Go on an Odyssey

I was tidying our graphic novel collection the other day and stumbled across not one, but three, different re-tellings of Homer's Odyssey. This got me thinking, “Just how many versions of the famous poem do we have?”

the Odyssey is a poem written by the Greek poet Homer nearly 3 thousand years ago. The story takes place after the Trojan war which was around 1200 BC. Our Hero Odysseus, king of Ithaca (also known as Ulysses to the Romans), was the man who came up with the whole Trojan horse trick, winning the war for the Greeks. It turns out however that some of the Gods were not impressed by Odysseus' trick, so they decided to stop him getting home. According to legend after 10 years fighting the war it took Odysseus another 10 years to get home. By this time his son Telemachus has grown up and his wife is beset by suitors who assume Odysseus is dead and there is a kingdom up for grabs.

The Odyssey is the story of Odysseus' trials and tribulations as he tries to get home and save his family.

Here at the library we have English versions of the poem in various formats. We have both illustrated and non-illustrated versions as well as a full uncut audio-book and a full graphic novel version by award winning graphic novel author Gareth Hinds.

The story has been redone many times in many different styles. If you want an easy light hearted version try “The Iliad and the Odyssey” retold by Marcia Williams in a style that reminds me of the Horrible histories series. For those with a more twisted sense of humour try either “Stickman Odyssey” which claims to be told the way it was meant to be read with stick figures. You could also try “Tank Girl, The odyssey”. I do have to warn you expect the unexpected. Telemachus for example has a television set for a head.

Lastly I'd recommend two items that tell a story that isn't quite the Odyssey but is so interlink that they deserve a mention. The first is the movie “O Brother where art thou” staring George Clooney. This is the story of 3 convicts in depression era America trying to get home. The other is James Joyce's epic “Ulysses” which all takes place over one day in Dublin. To get the most out of these last two I recommend you familiarise yourself with the story first.

All in all the Odyssey is a great action/fantasy/historical/love/revenge story. If it sounds like something you might be interested in come in and have a look at one of the many versions we can provide.

Going green.

We are working on recycling initiatives in-house, and now we want to begin working to reduce our use of paper. At the same time we are working to reduce duplication of tasks and improve processing speeds so that books will be in your hands sooner. As part of this, from 1 November we will no longer add date due slips to our books.

To help you to know when your books are due, we already provide you with a date due slip (on recycled paper) when you issue the books. If this doesn’t work for you, please talk to our staff about some other options, which include checking your date due online, phoning the library, or starting your own personal library notebook.

In a further effort to help you manage the timely return of resources, we will soon be introducing an early warning email that will let you know before books become overdue. Of course, to access this service, you need to give us your email address! We hope that this new service will benefit you, and once again, contribute to the greening of the library.

We appreciate your help with these green initiatives, and would welcome your suggestions about other ways we can contribute to environmental sustainability.

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Luce sees things, shadows that make her skin crawl and bad things can happen when they come. That is why Luce is sent to Sword & Cross Reform School after a terrible accident at a party where a boy, Trevor, was burnt to death. Everyone thinks Luce had something to do with it.

On her first day she meets Daniel, who she is instantly drawn to. She has this feeling that they have meet before. After some mixed signals from Daniel, Luce and her friend Penn decide to do some investigation into Daniel’s family. They bring up more than they bargained for.

It seems Luce and Daniel meet every seventeen years and are destined to fall in love. Unfortunately it always ends badly with Luce always ending up dead, but something is different this time.

Lauren Kate's book was very different from what the cover indicates but I was not disappointed. It features it all, murder, romance, action and mystery all with a supernatural twist. This is a great teen supernatural romance and the best thing…no vampires.

Fallen is also availble in spoken word.

Put a hold on these new fiction books

Here is a list of our new fiction books that are available for you to reserve this week. If you would like to reserve any of these titles please contact the library or reserve on-line by clicking on the book’s title and select Place Hold underneath the book’s image.

There are also new non fiction titles available to reserve, so come on in to view the selected titles this week.

New Fantasy Fiction

• Chicks kick butt edited by Rachel Caine
• The omen machine by Terry Goodkind

New General Fiction

Read the true events that inspired Amanda Eyre Ward's "Close your eyes".

• The house by the sea by Sarah Montefiore

New Historical Fiction

Read the first chapter of Anne O'Brien's "Queen defiant : a novel of Eleanor Aquitaine". This book has the alternative title of Devil's consort.

