On Heavy Rotation

Recently I have been listening to four albums on heavy rotation and I can't seem to get enough of any of them. These women are crazy talented and are bringing some fresh sounds to 2014!

I highly recommend checking them out below:

Aquarius - Tinashe

This is the debut album of R&B singer Tinashe. Her first single of the album 2 0n is a total club banger and I love it! She's got a total Aaliyah vibe about her, particularly in this live performance on Jimmy Kimmel. What I love about this album though is that its not a throwaway album with cheap and quickly produced club banger tracks. This album is not what I expected from her, but I really am enjoying it.

I Never Learn - Lykke Li

This is the third album from Swedish artist Lykke Li and once again she has captivated me with her personal brand of etheral and haunting melodies with great beats. The love songs on this album simultaneously warm my heart and tear it apart. Definitely worth a listen. Check out the first single off the album, No Rest For the Wicked.

LP1 - FKA Twigs

The debut album from British artist FKA Twigs is one of the most fresh sounds I have heard in a while. It is a mixture of synth-laden R&B while evoking the sounds of bands like Portishead and Twigs' vocals being both soft yet piercing. Honestly this album is so much worth your time, she's definitely one to watch - which you can actually do live at Laneway Festival next year in Auckland! Check out her first single off it below.

Souled Out - Jhené Aiko

I first heard the voice of Jhené Aiko on a Drake song (From Time) and immediately knew I had to see if she had any solo music out. At the time she had an EP called Sail Out which I fell in love with. Aiko's brand of chilled out, intimate songs are captivating for their honesty and the beauty of her voice. Her songs are about issues close to her heart, ranging from breakups, relationships, her daughter, and the death of her brother. What really sets her apart however is her talent with lyricism and wordplay. She's definitely one of my new favourite artists <3

Oh Captain! My Captain!

Yesterday a wonderful actor and comedian died. Robin Williams filled my childhood with such joy and laughter and I want to share with you a few of my favourite movies that he brought to life ! Here are clips from some of my (to this day!) favourite films, featuring Robin Williams.

 Aladdin - Genie

Mrs. Doubtfire 

Ferngully - Batty (apologies for the quality!)

Dead Poets Society

Good Morning Vietnam

I couldn't find the right clip, but I'd strongly suggest that you all go and watch Hook again (or for the first time) too, it's absolutely worth it.

Farewell, O Captain, my Captain. 

Homeland Season 4 teaser

Homeland is returning for its fourth season in October with a huge reboot since the departure of Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis).

This season will be largely set in Afghanistan and Pakistan where CIA officer Carrie Matheson (Claire Danes) works to maintain stability in the region after US forces pull out. 

Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing

I am excited about this one !!

A trailer has been released for The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing - English mathematician and logician, the father of modern day computing, and the man who cracked the German Enigma code during the war.

Norwegian director Morten Tyldum, known for the crime thriller Headhunters, presents this true story of Turing and his team. In a race against time they work at Britain's top-secret code breaking centre during World War II to break the German Enigma Code. The film spans Turing's life from his unhappy teenage years at boarding school to the triumph of his secret wartime work, to his post-war life where he was the victim of persecution for a now outdated criminal offence.

'The Imitation Game' will be released in New Zealand cinemas on Thursday, January 8th, 2015.

In the meantime check out these books we have on Alan Turing, he was a very interesting man! 

A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines

Turing: Pioneer of the Information Age






Alan Turing and his Contemporaries: building the world's first computers

Chelsea Handler is coming to NZ !

“I've decided to go on tour and support my new book, Uganda Be Kidding Me. I think we all know how much I love the sound of my own voice." - Chelsea Handler

That's right, Chelsea Handler, comedian, talk show host and author is heading to little ol' NZ in November for the first time evaaaa as part of her new stand-up comedy tour Uganda Be Kidding Me. Handler will be performing at the ASB Theatre in Auckland on Sat 29th November ! 

My Live Nation members can secure tickets first during an exclusive pre-sale beginning 9am on Wednesday July 23rd until 5pm Thursday July 24th. For complete details visit Live Nation !

Check out the libraries' Chelsea Handler collection below:
Uganda Be Kidding Me 

Lies that Chelsea Handler told me / by Chelsea's family, friends, and other victims 




Chelsea Chelsea bang bang










Are you there vodka? It's me, Chelsea
eAudiobook: Are you there vodka? It's me, Chelsea










My horizontal life : a collection of one-night stands
eAudiobook: My Horizontal Life: a collection of one-night stands

Dumbledore's Army Reunites at Quidditch World Cup Final

I'm a bit late to the game with this, and many of you have probably seen it already BUT!!! It is VERY exciting in my eyes.

J.K. Rowling has added another installment into the world of Harry Potter. This time it is a Daily Prophet news article written by the infamous gossip columnist Rita Skeeter, who spots Potter, friends, and family at the Quidditch World Cup Final.

