Author: Kath

Gut Feelings – New Health Books in the Collection

Kath

It’s a new month and we have another selection of new health books for you.  From looking after your gut health, to caring for a brain injury, to a guide to living with lupus and good eating habits, we have a wide selection of titles for you to delve into.

Gut feelings : healing the shame-fuelled relationship between what you eat and how you feel / Cole, Will
“Now, Dr Will Cole sheds light on the relationship between your physical and emotional health, providing a framework for you to better understand the gut-brain connection and influence that connection for the better. Dr Cole will help you re-evaluate your relationship with food and your body, getting you back in touch with your gut feelings, in this practical 21-Day Plan that bridges the gap between your emotions and your health with healing recipes, dietary guidance and mindfulness techniques.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Healing the traumatized brain : coping after concussion and other brain injuries / Vaishnavi, Sandeep
“Recovering from a brain injury can be a challenging, prolonged process. This book explains how the brain works, how injuries affect the brain, and how to use your brain’s own power to recover.” (Catalogue)

 

FAQs on menopause / Robinson, Julie
“No question is too simple, too embarrassing, too rude or too offbeat to be included, and each one has been asked by thousands of people just like you. Do people know I’m having a hot flush? Is it normal to feel rage all the time? Why I am getting more hair in some places and losing it from others? All these questions, and hundreds more, are covered in this short but powerful, helpful, practical guide to managing your menopause symptoms.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

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Would That Be Funny? New Biographies and Memoirs in the Collection

Kath
Silhouettes of biography book covers against a sunlit backdrop with a person reading a book with a cup of tea

A new month means new items in the collection, and we’ve got a great batch of biographies and memoirs coming your way right now.  Here are some of them to explore:

Would that be funny? : growing up with John Clarke / Clarke, Lorin
“In this fascinating memoir, Lorin Clarke tells the story of growing up with her famous father, her art historian mother Helen, and her little sister Lucia. Much has been written about John Clarke, but this is the insider’s view-of his childhood, his relationship with his parents, his decision to leave New Zealand and live in Australia, and the choices he and Helen made to create a family life that is right out of the box. Would That Be Funny? is a story about the almost imperceptible things that make a family what it is, from long-told folklore, in-jokes, and archetypes, to calamities like world wars, deep-seated traumas, and sudden loss.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Jackie : public, private, secret / Taraborrelli, J. Randy
“From New York Times bestselling author of Jackie, Janet & Lee comes a fresh and often startling look at the life of the legendary former first lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Twenty-nine years after her death and sixty years after the assassination of President Kennedy, Jackie delivers the last word on one of the most famous women in the world.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

 

Everything / nothing / someone / Carrière, Alice
“Alice Carrière tells the story of her unconventional upbringing in Greenwich Village as the daughter of a remote mother, the renowned artist Jennifer Bartlett, and a charismatic father, European actor Mathieu Carrière. With gallows humor and brutal honesty, Everything/Nothing/Someone explores what it means for our body and mind to belong to us wholly, irrevocably, and on our own terms. In pulsing, energetic prose that is both precise and probing, Alice manages to untangle the stories told to her by her parents, the American psychiatric complex, and her own broken mind to craft a unique and mesmerizing narrative of emergence and, finally, cure.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Mortification : eight deaths and life after them / Watson, Mark
“Mark Watson is generally accepted to be alive. And yet he’s died. In fact, he’s died loads of times. On stage. It’s embarrassing. Excruciating. But dying on stage isn’t the only death Mark’s suffered. There’s also been the death of his innocence. The death of that absolutely brilliant project that everyone told him was really amazing. And that time he died inside. In this memoir, he takes you behind the scenes of a life in comedy and beyond.” (Catalogue)

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One of Them – New Biographies and Memoirs in the Collection

Kath

It’s a new month and that means a bunch of new biographies and memoirs hitting the shelves.  We’ve got a real mixed bag of goodies for you to dive in to, here are just some of them for you to check out:

One of them / Lal, Shaneel
“What would you do if you were told by the people you loved the most that the way you were born was evil and wrong? For Shaneel Lal, this was their reality from the time they were five. Growing up in a tiny, traditional village in Fiji, Shaneel always knew they were different. After escaping Fiji and moving to New Zealand as a teenager, Shaneel tried to keep their sexuality – and gender – to themself, but gradually found the courage to come out. One day, while Shaneel was volunteering at Auckland’s Middlemore hospital, a church leader came up to them and offered to ‘pray the gay away’. It was a lightbulb moment for Shaneel, who could not believe that the same practices that had scarred their childhood in Fiji were operating – and legal – in New Zealand. Determined to ensure others wouldn’t have to go through what happened to them, Shaneel founded the Conversion Therapy Action Group, which lead the movement to ban conversion therapy in Aotearoa.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Because our fathers lied : a memoir of truth and family, from Vietnam to today / McNamara, Craig
“Craig McNamara came of age during the political tumult and upheaval of the late ’60s. While he would grow up to take part in antiwar demonstrations, his father, Robert McNamara, served as John F. Kennedy’s secretary of defense and was the architect of the Vietnam War. This searching and revealing memoir offers an intimate portrait of one father and son at pivotal periods in American history. Because Our Fathers Lied is more than a family story–it is a story about America.  Because our fathers lied tells the story of the war from the perspective of a single, unforgettable American family.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

bell hooks : the last interview and other conversations / hooks, bell
“bell hooks was a prolific, trailblazing author, feminist, social activist, cultural critic, and professor. Born Gloria Jean Watkins, bell used her pen name to center attention on her ideas and to honor her courageous great-grandmother, Bell Blair Hooks. hooks’s unflinching dedication to her work carved deep grooves for the feminist and anti-racist movements. In this collection of 7 interviews, stretching from early in her career until her last interview, she discusses feminism, the complexity of rap music and masculinity, her relationship to Buddhism, the “politic of domination,” sexuality, and love and the importance of communication across cultural borders.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

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Calling All Crafters!

Kath

Winter time is the best for getting stuck into those craft projects.  Watching the throw you’re crocheting grow over your lap, or the warm jersey forming from your knitting needles is lovely on a day when you can get cosy.  Perhaps you’re an embroiderer, or quilting is your thing.  No matter what your craft of choice is, these cold winter days just invite settling in somewhere cosy and getting creative.

If you’d like some company while you work on your current project, have you thought of coming to one of the craft sessions in our libraries?

Arapaki Knit & Natter

Arapaki library on Manners Street in the city has weekly lunchtime sessions on Tuesdays at 12:30pm.  Pop in on your lunch break to get away from work for a little bit, and enjoy the company of other craft minded folk.  Perhaps you could borrow this book from their collection to give you some inspiration:

Beginner’s guide to colourwork knitting : 16 projects and techniques to learn to knit with colour / Austin, Ella
“Introduction — Choosing colors — Yarn and tools — Reading charts — Stripes — Slipped stitches — Stranded colourwork — Intarsia — Double knitting — Modular knitting — Entrelac — Techniques. Beginner’s guide to colorwork knitting explains all the techniques and stitches you need to start your journey to knitting with color.” (Catalogue)

Wadestown Library – Community Craft Circle

Or you could pop in to Wadestown library on the third Wednesday of every month at 10:30am for their Community Craft Circle.  Join other crafters in their community space to share conversation, craft tips and crafting supply sources.  It’s always lovely to see a new face.  And perhaps you might like to borrow this book from their collection:

Anyone can crochet amigurumi animals : 15 adorable crochet patterns / Simpson, Kristi
“Whether you’ve been crocheting for years or have never picked up a crochet hook before, this accessible, exciting project guide will show any crafter of any skill level everything you need to know to successfully make adorable amigurumi animals! This crochet project book opens with expert guidance on basic tools and techniques and insightful introductory sections on the basics. Get detailed insight on the background of amigurumi, basic materials, how to read patterns, and other essential tips to know in the preface to the projects. Also included are stitch guides, a comprehensive glossary, a handy abbreviations sheet, and more.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Johnsonville Library Sit & Knit

On alternating Sundays at Johnsonville Library at the Waitohi Hub, there’s a fortnightly sewing and craft group for thread-heads of all skill levels and ages. Bring along an existing project, some needles and some yarn, or use our basket of goodies.​ You do need to register for this popular event as there is limited space available, and you can do so here.  Maybe this sewing book from their collection is something that would interest you:

Simple hand sewing : 35 slow stitching and mindful mending projects / Strutt, Laura
“Hand sewing is a great way to practice mindfulness through craft. Laura Strutt has designed these 35 projects specially to develop your hand-sewing skills, but also to help you slow down, enjoy the moment, and appreciate the rewards of your work. Using a number of different techniques including visible mending, sashiko, embroidery, thread doodling, boro, and abstract embroidery, Laura shows you how to incorporate these methods into making something useful, creative, and sustainable. Whichever project you choose, take time to enjoy the process and simply sew.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

For more information on library events and programmes, you can go to: Event Calendar (wcl.govt.nz)

Tell Me Everything: New Biographies and Memoirs in the Collection

Kath

The August chill is still with us and I don’t know about you, but all I want to do is curl up with a good book and a cat on my lap.  This month’s new biographies and memoirs in the collection are particularly inviting, including literary greats, world changing activists, stories of overcoming poverty and struggle, the glamour of Hollywood and everyday people who went on to make a difference.

Tell me everything : a memoir / Kelly, Minka
“Raised by a single mother who worked as a stripper and struggled with addiction, Minka spent years waking up in strange apartments as she and her mom bounced around the country, relying on friends and relatives to take them in. At times they even lived in storage units. She reconnected with her father, Aerosmith’s Rick Dufay, and eventually made her way to Los Angeles, where she landed the role of a lifetime on Friday Night Lights. Now an established actress and philanthropist, Minka takes this next step in her career as a writer. She has poured her soul into the pages of this book, which ultimately tells a story of triumph over adversity, and how resilience and love are all we have in the end.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

The marriage question : George Eliot’s double life / Carlisle, Clare
“When she was in her mid-thirties, Marian Evans transformed herself into George Eliot – an author celebrated for her genius as soon as she published her debut novel. During those years she also found her life partner, George Lewes – writer, philosopher and married father of three. After ‘eloping’ to Berlin in 1854 they lived together for twenty-four years: Eliot asked people to call her ‘Mrs Lewes’ and dedicated each novel to her ‘Husband’. Though they could not legally marry, she felt herself initiated into the ‘great experience’ of marriage – ‘this double life, which helps me to feel and think with double strength’. Reading them afresh, Carlisle’s searching new biography explores how marriage questions grow and change, and joins Eliot in her struggle to marry thought and feeling.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Poor : grit, courage, and the life-changing value of self-belief / O’Sullivan, Katriona
“As the middle of five kids growing up in dire poverty, the odds were low on Katriona O’Sullivan making anything of her life. When she became a mother at 15 and ended up homeless, what followed were five years of barely coping. This is the extraordinary story – moving, funny, brave, and sometimes startling – of how Katriona turned her life around. How the seeds of self-belief planted by teachers in childhood stayed with her. How she found mentors whose encouragement revived those seeds in adulthood. Now an award-winning lecturer whose work challenges barriers to education, Poor stands as a stirring argument for the importance of looking out for our kids’ futures. Of giving them hope, practical support and meaningful opportunities.” (Catalogue)

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There’s a Cure for This – New Health Books in the Collection

Kath

We all worry about our health from time to time; it’s completely normal.  Thankfully there are lots of good books written on the topic from people who have had similar experiences or worries.  We’ve got a good crop for you this month in our new books in the collection.  Here are just a few of the new titles available.

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.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Allergic : our irritated bodies in a changing world / MacPhail, Theresa
“Hay fever. Peanut allergies. Eczema. Either you have a frustrating allergy, or you know someone who does. Billions of people worldwide–an estimated 30 to 40 percent of the global population–have some form of allergy; millions have one severe enough to actively endanger their health. Medical anthropologist Theresa MacPhail, herself an allergy sufferer whose father died of a bee sting, set out to understand why. This book is a holistic examination of the phenomenon of allergies from its first medical description in 1819 to the mind-bending recent development of biologics and immunotherapies that are giving the most severely impacted patients hope.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

The wellness trap : break free from diet culture, disinformation, and dubious diagnoses–and find your true well-being / Harrison, Christy
“”It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle.” You’ve probably heard this phrase from any number of people in the wellness space. But as Christy Harrison reveals in her latest book, wellness culture promotes a standard of health that is often both unattainable and deeply harmful. Many people with chronic illness understandably feel dismissed or abandoned by the healthcare system and find solace in alternative medicine, as Harrison once did. Weaving together history, memoir, reporting, and practical advice, Harrison illuminates the harms of wellness culture while re-imagining our society’s relationship with well-being.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

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