News Blog @ Wellington City Libraries

We have many books and resources at Wellington City Libraries that can inspire and inform you about all aspects of leadership.  Here are just a few that we’re highlighting for Leadership Week:

Blake : Leader; Leadership lessons from a great New Zealander by Mark Orams
Sir Peter Blake was one of New Zealand’s great leaders. But what was it about his leadership style that was so special? What made him inspire such respect and admiration, and how did he become so successful at assembling, managing and leading winning teams? Mark Orams examines Blake’s inspirational leadership stlye, combining his own experiences with wider observations, giving unique insights on a great leader.

Running with the rhinos by Christian D. Warrant
Based on the premise that there is a leader within everyone and using the rhino as an unlikely guide to leadership principles - symbolizing the vision, understanding, communication, power, endurance, conviction, support, heart, and, most important, balance that those desiring to be leaders must integrate into their lives.

Shackleton’s way by Margot Morrell & Stephanie Capparell
Leadership lessons from the great Antartic explorer, set against the thrilling survival story of the Endurance expedition.

Leadership jazz by Max DePree
Looks at the connection of voice (as the expression of one’s beliefs) and touch (demonstrating competence and resolve) as keys to good leadership.

Creating magic: 10 common sense leadership strategies from a life at Disney by Lee Cockerell
Ten practical, common sense strategies that can help all of us become outstanding leaders.

Winston Churchill, CEO; 25 lessons for bold business leaders by Axelrod, A
Shows how Winston Churchill’s leadership style can teach valuable lessons to help today’s leaders in facing formidable challenges and exciting opportunities.

The 7 secrets of leadership success by Deborah Tom & Major General Richard Barrons
A toolkit based on the modern military’s secrets to leadership, organisational development and strategy.

Getting a grip on leadership : how to learn leadership without making all the mistakes yourself! by Robyn Pearce and LaVonn Steiner
A practical leadership guide for business owners, managers and employees, volunteer and community leaders, teachers and students, and aspiring leaders

Coke or Pepsi? Save or spend? Stay or go? How do we make our choices? Do we look at all options or use the age old eenie, meenie, miny, mo. Making the wrong choice may be just a minor annoyance or have far-reaching consequences. Award-winning research by Sheena Iyengar has led her to write The art of choosing explaining the reasons behind our choices and how to avoid bad ones.

At fourteen Hannah Salwen had what she described as a “Eureka” moment when coming face-to-face with the disparity between rich and poor. As a family they decided to sell their large Atlanta house, downsize and give 50 percent of the sale price to a charity. The power of half: one family’s decision to stop taking and start giving back by Kevin & Hannah Salwen looks at their motivation and how it has changed their lives in very many ways.

Why are some people always late?  Why is a person on a good salary always asking for money? In Excuses begone!: how to change lifelong, self-defeating thinking habits Wayne Dyer explains how to alter these long held patterns. By removing excuses a person can look at the underlying causes and prevent stress for themselves and others around them.

Look at these enlightening books and others including recovering from sorrow, achieving goals, the power of happiness, and a revolutionary approach to dating in this month’s Personal Development Recent Picks.

Wimbledon is a national institution with a multi-million pound budget and millions of followers but how does it run so smoothly? Holding court by former chief executive Chris Gorringe, known as “Clockwork Gorringe” was at the helm for 26 years so is the best person to explain the procedures, some dating back to 1868.  During his tenure he dealt with the 1973 player’s’ boycott, the McEnroe tantrums, the demands for equal prize money and the Olympic bid. No doubt he organised the strawberries and cream as well!

Thinking about running a marathon? Worried about being too old, unfit, over-weight or don’t have the time? This is the book to read. Sam Murphy’s book Marathon and half marathon: from start to finish will encourage anyone and every-one. Information is given on training, diet, clothing, running technique, avoiding injury and race preparation.

Every July a huge number of fans will arrive to watch the Tour de France and Graham Watson’s Tour de France travel guide explains how to avoid potential pitfalls. Quality hotels, reasonably priced food and the best places to watch the race are just some of the “tricks of the trade” to make the event memorable. With maps and photographs Watson’s 31 years of expertise will make this book a must for cycling fans.

Read about these sports and others including golf, cricket, hockey, football, kick boxing and ultimate diving in this month’s Sports Recent Picks.

