Food glorious food

We have new cooking books on the pleasures of slow food, children's cooking, biodynamic foods, sweets from Savannah's Lady and sons and the appealingly personal 'A tale of 12 kitchens: family cooking in four countries'. For the adventurous, Tessa Kiros' gorgeous 'Apples for jam: recipes for life' arranges food by colour.

Frogs, butterflies and dinosaurs

New science books for July include 'Frogs : a chorus of colors', 'Butterflies of the world', 'The illustrated encyclopedia of dinosaurs' and 'Galileo's instruments of credit : telescopes, images, secrecy'. Well-known mathematician Ian Stewart explains what it's like to be a mathematician. In 'Chances are... : adventures in probability', we realise "once you know that daisies usually have an odd number of petals, you can get anyone to love you."

Indigenous peoples resources

Our Indigenous peoples resources page highlights books and articles throughout our collection on Māori and first nations of the world. Topics covered include culture, education, environment, sovereignty and literature.

Zombie shops and slackers at summer camp

New graphic novels this month feature a lab experiment gone disastrously awry, a beautiful young Japanese woman who can raise the dead, Nikolai Dante (thief, brigand and bastard son of the Romanovs), a camp counselor in 1979 Quebec, and a desert road trip. Comic great Will Eisner's The plot : the secret story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion dramatises the anti-Semitic hoax, exploring its twisted history from nineteenth-century Russia to modern-day Ku Klux Klan members and Islamic fundamentalists.

Lasagna gardening for small spaces

DIY and gardening recent picks include lasagna gardening (layering), creating a cosy winter house, tailoring, curtain-making and one-minute organising.

Most new DVDs ever?

Booklists - new fiction, large print, DVDs and music. We have fiction about wanton redheads, the smell of the moon, dolphin people and the single gentleman's dining club. We have large print books about Pope Benedict XVI, an ice queen and the pride of Lancashire. New DVDs include The standard of perfection - show cats & show cattle, Love of quilting, The best of queer eye, FIFA fever, Dirty Harry, She-devils on wheels, Walk the line, The Beatles down under, Ricky Gervais live and 8 1/2. And more. Much, much more.

New bestsellers this week include Janet Evanovich's Twelve Sharp and Frank Schätzing's The swarm. A publishing phenomenon in Germany, the English version of ecological thriller The swarm was translated by Sally-Ann Spencer of Houghton Bay.

Closure of Mobile Library Service

Wellington City Council has voted to end the Mobile Library service. The last day for full library services will be Friday 30 June 2006. More information is available on our website.

A dour missionary uncle

New NZ fiction on leftie Wellington students in the 1970s, a brush maker, colonials in London on their OE, a dour missionary uncle and a bird scientist. And isn't this the best - "A missile has shot down Air Force One after it took off from Christchurch, New Zealand. A call was made to the Washington Post earlier that day from a group claiming responsibility for the assassination of President Cleveland. For Susan Hill, New Zealand's Prime Minister, it's a personal tragedy and a national one." From the book jacket of Unseen element by Bill Rodger.

Firefox and Thunderbird are go

New computing books this month cover home internet security, Linux toys, Illustrator CS2, Photoshop CS2, Mozilla's open source browser Firefox, and more.

Disneyland opens and Hemmingway commits suicide

This month in history Gershwin and Eva Peron died, NZ adopted decimal currency and the Rainbow Warrior was bombed. Our July history page feature is on the formation of the U.S.S.R.

Morons and extreme headbangers - books for teens

Our new books for teens includes a book by NZ teens - Cupid on a Friday Night : The Fifth in the Re-draft Series. Clever sods. There are also books about nuts, morons and extreme headbangers, "Storms thet change whatever the touch, rearranging streets, turning children into statues of glass, remaking the world over and over", and another installment of the Princess diaries.

(Remember - you can write a review and we might publish it on our website)

Pasefika stack showcase

We're featuring old gems of Pacific history on our Pasefika page. Many of the books are by missionaries and early travellers to the region, and their accounts can be fascinating.

A treasury of deception

New to our non-fiction collection this month - books on liars, misleaders and hoodwinkers; philosophy; the necessity of men; Russian fairy tales; a British Muslim's Guantanamo experiences; gadgets; skilled NZ migrants; why culture can't be jammed, and more.

Freaky fridge magnets

Come along and make freaky fridge magnets, experience puppet pizzazz, become a superhero, and create things that fly - our holiday programmes are are great fun.

