Auckland Libraries blog

To celebrate Suffrage Day on 19 September, Renée Orr from Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections talks about a selection of historical material illustrating wāhine taking action in Aotearoa, from the suffrage petitions of the 1890s to the feminist magazine Broadsheet from the 1980s. Listen to this Books and Beyond episode on the  Auckland Libraries podcast  and read on for links to the items and people discussed in the show. Suffrage 125 and the petition Suffrage 125 and celebrations Suffrage petition  on New Zealand History Suffrage petition, sheet 394   Amey Daldy's letter to Sir George Grey Amey Daldy. Letter to Sir George Grey, 20 September 1893. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, GLNZ D1.1. Amey Daldy's biography on Te Ara Amey Daldy's letter to Sir George Grey Ellen Melville's election poster Electors of Grey Lynn. 1919. From: Ellen Melville. Election scrapbooks. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, NZMS 1569.   El

Karen talks with Jeremy 'Mr J' Bishop from Arkham City Comics about his parallel journeys as a librarian and comics fanboy, and how the comics genre succeeded in ensconcing itself as an indisputably brilliant reading choice. Listen to this episode on the Auckland Libraries podcast  and read on for the books mentioned in the show. Jeremy's favourite comics from childhood: Asterix and Obelix Buster Garfield The Adventures of Tintin Whizzer and Chips Marvel and DC comics: Batman Superman Wonder Woman X-Men Fantastic Four The Phantom Judge Dredd Spiderman Seminal graphic novels (comics packaged as complete stories): The Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman (1988) Preacher by Garth Ennis (1996) Watchmen by Alan Moore (1986-87) Maus by Art Spiegelman (1987) Palestine  by Joe Sacco (1993) Karen's favourite graphic novels: Corto Maltese by Hugo Pratt (1975 in Italy, 2012 in Engl

September marks the start of the first ever New Zealand Theatre Month! Karen talks with playwright Roger Hall, the driving force behind this new nationwide celebration of the amazing New Zealand theatre scene. Listen to this episode on the Auckland Libraries podcast  and read on for all the plays mentioned in the show.  Visit the NZ Theatre Month website for more information. Bruce Mason’s classic play, performed every Christmas on Takapuna Beach, and to inaugurate New Zealand Theatre Month: The end of the golden weather  Three of Roger Hall's plays: Middle Age Spread. Glide Time. Four flat whites in Italy. Also mentioned: Author talk: A life in theatre: An event featuring Alison Quigan in conversation with Roger Hall held on Friday 21 September 2019, 6pm - 7.30pm.  Mercury Theatre manuscript collection: Explore the Mercury Theatre manuscript collection on Kura Heritage Collections Online or Manuscripts Online . A Sunday afternoon rehearsal

This week on Books and Beyond, Karen and Louisa share recordings of some of their favourite poets in performance, including many NZ Poet Laureates, with a cameo from Janet Frame and a driving finale from current NZ Poet Laureate Selina Tusitala Marsh. Listen to this Books and Beyond episode on the Auckland Libraries podcast  and read on for the books mentioned in the show. Special thanks to Auckland University Press for their fantastic Poets in Performance series of book-and-CD sets. Classic New Zealand Poets in performance: A song about the moon: Classic New Zealand Poets in performance – CD 1, track 38, read by Bill Manhire.  The Mountains of Ta'u: Classic New Zealand Poets in performance – CD 2, track 40, read by Albert Wendt. The Goose Bath: The Icicles: Classic New Zealand Poets in performance – CD 1, track 38, read by Janet Frame. Seeing you asked: Classic New Zealand Poets in performance – CD 2, track 33, read by Vincent O'Sullivan. Con

Inspired by the Festival of Adult Learning Ahurei Ākonga  (3 - 9 September), Karen and Louisa talk about the variety of things you can learn from library books, from languages to creative writing, or even Salvador Dali's secret technique for lucid dreaming! Listen to this Books and Beyond episode on the Auckland Libraries podcast  and read on for the books mentioned in the show. ' The Quick Reads series , including  Humble pie by Gordon Ramsay and  Kung fu trip  by Benjamin Zephaniah Travel, food and ghostwriting Lonely Planet's guide to travel writing: expert advice from the world's leading travel publisher by Don George Get started in food writing by Kerstin Rodgers 'Teach yourself visually' series Ghost writing: how to write for others by Lynne Hackles Poetry and memoirs The ode less travelled: unlocking the poet within by Stephen Fry The Liars' Club: a memoir by Mary Karr Lit: a memoir  (eAudiobook) by Mary Karr

It’s Family History Month!  This week Karen and Louisa talk family histories and stories that last through the generations. Read on for the books mentioned in the show. This is me: a story of who we are & where we came from by Jamie Lee Curtis and illustrated by Laura Cornell.  Donald: The Book by Donald Robertson. Uncle Andy's by James Warhola. Uncle Andy's cats by James Warhola. Driving to Treblinka: A Long Search for a Lost Father by Diana Wichtel. The Hare with Amber Eyes: the illustrated edition by Edmund de Waal. Ethnology of Manihiki and Rakahanga by Te Rangi Hiroa (Peter H. Buck). Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje. The Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes. Diaries in the Sir George Grey Special Collections: Diary of Sir George Grey (1812 - 1898). Diary kept by J.W.Fedarb, Esq., from March,1839 to May 1852 . Journals and letters of Felton Mathew and his wife, 1840-1847 Sarah Mathew: explorer, jour

