In the middle of a gloomy winter it seemed a good idea to read Sunshine: One man's search for happiness by Robert Mighall (John Murray, pbk, $48).
In between long complaints about the British weather, the writer and sunshine fanatic explores the history of sun-worship in the 20th century, its healing rays and its addictiveness for those who lack it.
His obsessiveness come across with humour, as he reminisces over idyllic childhood summers (and finds the weather statistics don't agree), the tourist ritual of sunbathing, and concludes the British value sunshine because of its scarcity, something that no doubt applies to Dunedinites as well.
If you are one of the thousands of people who wish they could take better photographs with their compact digital camera, Brian Miller's pocket-sized Digital Cameras the easy way (Lifelogs, pbk, $15) has many of the answers.
It's full of simple, sensible advice and numerous tips about the controls and options offered by most cameras, instructions for taking photographs in many situations and for working with your images, but without wodges of unnecessary information to wade through. www.digicamtips.com
Getting the best from your doctor is not always easy if you don't know what to ask.
Australian health writers Ray Moyhihan and Melissa Sweet encourage a healthy scepticism about the overuse of drugs and certain treatments in 10 Questions you must ask your doctor (Allen and Unwin, pbk, $30).
It will be of help to patients and care-givers who wish to become better informed, consider all options and to avoid unnecessary tests and drugs that may have unwanted side effects.
The questions cover diagnosis, treatment and general questions such as who else is profiting here, and what can you do to help yourself.
Owen Marshall, one of New Zealand's most celebrated short story writer, has a new collection out, Owen Marshall: Selected Stories, edited by Vincent O'Sullivan, (Vintage, hbk, $40).
O'Sullivan has made the difficult choice of 60 stories from the Timaru-based writer's 30 years of publication, including some golden oldies not featured in recent collections.
Lloyd Jones' controversial novel, Biografi (1993) has been republished (text, pbk, $37).
Jones, author of the Booker shortlisted Mister Pip, was the centre of a literary scandal over whether Biografi was fiction or not.
It was based on his travels in Albania and his alleged search for the man who was dictator Enver Hoxha's double and explores the theme of how identity can be lost, changed or falsified.
- Charmian Smith