Win in the kickboxing ring

We have new sports books on kick-boxing, Muay Thai, bowling, dressage, rowing and more.

The Film Festival is upon us

Telecom 35th Wellington Film Festival brochures are out and the website is up. If you're feeling peckish for quality DVDs (only $3/week), you can search our collection by genre, including foreign language, classic novels, nostalgia and documentaries. Work your way through the Criterion collection or Director's suite series. From last year's film festival we have adored documentary The wild parrots of Telegraph Hill, David LaChapelle's urban doco Rize, Wong Kar Wai's 2046, The edukators and more.

New to Oxford Reference Online

Some of the best reference books are available online at Oxford Reference Online and Oxford English Dictionary Online. New to Oxford Reference Online - The Oxford Dictionary of Plays, Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature, The Oxford Companion to the Garden, The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, and The Oxford Dictionary of Animal Behaviour.

There are also new editions of Dictionary of Ecology, A Dictionary of Psychology, A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, The Oxford Dictionary of Popes, The Pocket Latin Dictionary, and the Oxford Companion to English Literature.

Oh, and they now offer over 775 maps. Phew.

New Zealand artists database

Our index of WCL material on NZ artists (painters, photographers, sculptors, installation artists...) is available to search online. The aim of the database is to be a useful resource for the general interested reader and students at secondary and tertiary levels.

(Plus, new art and graphic arts books are displayed each month on our Art page)

We'll do your research for you!

If you're stuck with a project and need some assistance, we can provide up to two hours of research for free. All Wellington City Libraries members are eligible for this service. Just talk to us (801 4059) or email us and we'll provide help or research results within 3 days. If you need further help or if you have a tighter deadline, our ProSearch team provide professional research for a charge.

Listen to the library

Music Ad Lib on Access Radio 783 AM, Saturday 17th June at 4.30pm, will feature our usual mixture of oddities - rock-goth-piano-punk-cabaret-jazz. You may even be able to listen online.

Religion page updates

We've added new books, articles and websites to our Religion pages. The Oxford Dictionary of Islam is now available online from the Oxford Reference Centre. In his new book, Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh explores 'Calming the fearful mind' in an age of terror. 'The Gospel of Judas, from Codex Tchacos' shows another side of Judas and Jesus. The classic book 'Hinduism' by K. M. Sen has been reprinted.

Who won what?

Zadie Smith has won the Orange Prize for her novel On beauty (30,000 pounds!). Ian McEwan has won the James Tait Black Memorial prize for his novel Saturday (10,000 pounds!).

Check out our Fiction book awards links for more prize-winners.

Music & movie news

Music news - tuneful anarchists, hip-shakers and football music.
Movie news - what frightens horror directors, tiresome actors and what's up with Wonder woman.
Also, what's in the latest music and movie magazines.

Watch television without adverts (on DVD)

Our new DVDs for June are mainly television programmes - great shows like 'Grey's anatomy', '24' (4th season), 'Aeon flux' (the animated series, not sucky movie), 'Gilmore girls' (1st season), and 'Arrested development' (1st season). Also available - Jodie Foster's blockbuster 'Flightplan' and Wong Kar Wai's moody '2046'.

Wellington Embroiderers' Guild exhibition

As part of the Wellington Embroiderers' Guild 40th anniversary they are exhibiting work around the city. There is an exhibition of the Guild's gorgeous work on the first floor of Central Library until Saturday 24 June. Guild members will be available daily to discuss embroidery and demonstrate current work. The library has many books and magazines on embroidery.

Aristocrats of leonine nonchalance

We have new Biographies this month about aristocrats, celebrity chefs, wildlife artists and NZers Jacqueline Fahey and Gordon Tietjens. 'I have heard you calling in the night : a memoir' by Thomas Healy shows how the life of this alcoholic writer was turned around when he bought a Dobermann puppy.

Evidence of good taste among Wellingtonians

What's popular this month? Our most highly reserved books include Alain De Botton's 'Architecture of happiness', Irene Nemirovsky's 'Suite Francaise' and 'Hard way' by Lee Child. New CDs by the Eels and Calexico are very popular. Many people have reserved new books still on order by Kate Atkinson, Linda Howard and Terry Goodkind.

From Deadwood to Luther

Our DVD staff picks for June include television series 'Deadwood' for those fond of cigarettes, whusky, an' wild, wild women, and the story of 16th-century German monk 'Luther'. Other highlights include 'The 40 year-old virgin', 'Jeeves & Wooster' and gorgeous Apollo mission documentary 'For All Mankind'.

