In direct contrast to the busy and festive month of December, January is almost always a great reading month for me in terms of volume.

The undemanding first few days of the year, combined with multiple public holidays, and the extra day in a 31-day month, all add up to plenty of reading hours to be embraced. Here’s what I read in January 2024:

One of the (many) great things about Wairarapa is we have 13 fantastic bookshops all within an easy 30 minute drive of one another, so it's entirely possible for you to hop around all 13 bookshops in a single day. Here’s your guide to all the bookshops.

Every Monday and Tuesday morning in July, August and September I've been the “summer intern” at Dudley's Bookstore in Bend, Oregon. Here’s how it went!

If you’ve tried (and failed) at keeping a journal or diary in the past, a commonplace book might be a good alternative. They’re something like a scrapbook for your thoughts, a place to collect notes, quotes, poems, and facts that you may wish to refer back to in the future.

If your only exposure to poetry was required reading in school or nursery rhymes as a child, you might be hesitant to add poetry to your reading list. But there’s a world of poets and poetry and if you have even a passing curiosity, that world is worth exploring. We take a deeper look for National Poetry Day.

As much as we'd all love to have unlimited hours next to the fireplace with a book, the reality is that most of us do not. Our reading lives are limited and we have to make the most of any and all hours we can find for our favourite pastime! For this reason, it can help to adopt a philosophy that it's ok not to finish every single book you start.

Mr Blackwell & I were on a fantastic work/vacation road trip around New York and the states that make up New England: Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine this month. I’ve done a lot of reading!

Sharpening vocabulary, improving IQ, expanding emotional range, and igniting our creativity are just some of the reasons why we're encouraged to push beyond our comfort zone — in life and in our reading! Here are some tips if you’d like to disrupt your reading patterns and try something new.

On the surface, the Traveler’s Notebook system seems quite simple: a leather cover with several vertical and one horizontal elastic band, and refillable paper inserts that can be combined and swapped out at will.

The beauty, however, is in the ability to customise the notebooks to the user’s specific needs and preferences.

As Mother's Day approaches, we understand the importance — and challenge! — of finding the perfect gift for the woman who has been with us through thick and thin. We’ve collected some fine suggestions, and you’re always welcome to pop into the shop for a personalised recommendation from one of our Superior Book Clerks.

Libro.fm will enter the New Zealand market in July and we couldn’t be happier! I know a lot of our customers wrestle with wanting to support their local bookshop but also loving the convenience of audiobooks - and soon you won’t have to!

Here's a reminder for anyone who needs to hear it today: It is nice to have the good stuff, but it's even nicer to use it.

Greytown’s shops make it a wonderful spot for a gentle day of shopping. We boast more than 60 independent shops, cafes and restaurants on our lovely, wide Main Street brimming with preserved Victorian architecture.

The Esterbrook Pen Company was founded in the U.S.A in 1858 and became, at one point, one of the largest pen manufacturers in the world. Their pens were used by presidents from Lincoln to Kennedy. And legends including Donald Duck and Snoopy were created with Esterbrook pens.

Is it better to take notes by hand or with a digital tool? Is there a clear benefit one way or the other? I’ve been wondering about this too, and here’s what I discovered.

Reading isn’t exactly the sort of activity that requires a lot of accessories. A book (naturally) and a good place to sit and you’re well set. But for serious readers (and those who might be looking for a gift for a reader) there are a few specialised tools out there that can make your reading more luxurious, efficient, and effective.

When it comes to games, there’s nothing quite so ubiquitous nor so versatile as a deck of playing cards. Depending on how you count, there are thousands of different games that can be played with a standard deck.

Mrs Blackwell asks our South Wairarapa Mayoral and Greytown Ward Councillor candidates to share some insight into their reading habits.

Is there any scientific evidence backing up my feeling that reading can improve your life, and even your health? It seems that reading to improve intelligence and empathy is well established, so I looked into the benefits for some other, less obvious areas of our lives. Here’s what I found:

Perhaps because we opened during the pandemic, when puzzles were seeing a resurgence in popularity, jigsaw puzzles have consistently been some of our bestsellers since Mrs Blackwells began. Historians say we are in the third historic “puzzle craze,” but where did it all begin?