Rowling released this on her site Pottermore, which I would Highly Recommend that you sign up to right now, if you haven't already! You get to go through and answer questions, and then get sorted into a house; the questions are designed by Rowling herself!

Have a read of the article below:

Yes Please, Amy Poehler!

Amy Poehler, of SNL and Parks and Recreation fame, has a book coming out! OMG. I'm very excited about this. I love love love her. Her Smart Girls youtube vids are great, she's such a great woman!

Her memoir-style book is set for an October 28th, 2014 release,  there will be a bit of a wait! But could make for an excellent Christmas gift.

While you wait for this release, you should check out Tina Fey's Bossypants and Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (also available as eBook and eAudiobook!). If you haven't already that is! Both are so great. I also have the audiobooks of them, read by the authors, and they're such a joy. I literally LOL while listening to Bossypants, and it is totally worth all the crazy stares.

Also did you know that she's been dating Nick Kroll, aka The Douche from Parks and Recreation ??? I've included a cute pic of them for your enjoyment. As much as I was disappointed that her and Will Arnett divorced, it's nice to see her with another funny man. His character is a d!#@k but is still hilarious. And I'm sure that if Amy chose him, he must be wonderful and encouraging of her woman power!

Happy Christmas

Check out the trailer for a new film Happy Christmas starring both Anna Kendrick and Lena Dunham. I have watched it..let's just say A LOT. It looks like such a fun movie! Feelings aside re: the Twilight movies, Anna Kendrick has really landed herself some great and fun roles, and seems like a generally great and fun gal! I wanna be her friend.

Irresponsible 20-something Jenny arrives in Chicago to live with her older brother Jeff, a young film-maker living a happy existence with his novelist wife Kelly and their two-year-old son. Jenny's arrival shakes up their quiet domesticity as she and her friend Carson instigate an evolution in Kelly's life and career. Meanwhile, Jenny strikes up a rocky relationship with the family's baby sitter-cum-pot dealer.

While you wait for this to be released, check out the Kendrick in Pitch Perfect  and Up In The Air and get addicted to Lena Dunham created (and starred in) Girls !

Scandinavia, you've done it again.

It seems to be that Scandinavia is very successful at producing excellent dark crime dramas, or nordic noir. There are the TV shows The Killing, The Bridge, and Borgen; not to mention the books, such as Steig Larsson's Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, Henning Mankell, and Karin Fossum.

I never would have pegged myself as a lover of the crime novel, but these Scandinavian authors have been surprising me with thrillers that I can't put down. My latest favourite, and current addiction, is Norwegian author Jo Nesbo. He is the acclaimed author of the bestselling Harry Hole series, a series that focuses on Harry Hole, a detective working for the Oslo police force. Hole works to solve crimes involving serial killers, gangsters and many others, while also battling his own demons such as alcoholism. The plots of these novels are so tightly and deftly written that you will feel compelled to keep turning the pages, all the while being drawn further in to Hole's world with Nesbo's cleverly placed hairpin twists and turns.

I highly recommend this series, and it's not even necessary to read them in order, the first one I read was The Snowman, number 7 in the series, and I didn't feel like there was anything I was missing. I would recommend this book in particular as it started me on this path of Nesbo adoration, but I think any would do it!

Nesbo has also written a new stand-alone novel called The Son which has received so much buzz around it and rave reviews. I can't wait until the copies ordered for the library arrive! Reserve yours now! 

Game of Thrones Season 4

"Your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you will know the debt is paid." - Cersei Lannister

"They can live in my new world, or they can die in their old one." -Daenerys Targaryen

There is a new Game of Thrones trailer for the upcoming Season 4! This is surely something to get excited about. Season 4 is based on the second half of A Storm of Swords, which is the third book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin.

Scheduled to premiere on HBO on 6th April, only TWO weeks away!

RIP PSH

Today the news reported that Philip Seymour Hoffman had passed away. None of us knew him, but he was an actor that so many people have connected to - the responses to the news of his death on Facebook and Twitter show the impact he has had. He was such a talented man, always choosing such interesting roles from blockbuster flicks like The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (the sequels of which he was working on at the time of his death), to smaller scale films like the animated Mary and Max. His portrayal of Truman Capote in Capote, which was breathtaking and unnerving, won him the Academy Award for Best Actor. Whether he was playing a lead or supporting role he dominated the screen, being fully committed to every character.

He was a hugely talented man, not flashy, and dedicated to his family - for these reasons I will always respect him and celebrate his body of work. He leaves behind his partner Mimi O'Donnell, son Cooper (10), and daughters Tallulah (7) and Willa (5).

Below I have compiled a collection of his films that we have at the library. Do yourself a favour and watch them! Revisit old one, see new ones, and join me as we admire this talented man.

