We are celebrating the week of love in the lead up to Saint Vee’s on Friday!
Of course, we’ve got you covered for Valentine’s Day gifts. We’ve even got gorgeous gift wrapping, and beautiful ‘heart strings’ (heart garlands made from vintage wallpaper) in the shop.
Fat kisses to you all from Mango, and – awww shucks guys, we’re blushing – from the rest of us Wakefieldians too!
SA Tourism have been producing some great ads recently.
There has been a bit of disagreement over the most recent Adelaide ad (see on InDaily here). Amber Petty wasn’t much of a fan. But I think it’s killer, and it is nice to be reminded just how darn beautiful and alive this old state of ours is.
But it’s not all about the big production ads. Through the SA Tourism Through Local Eyes project, a whole bunch of wildly talented South Aussies have been making short films to show their view of the state.
It’s through this project that the most recent Limestone Coast ad has been made – and of course, if we’re going to talk beautiful areas of SA, we’re going to talk Limestone Coast.
The thing that has got all us Wakefieldians so excited, however, takes place at 1:42 exactly:
THAT’S OUR BOOK! ALMOST AN ISLAND HAS GONE AND GROWED UP AND BECOME A MOVIE STAR!
To see more of the innovative advertising SA Tourism have got going on (and you really should – they’ve got some beauties), have a look here.
Now, you all know by now that Wakefield Press is a pretty special place, with a very long history.
I bet that you’re not aware, however, of the fact that we are also the home place of our esteemed Prime Minister’s very first two books.
(Alright alright, I say that because I wasn’t aware. In fact, I was pretty surprised!)
The Minimal Monarchy (1995) is unfortunately out of stock for the moment, but we still have copies of How to Win the Constitutional War (1997), written when dear Tones was much younger and less prime-ministerial than he is today. It’s under $10, too!
It’s a fascinating view into Abbott’s take on monarchy and republicanism, and even shows insights into his feelings towards current key party members such as Malcolm Turnbull. A debate that has died down in Australia since the 1999 referendum, the republic question still provides a good lens through which to view issues surrounding Australia’s autonomy and its place in the wider world. Being able to trace our current PM’s views on this from a much younger age is definitely compelling, no matter which side of the political spectrum you lean towards!
And if you’ve had it up to here with politics, there’s always this.
The Macquarie’s pick for Word of the Year 2013 is:
Infovore noun a person who craves information, especially one who takes advantage of their ready access to it on digital devices.
The people’s choice goes to onesie, which I’m not even going to give a definition for here – y’all know what a onesie is by now, right?
For the full listings, you can see the Macquarie page here, and glory in such gorgeous words as churnalism, facepalm and cli-fi (not to be confused with clit-fic, which doesn’t appear to have made its way into the Macquarie yet, but is definitely on Urban Dictionary).
The only thing to do now is to stretch these glorious words even further. Is an infovorous onesied churnalist a thing? It is now!
Now this one’s cool! Why are we launching our latest title in Chennai, India, you ask? Click here to find out!
Words are the tits, really. Australian English especially so, as the folks at Macquarie Dictionary will tell you. And now their editor Susan Butler’s got a blog, and it is awesome. Ever wanted to know the difference between a taboo and a derogatory word? Suze has you covered, with colourful examples. Wanna know the history of Aus usage of youse? Ms Butler has the answers.
Not only that, but you also get to vote for the Word of the Year 2013, which I am disproportionately excited about. The ‘Colloquial’ category is amazeballs (–adjective 2. very astonishing: an amazeballs day out).
Doesn’t get better than that.
Get on it kidlets!:
Urgh. Day Five of the great 2014 heatwave rolls on. The horror, the horror.
Time to pull out the big guns.
Four part series. Available immediately online. Got your attention yet?
First read this summary of book one. Then go here. Purchase.
Now start reading. By the time you look up, I promise, all this horrible weather will be over.
Don’t worry, you can thank me later.
Derek Pedley’s a man with a taste for the darker side of life. His award-winning true crime books are gripping, mesmerising – and occasionally terrifying, when he reminds us what even the most ordinary of folk are capable of.
Dead by Friday recounts a tale of murder and adultery that gripped Adelaide over ten years ago. Shortlisted for the Ned Kelly True Crime Award (the nation’s highest true crime honour), Dead by Friday tells the full story of what happened in the Carolyn Matthews murder case of 2001. With a cast of unbelievable characters – including the hitman who ate his contract in a sandwich! – Pedley skillfully and entertainingly manoeuvres his readers through the details of the case.
It’s an amazing book, but if you’d rather try before you buy: a long extract can be found here.
The holidays are most definitely over. And we’re into Day Two of the great 2014 heatwave (fingers crossed this is the only one!). We all need a good book to get us through.
Thank goodness for Iola Mathews, then! Chequered Lives is the hottest off-est the press at the minute, and it’s already flying out the door. Telling the story of John Barton Hack and Stephen Hack, and the early days of South Australia, it’s fascinating, incredibly well researched and incredibly well written, too!
Or, if you need a book with a cool name, there’s always Sea Change, our incredibly popular (and beautiful) history of the City of Holdfast Bay. Recently reprinted to keep up with demand, this book is perfect for a slow read on a hot afternoon.
You can almost feel the sea breeze on your face …
And if that doesn’t appeal, we’ve only got one more suggestion.
Can’t go wrong!