This small book, compiled by myself and Chrissy Lampitt, is 49 pages long and features over 300 photos of stones found on Gemstone Beach in Southland. The first printing of 100 copies sold out quickly and a second printing has now nearly gone. We have just taken delivery of a third print run so it will continue to be available. While many of the books have gone to people who live in Southland, more than half have been sold to people elsewhere in New Zealand.
The book sells for $40, plus postage and handling in New Zealand of $7.50 non-rural or $10 rural. To get a copy, contact myself at john.tumblestone@gmail.com (I live in Whanganui in the North Island). Chrissy (who lives in Southland) has a contact form for book purchases on her blog here. Copies can also be bought at Te Hikoi (the Riverton Aparima Museum) and The Station in Tuatapere.
We have heard back from some of the people who have bought the book. They’re probably a biased sample of keen rockhounds. The following are some of their comments: * “It’s a great wee book!” * “Brilliant book, sharp imagery. Thank you!” * “We love this book, it is very informative.” * “I use this book almost every day for identifying stones that we are finding here in Canterbury.” * “I was recently at Tuatapere at the Heritage Hub and saw your book ‘What’s this Stone’. I was blown away. I am currently visiting from Australia and I would dearly like to purchase a copy.” * “Loving the book, thank you! I’ve just had a lovely time with a keen rock collector friend comparing some of my collection with your photos, she is planning on getting a copy too. It’s a great resource!” * “I love my book.” * “Just received mine today, I’m excited! Really enjoying reading it.” * “Great information – well done.” * “The book arrived today. Those photos are amazing. Great job and many thanks.” * “Your little book is a wonderfully high quality resource, a great labour of love.” * “Wow, what a cool little book. Got my copy today, very happy.” * “I’m grinning like a Cheshire cat, my book arrived. It is so much better than I was expecting, thank you so much, it’s wonderful.” * “Pictures are absolutely gorgeous. Well done, just exquisite.”
The aim of the book is to help people with identifying some of the many interesting stones found on Gemstone Beach (and elsewhere), and to appreciate their beauty and diversity – and it seems to be accomplishing that for many. It has a wire spiral binding and reasonably hard-wearing pages. The book was launched at a meeting of the Southland Geological and Lapidary Club on 10 Septembet – see “The Book Launch” for my comments at the event.
Chrissy and I decided to compile this book because of the many people who visit Gemstone Beach and are not quite sure what stones they are finding there. From visiting the beach as amateur rockhounds for a number of years, we had developed some ideas which we thought were worth sharing. As I said at the book launch: “It has taken us some years to identify some stones, and even then we can’t be sure we’ve got it right. Identification is an ongoing learning process, and sometimes we change our minds in the light of further information. So this book is kind of a report on what we currently think. It’s by no means meant to be the final word.”