Friday 26 February 2016

Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer

Belinda Bauer has a knack for getting inside the heads of her very original characters, taking this to new heights in the novel, Rubbernecker. The story is told from the viewpoints of two characters: a coma patient who is just starting to ‘wake up’, and struggles to figure out what is going on around him, and Patrick Fort, a young man with Asperger’s who is undertaking a course in anatomy at Cardiff University.

Patrick has had this peculiar fascination with death ever since his father was killed crossing a road, while Patrick was a child. Now Patrick is part of a group who is gradually cutting up a cadaver in the attempt to discover its cause of death. While other groups in the class quickly establish heart failure or cancer, Patrick’s group are at a loss, until a weird discovery leads Patrick to suspect murder. No one will listen to Patrick of course, and soon the body must be handed back to the family for burial. Patrick has no choice but to take the law into his own hands.

I loved the portrayal of Patrick, who is energetic and doesn’t care what others think of him. There are some hilarious scenes at his student digs and there is a nod to Mark Haddon (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time) in his dialogue. You need this light relief to help cope with the cadaver scenes and the tension Bauer wreaks from the coma ward, where our patient is also struggling to be heard.

Rubbernecker makes a departure from Bauer’s novels set on Exmoor and as a stand-alone novel it is utterly brilliant - an intelligent crime novel, which also has plenty of page-turning action. The novel won the Theakston’s Old Peculiar crime novel of the year award in 2014, and if you haven't read Bauer before, this is as good a place to start as any.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue link: Rubbernecker

Thursday 25 February 2016

Revelation Road by Nick Page

What an interesting book! Part travelogue, part history lesson and part Biblical exegesis. Nick Page decided to research the background to the book of Revelation by travelling to the sites of the seven churches of the Apocalypse in modern day Turkey, and then to stay on the Greek island of Patmos (where Saint John saw the vision and wrote it down) to write his book. The result is an entertaining, informative and enlightening book.

I enjoyed Nick Page’s style. He is funny and entertaining. His accounts of  historical places, people and times are neither superficial nor too heavy, and his descriptions of the archaeological sites he visits gave me the sense of being there too. His text is accompanied by photos that he took during his visits. Unfortunately, the publishers chose to publish the paperback edition on cheap paper, which means that the photos are very poor quality greyscale. But Google Images came to my rescue. I could google the places and see beautiful colour photos of the places he visited, and view them not just from the angle he chose for his shot, but from every other possible angle as well.

The book is divided into two parts: Part One covers the sites of the seven churches and Part Two describes his time on and his exploration of Patmos. Throughout the book, Nick relates the results of his research about the people and places in ancient times to the images and descriptions in the book of Revelation. He ties the two together in ways that make sense (to me at least). Interestingly, his understanding of Revelation matches quite closely that of New Zealander Graeme Carlé who has so far written three books in a 5-book series on Revelation. (Hastings District Libraries have his books.) To sum up then, I found Nick Page’s book a perfect balance of entertaining armchair travel and historical study. Just a shame about the cheap print job.

Posted by JM

Catalogue link: Revelation Road

Tuesday 23 February 2016

Reckless: My Life by Chrissie Hynde

Whoa - you are in for a bumpy ride with this rock memoir. Chrissie Hynde: the tough yet vulnerable pioneering rock chick with the heavy dark fringe and androgynous beauty, as well as haunting and distinctive vocals. Hynde does not hold back in this frank, funny, and at times harrowing account of her life, from a 1950's childhood in Ohio to forming her band the Pretenders. Reckless is the perfect title really....she certainly paid her dues before finding just-in-time success.

Coming from a safe middle American upbringing, her teenage hippie rebellion and passion for music made her desperate to get out of Ohio.  It is unsurprising that Hynde waited until her parents had died to write this memoir (she was every parents worst nightmare!).

Reckless reads like a who's who of the late 70's and early 80's music scene. Hynde worked for Vivienne Westward and Malcolm McClaren at the birth of the Punk scene, wrote for the famous New Musical Express, and was nearly in bands that went on to become The Clash and the Damned.

