News Blog @ Wellington City Libraries

Our Bestsellers collection is the ‘no-wait way to borrow’ latest popular books.

Simply check out the distinctive red shelves on the ground floor of the Central Library and at selected branch libraries. Bestsellers books cannot be reserved and are $5 for a one week loan (overdue charge is $1/day).

These titles will be available for free in the main collection. However, there may be a reserve queue.

Parky’s people, by Michael Parkinson.
“In Parky’s People, Parkinson sets down on record the highlights of his interviews which provide an intimate insight into the private lives and personal characters of great celebrities from around the world, from Tony Blair and Henry Kissinger, John Betjeman and WH Auden, to Ken Dodd and Elton John.” (description from Amazon)

A home companion : my year of living like my grandmother, by Wendyl Nissen.
“A Home Companion details Wendyl’s year-long journey towards self sufficiency. The book details each home discovery as it happens – both the triumphs and the disasters – while Wendyl slowly sheds her corporate life and takes to wearing yards of muslin, leather sandals and forgets to straighten her hair.” (description from Allen & Unwin)

Moab is my washpot, by Stephen Fry.
“A humorous autobiography that covers the author’s time at public school, acting and writing career and the ups and downs of his personal life.” (description from Amazon.co.uk)

Navigation : a memoir, by Joy Cowley.
” Navigation is a relaxed, beautifully written memoir, not in any sense a formal autobiography. It contains wonderful sections on Joy’s life growing up in a small Manawatu town (her first job on leaving school was as a pharmacy assistant in Foxton), her family life and her exploration of the joys of writing. It touches down constantly at Fish Bay in the Sounds, where Joy writes passionately about the landscape, the seasons and the natural world around her.” (description from Penguin.co.nz)

The dress circle : New Zealand fashion design since 1940, by Lucy Hammons, Douglas Lloyd Jenkins, Claire Regnault.
“The Dress Circle inserts seven decades of history into the family tree of New Zealand fashion design in a landmark book that celebrates both the achievements of New Zealand fashion designers from the recent past and the high-profile success of the contemporary generation.” (description from Random House NZ)

Wait for me! : memoirs of the youngest Mitford sister, by Deborah Devonshire
“Deborah Devonshire tells the story of her upbringing, lovingly and wittily describing her parents (so memorably fictionalised by her sister Nancy); she talks candidly about her brother and sisters, and their politics (while not being at all political herself), finally setting the record straight.” (description from JohnMurray.co.uk)

Do you like non-fiction? We offer you an interesting selection this month with books about the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, social injustice, good writing, Trade Me and more. Alan Bollard, the governor of the Reserve Bank, gives his point of view about the global recession. Daniel Dorling presents the five new pillars of injustice in his book Injustice : why social inequality persists. Charles Harrington Elster helps his reader to avoid bad English usage in The accidents of style. Finally, we discover the best Trade Me auctions thanks to Handbags & hovercrafts. Many more books are featured in our selection and if you’d like to know more, check out this month’s Popular Non-Fiction Recent Picks.

Author Sian Beilock looks at why top athletes and business people fail to live up to their potential. In a list of the top “chokers” the All Blacks have topped his list! Not a great accolade but Choke: what the secrets of the brain reveal about getting it right when you have to will show how to achieve when it matters most. Graham Henry’s copy is in the mail!

Some people have the knack of connecting with others no matter what circumstances they find themselves in. Leil Lowndes book How to instantly connect with anyone gives 96 communication techniques to improve this connection whether it is in a personal or professional situation.

Shyness of its self is not of concern unless it affects a person’s ability to establish relationships or causes avoidance of situations. The self-help book Improving social confidence and reducing shyness using compassion focused therapy by Lynne Henderson includes exercises and skills to reduce the effects of problematic shyness.

Read these books and others in this month’s Personal Development Recent Picks with topics including how to heal emotional wounds, the power of co-incidence and the creative spirit.

(plus some World War I in general)

1. Before ANZAC, beyond Armistice: the Central Otago soldiers of World War One and the home they left behind, Keith Douglas Scott.
2. The faces of World War I, Max Arthur; foreword by Ian Hislop
3. Singled out: how two million women survived without men after the First World War, Virginia Nicholson
4. Eleventh month, eleventh day, eleventh hour: Armistice Day, 1918, World War I and its violent climax, Joseph E. Persico
5. Silent night: the remarkable Christmas truce of 1914, Stanely Weinraub
6. Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas), a film by Christian Carion
7. Amiens to the Armistice: the BEF in the Hundred Days’ Campaign, 8 August-11, November 1918, J.P. Harris with Niall Barr
8. The Regeneration Trilogy, Pat Barker (a fictional revisioning of Siegfried Sassoon’s time at Craiglockhart War Hospital after publishing his declaration against the continuation of the war)
9. Wilfred Owen: selected poetry and prose
10. Siegfried Sassoon diaries, 1915-1918, edited and introduced by Rupert Hart-Davis

For more material on Armistice Day visit the Easyfind Catalogue, or visit our history related online databases at MyGateway.

Our New Zealand book selection favors quality over quantity this month. It consists in four books that are not to be missed. One deals with New Zealand contemporary artists, more specifically sculptors and painters, and how the creative process works out for them. Another is the memoir of the author of beloved children books such as Greedy cat and the goldfish and Fly pie. Two more books are highlighted, one that is very topical as New Zealand celebrates 150 years of fish and chips; whereas the other delves into the Australian underworld. You can find out more about these books in this month’s New Zealand Recent Picks.

