Write your memories next month at Martinborough Library

Librarian Ali getting a sneak peek of a big shipment of great new books that arrived at the library . Come and check out the selection of new fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels, picture books, DVDs!

Library also welcomes a big shipment of new books—come find your next read!

We’re all full of memories, big and small—everything from ‘That was the year I fell in love’ all the way down to ‘Tuesday lunch was a ham-and-cheese toastie.’ The memoirist’s trick is finding a way to weave these big revelations and crunchy (literally!) details into a single, vivid narrative. As the novelist James Salter once famously noted: “Life is weather. Life is meals.”

Come learn how to write your own life’s weather, meals, and everything else at How to Write a Memory, meeting Tuesdays 31 August and 7 September from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. at the Martinborough Library. The two-session class, taught by Dan Keane, Bringing Reading to Life Champion for the Wairarapa Library Service, will give aspiring memoirists some powerful tools to begin crafting their own memories on the page. Keane is a former AP correspondent and writing lecturer at New York University Shanghai whose work has been published in Harper’s, McSweeney’s, and The Washington Post.

In the first session, Five Minutes to Life, we’ll explore the interplay between vivid single moments and a larger life narrative. In the second, Potatoes and Vodka, we’ll practice balancing physical details with the emotions they provoke. In preparation for both, we’ll read short excerpts of brilliant memoirs on the library shelves to discuss their technique.

Each class is designed to stand alone or build one to the next—you’re welcome at either or both. To register, and receive the readings by email, please fill out the form at https://bit.ly/3x42SPT. We’ll also have copies of the readings available in the library. Please contact dan.library@swdc.govt.nz for more information.

New books! The Wairarapa Library Service welcomed a huge new shipment of books in July, with more than 1,300 new titles to be spread across our four branches. There’s something for everyone, including new fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novels for all ages, plus picture books and DVDs. Come by and take a few home for a good winter’s read!

New titles will be rotating through the Martinborough Library shelves in the weeks to come, and you can always browse them online as well. Just visit our catalogue at wls.org.nz and click on the “New Books” box for a complete list, then use the categories on the left side of the page to narrow down what you find. If the title you want is already on loan, click the ‘Place Hold’ button to reserve it next, then enter your library card number and PIN (usually the last four digits of your card number.) Need help? Come see us, we’re glad to show you how.

Wā Kōrero: our regular storytime for pre-schoolers meets at 11:15 a.m. every Tuesday.

All WLS Libraries will be closed the morning of Wednesday 25 August: Staff will meet for training to keep developing skills to better serve our community. Regular service will resume at 1 p.m. that day.