Tag: new non-fiction

Strange Weather: Recent climate books

Madeleine

We have a huge number of books on environment and climate in our collection, and new titles are being published at an astounding rate as the science develops and as the reality of climate change sets in. It can be tempting to pass over these books, especially for those of us already experiencing climate grief or anxiety – the content is confronting and frankly scary. But the authors below are not here to bog us down in hopelessness. The facts they present are undeniable and their writing is urgent, but what they are offering us is a deeper understanding, showing how we might face our fears and channel our actions, and reminding us of the other paths that we – as individuals, as communities, as countries – can take.

There are all sorts here: poets and weather experts, gardeners and journalists, and between them all they cover a vast swathe of topics. If you want to understand the nitty-gritty science, then Under the Weather and Heat are the ones for you. To focus in on particular case studies, check out Fire Weather and Wasteland. For practical advice, Milkwood from Tasmanian-based permaculture experts looks fantastic, while Re-Food offers a road forward grounded in the Aotearoa context. Lastly, the philosophically-minded will enjoy the poetic Soil or the determined essays in Not Too Late. 

Under the weather : a future forecast for New Zealand / Renwick, J. A.
“A warmer world will change more than just our weather patterns. It will change the look of the land around us, what grows and lives on it – including us. Drawing on climate models that can travel to ice ages and hothouses of the deep past, Professor James Renwick untangles how we know exactly what the future holds and why it matters to our everyday lives. He looks at New Zealand’s more frequent natural disasters, warming and rising sea levels, and the ways that the changing weather will affect our agriculture, lifestyle, food security and economy. Arresting, galvanizing and clear-sighted, Under the Weather is a picture of a miraculous planet in danger, a stock-take on what it means for this small country, and a reminder that the shape of our future is up to us.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Re-food : exploring the troubled food system of Aotearoa New Zealand / King, Emily
“In “Re-food”, Emily King advocates for a food systems approach to help the troubled food networks of Aotearoa New Zealand. She looks at the best ways forward to address challenges we face with soils, waterways, climate change, food waste, packaging, unhealthy diets, and a lack of access to food. Written in three parts, “Re-food” traverses the full food system and unpacks its issues along the way while providing timely and relevant ideas and inspiration for readers to solve these problems themselves. It offers tools, insights and mindset changes that chart a path towards a healthier, more sustainable food future, one which incorporates Te Ao Maori and our strengths as a top-quality food-producing nation.” (Catalogue)

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Lived-in & Luxe: new books on home interiors

Tess

A lived-in style need not mean sacrificing luxury in and around your home. Create equally cosy, functional and eye-catching interior spaces with these beautiful and informative new books on home interiors. Transform an overlooked nook into an appealing and tranquil hideaway. Nurture your family in spaces that are flexible to your daily needs, whilst also embracing new and exciting design choices. There’s classic French inspiration, home retreats to nourish the soul, and even a guide to floating homes!

French home : decorating in the French style / Ryan, Josephine
“Dealer in French antiques Josephine Ryan explores the elements that combine to create elegant yet comfortable spaces with a distinctly French feel. She points out the architectural details that enhance the framework of a room, explores the textures and the color palette that flatter various styles of furniture, and shows us options for lighting, mirrors, decorative objects, and paintings. French Home examines the sophisticated alchemy of an enduringly popular look.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Lived-in style : the art of creating a feel-good home / Nassauer, Ki
“What is lived-in style? It’s laid-back, comfortable, no-fuss and uniquely you. It could bring to mind the comfy chair you curl up in beside the window. Maybe it will get you thinking about your freshly made bed, topped with a vintage blanket or quilt. Or perhaps it will elicit a smile over the collection of mementos and found treasures displayed on your mantel.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Sacred spaces : everyday people and the beautiful homes created out of their trials, healing and victories / Summers, Carley
“A gorgeous photography collection featuring home interiors and profiles of the people who have transformed these spaces into sanctuaries, calling you to create your own sacred space. Sacred Spaces takes readers on a beautifully photographed journey inside fourteen homes, from Connecticut and California to Canada, France, and Morocco, as Summers uncovers the vulnerable stories behind each one. Sacred Spaces invites readers to dream of the home that will set them free.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

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Fabric Hoarders and Orchid Outlaws: New popular non-fic

Madeleine

In 1838, Anne Sykes began to collect an array of fabrics in her personal diary, a project she dedicated herself to during her early adulthood. She collected scraps of her own clothes as well as those of her family and friends, just as some in those years might have collected signatures or locks of hair, resulting in a wonderful record of the fabrics and fashions of her youth. By the 1970s, the diary found its way to a market and then eventually into the hands of fashion historian Kate Strasdin. As she pored over its swatch-laden pages, a picture emerged – not just of Anne Sykes herself but a wider tale of the time too. Strasdin explores this unique glimpse into the Victorian era in her own book, which you can find below.

