This weekend, I went to K Road to scout through the stores and check out what had changed on this notorious stretch of asphalt. I was drawn to the window of St Kevin's Arcade Second-hand Bookstore because they had The Great New Zealand Songbook at 60% off the retail price, and I knew my husband would love it. But when I saw the owner had Movie-Star Portraits of the Forties on his counter for $15, I knew that this was a gem worthy of my bookshelf.

The book starts off with the infamous shot of Betty Grable flaunting her ‘gams’, and artfully documents the last decade of Old Hollywood within it’s pages.

Let’s not forget the men of the forties either: scrumptious beefcakes to feat my eyes upon! It’s a great visual page-turner for when you need a reminder of what real class looks like.

MAGAZINES I ALWAYS BUY

MAGAZINES I SOMETIMES BUY

MAGAZINES I RECOMMEND

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I love books. Mostly because I wasn’t raised with a television or radio until 1997- which means books were all I had to entertain myself. I have a whole bunch of second-hand bookstores in my neighbourhood and I always end up with an armload of books if I walk past one (damn them and their 3 books for a dollar deal!).

So I buy all these books but have never had time to read them- until now. With all the trips I have to take in the next two months and the holiday time in-between I have plenty of time to devour the pages of a good paperback!

My reading list for the Christmas break is:

1. The Beauty Myth - Naomi Wolf : Because I’m sure this is required reading for anyone who wants to write about fashion and beauty.

2. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series - Alexander McCall Smith : I’ve read the first one, and need to get my hands on the 6th book in the series- but I love the style of storytelling and I can be engrossed from start to finish.

3. I Capture The Castle - Dodie Smith : I’m a Jane Austen fan and I love coming of age stories, so I’m delighted to finally have my own copy to read.

4. Catcher In The Rye - J.D Salinger : To tell you the truth, I only bought this book because in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex The Laughing Man is a J.D Salinger fan, and the detective Togusa had to read the book to understand the master hackers mindset.

5. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy : The biggest novel I’ve ever read was 900 pages (Tandia by Bryce Courtenay), and I plan to see if I can endure reading 885 pages of War and Peace before I watch the film starring Audrey Hepburn. Also because I’ve never read Russian literature, and this book should definitely be my first.

So I hope you all do the same and read those good novels you’ve neglected after purchasing!

Technically this is not a book- more like a list of all the places you can get the best bargains for almost anything you need. It shows where all the markets, factory and outlet shops are and also has vouchers that take up to 20% off items you can buy at their stores. It also lists places in Auckland, Waikato, Wellington and Christchurch so it's not just for Aucklanders (or JAFA's as everyone else calls us). I bought last years one too and got a great deal on a pair of Lee jeans, a Victorian tee, as well as my favourite Movenpick  ice cream. This is a great deal for bargain hunters. $9 at Mag Nation or you can check out their website.

One of my favourite parts of Sylvia Park is Mag Nation. Muffins, coffee, magazines and Internet- all my favourite things in one shop! The mags I like to flick through are Russh, Lula, i-D, and Yen to name a few. But as I can't afford overseas magazines, I stick to buying quality local magazines such as Fashion Quarterly and Karen. As I was buying the Summer 08 magazines, I came across The Fashion Book.

It is an A-Z guide which contains 500 clothes and accessory designers, photographers, models and muses that make up the entire fashion industry. Vogue and Elle call it a fashion dictionary/reference book. I'd call it an ambitious encyclopedia with a small biographical summary on each icon and large illustrations showing an aspect of their work or style.

A must-have if you are passionate about this subject and wish to learn more about it. $21 dollars from Mag Nation or if you're still not sold you can browse inside the book at Amazon.

Technically the fashion capitals of the world are Paris, London, Milan and New York. But the importance of Tokyo cannot be overlooked. The Tokyo Look Book: Stylish to Spectacular, Goth to Gyaru, Sidewalk to Catwalk, by Philomena Keet and Yuri Manabe is a Westerners guide to the street fashion that resides inside the city.

Philomena Keet is a British anthropologist whose PhD was on Tokyo street fashion, and Yuri Manabe is a Tokyo based photographer whose work has ended up in Marie Claire and GQ Magazine. Together they try to document the fashion into certain cliques but never properly go into detail on how these cliques were created or how they evolved. The book is split up into five sections- 'Shibuya Guys and Girls' (the trendy party crowd), 'Spectacular and Subcultural' (Cosplayers, Rock Stars, Goths and the many different Lolitas), 'Youth Street Fashion' (80's girly kitsch and the cult streetwear brand A Bathing Ape), 'The Stylish Female' (Just OL- Office Ladies with immaculate outfits and designer label bags)  and finally 'Young Men At Work' (which has everything from construction workers to business men). It also has a Glossary for those confused by certain Japanese terms, and a mini-Shop List for those wanting to browse around Tokyo.

I found this book in Real Groovy and really enjoyed the visual elements, but the literature made for light reading- just like a magazine. I think anyone who really wants to explore the depths of fashion or enjoys Japan should get this book- it's a great coffee table/reference book. Sadly I think I bought the last copy from Real Groovy but it's still available at Amazon.