The Twin by Dutch writer Gerbrand Bakker has won the largest prize for a novel, over 155 other entered titles nominated by 163 public libraries from 43 countries. The prize of €25,000 will be shared between the author and the novel’s translator, David Colmer.

It is the story of Helmer who lives on a remote farm in the flat expanses of the Dutch Platteland with his elderly father, caring for a small flock of sheep and his two beloved donkeys. It is a life he did not wish for, having been forced to return home following the death of his twin brother many years before. He decides he needs a change, but is not really prepared for the changes forced upon him.

Gerbrand Bakker worked as a subtitle writer for nature films before becoming a gardener. The Twin is his debut novel and will shortly be made into a film.

The complete list of nominated titles, synopses, and author information can be found on the IMPAC Dublin Award website

Sources: IMPAC Dublin Award website.

In the Classic Catalogue enter their last name and choose the ‘Author or Name Browse’ search option so you can straight to the person you want, eg enter ‘Bryson’ so you can find that one book by Gary Bryson, instead of going through all the ones by ‘Bill’.

One book stands out in this months’ selection of Popular Non-Fiction: 1000 years of annoying the French, by Stephen Clarke. If you thought that the guillotine was a French invention or that the Battle of Hastings was a French victory, you need to read this book which will set records straight in an entertaining way. Other titles included in our selection deal with politics in the Pacific, Madoff′s scam, the history of roads, and that of the French Foreign Legion. And if you want to know what else we have in store for you, check out this month’s Popular Non-Fiction Recent Picks.

Movies we have available for borrowing this month are diverse. Choices abound:

Lovely Bones,
Avatar,
Chuck Season 2,
Did you hear about the Morgans, and
Sherlock Holmes.

We also have comedies, suspense movies and foreign language movies that you might find to your liking. Check them all out in this month’s DVD Recent Picks.

Is it much ado about nothing or is there authoritative proof that Shakespeare did not pen the huge volume of work attributable to him? Those who have been linked with rumours of their own penmanship include Francis Bacon, the Earl of Oxford and Christopher Marlowe. Can James Shapiro author of Contested Will: who wrote Shakespeare? finally silence those who protested too much? Read this month’s featured Literature Recent Picks book and decide if Shakespeare’s name and reputation is intact.

To have a book dedicated shows a public declaration of a special bond. Once again to Zelda: fifty great dedications and their stories by Marlene Wagman-Geller looks at what inspired the honour. Whether romantic or tragic it gives us an insight into how that dedication became reality.

Wellington’s Dame Fiona Kidman has recently published her new collection Where your left hand rests, timed for her 70^th birthday in March. Topics include Katherine Mansfield’s shawl, Irish grandmothers and time spent in Greece. This adds to her large volume of work written over many years – readers look forward to more.

Enjoy these books and others in the latest eclectic mix of Literature Recent Picks including mentors, muses and monsters, why you should read the classics, Bill Manhire’s new book and a reissue of Michael Jackson’s Dancing the Dream.

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver has been awarded the 15^th Orange Prize for Fiction by a woman writing in English, regardless of nationality, age or subject matter. The Lucana is Barbara Kingsolver’s 9^th novel, and is set in Mexico in the 1950’s McCarthy era,  America. This is a story of loyalty, identity and how the power of false accusation can destroy innocent people.

Born in America in 1955, Kingsolver earned a Master’s degree in ecology and evolutionary biology, and began her career as a science writer. Her first novel Animal dreams was published in 1990, and since her second novel Pigs in heaven was published in 1993, all her work has been on the New York Times Bestseller lists. Social justice, feminism and environmentalism are the main themes of her of fiction; she has published collections of essays and several works of non-fiction. In 2000 she was awarded the National Humanities medal by American President Bill Clinton.

Sources: BBC News, Wikipedia

Huia from Walter Buller's "A History of the Birds of New Zealand"

As part of Heritage Month 2010, in association with the Wellington Region Heritage Promotion Council, a new display has been installed in the display case on the 2nd floor of Central.  Looking at the theme of the Environment, highlights include our copy of Sir Walter Buller’s A History of the Birds of New Zealand and Gideon Mantell’s (the “discoverer” of dinosaurs) paper on the exsistence of the Moa in NZ.  So if you’re passing by the 2nd floor, stop by some time to check out this new display.