All good things must come to an end

New Zealand Music Month at Wellington City Libraries - Ends Tomorrow.
Secret CD vouchers all but gone!
Borrow NZ CDs from the Central Library's Collection and you could win a $20 music voucher from Real Groovy or Music Works.

NZ Music Trivia Quiz - entry time extended now closes Wednesday 7 June - you could win an i-pod shuffle.

NZMM Last Performance, Wednesday 31 May Library and WCC waiata groups combine to entertain you with a short bracket of waiata and are followed by the amazing Ray Ahipene-Mercer and Holden Hohaia duo - just brilliant!

Library Pre-Winter Book Sale
All items 50c - everything must go, unbelievable bargains there for the taking!

Seven deadly colours

Extinction, the secret history of gemstones and the genius of nature's palate are the topics of some of our Popular science recent picks. In Sex, drugs, and DNA, Michael Stebbins discusses the taboos which work to prevent scientists from plaining discussing their work in public. Esteened Australian scientist Peter Doherty discusses his life in The beginner's guide to winning the Nobel Prize: a life in science.

Travels through unfamous places

Our new travel books for June include Eat pray love, as much a self-help book as memoir, and photographer Mirella Riciardi's African visions. In Great British bus journeys: travels through unfamous places, David McKie visits unfashionable towns. British Philip Ells asks, Where the hell is Tuvalu?, and becomes a lawyer there.

New to MyLibrary - Graphic novels

Whether Scottish indie band Belle and Sebastian or Egyptian gods showing up in 2023 Paris are your thing, our new Fiction (Graphic novels) recent picks page is the webpage to visit. WCL's new graphic novels range from the cute (A.L.I.E.E.N.) to serious and heartfelt (Joe Sacco depicts his mother's harrowing WWII experiences). If you thought comics were just for kids, here are some titles to convince you otherwise.

Terrorists, riots, the plague...

Our fiction genre pick this month is Suspense & thrillers. New titles involve bioterrorism, dying popes, cryptic messages, the secretly-pregnant Lady Celia, a missing Amish child, and undying Wallachian vampires. In Patrick Quinlan's 'Smoked', Smoke Dugan hides from his criminal past, which of course will catch up with him.

Copland, Shostakovich, Lilburn

Our Classical music picks for June include books on the composers Copland, Shostakovich and Lilburn, plus 'Composers in the movies : studies in musical biography'. We also feature some new scores by NZ composers.

History - The United Nations

This month's History page features the United Nations. In world history for June, Orwell, Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe were born. On 15th June 1959, the Chinese gooseberry was renamed the Kiwi fruit.

Geeks on call

New computer books for June cover RSS, Photoshop CS2, Maya 7, switching to Firefox and InDesign CS2. Plus there's Geeks on call security and privacy, by JR King.

Dogs and whistleblowers

Our Popular non-fiction picks are broad this month - from the crimes and misdemeanours of M15 and M16 to calming signals for dogs, from magic and divination in Russia to climage change. Titles include David Porritt's thoughts on sustainable capitalism in Capitalism : as if the world matters, and The hip hop generation : young blacks and the crisis in African American culture by Bakari Kitwana.

S is for silence

Yes, it's time for a new Sue Grafton mystery. What will she do when she's finished with the alphabet? We also have new mysteries from Lisa Scottoline, Italian Giampiero Rigosi and Jessica Mann.

Tuck yourself in with a quilting book

Quilting dominates our Craft recent picks page for June. There are quick quilts, clever quilts, cuddly quilts, quilt borders, floral quilts, Amish crib quilts and quilts from Italian mosaics.

Cook with hairy bikers

Our new cookbooks for June include The Hairy Bikers cookbook, Second helpings from the dinner lady and Delia Smith's winter collection. Monisha Bharadwaj's India's vegetarian cooking is so yummy that I want my own copy, and its division into regional cuisines is educational. Gina Mallet "muses on the fates of foods that were once the stuff of feasts" (Amazon UK) in Last chance to eat: the fate of taste in a fast food world.

