Donna_R's Completed Shelf

Night, Ma, BookA Memoir

by Knox, Elizabeth, 1959-

In-library use only at this time

Added Jun 11, 2026

Comment:

Any one of the traumatic events in this book would be destabilising and stressful. To have three happening is beyond comprehension. Elizabeth's beloved Mum has motor neurone disease, her sister has to be hospitalised with mental illness, and her…

My Lover, the Rabbi, Book

by Koestenbaum, Wayne, 1958-

Available

Added Jun 11, 2026

Comment:

It was the cover that lured me in. It's totally perfect for the book. It is literary and earthy with sex and bodies and hair and effluvia.

American Spirits, Downloadable AudiobookA Novel

by Dorn, Anna

All copies in use

Holds: 0 on 1 copy

Added Jun 11, 2026

Comment:

I have loved Anna Dorn's books but this one didn't work quite as well for me as Perfume and Pain, or Exalted (these were five star reads in my book). Based on Lana del Rey, Blue Velour and her producer Sasha Harlow are shipped on Reddit as a couple.…

A Mind of My Own, Book

by Burke, Kathy, 1965-

All copies in use

Holds: 23 on 6 copies

Added Jun 11, 2026

Comment:

Kathy might be known best for comedy, but there is so many layers to her. Her mum died young, and her father was an alcoholic but this isn't a misery memoir - it's full of joy, as she discovers her talent and makes a life as an actress, writer, and…

Quotations

"I don't tell this story much as it's very showy-offy but, fuck it, isn't that what a memoir's for?"
"My favourite place in Camden Passage and indeed the whole of Islington was the Angel Bookshop. Sadly no longer there. I couldn't afford to buy anything, we got all our books from the Essex Road Library, but the people who ran it would let me sit on…

Famesick, Downloadable Audiobook

by Dunham, Lena, 1986-

All copies in use

Holds: 19 on 11 copies

Added Jun 11, 2026

Comment:

This is sort of a sequel to Lena's first memoir Not that kind of girl (which I see in op shops heaps, whatever that means). Famesick (Great and apt title) shows her first career moves, making Tiny Furniture, and then the whole Girls experience, her…

Quotations

"If you make yourself out to be a bottomless resource, people will frack."

Hooked, Book

by Yuzuki, Asako, 1981-

Available

Added Jun 11, 2026

Comment:

I wonder if the success of Butter has meant the translation of Hooked has got a wider release. It is in the same wheelhouse of complicated and obsessive female relationships, but to me Butter is more compelling. Both were wonderfully translated by…

The Silver Book, Book

by Laing, Olivia

Available

Added Jun 11, 2026

Comment:

A compelling short book set in 60s Italy with the protagonist interacting with designer Danilo Donati and masters Fellini and Pasolini. There's something icy about this book.

Quotations

"Fascism never really went away, it just changed form, went underground, periodically exploding back into the daylight ... all these things signify that fascism is still alive, still straining at the leash."

All Fours, Book

by July, Miranda, 1974-

Available

Added Jun 11, 2026

Comment:

A wild little gem. I can envision many of the scenes in here, and the fevered heat and heart of the perimenopausal artist. If they ever make a move of it, I can't wait to see that jewel of a motel room and the dancing of the impossible dream boy.…

Daisy Jones & the Six, Book

by Reid, Taylor Jenkins

All copies in use

Holds: 11 on 3 copies

Added Jun 11, 2026

Comment:

Told in oral history style, this version of a Fleetwood Mac style band has intra-band troubles and romance. I preferred Atmosphere, but this is definitely a fun easy read.

On the Calculation of Volume, Downloadable AudiobookBook I

by Balle, Solvej, 1962-

All copies in use

Holds: 1 on 2 copies

Added Jun 04, 2026

Comment:

Groundhog Day, literary style. Tara Selter experiences the 18 November over and over. It details the people, the interactions, the physical places and experiences. It could be small and claustrophobic, but the opposite is true - it's big as the…

Quotations

"There is something reassuring about the sky. It is not like books or plant pots. It is not like jars of olives or boxes of cookies. There is nothing to be done about it. It can be relied upon; it never changes. I cannot influence it and I cannot…

London Falling, Downloadable AudiobookA Mysterious Death in A Gilded City, and A Family's Search for Truth

by Keefe, Patrick Radden, 1976-

All copies in use

Holds: 94 on 15 copies

Added Jun 04, 2026

Comment:

Read by Patrick Radden Keefe. A book by PRK is an event these days, his popularity has been on the up and up. London Falling is set in London and tells the story of a crime - or was it an accident? Zac Brettler fell from a fancy apartment to his…

Katabasis, Downloadable Audiobook

by Kuang, R. F.

Added Jun 04, 2026

Comment:

A strange and wonderful story, quintessential Dark Academia. It's a rich and cinematic journey through university and the courts of Hell - with Alice and Peter, the star students at the heart of the story. It was a treat to hear RF Kuang here in…

Motherland, BookA Feminist History of Modern Russia, From Revolution to Autocracy

by Ioffe, Julia

All copies in use

Added Jun 04, 2026

Even the Good Girls Will Cry, Downloadable AudiobookMy '90s Rock Memoir

by Auf der Maur, Melissa

All copies in use

Holds: 0 on 1 copy

Added Jun 04, 2026

Comment:

If you loved Melissa before, you will love her much more. If you didn't know her - you will feel like you do after listening to this, and you'll love her. Her complicated origin story, early musical career, becoming the bassist in Hole with Courtney…

My Body Is A Horror Film, Book

by Shipley, Ray

Available

Added Apr 12, 2026

Comment:

A stunning series of poems by local Ōtautahi Christchurch poet Ray Shipley, whose Late Night poetry sessions are such a great part of the local and national poetry scene.

