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Library Serf, Movies
The Twilight Saga Official Guide: When Will There Be Good News?
20.07.09 | Permalink | 1 Comment

The most long awaited book, The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide, has been delayed by the publishers until the end of September. Nuuuu! It currently has almost 70 reserves on it. Here’s more information on the book everyone will be hanging out for.

Another site says it will come out in January next year.

To keep everyone placated, here are some new photos from the New Moon film.
Jack, Music, New, Playlists
Metal, Soundtracks, Local
17.07.09 | Permalink | Comment?

Metallica are one of the biggest and longest tenured bands in metal and it all started here on Kill ‘Em All, their 1983 debut record. It’s also probably their fastest and rawest album, if you enjoyed the more recent Death Magnetic then this is right up your alley.

Sticking with metal for a while longer, there is a new Iron Maiden compilation out. Somewhere back in time : the best of 1980-1989 arguably finds the band at their peak. Includes Run to the Hills, Number of the Beast and other headbanging classics.

The Datsuns recently released album number four, Headstunts, and now it’s joined the YA collection. If you’ve ever enjoyed The Datsuns in the past, or are a fan of The White Stripes, The Libertines etc. then pick this one up.

Sate Of Mind are a local drum and bass group who’ve been making waves recently with Faster Than Light. It also comes with a bonus disc of remixes, so, bonus.

Transformers : revenge of the fallen : the album is the soundtrack to the newly released Transformers movie. Green Day, Nickleback, Linkin Park and other similar bands are featured.

Lastly, Hannah Montana : the movie also has a soundtrack that’s been added to the collection. If you’re a fan of Miley’s go out and pick this one up post haste.

metal, soundtracks, local
Internet, Science!, Simon, Top 10
Top 10 : Top 10
17.07.09 | Permalink | Comment?

Here are ten Top 10 lists written by other websites (and not by us, although we’ve done a lot). They’re in no particular order, and if you want to add to the list go nuts and comment.

1. Top 10 Harry Potter Moments - so far, anyway. Has clips! (See also; Top 10 Harry Potter supporting characters.)

2. Top 10 Comic Book Cities – does Metropolis beat out Megacity One? No, it does not, and rightly so.

3. Top 10 Most Ridiculous Movie Tech Moments – Nerdrage!

4. Top 10 San Diego Comic Con Exclusives – probably of limited interest but there’s some cool stuff there. I had an original Soundwave once. Wish I still had it, it might be worth a mint.

5. Top 10 Twilight Series Moments - Beware, as this list contains spoilers (for the 2.7% of the population who haven’t read Twilight).

6. Top 10 James Bond Books – as selected by Charlie Higson, author of the Young Bond series of books. He knows his Bond.

7. Top 10 Things You Can Do to Protect Your Privacy - a bit more serious that the others in this list, but very important! Very!

8. Top 20 Free PC Games - Twenty is better than ten, it must be said.

9. Top 10 Rap Songs That Sample Michael Jackson Songs – very topical.

10. Top 11 mashed Potato Recipes – a bit different, this list, but it allows me to a) mention the upcoming cooking event that’s planned (along with the competition!), b) point out that 2008 was the United Nations Year of the Potato and although it’s a bit late it’s interesting to learn, c) I can link to this, and d) mashed potatoes are yum. Don’t know why there are eleven though.
Library Serf, Selector
More Magazines
16.07.09 | Permalink | Comment?

As we reported last week, we’re after more magazines for the YA magazine collection, and we’d like you to choose which (make sure you vote – you can do this more than once (every day even) and you might win something, so what the hey).

In order to help you make your choice, and to keep you up with the play on what we’ve got, here’s what the collection currently consists of:

Sports

- Transworld Skateboarding - international skateboarding news and tips etc. (website)
- New Zealand Skateboarder
- Kiwi Surf Magazine - (website)
- Curl: Girls’ Lifestyle Magazine - surfing and stuff. (website)

Virtual Sports

- Playstation 2 (website)
- 360 XBox (website)
- White Dwarf (website)

Girls’, Fashion & Gossip

- Creme (website)
- Dolly (website)
- Girlfriend (website)
- Seventeen (website)
- Sugar (website)
- Teen Vogue (website)

For Amusement

- Mad XL (website)
- Simpsons Magazines

So, what’s lacking? Let us know what you’d recommend and have a good last few days of holiday.

(Young Adult magazines are free to borrow for one week on a Young Adult card – they’re also free to reserve (on a YA card).)
Books, Grimm, New
Highly Desirable New Books
15.07.09 | Permalink | Comment?

This week’s lot (in order of how many words make up the title):

Jatta, by Jenny Hale (464 pages) – a fantasy thriller replete with dragons, werewolves, and a mystery that begins with bloody paw prints.

First sentence: Princess Jatta woke on the cold marble floor, groaning weakly.

Posse, by Kate Welshman (278 pages) – things have been tense between best friends Amy and Clare, and when Clare disappears while they’re on Year 11 camp (Year 12 in New Zealand) there are more questions than answers; about what actually happened, about friendship…

First sentence: It’s the kind of heat you can’t escape.

