Speed decorating: a pro stager’s tips and trade secrets for a fabulous home in a week or less by Jill Vegas aims at people wanting a quick sale, improve a tired home or just have a change all on a limited budget. She lists seven essentials – flow, light, colour, clutter, condition, cleanliness and lifestyle that are needed to transform a home from bland to beautiful.

Insulation not only keeps a house at an optimum temperature but saves money and conserves energy. Sergi Costa Duran’s book Green homes details the steps of insulating, sealing and ventilating. Colour illustrations complement the text.

Bathrooms are probably the most renovated room in a home. In Sandra S. Soria’s All new bathroom idea book 360 full-colour photographs give the renovator a myriad of options from a small up-grade to a complete renovation. This one-step design guide gives advice for the process for any budget.

Think about a make-over for your house or look into other options including tile designs, decorative painting techniques, plant and design styles in this month’s Gardening Recent Picks.

Jacquie Baxter, also known as J.C. Sturm, was a poet and short story writer as well as a former staff member of Wellington City Libraries. Sadly, she passed away in December last year.

In memory of her enormous skill as a writer, her dedication to library service, and the lasting impression she left as a friend and colleague, we have set up a display in memory of her on the ground floor of the Central Library.

The display contains a tribute book and we encourage those who knew Jacquie, were touched by her work, or simply want to convey their condolences to her friends and family, to write a message in it.

If you cannot make it into the library to write in the book then you are most welcome to write a message as a comment on this blog post and library staff will make sure it is transcribed into the memorial book on your behalf.

You can read more about Jacquie’s life and achievements in our obituary for her here or at the website of the New Zealand Book Council here .

Jil Eaton’s book Pipsqueak knits: deluxe quick knits for babies & toddlers has 12 designs that will interest both beginner and expert knitters. Patterns include snowsuits, blankets, cardigans, mittens and booties – start now for the winter!

Beginning with simple basic items this book by Anne Hubert gives advice on how to inexpensively transform them into stylish outfits fit for the streets of Paris. The Left Bank look – easy Parisian-chic projects for your home and clothes adds flair to clothes, shoes, household items or anything that needs a little inspiration – “C’est vrai!”

Recycle, reduce or re-use. Using pre-loved items, remnants, discarded material and vintage objects, her book The crafty minx Kelly Doust shows how to transform them into something unique. They will make great gifts.  Be inventive and help save the planet at the same time.

Try out these crafts and others including vintage knits, mini albums, spinning and knitting with tea in this month’s Craft Recent Picks.

Found Magazine was, er, founded one night after Davy Rothbart, Found’s point guard, discovered a note on his windscreen intended for someone else entirely. Inspired by the note’s ‘amazing mixture of anger and hopefulness’, he started  up a magazine chock full of found items, notes, photographs and drawings.

The library has six shiny new editions, some of which are replacing the well-thumbed copies we already hold, some we’ve never had.

The first issue contains gems like a hand-written pledge to find David Cross tickets, a stick-figure interpretation of Jesus and a heart-breakingly hopeful short story written on prison stationery. Issue Six has a finder’s spotlights on everyone’s favourite heroes Dan Clowes and Miranda July.

They are incredibly dense wee things, perfect for reading in your tea-break or on the bus. Come down to the WCL and take one home today!

My absolute favourite zine we got at Wellington Zinefest is this limited edition book of drawings by New Zealand artist Susan King. It’s bloomin’ gorgeous.

Arranged in a thoughtful and transparent way by Smallminingtown, the variety and quality of Susan’s work is really on display here. Oddball cartoon ducks and cats sprouting astonished sweat compete for space with melancholic, geometric landscapes. Her drawings are fanciful and wonder-filled, often surreal, nimble and intricate.

Susan’s personal story is also intriguing. At four-years-old she stopped speaking, but begun to draw; creating a huge body of work before she turned 26, when suddenly, she stopped. Encouraged by those just discovering her work, she began to draw again in 2008. Her extraordinary talent and story have been quickly recognised this time around. A documentary is in the works and she has exhibited both here and in Australia.

Currently on our new zines display, this is one to savour.

The Mexican Embassy has donated to Wellington City Libraries a collection of Spanish language books. The books cover a wide range of topics, and are located with other Spanish language books in the Foreign Language Collection on the 1st Floor of the Central Library.

Mr Luis Franco, Charge d’Affaires of the Mexican Embassy formally presented the collection to Libraries Manager Jane Hill, last Wednesday, and gave a speech of thanks for the services Wellington City Libraries provides for all the community.

Our Design books’ selection this month include an Italian magazine called Abitare, a book about home design entitled The Art of Living, and a publication about visual arts: More Things like This. If you are interested in patterns and surface design, you can borrow The Pattern Sourcebook. If you are a fan of plastic jewelry, you can peruse over 500 different designs. And if you are interested by Jean Despres and chairs, check out this month’s Design Recent Picks.

Our selection of history books this month deals with an array of subjects. You can learn most interesting things about Miami, in Florida. What’s amazing is the fact that until the 1980’s, Miami Beach was decrepit and riddled with crimes and drugs until the fortuitous arrival of Cuban refugees in town. Dark Ages and Antiquity are in the spotlight with books dealing with Vikings, gladiators and the Peloponnesian War according to Thucydides. And if you are interested in Strange maps, the Kennedy’s and the Christian revolution, check out this month’s History Recent Picks.

Dick Francis, the prolific crime writer has died aged 89. He was one of the most popular crime novelists, with all his novels based in and around the horse-racing sport. The son of a jockey and stable manager, after leaving the RAF in 1946 he became a much celebrated winning jockey. From 1953 to 1957 he was jockey to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. After a serious fall he retired and began a sixteen year career as a racing correspondent for the Sunday Express. His first novel Dead Cert was published in 1962 and was an instant success, from then 39 other crime novels followed and one collection of short stories. Whip Hand published in 1979 was the Edgar Award Gold Dagger winner and Come to Grief published in 1995 was another Edgar Award winner. His last three novels were co-written with his son Felix Francis, the most recent being Even Money.

Sources: BBC, Wikipedia

Are you a baby boomer? Then you are in luck and you can enjoy all the tips contained in the Unbelievably good deals and great adventures that you absolutely can’t get unless you’re over 50 book. Other books in our selection this month include a guide to Italy for female travelers, the experiences of an American couple living in Fiji and Vanuatu, and a trip to the melting Arctic. And if you want to know more about Europe, Spain and exotic foods, read this month’s Travel Recent Picks.