Mini-digitastic! The new way to read in Rodney

It's called the Playaway and it is appearing now at all Rodney Libraries.

The Playaway is "the simplest way to listen to an audio book on the go". The small MP3-type unit comes with the title already loaded and a battery to make it play. "Plug in your earphones and enjoy. No cassettes or CD's. No downloads. Thre's nothing left to do but listen."

You can bookmark your favourite sections, adjust the speed of the narrators voice and it even remembers where you stopped. The Playaway works with most headphones, speakers and car adaptors, but we have a supply of headphones for sale at the Library for $2 if you don't have a set of your own.

We have been trialling Playaway's through our Orewa Library and they have proved exceedingly popular. Since they arrived here at Warkworth on Monday, they have been rocketing out the door. We have some fantastic titles and authors:

• The classics such as Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy
• Biographies
• Thrillers and mysteries with authors such as Ruth Rendell and John Grisham
• History from swashbuckling Alexander Kent to the romance of Charlotte Bingham
• Science fiction including Dr Who and Ray Bradbury
• The most popular authors of today such as Jodi Picoult, Steig Larsson and Harlen Coben
• Children's and young adult titles including The Host (Stephenie Meyer), Jacqueline Wilson and Eion Colfer.

To find out what titles we have and try them for yourself, head down to your local Library and look for the Playaway either on a special display or shelved with our audio book collection. Or to reserve yourself a copy, check out the list on our Library catalogue here.

So in summary - the Playaway is

• pre-loaded
• digitable
• portable
• simple
• and best of all, FREE!

Book Sale

The Lions Club of Whangaparaoa in conjunction with Rodney Libraries will be holding a book sale September 22-25 at the Plaza. There are lots of boxes of books that must be sold. Grab a bargain and support a good cause. All proceeds to local community projects and Rodney Libraries.

Kiwi Corkers

There's a great set of picture books for New Zealand children which are all feature a retelling of a classic fairy tale - but with a Kiwi flavour and twist. It started a couple of years ago with Wacko Kakapo (Yvonne Morrison, illustrations Donovan Bixley) which is a revamp of the Chicken Little story which characters such as Peewee Kiwi and Gotta Gloat Stoat off to tell Tane Mahuta that the sky is falling.

Since then there have been additions to the Kiwi Corkers series and as we head towards the festive season (I shudder as I type the words, but it is true) there are even more due to hit the library shelves and book shop stands. And they really are corkers.

I got my hands on a copy of Trev and the Kauri Tree (Chris Gurney, illustrations David Gunson) at the recent Storylines Festival and got both the creators to sign it for my neice (whose Dad just happens to be a Trev). It was the highlight of her Sunday last weekend as the traditional tale of Jack and the Beanstalk was spiced up with talk of Taniwha, Trade-me and chainsaws. It even brought a smile to my brother's face (he was still in mourning for the Warriors on Friday night and the Taniwha of Northland on Saturday afternoon).

Unfortunately this title has been ordered but hasn't arrived at the library yet, but you can still ask a friendly librarian to request it for you. In the meantime there are still some books in the series that are on our shelves. To find them just do a keyword search in our catalogue for Kiwi Corkers

Medieval Madness - School holiday programme 27 September - 7 October

During September, Rodney Libraries will be invaded by Knights of old, fiery dragons, and damsels fair as Medieval Madness takes hold of school aged children.
From Monday 27 September until Thursday 7 October, Rodney libraries will be hosting a series of story, activity and craft sessions as part of the ‘Medieval Madness’ school holiday programme. Children will be invited to dress up in costume and join in the fun.

Helensville Library
Mon 27 Sept 10.30 am Craft: Castles
Wed 29 Sept 10.30 am Craft: Shields
Mon 4 Oct 10.30 am Craft: Crowns
Wed 6 Oct 10.30 am Craft: Knights

Kumeu Library
Tue 28 Sept 10.30 am Medieval dragons in the library
Thurs 7 Oct 10.30 am Medieval mayhem! Craft activity and stories

Mahurangi East Library
Thurs 30 Sep 10.30am Medieval stories, fun and activities
Thurs 7 Oct 10.30am More Medieval stories, fun and activities

Orewa Library
Wed 29 Sep 2.30 Medieval mayhem! Craft activity and stories
Wed 6 Oct 2.30 More Medieval fun!

Warkworth Library
Thurs 30 Sept 10.30 am Mischief and mayhem in Medieval times. Tools for the times
Thurs 7 Oct 10.30 am Knights, princesses and dragons. Dress up Day for more Medieval fun and stories at the Library.

Wellsford Library
Thurs 30 Sept 10.30 am Medieval dragons in the Library
Thurs 7 Oct 10.30 am Medieval dragons in the Library

Whangaparaoa Library
Wed 29 Sept 2 pm Medieval fun at the library
Wed 6 Oct 2 pm More medieval stories and fun

Thurs 7 Oct 6.30 pm Medieval dress-up Storytime at the castle

Teresa's Top 5 for Friday

Teresa is one of our Rodney Librarians and she has supplied today's Top 5. This is her top 5 non-fiction.

All rivers run to the sea by Elie Weisel Delving into the Holocaust and life in the concentration camp, this biography is by a popular Jewish author .

Mark of the Lion by Kenneth L Sandford Another biography, this time on the life of Charles Upham V.C.

A house in Fez by Suzanna Clarke "When Suzanna Clarke and her husband bought a dilapidated riad, or traditional courtyard house, in the ancient Medina of Fez, their friends thought they were mad." Find out if buying a house in Morocco really is madness in this book.

Never suck a dead man's hand by Dana Kollman It's a curious title for the curious world of female forensic scientists where you need to be smart, sassy and have a strong stomach.

Riding the bus with my sister by Rachel Simon Would you give up your careers to ride buses in Pennsylvania for a year with your sister? That's what Rachel did. Read about it here.

I personally haven't read any of these books, but there are a couple here that may go on my TBR list. Teresa said this morning "It was so hard to keep it to five, I kept thinking oh should have added that one. I just love books where people, just being themselves, do extraordinary things." Excellent sentiment Teresa.