SHELF AWARENESS

Christmas is firmly on the horizon, so here are my top picks for books to gift this holiday season. Beautiful, sumptuous, fascinating – these are books for your loved ones to treasure.

Ecologist Robert Vennell zooms in on the tiny plants and fungi that have mighty roles in the eco-system of the New Zealand bush. This book will encourage the nature lover in your life to notice the world around them in brand new ways.

Combining beautiful photography with warm, honest advice, this book is a must-read for people who love gardening and are seeking inspiration to get more creative in their approach. Fresh, personal, and encouraging, it’s an ideal gift for a firsttime home-owner.

For history buffs – Continuous Ferment is a detailed, wellresearched tale of beer in New Zealand. Informative, entertaining and packed with fascinating images documenting advertising, pubs and labels through the ages, this is social history at its most thirst-quenching.

After the success of The Abundant Garden, Niva and Yotam Kay return with a practical and gorgeous guide, this time focusing on fermenting, preserving and pickling. With careful research and deep passion, the Kays open a world of possibilities for food.

This is a top-notch collection of poetry from a wide variety of New Zealand poets, brought together to learn by heart. Poems with rhythm and feeling, to be recited round the campfire and on special occasions for years to come.

This stunning, lavishly illustrated, one-of-akind tome showcases the diverse range of creative work that has come from Aotearoa artists, writers and musicians when given the opportunity to travel to the ice, along with interviews and essays describing their experiences.