School is back and Summer is on the wane as we look forward to another year of bookselling.

Over the summer we have noticed a lot of interest in books on anxiety, especially for children facing various challenges in their lives. We have gathered a collection of books to help for most ages. It seems it is pretty tough for young people out in the big wide world at the moment.

We get a tremendous amount of pleasure from helping all our customers to find the right book, especially children starting the journey to becoming avid readers. It is rewarding for us to hear back that books chosen here have been successful. There are so many wonderful authors writing books that can make a huge difference to lives young and old.

Gecko Promotion
We have a Gecko promotion until the end of February. If you buy a Gecko book you can enter the draw to win 2 gorgeous collections of Gecko books, one of which we would ask you to donate to your local school or preschool.

Library Event
On February 28^ththere is an evening event at our local library with a panel of local authors; Sarah Laing, Raj Chakraborti and Leah Mc Fall. Marsden Books will be in attendance selling their books. The event is free and all are welcome. Karori Library 6–7.30 pm.

NZ Post
Our postie now collects mail once a day at approx. 3:45 pm. Therefore post needs to be with us by 3:30 pm to get the mail for that day.
Passports/ Legal Documents to the UK: These now need to be sent by Express Courier.

Stocktake
On Saturday, March 30^th we will close early at 12:30 pm so that we can stocktake in the afternoon.

Mother’s Day in the UK is March 31^st
We have cards for this on display now.

Easter Hours
We shall be CLOSED Easter Monday
OPEN Saturday, April 20^th
CLOSED Easter Sunday and Monday
OPEN Tuesday 23^rd and Wednesday 24^th
CLOSED Anzac Day 25^th
OPEN on Friday 26^th and Saturday 27^th April

Books
Our favourite recently published books are:

• The Wall by John Lanchester
• Middle England by Jonathan Coe
• The Book of Knowing by Gwendoline Smith.

Happy Reading from the team at Marsden Books.

It is nearly the end of another year of bookselling here and marvelling at the rich and rewarding literature that has been published. Where would we all be without the joy of a good book to hold, read and treasure?

Welcome to our end of year newsletter with the usual bits of important information to help you in the lead up to Christmas and enclosed is our gift as thanks for all the support you have shown during the year. If you are receiving this newsletter by email please call in and collect your gift.

NZ Post:
NZ Post has a sheet with all the information you require regarding posting dates and Christmas stamps. You can get it here.

Courier Overseas: For larger parcels overseas it is often not much more expensive to send by Economy Courier. This means the parcel is tracked and takes 4 to 5 working days.

International Air Parcels are NOT tracked so if you require tracking, your parcel will need to be sent by courier.

Christmas Hours:
The shop will be open in December on Sundays 11.00–3.00
Closed: Christmas Day and Boxing Day
Open: December 27^th and 28^th   9.00–5.00, and 29^th 10.00– 2.00
Closed: Jan 1^st and 2^nd
Open: Jan 3^rdand 4^th: 9.00–5.00 & Jan 5^th 10.00– 2.00.

Christmas Books:
We have the usual comprehensive range of children’s Christmas books, and advent calendars are here now.

Children’s Bookclub:
Thank you to Claire and Cassidy who have looked after our little book club this year. The last one in December will be held at the Karori Library. Claire will be in touch by email about the starting date for next year.

NZ Childrens Book Awards winners, 2018
Aotearoa by Gavin Bishop – suitable for the whole family.
I am Jellyfish by Ruth Paul – 2 to 4-year-olds
How to Bee by Bren MacDibble – Young fiction
In the Dark Spaces by Cally Black – Y.A fiction

We wish you a very Happy Christmas and a safe and relaxing holiday.
Anna, Heather, Pip, Anne, Megan, Beatrice, Belinda, Charlotte, and Emily.

It’s the year of the overseas trip for the staff at Marsden Books, which is a great way for us all to get a perspective on New Zealand from afar, enjoy some warmer weather and check out bookshops all over the world. We welcome Julie White to the fold as a new staff member. She will be working while others are away and when we get busy. I am sure many of you will have already seen her in the shop. It’s book awards time of year again. Belinda made a wonderful window display of the NZ Childrens Book Awards finalists and was rewarded with first prize in a nationwide window competition. She has been wowing us with her innovative and exciting window displays recently and helping showcase our children’s books in particular.