Drugs and alcohol, violence and sexual assault, living in vile squats or dossing anywhere with anyone, how this woman stayed alive seems against the odds.

Troubled by self doubt, and depression, she sought solace in many substances. Her dealings with a notorious motorcycle gang in the US and UK left me horrified, however she places blame on no one but herself, and was clearly in a space where it was all about the drugs and didn't care how she got them. Excellent read, although probably not for everyone...I await a sequel!

Posted by Katrina

Catalogue link:  Reckless





Friday 19 February 2016

Flaxmere Book Chat Reads for February

Spartan Gold by Clive Cussler

This author is one of the most well-read at Flaxmere Library and where better to start than with the first of the Fargo novels featuring husband and wife treasure hunters, Sam and Remi Fargo. This story features a WWII German submarine, an exotic location in the Bahamas and a priceless bottle of wine the baddy will do anything to get hold of. Adventure in spades.

The Golden Land by Di Morrissey

Morrissey writes a gripping and well-researched drama which usually gives the reader something to think about. In ‘The Golden Land’ a Gold Coast mother is drawn to Burma by the discovery of an artefact while cleaning out her mother’s house. Another exotic location to keep the reader well entertained.

Into the Labyrinth by Sigge Eklund

This novel explores the psychological impact on a couple when a child is abducted. Told through the eyes of four characters, this is a haunting, and sometimes chilling thriller that builds to a jaw-dropping ending. Not a cheerful read by any means, but certainly gripping.

The Violinist of Venice by Alyssa Palombo

You can almost hear the music as you read this novel about a young violinist, Adriana d’Amato, and her desperate desire to learn music against her father’s wishes. She is drawn to study with Antonio Vivaldi, and the secret lessons evolve into an affair, forbidden as Vivaldi is a priest, while Adriana is being lined up for suitably patrician marriage. Play Vivaldi’s Four Seasons as you read this for a totally immersing reading experience.

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Looking back, who are the people who have had a big influence on your life? For Mitch Albom it was the college professor he’d studied under twenty years before. Then when the old man was dying of motor neuron disease, Albom visited each Tuesday and their conversations are a like a series of tutorials on how to live. First published in 1998, Tuesdays with Morrie has become something of a treasure.



The Unexpected Guest by Agatha Christie

If you think you’ve read every Agatha Christie, you might be in for a surprise. The Unexpected Guest was written by the queen of crime as a play; here we have it rewritten as a novel by Charles Osborne. When Michael Starkwedder runs his car into a ditch, he arrives at an isolated house to find himself helping a woman concoct a cover story for the murder of her husband. An unexpected treat for Christie fans.

Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother by Xinran

This non-fiction book is about Chinese women and their lost daughters, whether as a result of the one child policy, destructive age-old traditions, or hideous economic necessity. Women had to give up their daughters for adoption, others were forced to abandon them on city streets, outside hospitals, orphanages or station platforms.  Some also had to watch their baby daughters drowned at birth. A bucket was provided at birth by midwife to drown the baby if it was a girl and other arrangements were not made.

During the Cultural Revolution Xinran's parents were thrown in jail for years, thus her and her two year old brother were orphans. Xinran was taken from her mother and given to her Grandmother to bring up.  She went back to her parents at seven years of age. Xinran however makes the book full of hope (as well as sorrow) telling Chinese girls who have been adopted - whether in China or overseas, how things were for their mothers and tells them how they were loved and never will be forgotten.  Up to 1999 the suicide rate for women was 25% higher than for males in the child-bearing age range.

The author's charity The Mother Bridge of Love was founded to help disadvantaged Chinese children, and to build a bridge of understanding between the West and China.  She was a radio presenter in China before going to London to live in 1997.  Ten chapters; ten women, and many stories of heartbreak.

