English Books & Literature

**Simon Merrick: T-strings and other developments in working with strings in Python** Python talks! Python people! Join our monthly meetup about all things Python. If all goes well there will also be pizza and drinks. * We meet **every fourth Tuesday** of a month at 5:45pm (talks start at 6:30pm) * 📌 **Space is limited** at the venue, so please only register (it's free) if you really intend to come. Also, as we will aim to provide some food and drinks, this will help us manage amounts and avoid waste. Thank you! * **Join the [Python NZ Discord ](https://discord.python.nz/)**to stay up to date, interact with others or help with upcoming events. * Python New Zealand's **[Code of Conduct](https://events.python.nz/redirect/?url=https%3A//python.nz/about/code-of-conduct/%3AfBv4yOxQ5i0fg9WnNd7RvQ4JrjpQ4CztIw_jdXQaRoY)** applies to all Python New Zealand events and participants agree to abide by it. * The meetup will also be accessible virtually. Point your web browser at [https://bbb.nzoss.nz/rooms/9tk-j2b-fco-eas/join](https://bbb.nzoss.nz/rooms/9tk-j2b-fco-eas/join) **A look at the new template/t strings introduced in Python 3.14 and other string related developments.** **Finding the meetup:** Look for a glass door with a sign mentioning the meetup and head upstairs to the Trade Me office. Call the phone number on the sign if you arrive late and the door is locked. Don't hesitate to pass this information around to whomever you think may be interested to hear and discuss all things Python. Join our meetings online or in person: \* [Python New Zealand - Online Events](https://meetup.com/pythonnz-online) \* [Python New Zealand - Auckland](https://meetup.com/pythonnz-auckland) \* [Python New Zealand - Wellington](https://meetup.com/pythonnz-wellington) \* [Python New Zealand - Christchurch](https://meetup.com/pythonnz-christchurch)

**Simon Merrick: T-strings and other developments in working with strings in Python** Python talks! Python people! Join our monthly meetup about all things Python. If all goes well there will also be pizza and drinks. * We meet **every fourth Tuesday** of a month at 5:45pm (talks start at 6:30pm) * 📌 **Space is limited** at the venue, so please only register (it's free) if you really intend to come. Also, as we will aim to provide some food and drinks, this will help us manage amounts and avoid waste. Thank you! * **Join the [Python NZ Discord ](https://discord.python.nz/)**to stay up to date, interact with others or help with upcoming events. * Python New Zealand's **[Code of Conduct](https://events.python.nz/redirect/?url=https%3A//python.nz/about/code-of-conduct/%3AfBv4yOxQ5i0fg9WnNd7RvQ4JrjpQ4CztIw_jdXQaRoY)** applies to all Python New Zealand events and participants agree to abide by it. * The meetup will also be accessible virtually. Point your web browser at [https://bbb.nzoss.nz/rooms/9tk-j2b-fco-eas/join](https://bbb.nzoss.nz/rooms/9tk-j2b-fco-eas/join) **A look at the new template/t strings introduced in Python 3.14 and other string related developments.** **Finding the meetup:** Look for a glass door with a sign mentioning the meetup and head upstairs to the Trade Me office. Call the phone number on the sign if you arrive late and the door is locked. Don't hesitate to pass this information around to whomever you think may be interested to hear and discuss all things Python. Join our meetings online or in person: \* [Python New Zealand - Online Events](https://meetup.com/pythonnz-online) \* [Python New Zealand - Auckland](https://meetup.com/pythonnz-auckland) \* [Python New Zealand - Wellington](https://meetup.com/pythonnz-wellington) \* [Python New Zealand - Christchurch](https://meetup.com/pythonnz-christchurch)

This route was closed because of the Kaikoura earthquake, but has now recently reopened. Park up at the end of Ure Road. Earthquake damage means the Upper Ure road is permanently closed. Now the route starts 3km lower, meaning an extra hour in the river. This is an impromptu trip where I am cadging a lift with a friend who is passing through, so I can't offer any transport. Therefore you must make your own way to the end of Ure Rd and the new start of the track, then your own way back out. I'll be dropped off in Kaikoura where I plan to do a bit of whale watching/hire a sea kayak if the weather is suitable, then plan to get a bus up to Picton 7 or 8 Feb. You are very welcome to join me in Kaikoura. Sat tramp road end through Sawcut Gorge to Isolation hut for the night. Spectacular scenery, wet feet. Sun to Brian Boru hut for lunch, then Zoo Hut overnight. This day involves a very steep climb behind Isolation hut, then a steep shingle descent to Brian Boru. 6 - 7 hours slow and steady Mon return same way to Isolation hut. Slow shingle climb up, and steep descent to Isolation hut. Tues back to the road end and our vehicles. This trip is suited to a party of four. I will add people manually when I am reassured you have your own transportation as I can't not provide any. Do your own research, know where you are going, be properly equipped. You are responsible for your own safety.

For January, we’re reading Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy. For fans of Flight Behavior and Station Eleven, a novel set on the brink of catastrophe, as a young woman chases the world's last birds--and her own final chance for redemption. Franny Stone has always been a wanderer. By following the ocean's tides and the birds that soar above, she can forget the losses that have haunted her life. But when the wild she loves begins to disappear, Franny can no longer wander without a destination. She arrives in remote Greenland with one purpose: to find the world's last flock of Arctic terns and track their final migration. She convinces Ennis Malone, captain of the Saghani, to take her onboard, winning over his eccentric crew with promises that the birds will lead them to fish. As the Saghani fights its way south, Franny's dark history begins to unspool. Battered by night terrors, accumulating a pile of unsent letters, and obsessed with pursuing the terns at any cost, Franny is full of secrets. When her quest threatens the safety of the entire crew, Franny must ask herself what she is really running toward--and running from. Propelled by a narrator as fierce and fragile as the terns she is following, Charlotte McConaghy's Migrations is both an ode to our threatened world and a breathtaking page-turner about the lengths we will go for the people we love.

