you everyone for your welcome to your beautiful country.

Great that you had such a terrific trip - thanks for posting about it! Glad you found Pegasus Books and a Folio Society book there.

Thanks, Africansky1 - I'm glad you had such a good trip.

In my experience, sadly, only librarians have heard of LibraryThing - Goodreads is rather better known. I have a presence on Goodreads, but much prefer LibraryThing, so I do what I can to spread the word!

# 14 Great one in Latham Street, Napier, and she knows exactly what she has and where it is! Sorry can't remember the name :o(