Auckland's best hummus? Comedian Mo Amer fails to get Gemmayze St hummus into Australia
Palestinian-American stand-up comedian Mo Amer told Australian television viewers the hummus he ate in Auckland was one of the smoothest he'd eaten.
Chickpeas or a spreadable paste?
Either way, a jar of hummus from an Auckland restaurant has won the highest possible praise from an international comedic connoisseur – even if he couldn't get it on to the next leg of his tour.
Mo Amer, Palestinian-American stand-up comedian and Netflix television
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Newsroom
14 hours ago
- Newsroom
An appointment with Jacinda
Dame Jacinda Ardern to the rescue, possibly. Ardern's new memoir A Different Kind of Power arrives in bookstores this week and looks set to sell its sensitive socks off. The book will retail for $60. Booksellers face challenges from online retailers such as Mighty Ape and The Nile, which are already offering chunky discounts. Even so, it seems destined to provide a bonanza for bookshops across the land. Jenna Todd, mastermind at Auckland's coolest bookstore, Time Out, shared the amazing revelation that Ardern met to grease up Auckland booksellers at a private meeting: 'We were lucky to have an hour with Jacinda back in December to hear about the book. It's not ghostwritten and she said the feedback she'd had on the book was that it was 'surprising.' I was very intrigued.' So was I, and asked for more details of the tête-à-tête. Todd said, 'It was in the leadup to Christmas and Penguin NZ organised us to meet. It was very relaxed and informal with a Q&A with her NZ publisher, Grace Thomas, and lots of time for questions. 'We learned what memoirs she read in preparation for writing (I'll let her say what those were) and could see how seriously she took the whole process eg. she read the whole manuscript aloud twice in preparation. 'It was a behind the scenes insight of the writing experience and also anticipation of a behind the scenes book. Genuinely, this meeting has helped me answer customer questions in the lead up to the book's release. 'I believe it will sell well into Christmas. But I tell you what, we won't tolerating any cover rippers – they can piss right off.' Ah yes, the wild and righteous Turn Ardern crowd; even Sean Plunkett disparaged them recently as suffering from 'Jacinda Ardern derangement syndrome'. Trolls, alternative truthers and various assorted right-wing trash will no doubt rage against A Different Kind of Power. When I spoke with Louise Ward, co-owner of the Wardinis bookshop empire in Hawkes Bay, she said, 'There will of course be those who grumble about it (and probably a resurgence of the 'turn Jacinda' nonsense) but she has her fans and they'll be keen to get into it. The Prince Harry book sold truckloads, in part because he's a polarising figure, so I anticipate an equal or even bigger level of interest.' The book will need to sell exceptionally well for Penguin to recoup their advance. It was reported as $1m but two reliable sources in New Zealand publishing have told ReadingRoom it was $1.5m. ReadingRoom approached numerous people in the book trade and the consensus was that A Different Kind of Power would have to sell between about 140,000-160,000 copies to earn out Ardern's advance. The most knowledgeable person in New Zealand books is Paula Morris. She said, 'That sales figure is achievable, as those sales don't have to be in NZ alone: Australian rights are part of the deal. Julia Gillard's memoir sold 5000 copies on its first day of sales alone in Australia; Malcolm Turnbull's memoir in 2020 sold out its first print run of 45K in under a week. I suspect Jacinda's book will be of interest to many readers there. They have five times our population. 'In the US, Hillary Clinton's last memoir sold 300K its first week, which was seen as a big hit there; adjusted for population, that would mean selling 4000 copies here and 23,000 copies in Australia. If there's ultimately a Jacinda tour in Australia or even a media tour, she could sell a lot of books. For better or worse, we're also influenced in our habits by overseas success. Jacinda has a North American book tour about to begin and should sell lots of books and get tons of media coverage. If the book is a bestseller in the US, that may encourage more prominence in positioning (in book shops and media) here and in Australia, and encourage more people to buy it.' Commercial publishers ran for cover when approached. They felt too compromised to comment on a competitor, and besides they likely put in failed bids to secure Ardern's book. Not so Fergus Barrowman, publisher at Te Herenga Waka University Press, who said, 'This is way out of my league. THWUP is a boutique university press and we have only twice offered advances in six figures, and never anything approaching seven. But on the back of an envelope, it will need to sell about 140,000 copies to earn out. 