New magazines

New magazines include Straight no chaser : interplanetary sounds : ancient to future, Islamica magazine, Scratch : hip hop, Total gamer, Psychologies and Landscape architecture. For more information, check out our Magazines subject help page.

New fiction for June

Our new general fiction for June includes books by David Mitchell, Suroopa Mukherjee and Louise Wenner. Our new other fiction includes mysteries by Colleen McCullough and Lisa Scottoline; sf and fantasy by David Eddings and Bruce Sterling; and the short story collection 'Dates from hell'.

Book sale - drastic price reductions!

Central Library pre-winter book sale - drastic price reductions!

Mega bargains to be had for the rest of this week only. All fiction and non-fiction books at the low, low price of $1.00 each and stock up your children's book shelves for a mere 50c per children's item. Sale finishes on Sunday.

New books in community languages

We try to buy books in all the languages popular among Wellingtonians. Check out our latest titles, or suggest a book if your language isn't covered. This month we have our first book in the Tigrinya language of Eritrea. There are also new books in Chinese, Hindi, Croatian and more.

So you like mysteries set in Iceland...

We have added to our murder mystery genres. Use our easy search box to find your favourite kind of mystery, whether it involve cats, war, English country life, the supernatural, rail travel or noir.

Top 100 baby purees

We've updated the new books on our parenting page, with titles on teaching babies maths, making smart toy choices and being a happy mother. The Families Commission's new online panel The Couch is our featured website this month.

Fiction Connection helps you find something to read

Whether you're after books about revenge, mothers and daughters, London, ex-convicts or the Tudor period, Fiction Connection is designed to help you. Explore by genre, character, location and timeframe or go on a quick tour. Just login with your library card number and begin to browse!

New Zealand fiction

Lost among the hundreds of NZ fiction books that we hold? Our new New Zealand fiction page assists you in finding NZ fiction that you'll like. Organised by genre, you can read NZ murders, NZ romance, NZ historical novels and more.

What are we watching this month?

It's a bit scary - we're watching everything from Christopher Guest comedies through Bollywood musicals to "The Thorn Birds". You're sure to find something among our Staff DVD picks. Thought-provoking documentary "The end of suburbia : oil depletion and the collapse of the American dream" was another favourite.

Big movies, big scandals

Enron: the smartest guys in the room and King Kong are two of our new DVDs for May. Also reviewed are Tim Burton's Corpse bride, Cinderella man and The constant gardener.

Reader's choice

See what fiction has been enjoyed recently by WCL customers in our Reader's choice section.

New debut novels

We are featuring new first novels on our fiction page. The librarian's choice section has also been updated.

Mere Boynton & Toni Huata at Central Library

Māori musicians Mere Boynton & Toni Huata are performing at Central Library. Singer and actor Mere Tokorahi Boynton, who trained at the Conservatorium of Music in Wellington, performs on Saturday 13 May at 1.00 pm. Toni Huata performs the following Sunday, 21 May at 1.30 pm, show-casing her special mixture of sounds and feelings from the past, mixed with today's international music.

NZ Music Month

Win an iPod shuffle or vouchers, see a great performance, listen to some great CDS - more info on our NZ Music Month page.

Plenty of bargains at library book sale

Every year thousands of avid readers and music lovers gather at Wellington Central Library for the pre-winter book sale. And judging by its past popularity, this sale should be no different. Past buyers have used the sale to find the best book deals, to complete their personal collections or just to rummage and find a gem. And the sale helps the library by making room for its ever increasing collection.

The sale includes books, CDs, cassettes, magazines and journals on every topic imaginable. Stock is replenished at regular intervals during the sale ensuring there are always fresh bargains to be found. And they really are bargains - prices start from 50 cents for magazines, with most other items between $1 and $6.

If you love a bargain and love music or literature, you won't want to miss it.

Book sale on now at Wellington Central Library, 65 Victoria Street.

