News Blog @ Wellington City Libraries

Our travel selection this month is a bit different and unusual. First we have Gordon Hempton and John Grossmann who travel across America in a 1964 VW bus to record the sound of silence that is Nature. Over two hundred years of natural history is presented with its adventures and discoveries in Remarkable creatures. Eat my globe tells of Simon Majumdar’s culinary experiences across the world. Clarissa Dickson-Wright, the Two Fat Ladies’ co-presenter recounts stories and anecdotes from her travels around Britain and Stephen Fry cabs his way around the US states in a documentary on DVD entitled Stephen Fry in America. All these and more you can check out in this month ’s Travel Recent Picks.

Did you think that Aphrodite’s island was Cyprus? Well, think more in terms of South Pacific and more to the point, think about Tahiti as Anne Salmond explains how Europeans and Tahitians fared when they first discovered each other. Closer to home, you can read about fascinating characters in our NZ books’ selection, like the writer and activist Elsie Locke and the soccer player Ricki Herbert. If you want to discover what kind of childhood famed NZ writers had, read Way back then, before we were ten; and borrow Struggling to fly for an account of being a woman in 1970s New Zealand. I f you want to know more about other worthy items available to you, check out this month’s New Zealand Recent Picks.

Hello!

We are getting super excited about Wellington Zinefest 09 – and this year promises to be the most awesome one yet!

Zinefest will be held on the 21^st of November (that’s this Saturday) at Mighty Mighty (Level 1, 104 Cuba Street).

It will feature stalls by zine-makers from Wellington and around the country. And yes, we’ll be there again with our ever-growing collection of zines. Zinefest is a great opportunity to meet zine makers and peruse or buy a cheap-as-chips piece of photocopy art. There will also be talks, workshops and a Zine-of-the-Fest competition. Oh and Mighty Mighty does a lovely toasty pie!

Love to see you there!

With Hekenukumai (Hector) Busby, Jack Thatcher and Hoturoa Barclay Kerr

Celebrating celestial navigation, the event Mata Ora highlights and pays tribute to the courageous deep sea voyaging explorations of Maori using the sun, moon and stars as they sought new lands.

Today there is a revival of oceanic navigation by the stars underway throughout the Pacific ocean and you can join leading star navigators Hector Busby, Jack Thatcher and Hoturoa Barclay Kerr for a special evening sharing their knowledge and firsthand experience of Maori celestial navigation.  Hear their stories of blue sea navigation using the ancient waka hourua (twin hull sailing vessels) as they traverse the history of Maori seeking out new lands that resulted in the discovery of Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Ngā kanohi o te rangi – the eyes of the sky.

Thursday 26 November, 7-8pm  -  Central Library (65 Victoria Street)

All welcome and free – just come along on the night.

To find out more about Mata Ora check out the four day event Mata Ora – The Living Knowledge from 25-28 November, organised by the Society of Maori Astronomy, Research and Tourism.  Mata Ora 2009 is proudly supported by UNESCO.

A handful of men have gone to the moon and back and are still alive to tell the tale. Buzz Aldrin is one of them and you can read the account of his life from then on in Magnificent desolation. A little closer to home, if you ever wondered what the big web companies (and others) are doing with your data, Numerati is a must-read. The story of Sandra Laing whose skin dictated her fate during the Apartheid is described in When she was white and is the subject of a movie entitled Skin. All these books are available for borrowing and more in this month’s Popular Non Fiction Recent Picks.

Have you ever wanted to brew your own beer? Well now you can with Froth! The science of beer, by Mark Denny. Our selection this month also includes recipes for people suffering from diabetes and heart problems. Ready steady party will help you organise fun cooking sessions with your kids, and Bourke street bakery will enable you to indulge in fine patisseries. If you are interested in the history of fruits, find out about Fruit hunter and if you want to know what other cook books we have available, check out this month’s Cooking Recent Picks.