Britons, hippos and sabre tooth tigers

Homo Britannicus, working holidays, consumer capitalism, tycoons, luxury houses and more feature in our buyer's choice this month.

A post-petroleum cookbook

Caring for sick children, the unique attributes of human skin, autism awareness and education, and the biotech revolution are some of the topics of our latest health recent picks. In 'The Post-Petroleum Survival Guide and Cookbook' Albert Bates provides advice for preparing for the transition to a post-petroleum culture.

Booksale on now!

The sale at Central Library 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 - 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.

May = New Zealand music month

Check out our popular music page for details of what's on at the library during May - New Zealand Music Month. (You can also view the official New Zealand Music Month page here.)

Post-apocalyptic New York

Our newest graphic novels feature a bloody battle in Time Square, an AI named Spartacus, Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean's The tragical comedy or comical tragedy of Mr Punch, and Sam Swede - a PI stuck between the mob and dirty cops.

Best Mother Goose ever

Princesses in pigstys, Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever, Grill Pan Eddy (a family's resident rodent and the latest from Jeanne Willis and illustrator Tony Ross), and a troublesome cat named Gloria. All in our latest kid's picture books.

Chocolate madeleines

This month our cooking recent picks feature stunning chocolate madeleines from the author of the Chocolate Lovers' Cookbook for Dummies, your favourite recipes from Bon Appetit magazine, and The Waldorf=Astoria Cookbook (product of seven chefs, 100 sous-chefs, an executive chef...).

Sequels, vampires, and vampire sequels...

Vampires stalk the streets of New York and a group of friends form a band in Scott Westerfeld's Last Days; Jacky Faber is a pirate with a price on her head and the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls to save in L.A. Meyer's In the Belly of the Bloodhound; and Ruby Oliver is back at Tate Prep in The Boy Book. Check out our hype page for new teen books.

From Gutenberg to Google

Our popular non-fiction recent picks this month feature a collection of truths and trivia about sheep, the effect of Wal-Mart on the economic life of America, the difficulties of transferring literary texts to electronic media (Gutenberg vs. Google), healing relationships with adult siblings, and an alternative guide to road rage.

Bambi vs. Godzilla

Read about the nature, purpose and practice of the movie business in David Mamet's cutthroat Hollywood, go 'on location' for a Harry Potter tour of London or a Breakfast at Tiffany's trip to New York, and discover the movies of the '30s - all in this month's film featured books.

In search of Africa's city of gold

A history of modern Lebanon, the race for Timbuktu, the myths of Churchill's war and the untold story of the Great War in Africa are all among our May history recent picks.

Catching the big fish

This month's personal development recent picks include: internationally acclaimed filmmaker David Lynch on his development as an artist and his personal working style, a guide to happiness for the overthinker, and how to learn faster and more effectively.

Hospitality under the influence

Bridesmaids, vintage tshirts, videogames, eco-friendly solutions for real people, pre-historic grooming rituals and more feature in our Buyers' Choice this month.

Grey's Anatomy and Boston Legal

This month our dvd recent picks include: the first season of Dead Like Me, and the second seasons of both Grey's Anatomy and Boston Legal. Enjoy!

Monkey Ninjas

Check out our children's av recent picks for new titles from Kim Possible, Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob and Clifford!

Chromotherapy

One thousand years of world architecture, thriftstore pots remade as canopic urns (ancient Egyptian repositories for the organs of the dead...) and the place and power of colour in life and art, are all among the topics of this month's art recent picks.

Get your library notices by email

We have introduced a new service for hearing about reserves and any overdue items on your card - you can now get these messages by email. If you want to switch to this option, all you need to do is complete the online form or ask at your local library. And of course if you find you prefer paper or phone notices you can switch back again at any time.

Internet forensics

Defending against internet fraud, OpenOffice.org, Maya7, utopia for HTML users and personal computing demystified are among our April computing recent picks.

First to see the sun

This month, discover the Chatham Islands, read about the baubles of office, family law policy and Martin Hawes's 8 lessons for buying and selling property in New Zealand - all in our April New Zealand/Aotearoa recent picks.

The Lamb Who Came For Dinner

A very featherbrained owl, a hungry wolf, a friendly little lamb and Lettice Rabbit are among the animals featured in our recent children's picture books this month.

Tickle your bunny phone

Tickle your bunny phone and start your own laughter epidemic, read about mighty machines and a car that has jet engines, and learn about conserving kiwi. All this and more in our April children's non-fiction recent picks.

Stretching anatomy

Morning workouts, body image, unseen illness, anxiety disorders and stretching anatomy are among the subjects of our latest health recent picks.

Terrible T-Rexes

A genie inside a teapot, Nosy the pterodactyl, an incredible spaghetti machine, and a magic book that can't quite get its facts straight - see our children's fiction recent picks for some of our new favourites.

Treasures and tombs

Our history page this month features Ancient Egypt. Discover the treasures of the pharaohs, read about obsessed treasure seekers and uncover the secrets of the pyramids. Also, this month in history the Queen Mother and Pablo Picasso died, the Vietnam War ended and ANZAC troops landed at Gallipoli.

Eleven metre anacondas

Among our most recent science books this month we have: the complete history of the universe, how to cut a cake (and other mathematical conundrums), eleven metre anacondas, and a story of arctic tragedy and continental drift.

