Biggest comfort whisperer born every minute – Reality TV meets reality books

For many, reality television is akin to devil worship. It is considered voyeuristic, cheap television, and a symbol of all that is wrong in the world. Admitting you watch this type of TV – and perhaps even like it – could, in some circles lead to instant social isolation! If you have been exposed to this type of exclusion then a way back into the social milieu could be to  casually mention that the library embraces reality tv – warts and all!

Think of all the cookbooks from the likes of Jamie and his School dinners, Nigella and Masterchef have spawned? New Zealand’s Hottest Home baker now has its own Alice in Bakingland.

Project Runway has not only raised its host Tim Gunn to the giddy heights of bestsellerdom but contestants have also gone on to produce their own material. Remember Trinny and Suzannah in What not to wear, there was always a waiting list for these two, and who could forget Gok, now not only the savour of the fashionably inept he has now gone onto not only help us look good on the street but in the kitchen as well!

The diet industry has led to many a torrid reality TV watching experience, and The Biggest Loser host Bob Harper has gone onto become a bestseller and diet guru. Jo Frost – our favourite Supernanny – has just put out a new title and the TV programme One born every minute has its own spin-off.

Not even dogs are safe…Cesar Millan aka The dog whisperer has his own books and DVDs.

Not only has reality TV created its own publishing bonanza it has supported a plethora of books on interior design and craft and design (thanks to My House Rules, Mitre 10 dream home, and Kevin McCloud).

Our CD collections now feature the likes of Stan Walker winner of Australian Idol, and who could possibly forget Britain’s Got Talent Susan Boyle?

So the next time someone scoffs as you chat about last night’s elimination in ‘My Kitchen Rules’, just remind them that the library has plenty of books, DVD’s and CD’s that could help them keep more up with the play.

What is your 10pm Question? Get on board with our Community read

I spied a poster in the library that has put a real spring in my step: Community Read 2014. The reason for this spring is a visit to Christchurch City Libraries by Kate De Goldi. She is coming to talk about her novel The 10PM Question and I can’t wait.

I read this book a number of years ago and at the time it struck a real chord. Frankie Parsons, a twelve year old boy, is on the verge of change. He has a head full of worries and Frankie’s Ma listens patiently to his 10pm questions. I had a son who also had a head full of worries and at the time I found The 10PM Question a reassuring read. Kate De Goldi deals sensitively and perceptively with the issue of anxiety and the challenges faced by Frankie and his family.

Kate is an award winning writer who cannot be missed.

Knowledgeable

Articulate

Thinking

Engaging

Dazzling

Enthusiastic

Gem

Observant

Lover of Literature

Dynamic

Insightful

I had the pleasure of listening to Kate a number of years ago and I promise you will not be disappointed. Come along to this free event on Friday 22nd August, 11-12pm, at the South Library Colombo Street, Christchurch. In the evening (7.30pm to 9pm), join the Court Jesters for some 10pm questions. Share your 10PM question and be in to win an iPod touch. The Court Jesters at South Library will improvise your 10pm questions!

Kate de Goldi – and many more authors – will also be appearing in a variety of sessions at the WORD Christchurch Writers and Readers Festival.

I don’t have a 10pm question but I do have plenty of 2.30am questions! What is your 10pm question?

“For Later” lately

The For Later list gets longer and longer. Surely there must be some way of making it more worthwhile and less of an impossible dream.

Sharing the titles added every week and some of the reasons why? Worth a try.
This week they were:

• The age of innocence by Edith Wharton, because Katie Roiphe, in In praise of messy lives, deals with hard times by reading books she has read “a million times before”. After separating from her husband, Roiphe read the story of Countess Olenska, who, after her own divorce, was victim of “the same stigma mingled with fascination”.
• Some hope by Edward St Aubyn, because he sounds fascinating.
• The book of you by Claire Kendal because it’s based on Samuel Richardson’s Clarissa, only shorter and easier. I hope.
• Red light properties by Dan Goldman because it’s a graphic novel and therefore a quick read, and because it’s an interesting premise – a real estate agency in Miami that specialises in exorcising haunted houses.
• Glitter and glue by Kelly Corrigan because it’s about mothers and daughters.
• It by Alexa Chung because fashion books are lovely to look at.

Go on – put a hold on one (or more) of these and make me feel better.

The book stalker

I stalk books.