Rae, Young@Heart Book Club

Catalogue link: Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother

Thursday 18 February 2016

NW by Zadie Smith

Narrating the lives of two best friends, bound together by a single dramatic event in their formative years, NW is hard to describe, diffuse and brilliantly real. It’s also hard to get into, with its truncated syntax and disconnected sentences, but it grew on me and really got under my skin.

Leah and Keisha grew up in a North-West London council estate and were inseparable as girls. Now adults, the two women lead very different lives but remain close. Leah has a husband she loves, who wants to start a family. Leah doesn’t want children and is torn between her loyalty to him and her own feelings and fears. Keisha has reinvented herself as Natalie the Barrister, with a beautiful husband and children, and a life that bores her into taking drastic action.

Also featuring their husbands and mothers, and an assorted motley crew of characters, the women’s stories are separated by incongruous forays into other people’s lives. The final chapters represent something of a return to childhood, tinged with nostalgia and melancholia. There is no dénouement, climax, or any kind of closure on what has preceded.

It’s not like any novel I’ve ever read; I have wanted to read the multi-award winning White Teeth for years but came across NW and thought I would give it a go. I particularly liked the way the format and style of the chapters echoed the voice of the character telling the story, which helped to delineate each character arc and add depth to the novel.

I felt the author identified with Natalie more than any other character as the reader is given much more insight into her background and inner-most thoughts, and of the eight or so recurring characters, Natalie is certainly the one that has stayed with me the most. I read her section of the book almost in one sitting; with other sections I felt like I had to work harder to get into the story.

NW is beautifully descriptive and engrossing, making you feel like you’re peering through a window into someone else’s existence. I really enjoyed the read and looked forward to picking up the story each evening, and I will definitely read more of Zadie Smith’s work if I can lay my hands on White Teeth.

NW is available from Hastings District Libraries in standard print and large print.

Posted by RJB

Catalogue link: NW


Wednesday 17 February 2016

Librarian Kate's recommended kids games and apps

Lets face it, something horrific like 91% of kids spend time in front of screens. That could be a made up statistic, but it sounds about right when you think about it. Kids love technology! They eat it up and get into it so much that sometimes we spend a lot of time just trying to fight the battle of screen time, and a lot of times we, as parents, feel at the losing end of it. Apps and gaming can make amazing learning resources for children though - but which ones? Here is a list of some of the games I have found that actually teach lots of skills, but don’t suck the joy out of gaming for the kiddos.

Minecraft
Ok, so you pretty much have had to be hiding under a well-constructed happy rock (one which millions of parents worldwide would like to join you under) if you haven’t heard of Minecraft. But in case you haven’t, or if you have but tried to avoid knowing anything about it at all costs: Minecraft is a game centred on building and creating. Think of it as virtual Lego! It is a ‘sandbox' style game with very little instructions, so kids get to do what they like with it. The game can get really in-depth as you mine items, build fortresses to keep out monsters, and get involved in player vs player combat. It is very much a game, but with lots of hidden learning gems in it too. Besides the endless opportunities to be creative and for children to use their imaginative noggins, they also learn to problem solve, gain critical thinking skills, learn about spatial awareness, and in multiplayer environments it enables a lot of collaboration. Believe me when I say this, compared to other brain rotting apps you get out there, this one is definitely one you shouldn’t fight with your kids too much over.

The bad bits? Honestly besides the theme music that the PC and game console versions have (mute button for the win!), I can’t think of much. There is no sex, drugs and rock and roll in it, but when kids play together there can be trouble. kids quickly learn to safeguard their items and themselves though, and they also have the opportunity to learn not to be jerks to others! That’s a point in the positives column for me. There is a small one off cost to the game, depending on your device or system but for the many hours of babysitting educational game play, it is totally worth it.

Suitable for 5+ but really Minecraft can be played by anyone who can hold a tablet or operate a mouse and it’s a great game to play as a family.

P.s We think it is such a great game, we have clubs running at our libraries now. Librarians love it too!

