Auckland Libraries blog

Karen and Allison salute literary power couples, from the romantic era's Percy and Mary Shelley to the beat era’s Jane and Paul Bowles, via the lost generation's Zelda & Scott Fitzgerald and the eternal Gertrude & Alice. Listen to this episode on the Auckland Libraries podcast and read on for the books mentioned in the show. Books mentioned in the show: Forest dark  by Nicole Krauss Here I am  by Jonathan Safran Foer Save me the waltz   by Zelda Fitzgerald The collected writings   by Zelda Fitzgerald Tender is the night  by F Scott Fitzgerald Two serious ladies   by Jane Bowles The sheltering sky  by Paul Bowles Frankenstein  by Mary Shelley  Selected poems and prose  by Percy Bysshe Shelley The autobiography of Alice B Toklas  by Gertrude Stein What is remembered   by Alice B Toklas Paris was yesterday, 1925-30  by Janet Flanner Auckland Libraries' radio show Books and Beyond explores the world of books with guest authors, recommended re

This week Karen talks with author, Des O’Leary, about Slice of heaven -  the novel he wrote for his South Auckland students who said they liked ‘ stories about people like us ’. He must have gotten it right, as the book’s popularity earned it a spot on the 2018 Auckland Libraries Top 10 for teens . Listen to this episode on the Auckland Libraries podcast . Auckland Libraries' radio show Books and Beyond explores the world of books with guest authors, recommended reads, gems from the Central City Library basement and… beyond. Catch us on Planet FM104.6 , Sundays at 9.35pm. Recent shows can be listened to as podcasts via the Auckland Libraries podcast .

This week on Books and Beyond, Karen and Louisa celebrate the art of travel writing, from the road trip to the pilgrimage, and share new discoveries and old favourites. Listen to this week's episode on the Planet FM website and read on for the books mentioned in the show. Books mentioned: Down to the sea in ships: of ageless oceans and modern men by Horatio Clare Skidoo: a journey through the ghost towns of the American West by Alex Capus In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin Better than fiction 2: true adventures from 30 great fiction writers edited by Don George and Samantha Forge The Quiet American by Graham Greene Finding Frances Hodgkins by Mary Kisler Frances Hodgkins: European journeys edited by Catherine Hammond and Mary Kisler Novel destinations: a travel guide to literary landmarks from Jane Austen's Bath to Ernest Hemingway's Key West by Shannon McKenna Schmidt & Joni Rendon  Auckland Libraries' radio show Books and Beyond explores t

This week, Louisa chats to author Renée Hollis, learning more about her unique book,  Keepers of History . In 2017, Renée travelled the length of the country interviewing 120 centenarians to capture their life stories from which she has shared 38 remarkable histories and fascinating personal photographs in the book.    Listen to this episode on the Auckland Libraries podcast and read on for the books mentioned in the show. Books by Renée Hollis: Keepers of history   Manihiki Island: our paradise Artists of Golden Bay People of Golden Bay For more titles by Renee, visit the Auckland Libraries catalogue . Auckland Libraries' radio show Books and Beyond explores the world of books with guest authors, recommended reads, gems from the Central City Library basement and… beyond. Catch us on Planet FM104.6 , Sundays at 9.35pm. Recent shows can be listened to as podcasts via the Auckland Libraries podcast .

This week on Books & Beyond, Janet McAllister and Tulia Thompson, chat with Karen about Life on volcanoes , the beautiful new book of essays on topics ranging from enduring pain to sex, fantasy and revolution - which Janet commissioned from 5 contemporary women writers: Tulia, Tze Ming Mok, Courtney Sina Meredith, Ruth Larsen and Tui Gordon. Listen to this episode on the Auckland Libraries podcast. Life on volcanoes: contemporary essays   edited by Jane McAllister. Auckland Libraries' radio show Books and Beyond explores the world of books with guest authors, recommended reads, gems from the Central City Library basement and… beyond. Catch us on Planet FM104.6 , Sundays at 9.35pm. Recent shows can be listened to as podcasts via the Auckland Libraries podcast .

This week Karen, Louisa and Alison share their favourite moments from the Auckland Writers Festival 2019. Listen to this episode on the Auckland Libraries podcast and read on for the books mentioned in the show. Books and authors mentioned in the show: My life my fight by Steven Adams and Madeleine Chapman  The imaginary lives of James Poneke by Tina Makereti  West Island: Five Twentieth Century New Zealanders in Australia by Stephanie Johnson Hudson & Halls: The food of love by Joanne Drayton  Factfulness: Ten reasons we're wrong about the world -- and why things are better than you think by Anna Rosling Ronnlund, Hans Rosling and Ola Rosling How to write an autobiographical novel by Alexander Chee Birdstories: A history of the birds of New Zealand by Geoff Norman Auckland Libraries' radio show Books and Beyond explores the world of books with guest authors, recommended reads, gems from the Central City Library basement and… beyond. Catch