As for the other picks for this month, the theme of adornments continues in Tiny Statements, a book based on Te Papa’s eclectic collection of badges. For the ecologically inclined we have a guide to navigating the climate crisis alongside author Ben Jacob’s record of his efforts to stave off the decline of wild-growing orchids. Lastly, if you don’t mind a bit of a queue, Dr Emma Espiner’s fantastic memoir is well worth the wait. She writes with wit, passion and empathy, touching on numerous subjects including her whānau, working in healthcare in Aotearoa, and so much more – every bit of it powerful.

There’s a cure for this : a memoir / Espiner, Emma
“From award-winning writer Dr Emma Espiner comes this striking and profound debut memoir. Encompassing whānau, love, death, ’90s action movies and scarfie drinking, There’s a cure for this is Espiner’s own story, from a childhood spent shuttling between a ‘purple lesbian state house and a series of man-alone rentals’ to navigating parenthood on her own terms; from the quietly perceived inequities of her early life to hard-won revelations as a Māori medical student and junior doctor during the Covid-19 pandemic. Clear, irreverent and beautiful, this book offers a candid and moving examination of what it means to be human when it seems like nothing less than superhuman will do.” (Catalogue)

The frontier below : the past, present and future of our quest to go deeper underwater / Maynard, Jeff
“We do not see the ocean when we look at the water that blankets more than two thirds of our planet. We only see the entrance to it. The first divers to enter that world held their breath and splashed beneath the surface, often clutching rocks to pull them down. Over centuries, they invented wooden diving bells, clumsy diving suits, and unwieldy contraptions in attempts to go deeper and stay longer. But each advance was fraught with danger, as the intruders had to survive the crushing weight of water, or the deadly physiological effects of breathing compressed air. Today, as nations scramble to exploit the resources of the ocean floor, The Frontier Below recalls a story of human endeavour that took 2,000 years to travel seven miles.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

The dress diary of Mrs Anne Sykes / Strasdin, Kate
“In 1838, Anne Sykes began collecting snippets of fabric from a range of garments in her diary, carefully annotating each one.  Nearly two hundred years later, the diary fell into the hands of Kate Strasdin, a fashion historian and museum curator. Piece by piece, fragments of cloth become windows into Victorian life: pirates in Borneo, the complicated etiquette of mourning, poisonous dyes, the British Empire in full swing, rioting over working conditions and the terrible human cost of Britain’s cotton industry. This is life writing that celebrates ordinary people: the hidden figures, the participants in everyday life. Strasdin lays bare the whole of human experience in the most intimate of mediums: the clothes we choose to wear.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

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Kristen Phillips’ book ‘Dad, You’ve Got Dementia’

Tess

Dad, You’ve Got Dementia: Conversations With My Father is local author Kristen Phillips’ new book that focuses on her experiences with her father Don through his journey with dementia. The book is an intimate look at their relationship, with a focus on the enduring love and connection that remains between them throughout the difficult late-stage years. Kristen writes an endearing and relatable book that is equal parts memoir and poetry. She expresses the moving importance of caring for whānau with dementia using patience and understanding, to help maintain the deep connections that remain throughout the process of memory loss. We sat down with Kristen for an interview and talked about what inspired her to write the book, what it was like sharing intimate moments in the book and her professional work in helping to reduce social stigmas around dementia in NZ.

Dad, You’ve Got Dementia is published by The Cuba Press. You can reserve a library copy here. Kristen also writes short book reviews for the series ‘On The Same Page‘, for New Zealand Dementia Foundation. For more resources for you and your whānau visit Dementia Wellington.

