Islam Awareness Week is a week of information and activities organised by local Muslims to increase New Zealanders’ awareness of their beliefs, values and practices, and to tackle misinformation about their religion in a positive way. You can find more information about Islam Awareness Week on the NZ Islam Awareness Week website.

Celebration of Islamic Fashion

As part of Islam Awareness Week, Kilbirnie Library and the Wellington Muslim Community present a Celebration of Islamic Fashion @ Kilbirnie Library.

Where? Kilbirnie Library

When? Thursday 7 August, 6.30pm

Details: This is a women’s only event. Refreshments will be provided.

For information about more IAW Events make sure to check out IAW’s Events page.

What if feeling blue was making you creative ? That is what Eric G. Wilson argues in his book Against happiness : in praise of melancholy. Another way to ignite your creative self could lie in fostering your creative habit – as explained in The creative habit : learn it and use it for life. Are you dissatisfied with your life ?  Stop whining, start living gets you back on track and helps folks conquer the temptation to retreat from living life to the fullest. Similar books such as Life’s too fxxxing short and Ask for it: how women can get what they really want provide you with a guide to getting what you want, open new doors, and feel happier. And if what you want is simply to strengthen the bonds of friendship and love, check out The friendship factor:how to get closer to the people you care for. There are plenty more self-help books to browse through in this month’s Personal Development Recent Picks.

(Book descriptions from Amazon)

Seen any films that make you want to check out the director’s previous offerings? Our DVD collection is here to help. You may already know that our collection includes films by directors such as Eric Rohmer, Ken Loach, Werner Herzog, Michel Gondry and Errol Morris, but you may not realise that you can continue your film festival after this weekend by also exploring these other directors who are featured this year:Derek Jarman, Costa Botes, Julian Schnabel, Alex Gibney, Barbet Schroeder, Gregory King, Jacques Rivette, Michael Curtiz, Tom McCarthy, Shane Meadows, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Alexander Sokurov, Sergei Bodrov, Bent Hamer, Wong Kar-wai, Dany Boon, Cedric Klapisch and of course Vincent Ward. Marjane Satrapi may not have made any other movies yet , but her graphic novels are excellent – one of which is the original Persepolis graphic novel.

There is a wide variety of books by New Zealanders or about New Zealand available in our libraries. Here are some of them: first, a collection of poems dealing with Wellington landscapes and reflections entitled The lakes of Mars. Then, a book that will uncover the mysteries and specificities of Kiwi-English in New Zealand English. For those interested in politics on the home-front, Working with David : inside the Lange cabinet recounts the history of the fourth Labour government in New Zealand. Cooking times revisits New Zealand kitchens and culinary traditions from the 1930s to the present day thanks to fictitious characters. High-tech legs on Everest relates how a double amputee fulfilled his ambition to stand on the top of the highest mountain in the world. And finally, Sari : Indian Women at Work in New Zealand features four generations of Indian women working in New Zealand. These are books highlighted in this month’s New Zealand Recent Picks.

(Book descriptions from Amazon)

In this month’s Maori Recent Picks, we get a glimpse of the history of seven Maori-Chinese families and the role they play today in New Zealand society in Being Māori-Chinese : mixed identities = He Māori-he Hainamana he tuakiri aha? = Mao li yi hua ren . Also, if you are interested in the Maori history of Nelson and Marlborough, do check out Te tau ihu o te Waka = A history of Maori of Nelson and Marlborough volume 2. This new volume “Te ara hou : the new society” describes Māori participation in European settlement society.  All this plus new theses received in our collections, and articles from recent journals.

(Book descriptions from Amazon)

Do you want to know how a company will be competing in the future? Check out Competing on analytics : the new science of winning. Are you wondering what makes an outstanding leader? Have a look at the fourth, internationalised edition of The leadership challenge. Also, Meatball sundae : how marketing is transforming the business world ( and how to thrive in it) allows you to be one step ahead of the competition and follow the trends that will allow to lead in your field. Strategies used by succesful companies are unveiled in Small giants : companies that choose to be great instead of big, and a new book in the Toyota way series entitled Toyota culture : the heart and soul of the Toyota way tells all about the process that adds value to Toyota products.  And there is much more to find out about in this month’s Business Recent Picks!

(Book descriptions from Amazon)

Charles Baudelaire is mostly famous for his poems in ‘Les Fleurs du Mal’, but he was also an art critic and translator of Edgard Alan Poe ’s short-stories: you can find out more about this prominent French poet in Charles Baudelaire. If some might question the value of poetry, Why poetry matters demonstrates its positive impact on society and compiles traditional defenses of poetry written over centuries. The Oxford dictionary of literary terms and How fiction works are two books that will help anyone willing to know more about the art of writing, whether in prose or verse. Finally, The Cambridge companion to fiction in the Romantic period will satisfy any avid readers willing to know more about the cultural background and society of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Find out more about these titles in this month’s Literature Recent Picks.

(Book descriptions from Amazon)

Spending every waking moment at the Film Festival?  Or just going to the odd film that takes your fancy? Here are some reviews and information about films showing over the first week, courtesy of our new Film and Television database.

(If the links below don’t work for you automatically, login to EBSCO with your library card details, then return to this page – the links will then take you to the reviews.)

Man on Wire | Persepolis | Waltz with Bashir | Adventures of Robin Hood | Paris | No End in Sight | Vexville | Anita O’Day: The Life of a Singer | Earth | Somers Town

Of course if you want further inspiration, we’ll be highlighting more films as the Festival progresses.  In the meantime, check out the Festival posters currently on display on the First Floor of Central Library – along with items from our extensive film book collection.

Why would an Ethiopian emperor have his men build a great road across a rugged countryside to accomodate his European-built gun ?  One of the most bizarre episode in the history of the British Empire is revealed in The barefoot emperor : an Ethiopian tragedy , as Tewodros II of Ethiopia’s history is unveiled. How can a tribute to a beloved late wife lead to the downfall of one of the wealthiest and most powerful empire of the XVIIth century ? This is what A teardrop on the cheek of time : the story of the Taj Mahal recounts, describing how the great love that Moghul Emperor, Shah Jahan, bore to his wife led him to his losing the throne and his empire. After Africa and Asia, this month’s History Recent Picks takes us to America with The Comanche empire and United States of hysteria, Europe with Forgotten ANZACS : the campaign in Greece, 1941, and finally the Middle-East as Holy Land mosaic : stories of cooperation and coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians shows that the past doesn’t always repeat itself.

(Book descriptions from Amazon)

Disease : the extraordinary stories behind history’s deadliest killers tells of all the diseases past and present that man has had to fight against for the last 3000 years. Waiting for Daisy : a tale of two continents, three religions, five infertility doctors, an Oscar® an atomic bomb, a romantic night, and one woman’s quest to become a mother relates what an eventful journey it can be to become parents. Perfect : anorexia and me recounts the struggle of living with, and recovering from, anorexia. These are just some of the books featured in this month’s Health Recent Picks. Also this month – find out about tips and tricks to grow old serenely, discover how to achieve an undisturbed night’s sleep, and uncover the real impact of mental illness on the creative process. Have a look!

(Book descriptions from Amazon)