Word fugitives : in pursuit of wanted words

Our May Literature Recent Picks include James K. Baxter poetry, 'Journalistas' about women journalists and The literature student's survival kit. Barbara Wallraff's Word fugitives : in pursuit of wanted words is a pleasure for everyone who enjoys her hilarious Atlantic Monthly column in which readers coin new words.

The armed man: a mass for peace

Our classical music DVDs for May include Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, Dance and dream by Strauss and The armed man: a mass for peace by Karl Jenkins. We also feature classical music CDs on our Classical recent picks page.

Get ahead of the pack!

Check out our new bestsellers to read the most popular books in NZ. And then you can drop plot twists into conversation and annoy everyone who isn't so up-to-date! Our new bestsellers include titles by Booker short-listed Peter Carey and David Mitchell, plus thrilling new murder mysteries.

Sex, lies, and menopause

Our Health recent picks for May include books on menopause, Chi gung and IBS. Jonathan Kaplan's new book Contact wounds, on his experiences as a war surgeon, is particularly recommended. According to Amazon.com, "As a volunteer surgeon in Baghdad, he treated civilian casualties amid gunfights for control of hospitals, gangs of AK-47 wielding looters stripping pharmacies, and militant Shi'a groups harassing doctors out of operating rooms."

Going sane

Check out Going sane : maps of happiness by Adam Phillips, or the other great titles on our Personal development recent picks page. Topics covered include controlling anger, living as a modern pagan and a zen response to terrorism.

New sports and games books

Archery, sudoku, a complete history of the FA Cup, casino jargon, the four-minute mile and boxing like a pro - our new sports books cover just about everything. The Lost Babes: Manchester United and the Forgotten Victims of Munich by Jeff Connor tells the story of the legendary football team that was lost to tragedy.

New murder mysteries

Among our new Mysteries are books by Colleen McCullough, Tami Hoag and Robert B. Parker. Plus chick-lit writer Jennifer Weiner tries her hand at the mystery genre with Goodnight nobody.

Deal with Darwin at work

Our new Management books cover subjects such as innovating at every phase of a company's evolution, business success, emotional intelligence and high-impact interview questions.

Discover Egypt and discover the South Seas

Our new travel books explore Africa, Spain's past, and two-thousand miles of the Rocky mountains in a canoe.

For more travel recommendations, visit our Travel recent picks page.

New biographies - Melville, Madame de Pompadour, Kublai Khan

First man : the life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen is one of our many fascinating new biographies this month.

Visit our Biography recent picks page for more titles.

New Māori books

Every month we feature our new books on Māori subjects on our Māori recent picks page. This month the picks cover art, indigenous responses to globalisation, ancient knowledge and M&#0257ori legislation.

Children's non-fiction is cuter than ours!

Check out Owen & Mzee : the true story of a remarkable friendship by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, and Paula Kahumbu. It is the true story of two great friends - a baby hippotamus named Owen and a 130-year-old giant tortoise named Mzee. Baby Owen was orphaned after the 2004 Tsunami. His friendship with Mzee saved his life.

Children's non-fiction recent picks

New local books

In the face of the enemy : the complete history of the Victoria Cross and New Zealand by Glyn Harper and Colin Richardson has been widely discussed in the media - read it here! Other new NZ titles include painter Jacqueline Fahey's autobiography and a book about magazine covers.

New Zealand recent picks

New computer books

Our new computer books include titles on Mac OS X Tiger and CSS. We have bought heaps of new computer books the past few months! As always, our computer books recent picks page links to the latest PC Magazine cover story - read computer magazines online for free with Ebsco.

What's popular this month?

'In cold blood' by Capote, Samurai graphic novels, and NZ books 'How to look at a painting' and 'Silk riders' are among the most reserved books this month. Check out our Booklists for more information.

Home & garden

Our Home & garden new book picks for May include 'P. Allen Smith's colors for the garden', 'Designing and creating a Mediterranean garden', 'Blinds, curtains & cushions' and 'Cut the clutter'.