The smell of an oily rag

No prizes for guessing what today's blog is about. There are tough times out there in Aotearoa (and around the world) and much belt tightening happening. So I went on an exploration in the library to see if we could help. And I found lots of things that you might find useful.

Living off the smell of an oily rag in New Zealand (and similar international titles) are, non surprisingly, all out. But if you don't want to wait for the book, there is a New Zealand website you can check out (and join if you have your own tips to share). Go to http://www.oilyrag.co.nz/.

There are plenty of other books to help you with cost-saving, self-sufficiency and job hunting in today's market. Here's a few more ideas:

The New Hard Times Handbook (Keith & Irene Smith) - a practical guide to help you do more with less

The Self Sufficiency Handbook (Alan & Gill Bridgewater) - grow your own food, chicken, goats and pigs and check out some eco friendly energy alternatives

Get Ahead (joan Baker & Annette Sampson) - get financially sorted by 30 the New Zealand Way or do a subject search for budgets or saving and investment.

Best Answers to the 201 most frequently asked interview questions (Matthew & Nanette DeLuca) or do a subject search for employment interviewing (or even just employment)

Brilliant tactics to pass aptitude tests (Susan Hodgson) - psychometric, numeracy, verbal reasoning and more

And if you are looking for some free entertainment, why not just pop into one of the Rodney Libraries and take home a book. There's nothing better.

Snippets on Monday

Snippets on Wednesday has become snippets on Monday this week as we are saving Wednesday for a fantastic announcement. So here are a selection of snippets from the book world that I have discovered on my travels around cyber-space this week. Click on the headings to go to the link for the full article.

Brits lie about books. Have you ever done this? "Two out of three Britons have lied about reading books they have not, and George Orwell's 1984 tops the literary fib list" This is according to survey carried out by the organisers of World Book Day.

World Book Day was held on the 5th of March and is the annual celebration of reading in Britain. Although it's over their website still has some interesting info on it.

There are some fantastic and very strange book titles out on our shelves at the moment as publishers and authors come up with new and interesting ways to hook the reader. So of course there has to be an award somewhere for the oddest book title each year. For details of the 2009 winner view this article Cheese wins...

Hope you are all out enjoying the sunshine. Ka kite ano

Paths to Glory

There are several things we can cover under this heading today. The title today's entry is taken from Jeffrey Archer's new book Paths of Glory which has created such a furore in New Zealand as it calls into question the achievements of one of our iconic Kiwis, Sir Edmund Hillary. There are a lot of "what if's" in this book, which is proving very popular among our patrons (expectedly). I haven't read Paths of Glory yet and there is a waiting list. You can request it using our catalogue (or ask next time you are in the library) and make up your own mind about what is, after all, a fiction novel. And while you are waiting, check out other mountaineering and Everest tales such as Everest: Summit of Achievement (Stephen Venables) or On Top of the World (Richard Sale & John Cleare). Or you can carry out a subject search on Everest or mountaineering.

Another New Zealand who has taken her own unique path to glory is former netballer and our latest cycling star Alison Shanks. After her gold medal ride at the world champs yesterday, early this morning she just failed to make it two titles when the womens team pursuit was edged by Britain and finished with a silver medal. Cycling is a growing and popular sport and recreation in New Zealand, with many different forms, so to find out more about it carry out a catalogue subject search.

And we finish of the week with the news (hopefully confirmed soon) that former Prime Minister Helen Clark's path to glory is leading her to the United Nations post (check out the Dominion Post report here). The unauthorised biography by Ian Wishart, Absolute Power is still proving popular amongst Rodney readers so you will need to put a request in if you want to read it. In the meantime for a touch of the humour and satire only Kiwis can manage, try On the conditions and possibilities of Helen Clark taking me as her young lover (Richard Meros).

Have a great weekend everyone.

Just a Little Prick

Lots of people coming into the library are feeling the effect of the change of seasons, with sniffles and head colds being the order of the day (despite the fact that we tried for a while to convince ourselves it was just hayfever).

The arrival of the nurse with the flu injections for 2009 together with mornings cold enough to require a sweatshirt on my morning walks confirmed that winter is just around the corner. Personally I don't do the flu jab, not because of any deep philosophical aversion to vaccinations, but simply because it makes me feel grotty (technical term) for about a month. I know the annual flu injections help thousands of people every year.

If you want to know more about the debate on vaccinations, head to our Health books in our non-fiction section. Just a Little Prick is the title of a book by Peter & Hilary Butler which presents the anti-vaccination argument in a New Zealand setting. You could spend some time in the health section gathering information on how to help yourself withstand all those winter germs or (if you do fall victim) how to relieve the suffering. We have books here on both conventional medical drugs, as well as a wide range of alternative therapies. Health is on our non-fiction shelves from Dewey number (referred to in our catalogue as the Call number) 610 to 619.

Nothing is more upsetting than a sick child. We have plenty of books on your Baby and Toddler, including how to deal with an ill baby or infant. Look on our nonfiction shelves in the parenting section - number 649.

Book of the week

Wellsford Library regularly review books for the Local Matters monthly newspaper. Here is last month's review of The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville

"Based on recorded historical events from the diaries of a young lieutenant named William Dawes, Grenville has invented a man of science who forms a friendship with a young aboriginal girl. Her lieutenant is an inhibited, matter-of-fact man who is not at ease with his fellow man (or woman). The girl is confident, outgoing and bright. The colony and settlement of Sydney is new, the rules are tight with little leeway for interaction with the Aborigines especially with the language barrier. Grenville’s lieutenant has become fascinated by the make-up of this language and in a purely scientific manner sets out to understand it and put it into a written form. His young friend assists by having her own interest in the astronomical work he is carrying out as an excuse to stay out of camp. However, the way ahead does not run smoothly.

Although Grenville admits to stretching time and events to suit her work of fiction, there is a solid base to her story. She weaves a sense of the times in this very new settlement and the armed forces’ first interactions with the indigenous peoples. Grenville’s earlier novel The Secret River is also based in early Sydney. She has rapidly become an author whose novels I am very much enjoying not the least for them being Australian stories."


Rodney Libraries has this book in both print and talking book. Ask at your local library.