Invercargill Libraries Blog

An eco-thriller set in the not-too-distant future where global warming is wreaking havoc on the world and scores of people have converted to various forms of religion in the belief that "end times" are coming.

Gabrielle is a psychotherapist who starts work at a facility for disturbed, violent children, where she meets 16-year-old Bethany. Bethany makes garbled predictions about future weather events but has been dismissed because of her mental state. When her predictions start to come true, Gabrielle begins to believe and enlists the help of scientist Fraser to try to convince the world that a cataclysmic event is drawing near.

While fast-paced, the characters in The rapture are vividly drawn and flawed. Gabrielle is confined to a wheelchair after a car crash in which she lost her lover two years ago. She blames herself and no longer thinks of herself as a woman, until Fraser teaches her to love again. This novel pulls no punches and is a thought-provoking exploration of our potential future under global warming.

(Reviewed by Angela)

This is only Bale's second novel, but I will be reading more. Set on a tiny island off the English coast which is home to a handful of multimillionaires, a ruthless plot to take hostage and rob the wealthy inhabitants unfolds. After a bust gone wrong which lost him his entire family, former undercover cop Joe Clayton is laying low, employed as a bodyguard to successful businessman Valentin Nasenko's young wife Cassie. It falls to Joe to try to work out what's really going on and to rescue the innocents involved.
The action moves swiftly with enough unforeseen plot twists to keep the reader riveted. Fans of Lee Child would probably enjoy this easy, "sit back and enetertained" read.

(Reviewed by Angela.)

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)

Stephen King

This is a collection of four novellas dealing with, as King puts it, ordinary people faced with extraordinary circumstances and how they deal with them. Being King novellas, the events faced are dark and disturbing (a wife's murder, cancer, rape, a serial killer husband) and the outcomes are not always pleasant or as you'd expect. There are some real gems in the collection, particularly "Big driver" which sees a cosy mystery writer attempting to avenge being attacked and left for dead while taking a shortcut home from a library talk. I can see decent films potentially being made of a couple of the stories, (like "Shawshank redemption" began as a King novella called "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank redemption"). An excellent collection for King fans, or people who enjoy dark tales.

Reviewed by Angela

In Information services there has been a few changes to our fees structure as well.

Scan and email now $2.50

Research fee minimum $10.00

Interloans will now have overdues charged on them if they're late back and if you would like and interloan urgently there will be a $25.00 urgent request fee.

We are now working on improving shelf labels and signage to help you find the subject areas you need. If you need assistance finding your favourite non-fiction section, please do not hesitate to ask any staff member to point you in the right direction.

Jojo Moyes

The Spanish House has been built in a variety of styles and has become perilously rundown over the years. Locally it is known as a folly; nevertheless, several people have a strong interest in it. There is the builder whose family was disgraced by the previous owner, the failed real estate agent hoping to make a comeback as a property developer, the ex-teacher recently out of prison and trying to rebuild his life, and there is Isabel, a young widow who inherits the house as a dubious legacy.
(Reviewed by Donna)

SEE CATALOGUE RECORD

October 26 1988 to December 31 2003

James: Graphic Novel Artist, Rock star, Loving-Husband, Occasional-heavy-drinker, Cat-owner and soon-to-be-Father. The Cartoon sketches of the real life of James and the people around him, not always drawn as human! His occasional daily moments of clarity to general life are all drawn as brief moments of time captured forever. Life with his cat and his wife feature very strongly especially when she gets pregnant (the wife that is).

Great reading, can't wait for the next volume.

(Reviewed by Glen)

SEE CATALOGUE RECORD

If you love to read or would just enjoy some time away come along to the library book group. We hold our meetings once a month in the library meeting room at 6.30 pm. Nibbles and light refreshments are provided.

February, Thursday 11^th – Valentine's Day & books themed with love, red, romance.

March, Thursday 11^th – Irish Authors and/or stories.

April, Thursday 8^th – ANZAC and war stories, Both fiction and non-fiction.

May, Thursday 13^th – Relationships between mothers and their children.

June, Thursday 10^th – New Zealand history.

July, Thursday 8^th – Winter reads. Something with a cold, icy, freezing theme.

August, Thursday 12^th – Short stories that warm the heart.

September, Thursday 9^th – Fathers day books.

October, Thursday 14^th – New Zealand book month.

November, Thursday 11^th – Book gift suggestions and book advice.

December, Thursday 9^th – Christmas/holiday reads.

