Auckland Libraries blog

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

This week our librarians Karen and Louisa celebrate nonsense literature, a delightful genre and not just for children. If it sometimes flies below the radar, its gems have a special ability to stick in our memories. Listen to this episode of Books and Beyond on the Auckland Libraries podcast . Books and authors mentioned during the show: Jenny Uglow's biography of Edward Lear, Mr Lear: a life of art and nonsense Edward Lear, The complete nonsense of Edward Lear , with a reading of verses from "The jumblies" John Lennon, In his own write , and, A Spaniard in the works Ogden Nash, Selected poetry of Ogden Nash , with a reading of "The turtle" Mervyn Peake, Titus Groan and Peake's progress: selected writings and drawings of Mervyn Peake edited by Maeve Gilmore, with a reading of "The trouble with geraniums" Margaret Mahy, Non-stop nonsense Geoffrey Grigson, Unrespectable verse , with a reading of "Ballad Tragique a Dou

Books and Beyond is Auckland Libraries’ new radio show! Every Sunday at 9.35pm on Planet FM104.6, we explore the world of books with guest authors, recommended reads, gems from the Central Library basement and… beyond. And every Monday we’ll follow up with a recap of the featured titles here on the blog. You can also listen to us on demand via the Auckland Libraries podcast . This week’s show featured Leanne Radojkovich, author of the short-story collection First Fox (The Emma Press, 2017) and newly-named winner of the 2018 Graeme Lay Short Story Competition. Leanne writes both short stories and short short stories, or flash fiction, an exciting form of highly compressed narratives which is being celebrated around New Zealand this Friday 22 June for National Flash Fiction Day . Listen to this Books and Beyond episode on the Auckland Libraries podcast . Books and authors mentioned: Short story authors Aimee Bender , Kelly Link and Camilla Grudova    Flash fiction writ

Octogenarian, traveller, adventurer and author of Exciting Eighties: a time of high expectations , Esther Paddon chats with librarian Louisa about her tales of adventure and what led her into writing. Listen to this episode on Auckland Libraries podcast. Auckland Libraries' new 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 9.35 pm, and listen to recent shows via the Auckland Libraries podcast.

In this episode of Books and Beyond, Karen talks with Dominic Hoey, whose novel Iceland was an Auckland Libraries Top 100 and longlisted for the Ockham NZ Book Awards. Under the Tourettes moniker, he has also released five acclaimed studio albums, two books of poetry, four short films, and performed spoken-word poetry. 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 9.35 pm. Listen to recent shows on the  Auckland Libraries podcast .

If you haven’t had a chance to see the exhibition Don’t leave town till you’ve seen the country on Level 2 of Tāmaki Ngā Pātaka Kōrero Central City Library, we recommend you go to enjoy its visual richness. In the meantime, we offer you an opportunity to listen to a selection of exhibition interviews in the comfort of your favourite chair, or on your commute. The first track is an interview with Principal Curator Georgia Prince giving a background to the exhibition content and selection process. Georgia shares with interviewer Haunui Royal a couple of highlights including Cecil Burleigh’s diary. The diary begins in 1932 when he was 22, and records his regular holiday trips around New Zealand. Georgia Prince looking at Cecil Burleigh’s diary. Photograph by Sue Berman 2018 The hand-drawn map displayed in the exhibition charts three road trips he took with his mother in 1948 and 1949. In March 1949 they travelled from Auckland to Waiouru and back before he returned to