About Us
Welcome to Retro Reads – where you can find historical New Zealand books, NZ fiction, international award winners and timeless classics.
How Retro Reads Got Started
This extract is from an article by writer Jo Bailey. It originally appeared on the Uniting Canterbury Women website and newsletter. You can read the full story here.
For as long as she can remember, Pattie Pegler has had her nose in a book, often one with a cracked spine and handwritten name inside the cover. Growing up, she and her mother would spend hours rummaging through second-hand stores, uncovering forgotten stories and long lost tales.
Classic Books and Forgotten Memoirs
Then, two years ago, the discovery of a “little yellow typewritten booklet” in an op shop opened a whole new chapter in Pattie’s life, inspiring her to start an online bookstore, called Retro Reads, which gives new life to her handpicked collection of hidden gems. “The booklet was called ‘A bit over the top – and other stories of a Canterbury boyhood 1925–1936’. I bought it read it and loved it!,” Pattie recalls. “It got me thinking about all the other fascinating memoirs, discarded bestsellers, classic books, and out-of-print books out there, and how I might be able to get people interested in them again.”
I would love people to appreciate the value of these books, which have been forgotten for no good reason, other than they are not being marketed anymore.”
"I get so much pleasure from reading and I want to share my love of books with others, while bringing home the idea you don't always have to look at the bestsellers list to find a great read."Browse the Retro Reads collection.