I usually spot my quarry in a library. I take it home – mine, all mine.  The library wants it back; I reluctantly return it. Next I do the equivalent of “the end of a relationship drive-by”: I stalk between the library shelves, pick up the book and stroke it a bit. If it is not easy to access, I’ll place the item on hold. Get it out again. Keep it for longer than a month (naughty, naughty). Return it. Give up. Buy it.

Some small children start young with this – you see them at Returns clinging to beloved picture books, with harried mothers explaining in weary tones – yet again – that library books must come back to the library. It is one of life’s first cruel lessons. Of course it is much cuter in a two year old than it is for senior citizens to be caught whimpering at Returns. But still I cannot help myself.

Here is a small selection of books that I have stalked, some of which I now own.

I think Dining with the Maharajas is one of the most beautiful books I have seen. It has a purple velvet cover and opens up to a life of luxury the like of which I am never going to experience. I put it on my Christmas wish list, but to no avail. I still track it down, just to stroke it, every now and then.

I took Danny Gregory’s An Illustrated Life out of the library three times before I finally purchased it. It is a “must own” book for anyone who nurtures a small but persistent little flicker of creativity. In this book fifty artists allow access to their private sketchbooks and give information about their favoured materials. I could not live without it. I now hold it in captivity.

And then there is Nora Ephron. The titles of whose books trace the trajectory of my life: Wallflower at the Orgy; Heartburn; I Feel Bad about my Neck and I Remember Nothing. I wanted them all. Finally a compendium of her writing was published – The Most of Nora Ephron. I stalked once and quickly bought the book for myself. It is My Life on a Plate, also the name of a book by India Knight (which I’ve bought as well).

Authors worry about book sales. That people won’t read printed books because there are e-books; that only libraries will buy books. But they have not factored in the book stalkers.

Have you stalked books and then bought them? Please tell me I am not the only one!

Film Festival Literary Connections

The New Zealand International Film Festival is coming to Christchurch in August and we recently chatted to the Festival Director, Bill Gosden about cinematic books that inspired him.

Bill said he was indebted to Dunedin Public Libraries where he had his unofficial film education while at high school. Titles that helped spur his interest in film included:

• Pauline Kael’s books of film criticism.
• David Thomson’s The new biographical dictionary of film, which he called “rewarding and provocative”.
• François Truffaut interviews with Alfred Hitchcock which he described as “hugely important when I was really young”.

Take a look at our collection of movie related resources to get some inspiration for your future-film-festival-directing endeavours. If you are more interested in watching films than curating them however, there are a bunch of films in the Festival that have literary connections. We’ve got a list of them on our website, as well as a list of upcoming film and TV adaptations  and a huge list of books that have previously been filmed. Here are some of the highlights:

• Poets: Relationships are at the core of films about Friedrich Schiller and Elizabeth Bishop, one set in 18th Century Europe and the other set in 1950s Rio.
• Authors: Violette Leduc and New Zealander Jean Watson both are the focus of films this year. Aunty and the star people explores the “fascinating double life” of Jean Watson (author of Stand in the rain) who started a children’s home in Southern India.
• Photographers: Gavin Hipkins (NZ) and Sebastião Salgado’s photographic works come off the page and onto the big screen.
• Adaptations: Human capital, Under the skin and Snowpiercer give some thrills this year, but there are also some slower-paced choices on our list.

There are a lot more titles on our list. Let us know in the comments if we have missed any literary connections in this years Festival.

 

Historical fiction is in the cards

Tarot, 18th Century cemetery relocation and the Sundance Kid feature in our picks from the July Historical Fiction Newsletter:

    

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Animal architecture to archives: Cool new stuff from the Selectors

Animal architecture by Ingo Arndt is a photographic tribute to animal nests and shelters which are functional, complex and beautiful, however this book is not just all about the pictures (stunning though they are) it also ticks all the boxes for containing scientific facts and insights into animal behaviour.

Our Fiction buyer has been busy this month and has noted that there are so many takes on literary classics that you might assume they’ve all been done. However, Tom Grass, whose background is in the film industry, has a debut novel coming out soon called Twist, with the title character Twist as a teenager on the run from the police and saved by the mysterious Dodge who introduces him to Cornelius Faginescu, described as an “art collector.” No songs in all this.

One of the literary greats of today would have to be Margaret Atwood and she has a new one – Stone mattress – coming out. It’s a volume of short stories.