• The Borgia betrayal by Sara Poole
  
• The girl who would speak for the dead by Paul Elwork
• The strange fate of Kitty Easton by Elizabeth Speller

New Horror Fiction

• Spell bound by Kelley Armstrong

New Romance Fiction

• Bloodlust by Michelle Rowen
  
• Shadow highlander by Donna Grant
• Touch if you dare by Stephanie Rowe

New Suspense and Crime Fiction

Paul Cleave's "Collecting Cooper" book trailer

• Before the poison by Peter Robinson
  
• Fair game by Stephen Leather
• Murder by mocha by Cleo Coyle
  
• Murder on Sisters' Row by Victoria Thompson
  
• Outrage by Robert Tanenbaum
• The profesion by Steven Pressfield
• The quarry by Johan Theorin
  
• The real macaw by Donna Andrews
• The retribution by Val McDermid
• The vault by Ruth Rendell

William Kent Krueger's "Northwest angle" book trailer

New War Fiction

• Victory and honor by W.E.B. Griffin

The Help

I went to see the movie “The Help” on Saturday night. It is about a woman living in Mississippi in the 1960’s, named Skeeter who gets a job as a ghost columnist for home help in a very racist era of American history. Skeeter decides to write a book about what life is like being the help. Even though it is against the law and very dangerous, Skeeter gets some maids to tell her about the hardships and triumphs of being a African American maid in a white household. Skeeter is trying to hide her writing from her sick mother, her new boyfriend and her best friend, Hilly who is leading a bill that all houses should have a separate “coloured toilet” for the help.

This movie is a heart moving story full of humour. Based on a novel by Kathryn Stockett, I was disturbed by how Skeeter’s friend treated her maid, just for using the toilet. This is a good view of what went on behind the closed doors during the 1960’s in some states in America. Great cast featuring Emma Stone and Bryce Dallas Howard. Watch out for Sissy Spacek who is very funny as Hilly’s mother who has dementia.

If you haven’t watched it yet I urge you to. If you would like to read the book the movie is based on follow this link to our catalogue or click the book cover. I have since placed a hold on the novel and am looking forward to reading it.

Oxford Music Online

Oxford Music Online is a really good resource for students, music lovers, musicians, and

scholars.

This database contains:

• Grove music – with over 50,000 articles.

• The Oxford dictionary of music – helpful for subjects.

• The Oxford companion to music – great for definitions.

The Home page has traditional and contemporary material displayed.

The database is updated every three months. In October an update will have Australian and New Zealand composers included in it.

The database contains:

• Articles – material is suitable for university level study.

• Images – these can be used for assignments.

• Musical examples – these can be downloaded via a plug-in from www.sibelius.com

• Score sections.

There are two search boxes on the Home page: one at the top right of the screen and another lower down under the welcome blurb. The lower box will allow you to search by source after entering your search term, just use the check boxes to select or unselect the search options. The advanced search gives you more control over your results.

When searching for information with the advanced search, you can choose the following options:

• Full article text

• Entry title

• Bibliographies

• Contributors

• Works lists

From the advanced search there are also good help tips on the right side of the screen.

Tools & Resources is really useful and is where you can access:

• Abbreviations – database abbreviations explained.

• Essential 20th-Century reading list

• Index of Opera roles – very helpful, A-Z, hyperlinked through the database.

• Music timelines – women in music, 100 operatic premiers and contemporary music.

• Topical guides – periods of music history and women composers.

• Research resources – very helpful for a music researcher.

• Guide to musical examples in “Grove Music

• Online” – here are the Sibelius enabled music examples.

As with our other databases you can print, email and cite your results.

So all you music buffs out there: go for it – have a play – you might surprise yourself!

Vanessa

FAQ: I have a hold on an item and when I last checked it showed that it was “In Library”. Why hasn’t it been put aside for me?

One reason could be because it is a new item. Normally new items that haven’t gone down on the shelf yet are put into a status called “In Processing”. This ensures that staff and you know that it is upstairs getting processed.

However if the item has a hold on it we don’t put the item into this status because this may compromise your hold information.

So if you see this next time you are looking for a new item you have a hold on, it could be because of this.

If the item you have on hold isn’t a new book please contact us on 03-211 1444 or send us an email at help@ilibrary.co.nz and we will try to find out what has happened.

If you have a question about your library or about the online catalogue? Leave a comment on this blog.

Put a hold on these new fiction books

Here is a list of our new fiction books that are available for you to reserve this week. If you would like to reserve any of these titles please contact the library or reserve on-line by clicking on the book’s title and select Place Hold underneath the book’s image.

There are also new non fiction titles available to reserve, so come on in to view the selected titles this week.