See also new DVDs for June.

The myth of cholesterol

Our new Health recent picks feature whole foods, bi-polar disorder, anxiety, bird flu, ancient herbs, immune systems, asthma... we've a wealth of information!

Unlock the meaning behind Lost

We didn't buy many new movie & TV books this month, but what we did get is great - Lost, David Lynch, and Hollywood's iconic flops.

1001 albums you must hear before you die

New popular music books this month include Greil Marcus's 'Like a rolling stone' (the entire book is about that Dylan song), and 'Manchester, England: the story of the pop cult city.' Learn about the underbelly of rock'n'roll in 'Tupac: resurrection', 'Lobotomy: surviving the Ramones' and Chuck Klosterman's 'Killing yourself to live: 85% of a true story' in which he drives around America's most famous rock death sites.

What are we listening to?

This month's Staff CD picks include a Swedish group who make Belle and Sebastian sound fierce, Nashville teenage punks and a surf band for the Arctic Ocean. 'Without a song: the 9/11 concert' by Sonny Rollins shows how art can lift the human spirit in times of great tragedy.

Art, skateboarding and life

New design books - folk art, hip-hop art, business cards, New Orleans zines, storyboards and more. 'Andy Howell : art, skateboarding & life' traces Howell's journey through pro-skateboarding, the action sports industry and DIY movements within art, music and design.

Where women die of love

Our History recent picks for June include Juliet Nicolson's well-reviewed book 'The perfect summer : dancing into shadow : England in 1911', an idyllic summer for the wealthy, but full of strikes and unrest among the poor. We also feature histories of the Arctic, un-grim Lancashire, and America's participation in regime change.

Madeleine Albright reflects on God

New Religion & Beliefs Recent Picks for June include 'The mighty and the Almighty : reflections on power, God, and world affairs' by Madeleine Albright, 'Jesus and Yahweh : the names divine' by Harold Bloom and 'Plan B : further thoughts on faith' by Anne Lamott. New Buddhist books discuss environmentalism and the heart sutra. Galina Krasskova explores the gods and lore of Norse, German, and Anglo-Saxon traditions.

I dreamt I was a dinosaur

New Children's Picture Books include 'My mummy is magic', 'The bad good manners book' (by the wonderful Babette Cole) and 'Hello twins'. 'I dreamt I was a dinosaur' was created by fabric artist Clare Beaton from felt, sequins, beads and buttons. What kind of dinosaur would you like to be? Children's Fiction picks are also available.

Get back in the box!

New Management books cover stress in the workplace, moral intelligence, team dysfunctions, changing careers, cover letters and more.

Radical simplicity

'21st century Thoreau' Dan Price's new book 'Radical simplicity' is featured on our Personal Development Recent Picks for June. There's a fascinating history of happiness, advice on helping young people with stress, and an exploration of the Tibetan art of serenity.

The well-dressed window

You, too, can have a gorgeous window. Plus nurturing children's rooms, a budget home make-over and an outstanding poolscape. Our Home & Garden recent picks for June include 'Merry Christmas quilts' - start quilting now and give them as presents in December! 'How to decorate' gives you the basics on wallpapering, tiling, painting and more.

New New Zealand books for June

Wine, Hotere, Nelson's railway, religion, the greatest rugby matches - it's all here on our June NZ/Aotearoa recent picks page.

Godslayers, dreamers and stormcallers

Yes, it's time for new science fiction and fantasy books. There are new titles by popular authors David & Leigh Eddings and David Weber. Jim Butcher's Proven guilty features the only wizard in Chicago's phonebook. C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp have produced Touch of evil, in which Kate is troubled enough by her probable future as queen of the parasites; then she meets a sexy werewolf.

What do our buyers recommend?

For June our buyers have picked books about the French occupation, small foods, Arabs and Jews in Jaffa, rugby sevens coach Gordan Tietjens and 500 cupcakes. On magazine Sports Illustrated's 50th anniversary, they have produced a gorgeous photography book, now on order for the library collection.

Great new contemporary fiction

This month we've new novels from Jodi Picoult, Anne Tyler, Andrei Makine and more. Man Booker Prize short-lister David Mitchell's new book Black Swan Green is the wonderful tale of bright bullied 13-year-old stammerer Jason Taylor, who lives in a dull town with no swans of any colour.