"As I walked through those front doors, the huge silence of the house ripped through me." ~ from Sonali Deraniyagala's Wave
|
|
Christchurch Photo Hunt 2015
|
|
Arrivals and Departures — The Journeys that Have Shaped Us’. Take ownership of your city’s heritage: send in some of your old photos to help grow a photographic archive. You could win a tablet or eReader. Copies of photograph entries may be displayed in libraries and uploaded to Kete Christchurch.
|
|
| Yes: my improbable journey to the main event of WrestleMania by Daniel BryanAuthor Daniel Bryan's rise from pre-teen fan of professional wrestling to heavyweight champion at the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) WrestleMania XXX offers a fascinating story not only for wrestling fans, but for anyone interested in underdog triumph. In Yes, Bryan recounts how a man who's less than six feet tall and weighs a bit over 200 pounds became a professional wrestler and rose to the top of his sport. He also relates how he fell in love with and married a WWE diva, Brie Bella. |
|
|
A full life: reflections at ninety
by Jimmy Carter
The 39th president and Nobel Peace Prize winner reflects on his full and happy life with pride, humour -- and a few second thoughts.
|
|
|
Black jersey, silver fern
by Denis Dwyer
Tom Ellison is the man behind the black jersey and silver fern of the All Blacks. He was the "Mr Rugby" of his era, a tremendous player who captained the All Blacks in 1893 (the first Māori to do so), captained, coached and selected teams, developed the role of the wing-forward which was to give New Zealand an enduring advantage and wrote one of the first instructional books on rugby. His views were respected nationally and he was widely quoted. His story is rich in individuals and incident. His great-grandfather was chief Taiaroa of Ngāi Tahu, his grandfather Edward Weller the whaler of Ōtākou, and his father Raniera the discoverer of gold at Maori Point on the Shotover River. Tom Ellison went from Te Aute College to Wellington to become one of the first Māori lawyers. He had a myriad of interests and brought energy and fresh vision to them all. This is the story of his life - the first biography of Tom Ellison.
|
|
|
Jerome Kaino: my story
by Jerome Kaino
The revealing autobiography of New Zealand rugby legend Jerome Kaino. At just 21 years old Jerome Kaino was touted as the next big thing in world rugby. In his first year of professional rugby, he made spectacular debuts for Auckland, the Blues and the All Blacks. It was a dream beginning for this quiet Samoan kid from South Auckland. But just as quickly as it all began, his career took a sharp turn for the worse, his life spiralling out of control. With over 50 All Black caps, 100 matches for the Blues and a Rugby World Cup victory to his name, Jerome Kaino is one of New Zealand's true sporting heroes. Now for the very first time, Kaino lays bare his greatest triumphs and adversities, with rare insights ahead of perhaps his greatest test of all - winning back-to-back world cups for New Zealand.
|
|
|
Confessions of a New York taxi driver
by Eugene Salomon
Driving a cab for more than 30 years Gene Salomon has collected a remarkable selection of stories. He shares the very best in this unforgettable memoir.
|
|
| Lessons from Tara: life advice from the world's most brilliant dog by David RosenfeltDavid Rosenfelt, author of the popular Andy Carpenter legal thriller series (often featuring rescued dogs), is also known for his real-life devotion to canines. In Dogtripping, he recounted his adventures moving cross-country with 25 dogs. In Lessons from Tara, Rosenfelt relates his experiences with golden retriever Tara, who inspired his involvement with dog rescue. Tara and many other dogs also taught him about aspects of life such as dating, how to grieve, dealing with stress, appreciating the smaller details of a day, and even how to share the bed with numerous dogs. |
|
|
Twisted: my dreadlock chronicles
by Bert Ashe
A personal account of an African-American professor's mid-life experiences when he decides to grow dreadlocks, with a cultural and political history of dreadlocks.
|
|
|
Women I've undressed: a memoir
by Orry-Kelly
Found in a pillowcase, the fabulous long-lost memoirs of a legendary Hollywood designer and a genuine Australian original.
|
|
|
A piece of cake: a memoir
by Cupcake Brown
An inspirational, frequently disturbing memoir of a troubled youth describes how the author fell victim to the ills of the child welfare system, detailing her experiences with sexual abuse, neglect, drug and alcohol addiction, prostitution, and gang banging, as well as her long and difficult struggle to rebuild her life.
|
|
|
Last act of love: the story of my brother and his sister
by Cathy Rentzenbrink
In the summer of 1990, Cathy's brother Matty was knocked down by a car on the way home from a night out. It was two weeks before his GCSE results, which turned out to be the best in his school. Sitting by his unconscious body in hospital, holding his hand and watching his heartbeat on the monitors, Cathy and her parents willed him to survive.