Feel free to come along and join in the discussion. If you have any questions feel free to contact Kirsty on 03 211 1763 or send a question online.

Jeffrey Archer

This story stems from the tragic consequences of one night in which a young man is fatally stabbed outside a pub. The victim’s best friend (Danny) is wrongly convicted of the killing and the guilty man walks free. While in prison, Danny seizes an opportunity to seek revenge and try to clear his name. As we have come to expect from Jeffrey Archer, this is a ripping yarn with numerous unforeseen twists and turns. An immensely satisfying read.

Adult services Suspense ARC

(Reviewed by Angela)

At the end of July the winners of the Montana book awards were announced With Emily Perkins' novel A Novel about my wife picking up the prestigious Montana medal for fiction or poetry. Read what staff thought of it either here or in this months In the Know newsletter. Runners up in the fiction category were Bernard Beckett's Acid song and Kate De Goldi's The 10pm Question, which also won the Reader's choice award. As mentioned earlier in our blog The 10pm Question won both the Young adult section and book of the year in the New Zealand Post Children's book awards back in May. It's been a good year for Kate De Goldi.

The other Montana winners were The rocky shore by Jenny Bornholdt (Poetry), Buying the land, selling the land by Richard Boast (history), Rita Angus: an artist's life by Jill Trevelyan (biography), Collected poems:1951-2006 by CK Stead (Anthology), Ladies, a plate: traditional home baking by Alexa Johnston (lifestyle and culture), A continent on the move: New Zealand geoscience into the 21st century edited by Ian J Graham (Environment) and Len Castle: making the molecules dance by Len Castle (Illustrative).

The finalists for the Montana Book Awards 2009 were announced on 1 June.  We have copies available of all bar two of the finalists with one of those currently on order from our suppliers. Below is a full list of the finalists and there location in the library so come in and sample this years best New Zealand books.

Volume 1: Room and Boredom

by Paul McKenna

 If you want to make more money and improve the quality of your life, then this just may be the book for you. But first – are you ready to become rich? Riches come to some people more easily than others and, according to world-renowned hypnotist Paul McKenna, it’s simply because they think and act differently. Intelligence, hard work or even luck, have nothing to do with becoming rich. McKenna has made a study of the mindset of wealthy individuals, such as Sir Richard Branson and Dame Anita Roddick, and used their input to develop some simple exercises and psychological techniques to help you install that same rich mindset inside yourself. “I can make you rich” comes with an hypnosis CD which will help to reinforce the ideas and suggestions from the book. I listened to the CD this morning – it was so relaxing. So let’s hope it works! 

by Jane Gardam

'Failed In London Try Hongkong' triggered the nickname by which the protagonist was affectionately known among his colleagues over a long and successful career as a lawyer. But there was much more to Filth than they ever knew - he was an 'Orphan of the Raj', sent back to England from Malaya at the tender age of five. The book looks back over his life and describes the tragedies and triumphs that formed him. An excellent read.

(Reviewed by Donna)

FIC / General GAR

In The Know July 2009 is available from the library now featuring Mayor Tim Shadbolt as the Library’s reader of the month.

There is also information on the English as a second language collection, which hold all sorts of useful materials for those learning New Zealand’s own brand of English.

May arts month is now over with the poetry wall once again a huge success. The three winning poems plus the reader’s choice are all printed in In the Know this month. Watch this space for more stories from Readers and writers alive. I hope to track down some of photos from various events.

by Cormac McCarthy

FIC / General MCC

This month will see the end of an era at the Library with the retirement of the Cultural Services Manager, Keith Harrington, on the 15th of May. His departure will leave a big hole to fill but we know that Keith will enjoy his retirement and is looking forward to having the time to spend on lots of interests, one of them being family research.

The Mat arts festival is here too so you can grab a copy of the readers and writers alive brochure with your copy of IN the Know.

L.P. Hartley once wrote, “The past is like a foreign country”. If that’s true then it must be a great place for a novel. With that in mind here’s a few titles with settings spanning from pre-history until World War II.

For late starters who did not pick up on this excellent series, the first of which was published in 1980, do not be put off by the size of the volumes. Set in pre-historical times, the story follows the life of one girl who undertakes an epic journey across Europe, to settle finally in what is now South-Western France. The background research is meticulous, the narrative compelling. Titles are: The Clan of the Cave Bear, The valley of horses, The mammoth hunters, The plains of passage, The shelters of stone.