New Fantasy Fiction

Jeaniene Frost’s “One grave at a time" Book Trailer

• Bite me : a love story by Christopher Moore
• Blood bound by Rachel Vincent
• Night keepers by Jessica S. Andersen

New General Fiction

• 1105 Yakima street by Debbie Macomber
• Bertie plays the blues :a 44 Scotland street novel by Alexander McCall Smith
• The girl in the polka-dot dress by Beryl Bainbridge

New Historical Fiction

• Dambuster by Robert Radcliffe
• Defender of Rome by Douglas Jackson
• River of smoke by Amitav Ghosh
• The circus of ghosts by Barbara Ewing

New Horror Fiction

Michael Koryta’s “The Ridge" Book Trailer

New Romance Fiction

• Hold on tight by Stephanie Tyler
• Only mine by Susan Mallery

New Saga Fiction

• Secrets in Burracombe by Lilian Harry

New Science Fiction

• Exiled : clan of the claw by Harry Turtledove
• Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi

New Suspense and Crime Fiction

Christine Feehan’s “Dark predator : a Carpathian novel" Book Trailer

• 34th degree : a thriller by Thomas Greanias
• A trick of the light by Louise Penny
• Burning soul by John Connolly
• Cat in a Vegas gold vendetta by Carole Nelson Douglas
• Hell is empty by Craig Johnson
• Prey by Linda Howard
• The race by Clive Cussler

The absolutist

John Boyne

Two young English soldiers experience the horrors of life and death in the trenches of the Great War; and the reader knows early on that just one will survive. Not only do they have to deal with the terror of battle, they must wrestle with their consciences regarding their wartime actions, and deal with their confusing feelings about their own blossoming relationship. This is truly a harrowing read about the futility of war, the sad life of some homosexual men at that time in history, and the tragedy of the treatment of "feather men" who objected to fighting in the First World War, as well as the impact on their families. Written by the author of The boy in the striped pyjamas (but not suitable for younger readers), this painful novel is a great read, if difficult and very emotional.

(Reviewed by Angela.)

Come into the library and try an eReader!

Thinking of buying an eReader? Don’t know which one to buy? Come into the library and ask at the Help Desk to trial one of the eReader devices before you commit to buying one. We have a Kobo, a Sony eReader and a Kindle for you to try and if you need any help don’t be afraid to ask any of your friendly library staff for help.

Coming soon, we will be offering a free downloadable eBook and eAudio books for borrowing, via a service called OverDrive. eBooks borrowed via OverDrive are currently compatible with a wide range of dedicated eReaders and other devices, and can also be read or played through your computer.

Be aware that OverDrive is not currently compatible with all devices, so please bear this in mind if you are intending to purchase a device only to access free library eBooks.

Please visit the OverDrive website for a full list of all compatible and incompatible devices.

If you would like to know more about eReaders come into the library and ask one of our friendly librarians or visit some of the following links for more information.

• Sony website
• Kindle website
• Kobo website
  

Compare and read reviews of eReaders.

• Kindle ready.com camparison of eReaders
• eReader reviews.com
  
• my eReader reviews.com
  

Ereaders buying tips

• Laptopmag.com eReader buyers guide
• wired.com buying guide for eReader
  
• dearauthor.com know when to buy an eReader and when to wait

Put a hold on these new fiction books

Here is a list of our new fiction books that are available for you to reserve this week. If you would like to reserve any of these titles please contact the library or reserve on-line by clicking on the book’s title and select Place Hold underneath the book’s image.

There are also new non fiction titles availble to reserve, so come on in to view the selected titles this week.

New Fantasy Fiction

Melissa de la Cruz’s first adult novel “Witches of East End" Book Trailer

• Burn the night by Jocelynn Drake
• The particular sadness of lemon cake by Aimee Bender
• Red-headed stepchild by Jaye Wells
  

New General Fiction

• The breakers by Claudie Gallay
• The look of love by Judy Astley
• Marrying up by Wendy Holden
• North Star by Karly Lane
• The trouble with fire by Fiona Kidman
• Untold story by Monica Ali

New Historical Fiction

• The king’s witch by Cecelia Holland
• An unlikely suitor by Nancy Moser
• A young wife by Pam Lewis

New Romance Fiction

Hannah Howell’s third instalment of the Wherlocke series “If he's dangerous”

• Heartwishes : an Edilean novel by Jude Deveraux
• Mercy burns by Keri Arthur

New Suspense and Crime Fiction

Gerald Seymour's war thriller “A Deniable Death”

• Dominance by Will Lavender
• Flash and bones by Kathy Reichs
• Full Black by Brad Thor
• The hidden child by Camilla Lackberg
• The nightmare thief by Meg Gardiner
• Threat warning by John Gilstrap
• Trespasser by Paul Doiron
• You belong to me by Karen Rose

85 Magazine titles, and counting...

Magazines are a very popular part of our collection, but we do wonder how many of you know just how much we have on offer? A quick count of the Adult Services magazines alone showed at least 85 different magazines, and we have many more in the Teen, Childrens, Parents, and Information Services (research) collections .

