Being Human

This is a story of a vampire (Mitchell) a werewolf (George) and a ghost (Annie) who are all living in a flat together in Bristol trying to "Be Human".

The best character by far is George the dorky werewolf. Mitchell is good as an on-the-wagon blood junkie and Annie who thinks she has to stay as a ghost as she has unfinished business on earth. The bad guys were all nasty and loathsome, which was great.

The first episode was slow, but stick with it! I love the supernatural theme and the under lying stories behind these characters that will make you think about what’s out there and do they truly exist and live in the fringes of our society. The story flicks back and forward between the past and the present. We get to see how they became what they are and how this haunts them.

The library has series 1 & series 2. Series 3 is currently screening now in England so we should be seeing it here sometime this year.

(Reviewed by Michelle A)

What's your favourite New Zealand book?

New Zealand book month has come around again so it's time to think all things Kiwi.

Go to www.nzbookmonth.co.nz to see how you can get your hands on one of the 4 million $5.00 book vouchers being distributed around the country.

While your there click on find a book under the get involved tab. There you will find book lists covering just about every topic you could think of. The lists been created from results of a nationwide on-line vote for readers’ favourite books which took place in October 2010.

It's reassuring to find I agree with most the picks on the lists I've looked at. I think I might have to work my way through one or two of these lists as well. Let's just say I thought I knew my New Zealand books but there's a couple there I haven't heard of.

Here in town the Dan Davin Literary Foundation are celebrating NZ Book Month with workshops by New Zealand speculative fiction author Helen Lowe.

Helen is an award-winning novelist, broadcaster and poet who is published internationally. Her first novel, the Young Adult fantasy Thornspell, was published to critical acclaim in 2008 and her second novel, The heir of night (the first in a four book adult series), has recently been published here and overseas.

The workshops are free but are open only to Year 12 and 13 students who live in or attend school in Southland. To register, talk to your English Head of Department at school, or contact Rebecca Amundsen for further information: dandavin@xtra.co.nz or 027 2252 664. Times and places are listed below.

Tues 22 March: Wakatipu High School, Queenstown, 9am-3pm

Wed 23 March: St Peters College, Gore, 9am-3pm

Fri 25 March: Invercargill Public Library, Invercargill, 9am-3pm

Sat 26 March: Community Trust of Southland, Don Street, Invercargill, 9am-3pm

So the challenge is to read at least 1 New Zealand book this month. If your year 12 or 13 and study in Southland sign up for a workshop. When your done drop leave a comment let me know what you did for New Zealand book month. Come on I dare you to.

The confession

John Grisham

In Texas, an innocent young man is set to be executed in a matter of days for a murder he did not commit. Miles away, a man dying of a brain tumour walks into a church and confesses to the minister there that he committed the murder. Can a guilty man save an innocent one from death at the last minute? John Grisham is well-known for his anti-death penalty stance and with this novel, you can understand why: justice is not always done. I feel John Grisham is back to his best with this powerful, fast-paced and gripping novel. The events leave every character involved in the book changed in some way, and maybe the reader too.

(Reviewed by Angela.)

Many reached their goal

The first annual Pursue 100 reading challenge wound up last week with the Three major prizes drawn in the library on Thursday afternoon. We were really impressed by both the quantity and especially the quality of all the reviews we received over the summer. Most of those who tried reached the goal of 100 points which put them in the draw for an apple iPad.

I can now reveal the big winners;

Our third prize, an iPod Nano went to Georgina Kennedy.

The second prize of an iPod Touch was won by Bonnie Mcleish.

And congratulations to Israel Christie who won first prize, an apple iPad.

As well as the major prizes everybody who sent in a review over the summer won at least one minor prize. These consisted of books, DVDs, CDs, vouchers and some other toys. I've posted pictures below of a selection of our prizes including the big three.

If you missed out this year don't panic we hope to hold the challenge again next summer and think we can make it bigger and better. So keep watching this space and we'll let you know all the details.

The passage

Justin Cronin

Yes, this is a novel with vampires involved. But before you yawn and say "Not another vampire book!", this is not your Twilight version of vampires. In fact, the word "vampire" is hardly mentioned. It is more like a post-apocalyptic novel than a vampire one; the first half of the book

descibes the beginning of the apocalypse, the second is set 100 years later when a vampire virus has wiped out most of the world, leaving only a few survivors. Yes, there are a lot of characters and the tale is reasonably complex, but the story is held together by Amy, a little girl abandoned by her mother, who may hold the key to the whole situation. If you enjoy Stephen King's epics, you might just enjoy this engrossing tale too. Apparently the movie rights have already been taken up by Ridley Scott, so it will be interesting to see how the story is tackled in film format.

(Reviewed by Angela)