Slightly Foxed Secondhand Books

Slightly Foxed Secondhand Books We are a bookshop / bookstore in the Historic precinct of Oamaru in the South Island of New Zealand.

I’m in beautiful Rarotonga on a short holiday break. This window is in the local St Joseph’s Catholic Church. I’m gettin...
10/06/2026

I’m in beautiful Rarotonga on a short holiday break. This window is in the local St Joseph’s Catholic Church. I’m getting lots of reading in so many beautiful places to choose from 👌

New arrivals
09/06/2026

New arrivals

Recently finished reading ‘Things fall apart’ (1958) by Chinua Achebe.When I first begin a novel, if it’s not obvious, I...
09/06/2026

Recently finished reading ‘Things fall apart’ (1958) by Chinua Achebe.

When I first begin a novel, if it’s not obvious, I look for clues as to when it is set. There weren’t many clues here so for the first part I learned about traditional Igbo life before colonialism - a patriarchy with well established rules of behaviour and violent consequences if rules were broken. This culture clashes with the Christian missionaries, some bad, some not so bad and as you may imagine, does not go well. Mixed up in this the protagonist, Okonkwo, with his pride, quick temper, inflexibility and what these days would be called toxic masculinity, does not do well.

This is a beautifully written account of a time of great change and a look at colonisation from the colonised point of view. Highly recommended

New children’s books
03/06/2026

New children’s books

Recently finished reading ‘Amnesia’ (2014) by Peter Carey.I found this a bit tedious despite the wonderful prose. A lot ...
03/06/2026

Recently finished reading ‘Amnesia’ (2014) by Peter Carey.

I found this a bit tedious despite the wonderful prose. A lot of it went over my head, not being au fait with computers and the hacking thereof, or the Australian constitutional crisis of 1975 (I was 16 then so probably had my mind on other things).

There were at least three unreliable narrators and one character whose motivations eluded me. I’ve now read nine of Carey’s novels, this one is not a favourite.

New arrivals
31/05/2026

New arrivals

Interesting people walking past the shop; Steampunk time again 🧳🎩📸 Maclean Barker
30/05/2026

Interesting people walking past the shop; Steampunk time again 🧳🎩

📸 Maclean Barker

Recently delved into ‘Letter to my younger self’ (2019) devised and edited by Jane Graham.100 inspiring people were aske...
23/05/2026

Recently delved into ‘Letter to my younger self’ (2019) devised and edited by Jane Graham.

100 inspiring people were asked what advice they would (if they could) pass on to their younger selves.
I read 38 of the ones that interested me most. They had much in common.

Most of them had either a lot of luck or a lot of perseverance, along with a strong belief in themselves. A common theme was “don’t worry it will all work out”.

At 16 Colm Tóibín found himself reading and writing poetry as a way of dealing with grief. Margaret Atwood would tell her 16 year old self to learn to touch type as it would make things much easier in the future. Lynda La Plante said she was glad to be an actor before becoming a writer as it gave her the confidence to talk to anyone, and Val McDermid at 16 was preparing for her Oxford entrance exam, she would tell herself to try to do everything, sport, music, debating and writing well.

I’m not a person to inspire but I would have told my 16 self to choose books over boyfriends! How about you?

Address

11 Tyne Street
Oamaru
9400

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4pm
Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday 10am - 4pm

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