At the library we have also recently introduced He Kete Pupuri Mahara: Memory Bags to our borrowing collection. You can reserve and take home a collection of items aimed at encouraging conversation and reminiscence for people with dementia or memory loss.

Below is a list of some the books on dementia that we hold in our collection, including the books Kristen mentions in her interview:

Contented dementia : 24-hour wraparound care for lifelong well-being / James, Oliver
” A groundbreaking and practical method for managing dementia that will allow both sufferer and carer to maintain the highest possible quality of life. Dementia is a little-understood and currently incurable illness, but this guide shows how much can be done to maximize the quality of life for people with the condition. The SPECAL method (Specialized Early Care for Alzheimer’s) outlined in this book works by creating links between past memories and the routine activities of daily life in the present.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

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Ships and sailors: New popular non-fiction

Madeleine
A selection of new book covers, set against a stormy sea background

The invention of the ship was also the invention of the shipwreck.

Paul Virilio

Catalogue link: The Wager, by David GrannThere is a fantastic bunch of new non-fiction books this month, and we’re particularly excited for The Wager, a gripping tale of treachery, survival and empire, all bound up in the story of one ship that wrecked in 1742. David Grann crafts a riveting narrative from the historical record, taking us through the conflicting reports of what went down on board the ship, as one side speaks of mutiny and the other of misrule, and the court tries to determine the truth.

Disaster at sea is no new tale, although it is certainly one that still grips us even as the Age of Sail drifts further into the past. New Zealand has had its own share of infamous wrecks, with one of the most notable being the General Grant (the recent Ockham-shortlisted novel Mrs Jewell and the Wreck of the General Grant offers a fictionalised account). This ship is rumoured to have sunk off the Auckland Islands with an exceptional amount of gold, but the treasure trove has never been found despite many valiant efforts over the years. Those islands were particularly deadly – Joan Druett’s book Island of the Lost explores the plight of two other crews that wrecked in the same cold southern waters. Mere miles from each other, the two groups underwent polar-opposite experiences, with one defying the odds to survive while the other floundered into anarchy and ruin. Perhaps this is why the interest in these disasters endures. They are excellent studies of human nature under harsh circumstances, of people at their best and their worst. (The allure of sunken treasure has something to do with it too, no doubt.)

However, it’s not all boat books this month. For the landlubbers amongst us, check out the list below for some other fantastic reads. You’ll find the surprising union of maths and literature, an exploration of death festivals around the world, a protest against the ticking clock, and more.

The Wager : a tale of shipwreck, mutiny, and murder / Grann, David
“On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, survivors of the Wager, a ship which left England on a secret mission in 1740. Six months later, another, even more decrepit craft landed on the coast of Chile. This boat contained just three castaways, and they had a very different story to tell. As accusations of treachery and murder flew, the Admiralty convened a court martial to determine who was telling the truth. The stakes were life-and-death, for whomever the court found guilty could hang. Grann unearths the deeper meaning of the events, showing that it was not only the Wager’s captain and crew who were on trial – it was the very idea of empire. The incredible twists of the narrative hold the reader spellbound.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Once upon a prime : the wondrous connections between mathematics and literature / Hart, Sarah B.
“We often think of mathematics and literature as polar opposites, as different as they come. But what if, instead, they were inextricably, even fundamentally, linked? In her clear, insightful, laugh-out-loud funny debut, Professor Sarah Hart shows us the myriad connections between math and literature, and how understanding those connections can enhance our enjoyment of both. As the first woman to hold England’s oldest mathematical chair, Hart is the ideal tour guide, taking us on an unforgettable journey through the books we thought we knew, revealing new layers of beauty and wonder. As she promises, you’re going to need a bigger bookcase.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Off-Earth : ethical questions and quandaries for living in outer space / Nesvold, Erika
“Can we do better in space than we’ve done here on Earth? We’ve pinpointed the destination, refined the technology, designed the habitat, outfitted our space residents. Are we forgetting something? A timely reminder that it’s not just rocket science, this thought-provoking book explores the all-too-human issues raised by the prospect of settling in outer space. It’s worth remembering, Erika Nesvold suggests, that in making new worlds, we don’t necessarily leave our earthly problems behind. Space settlement is rapidly becoming ever more likely. Will it look like the utopian vision of Star Trek? Or the dark future of Star Wars? Nesvold challenges us to decide.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Saving time : discovering a life beyond the clock / Odell, Jenny
“Our daily experience, dominated by the corporate clock that so many of us contort ourselves to fit inside, is destroying us. It wasn’t built for people, it was built for profit. Explaining how we got to the point where time became money, Odell offers us new models to live by – inspired by pre-industrial cultures, ecological, and geological time – that make a more humane, more hopeful way of living seem possible. Odell urges us to become stewards of these different rhythms of life, to imagine a life, identity, and source of meaning outside of the world of work and profit, and to understand that the trajectory of our lives – or the life of the planet – is not a foregone conclusion. In that sense, “saving” time could also mean that time saves us.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

