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Library Serf

Library Serf, Movies, Trailers
Catching Fire trailer!
15.04.13 | Permalink | Comment?

Is out, and it looks gripping!

Don’t forget to read the book: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.
Books, Library Serf
Some Book Award News
22.03.13 | Permalink | Comment?

Ketchup Clouds, the second novel by Annabel Pitcher has won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for 2013. In Ketchup Clouds, Zoe deals with a secret (and enormous guilt) by sharing it with a prisoner on death row in America.

Other contenders in the teen category included Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, and Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas: the complete list is here or here.
Library, Library Serf
The new and improved Overdrive
13.03.13 | Permalink | Comment?

Overdrive – the home of many of WCL’s e-audiobooks and all the e-books – has had a makeover. The new site features are explained in this news post here. Included is an introductory tutorial, hosted by a polite and competent Overdrive librarian.
Internet, Library Serf, Movies
Catching Fire Fashion Extra
12.03.13 | Permalink | Comment?

We at the teen blog like fiction and fashion, so when you put them together you get a winner. We do love the Catching Fire couture photos that have cropped up recently. Even the chairs are awesome. Finnick looks piratical (<3 the word piratical, any excuse to use it), and we’re not sure whose dress is better, Johanna’s or Katniss’ (which looks like it’s part-weapon). Stuff informs us that Effie is wearing Alexander McQueen. Here’s Perez Hilton on the topic.

Also, make sure you re-read the book while you wait for the first teaser trailer. The movie website (complete with impressive flaming logo) is here.
Books, Library, Library Serf
Read some YA in another language
05.03.13 | Permalink | Comment?

Did you know that Wellington City Libraries has a collection of books in languages other than English? We do! Some of them you may recognise.

Christopher Paolini: the Inheritance cycle in Chinese (Yilalong, Zhang lao, Di guo: San, and Di guo: Xia)

Ally Condie: the Matched trilogy in German (Cassia & Ky auf Deutsch: Die Flucht, Die Auswahl, Die Ankunft).

Lauren Kate: Duo luo tian shi (Fallen in Chinese)

Suzanne Collins: we have The Hunger Games in German, Chinese, Spanish, French

Stephenie Meyer: remember Twilight? Well, we’ve got the series in (deep breath) Chinese, Japanese, Korean (these have cool covers), Russian (some), Spanish.

P C and Kristin Cast: a selection of the House of Night series in Chinese.

So if you’re at home in another language, or you’re looking for a challenge, this is the perfect place to start. Here’s a complete list of teen fiction books in other languages, including some non-translated titles.

If there’s something in another language you think the library should definitely get, then let us know (you can fill in a suggestion to buy here).

Vale,
Library Serf
Library, Library Serf
Recent ebooks
27.02.13 | Permalink | Comment?

More from the library’s Overdrive ebook collection:

After Obsession, Carrie Jones & Steven E Wedel. “Aimee and Alan have secrets. Both teens have unusual pasts and abilities they prefer to keep hidden. But when they meet each other, in a cold Maine town, they can’t stop their secrets from spilling out. Strange things have been happening lately, and they both feel that something-or someone- is haunting them. They’re wrong. Despite their unusual history and powers, it’s neither Aimee nor Alan who is truly haunted. It’s Alan’s cousin Courtney who, in a desperate plea to find her missing father, has invited a demon into her life-and into her body. Only together can Aimee and Alan exorcise the ghost. And they have to move quickly, before it devours not just Courtney but everything around her.” (goodreads.com)

Beautiful Creatures series (first 3), Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. Since the movie’s out, you might like to re-read these – they’re getting popular again. The regular books are here also.

The movie website is here, and FB here.

Dust Girl, Sarah Zettel. A fairy story with an edge. “Callie LeRoux lives in Slow Run, Kansas, helping her mother run their small hotel and trying not to think about the father she’s never met. Lately all of her energy is spent battling the constant storms plaguing the Dust Bowl and their effects on her health. Callie is left alone when her mother goes missing in a dust storm. Her only hope comes from a mysterious man offering a few clues about her destiny and the path she must take to find her parents in ‘the golden hills of the west’: California. Along the way she meets Jack, a young hobo boy who is happy to keep her company – there are dangerous, desperate people at every turn. And there’s also an otherworldly threat to Callie. Warring fae factions, attached to the creative communities of American society, are very much aware of the role this half-mortal, half-fae teenage girl plays in their fate.” (goodreads.com)

Every You, Every Me, David Levithan. “In this high school-set psychological tale, a tormented teen named Evan starts to discover a series of unnerving photographs – some of which feature him. Someone is stalking him… messing with him… threatening him. Worse, ever since his best friend Ariel has been gone, he’s been unable to sleep, spending night after night torturing himself for his role in her absence. And as crazy as it sounds, Evan’s starting to believe it’s Ariel that’s behind all of this, punishing him. But the more Evan starts to unravel the mystery, the more his paranoia and insomnia amplify, and the more he starts to unravel himself.” (goodreads.com)

Queen of the Night, Leanne Hall. The sequel to This is Shyness. “The dark is dangerous. So is the past. So are your dreams. For six months Nia – Wildgirl – has tried to forget Wolfboy, the mysterious boy she spent one night with in Shyness – the boy who said he’d call but didn’t. Then Wolfboy calls. The things he tells her pull her back to the suburb of Shyness, where the sun doesn’t rise and dreams and reality are difficult to separate. There, Doctor Gregory has seemingly disappeared, the Darkness is changing and Wolfboy’s friend is in trouble. And Nia decides to become Wildgirl once more.” (goodreads.com)

If you want to find out more about library e-books, there’s more information in this post right here.
Competition, Crafts, Happenings, Library Serf
Mix & Mash 2013
19.02.13 | Permalink | Comment?

