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Reading, Wellington, and whatever else – teenblog@wcl.govt.nz

Month: November 2010

Katherine stalks Stefan through the centuries.

It is true! This only makes sense if you’re a Vampire Diaries fan, actually.

Review: The Raging Quiet

We’ve asked library staff for some reviews, here’s one of a great book written by New Zealand author Sherryl Jordan.

This year, I really enjoyed The Raging Quiet by Sherryl Jordan. It’s the tale of Marnie, married at 16 to a wealthy landowner and beginning a new life in the seaside town of Torcurra. Set in Medieval Europe, it richly invokes the living conditions and atmosphere of the times. Jordan writes in a beautiful style, and all of her books are hard to put down. Highly recommended!

~ Rowan

Which Book Was Best in 2010?

Best of 2010Was 2010 a good book year?

Tell us which book (or books) you thought was (or were) the best this year – if you’re lucky enough you could even win a spot prize*. Fill in the form below, or (coming soon) do it the old-fashioned way at a library branch near you.

The close-off date for sharing your opinions is Friday 17 December, so go to it.

Can’t remember what you’ve read? Have a look at some of the new books posts to jog your memory – perhaps your favourite is in there somewhere. Or, or, it could be in one of the Most Wanted lists here.

* Ahem: spot prize can obviously only be won by people who let us know their name and card number.

Bits of plastic with songs on them

soundgarden

Telephantasm – Soundgarden
Days they tried to live
apart were black. Together
again on their wave

maroon 5

Hands All Over – Maroon 5
Soon American
Idol contestants will be
covering these songs.

n.e.r.d.

Nothing – N.E.R.D.
Nobody ever
really dies, especially
trendy producers

klaxons

Surfing The Void – The Klaxons
Feline themed record
covers rapidly approaching
the “new black” status

metallica

Six Feet Downunder EP – Metallica
Napster opponents
release fan-made bootlegs to
fund Christmas shopping.

dubstep

The Sound Of Dubstep
If you don’t know what
dubstep sounds like, one presumes
this is the tonic.

step up 3d

Step Up 3D
Breakdancing in the
third dimension requires some
futuristic rap.

clubbers guide summer 2010

Clubbers Guide Summer 2010
As the weather warms
this faux Lonely Planet Guide
arrives just in time.

Free E-Books at the Library

Do you enjoy the virtual page-turning experience? If you are do (doh) you might be interested to hear that you can now borrow e-books from Wellington City Libraries’ Overdrive service.

Some of the titles already available include the following:

(and much more)

Overdrive e-books are in EPUB format, and will work on a PC, Mac, Sony Reader or Kobo (but not unfortunately a Kindle). In December/January you will also be able to access them on iPads, iPhones and iPod touches.

Like Overdrive audiobooks, e-books are free to download, and you won’t have to worry about overdues. For more information about what you will need to start downloading e-books have a look at this page here.

* Incidentally, these are some of the books that we think are the choicest.

Pretty Pettyfer is Number Four

The commercial juggernaut that is the Lorien Legacies books by Pittacus Lore (no it’s not a real person, it is a collection of people writing on behalf of a writer called James Frey) is being made into a movie almost before the first book, I Am Number Four, has hit the shelves. Just to prove it here is the trailer (the film is due out in February next year):

I Am Number Four is listed as one of Amazon’s top 10 books of 2010 (as we posted here). The film stars Alex Pettyfer from Alex Rider: Stormbreaker, who is also Kyle in Beastly, the film based on the book by Alex Flinn, (so many Alexes!) which must make him the go-to guy for people turning young adult fiction into film.

For more trailery things you can visit the I Am Number Four imdb page. Here is Beastly‘s too, just for kicks.

New Music And A Year-Old Joke

taylor swift

Speak Now – Taylor Swift

I was going to
write about this but Kanye
interrupted me.

camp rock 2

Camp Rock 2 : The Final Jam

Jo Bros. holiday
productively by kicking
out jams they then sell.

bruno mars

Doo Wops & Hooligans – Bruno Mars

Rising Hawaiian pop-
-star seemingly writes music
only whilst napping.

john legend

Wake Up! – John Legend & The Roots

Legends – self procaimed
and other – shake us gently
awake from slumber.

macy gray

The Sellout – Macy Gray

Apparently to
sell out means bizarre Velvet
Revolver guest spots

concord dawn

The Enemy Within – Concord Dawn

Music is for drum
and bassers, cover is for
entomologists

GOOD LUCK

Yup, it’s that time.

We can’t sit your exams (and you probably wouldn’t want my French mark) but we would like to help, so:

We have old exam papers, if you would like to use them in your study. Just ask one of the librarians at the desk. (In Central ask at the children’s desk or on the second floor.)

We’ve collected some tips and sites that might help you here

When you need a break, you might like our facebook page which has some fine ways to use your time.

And lastly if any old people are being too noisy and disturbing you,  please ask a librarian to shush them. It’s only fair.

Good Luck!

Perhaps some animes are in order?

We have some more anime. Here it is…

Avatar, the legend of Aang. Book 2, Earth, Volume 3
The gang visit a library buried under some sand. They learn important things related to Fire Nation and a stand-off ensues with some would-be conquerers. All very exciting stuff, but you understand it’s the library which makes this bunch of episodes a Teen Blog favourite.

Avatar, the legend of Aang. Book 2, Earth, Volume 4
Do you like bending battles? If so you’re in luck, this set of episodes culminates in what can only be described as the best bending battle of the season! Will the Earth Kingdom succumb to Fire Nation? Or can our heroes save the day?