American ramble : a walk of memory and renewal / King, Neil
“Neil King Jr’s desire to walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City began as a whim and soon became an obsession. Determined to rediscover what matters in life, Neil turned north with a small satchel on his back and one mission in mind: to pay close attention to the land he crossed and the people he met. The journey travels deep into America’s past and present, uncovering forgotten pockets and overlooked people. By turns amusing, inspiring, and sublime, American Ramble offers an exquisite account of personal and national renewal.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Why we garden : the art, science, philosophy and joy of gardening / Masset, Claire
“Whether you seek sanctuary in your potting shed, find paradise amongst your patio plants or enjoy the simple solace of your hands in the soil, there is beauty, peace and happiness to be found for every gardener in this thoughtful and entertaining collection. Both a hymn to gardening and a call to action, this down-to-earth guide is worth a hundred ‘how-tos’. Wander the gardens of Giverny with Monet to create your own ‘beautiful masterpiece’ or, like George Orwell, reap the joy to be found in the work of an allotment. Discover the soothing symmetry in the spiral of sunflower seeds, or provide a wild abundance of floral habitat for the natural visitors to your garden.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Closer to the edge / Houlding, Leo
“One of Great Britain’s finest climbers and adventurers, Leo Houlding started out climbing at ten years of age in the Lake District tackling the many historic peaks and crags in the area. He has since gone on to summit the world’s tallest walls and toughest peaks, and has crossed continents to take extreme sports to the most remote corners of Earth. How did a working class lad from the north of England scale such heights and avoid the pitfalls and fatal accidents that have struck down so many of his colleagues and friends? Honest, raw and exhilarating, Closer to the Edge is Leo’s ‘warts-and-all’ story of a remarkable climber and free spirit who has been at the top of his game for over thirty years, with still more mountains to explore.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

This party’s dead : grief, joy and spilled rum at the world’s death festivals / Buist, Erica
“By the time Erica Buist’s father-in-law Chris was discovered, upstairs in his bed, his book resting on his chest, he had been dead for over a week. She searched for answers and tried to reason with herself and eventually landed on an inevitable, uncomfortable truth: everybody dies. With Mexico’s Day of the Dead festivities as a starting point, Erica decided to confront death head-on by visiting seven death festivals around the world. This Party’s Dead is the account of her journey to understand how other cultures deal with mortal terror, how they celebrate rather than shy away from the topic of death, and how when openness and acceptance are passed down through the generations, death suddenly doesn’t seem so scary after all.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Histories, legacies and magic: New popular non-fiction

Madeleine

What did the production of clothing look like before this era of fast fashion? Is the physics of matter a little bit magic? What have we lost as the world’s natural dark recedes in the glare of all our artificial light? You can discover the answers to such questions (and more!) in the recent picks below. Other items of interest include a portrait of the convergence of two lives in Homelands, an art forger’s remembrances and trade secrets in Con/Artist, and an analysis of New Zealand’s extremist underbelly in Fear by Byron C. Clark. And as ever, remember that you can browse all new non-fiction items here and filter by topics of your choosing.