This week our librarians Karen, Louisa and Alison share what they're reading and take us with them to four continents.  Listen to this week's episode on the Planet FM website and read on for the books mentioned in the show. From Oceania  Writing the Pacific: an anthology edited by Jen Webb and Kavita Nandan My name is Gary Cooper by Victor Rodger From India Girls burn brighter by Shobha Rao The ministry of utmost happiness by Arundhati Roy Q and A by Vikas Swarup From Nigeria Every day is for the thief by Teju Cole Known and strange things by Teju Cole Lagos noir edited by Chris Abani Song for night by Chris Abani Nollywood by Pieter Hugo (photographs); texts by Chris Abani, Stacy Hardy, Zina Saro-Wiwa From Spain Her mother's hands by Karmele Jaio  The dinner guest by Gabriela Ybarra Auckland Libraries' radio show Books and Beyond explores the world of books with guest authors, recommended reads, gems from the Central Ci

This week Alison and Karen (aka Hunny Bunny and Pumpkin) celebrate Pulp Fiction, the cheap, disreputable paperbacks which eventually became cult classics, and its heirs: suspense, hardboiled crime, and noir. Listen to this episode on the Auckland Libraries podcast and read on for the books mentioned in the show. Books mentioned: Desert of the heart by Jane Rule Darkness at dawn: early suspense classics by Cornell Woolrich The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett The thin man by Dashiell Hammett The big sleep by Raymond Chandler Farewell my lovely  by Raymond Chandler The postman always rings twice by James M Cain The Cormoran Strike series, starting with The cuckoo’s calling , by Robert Galbraith Other notable hardboiled detectives and series mentioned: Mike Hammer in The Mike Hammer collection by Mickey Spillane John Shaft in Shaft by Ernest Tidyman  Easy Rawlins in Devil in a blue dress by Walter Mosley Lew Archer in The drowning pool by Ross Ma

This week our featured guest is Penny Ashton, comedienne, improviser, social commentator, proud Jane-ite and the force behind and in front of the comic tour-de-force 'Austen Found: The Undiscovered Musicals of Jane Austen'. She chats with librarian Hecuba Hustlebottom (erstwhile Books and Beyond presenter Karen) about the many reasons to love Jane Austen and gives us a taste of her upcoming show, a mash-up of laughs and literature, jokes and jabs. Listen to this episode on the Auckland Libraries podcast. Auckland Libraries' radio show Books and Beyond explores the world of books with guest authors, recommended reads, gems from the Central City Library basement and… beyond. Catch us on Planet FM104.6 , Sundays at 9.35pm. Recent shows can be listened to as podcasts via the Auckland Libraries podcast .

Michele Powles, Renee Liang and Lisette du Plessis (from left) on Books and Beyond. Writer, Michele Powles, and poet, playwright and paediatrician, Renee Liang, talk with Karen about capturing the joy, beauty, discomfort and humour of the first years of motherhood as co-authors of the new book When we remember to breathe: mess, magic and mothering , joined by publisher Lisette du Plessis from Magpie Pulp. Listen to this episode on the Auckland Libraries podcast. Auckland Libraries' radio show Books and Beyond explores the world of books with guest authors, recommended reads, gems from the Central City Library basement and… beyond. Catch us on Planet FM104.6 , Sundays at 9.35pm. Recent shows can be listened to as podcasts via the Auckland Libraries podcast .

Margie Thomson chats with Karen about her new book, Womankind , in which she tells the stories of 53 amazing Kiwi women of different ages, backgrounds and interests, but all with a passion for helping others and effecting positive change. Listen to this episode on the Auckland Libraries podcast. Auckland Libraries' radio show Books and Beyond explores the world of books with guest authors, recommended reads, gems from the Central City Library basement and… beyond. Catch us on Planet FM104.6 , Sundays at 9.35pm. Recent shows can be listened to as podcasts via the Auckland Libraries podcast .

This week Karen chats with author Tina Shaw about her new YA novel Ursa, which was just launched at the 2019 Storylines Margaret Mahy National Award Day here in Auckland.  Listen to this episode on the Auckland Libraries podcast. Ursa is a chilling exploration of totalitarianism set in an alternate world, inspired by Tina’s time living in Berlin for the Creative New Zealand Berlin Writer’s Residency. Tina’s YA novel Make a hard fist was an Auckland Libraries Top 100 for 2018. Auckland Libraries' radio show Books and Beyond explores the world of books with guest authors, recommended reads, gems from the Central City Library basement and… beyond. Catch us on Planet FM104.6 , Sundays at 9.35pm. Recent shows can be listened to as podcasts via the Auckland Libraries podcast .

