New Book by Daniel Clowes: Recent graphic novels

Daniel Clowes is one of the great alternative comic book writers of all time, with titles such as Ghost World and Like a velvet glove cast in iron. He has returned after 7 years with a new book called Monica, about a woman searching for her freewheelin’ parents who abandoned her when she was a child. If Daniel Clowes is not your thing, we also have a great selection of other new graphic novels such as a new Hellboy title and a memoir by Ai Weiwei.

If you love comics and graphic novels, don’t miss ComicFest on 4th May at the National Library! It will be a fun day of workshops, talks, comic giveaways, and live drawing with some incredible artists!

Monica / Clowes, Daniel
“A dazzling, spectacular tapestry of interconnected narratives that together tell a life story. After being abandoned by her freewheelin’ parents in childhood, succeeds in clawing her way to the top – only to lose it all in a stroke of bad luck. She lives out the rest of her days in search of her parents, encountering a cast of eccentric characters who help to piece together her story. Mysterious, uncategorisable and quintessentially Clowesian, here is a multi-layered masterpiece born of a lifetime of inspiration.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Zodiac : a graphic memoir / Ai, Weiwei | ebook available
“Ai Weiwei and Italian comic artist Gianluca Costantini present Zodiac, Ai Weiwei’s first graphic memoir. Inspired by the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac, Ai Weiwei masterfully interweaves ancient Chinese folklore with stories of his life, family, and career. They will find not only a personal history of Ai Weiwei and an examination of the sociopolitical climate in which he makes his art, but a philosophical exploration of what it means to find oneself through art and freedom of expression.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Hellboy in love / Mignola, Michael
“Ghosts, ghouls… girlfriends? Love blooms between Hellboy and archaeologist Anastasia Bransfield – when they aren’t busy chasing goblins through the UK, fighting shadow ghosts in Turkey, and investigating film sets haunted by unsettled spirits in India, that is! This volume collects three stories of Hellboy and Anastasia’s misadventures, plus bonus material!” (Adapted from Catalogue)

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Flying solo: New travel books

Traveling is an incredible experience, being able to see other parts of the world and to learn about different cultures. While it’s great to travel with loved ones, there are benefits to travelling alone as well. You can have complete control over the itinerary, meet new people and it can really help build your confidence. It can sound intimidating at first, but it can be a positive experience that will create many memories. Check out these new travel books for inspiration:

Solo travel / Mylne, Lee | ebook available
“A friendly resource to help you prepare for exciting domestic or international travel — on your own. Solo Travel For Dummies teaches you how to plan the solo trip of a lifetime with must-know info, insider tricks, safety essentials, and more. Get expert tips on safety, budgeting, and so much more! Solo Travel For Dummies is for anyone who needs a trusted, comprehensive source of information as they prepare to travel independently.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Amazing train journeys
“Discover 60 of the world’s greatest and most memorable train journeys, from classic long-distance trips, such as Canada’s Rocky Mountaineer and Darwin to Adelaide’s The Ghan, to little-known gems on regular commuting lines. Each profile features a detailed description of the whole experience, with practical information such as ticket recommendations, key stops and the best time to travel. Inspiring photographs and an illustrated route map bring every train journey to life.” (Catalogue)

The man who loved Siberia / Jacobsen, Roy
“Siberia, to me, is a fairy-tale land. Fritz Dorries set out on his first trip to Eastern Siberia in 1877, when there were still blank spaces on maps of the world. Through his twenty-two years in Siberia, Dorries collected a wealth of essential material for scientific institutions, fundamental to our understanding of fauna and flora. This account of his adventures, set down for his daughters in his ninetieth year, and adapted for publication by Roy Jacobsen and Anneliese Pitz, is his second great legacy.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Mexico
“Fully-illustrated, The Passenger collects the best new writing, photography, art and reportage from around the world. Mexico: once synonymous with escape and freedom, better known nowadays for widespread violence, narcotraffic, and migration. The ocean, the beaches, the ancient ruins, the tequila: under the patina of mass tourism there’s a complex, neurotic country trying to carve out a place for itself in the shadow of its hulky neighbor.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Epic : adventures across Aotearoa / Salisbury, Ray
“Over the years, countless sea kayakers, climbers and alpine trampers have attempted journeys across New Zealand’s incredible landscape. In Epic, the stories of a dozen memorable Kiwi explorers are brought together, with detailed maps, backstories and stunning images. From the first traverse of the Southern Alps, to the nineteen-year-old who travelled 8000km of coastline, Epic is a testament to endurance, and a reminder to get out there and experience the wild, stunning places of our planet.” (Catalogue)

Wavewalker : breaking free / Heywood, Suzanne | ebook available of Wavewalker
“Aged just seven, Suzanne Heywood set sail with her parents and brother on a three-year voyage around the world. What followed turned instead into a decade. Suzanne fought her parents, longing to return to England and to education and stability. From the bestselling author of What Does Jeremy Think?, Wavewalker is the incredible true story of how the adventure of a lifetime became one child’s worst nightmare – and how her determination to educate herself enabled her to escape.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Best beaches : 100 of the world’s most incredible beaches
“Discover the world’s most extraordinary shorelines inside this dazzling display of diverse beaches. Featuring transporting photography, tips for how to reach each beach, and reasons why Lonely Planet selected these as the 100 best, this is the ultimate collection of the sand, stone and sea the world has to offer. Whether you’re looking to be inspired for your next trip or simply desire some beach-chair travel, experience the world’s best beaches in this book.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Edgeland : a slow walk west / Swire, Sasha
“In Edgeland, the political diarist Sasha Swire escapes the confines of Westminster to walk the northern stretch of the South West Coast Path. She discovers that the path is not only a walk-through Britain’s windswept and wave-battered western fringes but a tale about how we and nature have, through extraordinary resilience and relentless spirit, learnt to tame the various forces that are stacked against us. That we live at the edge of the possible.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Grassroot Beginnings: New Sustainability Books

