Matariki - Māori New Year Kia ora. Join us in a month of celebrating Matariki. Take part in our community art project, learn about the tradition of Matariki via a range of library resources, or take a child to a Matariki themed storytime session. Learn more about our Matariki celebrations.
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"Britt-Marie is not actually passive-aggressive. She's considerate. After she heard Kent's children saying she was passive-aggressive she was extra considerate for several weeks." ~ from Fredrik Backman's Britt-Marie Was Here
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| Britt-Marie was here: A novel by Fredrik BackmanBritt-Marie is 63 when she walks away from her loveless marriage and takes a job as a caretaker for a soon-to-be-demolished rec center in the tiny, depressing Swedish town of Borg. The mess (and unruly teens) are a bit of a challenge for the fastidious Britt-Marie, who fusses when things are not in their place. Though some might call her obsessive (or even rude), she thinks of herself as considerate and dutiful -- and these very traits are just what Borg needs. A delightful, charming story of transformation, this is another winner from the author of A Man Called Ove. |
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| The versions of us by Laura BarnettJim Taylor and Eva Edelstein meet by chance in Cambridge, England, in 1958, thanks to a rusty nail that pierces the tyre of Eva's bike. They fall in love, marry, have children. Or is that chance meeting the end of it? Or do they meet only after Eva is already deeply involved with someone else? Following the three different versions of their lives allows for an exploration of "what could have been," much in the way of Kate Atkinson's Life After Life. But the three different versions are told in parallel, each one advancing at the same pace, offering an "intriguing exploration of the many roads not taken" (Booklist). |
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The royal we
by Heather Cocks
Unexpectedly falling for the crown prince Nicholas while attending Oxford, practical-minded Bex endures ritzy society gatherings, fashionable outings and unwelcome publicity as well as jealous ex-girlfriends and dark royal family secrets.
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| The curious charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra PatrickIn this poignant, charming debut, 69-year-old Arthur Pepper stopped engaging with life a year ago, when his wife of 40 years died. But the discovery among her things of a charm bracelet he'd never seen before prompts a quest to discover the origins of the bracelet and all of its charms. His adventures take him from his home in York through the English countryside, and on to Paris and India. If you're looking for a feel-good novel about personal transformations along the lines of The Little Paris Bookshop, you won't go wrong with The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper. |
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The predictions
by Bianca Zander
Poppy grew up in a vegan commune in the New Zealand wilderness, when a new arrival uses her divination powers to predict that Poppy will find love overseas, Poppy packs up and heads to London.
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| Arcadia by Lauren GroffThe first to be born in the upstate New York commune Arcadia in the late 1960s, Bit Stone is a quiet child, more interested in observing than participating. Though his family moves on from the commune when it falls apart in his youth, he never loses his connection to Arcadia, even as its members face the world outside with varying degrees of success. Dispensing with hippie stereotypes to focus on Bit's progress through the world (through 2018), author Lauren Groff shows off her skill with description; her "exquisite writing makes the reader question whether to hurry up to read the next beautiful sentence or slow down and savor each passage" (Library Journal). |
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| 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall SmithTwenty-year-old Pat needs a room, so she's rented one from a rather attractive (if also quite vain) surveyor named Bruce. Her fellow residents at 44 Scotland Street (on the edge of bohemian Edinburgh) include the eccentric widow Domenica, a precocious saxophone-playing five-year-old (he reads Auden for pleasure), and a large dog. Their daily doings are sure to amuse -- and if you have a taste for witty send-ups, Scottish settings, or author Alexander McCall Smith's other writings, you won't want to miss this 1st in a delightful series, the 10th and most recent of which is The Revolving Door of Life, published in February. |
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| Life After Life by Jill McCorkleThough perhaps easily confused with the novel of the same name by Kate Atkinson, this book does not deal with a single life lived over and over again. Rather, in this Life After Life, residents of Fulton, N.C. -- many at the Pine Haven retirement facility -- share the stories of their lives in turn; a minor character in one tale becomes the narrator of the next. Though death is a constant presence (hospice volunteer Joanna keeps a notebook of every passing she's a part of), it never overwhelms nor becomes maudlin or depressing, and author Jill McCorkle has a deft hand with humour and her indelible characters. |
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| 44 Charles Street: A Novel by Danielle SteelTo make ends meet, art gallery owner Francesca Thayer reluctantly decides she'll have to take in boarders at her beloved West Village brownstone. After much painstaking research, in come Eileen, a young teacher; Chris, a single father; and Marya, a renowned chef. Each juggling their own complex, chaotic lives, their relationships deepen into friendships...and then something like family. Cozy and engaging, this is a fun choice for Danielle Steel's legion of fans. |
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Children of paradise : a novel
by Fred D'Aguiar
After following a charismatic preacher to the jungles of Guyana, Joyce and her young daughter, Trina, are desperate to break free of the commune before the inevitable mass suicide and attempts a daring escape with the help of a local boat captain and an extraordinary gorilla named Adam.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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