This week on Books and Beyond, Karen and Louisa talk about the world’s most expensive books.   Listen to this episode  on the Auckland Libraries podcast  and read on for the books mentioned in the show. The top 10 most expensive books of all time: Book of Mormon:  The Codex Leicester St. Cuthbert Gospel Bay Psalm Book Rothschild Prayer Book Gospels of Henry the Lion The Birds of America The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer Shakespeare’s First Folio The Gutenburg Bible Other works about rare and unique books and their fate: The bad-ass librarians of Timbuktu: and their race to save the world's most precious manuscripts by Joshua Hammer. Lost, stolen or shredded: stories of missing works of art and literature by Rick Gekoski. The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám translation by Edward Fitzgerald. Auckland Libraries Special Collections collection of Rubáiyáts . Norman Mailer’s MoonFire  deluxe edition by Taschen Publishing. Does the price

This week, Books and Beyond celebrated Cook Islands Language Week, with Louisa hosting a panel of librarians. They talked treasured books, what their culture and the Cooks Islands language means to them.  Listen to this episode  on the Auckland Libraries SoundCloud and read on for the books mentioned in the show. Treasured books from our Pacific collection: Soldiers from the Pacific: the story of Pacific Island soldiers in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in World War One by Howard Weddell. This book includes stories about the over 500 men from the Cook Islands who bravely volunteered to serve New Zealand. Among them were the great grandfathers of Angelique Tuaputa and Mati Ngari. Patterns of the past : tattoo revival in the Cook Islands by Therese Mangos & John Utanga, with photography by Kirsty Griffin. Mati Ngari shared how this book helped her research into what her own traditional tātatau would look like, one that reflects her family and cultural heritage.

On this week's Books and Beyond, Karen and Louisa talk about the best, worst and most memorable film adaptations from books and their picks for this year's New Zealand International Film Festival  (NZIFF). Read on for the books and movies mentioned in the show. Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx. Also available on DVD Hunger  by Knut Hamsun; translation and afterword by Robert Bly; with an introduction by Paul Auster. Learn more about the 1966 film adaptation on the NZIFF website . Breath by Tim Winton. Currently screening at the NZIFF and will also  be released on DVD later this year . Movie adaptations authors weren't happy with after their release "My Foolish Heart" was adapted from J. D. Salinger's short story "Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut" from Nine Stories .  A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway.  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.  The Shining by Stephen King.  Breakfast at Tiffany's: a short

This week on Books and Beyond, Karen and Louisa look at books illustrated by artists, books about artists and books by artists, from Hundertwasser for kids to Andy Warhol’s diaries. Read on for all the books mentioned in the show. Kids books Tu Meke Tūī , by Malcolm Clarke, illustrated by Flox. Also available in te reo Māori Hundertwasser for kids : harvesting dreams in the realm of the painter-king by Barbara Stieff And Picasso painted Guernica  by Alain Serres Adult books The lonely city: adventures in the art of being alone by Olivia Laing This is not writing by Julian Dashford Picasso: an intimate portrait by Olivier Widmaier Picasso Strangeland by Tracey Emin My life in a column by Tracey Emin The Andy Warhol diaries edited by Pat Hackett Gordon Walters: new vision curated by Lucy Hammonds, Laurence Simmons and Julia Waite. Gordon Walters: New vision  exhibition is on at Auckland Art Gallery until 4 November 2018. Auckland Libraries&

It’s all about reading recommendations this week on Books and Beyond. Librarians Karen and Louisa highlight the top 10 most requested books at Auckland Libraries at the moment, the most popular choices Aucklanders made when asked what book they’d take to a desert island, two very different online book lists, and what they are currently reading. Read on for all the books mentioned in the show. Karen is reading and recommends: The Graham Kerr cookbook: The Galloping Gourmet  by Graham Kerr The cost of living  by Deborah Levy Modern Romance  by Aziz Ansari Louisa is reading and recommends: Don Quixote  by Miguel de Cervantes Call me Zebra  by Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi My grandfather would have shot me: a black woman discovers her family's Nazi past  by Jennifer Teege My Judy Garland Life  by Susie Boyt Top 10 most requested books at Auckland Libraries right now are: Still me by Jojo Moyes 12 rules for life: an antidote to chaos by Jo

This week librarian Louisa chats with Peter Dragicevich , author of dozens of Lonely Planet travel guides, including guides for London, Venice and the Veneto region, Montenegro, Croatia and New Zealand. Listen to the show on the Auckland Libraries podcast  and hear Peter share a few of his best travel stories and tips on travel writing. We think Peter has a dream job! Books mentioned during the show: If you search for Peter Dragicevich in the Auckland Libraries catalogue you’ll discover the fifty Lonely Planet travel guidebooks and eBooks he has authored or co-authored.  You will also find some of Peter’s travel guides in our Lonely Planet Travel Club eBook list on OverDrive . All of these titles are guaranteed to be available until May 2019 for all your travelling needs.   If you're planning a trip these are ideal to borrow and download onto your device to go with you on your travels. Auckland Libraries' radio show Books and Beyond explores t