Karen and Alison talk about the joys of reading crime fiction and recommend some favourites, while considering some of today’s tropes on the subject, such as the idea that crime novels by women are more brutal than those by men. Listen to this episode on the Auckland Libraries podcast and read on for the books mentioned in the show. Books mentioned in the show: Tartan noir Starting with  Report for murder ,  The Lindsay Gordon series by Val McDermid. Kiwi noir Starting with Overkill , The Detective Sam Shephard series by Vanda Symon.  LA noir Starting with When the bough breaks , The Alex Delaware series by Jonathan Kellerman. Scandi noir The girl with the dragon tattoo by Stieg Larsson. Don’t look back by Karin Fossum. Starting with The bat , The Harry Hole series by Jo Nesbo. Jar city by Arnaldur Indridason. Starting with Faceless killers , The Kurt Wallender series by Henning Mankell. Smilla’s sense of snow by Peter Hoeg. Domestic noir

He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. Central City Library's current exhibition, ‘ Kīnaki: Ngā reta Māori ’, is a collection of ngā reta Māori (Māori letters) handpicked from the Sir George Grey Special Collections by Robert Eruera, Poukōkiri Taonga Tuku Iho Māori | Senior Curator Māori. For the purposes of the exhibition, Kīnaki refers to the small things that we relish and take pleasure from. These letters were chosen in the hope that our interest will be piqued by the morsels on offer. Stretching over 50 years, these letters span an era of time during New Zealand's colonial infancy and illustrate the close relationships between rangatira (chiefs or leaders) and Governor Grey. Almost all the letters are addressed either to Governor Grey or his wife Lady Eliza Lucy Grey, and many of them are surprisingly uncluttered by the kind of formalities that you might expect from letters written to the Governor of New Zealand.  Unknown photograph

The RBdigital eMagazine collection is expanding, bringing you 42 brand new titles in April.  Amongst the collection are internationally recognizable mags such as  Pip Permaculture , The Hollywood Reporter and In the Moment .  RBdigital’s expansion caters to a variety of literary tastes, whether you’re after the latest Vogue UK or a diehard Fishing World fan. Check out the list of new additions below or visit RBdigital to browse the entire collection .  3D Artist APC Australian Country Homes Australian Mountain Bike Australian Photography + Digital Auto Express Autosport Caravan World Chat Classic Bike Classic Rock Climbing Country Life Cross Stitch Crazy Cruising Helmsman Field, The Fishing World Food Heaven HELLO! Fashion Monthly Hollywood Reporter, The Homebuilding & Renovating In The Moment International Traveller Malaysia Tatler Metro Home Metro Society Period Living Pip Permaculture Magazine Practical Photoshop Prog Race Control Rhyt

Karen and Louisa celebrate April Fools' Day with a look at literary hoaxes, from Ossian , an 18th-century Scottish fabrication of a 3rd-century bard, to Go Ask Alice , passed off in the 1970s as the true diary of an off-the-rails teen. Listen to this episode on the Auckland Libraries podcast and read on for the books mentioned in the show. Books and authors mentioned in the show: Ossian’s Fingal 1792 by James Macpherson Go ask Alice by Anonymous The woman in the window by A.J. Finn Forbidden love by Norma Khouri Fragments by Binjamin Wilkomirski Surviving with wolves by Misha Defonseca Go ask Alice by Anonymous Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian How green was my valley by Richard Llewellyn “ Sonnet CX ” by William Shakespeare  Auckland Libraries' radio show Books and Beyond explores the world of books with guest authors, recommended reads, gems from the Central City Library basement and… beyond. Catch us on Planet FM104.6, Sundays at

Bruce Clarke, Incredible Images, for Urban Hymns, Te Atatu, spring 2018. This week on Books and Beyond, Owen Gill chats with Karen about the ideas in his new book,  Turning Point Auckland: radical policy to prepare Auckland for 2 million people . Listen to this episode on the Auckland Libraries podcast . Te Atatu, at the time the north-western motorway was under construction, Whites Aviation from the Alexander Turnbull Library Collection . Owen is a public policy advocate who has experience in urban services and regulation in New Zealand and Australia. His change agenda aims to ensure that Auckland, where he was born and lives, will embrace three roles: productive city, city of the Pacific and city enjoyed by its population. Auckland Libraries' radio show Books and Beyond explores the world of books with guest authors, recommended reads, gems from the Central City Library basement and… beyond. Catch us on Planet FM104.6, Sundays at 9.35pm. Recent shows can be l

This week we celebrate the success of the children’s picture book,  There's a Tui in our Teapot, with its author Dawn McMillan. Dawn's earlier book, I need a new bum , featured in a video of the famous Scottish Granny reading to her grandchild, now seen by millions. The book is a favourite around the world! Listen to this episode on the Auckland Libraries podcast and read on for the books mentioned in the show. Books by Dawn McMillan: There's a tui in our teapot I need a new bum! Home child: a child migrant in New Zealand Woolly Wally Mister Spears and his hairy ears Doctor Grundy's undies Colour the stars Sea secrets Auckland Libraries' radio show Books and Beyond explores the world of books with guest authors, recommended reads, gems from the Central City Library basement and… beyond. Catch us on Planet FM104.6, Sundays at 9.35pm. Recent shows can be listened to as podcasts via the Auckland Libraries podcast .