American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History

Chris Kyle is a former United States Navy Seal, who with over 255 kills, is the dealiest marksman in United States military history. Over 150 of those kills have been confirmed by the Pentagon. Kyle served in the U.S military between 1999-2009.

American Sniper gives readers an insight into the life of Chris Kyle, and the strains of war on his life and his relationships with his wife and two kids. This book is deeply emotional, and is a first-hand account of war that only Chris Kyle could share himself.

We will be giving our readers the chance to win a FREE copy of American Sniper. To be in the draw, keep a close watch on our Blog and Facebook page.

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Comedian Tina Fey, most known for her work on Saturday Night Live (SNL) and 30 Rock, released an autobiographical comedy book earilier in 2011.  The book has sold over 1 million copies in the U.S, and over 150,000 copies of the audio book.

The book outlines her life story, including how she first landed a spot on Saturday Night Live (SNL) and how she created 30 Rock – which is loosely based on Fey’s experiences as head writer at SNL.

Bossypants received critical acclaim and strong praise from critics. During the month of February, we will be giving away a FREE copy of Bossypants. To find out how you can win yourself a copy, visit our blog and Facebook page regularly for more details!

In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson

Erik Larson’s In the Garden of Beasts was one of the best sellers of 2011. Larson’s book is based on William Dodd, who became the first American ambassador to Hitler’s Germany in 1933. The book revolves around Dodd’s family and all that is going on around that point in time – which we should all know about.

This was definitely a dark time in history, but this book does a great job of illustrating what it was really like from a non-nazi point of view. During the month of February, we will be giving away a FREE copy of this book, so make sure you keep a look out for when the competition will begin.

A Stolen Life is the memoirs of Jaycee Dugard. Truly a sad story, Dugard was kidnapped at age 11 while on her way to the bus stop on June 10, 1991. For 18 years she was a prisoner. On August 26, 2009 she had finally escaped a life of abuse. To really understand how she overcame years of abuse you need to read this book.

During February, we will be giving away a copy of A Stolen Life, so keep informed by visiting our Facebook page, Twitter page and blog for more details. Check out this video for a background on the author. Link

]]> http://ziwi.co.nz/blog/books/a-stolen-life/feed/ 0 http://ziwi.co.nz/blog/movies/beauty-and-the-beast/ http://ziwi.co.nz/blog/movies/beauty-and-the-beast/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:34:27 +0000 Andrew http://ziwi.co.nz/blog/?p=97 Continue reading →]]>

Earlier on this week, Beauty and the Beast 3D was released in the US. When this film was originally released in 1991, I was still in nappies, but this marked the very first time that my parents took my brother and I to the picture theatres – one reason why this movie has sentimental value to me.

I just thought it was interesting that they are rereleasing older movies in 3D. It’s probably more for the mighty dollar, but it’s a good thing. Children can now enjoy the movies that we once enjoyed at the same age, and in my opinion the older films have much better story lines that what they have now.

What were some of your favourites? Let us know. Maybe we will offer some more prizes for the children!

We have a copy of Stoked by Al brown to give away. Here is a synopsis taken from Al Brown’s official website:

Fishermen and good home cooks alike devoured Go Fish and its winning combination of excellent recipes, great yarns, gorgeous photography, devotion to the stunning NZ coastline and way of life, all with a touch of nostalgia. Now Al Brown applies this same formula to that icon of Kiwi life: the barbecue. But not just any old barbecue: Al explores a wide range of outdoor cooking styles – grills of all sorts, smoking, spits, outdoor ovens (tandoor, pizza) etc, including how-tos.

With more than 100 recipes, there’s an emphasis on fast and tasty, with recipes for bruschetta, burgers, pizza, fritters, chargrilled seafood, beef, lamb and chicken, ribs, plus slow roasted meats. There’s game (venison, duck and goat); plus excellent salads and classic cake tin slices and bikkies. Added to this treasure trove are more classic go-to recipes – sauces and relishes for the perfect finish.

Featuring wonderful photography by Kieran Scott shot in NZ’s most amazing scenery, including the high country above the Wakatipu Basin in Central Otago; the rugged south Wairarapa coastline; hunting and fly fishing at the 8000-acre Ngamatea Station in the Central North Island; wild porcini mushroom gathering in Canterbury; an outdoor tandoor oven with Indian friends in Wellington, and a hangi up the Whanganui River. This is the complete package, yet again!

We have a copy to give away, for more details on how to win visit our Facebook page.

Last night/early this morning I caught up with one of my all time favorite movies – The Godfather. The film is almost 3 hours long, but is well worth the time if you haven’t yet seen it. I’m from the 80′s, but I can appreciate such a film and the impact it has had in this world over the past 50 years.

It has a RARE 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 75 reviews from film critics all over the world. Out of all the movies I have ever recommended, it won’t be as strong as my recommendation for this film! If you haven’t seen this yet, you need to get a copy and watch this! I kid you not, you’ll be hooked.

Click here to get yourself a copy of The Godfather.

For the past 2 months we’ve really given our social media profiles a good push. If you haven’t already visited us on Facebook or Twitter, do so now. We offer exclusive deals and competitions to our facebook and twitter followers.

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SYNOPSIS: Kate Beckinsale, star of the first two films, returns in her lead role as the vampire warrioress Selene, who escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.

Just a quick background for those who aren’t too familiar, the Underworld film series are vampire/werewolf films directed by Len Wiseman and Patrick Tatopoulos. So far there have been 3 movies released: Underworld (2003), Underworld: Evolution (2006), and a prequel Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009).

The first three movies were awesome, so I expect the fourth to be just as good! I’m not too sure when it will be released in New Zealand, but everywhere else will be screening Underworld: Awakening from January 20, 2012.

The second installment in the Sherlock Holmes film franchise was released in New Zealand cinemas last Thursday. I enjoyed the film just as much as the first. The story line may not have been as great as the first, but the acting from Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law didn’t disappoint. If you haven’t yet seen the first film, I recommend that you watch that before seeing the sequel.

When I was younger, my grandmother used to read the Sherlock Holmes books to me, which I really enjoyed, if not more than the films. (Click here to access the book collection)

The Sherlock Holmes series is for all ages, and the books are classics! So if you can, read those also.