CodeCombat
This is starting to sound like a post dedicated to pushing our programmes and events, but it really isn’t – I’m just that passionate about these games and sites that I’m willing to spend good chunk of my time teaching others to play, including this one. CodeCombat is an awesome web based game for learning how to code, all you really need is a bit of time and the ability to read and write. Even I could do this. EVEN ME. Kids love it because it looks and feels like a game, not a learning resource that has been gamified, but an actual game, so kids forget they are learning.

Cons? Around the end of the first dungeon levels it suddenly gets hard. You actually have to think about what you are doing and really knuckle down. But I’m not sure that is a bad thing.  Also after this you learn how to really knock peoples socks off in PVP arenas... so that’s a win for the fun side.

This site has lots of free game play. You have access to 110 levels , but for a small price you can have access to bonus levels and other tidbits.

Suitable for ages 8+. Younger ones can easily get into the first few levels with help, but it gets a bit complex after that.

Our Clan of Coders group plays this game! We meet every Wednesday at Flaxmere, or you can participate online too. to register yourself or your child for a pack, go here. 

Plants Vs Zombies
Sounds horrible, but Plants Vs Zombies is a super fun and great strategy learning game. Contrary to the image the name may conjure up in your head, there is no blood, guts or gore to get terrified over. And really, any zombie action is counteracted by adorable well-meaning plants. Plus you get to collect little bits of sunshine as a sort of currency to spend on more plants, what could possibly be bad about that?
The downside to this game is that is completely addictive, so if you are worried already about time spent in front of a computer or tablet, probably don’t download this one.

Gameplay is free, but you can cash up for extra stuff, just don’t let the kids know your password and she’ll be right.
Some of the websites say it’s an age 10+ game but many parent reviews say their children as young as 4 love this one. My 7 year old is a pro.

Scrap Mechanic
This is a brand new one out and about, and with the potential to be huge. A few of the big name YouTube Gamers are getting on board and are already offering tutorials and walk-throughs. Basically it is a sandbox game where ‘mechanics’ get to build whatever they like out of the 100+  building parts at their disposal, making it very creative and fun game play. From what I’ve seen over my son’s shoulder, its a lot like Minecraft but with way better graphics. From transforming buildings to flying objects, the world is your STEM oyster with this game. Being multiplayer, kids can also collaborate with friends and hold challenges.
Cons? Its still in ‘Early Access’ mode which means that they are still developing it, and there may be a few bugs that need squishing. If you like being the first on the block to get something though – this one should be right up your alley.

This one costs you! Its $19.95US currently. If this sort of game play doesn’t excite the kids, then don’t fork out the cash, but its well worth keeping an eye out for anyway.

Thursday 11 February 2016

The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan

Mumbai comes alive in Vaseem Khan’s character driven new detective series featuring recently retired policeman, Inspector Ashwin Chopra. The novel opens on Chopra’s final day at work, a day he has been dreading, because he isn’t quite ready for retirement. A distraught mother from the poor part of town buttonholes the inspector, demanding justice for her murdered son, a case that has been written off as an accidental drowning.

Chopra cannot leave the case alone, calling on favours from his friend the pathologist, and visiting the grieving family. The young man’s diary throws up a few leads and soon Chopra is filling his spare hours running a surveillance operation with his team of one man plus an elephant.

The elephant has been a problem, a gift from a much loved but slightly unusual uncle. But where in a Mumbai apartment block do you keep a baby elephant? And then there is the problem of Poppy, Chopra’s wife, who believes her husband’s absences from home indicate he is having an affair.

This is a charming novel, the first in a new detective series that has plenty of promise with its vivid recreation of Mumbai, a soft-hearted but determined detective, and a glimpse of a criminal underbelly which gives the book a bit of grit. And you just can’t help feeling sorry for that baby elephant which, it turns out, will be a key player in bringing the criminals to justice. I can’t wait to see what the elephant will do in the fight against crime in Khan’s next book.