Stolen, by Lucy Christopher (301 pages) – Gemma is kidnapped from an airport and taken to the Australian outback where her kidnapper, “expected [her] to love him.” Reviews all say this is a really well-written and moving story. It’s written as a letter from Gemma to her kidnapper, which is an interesting angle.

First sentence: You saw me before I saw you.

Jinxed, by Sara Lawrence (331 pages) – on a rather different note, the cover of Jinxed says “It’s spring term at Stagmount and love has never felt so naughty.” Set in a riotous boarding school in Brighton.

Resistance, by Craig Simpson (357 pages) – set in Norway during World War II; a story about Resistance freedom fighters, sabotage and courage.

First sentence: Her dying cry echoed across the Hardanger plateau.

Bloodline Rising, by Katy Moran (343 pages) – set in the dark ages and the sequel to Bloodline, Cai is captured in Constantinople and sent to Britain where he’s taken in by Wulfhere, prince of Mercia. When war threatens Cai must choose between his own life and that of his new clan’s.

First sentence: The young man moved like a cat: quick, sure.

Blood Water, by Dean Vincent Carter (248 pages) – a deadly parasite has gone missing, threatening to kill everyone in the town and Sean and James must track it down and destroy it before it does so.

First sentence: I managed to steal another hour in the laboratory tonight to examine the specimen before retiring to bed.

Bad Company, by Mike Walker (264 pages) – a story of modern day piracy and people smuggling on the Indian Ocean, with just a small amount of romance thrown in.

First sentence: If Lewis Hamilton hadn’t snatched fifth place in Brazilian and won the World Championship I wouldn’t have been stuck with three thieving bastards on a leaking ship in the Indian Ocean with a pirate holding a gun in my face screaming that he was going to blow my head away.

‘Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?’, by Louise Rennison (315 pages) – the final fab confessions, with some unexpected spelling in the title (bas? baz?). The shiny gold cover is calling “Read me! Read me!” If you get a bit lost there’s a comprehensive glossary of Georgia terms in the back.

First sentence(s): Why. Oh why oh why?
Adrienne, Competition
Competition Time!
14.07.09 | Permalink | Comment?

The Urban Survival Series is almost here… The first seminar ‘Food Glorious Food’ kicks off on July 23rd at the Central Library 4-5pm.

It’s all about how to cook a mean feed without blowing the budget and the types of food you should be eating to keep looking good and healthy.

Wow us with your kitchen skills by sending us a recipe for our cooking competition and win yourself the best teen cookbook ever (it even has recipes for impressing your GF/BF).
Grimm, Top 10
Top 10: Not Just Prose
13.07.09 | Permalink | Comment?
If you’re going to write a novel, consider using formats other than the usual bog-standard prose, like, for example:
1. Violence 101, Denis Wright (letters)
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky (letters – general fiction collection)
3. Dracula, Bram Stoker (letters, also diaries and newspaper articles)
4. The Color Purple, Alice Walker (letters and diary entries)
5. I Heart You, You Haunt Me, Lisa Schroeder (verse, as in poetry)
6. Hugging the rock, Susan Taylor Brown (verse)
7. The apprentice’s masterpiece: a story of medieval Spain, Melanie Little (verse)
8. Ttfn, Ttyl, L8r G8r (Internet Girls), Lauren Myracle (instant messaging)
9. Something to Blog About, Shana Norris (blog)
10. Dear everybody: a novel written in the form of letters, diary entries, encyclopedia entries, conversations with various people, notes sent home from teachers, newspaper articles, psychological evaluations, weather reports, a missing person flyer, a eulogy, a last will and testament, and other fragments, which taken together tell the story of the short life of Jonathon Bender, weatherman, by Michael Kimball (see title! – general fiction collection)
Other famous epistolary novels include Clarissa by Samuel Richardson (1749), The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis (1942) and Lemony Snicket: the Unauthorized Autobiography, by Lemony Snicket (2002).
Simon
What we did this week
10.07.09 | Permalink | Comment?

Recently, on this Teen Blog …

- Grimm listed the Top 10 books that feature music in some way
- The Wellington Japan Festival is on – tomorrow is the big day, in fact
- Another Top 10 list, this time collecting series about fabulous rich girls
- What’s this? Another Top 10 list? Françoise lists the best books for photographers and those who are interested in the art
- The next CHERUB book goes into the library system, ready to be reserved by most of Wellington
- The 1opm Question is read aloud on the wireless
- The next Selector is up; vote on a new magazine for the YA area and we’ll subscribe to the winning magazine
- Jack lists the newest CDs in the YA collection
- One more Top 10 list for the week – this time it’s everything Japanese, since, you know, the Japan Festival IS TOMORROW

New books next week (there’s not too many this week, to be honest).

The Urban Survival Series is coming up – there’s lots to do and things to win.
Crafts, DVDs, Simon, Top 10
Top 10 : Japan (トップ 10 : 日本)
10.07.09 | Permalink | Comment?