Ordinary into extraordinary

Our management recent picks bring you negotiation boot camp, brilliant answers to tough interview questions, the Starbucks experience (5 principles for turning the ordinary into the extraordinary...), business plans in a day, and more.

Murderball saved my life

A true story of adoption, how to save the planet, confessions of the other mother, and murderball are among the topics of our latest popular non-fiction recent picks.

Gimme gimme shock treatment

Be your own pet, Magazine, Dead Kennedys, The Ramones... all this and more on our punk special on Access Radio, 4.30pm Saturday 24 March.

Kids: create your own clay person

This was a popular activity in 2006 to celebrate Race Relations Day, so check out the times and dates at Kids: What's On - then visit a branch library this week to make your very own clay person!

Want to know more about family law?

If so, come along to this week's Law for Lunch topic: "Family Court parenting hearings". This popular series is happening every Thursday at Central Library, 2nd Floor, 12-1pm. To find out more about these sessions, check out the library website's News page.

Goodbye!

The anonymous WCL blogger is heading off overseas, to be replaced by another WCL staff blogger. Best wishes to WCL customers and staff, and thanks to everyone in the blogosphere and library world who has supported our blog.
Now off to plan a campaign of comment writing...

The superbad Samuel L. Jackson stare

Sublimely built emperor penguins, Scully and Mulder in Springfield, Darnell the Crab Man, forensic anthropology, a swarm of vampires in Dunedin, a Fijian-Kiwi matriarch and handsome American Doug are featured in our latest DVD recent picks.

The right talent

Talent management & corporate culture is our latest business hot topic.

Cosmic onion

Climate science, the multi-billion dollar Hadron Collider at CERN, Francis Crick, the godfather of Ecstasy, Galen, insects, quantum mechanics and consciousness are among the topics of our most recent science books and DVDs.

Sweeping shoujo

New graphics books (and miserable dvd)

Discerning eye

New books on Adjaye's houses, Bauhaus, Lucian Freud, Hokusai and Annie Leibovitz are featured as our new art books.

Posing with fish

New to our literature and language collections - love poetry, Shakespeare's sonnets, Georgette Heyer's Regency England, the story of French and a zombie survival guide. Edward Said's last work is about late life artistry, and Mike Berry scams email scammers.

Corporate graffiti

Typography, colour, Eva Hesse's sculpture, handmade elements in graphic design, pictograms, screenprinting and tire houses are among the subjects of our latest design recent picks.

The unquiet spirit

A fifties film star, an unsavoury landlord, wildflowers, grimy slums, a wood chisel, an expert burglar, the Gobi desert and a fake medium are featured in our latest mysteries recent picks.

Stubborn phobias

Traditional Chinese medicine, luxury spas, eating disorders, energy psychology, and toxic behaviours are among the subjects of our latest health recent picks.

Disposable-nappy

Meet Sampson the lion, the brawny, brave, uncontested king of a New York City zoo, and Otis the carefree cow who spends his days singing, dancing and playing tricks on humans. Nicholas' baby brother Cheese auditions as a beautiful bottom for a disposable-nappy advertisement. Check out our new DVDs and books on CD in our Children's AV recent picks.

Scintillating dialogue

The impossible love of a Tatar khan for a captive Polish countess, Judas, larger-than-life Captain William Coffin, vast cattle ranches, a vivacious Bohemian writer and eco-activist, a frosty French night, and fainting spells are featured in our latest New Zealand fiction picks.

What's popular this month?

An Australian culinary journey, nonviolence, six women in Revolutionary France, convincing children to eat weird foreign flavours and climate change are the subjects of some of our most reserved books this month. Ian McEwan's new novel is on order and there are popular CDs from Bloc Party and Fray. Visit our booklists page for more info.

Milkshakes as a vehicle for creativity

Why do our elbows and knees bend in opposite directions? What should you eat for a good mood? How did rapper LL Cool J get his "chiseled" body? What are the twenty greatest philosophy books? What's inside David Lynch's head? See which books our buyers recommend.

Roly-poly pudding

Curried Trout with Coconut-Chili Sauce from Kenya and Apple-Squash Fritters from South Africa's Cape Malay. Tea gardens and tea shops. The use of cooking chopsticks. Pie-making sessions and nut counting. For more on cooking and food, see our latest cooking recent picks.

Potty with pictures

Babies in socks, adventures inside paintings, a madcap heroine, pigeon Percy, and a sad little fish looking for his rainbow coloured mummy - see our children's picture books picks for some of our new favourites.

Aliens posing as lunch ladies

A principal-turned-superhero, students turning into zombie nerds, Super Evil Rapid-Growth Juice, an eerie cocoon, a burnt bear, a werepuppy and appalling cooking abound in our latest Children's fiction picks.

Avoid a wombat's bum

Most dinosaurs were no bigger than chickens. A snail has about 25,000 teeth. Learn more quirky animal facts plus read about spicy chocolate sauce, sinking cities, the destruction of the Hindenburg and the story of salt. Visit our children's non-fiction picks for more.

Hottest opening variations

Lance Armstrong, the triumphant story of the godfather of street skating, the English attack in chess, casino poker, climbing, scrabble and tramping the back country of NZ are among the subjects of our latest sport books.