|
|
| Joy: poet, seeker, and the woman who captivated C.S. Lewis by Abigail SantamariaWhile American poet Joy Davidman Lewis is familiar to fans of her husband, Christian apologist C.S. Lewis, her life has been seen primarily through the filter of her relationship with him. In Joy, biographer Abigail Santamaria depicts Davidman's entire life, including her membership in the Communist Party, youthful academic success, marriage to William Gresham, and ideological shifts ranging from Marxism to Dianetics before she fell in love with C.S. Lewis through his writing and crossed the Atlantic to meet him. |
|
|
The whirl: men, music & misadventure
by Jane Cornwell
London-based Jane Cornwell, high profile journalist and world music critic, has always thrown herself in head, heart and, very often, loins-first into relationships. A fascination for other cultures and the music and men of other cultures has resulted in adventures as audacious and comic as they are enlightening and erotic.
|
|
|
Fighting chance
An unlikely political star tells the inspiring story of the two-decade journey that taught her how Washington really works and really doesn't.
|
|
|
Born for life
by Julie Watson
A nurse aide position in the local maternity annexe at the age of sixteen gave Julie a love for being with women during labour and birth and caring for mothers and their babies. Life could not have been happier until the tragic death of her own baby in the first hour of life led to depression, loneliness and despair. This true story tells of Julie's struggle to triumph over adversity and follows her journey to fulfill her dream and become the midwife she was born to be.
|
|
|
Stolen lives: the untold stories of the Lawson quins
by Paul Little
It could have been any family of six children - except that five of them were born at once, on 27 July 1965. The Lawson quins were a medical miracle and a national obsession. Their early childhood was idyllic, but when their parents' marriage broke up, their mother married a man who terrorised them for eight years before killing her and himself when they were just 16. After that, the nation's darlings were thrown into nightmare years of abuse and heartache, gangs and drugs, beatings and betrayals, from which they have slowly fought their way back.
|
|
|
Primates of Park Avenue: a memoir
by Wednesday Martin
A woman describes how she used her background in anthropology and primatology to assimilate into life on the Upper East Side of New York City after marrying a man from that neighbourhood, through recognising tribal migration patterns, display rituals, physical adornment and mating practices.
|
|
|
Queer saint: the cultured life of Peter Watson, who shook twentieth-century art and shocked high society
by Jeremy Dronfield
When Peter Watson was murdered in his bath by a jealous boyfriend in 1956, the art world lost one of its wealthiest, most influential patrons. This compellingly attractive man, adored by Cecil Beaton; a man who was called a legend by contemporaries, who was the subject of two scandalous novels, and who helped launch the careers of Francis Bacon, John Craxton and Lucian Freud, fell victim to a fortune-hungry lover.
|
|
| Somewhere towards the end: a memoir by Diana AthillIn Somewhere Towards the End, well regarded author Diana Athill explores what it's like to become old. Looking back to her 70s from age 91, she notices changes in her physical abilities, relates her new discoveries (such as adult education classes), and explores memories of her parents' aging. She also considers the fact that her atheism prevents her from seeking comfort in religion as she approaches death. |
|
| Wave by Sonali DeraniyagalaOn December 26, 2004, a powerful tsunami sped across the Indian Ocean, sweeping away everything along the shore in several countries that border the sea and taking the lives of 250,000 people – both vacationers and residents. At the time, London-based economist Sonali Deraniyagala and her family were in Sri Lanka visiting her parents. Deraniyagala survived the wave, but lost her husband, both children, and her parents. In this poignant memoir, she details her devastation from their loss, but the writing process also becomes a path to healing as she celebrates their memories. |
|
| George F. Kennan: an American life by John Lewis GaddisWinner of both a National Book Critics Circle Award and a Pulitzer Prize, this biography delves extensively into diplomat George F. Kennan's inner life as well as his foreign policy career. Though Kennan was the architect of America's Cold War strategy, policy makers rarely followed his advice except during that period. Nevertheless, his work with earlier diplomatic initiatives, his later research and teaching, and his relationships with post-Cold War presidents were significant and extensive. |
|
| The Pope and Mussolini: the secret history of Pius XI and the rise of fascism in Europe by David I. KertzerOffering a detailed look inside the Vatican, scholar David Kertzer examines the character of Pope Pius XI and his relationship with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Pius XI's support for Mussolini's regime beginning in 1922 brought toleration for Catholicism, which Mussolini had actively opposed, while the Pope found it convenient to enlist the civil authorities in a campaign against Protestants and Jews. |
|
| Country girl: a memoir by Edna O'BrienIrish author Edna O'Brien, born in 1930, grew up in the countryside, where her convent education didn't encourage her dreams of becoming a writer. As a young woman she took a job in Dublin in hopes of meeting established writers and joining their fraternity. By 1960, living in London, she received great acclaim for her first novel The Country Girls (though it was long banned in Ireland), to be followed by continued critical favour, awards, and celebrity. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|