Join us for a special afternoon celebrating books, conversation, and community. **Who:** Jessica Strawser in conversation with Thirti Umrigar **When:** Sunday\, February 1 \| **2:00 p.m.** **Where:** Auditorium, Main Library 96 S. Grant Ave. **Event Schedule** **1:00 p.m.** – Library doors open & book sale begins (hosted by Prologue Bookshop) **2:00 p.m.** – Jessica Strawser in conversation with Thirti Umrigar **2:45 p.m.** – Audience Q&A **3:00 p.m.** – Book sale & author signing Come early to check out the books, settle in for the author talk, and enjoy a laid-back afternoon with fellow book lovers. We’d love to see you there!

**I’m planning future book club meetups and would love your input. Please choose your top three from the list below—your picks will help decide what we read next!** **Book Options** *The Hong Kong Widow* – Kristen Loesch *American Spy* – Lauren Wilkinson *God of the Woods* – Liz Moore *Listen for the Lie* – Amy Tintera *The Swallows* – Lisa Lutz *The Drowning Kind* – Jennifer McMahon *The Eights* – Joanna Miller *The Quiet Librarian* – Allen Eskens Thanks so much for sharing your pick! Please **reply in the comments** with your top three. I can’t wait to see which books rise to the top and to discuss them together at our next meetups.

Let’s meet and discuss whatever comes to mind about one of Tennesse Williams’ most famous plays.

**Our February novel is: Julia by Sandra Newman** **This month is a classic, dystopian, fiction, literary fiction, women’s fiction, and science fiction novel. The book is 394 pages in print and 14 hours and 20 minutes on audiobook.** **An imaginative, feminist, and brilliantly relevant-to-today retelling of Orwell’s 1984, from the point of view of Winston Smith’s lover, Julia, by critically acclaimed novelist Sandra Newman.** Julia Worthing is a mechanic, working in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth. It’s 1984, and Britain (now called Airstrip One) has long been absorbed into the larger trans-Atlantic nation of Oceania. Oceania has been at war for as long as anyone can remember, and is ruled by an ultra-totalitarian Party, whose leader is a quasi-mythical figure called Big Brother. In short, everything about this world is as it is in Orwell’s 1984. All her life, Julia has known only Oceania, and, until she meets Winston Smith, she has never imagined anything else. She is an ideal citizen: cheerfully cynical, always ready with a bribe, piously repeating every political slogan while believing in nothing. She routinely breaks the rules, but also collaborates with the regime when necessary. Everyone likes Julia. Then one day she finds herself walking toward Winston Smith in a corridor and impulsively slips him a note, setting in motion the devastating, unforgettable events of the classic story. Julia takes us on a surprising journey through Orwell’s now-iconic dystopia, with twists that reveal unexpected sides not only to Julia, but to other familiar figures in the 1984 universe. This unique perspective lays bare our own world in haunting and provocative ways, just as the original did almost seventy-five years ago.

Join us as we get together to see the steamy-romance-period-drama, WUTHERING HEIGHTS. Director Emerald Fennell gives us her take on the romance between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw from the classic Emily Bronte novel. Here’s a description, trailer and plan for this event: DESCRIPTION: The film tells a passionate and tumultuous love story set against the backdrop of the Yorkshire moors, exploring the intense and destructive relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. The film is directed by Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman, Saltburn) and is loosely based on the classic novel by Emily Bronte. It stars Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, Alison Oliver, Owen Cooper and Hong Chau! TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fLCdIYShEQ PLAN: We’ll plan for a 7pm-ish showing and will meet inside the lobby area about 30 minutes before the show begins. Advance ticket purchase not required for this theater but early arrival is advised! Be sure to mention you’re with the Movie Group for admission and concession discounts! And, after the movie, don’t miss the best part of the night – food and drinks at the nearby Rusty Bucket! Complete details will be confirmed/announced as the date gets closer! Look forward to seeing you there, Dan

Calling all founders, CEOs, lawyers, doctors, and entrepreneurs to join our special *Founder Edition* of Sip & Read meetup event. Let's sip on fine wine and discuss our first book **The 5AM Club- Own Your Morning Elevate Your Life, by Robin Sharma**. We will pair this book with our favorite wine at **Wine on High** and engage in thought-provoking discussions on startup businesses and entrepreneurship, and network with like-minded individuals in a cozy book club setting. *The 5AM Club* by Robin Sharma explores how waking up early and following a structured morning routine can dramatically improve productivity, mindset, and overall life mastery. Through a blend of storytelling and practical frameworks, it teaches high performers how to build discipline, focus, and long-term success by owning the first hour of the day. Come prepared to discuss this month's book. At the end of each book club meeting, we will take next book and venue suggestions from the participants for the next meeting. Whether you are a book lover, women entrepreneur, or a content creator, this event is perfect for sharing ideas and insights with other funders and founders in the entrepreneurial world. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to connect, learn, and grow together. Sign up now to reserve your spot! *Fun fact! This meetup was established in 2015 and had over 1,000 members. I had to shut down operations while attending law school, but we're back!!*