On the rocks

Once upon a time stories of shipwrecks and vessels in trouble was confined to the pages of the history books, with pirates and castaways struggling through heavily romanticised fiction to a happy (usually) ending. Pilgrims to far off lands sometimes managed to safely set foot in new worlds, while for others, the only things that made it to shore were the snapped timbers of boats that didn't make it into safe harbours. New Zealand coasts have many stories to tell of ships that didn't make it across some of the infamous bars guarding our harbours. And people can understand how a storm can create tragedy for those on the high seas, such as the sinking of the Wahine.

But a calm sunny day on the east coast of New Zealand just out from some of most pristine beaches is a strange place for the latest maritime tragedy to unfold. However the unfolding disaster of the cargo ship Rena will place it near the top of what some in Aotearoa must be thinking of as our very own "Annus Horribilis".

To find out more about Shipwrecks in New Zealand visit the link for a subject search here.
To find out more about what the authorities can (or might) be doing to mitigate the effects of the current disaster, here are the results of a keyword search on oil pollution

And to investigate the effects of oil pollution on wildlife, try this recently released non-fiction title from the Gulf of Mexico explosion. The tarball chronicles : a journey beyond the oiled pelican and into the heart of the gulf oil spill / David Gessner tells a story that extends beyond the archetypal oil-soaked pelican, beyond politics, beyond BP. Instead he explores the ecosystem of the Gulf as a complicated whole and focuses on the people whose lives and livelihoods have been jeopardized by the spill. He reintroduces this oil spill as a template for so many man-made disasters and the long-term consequences they pose for ecosystems and communities.

School Holidays at the Library

Take a rest from school and have some fun at the libraries. We have a bit of everything for kids : from storytimes and crafts to all sorts of quizzes and challenges!

Helensville Library
Kiwiana Storytime 10.30am, Monday 10 October

Create a Kiwiana wreath with us at our Kiwi stories and crafts activity time.
Kiwiana Storytime 10.30am, Wednesday 12 October

It's all about Robbie the rugby player! Kiwi stories and crafts.
Kiwiana Storytime 10.30am, Monday 17 October

At this Kiwi stories and crafts time we work with the poi. Come on down to learn more!
Kiwiana Storytime 10.30am, Wednesday 19 October

Lets get jiggy with it! Come along for a jigsaw theme at this Kiwi stories and crafts activity session.

Kumeu Library
Kiwiana Storytime 10.30-11am, Tuesday 11 October

Listen to some curious stories with a Kiwiana twist, then test your knowledge of Kiwiana in our quiz and join in our scavenger hunt for all things Kiwiana. Cool colouring competition available all holidays!
Celebrity Pyjama Storytime 6-7pm, Thursday 20 October

How often do you get to wear your pjs outside of the house? Well, we want you to come down in your pjs for a cool underwater story time and… meet Spongebob! A fun evening for the family.

Orewa Library
During the World Cup, Orewa is adopting a second team – Japan!
Rugby hubbub 2.30-3.30pm, Wednesday 12 October

Heres a bit of a mix for ya! Learn how to make your very own sushi, learn about the art of calligraphy and then get into the rugby spirit as we have some crafty time making a rugby diorama!
Rugby hubbub 2.30-3.30pm, Wednesday 19 October

Ok Squad, its time to get into training mode! Have fun with us at our mini rugby training session. Suitable for those aged four to ten years old.

Mahurangi East Library
Holiday sessions for school-aged children

Thursday 13 October 10.30am, Join us for rugby stories and a quiz, then design and autograph a rugby ball to display in the library.
Thursday 20 October 10.30am, More rugby stories, then make a goal-kicking rugby finger puppet to take home.
Regular storytimes for pre-schoolers continue as usual in the holidays, Tuesdays at 10.30am.

Warkworth Library
Kiwi sports storytime 10.30am, Monday 10 October

Do you have a pre-schooler that could do with some entertaining? Well drop on by for our pre-schoolers' storytime with a kiwi sports theme.
Wednesday 12 October Tell us a story 10.30-11.30am,

Reader's Theatre for school-age children. Join the children's librarian to help act out a story.
Monday 17 October Stories around the world 10.30am.

Pre-schoolers' storytime with songs and stories with an international flavour.
Wednesday 19 October One world, many stories 10.30-11.30am

Many stories from around the world, flag making and other crafts. Children can dress up in the colours of their favourite rugby team.

Wellsford War Memorial Library
Thursday 13 October Storytime 10.30-11am,

Stories and activities - match flags and countries with our Memory Flag game.
Thursday 20 October Storytime10.30-11am,

Stories and activities - design a rugby jersey and a game.

Whangaparaoa Library
Rugby memorabiliaSeptember/OctoberFelix Matheson, winner of BackingBlack national competition, will be displaying some of his impressive collection of rugby memorabilia at the Library.
Wednesday 12 October Computer Quiz : World of Sport 2.30-3.30pm,

Join us for an online quiz using the library catalogue. This is suitable for children of school age. Bookings essential.
Wednesday 19 October Rugby World Cup : Stories and activities 2.30-3.30pm,

Enjoy rugby stories, songs and make a rugby diorama.

Top 5 for Friday - Christian Fiction

Today's Top 5 post comes to you courtesy of one of my Auckland Libraries colleagues, Rachel. It's always great to have a new voice on the board, because sometimes I think you must get sick of the sound of mine. Even though I try to vary and mix up my already somewhat eclectic tastes, it's always nice to get another opinion. What I like about this post is that it addresses some misconceptions, and that it recommends authors rather than titles. Thanks Rachel.