Small sustainable ideas have the potential to grow into a global movement. This can all be started at a grassroot level, with the help of your family, neighbourhood or local community. Get inspired by others changing the world with our new sustainability books:

Just transformations : grassroots struggles for alternative futures
“The need for a radical societal transformation in the interests of social justice and ecological sustainability has never been greater. But where can we turn to find systemic alternatives? Just Transformations looks to local environmental struggles for the answers. Interrogating each case study for valuable lessons, the contributors develop a conceptualisation of a just transformation that focuses on the changes that communities themselves are trying to produce.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

How to create things for the world sustainably / K, Sarah
“A practical guide for anyone who designs or creates things for the world to achieve sustainable outcomes. Illustrated with the beautiful, photographic documentation from over a decade of Sarah K’s sustainable design initiative, supercyclers.” (Catalogue)

Ignition : lighting fires in a burning world / O’Connor, M. R.
“In a riveting investigation of the science and ecology of wildfires, journalist M.R. O’Connor ventures into some of the oldest, most beautiful, and remote forests in North America to explore the powerful and ancient relationship between trees, fires, and humans. At the heart of Ignition is a discussion about risk and how our relationship to it as a society will determine our potential to survive the onslaught of climate change.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

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Travel through time and space: New science books

Come for a journey through the vast universe to galaxies and dimensions far, far away. Explore the limits of human knowledge this month with our brand-new scientific books. If keeping your feet firmly on the ground is more appealing, we also have books set here on Earth for you! Pick up one of these books to begin your next science expedition.

To infinity and beyond : a journey of cosmic discovery / Tyson, Neil deGrasse
“No one can make the mysteries of the universe more comprehensible and fun than Neil deGrasse Tyson. The book begins as we leave Earth, encountering new truths about our planet’s atmosphere, the nature of sunlight, and the many missions that have demystified our galactic neighbors. When we finally arrive in the blackness of outer space, Tyson takes on the spookiest phenomena of the cosmos: parallel worlds, black holes, time travel, and more.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Deep sea : 10 things you should know : a deep dive into one of the most mysterious environments on our planet / Copley, Jon
“Uncover what lies at the deepest depths of our oceans… In ten brief and informative essays, Copley journeys to one of the most mysterious and fascinating environments on Earth, the deep sea. The Deep Sea: 10 things you should know is a brilliant guide to one of the most fascinating and curious places known to humankind.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Transient and strange : notes on the science of life / Greenfieldboyce, Nell
“An astonishing debut from the beloved NPR science correspondent: intimate essays about the intersection of science and everyday life. In this, her debut book, she delivers a wholly original collection of powerful, emotionally raw, and unforgettable personal essays that probe the places where science touches our lives most intimately. Transient and Strange captures the ache of ordinary life, offering resonant insights into both the world around us and the worlds within us.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

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What’s on Press Reader? History & Science Magazines!

Pressreader is one of our great eLibrary resources that is accessible for free with your library card. It offers unlimited access to thousands of newspapers and magazines from more than 100 countries in over 60 languages. Within this blog series, we will be showcasing some of the titles that are currently available on PressReader. This month, we will focus on history and science magazines!

With new information constantly being updated, magazines are an excellent way to keep up with the news coming through from the science and history fields. Learn about astronomy, cave painting or time. You can discover so much about the past, present and future within these magazines. Check out below some of the magazines available on Pressreader.

If you want to read PressReader content and haven’t before, here’s how to get started:

    • Visit PressReader.com, and click the sign in button (top left corner)
    • Select the ‘Library Card’ option and search for ‘Wellington City Libraries’
    • Enter your Library card number, and your ‘PIN’ (the default is the last 4 numbers of your phone number) then click the ‘Sign in’ button – you’re all set!

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Deepen Your World View: New Travel Books

Up to the peaks of mountains and down under the ocean, following locals and adventurers alike, these new travel books will take you to all the corners of the world! You can discover some interesting hotels in Unusual Hotels or be inspired by adventurous women in Adventuress. Check out what you can discover in our new travel books:

Unusual hotels : world
“Discover the finest unusual hotels from around the world in this exceptional photographic guide. How about spending the night in a see-through capsule stuck on the edge of a cliff, in a secret contemporary work of art, in an old church, or in a house sitting atop a water tower? Would you like to treat yourself to a night in an igloo, in a circus, in a futuristic tree house, in an underwater bedroom or at an open-air suite? Sometimes, hotels can be destinations in their own right.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Adventuress : women exploring the wild / Amell, Carolina
“In turn inspirational and extraordinary, these profiles in female courage, determination, and adventure are illustrated with breathtaking photography from some of the most intriguing corners of the world. From the ocean’s deepest canyons to the earth’s highest peaks, these extraordinary women offer readers the inspiration and encouragement they need to pursue their dreams-whatever they are, wherever they may be.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Windswept : life, nature and deep time in the Scottish Highlands / Worsley, Annie
“Annie Worsley traded a busy life in academia to take on a small-holding or croft on the west coast of Scotland. Windswept explores what it means to live in this awe-inspiring place of unquenchable spirit and wild weather. Windswept evokes a place where nature reigns supreme and humans must learn to adapt. It is her paean to a beloved place, one richer with colour, sound and life than perhaps anywhere else in the UK.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

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