The Master

* photo courtesy of JB Hi-Fi

The Ides of March

* photo courtesy of JB Hi-Fi

Moneyball

* photo courtesy of JB Hi-Fi

Savages

* photo courtesy of  Wikipedia

Charlie Wilson's War

* photo courtesy of JB Hi-Fi

Doubt

* photo courtesy of  Wikipedia

Mary & Max

* photo courtesy of  Wikipedia

Magnolia

* photo courtesy of  Wikipedia

Capote

* photo courtesy of  Wikipedia

Boogie Nights

* photo courtesy of  Wikipedia

Adolf in Blunderland

Adolf in Blunderland: a political parody of Lewis Carroll's famous story by James Dyrenforth and Max Kester

This book. Oh my! It is something that I discovered on our wonderful blog "Treasures from the Basement" and I am so pleased to have stumbled upon it. Auckland Libraries is one of only two libraries that hold this book in New Zealand (the other being Dunedin public library). I have searched online for a copy to purchase but have only been able to find second hand (as it is out of print) copies, with the lowest price being around $60 ! I have seen copies going for more than $100 too - this book is hot property !

It is hilarious and very, very pointed. It is a radio script from a BBC play that was broadcast in October 1939, but the hard copy version of it includes some extra parts that were deemed to be inappropriate by the BBC for airing. It is also a rather disturbing read in light of what occurred in the years following, the devastation of which no one could have predicted

The story follows Alice's adventures, as Adolf encounters the same characters she did, with some slight differences.

Some of my favourites are the Mad Hatter becoming the Mad Flatterer; the Doormouse is the Doormat - representative of the German population(!); the Mock Turtle is Mock Gurbles; the Caterpillar is Neville Chamberlain, allowing Adolf to take his choice of bites out of the mushroom cap in order to make him big again, with the cap resembling a map of the world.

Adolf in Blunderland is a great laugh but it is also chilling to think of the destruction to quickly come, one which the authors could certainly not have predicted.

If you are an Alice fan, or a political cartoon fan, or a history buff, or just enjoy a laugh, you must read this!

Digital Eats

I have been browsing through our digital library recently. There is SO MUCH in there. It's a bit like Alice's rabbit hole. My most recent discovery has been on the digital media site Overdrive Media.

On a whim, I began searching for some of the books that I have on hold and have been waiting for for some time.

AND THEY WERE THERE! In e-Book format, which normally I wouldn't use because I don't have an e-Reader (yet..Christmas is coming up...*hint hint*). But! The most wonderful thing is that I can read them on my computer (in my browser or in an e-Reader programme), or even on my phone!

This really works out wonderfully for me because the books I was looking at are vegan, gluten-free, and other allergen friendly recipe books! So I can set up my computer or phone in the kitchen with these books on them and start cooking and baking up a storm!

I am a huge fan of cooking and baking, especially experimenting with vegan and gluten-free recipes. I am so excited to have these readily available for me, rather than having to wait for months! Some of them I did have to put a hold on, but with the digital copy I was 1 out of 1 holds instead of 18 out of 25 or something! It's a pretty great deal.

Gluten-Free and Vegan Bread

Gluten-Free and Vegan Holidays

Vegan Pizza

Gluten-Free and Vegan Pie

Veronica Mars

This morning I was left in a dreamlike state due to the following video:

If you're a Veronica Mars fan such as myself, this clip will have you squealing with anticipation about the upcoming film. In short, the clip has the cast of VM getting all cute about whether they're Team Piz or Team Logan.

This movie is the result of an amazing Kickstarter campaign. Rob Thomas and cast got together to promote the campaign, offering T-Shirts, special screenings, and even an answer machine message recorded by Kirsten Bell herself, for all the different amounts contributed. The speed with which the goal was reached and surpassed was spectacular. It just shows how much VM fans want to see her and the gang again! So basically this movie is going ahead largely in thanks to all the crazy fans out there than contributed money towards the project.

This definitely paves the way for other much loved but cancelled TV shows, with rumors about many similar Kickstarter campaigns, in particular Joss Whedon's Firefly. Watch this space!

For the record, I'm totally Team Logan!

To tide you over here are some of the VM related goodies we house at the library:

Neptune Noir : unauthorized investigations into Veronica Mars

This is a collection of essays edited by the creator of VM, Rob Thomas! The essays cover a range of topics from Veronica and the kickass vigilante justice she dishes out, to her relationship with Logan Echolls. This collection highlights the issues of socioeconomic disparities as shown in Neptune, not to mention highlighting the powerful woman VM is in a world of sappy girl teen dramas!

Teen dreams : reading teen film from 'Heathers' to 'Veronica Mars'

While not strictly only about VM, this book chronicles not only the history of awesome teen movies, from the classic John Hughes films through favourites like Heathers and Clueless, and cult-classic TV Shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Popular, and our favourite VM. It's an excellent expose on how these movies and TV programmes highlight the alternate side to the "American Dream".



And leaving the best to last!

Veronica Mars Season One

As well as Veronica Mars Season 2 and Veronica Mars Season Three