Homelands : the history of a friendship / Ramaswamy, Chitra
“A book about history, friendship, family and what it means to belong, from the award-winning journalist and author of Expecting. This book is about two unlikely friends, one born in 1970s Britain to Indian immigrant parents, the other arrived from Nazi Germany in 1939, fleeing persecution. It is a story about common ground, about migration, anti-Semitism, racism, family, belonging, grief and resilience. This book is about the past and the present. It is about the state we’re in now and the ways in which we carry our pasts into our futures.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

The magick of matter : crystals, chaos and the wizardry of physics / Flicker, Felix
“Condensed matter physics is what happens when atoms cluster together to make something of a size we can understand – something like a car, say, rather than a galaxy. It’s what makes things hover in mid-air (magnetic levitation) or crystals glow (thermoluminescence). It’s also what we mean by magick. Join Felix Flicker on an empirical adventure in condensed matter physics, the scientific mechanism behind the mysteries of alchemy, transmogrification, and much more. From the laws of thermodynamics to the seven bridges of Konigsberg, The Magick of Matter is a journey of discovery which will upend everything you think you know about witchcraft, wizardry, and condensed matter physics.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Blk art : the audacious legacy of Black artists and models in Western art / Ware, Zaria
“Black people have been a part of the Western art world since its beginnings. Quietly held within museum and private collections around the world are hundreds of faces of Black men and women, many of their stories unknown. From paintings of majestic kings to a portrait of a young girl named Isabella in Amsterdam, these models lived diverse lives while helping shape the art world along the way. Then, after hundreds of years of Black faces cast as only the subject of the white gaze, a small group of trailblazing Black American painters and sculptors reached national and international fame, setting the stage for the flourishing of Black art. BLK ART is an essential work that elevates a globally dismissed legacy to its proper place in the mainstream art canon.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

The darkness manifesto : how light pollution threatens the ancient rhythms of life / Eklöf, Johan
“How much light is too much light? Satellite pictures show our planet as a brightly glowing orb, and in our era of constant illumination, light pollution has become a major issue. The world’s flora and fauna have evolved to operate in the natural cycle of day and night. But in the last 150 years, we have extended our day – and in doing so have forced out the inhabitants of the night and disrupted the circadian rhythms necessary to sustain all living things, including ourselves. In this persuasive, well-researched book, conservationist Johan Eklöf urges us to appreciate natural darkness, its creatures, and its unique benefits. Educational, eye-opening, and ultimately encouraging, The Darkness Manifesto outlines simple steps that we can take to benefit ourselves and the planet.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Worn : a people’s history of clothing / Thanhauser, Sofi
“In this ambitious, panoramic social history, Sofi Thanhauser takes us from the opulent court of Louis Quatorze to the labor camps in modern-day Chinese-occupied Xinjiang. We see how textiles were once dyed from lichen, shells, bark, saffron, and beetles, displaying distinctive regional weaves and knits, and how the modern Western garment industry has refashioned our attire into the homogeneous and disposable uniforms popularized by fast fashion brands. Drawn from years of intensive research and reporting from around the world, and brimming with fascinating anecdotal material, Worn reveals to us that our clothing comes not just from the countries listed on the tags or ready-made from our factories – it comes, as well, from deep in our histories.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Fear : New Zealand’s hostile underworld of extremists / Clark, Byron C.
“Speaking after the chaos of the protest that stopped the nation, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a press conference, ‘One day, it will be our job to try and understand how a group of people could succumb to such wild and dangerous mis- and disinformation.’ That day isn’t in the future. Mis- and disinformation had been identified as a problem before the convoy to parliament had even been suggested. While that protest looked like something that ‘couldn’t happen here’, things that supposedly couldn’t happen here seemed to be happening with alarming frequency. We are no longer living in ordinary times, where political violence is unimaginable, and conspiracy theorists are marginal figures whose ideas can be laughed at. How did things get to this point?” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Women in white coats : how the first women doctors changed the world of medicine / Campbell, Olivia M.
“Women in White Coats tells the remarkable story of three Victorian women who broke down barriers in the medical field to become the first women doctors, changing how women received health care. In the early 1800s, women were dying in large numbers from treatable diseases because they lacked accessible, humane medical care. Motivated by personal loss and outrage, these three women faced countless obstacles and prejudices while earning their medical degrees and paved the way for others to do the same. With gripping storytelling based on extensive research, Campbell tells the courageous history these women made by becoming doctors, detailing the boundaries they broke to reshape how we receive medical care today.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Con/artist : the life and crimes of the world’s greatest art forger / Tetro, Tony
“The world’s most renowned art forger reveals the secrets behind his decades of painting like the masters – exposing an art world that is far more corrupt than we ever knew while providing an art history lesson wrapped in sex, drugs, and Caravaggio.” (Catalogue)