NZ Post:
In July there have been a lot of changes to post with prices going up on most services. We have a brochure available if you need further details.

• A Standard letter in NZ is now $1.20 to send, a book of Kiwi stamps $12.
• If you would like an overseas parcel tracked it needs to be sent by international courier.
• If you have purchased Kiwi stamps prior to the changes they remain valid without adding extra stamps.

NZ Post Children’s Awards:
The winners will be announced on August 8^th. Our favourites are:

I am Jellyfish by Ruth Paul, a local author from Karori.
Granny McFlitter, the Champion Knitter by Heather Haylock.
Explore Aotearoa by Bronwen Wall .An excellent overview of NZ History for 8 –13 year olds.
The Traitor and the Thief by Gareth Ward, a bookseller from Hawke’s Bay.

Our Favourite Reads:
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje, set in postwar Britain, two children caught in the murky world of crime and espionage.
Diary of A Bookseller by Shaun Bythell, now in paperback.
View from the South a new collection of poetry from Owen Marshall with photographs by Graeme Sydney.

Bingo:
We have quite a few different Bingo Games here now which are proving to be very popular. The latest additions are Ocean Bingo and Dinosaur Bingo. These vary between $30 and $40 and are suitable for adults and children.

Jigsaw Puzzles:
We now have a  range of Childrens and Adults jigsaw puzzles.

Calendars and some diaries for 2019 are available now.

Happy reading from the team at Marsden Books.

We have started the year with a hiss and a roar, launching books by two lovely local authors.

In January we had the pleasure of launching Peter van Drimmelen’s memoir Driving for Music. This is a humorous behind the scenes account of life with the NZSO and smaller orchestras and the sacrifices these precious musicians make to bring us such wonderful concerts. We are selling the book here for $35.

On Wednesday, February 21^st we are launching Raj Chakraborti’s new novel, The Man Who Would Not See. Raj now lives in Karori and some of his novel is set in Karori. Please join us for the launch on Wednesday at 6 pm to hear Raj talk about his new book.

Wellington Readers and Writers Week: March 8^th till 11^th
We have a selection of books for sale by the various authors visiting Wellington for this festival week. Our Picks would be Dr Charlie Corke, Letting Go, How to Plan for a Good Death, and A.C Grayling, author of Democracy and It’s Crisis and The Age of Genius. Our fiction pick would be The History of Bees by Maja Lunde.

NZ Post: There is now no Fastpost for letters in New Zealand. All parcels sent to a rural address must have a rural delivery sticker attached. Kiwi Stamps always remain valid for any standard letter posted within NZ even when there are changes made. If you are unsure about postage please don’t hesitate to ask us, as it can be very confusing. We are not able to take credit card as payment for NZ Post items.

Children’s Bookclub: This begins again on March 3^rd with Claire at the helm assisted by our Saturday girls Charlotte and Emily. In April some of the Gecko Press staff will be coming to the shop to talk to the group. Please email Claire at claireC@datacom.co.nz if you would like to join the club which meets monthly at the shop on Saturdays at 2 pm. We always welcome new members.

Facebook: You will have seen that there are some changes to Facebook. Belinda is working hard to make sure as many of you as possible see our posts. She will be launching a new forum soon where we can share good reads and you can also comment and share books you have enjoyed reading.

Music: Please ask us if there is a CD you would like us to order. Beatrice is happy to help.

Specials: The publishers are providing us with excellent deals on certain books at the moment. We have $10 copies of all the Seven Sisters Series by Lucinda Riley, several of The Sally Hepworth titles, such as The Mother’s Promise. We also have great books for young readers for only $5, such as The 13 Storey Treehouse, Pirate Blunderbeard, and Dotty Detective. These are an excellent way to introduce new authors.

After Alexander is a memoir by Wellington author, Jan Pryor, about her experience with cot death and the subsequent ripple effect of Alexander’s death on the family. An outstanding book beautifully written. Available here for $30.

Happy Reading from the team at Marsden Books.