Glendowie College

57,478 pages read and 2,324 team points

Team members

Ms Arna Metcalfe

9,975 pts

(8,611 pages read)

Murder in Williamstown

By Kerry Greenwood

3 stars

The Phryne Fisher murder mystery series is brilliant- female flapper detective in 1920s Melbourne. I was so pleased to see this at the library as I haven't read one in years. This one more focused on the hijinks of minor characters, and I felt a couple of echoes of earlier plots. Not bad, though, and greatly enjoyable at the beach.
Thud

By Terry Pratchett

5 stars

International diplomacy, historic whodunnit, stunning fantasy worldbuilding.
Going Postal

By Terry Pratchett

4 stars

I love love love the Moist von Lipwig set in the Discworld universe. Anything featuring Sam Vimes is a go to
The Man Who Died Twice

By Richard Osman

4 stars

Still cosy, more spies
Thursday Murder Club

By Richard Osman

4 stars

Cute! I love a cosy murder mystery. Elizabeth the former spy brings delight.
Nuts & Bolts: seven small inventions that changed the world

By Roma Agrawal

4 stars

Good popular science book with a bit of social history given through. Cute chapters based on things like nails, springs. I have a few students who are not big readers who might enjoy this.
Grace is Gone

By Kelly Ana Morey

5 stars

This is one of my favourite books ever. Cosy middle NZ town, eccentric characters, ghostly commentators, Shakespeare happening in the background. I reread this generally once a year. It's like delicious soup. I decided to post the back cover of this- I enjoy the blurb.
The Hogfather

By Terry Pratchett

5 stars

The annual re-read of a classic.
Shadow's Messenger

By T A White

4 stars

Urban fantasy- she's a mysterious vampire messenger, supernatural hi jinks ensue. I like this one enough to read the next.
Careless People: A story of where I used to work.

By Sarah Wynn- Williams

3 stars

It was a bit of a 'push through' book for me, this one. A memoir about her time high up at Facebook, she describes the apparently surprising decline of ethical standards at Facebook during her tenure. While the pace was good and writing pretty tight, I felt the author was disingenuous about her understanding of how bad the situation was. She comes out pretty clean- I doubt this. All memoir is selective. She portrays some tough personal situations she dealt with- almost dying in childbirth, sexual harassment, atrocious bosses. It was an insight into how morally bankrupt companies and people can be. No one comes out of this looking good, including the author, despite her best attempts to make it so. Here's a kinder read of the book- https://ar.al/2025/03/21/careless-people/
Tāmaki Makaurau 2025 Essays on Life in Auckland

By ed Damien Levi

4 stars

Some people we all might recognise- Anton Blank ( an absolute delight), a few former Metro writers, Dr Emmy Rakete ( her essay might be my favourite). I'm currently aiming to compile a collection of essays for my class to work through next year, which may be a bit aspirational.
Seasparrow

By Kristin Cashore

4 stars

I hadn't read this, so it was lovely to come back to a familiar world. Socio-political intrigues and adventure story.
Bitterblue

By Kristin Cashore

5 stars

This was a reread- such a great YA fantasy novel. The whole Graceling series is worth a read.
The Mermaid's Bubble Lounge

By Seanna Kelly

4 stars

Fun! Stupid! Urban fantasy is my absolute favourite 'tv movie' kind of genre.
Dirtbag, Massachusetts

By Isaac Fitzgerald

4 stars

Fun blokey memoir, pretty heavy on the misspent youth. Humerous enough- more like discrete essays with some elements squidged in to provide a connection between the essays. I picked this up last year looking for a blokey memoir for the Y12 nonfiction course, but I got to a laugh out loud line about sliding across the bar floor on bodily fluids, and I knew this was not one for the classroom.
Trials of Conviction

By T.A.White

0 stars

Still enjoyed it, just like the earlier ones. I like the switching of setting and POV, but I felt the male character could have done with some development outside of his relationship with the protagonist. He's getting a bit boring.
Piecing Me Together

By Renee Watson

5 stars

Such a good book! I'm reading this as it's in the book room and I haven't taught it before. I have to say I was waiting for a tragedy/trauma situation, but no! So pleasing to read something without a big deal dramatic death or something the main character has to deal with in her own life.
Facets of Revolution

By T.A. White

4 stars

Still fun! Now onto number 5 in the series. The pace is still good, but I do feel like the protagonist should have a bit of a break at some point.
Falling Into Rarohenga

By Steph Matuku

4 stars

Nice book for the Year 9 course. I enjoyed the style and the short length- a good read aloud. Steph was a great speaker at the NZATE conference this year, and I'm looking forward to reading more of her books.
The Cthonic Cycle

By Una Cruikshank

5 stars

Amazing! Solid collection of essays about beauteous things. Wonderful weaving of science and social history. I had to look up new words- love a book that gives me new words. Scoping to teach a couple of essays to my nonfiction Y12 class.
Threshold of Annihilation

By T.A. White

3 stars

Less good than the previous two, but I'll keep cracking on.
Age of Deception

By T.A. White

4 stars

More space elves! Magic that is not magic! "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Pretty good.
Rules of Redemption

By T.A White

4 stars

Love this. Mysterious backstory, space opera with space elves. Down for this.

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Glendowie College

57,478 pages read and 2,324 team points

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