Posts

Books and Beyond: Nonsense literature

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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

OverDrive checkouts reach 5 million!

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Checkouts from Auckland Libraries main digital reading platform, OverDrive, reached five million this month, making us some of the biggest digital library borrowers in the world! The lucky five millionth checkout was Spain and Portugal's best trips by Lonely Planet . Our library system is one of the fastest-growing in the world since launching in late 2007. Auckland Libraries have made especially great strides with our digital collection and have set records within the last two years. In 2016, we were one of 17 libraries worldwide and the only library system in the Southern Hemisphere that circulated one million digital books for the first time. We built on this success in 2017 with 30% circulation growth, remaining the only library system in the Southern Hemisphere to achieve one million checkouts annually. We are on pace to set another record in 2018, and have already contributed greatly to the one billion checkouts achieved across the OverDrive network earlier this y

Books and Beyond: Flash Fiction

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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

Books and Beyond: Esther Paddon

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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.

Books and Beyond: Dominic Hoey

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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 .

New guaranteed eBook selection

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Goodbye to eBook waitlists! Auckland Libraries have just launched a new service which guarantees you immediate access to a selection of popular eBook titles - with no waiting for the reader ahead of you to return their copy! Perfect for book clubs Are you a member of a book club?  The Book Clubs eBook collection contains acclaimed novels and memoirs. It will hold a special attraction for book clubs who read the same book, as it guarantees every member a copy at the same time! Check out literary fiction guaranteed to be available now. Handy for travellers Travelling, preparing to travel - or just dreaming about it? Now you can borrow many of our fantastic Lonely Planet travel guides to top destinations, regardless of whether anyone else has already checked them out. Start packing: grab one of our Lonely Planet travel guides, guaranteed to be available now. Browse OverDrive online or download the Libby, by OverDrive app to your smartphone, tablet or eReader and use

Don't leave town till you've seen the country

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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