Tomorrow (the 11th of July, from 1pm at the Town Hall) is the Japanese Festival (as mentioned here) and, with that in mind, here’s our Top Ten Japanese-related material (mostly) in the YA area. In no particular order.

1. Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children (ファイナルファンタジーVII アドベントチルドレン) – This is based on the highly-regarded console game, and although it might be a little incomprehensible if you’re not familiar with Final Fantasy it’s still a spectacular CGI film. (Website.)

2. Kino No Tabi (or Kino’s Journey : The Beautiful World, キノの旅), by Keiichi Shigusawa – This is the first in a series of novels about Kino, who travels through many unique lands with her talking motorcycle. That might sound a little twee, but the story looks at some pretty profound themes. We’ve only the first book, for now (sadly).

3. Anything by Studio Ghibli Inc. (株式会社スタジオジブリ) – The films produced by Studio Ghibli are some of the best out there. Most people have seen Spirited Away (the first anime to win an Academy Award), but Princess Mononoke and Howl’s Moving Castle are definitely worth the 50c rental fee. And Ponyo (trailer) is at this year’s Wellington Film Festival (on the 17th and 19th of July).

4. Tekkon Kinkreet (鉄コン筋クリート) – Another anime that I highly recommend; it’s stylistic and lush to look at (the backgrounds are works of art). The story – about two orphans who take on the yakuza – is multi-layered and moving. (Trailer.)

5. Usagi Yojimbo : Volumes 1- (兎用心棒), by Stan Sakai - This epic comic series is about Usagi, a samurai who happens to be a rabbit (everyone is some sort of animal). He’s modelled on the real-life samurai/swordsman/writer/philosopher, Miyamoto Musashi, whose life truly was epic. The 23rd volume is due out later this month.

6. Number9Dream, by David Mitchell – Grimm recommended this book, about 19-year-old Japanese student, Eiji, who has come to Tokyo to search for his father. There’s an excerpt to read here. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2001.

7. Naruto : Volumes 1- (ナルト) – Naruto Uzumaki is a young ninja-in-training. He also has the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox within him, which means that if he can control it he can be a pretty powerful ninja. There are at least 45 in the series (held at the library, anyway) so there’s a lot to keep you going. Failing that, there is …

8. all the other manga we have. Which is loads.

9. Aranzi Aronzo’s books, Cute Stuff and The Cute Book. Aranzi Aronzo is a Japanese company that specialise in ‘cute, strange, cool, silly, a little bit horrible, stupid and comfortable’ design, and these two books show you how to make some very, very cute (kawaii, or Japanese cute) felt toys. Cute! They have a website.

10. Sushi for Dummies, by Judi Strata – Knowing how to make sushi (寿司) is one of those skills that everyone should know, as it’s a) delicious and b) healthy as anything, and c) pretty easy to make. This book isn’t in the YA area but we must include it in this list anyway.
Jack, Music, New
Lots of music
10.07.09 | Permalink | Comment?

Another large pile of new CDs have turned up, here are some fun facts about them:

The very best definitive ultimate greatest hits collection by Faith No More is a 2 disc overview of the band’s entire career. The title would seem to suggest that all bases are covered and all hits are present and indeed they are.

Vetran punk-rockers Rancid have a new one called Let The Dominoes Fall. If punk is your thing, then you will enjoy this very much.

The Beatles Anthology 2 takes in the groups ‘middle years’ from 1965-1968 and presents alternatives takes, acoustic demoes and live versions. A must for any Beatles completist.

In 1971 heavy metal pioneers Led Zeppelin released IV. It quickly became their most popular work, thanks in no small part to Stairway To Heaven, which remains to this day the most requested song on American radio.

Ministry of Sound continue their clubbers guide series with Clubbers Guide 2009. This is what dance clubs sound like this year.

Join The Q by the Qemists mixes drum and bass, electro, rock and pop together to make an energetic nu-rave concoction. Sort of like The Prodigy back in the nineties, but better.

Moment and Melodies by Incubus works as both a best of and a new album, how generous of them. Disc one is hits plus a couple of new tracks and disc two is mostly unreleased material. For fans old and new alike.

If you’re a Klaxons fan you might enjoy You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into… by Does It Offend You, Yeah? Even though the band name is a bit silly, they overcome this stumbling block by making good indie-pop.

Do I really need to say anything about the Jonas Brothers other than Lines, Vines and Trying Times is in? Probably not.

Brit rockers Kasabian return with album number three, entitled West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum. Judging from first listen I’d predict it as their breakthrough album.

Shawty Get Loose: 20 R&B Club Anthems is a compilation of twenty R&B songs that are considered anthemic, the sort that shawtiez might get loose to in a club. Features R. Kelly, N.E.R.D., Ciara and more.

And finallly, we have Now that’s what I call music 29 and Now that’s what I call music 30. Get caught up on all the recent big pop hits with these two.

lots of music