If you are looking for inspiration around the home it can be difficult to keep up with the latest trends, and still have enough money left to spend on decorating supplies! We can offer you free access to magazines like Architectural digest, House and garden, Better homes and gardens, Ideal home and several others. Of course, if you really just want him out of the house for a while we can offer you The Shed, which might get him out of your hair and into his man cave. Better still, we have Motorhomes, which might see him out of your hair for weeks at a time! Imagine the interior decorating you could get done while he's gone?

If someone at your place has an interest in all things automotive we can support that passion, too. New Zealand classic car, Autocar, 4WD, Two wheels and Top gear are on the shelves, just waiting for a lift to your place. And while we're on the topic, have you seen the extent of our car manual collection in Information Services? There's a little piece of heaven for the mechanically minded amongst you.

For those interested in a different lifestyle, we have Lifestyle block, Lifestyle farmer, Country life, Good: sustainable living in New Zealand, and Grass roots - the Aussie's take on sustainable living. Organic New Zealand is topical and popular, too.

If artistic is a better word to describe you, we can help out there with a selection ranging from The Artist, Australian patchwork and quilting, UP2 scrap - scrapbooking and papercrafts.

Looking good and feeling better are topics of perennial interest, so the list of magazines that support this is too long to bother detailing. Suffice to say, Simply you, Men's health, New Zealand fitness and a variety of healthy food and cooking magazines will get you inspired and on your way to a new you. Who knows, if the results are spectacular enough, you might end up needing to borrow a copy of Bride and groom from us!

We are about to review the magazines we buy, andwould love to have your suggestions and recommendations. If they aretoo expensive for you to buy, but you'd love to read them, or theyare just so good that you think we should have them on the shelves,please tell us. We can't promise we'll have the funds to support allrequests, but we'll certainly throw them in the pot for argument and discussion.

Happy reading, magazine style.

Sh*t my dad says

Justin Halpern

Okay, you’ve probably seen the Twitter page on which this book was based, or the TV programme (with William Shatner). But, much as I love the ‘Shat’, I have to say the book is better. Author, Justin Halpern moved back home with his 73 year old father after his girlfriend dumped him and that’s when he started his Twitter page …just all the random, outrageous, hilarious, snort-out-loud things that his Dad came out with. If you are like me, and loathe all things politically correct, then you will love this. Halpern’s dad comes across as an angry red-neck with a heart of gold – I mean despite the swearing, and the harsh, and at times totally inappropriate comments, he does obviously love his family and means well. Actually the final chapter spoke volumes to me.
P.S. This is not for the easily offended and if you don’t like swearing…don’t go there – it’ll make your hair curl.

(Reviewed by Jill)

Limitless

Eddie Morra is a promising writer, who seems to have writers block, and has spent his entire advance for his next book drinking. Eddie is about to hit rock bottom as his long suffering girlfriend dumps him in a restaurant after meeting him for lunch. On the way home, he meets up with his ex-brother in-law who is about to change Eddie’s life forever.

Seeing that Eddie is having a hard time, he gives him an unregulated drug called NZT, which allows Eddie to access 100% of his brain. He finishes writing his book in a couple of days and the drug enables him to instantly understand and use complex maths and learn any language, and he seems to be smarter and cooler than everyone else. The effects of the drug only last for about a day, so Eddie goes to see his ex-brother in-law at his apartment, to get more NZT and this is when he finds out this drug has its price - and not a financial one.

I was really looking forward to seeing this movie as the story line fascinated me. I wasn’t disappointed. This movie is based loosely on a short story called “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes.

New Hot Picks

More New Releases

The debut novel of Christopher Ransom “The Birthing House”

The author, Christopher Ransom, lives in a birthing house and after having a strange dream decided to write a novel based on the history of his house.

The Birthing House is a psychological horror about a husband and wife who are having marital problems. Conrad and Jo move into an old birthing house to work out their problems. Jo however announces that she wants to leave town and do job training soon after they move in. When previous owner gives Conrad a photo album of the birthing house staff, one of them looks the splitting image of his wife. She even has the same scar on her face. After this things get stranger and stranger inside the house and you find yourself asking if the house is haunted or if the Conrad is slowly going crazy.

I love how Christopher Ransom plays with the idea on sanity in this novel. The reader is never quite sure whether the events are really happening or just in Conrad’s mind. I will definitely be reading more books from this author.

I was having a look at the author’s website a saw that the famous birthing house is for sale. Follow this link to see details and photos of the real birthing house.

Hunger Games the movie

Here's a sneak peak trailer for the Hunger Games movie which is due for release next March. If you haven't read the books perhaps you'd better start reading before the rush begins.

New eBook out from the King today!

Stephen King's latest offering, Mile 81
Hot off the eBook press today... wouldn't that be a fine way to spend a cold, wintry weekend?  Wishing I had an eReader by the bedside, but thinking I can probably download it to my laptop instead.  Away to find my credit card...