Empire of AI, Downloadable AudiobookInside the Reckless Race for Total Domination

by Hao, Karen

All copies in use

Holds: 26 on 8 copies

Added Apr 12, 2026

Comment:

The richly researched and compelling story of AI - told especially through Sam Altman and OpenAI. It has details of the "compute", technology and science, and the people and relationships. Most powerfully though, it unpacks the ethics and…

Nobody's Girl : A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, Downloadable Audiobook

by Giuffre, Virginia Roberts, 1983-2025

Added Apr 12, 2026

Comment:

This is the life story of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, the American woman trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to the rich and powerful including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. It is sad to realise how much she went through - before,…

Muckle Flugga, Book

by Pedersen, Michael, 1984-

All copies in use

Holds: 5 on 4 copies

Added Apr 11, 2026

Comment:

Lighthouse keeper the Father, and his dreamy artistic knitter son Ouse live on the island of Muckle Flugga. Firth, a suicidal writer and a bit of a shite from the mainland comes to stay. It's a beautifully written fiction debut by poet Michael…

A Year of Junk Journaling, Book52 Creative Prompts to Transform Scraps of your Life Into Art

by Calvi, Martina

Available

Added Apr 11, 2026

Comment:

Lots of great ideas for junk journaling and collage. I will take some on board and give them a go. A beautifully laid out book too, as befits the topic.

Audrey Hepburn, BookThe Illustrated World of A Fashion Icon

by Hess, Megan (Fashion illustrator)

Available

Added Apr 11, 2026

Comment:

I found this at the op shop - a good score! Fashion illustrator Megan Hess shows the life and times of the marvellous Audrey Hepburn.

Vigil, Book

by Saunders, George, 1958-

Available

Added Apr 11, 2026

Comment:

I didn't connect at first with this. It's another Bardo tale - but unlike Lincoln in the Bardo it felt too mannered, stilted, didactic. But somewhere along the way I began to feel its power and it had me in its clutches

Seed, Downloadable Audiobook

by Easther, Elisabeth

Added Apr 11, 2026

Comment:

Four friends and their varied journeys with pregnancy (unwanted or wanted) and fertility. Wanting to be, being and wanting not to be, and all the combinations. It's a simple effective story, though sometimes the characters blurred together a bit.…

Good Movies as Old Books, BookFilms Reimagined as Vintage Book Covers

by Stevens, Matt

Available

Added Apr 11, 2026

Comment:

So many things to love about this book - especially the gorgeous and clever designs (I love the old Pan paperback style, complete with price sticker). The choice of movies is neat too. The layout is well done too, the covers relate to each other in…

The Art of Bob's Burgers, Book

by Bouchard, Loren

Available

Added Apr 11, 2026

Comment:

A look into the creation of the visual world of Bob's Burgers. I found out lots and loved discovering that Tina was initially a boy, And that The National did a cover version of the glorious "Bad stuff happens in the bathroom".

Vigil, Downloadable Audiobook

by Saunders, George, 1958-

Available

Added Apr 11, 2026

Comment:

I didn't connect at first with this. It's another Bardo tale - but unlike Lincoln in the Bardo it felt too mannered, stilted, didactic. But somewhere along the way I began to feel its power and it had me in its clutches.

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Night, MaNight, Ma, BookA Memoir

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American SpiritsAmerican Spirits, Downloadable AudiobookA Novel

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On the Calculation of VolumeOn the Calculation of Volume, Downloadable AudiobookBook I

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London FallingLondon Falling, Downloadable AudiobookA Mysterious Death in A Gilded City, and A Family's Search for Truth

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MotherlandMotherland, BookA Feminist History of Modern Russia, From Revolution to Autocracy

Even the Good Girls Will CryEven the Good Girls Will Cry, Downloadable AudiobookMy '90s Rock Memoir

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Empire of AIEmpire of AI, Downloadable AudiobookInside the Reckless Race for Total Domination

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A Year of Junk JournalingA Year of Junk Journaling, Book52 Creative Prompts to Transform Scraps of your Life Into Art

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Audrey HepburnAudrey Hepburn, BookThe Illustrated World of A Fashion Icon

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Good Movies as Old BooksGood Movies as Old Books, BookFilms Reimagined as Vintage Book Covers

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Night, Ma, BookA Memoir

American Spirits, Downloadable AudiobookA Novel

On the Calculation of Volume, Downloadable AudiobookBook I

London Falling, Downloadable AudiobookA Mysterious Death in A Gilded City, and A Family's Search for Truth

Motherland, BookA Feminist History of Modern Russia, From Revolution to Autocracy

Even the Good Girls Will Cry, Downloadable AudiobookMy '90s Rock Memoir

Empire of AI, Downloadable AudiobookInside the Reckless Race for Total Domination

A Year of Junk Journaling, Book52 Creative Prompts to Transform Scraps of your Life Into Art

Audrey Hepburn, BookThe Illustrated World of A Fashion Icon

Good Movies as Old Books, BookFilms Reimagined as Vintage Book Covers