Arrowtown book buyer Miranda Spary continues her regular column about her recommendations for a good read and life as she sees it.
Phew! I didn't realise so many people read my first column, so thanks very much for all the feedback, especially the complimentary stuff.
And if you were one of the meanies who made comments about my photographs, well, too bad.
I did specifically ask the photographer of the second version to take a photo that showed me with only the one chin.
It was unfortunate it gave such a clear view up my nostrils instead.
Glad so many of you are enjoying Deaf Sentence, and thanks for all the recommendations about other books, which have reminded me of some of my old favourites.
Special thanks to Poppy Llewellyn for reminding me about Q and A (the poor Indian kid who wins squillions in a TV game show - sensational) and author Vikas Swarup's next offering, Six Suspects (looking at the six people most likely to have killed a creepy rich guy - equally fab).
She also loved The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, which is a very untypical memoir of a dysfunctional childhood.
Don't yawn - this is funny and sharp and has the best opening paragraph I have read for a long time.
This week, keep an eye out for the arrival of Sarah-Kate Lynch's new novel On Top of Everything.
Sarah-Kate is one of New Zealand's top-selling authors and deservedly so. She is pretty bossy, and very, very funny. My husband loves her, as it proves he hasn't married the bossiest woman in the world.
The new book is perfect if you are having a lousy day or week - the heroine Florence gets some devastating news, then some more, and then some more.
I love the way we get to look inside Florence's head while she's dealing with these horrors, and then get to see what some of the other characters think of the way she is coping.
An excellent reminder about the need to consider your behaviour from someone else's point of view - mental note not to forget this! Learning to prioritise problems doesn't sound like the stuff of great reads, but this is terrific.
What's even better is that Sarah-Kate is including Arrowtown in her "Not the Rolling Stones Tour" - the nationwide launch of this latest book.
If you want to come and listen to a very intelligent and witty writer, ring Dorothy Browns in Arrowtown and book a seat.
No charge, and you will probably want to become a best-selling author yourself when you hear about some of the brilliant situations into which she has managed to weasel herself.
It's at 5pm on November 13.
By the time this column appears, you will have only one more sleep until there is something interesting on the telly again.
Is it just me, or does everyone get their photo albums sorted and their pantry tidied up before an election? To make the most of this last night, go and see Young At Heart at the cinema.
I laughed until I wet my pants and cried until my sleeve was sodden, so it was a pretty moist evening.
It is pure joy - a singing group with an average age of 80 doing Staying Alive. Magic.
With storyline and characters like this, it's hard to believe it's a documentary.
And hard to believe that a lady can look so cute with such a whiskery-white chin! Don't forget to email me on miranda@queenstown.co.nz if you have read something stunning or you want to argue with me over anything!