Posted by JAM

Wednesday 10 February 2016

Even dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin

Retired Detective Inspector John Rebus of Edinburgh feels like an old-fashioned, grumpy, hard-living old friend that you can't help but feel affection for. So much so that writer Ian Rankin has given in to reader demand and keeps bringing him out of retirement. This time teaming up again with his alter ego DI Malcolm Fox, and Rebus' old partner and friend DI Siobahn Clarke, as well as his old nemesis, career criminal Gerry Cafferty.

Even Dogs in the Wild sees a senior lawyer murdered in his own home with an ominous note in his wallet. When Gerry Cafferty is shot at and receives the same note, Clarke and Fox consult with Rebus; the only person connected with the police that Cafferty will speak to.

As the story unfolds, more deaths and notes come to light as the three investigators slowly unravel the past, and how the targeted men are connected through the worst types of wrong-doing.

The city of Edinburgh itself feels like another character in Rankin's books, an alternate seedy side to the tourist city described in detail and with affection.

If you are an Ian Rankin fan, you will not be disappointed. If you have not read Rankin's books before, Even Dogs in the Wild is a great place to start and then you will have the pleasure of another nineteen  Rebus books to savour! Recommended.

Posted by Katrina

Catalogue Link: Even Dogs in the Wild






Tuesday 9 February 2016

Bookchat + road trip = a good day!

The Hastings Library Book Chat members went on a short road trip to the Flaxmere Library for our last meeting. Some of our members had not been out to this facility since it was renovated a couple of years ago and some had never been at all. Well were they in for a treat. Great books, great reviews and of course great service!

Anyway, we had a great time and it was hard to choose just a few favourites from the plethora of books we've read over the last month.

Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood


The award-winning author of The Handmaid's Tale presents a collection of short stories that features such protagonists as a widowed writer who is guided by her late husband's voice and a woman whose genetic abnormality causes her to be mistaken for a vampire.





The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood

Beware this is not nice reading! Compared to a modern day Handmaids Tale, this very unexpected read has characters finding interesting strengths and bringing their survival instincts to the fore.

Two women awaken from a drugged sleep to find themselves imprisoned in an abandoned property in the middle of a desert in a story of two friends, sisterly love and courage - a gripping, starkly imaginative exploration of contemporary misogyny and corporate control, and of what it means to hunt and be hunted. 


Talking to the Dead by Harry Bingham


For rookie detective constable Fiona Griffiths, her first major investigation promises to be a tough initiation into Cardiff's dark underbelly. A young woman and her six-year-old daughter have been found brutally murdered in a squalid flat, the single clue a platinum credit card belonging to a millionaire businessman who died in a plane crash six months before. For her fellow cops, it's just another case of a low-rent prostitute meeting the wrong kind of client and coming to a nasty end, but Fiona is convinced that the tragic lives and cruel deaths of this mother and daughter are part of a deeper, darker mystery.


The Rich are with you Always by Malcolm MacDonald
"This really good read has historically correct timelines and facts right down to the cost of a whore in Bristol in 1851."
"The wife is a great character - strong and stroppy."




The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
The sequel to The Cuckoo's Calling and written by JK Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, the main character in this book (Strike) has been described by readers as "Physically repulsive but mentally interesting."

Posted by Cookie Fan

Saturday 6 February 2016

Balancing Act by Joanna Trollope

Trollope has been a documenter of family life, its highs and lows, swings and roundabouts, for nigh on thirty years. I’ve read nearly all of her novels - they never disappoint – each one with a new twist on what it is like maintain the ties that bind and keep talking to each other whatever else is going on in the world. I admire Trollope’s ability to keep updating her fiction and the ring of truth of her dialogue. Balancing Act is no exception.

The novel concerns the Moran family who are mostly all involved in a traditional family pottery business. Mum, Susie, is the driving force but things get tense when her three daughters, each with different talents of her own, begin to rebel against the status quo and question Mum's decision making. Cara and husband Dan want to grow the company’s business; Ashleigh’s husband has taken on childcare so his wife can be more involved and she wants a bigger slice of the pie.

