Auckland Libraries blog

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

Auckland Libraries' Reading Between the Wines  brings together bars, books and bookworms from all across T ā maki Makaurau.  On the first Thursday of each month, awesome librarians will meet you at a different venue around Auckland, with over 40 books for you to browse through.  Community Librarian Laura Caygill recently spoke to  Jesse Mulligan on Radio New Zealand  about the history of Reading Between the Wines , the upcoming session this Thursday 6 September, and our exciting plans to branch out onto the North Shore in October. You can listen to the RNZ segment here. This Thursday 6 September, Reading Between the Wines will take place at The Conservatory on the Viaduct. Don't worry if you're not a member of the libraries, you can join up on the night! Enjoy a glass of wine or two and meet like-minded people, whilst searching for your next favourite read.  Keep up to date with the latest Reading Between the Wines news by following  their Facebook page . 

  Auckland Libraries, together with Spark Foundation, are helping to provide stress-free internet access to households without a broadband connection. Auckland Libraries has recently become a local partner for Skinny Jump , a programme that provides access to modems and a subsidised prepaid wireless internet connection. It is available to anyone who does not have a broadband connection at home because cost is a barrier. "We already provide access to free WiFi and public computers within our libraries, but we know internet access at home is a much more effective way to address digital inclusion. "Helping to bridge the digital divide is incredibly important to Auckland Libraries, which is why we jumped at the chance to get involved with this programme" says Digital Solutions Lead, Philip Miles . Skinny Jump participating libraries Albany Village Library Avondale Library Botany Library Central City Library Epsom Library Glen Eden Library Glenfield Library Glen

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

Congratulations to the five lucky winners of our annual Matariki Take 3 promotion, who have each won a $50 JBHifi gift voucher. Left to right: Senior Library Assistant Kaikokiri Ratonga Māori Daphne Tangihaere, Paige and Meri (Paige's Nan) Paige from Te Matariki Clendon Library Alana from Māngere Bridge Library Christine from Papatoetoe War Memorial Library Jacqui from Glenfield Library Nazife from Rānui Library Thank you to all who took part in the promotion, aimed at encouraging Aucklanders to explore the variety of items available to borrow from our Māori collections .

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

Caption: Image 1: Mr George George - MC for Cook Islands Stage Polyfest 2018, Manukau Sports Bowl Turou! Oro mai! Auckland Libraries is celebrating Te Epetoma o te reo Māori Kūki ‘Āirani Cook Islands Language Week from 29 July - 4 August 2018. The language week is a special opportunity for Cook Islanders living in New Zealand to acknowledge, celebrate and embrace Cook Islands culture, history, customs and, most importantly, language. Auckland is the largest Pacific city in the world with just over 35,000 people who identify as being Cook Islanders living in Tāmaki Makaurau. Auckland Libraries is delighted to connect with our Cook Islands community and celebrate the pearl of the Pacific. Kiaorana e Kia Manuia! Events O Moana Nui performing Arts Group Drummers, Turou Korero Mai exhibition opening - Corbans Estate Art Gallery 2017 Discover the stories, music and dance of the Cook Islands at Storytime sessions for kids , arts and crafts workshops or visit Central City

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