When I came back from London I remember sitting down to watch TV and laughing quietly to myself when there was an ad for chainsaws. It reminded me yet again that being a New Zealander is actually a thing – we do exist with our own culture and character. Why this should continue to be such a revelation to me was largely due to growing up and being told that I am “Irish, Scottish and English”. I can’t really remember being told I was a New Zealander until I actually went to Ireland, Scotland and England. They were under no illusion that I was one of theirs and I had the visa restrictions to prove it.
One way to absorb, enjoy and learn about New Zealand’s unique culture is through its fiction and non-fiction. This is where Wheelers comes in with eBook titles by New Zealanders or about New Zealand. We can learn to be better parents with psychologist Nigel Latta (a native of Oamaru), or contemplate the loss of life in the Tragedy at Pike River Mine by Rebecca Macfie. If it is escape we seek then we can lose ourselves in the historical fiction of Jenny Pattrick or Deborah Challinor.
While all Kiwi kids should know the names Mahy, Cowley and Lasenby.
Wheelers continues to promote New Zealand authors with our Community Read making Magpie Hall by Rachael King universally available.
So regardless of your ancestral background if you have grown up in these shaky isles you will find stories familiar to your heart in Wheeler’s local content – a welcome reminder that we are New Zealanders and we are home.
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