Top 5 for Friday - About to hit the shelves

I have moved desk. I now have a little cubby hole down at Orewa in the Auckland Council Service Centre. There are pro's and con's in this move. I know I will miss my storytime kids and customer interaction. But I now get to travel all over Auckland, visit lots of libraries and meet some of our fantastic librarians. So stay tuned for tales on a wider scale than before from all around the City.

The other positive is that I sit just around the corner from where all the new books come into the library to be processed. So whenever I lack inspiration for something to put on the blog I will just pop next door and see what is about to hit the shelves. Which is just what I have done this week. So in no particular order...

1. Sing no sad songs: Losing a daughter to cancer (Sandra Arnold). I think I will cry when I read this book (which I will, especially after just reading the first few pages). But I think I will also find it uplifting. Sandra is a published author and a wordsmith. This is apparent from the first paragraph of the introduction. On 6 April 2002 my youngest daughter Rebecca died of a rare appendix cancer, at the age of 23. For a whole year afterwards I couldn't say her name and the word 'died' in the same breath. though I am a writer and a teacher of writing, I had no words to describe this cataclysmic event in the life of my family. I could no longer read novels, listen to music, or watch films. I stopped dreaming. It hurt to breathe... Leafing through the pages, passages of poignancy leap out at me. I look forward to reading this book.


2. My Life & other stuff I made up (Tristan Bancks). For something completely different this is ia new children's fiction title. It follows on in the style of Andy Griffiths and Morris Gleitzman with short stories based on the life of Tom. Most girls will probably go 'Yuck!' to and most boys will lap up and laugh over. There is a warning on the story My Nan is tougher that adults should not read it under any circumstances, a random list of nit cures and an indepth investigation of Tom's scab. It think this will quickly make it onto the read aloud lists for many school visits.


3. Off the Wall: The World of WearableArt. If, like me, you keep meaning to but never manage to find the gap in your calendar to get to the annual Wearable Arts shows, then this is a book for you. This is the third edition of the Wearable arts design book and was produced to accompany the national touring exhibition. From the cheeky to the surreal and using everything from recycled cricket pads and human hair to used tea bags and bones (not all in the same costume), this is a great book to browse or inspire.


4. Homemade: Over 700 everyday items that are easy to make and will save you money (Reader's Digest). And who doesn't want to save money? There is the added bonus that by using this book you will also avoid artificial ingredients and produce less waste. Divided into sections for the Kitchen, Health and Beauty and Around the House, you can put on some relish, use some of the offcuts for tone your complexion and then when you pour yourself a drink at the end of the day, use a little bit of that vodka in a flea dip cocktail for your pet (page 316 if you can spare the vodka).


5. The Marvel Encyclopedia: The definitive guide to the characters of the Marvel Universe. Updated and expanded and just in time for Comic Book Month which kicks off in the libraries in September (oops - spoiler). An A to Z of the characters, the groups and their worlds. Heroes and villains with their back stories and a journey through the decades of trends within Marvel. A fantastic fact file (and Yes - there is a companion DC Universe encyclopedia).

Have a great weekend everyone. Hope there was something in this list for almost everyone.

Events at Rodney Libraries.

As well as the Storytimes, Rhymetimes and Wriggle and Rhyme sessions held at our Libraries over the next couple of weeks, there are a couple of other things you might like to consider.

Mark Bayley family history talk
Auckland Libraries and the Hibiscus Coast branch of New Zealand Society of Genealogists present Mark Bayley at Whangaparaoa Library. Mark, a leading genealogist from the UK, will speak about family history research. This will be held on Thursday 1 September from 10am to 12 noon and is a free event. For further details contact the Staff at Whangaparaoa Library Phone 09 427 3710 Email whanglib@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz or just turn up on the day.

Kumeu Bookclub
Join the Book Club at Kumeu Library. The next meeting is Thursday 25 August from 7pm to 8pm. The group reads one book for each meeting discussion and refreshments are served. As well as reading and discussing the book of the month they also share other good books that they have read. For further details contact the Kumeu Library staff Ph 09 412 7995

To find out about events specifically in the Rodney area, this is the events page link.

Or sign up for the monthly What's On E-newsletter for information on library events and exhibitions around Auckland.