'Taking the advance as a fixed cost, the publisher should cover costs much earlier, say 70,000, and have a very healthy margin on the next 70,000, before they have to pay any more royalties.' Paula Morris drilled down further. She said, 'Prince Harry allegedly got a US$20 million dollar advance for four books, including Spare. So think of it as at least US$5 million advance for that book, or possibly more so they could recoup as much as possible right away. The rrp was US$36 (NZ$60) for Spare in the US. Let's say the US publisher paid Harry an advance of $7.5 million. I've read somewhere that the publisher could make that back with sales of 500K print copies and 250K e-books. 'One thing: do we know if the advance was for this book only, or included a second book, like Harry's multi-book deal? Jacinda's children's book (Mum's Busy Work) is coming out with Penguin (in NZ and in Australia) this September. The advance might cover that as well. It seems likely. Children's books, like nonfiction, sell well in NZ (versus local fiction for adults). They sell REALLY well in Australia, e.g. over 30,000 copies for successful local titles. So if 40,000 sales (NZ and Australia combined) are for the children's book, then the memoir just needs to sell 100,000 across both markets. That is absolutely possible, especially as it will still be selling in the run-up to Christmas.' One Ardern book at a time. 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2 days ago
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Came for a brisk visit, but found home
It was the infamous All Blacks defeat at the 1999 Rugby World Cup against the French that inspired American artist Robin Brisker to move to New Zealand at the start of the new millennium. Not exactly, but it was while watching the game from an Amsterdam pub that reminded Mr Brisker that of all the countries he had explored, and there were many, New Zealand was untouched. "I had never seen rugby before and that was entertaining. I was watching and I was like; 'what's that? What's a knock-on?' I got addicted to it." Until he moved to Wanaka in 2000, the 71-year-old had not lived in a place for any longer than five years, it was his general rule of thumb. Born in Chicago and raised all over the United States, Brisker learned at a young age to adapt to any environment and with very little. "I was in 12 schools in 12 years ... The first move was devastating then you realise it teaches you to adapt, and you can be more independent than you think." "I have had 70 addresses [across] 10 countries." While he has worked in about every job you can think of; a meat packer in Detroit, busker in Munich, juggler in Adelaide, chauffeur in Mexico — his one constant has been art, he has been doing it all along. "I illustrated my high school yearbook in 1972, so that's when I first got published." Since then, he has been selling art throughout the world. He owned his own gallery in Chicago, again in Florida and sold a painting of a watermelon to Madonna while working in a health spa in Mexico. His work has been collected by Miles Davis, Madonna, Jamie Wyeth, Amy Irving and artist's Dan Rizzie and Tony Fitzpatrick. Never in his transient life did he think he would settle, but it was Wānaka that had him sit at a final destination and it was not for its lucrative art scene. "I said this town's got everything, I am going to spend the summer here." That summer turned into 25 more, but it has not been a walk in the park for the artist who would sell paintings in Chicago on the daily for four times the amount he would sell one here. "The prices I was getting in Chicago 25 years ago is still more than what I get today here in New Zealand." "In Wānaka people would rather spend money on a new bike, a pair of boots and ski gear. Art is not a priority, there are tonnes of artists in this town but not nearly enough art appreciators." "I have attempted landscapes, but I don't particularly care for them. Nothing sells good here, everyone I know here has one of my pieces, it is a small town, and they come here not because it's artistic, but it is because it is the beautiful adventure capital." While art success came easy in Chicago, known for its popular art culture, he "never wanted to be anywhere more than five years", so he up and left. Mr Brisker chose Wānaka for safety and the stunning outlook. "I haven't locked my car in 25 years here." "In Chicago I was constantly aware of crime and lived on a street where the sirens were going every second." His story began in Wānaka when he bought three acres of land on Golf Course Rd, and turned a house into a backpackers. The Tree House as he named it, and sold it later for four times the price. He took the opportunity to try sell his art out of Queenstown, but did not like the lifestyle and moved back to buy his Mount Iron property. "This property is the best art I have done, I think. You don't see a neighbour or hear a neighbour, I get to see what I created, I built or planted or designed." Ideally Mr Brisker would run a gallery here, but instead he has planted pieces of art throughout Wānaka venues such as Kai Whakapai, Patagonia and Cork. After spending a third of his life here, Brisker still has a fascination with rugby, but his observations are more artistic than sporting knowledge. "What I love is that they tape around people's ears, to stop themselves having cauliflower ears. I have never seen a sport like that, that's the only protection they have, everything else is a T-shirt and shorts. "Nothing like the American footballers, they are covered head to toe in armour."