Bleach : the movie. 2, The Diamonddust Rebellion
“When a caravan transporting the King’s Seal is attacked, Toshiro Hitsugaya and Squad 10 are on the ready. As they prepare to protect the treasure that holds immeasurable power, Hitsugaya suddenly abandons the scene alongside the thieves and becomes one of the accused. In response, the Soul Society calls for his capture and execution. Upon hearing the edict, Substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki is immediately suspicious and determined to uncover the facts. But when Hitsugaya refuses to defend his actions and fights against his comrades, it seems his fate is all but sealed. Can Ichigo uncover Hitsugaya’s motives before they destroy his honor, his life, and the Soul Society?”–Container.

Cover to Cover

Cover to Cover is Kerikeri High School’s library blog, and it has loads of content! Loads of excellent content that we wish we had (and maybe will have soon, haha). Anyway, do take a look!

Heaps of New Books

Zombies Vs. Unicorns (415 pages) – if it came down to it, which team would you be on? Read the stories and pick your team. There’s even extra content that you can access on the interweb if you’ve got a smart phone – there’s a souped up QR-type code on the back cover. We’re thinking it might just be the book trailer (which is here), but we’ve been known to be wrong.

First sentence (from the introduction): Since the dawn of time one question has dominated all others: Zombies or Unicorns?

fishhookfishhookfishhookfishhook plus an extra fishhook for the cool cover.

Fat Vampire: A Never Coming of Age Story, Adam Rex (324 pages) – Actually, really, being eternally a teenager wouldn’t be the greatest, especially if you’re not exactly cut and chiselled, which Doug Lee isn’t. But what he is is a vampire, and has the stars of the reality television show Vampire Hunters after him.

First sentence: Doug came to, lying on his back in what felt smelled like a field.

fishhook cool cover again.

Torment, Lauren Kate (452 pages) – get your supernatural romance, fallen angel fix here. The hotly anticipated sequel to Fallen, which stayed atop our Most Wanted list for months and months this year. Daniel must go off and hunt the Outcasts, so he hides Luce at an exclusive academy (!) for gifted students, where she finds out more about her special powers and those freaky shadows. Fallen angels keep secrets though, dangerous ones…

First sentence: Daniel stared out at the bay.

I Am Number Four, Pittacus Lore (440 pages) – the much hyped first book in the Lorien Legacies series where nine, um, people, arrive from another planet methinks, and “walk among us”. Trouble is they’re getting picked off, one by two by three, and number four is next. Again, this comes complete with the promise of *extra material* via the QR code on the jacket. Wikipedia will also tell you who Pittacus Lore really is.

First sentence: The door starts shaking.

Good Oil, Laura Buzo (283 pages) – a straight-up romance with no supernatural creatures, Good Oil tells the story of Amelia, who falls for the much older Chris, an engaging university student. She enjoys spending time with him, and he appears to like her company too, but it’s complicated.

First sentence: ‘I’m writing a play,’ says Chris, leaning over the counter of my cash register.

Perchance to Dream, Lisa Mantchev (333 pages) – the marvellously quirky sequel to the marvellously quirky Eyes Like Stars and some of the most fantastical fantasy that might do your head in. Bertie’s left the Theatre in search of Nate the pirate, who has been captured (perhaps killed?) by the Sea Goddess. With her is Ariel, doing his best to distract her in a love-triangle type of way, and the four fairies, thinking of nothing much other than food.  Along the way Bertie learns more about her magic, her father, and which team to pick, Nate or Ariel?

First sentence: ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged,’ Mustardseed said, flying in lazy loops like an intoxicated bumblebee, ‘that a fairy in possession of a good appetite must be in want of pie.’

fishhookfishhookfishhook for the Jane Austen reference.

The Life of a Teenage Body-Snatcher, Doug McLeod (304 pages) – a funny horror, black comedy story. Thomas is a well-bred sixteen year old in 1828 who falls in with Plenitude, a body-snatcher, and is then pursued by all manner of ghoulish types.

First sentence: There are no stars, no moon to illuminate the grounds of the parish church.

iBoy, Kevin Brooks (290 pages) – Tom was attacked by (I extrapolate) a gang on his estate, and bits of his iPhone became embedded in his brain (hopefully the bubble wrap popping app still works) and now he has special powers. Sounds like fun, having a GPS in your brain, but no: he must make difficult choices that lead to “terrifying” consequences. Sinister.

First sentence: The mobile phone that shattered my skull was a 32GB iPhone 3GS.

Dark Flame, Alyson Noel (The Immortals, 320 pages) – Ever tries to help Haven get to grips with being an Immortal, and must also fight “for control of her body, her soul – and the timeless true love she’s been chasing for centuries.” (Book cover)

First sentence: ‘What the fug?’

The Deathday Letter, Shaun David Hutchinson (240 pages) – Ollie receives a letter saying he’s going to die in one day’s time, so his friend suggests he spend that day attempting to win the heart of the girl of his dreams, Ronnie. He does this (attempt to win: I’m not saying if he’s successful).

First sentence: ‘Oliver! Oliver, I need you downstairs right now!’

Party, Tom Leveen (228 pages) – it’s the end of the school year and there’s a party: eleven characters tell the story of why they went and what happened, leading to a conclusion that “no one saw coming.”

First sentence: I’m the girl nobody knows until she commits suicide.

More to come…