Kiwi Historic Fiction

La Rochelle's Road by Tanya Moir is a book that captures both the beauty (and harshness) of the New Zealand landscape in the mid to late 1800's and the struggle of the early settlers against both that landscape and the search to find their place in the new country.




Central to the struggle are the Peterson family who travel to the Banks Peninsula in 1886 to start a new life and the man that they purchased the land off Etienne La Rochelle. There are elements of scandal, love, disaster, ethnic, class and culture clashes and a variety of different colourful characters along the way.

A well researched and evocative first novel from Tanya that is worth picking up.

Top 5 for Friday - Kiwi Jazz and Blues

I had a fantastic break in the winterless north at Paihia last weekend (at least it was until about 2.15 pm on Sunday afternoon when within the space of one song the temperature turned snowy). It was the annual Bay of Islands Jazz and Blues Festival (the 26th year of the event) and it is from this that I take the inspiration for this weeks Top 5.

I never thought I was much of a fan of jazz and blues. And there are certainly some types of both jazz and blues that I couldn't sit and listen to for an extended period of time. What I do like about most of it though, is that it is music with personality and emotion. Whether it is the upbeat tempo of the swing jazz to the deprivation of the honky tonk blues, when you can hear the words that tell the story of everyday people living everyday lives and the musicians make their instruments talk - you can't beat it. So here are some of my new and rediscovered favourites (at least those that have made CD's and that have music in our collections)

1. Kokomo They started life as Kokomo Blues and are now just Kokomo. And they are quite simply the best. With a uniquely Kiwi brand of blues as well as classics from the deep south of America in the 1920's. Kokomo have an extensive back catalogue and I am pleased to see that we hold most of them. Their latest album contains one of their new songs It all comes round, as well as the timely Tintin's in Love and Plastic Jesus. They are irreverant, fun and have the best harmonica player in New Zealand.


2. Grant Haua All the best musicians this weekend seemed to come out of Tauranga. Grant Haua was one of them. His brand of blues is intensity personified. He loves his guitars but he attacks them with passion in some of the fastest fret and finger picking that I have ever seen. He does have his own album out (recently released) but can be heard in Auckland Libraries collection in Walk on Water (which just happens to have been produced by the same Studio as Kokomo and features some of the Kokomo boys on backup).


3. Brilleaux The last of the Tauranga trio, these guys are both high energy (the Saturday night show went at a million miles an hour) but can also do acoustic (the Sunday afternoon gig) with a brand that owes more to the early British Blues scene such as Rolling Stones and Slade. They have just released a live album.


4. Kniki and Mike Beale were just one of the several Australian acts which crossed the ditch for the Festival and they were certainly my pick in the blues category (although if dixie is more your thing then the Dixie Street Jazz Band is worth a look as well). A strong voice and great guitar work from this duo and I can't wait to hear Kniki's take on Janis Joplin in a new album due out next year.


5. That's Life You won't find any recordings from this Kiwi quartet of jazz musicians, who have been playing in various guises for more years than they will probably admit to (at least they didn't to us). They do it because they love it. They do it with humour and personality - the music sings and the audience responds. A trip to Sky City where they play monthly may be on the cards for the girls.

Honourable mentions go to all the school and youth bands that turned up this year - more than ever before. I am going to be parochial and say that I thought Music @ Mahu were the most polished, but I also caught the Aotea Comb Youth JazzBand and the Pakuranga College Jazz Band and they were pretty special too.

If Jazz and Blues are your thing (or music in general), we have an awesome collection of CD's, sheet music and DVD's at Auckland Libraries.

R.I.P. Sir Paul Reeves

The State funeral was held today for a man of much mana. Sir Paul Reeves passed away over the weekend and the sincerity of the tributes that are being paid to him are revealing as to the heart of the man and his standing, not just in New Zealand, but internationally.

A keyword search in the Auckland catalogue Reeves, Sir Paul. The most interesting to me would be the Replay Radio interview and the biography of his wife Beverley Playing the part.

A wealth of information about Sir Paul, his life and his thoughts can be found through the Libraries Digital Resources, especially such databases as The KNowledge Basket and Matapihi.

He tangata kii tahi
A man who speaks once

RIP