Grace is the artistic one who lacks confidence, and is struggling to break up with gorgeous but useless Jeff, when suddenly the grandfather that has been missing from the girls’ lives turns up, broke and in need of somewhere to stay. Grace fills the gap, while her mother's usual decisiveness begins to waver.

Trollope does intergenerational relationships really well, and her characters are all sympathetic after a fashion, even the ones who upset the apple cart. The way the Moran family members all push and pull at each other gives the book momentum, while around the corner is a resolution of sorts that offers hope. This is a wise novel from a sensitive and intelligent author, who still has plenty to say.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue link: Balancing Act

Friday 5 February 2016

Inside the Black Horse by Ray Berard

An insight into a world more people see and know than most New Zealander’s would like to admit. This novel is set in the world of gangs and drugs, with the Police and a private investigator and a failing corporate businessman thrown into the mix.

There are strong women characters, good descriptions of life in Rotorua, Auckland and rural Bay of Plenty. A liberal sprinkling of surprising human relationships is added. There is more than one “dark night of the soul” happening to more than one character. All this is seasoned with plenty of action in a robbery that gets in the way of a drug delivery and the unconnected threads that need to be drawn together to work it all out. It is well written, making it a good read, showing many of us slices of lives we can only imagine, and how easy it is to get there for those who do.

Catalogue link: Inside the Black Horse

Posted by Catherine

Thursday 4 February 2016

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

Another great crime caper in the Cormoran Strike series by story-teller extraordinaire, JK Rowling.

When a severed limb is sent to the now-famous detective’s office, care of his long suffering colleague Robin, the duo set to tracking down the sender – not to mention the owner of the leg. Strike has narrowed down the list of suspects to three likely culprits but he and Robin must work through the clues quickly to catch the offender before any further crimes are committed.

Whereas The Cuckoo’s Calling was a classic whodunit which skirted around the gore and violence of the actual murder, and The Silkworm gave us the feeling that Rowling was flexing her thriller-writing muscles, and having a lot of fun with her grisly narrative, Career of Evil takes the depictions of crimes to another level.

Focusing on three sinister characters from Strike’s past, the book covers seriously unpleasant themes such as domestic violence, drug addiction, torture and child abuse, making it faintly reminiscent of Rowling’s first adult title, The Casual Vacancy. The identity of the killer is a surprise (although not necessarily in the way you might expect) with plenty of obligatory red herrings thrown into the mix.

Whilst I very much enjoyed the journey, what has stayed with me from this book is the development of the relationship between the two protagonists, Strike and Robin. I was left feeling a bit like a child watching her parents kiss – a bit uncomfortable and not sure I liked it! It’s not that I worry Strike and Robin’s eventual embrace might affect the dynamic of the story (which it undoubtedly would), it’s more that the two just aren’t believable as a couple. Forcing two such incompatible characters together would smack of predictability and a lack of imagination, and would bother me enough to prevent me reading another installment.

However, if Rowling resists the urge, this series has the potential to become a modern-day classic and, like Harry Potter before it, one that I will enjoy reading again and again.

Posted by RJB

Catalogue Link: Career of Evil

Monday 1 February 2016

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

A warm, endearing story about love, emigrating, loss and homesickness. Told between Ireland and Brooklyn, New York, set in the 1950’s it is so full of details: dress, music, the Church you can picture yourself there. And, is carefully cast with not-too-stereotypical people, though we do have the curtain twitchers and the relatives poking their noses in on both sides of the Atlantic.

It is the story of a young woman who is unable to get good employment in her hometown in Ireland being noticed by a Brooklyn based Roman Catholic Father and having passage, accommodation and employment arranged for her in New York and what happens in her life thereafter.

I note that the film of this book is out and is currently (Jan 2015) showing; it will make a good movie, but reading the book will bring a deeper pleasure.

The New Yorker had this to say “Toibin’s genius is that he makes it impossible for us to walk away.”

Catalogue link: Brooklyn


Posted by Catherine