Also taking the short story route is Man Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel and her collection has the intriguing title of The assassination of Margaret Thatcher. Fans of Hilary in her historical fiction hat might like to know that the television miniseries adaptation of Wolf Hall will be shown in Britain in 2015. It’s a six-parter and Cromwell is played by Mark Rylance with Damian Lewis as King Henry, Claire Foy as Anne Boleyn and Joanne Whalley as Catherine of Aragon.

Our children’s Non Fiction book buyer loved The scraps book.

The renowned Caldecott Honouree and illustrator provides a moving, intimate, and inspiring inside look at her colourful picture book career. Lois Ehlert always knew she was an artist. Her parents encouraged her from a young age by teaching her how to sew,  saw wood, pound nails, and by giving her colourful art supplies. Today, many years and many books later, Lois takes readers and aspiring artists on a delightful behind-the-scenes tour of her books and her book-making process. Part fascinating retrospective, part moving testament to the value of following your dreams, this richly illustrated picture book is sure to inspire children and adults alike to explore their own creativity.

Secrets of the National Archives: The stories behind the letters and documents of our past.

This book is on order so there is nothing to see yet but I was intrigued by the idea that the staff at the National Archives in Britain were given the opportunity to choose their favourite documents from out of 120 miles of papers that the Archives contain.  What would they choose and why?  The Magna Carta, a letter from Queen Elizabeth or a ships log by Captain Cook?  I think this could we a wee gem for those secret archivists amongst us.

And lastly some music to finish off.

Secrets of the National Archives

The Stories Behind the Letters and Documents of Our Past

– See more at: http://christchurch.bibliocommons.com/item/show/852359037_secrets_of_the_national_archives#sthash.tS9eLxuc.dpuf

Eventide
VOCES8 are an cappella octet from the United Kingdom, and our music buyer says:

Pure and meltingly mesmerising. Don’t expect a haka-boogie good time from this one

 

Hillmorton Network News promotes South Library

HNN (Hillmorton Network News) is a specialised schools programme run by South Learning Centre, an initiative being trialled in 2014.  It is a television venture run by Hillmorton Year 7 and 8 student group to ‘Celebrate Success‘.  Hillmorton’s new school Years 7 to 13 is showcased, student achievement celebrated in the classroom, on the field, in the art room and within the community.

Students  work alongside school staff to integrate H.N.N requirements within curriculum time to produce material for each broadcast. Students meet with South Learning staff for guidance  to learn production, scripting, technical skills and how to compile all features, reports and news into a production.

Student reporters report on weekend sport, local school news, community events and international news.  Library news, promotions and activities have regular slots within episodes.

SLC staff assist students learning how to conduct interviews, promotions and reviews for their broadcasts.  iMovie is used for final presentations, digital video cameras for recording interviews, green screen for backdrops and iPad apps to encourage public speaking. Check out our latest broadcast.

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In our Learning Centre, students experience e-learning programmes aligned with the New Zealand Curriculum document. These programmes provide learning in a technology-rich environment and the teaching within these programmes keep abreast with the latest teaching philosophies and strategies.

If you are interested in working with us to tailor an existing programme or work alongside us please contact us phone 941 5140 or email learningcentre@ccc.govt.nz

Hey girl, I know you just gotta craft all day

D’you know what I wanted more than anything else when I was a kid? White, lace-topped socks. You know the kind I mean, right? I thought they were the prettiest things ever, and I never got any. Mum made most of our clothes, because it was actually cheaper then. While I loved the pretty dresses she made me, I did NOT love homemade socks! They were always bulky and itchy, and they were definitely not cool.

At some point in my youth, my homemade dresses became decidedly naff as well. I think “homemade” had connotations of dowdy, old crafts that only Nanas would make.

Well, if the books in the library are anything to go by, “homemade” is not just for Nanas these days! Want to embroider a cheeky “Tweet this!” cell phone case? we’ve got you covered! Zombie amigurumi more your style? We can help you with that too!

As you may have guessed from my blog-handle, I love to craft, and I just love looking at the craft books in our collection.  I often take them home and drool over projects that I will probably never make. I’ve put together a list of some of my favourites – including the cute, the quirky, and the downright outrageous – so that you can drool over them too. We even have loads of sock books (but no, I’m not planning on making any!)

Te Kupu o te Wiki – The Word of the Week

Kia ora. To celebrate Te Reo Māori  we are publishing kupu (words) every week.

Kīwaha (colloquialism)

Wehi nā
Oh my goodness

Kupu (word)

heihei
chicken

Te maha hoki o ngā heihei.
There are heaps of chickens.

 

Browse our Te Reo Māori resources.