Every year Wellington City Libraries’ staff nominate their favourite fiction reads of the year. These usually cover a wide range of genres, but each staff member is totally enthusiastic about their choice. This year, for the first time one title, The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Doaz was selected by two staff members. The full list, with comments, can be found on the Fiction web page.

One title not included on the web page was The Lay of the Land by Richard Ford. Although published in 2007, Monty, our nominator said it was “dense, weighty, satiric, all-but-the kitchen-sink novel from one of America’s best. It continues the comic-tragic musings of U.S.-Everyman, New Jersey real estate agent Frank Bascombe”. Monty also added, “ it was one of my favourite books ever”!!!

Our fiction librarian recommends a poignant tale of a gin distillery, a thriller with an artist suffering from blackouts and hallucinations, and the story of the father of Louisa May Alcott’s ‘little women’. Our readers recommend Jeffrey Archer’s ‘False impression’ and Neal Stephenson’s 892 page ‘The system of the world’.

This month’s Staff CD picks include a Swedish group who make Belle and Sebastian sound fierce, Nashville teenage punks and a surf band for the Arctic Ocean. ‘Without a song: the 9/11 concert’ by Sonny Rollins shows how art can lift the human spirit in times of great tragedy.

It’s a bit scary – we’re watching everything from Christopher Guest comedies through Bollywood musicals to “The Thorn Birds”. You’re sure to find something among our Staff DVD picks. Thought-provoking documentary “The end of suburbia : oil depletion and the collapse of the American dream” was another favourite.

We are featuring new first novels on our fiction page. The librarian’s choice section has also been updated.