Auckland Libraries blog

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 .

Kick back and relax these school holidays knowing Auckland Libraries has all your entertainment needs covered! From wacky events to wild reads, we have lots of things to keep your tamariki busy! We're exploring the weird, wild and wonderful these school holidays! Visit your local library to try some mind-boggling science experiments, stretch your imagination, and celebrate creatures big and small. Events Get out of the house and to your local library to experience the hundreds of different school holidays events running across Auckland.  Browse our school holidays events to find out what's happening at your local library. Book lists Inspire your children to start a new craft project or learn more about the world with our specially curated school holidays book lists. Whether you want to find a new hobby or make new friends, check out some suggestions: Everyday science for kids Life lessons for teens   Mindfulness for kids Native animals of N

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

Help shape the services and activities our new $21 million Avondale Library and Community Centre will offer, which will, in turn, inform the design process and types of spaces that are available! Whau Local Board Chair, Tracy Mulholland, says that it is important for the Avondale community to have their say. "This facility will be at the heart of the Avondale community, and we want to know how people want to use it. "Over the years the community has told us about the types of things they want to see there, but now is the time to help us build on that feedback with the design process about to begin. "It is really important to us that the connection between the community and this new facility is strong, so we want to hear from as many people as possible during the consultation so that the final facility is well used and enjoyed by everyone." Have your say! Consultation is open now until 26 April and there are a number of ways to contribute your feedback: