ComicFest 2024: 5 minutes with Ned Wenlock

While we look forward to ComicFest 2024, meet Ned Wenlock in this “5 minutes with” interview.

Self-portrait by Ned Wenlock
Self-portrait by Ned Wenlock

What first got you interested in comics?
I couldn’t tell you, I’ve always been drawn to comics, something about their graphic nature really appeals.

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Travel Talk Made Easy: Mango Languages

Mango Languages - Language is an Adventure!

Get ready for your next trip with Mango Languages! Learn French, German, Italian, Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese and many more languages on Mango Languages for free with your library card! (Select ‘Use Mango As A Guest’ for immediate start)

From transport, tourism, greetings and culture; to food, festivals, medication and shopping — there’s lots of topical help available. Useful phrases can be digested word-to-word; pronunciation by real people is clear and authentic; scenarios are cut into useful chunks; and key vocabularies are easy to find.

Learning French on Mango Languages

From ordering in a French café, to planning a trip to the Paris Olympics, or the Louvre Museum…  head to Mango Languages to learn essential phrases for your trip to France. Learn greetings, sports phrases, navigating the airport, asking for help, and much more.  There is also a special section about French wine and cheese for food and culture… Yum!

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Un Mundo de Libros: Celebrating Spanish Language and World Book Day

April 23rd holds a special significance as it commemorates both Spanish Language Day and World Book Day, as designated by UNESCO. This dual celebration offers an opportunity to honour not only the beaty of the Spanish Language but also the joy of reading and writing. It is a day to reflect on the impact of literature, as we also pay tribute to literary giants like Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare.

Book fair in the Las Ramblas streets, Barcelona, Spain.

In some places, like Catalonia, April 23rd is also known as La Diada de Sant Jordi or Saint George’s Day. People there celebrate by giving each other books and roses. It is a day full of love and stories!

Cervante’s monument located in Plaza de España, Madrid, Spain

Here at Wellington City Library, we’re joining the festivities by sharing our Collection of Spanish Language books and stories with you. Come and join us this Tuesday, April 23rd, at 10:30 am for a bilingual Storytime at Te Māhanga Karori Library.

If you are excited to explore further into the works of Cervantes, come to check our new titles by this literary giant, including Cervantes’s masterpiece Don Quijote de la Mancha. His writings offer a profound insight into our humar and social condition transcending time and language barrier and highting the universal power of storytelling.

Let’s come together to celebrate our linguistic diversity and cultivate our love for Spanish language culture. It is an opportunity to have fun, and perhaps discover your new favourite book. Continue reading “Un Mundo de Libros: Celebrating Spanish Language and World Book Day”

ComicFest 2024: Workshops and panels

ComicFest hero image - ComicFest 4 May 2024 with illustrated comic characters around the title.

ComicFest 2024 is just around the corner, which means it’s time to plan what workshops you’re going to!

These events are free and have limited capacity, so make sure to book ahead of time to avoid missing out. You can browse the full ComicFest schedule here.

Panel: Drawing Nature – The Great Outdoors

With Giselle ClarksonLily Duval, and Sarah Laing. Hosted by Neil Johnstone.

Reserve your spot here.

The natural world of Aotearoa New Zealand has always been, and continues to be, one of our greatest inspirations.

In this unmissable event hear three of our finest graphic artists talk about how they, in their own ways, engage with our great outdoors.

Our fabulous panel features: Sarah Laing, the artist behind the illustrations for the award-nominated Sylvia and the BirdsGiselle Clarkson, the creator of the publishing phenomenon The Observologist and Lily Duval, illustrator for the Critters of Aotearoa, the book based on RNZ’s hugely popular programme “Critter of the Week”.

Each one of these acclaimed artists has a unique interest and perspective on our natural environment.

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ComicFest 2024: 5 minutes with Giselle Clarkson

While we look forward to ComicFest 2024, meet Giselle Clarkson in this “5 minutes with” interview.

Self portrait by Giselle Clarkson
Self portrait by Giselle Clarkson

What first got you interested in comics?

When I was a kid I loved Tintin, The Far Side and books by Raymond Briggs, but it wasn’t until I was at university and discovered webcomics that I realised how broad and accessible the medium was. Discovering stuff like Hark! A Vagrant, Hyperbole and a Half and xkcd gave me the idea that I could do it too.

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“There’s no escaping fate”: new mystery titles

Penguin Running GIF

Image via Giphy

“Drink up!” urged the Chief. “There’s no escaping fate. Drink while the champagne lasts!”
― Andrey Kurkov, Death and the Penguin

Welcome to another of our regular round ups of recently acquired detective and thriller titles.

In this month’s exciting and thrilling  mixed bag  of titles we have a  new crime thriller novel set in the atmospheric and wonderful city of Dunedin, called The Night She Fell by Eileen Merriman. We also have The Extinction of Irena Rey: a new book by Women’s Prize finalist Jennifer Croft In The Extinction of Irena Rey, the scene is set when an acclaimed author goes missing in an ancient Polish forest and her  translators set to work as sleuths to find her.

We also have The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill – a novel which has lots of fun with the concept of  conspiracy theories and carefully and cleverly weaves it into the plot. For fans of the “strange and fantastic “Death and the Penguin, we have a new work by its author Andreĭ  Kurkov, which is the first instalment of his latest series called The Silver Bone.  Taking a very different approach from Andreĭ  Kurkov, A Death in Diamonds by Sophia Bennett is a crime tale in which Queen Elizabeth II takes a leading role, we also have in our bag of delights a chilling, gas lit, gothic crime called A Grave Robbery by Deanna Raybourn, a novel that revolves around a mysterious waxwork figure. And finally we have  novels which feature various dastardly deeds committed in Devon,  Lake Zurich and France.  In short, there is something to suit every detective and thriller fan. To peruse our full selection, just glance below.

The night she fell / Merriman, Eileen
“‘When I last saw Ashleigh, she was lying in a pool of blood … Her eyes were open, staring sightlessly into the sky. I’d like to think she saw the stars before she died; that in her last moments she flew, soaring on serotonin, dreamy with dopamine. I’d like to think she didn’t suffer …’ A beautiful young law student dies on the concrete below her third-storey window in chilly Dunedin. It’s clear enough how she died. What isn’t is why – or who’s involved. Plenty of people had a reason to hate Ashleigh, with her straight As and perfect looks. She’s fallen out with her flatmates, and her boyfriend Xander is having second thoughts about their future together. And then there are the weird messages…” (Adapted from Catalogue)

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