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10 hours of Beckett

What's popular this month with WCL borrowers? A DVD with 10 hours of filmed Beckett plays, a book on FIFA scandals, Donny Osmond's autobiography and the letters of early NZ poet Ursula Bethell. Check out our Booklists page for more heavily reserved items. We also list all our latest general fiction, other genres, large print and DVDs.

This month you can beat memory loss, live with asthma, understand eating disorders and practice Kripalu yoga with our new health books. Peter Singer's latest title 'The way we eat : why our food choices matter' explores the ethics and impact of our food choices.

The natural nature of persons

Hurried and hassled? Overstretched and overbooked? Check out our new personal development books for some ideas. They claim to help you reclaim your life, heal the wounds of your heart and nurture intergenerational discernment.

How many glasses of rye whisky can Robert Stack, millionaire alcoholic, drink in eighty minutes? asks one of our movie reviewers. Which nuclear holocaust docu-drama had a lead article in the Evening Post? "Not for the squeamish", another reviewer helpfully warns. What films are they talking about? Check out our movie picks for August.

Tintin's ultimate 'secret'

Reggae album covers, Tintin, the Eames lounge chair and Arabian geometric patterns are among the subjects of our new design books. E.C. Comics (Tales from the crypt, Weird science...) is profiled in 'Foul play', and former Marvel Comics' Ben Caldwell gives great advice to new comic artists in 'Action! cartooning'. 'Factory records : the complete graphic album' is a complete record of the label's graphic output - Joy Division, New Order, Happy Mondays, the Hacienda and more.

Jaguars ripped my flesh

Join award-winning journalist Claire Scobie in her search for a rare Tibetan red lily and her friendship with an unusual nun. Walk up through the Americas, across the Bering Straits and through Russia and Asia to Britain with Karl Bushby (phew!). Discover Rebus's Scotland with crime author Ian Rankin. Witness the Rigor Mortis Procession in Galicia with JR Daeschner. Our new travel books are many and splendored.

1000 films to change your life

Sure, it's not exactly what you want during the film festival, but when movie withdrawal hits, investigate Time Out's '1000 films to change your life' and the other new books on our Movies page. If you enjoyed Richard E. Grant's personal film Wah Wah during the festival, you will find his film diaries a fascinating read.

RISE Youth Seminar

We are hosting the 2006 RISE Youth Seminar, a professional development seminar for staff working with children and youth in New Zealand libraries, including library students and teachers.

A fondness for tea

New New Zealand books for August cover tea as a murder weapon, Irish immigration, electricity reform and the remote Antipodes Islands. 'Are angels OK? : the parallel universes of New Zealand writers and scientists' and Hugh Price's 'The plot to subvert wartime New Zealand : a true story of an impudent hoax that convulsed New Zealand in the darkest days of World War II, and that the Commissioner of Police declared 'beyond comprehension' : a hoax, moreover, that expanded to challenge the rule of law in the Dominion' are particularly recommended.

Born in Macbeth's castle

We have new biographies of Antarctic explorer Scott, writer John Mortimer, journalist Fergal Keane, Freud's wife Martha, actress Anna Massey and more. 'Title deeds : a work of friction' is the story of Liza Campbell's life as the last child born at Cawdor Castle, the family seat of Macbeth. 'Scorpion on the ceiling: a Scottish colonial family's adventures in South East Asia' is a fascinating tale of dangerous jungles, war and the infamous Changi Jail. In 'Someone like me', Miles Kington explores his eccentric childhood which involved dog training, borrowed lawnmowers, badminton, figs and unlikely brushes with the Catholic Church.

Mental toughness and surfing misadventures

In our new sports books - card games, judo, WWE, swimming, Babe Ruth, tennis, mountain biking, surfing, Mark Waugh, Phar Lap and more (over 20 titles listed!)

270,000 pounds of gold annually

Our new history books for August include Niall Ferguson on the violent 20th century, John Man on Attila the Hun and Adrian Vickers on the history of modern Indonesia. In 'Miracle in the Andes', Nando Parrado writes about his experience as one of the Uruguayan rugby team whose plane crashed in the Andes in 1972.

Diabolical machinations of the Chinese dragon Lien

In our new SF and fantasy novels - the quantum bomb of 2015, a ravening, barbaric horde led by an evil fundamentalist priesthood, deranged war criminals, a gutter-rat brother, and a dark and violent town overrun with spell-casters, demons, and thieves. In 'Keeping it real', magic is real and Elves are really bored with the constant Lord of the Rings references. 'The ancient legacy' by Mitchell Graham has cool fantasy names like Zargoth and Coribar.

Aliens - why are they here?

Our new science books discuss clouds, insects, floods in NZ, meteors and more. 'The richness of life : the essential Stephen Jay Gould' is a good introduction to the scientist's work. In 'Aliens : why they are here', Bryan Appleyard explores the replacement of belief in angels, demons and goblins with the modern fascination with extraterrestrials.

New mysteries

A tragic house fire, an unseen marksman, a forlorn shoe salesman, and crimes modelled on Brothers Grimm stories are the subjects of our new mysteries.

Does this book exist?

Our popular non-fiction recent picks page features a fascinating collection of new books on yob culture in Britain, big drug companies, the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, looted antiquities and more. There are new books from John Pilger and Noam Chomsky, and Jim Baggott looks at reality.

Hallucinatory comics

Infinite sadness, dragonslippers, a chopper down in flames, the UK under fascism, a hibernating vampire and mutant terrorists - graphic novels are rarely dull. You will recognise some titles from the movies such as Alan Moore's 'V for vendetta' and Masamune Shirow's 'Ghost in the shell'. Jill Thompson's 'Death : at death's door' is a manga version of one of Gaiman's most loved characters.

Bad bosses and irrefutable laws

Our new management books include 'A survival guide for working with bad bosses : dealing with bullies, idiots, back-stabbers, and other managers from hell', 'High-impact interview questions', 'Speak like a CEO' and 'The streetsmart negotiator'.

Cross stitch Wallace and Gromit

'Cross stitch antique style samplers', 'Window gardens in bloom : 25 hand-embroidered flowers in easy-to-create settings', 'The complete book of glass beadmaking' and 'Celtic: inspirations for machine embroiderers' are among the featured new craft books for August. With 'Adele Welsby's cross stitch characters', learn to create Wallace and Gromit and the self sufficient community of mice who inhabit Brambly Hedge.