I’m assuming that if you are reading this post, you are interested in at least trying Christian Fiction. When I was younger, I never read this genre thinking that it was going to be happy, sappy and that everything was going to work out because they prayed about it. I have been pleasantly surprised by many books that I have since read. Here are some of my favourite authors in this growing genre -

Deeanne Gist – She is a favourite because she doesn’t stick to the usual formula ie girl in early twenties bemoaning that the guy is never going to come along. Yes, they are still romances (historical ones at that) but the characters don’t often fit the mould!

Ted Dekker – If you are a fan of sci-fi or Frank Perretti, this is someone you might want to try. My favourite series would be the circle trilogy but all of them are great!

Trish Perry – Her characters have real problems and while you can guess how the book is going to end – it’s fun getting to it!

Erynn Mangum – I love her main characters! They are quirky but very loveable.

Sarah Sundin – She has written a WW2 series which deals with some difficult issues.

Lastly, an author who I’ve just discovered…Margaret Brownley – also someone who doesn’t use traditional characters in her books. I found them fun!

The soundtrack of life

I'm not a fan of all of Jodi Picoult's books. But I am a fan of a lot of them. And this one makes the latter list.

Sing you Home is this author's latest release. It has been out for a while but because of it's popularity, only ended up on my desk last week for review. It comes with the added extra of a CD of original songs that mirror the plot and (in Jodi's words) "bring the character of Zoe to life for the reader by giving her a real voice".

I actually picked this book up without reading a review, flyleaf or publisher's summary on the catalogue. So I did not know what to expect other than that there would be music involved (because of the title) and that there would be some ethical dilemma that the characters would have to solve (because that's how Jodi's books work). And I struggle to write this review because I don't know how much of the plot I should give away.

I thought I had it all figured out reading the first couple of chapters. I knew what was happening as Zoe (our main character) struggled with infertility leading into some personal crisis. And then suddenly it changed. I was surprised (and delighted) as the author through her characters, took me on an unexpected journey to an almost completely satisfactory conclusion. It was the ideal book to get me through a dreary Sunday. In fact it wouldn't have mattered if it had been a great day outside - I would have still have been found on the couch turning the pages.

If you want "Spoilers" on the plot line, go to our catalogue and read through the summary there. The following is an excerpt from the flyleaf of the book, which gives nothing away, but does provide a sense of what you will find between the covers.

In the aftermath of a series of personal tragedies, Zoe throws herself into a career as a music therapist. When an unexpected friendship slowly blossoms into love, she makes plans for a news life, but to her shock and inevitable rage, some people - even those she loves and trusts most - don't want that to happen.

Sing you Home is about identity, love, marriage and parenthood. It's about people wanting to do the right thing for the greateer good, even as they work to fulfill their own personal desires and dreams. And it's about what happens when the outside world brutally calls into question the very thing closest to our hearts: family.

For the observant reader, you may be wondering why I said the book was almost completely satisfying. One of the characters Zoe encountered was Lucy, a rebellious teenager searching for... something. I was left on closing the book, wondering about Lucy's story and hoping that one day Jodi may let us in on her past, present and future.

October What's On

Have you got your copy of the Library What's On e-newsletter yet? Here's a quick run down of some of the things that are happening, but for all the details you need to either check out the website or subscribe for it to arrive in your Inbox at the beginning of every month.

Diwali : 1 - - 29 October
Across Auckland we celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights, with something for everyone – join in the entertainment, colour and culture at your local library during India's best-loved festival. Events include Bollywood performances, henna painting, sari-wrapping demonstrations, 'Ask me in Hindi' sessions, storytimes and more.

In local libraries, this means Special Diwali storytimes for pre-schoolers at the following libraries:
Warkworth Library, Monday 3 October, 10.30am
Whangaparaoa Library, Wednesday 12 October, 10.30am
Orewa Library, Thursday 13 October, 11am

From 1-15 October you can also enjoy displays of Indic language books and artifacts at Helensville, Kumeu, Mahurangi East, Orewa, Warkworth, Wellsford War Memorial and Whangaparaoa Libraries.

October School Holidays : 10 - 22 October
Across Auckland it's time to take a break from school. We have a bit of everything for kids and teens at the libraries during a busy October. Expect stories, quizzes, games, treasure hunts, crafts, and a writing competition mixed in with a bit of Rugby World Cup and Halloween fun.

Check out all the local Rodney events on this website page or go onto the Auckland Libraries website to see what's happening right across Auckland.

Talks and Presentations
Investigate an eclectic mix of talks from a diverse range of people in October. If you want to keep it this side of the Harbour Bridge, there are several talks coming up at Takapuna Library, but there is some interesting stuff happening elsewhere in Auckland as well, including:
3 Oct: Travel Nights: Motorcycling Vietnam (Central City Library)
3 Oct: Two dogs and a garden with Derelie Cherry (Takapuna Library)
6 Oct: The Alexander technique – discover how the technique can help improve your posture and quality of life (St Heliers Library)
7 Oct: Bring your own rose - a Latin American experience (Otahuhu Town Hall)
11 Oct: An hour with Margaret Pope (Takapuna Library)
12 Oct: How to watch the Rugby World Cup 2011 with Spiro Zavos (Takapuna Library)
12 Oct: Hearing health day
13 Oct: Caught between sunshine and shadow with Georgie Tutt (Pt Chevalier Library)
19 Oct: Expert witness with Dr. Anna Sandiford (Central City Library)
20 Oct: The two of me with John Dybvig (St Heliers Library)

It was a rather despondent weekend, despite great wins to the Junior Warriors and the All Blacks. Still proud of the Vodafone Warriors, commiserations to Dan Carter and I hope the Warriors don't mind if we borrow their mantra for the rest of the All Black World Cup campaign. Come on New Zealand - Keep the Faith.