The Great New Zealand Remix and Mashup Competition

“Organised by Creative Commons Aotearoa New Zealand, DigitalNZ and the National Library of New Zealand and enabled by Mix & Mash Sponsors and Partners, Mix & Mash 2013 will promote and celebrate the creative reuse of New Zealand’s common cultural heritage.

“Mix & Mash wants all New Zealanders, young and old, to tell new stories by adapting and remixing Public Domain and Creative Commons licensed content.” (more here)

Mixed and mashed entries on the theme “Stories about the Past” will be showcased in May, and there will be prizes! If you feel virtually crafty and you’re interested, visit the Mix & Mash website for dates, rules, definitions, ideas and sources of (legal-to-use) images, music, video and other data. (Note: work produced for school assessments is accepted!)
Library, Library Serf, Study
School’s back, oh well
28.01.13 | Permalink | Comment?
The library is here to help! We’ve got information, and trained professionals who know how to use it: libraries are useful places when you’re studying. Here are some helpful things:
- The teen blog study stop pages – full of useful links and tips.
- Mygateway.info – if you’ve never visited then you really should, it’s like a virtual reference collection with a huge amount of online databases (many that you can only access with your library card – google won’t help you find these treasures). They’re sorted by subject, a helpful jumping-off point.
- Anyquestions.co.nz – librarians online to help discover the answers to tricky reference questions, Monday to Friday, 1 to 6pm during school time. If you’re looking out of hours, there’s the manyanswers database which is a good starting point.
- The teen blog book lists page – for if you’re looking for some fiction to read.
All the best for the school year.
Library Serf, News
Miscellaneous book news
15.01.13 | Permalink | Comment?

Every once in a while we do random news, and today’s the day for a bit more.

The Carrie Diaries come to TV sometime soon

The Carrie Diaries, by Candace Bushnell, tells the story of Carrie Bradshaw as she comes of age in New York City, discovering shoes, fashion, writing etc. in the 1980s, i.e. before Sex and the City. It is only right that this should also be made into a TV series, complete with fab 80s fashion, and starring AnnaSophia Robb, who was Leslie Burke in Bridge to Terabithia.

John Green live in the middle of the night

John Green (New York Times bestselling and teen blog most-wanted author) will be talking about his books and other important things live on the 4th of February… at 2pm GMT, which is 3am on the 5th of February Wellington time. It’s happening courtesy of Puffin UK, and you can go here to register / watch live (if you’re a morning person).

The Mortal Instruments series extra content, all in one place

If you want to read snippets, extras and deleted scenes from the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, they’ve been collated on this tumblr right here. This includes special content from City of Lost Souls, which has recently been made available, for example ‘Becoming Sebastian Verlac’.
Books, Library Serf, New
Looking forward to:
09.01.13 | Permalink | Comment?

The next installments in three hot series which will be released this year.

Scorched Earth, Robert Muchamore. The next in the Henderson’s Boys series, which is like CHERUB but with World War II thrown in for good measure. This is described as their final mission. We at the teen blog hope this is because they’re going to retire and sip mocktails in a hammock on an island somewhere, but there is a rumour this may not be true for one character. The official website is quite coy about giving away information.

The Indigo Spell, Richelle Mead. The third in the Bloodlines series, in which Sydney is in for a rough ride. “In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch – a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood – or else she might be next.” (goodreads.com)

Perfect Scoundrels, Ally Carter. The third Heist Society book, but what happens?? Well: “Katarina Bishop and W.W. Hale the fifth were born to lead completely different lives: Kat comes from a long, proud line of loveable criminal masterminds, while Hale is the scion of one of the most seemingly perfect dynasties in the world. If their families have one thing in common, it’s that they both know how to stay under the radar while getting – or stealing – whatever they want … When Hale unexpectedly inherits his grandmother’s billion dollar corporation, he quickly learns that there’s no place for Kat and their old heists in his new role. But Kat won’t let him go that easily, especially after she gets tipped off that his grandmother’s will might have been altered in an elaborate con to steal the company’s fortune. So instead of being the heir–this time, Hale might be the mark. Forced to keep a level head as she and her crew fight for one of their own, Kat comes up with an ambitious and far-reaching plan that only the Bishop family would dare attempt. To pull it off, Kat is prepared to do the impossible, but first, she has to decide if she’s willing to save her boyfriend’s company if it means losing the boy.” (goodreads.com)