You might wonder what links Germany and the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the XXth century. The Berlin-Baghdad express explains it all and shows how these two powers looked to an alliance to overthrow the British Empire. If the Middle-east is too hot for you, cool down with Atlantic, the biography of an ocean, and discover the fascinating history of this vast expense of water. If you’re looking to the west, you will enjoy Declaration: the nine tumultuous weeks when America became independent, a book retracing the events that gave birth to a nation.  Find out about books on the Vietnam War, India, the Taliban and Byzantium in this month’s History Recent Picks.

With a long history of unexplained illness and in chronic pain author Tim Parks began looking at alternative ways to improve his health. His book Teach us to sit still: a sceptic’s search for health and healing lead to an understanding of how the busy modern world affected his health. With this knowledge and insight into the relationship between mind and body led to a marked improvement in his health and well-being.

Continuing on the theme of improving health in today’s busy lifestyle The mindful manifesto: how doing less and noticing more can help us thrive in a stressed-out world by Jonty Heaversedge and Ed Halliwell looks at how to stop and appreciate what is happening around us. Scientific research has confirmed that mindfulness, the ability to be aware of what is happening in our lives has a positive effect on both mind and body – something that Eastern traditions have known for a long time.

In Garry Egger and Boyd Swinburn’s book Planet obesity: how we’re eating ourselves and the planet to death they make the statement that obesity is ‘collateral damage in the battle for modernity’. What does that mean? It is looking at the results of the improving standard of living and how our bodies cannot cope with our increased intake and the resulting waste. Combined also with an increase in greenhouse gasses major changes are needed to sustain both the planet and ourselves. We only have one of each.

Other titles in this month’s Health Recent Picks include information on dementia, food for better living, girls in crisis, thyroid and thinking smarter.

Interested in music culture? Here are three books, each with a different slant on popular music culture development…

The Fallen : life in and out of Britain’s most insane group / Dave Simpson.
The best books work on more than one level and Dave Simpson’s ‘The Fallen’ is more than a mere history of the long standing post punk band, The Fall. A Manchester band that was part of the post-punk boom of the late ‘70’s, The Fall are still going strong 28 records later (2010’s ‘Your Future, Our Clutter’ is as well worth a listen). Led by the legendary Mark E. Smith, considered by some to be a prophet others to be a drug crazed loon, the Fall never needed to reform because their line up has constantly shifted over the past 30+ years. To quote Mr. Smith “if it’s me and your granny on bongos, then it’s a Fall gig”. Long time Fall fan Dave Simpson pledged to track down and interview all 48 ex-Fall members and this chronicles that quest (hence the book’s title). An essential read for Fall fans, the book also offers new listeners a lucid introduction to ‘the wonderful and frightening world of the Fall’ (to quote the title of their 1984 recording). What could have been just a gossip fest featuring a bunch of ageing musicians, emerges as a real life adventure story and a fascinating insight into the creative process.

Rock and roll will save your life : a book by and for the fanatics among us (with bitchin’ soundtrack) / Steve Almond.
Steve Almond’s ‘Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life’ is a highly entertaining examination of music obsessives that also digs deeper in questioning the role music plays in the lives of those caught under the spell of the muse. Almond’s self deprecating style, referring to himself and music obsessives like him as ‘drooling fanatics’, makes for hilarious reading as he outlines the attributes and lifestyles of the music obsessed. Almond introduces an autobiographical thread to this deceivingly well written book and includes anecdotes from his own experience as a music writer. Not many books can makes me laugh out loud but passages such as the author’s line by line analysis of Air Supply’s ‘Lost In Love’ had me rolling on the floor. Almond is a talented writer, funny and understated, and to his credit, alongside the humour a strangely poignant picture of life in 21st century America emerges. A strangely moving book, highly recommended for those with an interest in music culture or those who enjoy an entertaining read. A free download soundtrack is also available from the author’s website.

The Pitchfork 500 : our guide to the greatest songs from punk to the present / edited by Scott Plagenhoef and Ryan Schreiber.
‘The Pitchfork 500’ is a tangible publication (ie a book!) created by one of the pioneer indie music websites, Pitchfork Media. Started in 1996 as an online home for marginalised music writers, Pitchfork Media has grown to be a leading influence in the 21st Century popular music culture, hosting its own music festival and now branching into book publication. Published in 2007 ‘The Pitchfork 500’ is a collection of notable music writers’ reviews of the best or most influential tracks released since the punk explosion of 1977. The first tracks reviewed are David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ and Iggy Pop’s “Lust For Life’ with the last tracks, from 2006, being Panda Bear’s ‘Bros’ and Hot Chip’s ‘Boy From School’. Far from being a ‘best of’, the book chronologically traces the development of popular music from punk through post-punk, disco, indie, techno , hip hop etc. as reflected in standout examples of each genre. Interspersed with the 500 reviews are one page primers on sub genres including alt. country, industrial and minimal techno. If you had fallen asleep in 1976 listening to Yes’s ‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’ and had just woken up, the ‘Pitchfork 500’ would be the perfect book to tell you what had been going on while you had been asleep.

These include: the mature Ridley Scottt’ s Robin Hood, Paper Heart, where skeptic Charlyne Yi falls for the subject of her study, and Fish Tank, a drama relating the troubled life of 15 year-old Mia. The first series of Survivors is available for borrowing, as well as the creepy thriller The Box. Brooklyn’s finest is a movie that fans of The Wire will enjoy, and The other man is a film about adultery with actors Liam Neeson and Antonio Banderas. If you’d like to learn more about this DVD selection, check out this month’s DVD Recent Picks.

Check out our Booklists Popular Topic Page for a full monthly list of new fiction, audio books, large print, DVDs and classical CDs – ideas galore for something new to read, watch or listen to!

You can aslo access databases such as Fiction Connection, Literature Resource Centre and  Books and Authors via our MyGateway Books portal.