History is rather contemporary this month at Wellington City Libraries. We have a few of books that highlight the Middle-East and its neighbouring countries: what kind of people its inhabitants are like, how Saddam Hussein came to be captured, and what America’s involvement in Afghanistan has evolved into. Asia is featured with a book on Burma, as well as Africa with South Africa’s brave new world. Empires are not forgotten with books about the emperor Hadrian and the Mongol empire. The bonfire sounds especially interesting if you are into the American Civil war and the fall of Atlanta. And if you want to know what other books we have in store for you, check out this month’s History 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!

October is the month for celebrating New Zealand writing and publishing. This is an annual event in which New Zealand books are highlighted,  and writers new and well-established are acclaimed and rediscovered. As part of the celebration we’ve created an online quiz - How well do you know New Zealand Fiction?  on our Popular Topics Fiction web page. Find out how your knowledge stacks up! You might know more than you think, and you may even come across an interesting fact or two that you didn’t know. Good luck – and we hope you discover a fantastic New Zealand book or two this month!

(P.S. The  book above  is the answer to one of the quiz questions…)

Hilary Mantel has been awarded the 2009 Mann Booker Prize for her novel Wolf Hall. A historical novel recounted through the eyes of Thomas Cromwell, who started out as a Blacksmith’s boy and eventually became one of the most powerful men in England beside Henry VIII. Wolf Hall has been the most popular novel ever to win the Mann Booker Prize. Hilary Mantel has written nine other novels, two have been historical, with A Greater Place of Safety published in 1992 and set in France at the time of the French revolution, winning the Sunday Express Book of the year. Beyond Black published in 2005 was shortlisted for the 2006 Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Orange Prize for Fiction the same year.

The shortlist for this year’s Man Booker Prize has been announced with six finalists chosen from 13 on the long list and which in turn was chosen from the 132 titles submitted.

The shortlist includes a semi autobiographical novel titled Summer Time, by the 2003 Noble Prize for Literature winner J.M. Coetzee. He previously won the Booker Prize in 1983 for The Life and Times of Michael K, and in 1999 for Disgrace. A. S. Byatt with her novel The Children’s Book is also a finalist and a past winner of this prize in 1990 for Possession: a romance.

The most popular book on the shortlist is Hilary Mantel’s historical novel Wolf Hall. Other finalists are Adam Foulds with The Quickening Maze, Sarah Waters with The Little Stranger and Simon Mawer with The Glass Room. The winner will be announced on 6^th October 2009.

The novelist, playwright, Fleet Street columnist and social commentator Keith Waterhouse has died at the age of 80. He worked for 35 years, until 1986 as a columnist in the Daily Mirror and then until this year for the Mail newspaper. He never missed a deadline and his columns were always witty, at times satirical, but always contained pertinent social comment. He was also prolific novelist and playwright, his most famous play being Billy Liar, with the film version being released in 1959. He also wrote for television, notably The Frost Report and the Worzel Gummidge series. Wellington City Libraries holds 17 of his novels and many collections of his newspaper columns. His comic novels include Mrs. Pooter’s Diary, Bimbo, Palace Pier and his last, Good Grief.

Describe an average day:

First thing:  I get up at about 7 am and have some fruit for breakfast or leftovers, if it’s a weekend. Then I get dressed and either go to some school or other if I’m teaching, or attend university if I have classes.

Once I’ve made that choice, I do nerd stuff and talk about inclusive teaching and science for a few hours because I’m training to be a teacher (my two degrees are in Maori Studies, Environmental Studies and Chemistry). Once I’m done with learning I usually try to hang out with some of my friends, I often try and do this over dinner, because cooking is rad. People are my new thing and a great way of avoiding reclusiveness when one lives alone.

Notwithstanding marking and/or homework, I then work on my music or art and email people about their interviews or writing for my zines. Actually, that stuff usually happens after about one in the morning, if at all. I’m pretty busy at the moment.

How did you first get into zines?

My mum is most excellent and had heaps of small-press comics in the house when I was young, stuff like Tim Bollinger’s early strips and the original Pickle series by Dylan Horrocks. (more…)

If speaking in public is stressful, then this is the book to read. Your voice is your calling card: how to power-charge your voice, boost your confidence and speak with joy, ease and conviction by Suzann Rye acknowledges the difficulties many have when called upon to present, perform or debate. Looking at ways of overcoming nerves and stage fright, along with other practical advice will lead to confident speaking in any situation.

Featuring women’s poetry from 1900 through to the present, Women’s work: modern women poets writing in English has a selection incorporating aspects of women’s lives including work, children, God and lust!  This title includes work from authors as diverse as Emily Dickinson, Sylvia Plath and Carol Ann Duffy.

New Zealander David Haywood’s unusual title My first stabbing is described as a collection of “strange meanderings”. Reviews of the book have said it is biting, very funny and written by one of the best new writers to have come on the scene for a while.

Enjoy these books and others covering television reviews, spiritual writings, Keats and Kurt Vonnegut in this month’s Literature Recent Picks.

Grace Kelly made eleven feature films in just seven years which quickly established her as one of Hollywood’s iconic figures. High society: Grace Kelly and Hollywood by Donald Spoto draws on a series of taped interviews that follows her life from convent girl to model to television actress to screen idol to European princess. Her departure from Hollywood definitely left a gap.

Much has been written about Henry VIII and not always flattering. In Derek Wilson’s book A brief history of Henry VIII: reformer and tyrant he explores the myths behind the image and presents a new look at this fascinating King.

Not becoming my mother: and other things she taught me along the way by culinary author Ruth Reichl follows her relationship with her mother who encouraged her daughter to choose her own path.

Read about these people along wtih other books about The Grand Turk, Sir Keith Park and Andrew Motion (UK Poet Laureate) in August’s Biography Recent Picks.

The much acclaimed prolific Western writer Elmer Kelton has died aged 83. He began his career as a journalist after serving in the United States Army during World War II. He was farm and ranch editor for the San Angelo Standard-Times for 15 years, then spent 22 years as editor of Livestock Weekly.  His first short story was published 1948 and his first novel Hot Iron in 1955. From then he published over 60 fiction and non-fiction titles. His novel, The good old boys was published in 1978 and was made into a television movie in 1995. He received numerous awards for his fiction, the most acclaimed being, The time it never rained, published in 1974, The man who rode Midnight published in 1988 and most recently Way of the Coyote published in 2002.

Elmer Kelton was more than a typical Western writer, with most of his novels set in recent times with characters facing the problems of modern day range life.