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NEWS UPDATES

fiction news linkThe latest news about fiction authors and books can now be found on the Wellington City Libraries Newsblog: look for the fiction category.

NEW FICTION PICKS

Recently, the 2010 Man Booker Prize for Fiction judges announced their long-list of 13 novels from a total of 138 submitted. From this list the judges will select a short-list, to be announced early September and the prize will be awarded to the winner on 12th October, 2010. This is the 42nd anniversary of the prize, it is acknowledged as one of the major international prizes for fiction. The winner receives £50,000 and the five runners-up each receive £2,500. The winner and the short listed authors are guaranteed a worldwide readership and book sales. Each year there is much discussion and debate, written and verbal about the novels omitted from the selection for the long list, the merits or non-merits of the titles that did make the long list, and a variety of opinions voiced or penned when the winner is announced. Of course this is all great publicity for the prize and ensures that most of the selected novels receive a readership, they may not otherwise have found. The complete long list of titles can be found at The Man Booker Prize website

This month we will highlight 6 novels from the 2010 Man Booker Prize long list. Each one is exceptional, all relate powerful stories skilfully written, that reflect the contemporary world, the historical world and the many different cultures, within those times.

Syndetics book cover. Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey is his eleventh novel. He has won the Booker Prize twice, with Oscar and Lucinda in 1988 and True History of the Kelly Gang in 2001. Two other novels were also shortlisted. Peter Carey was born and educated in Victoria, Australia and spent his early career in advertising, eventually owning his own agency. His first book of short stories, The Fat Man in history was published in 1974 and he has continued since then in a long and varied writing career. He moved to New York in 1990 after selling his company share and has been writing full time since. Parrot and Olivier in America, is set in the mid nineteenth century and is an exploration of American Democracy in theory and practice. It follows the adventures of Olivier a French aristocrat, the traumatised child of survivors of the French Revolution and Parrot the son of an itinerant English printer who always wanted to be an artist but has ended up a servant. When Olivier sets sail for the New World, to study its prisons but in reality avoid any form of revolution, Parrot is sent with him, as spy, protector, foe and foil. This is a witty inventive novel, and as Parrot and Olivier travel they share their own perspectives on love, politics, the world of art and prisons in the New World.
amazon book cover link. The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore is the first time one of her novels has been long-listed for the Man Booker Prize. She has previously won the Orange Prize for A Spell of Winter in 1996 and her novel The Siege published in 2001 was shortlisted for the Whitbread Novel of the Year Award and also the Orange Prize in 2002. Helen Dunmore is British poet, novelist and children's writer. She was educated at the University of York and lives in Bristol. She has published nine collections of poetry and twenty-nine novels for young adults. The Betrayal is her eleventh adult novel and is set in Leningrad in 1952. It tells of Andrei, a young hospital doctor and Anna, a nursery school teacher, and their sixteen year old son Kolya who are forging a life together. Life is precarious as they try hard to avoid coming to the attention of the authorities, as Stalin is still in power and the Ministry for State Security that is feared by all. When Andrei has to treat the seriously ill child of a senior secret police officer he finds himself and his family caught in an impossible game of life and death. They begin an epic struggle to survive during a time of violence and terror. This is a gripping and deeply moving portrait of life in post-war Soviet Russia.
Book cover. The long Song by Andrea Levy is her fifth novel. She won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2004, the 2004 Whitbread Book of the Year and the 2005 Commonwealth Writers Prize for her novel Small Island. Andea Levy was born in Britain to Jamaican parents. She began writing in her mid thirties and her first semi-autobiographical novel, Every Light in the House Burnin' was published in 1994. The Long Song is told by July, a slave girl who lives on a Jamaican sugar plantation called Amity. She was there during the Baptist War in 1831 and also when slavery was abolished. It is the story of her life, her family and ancestors, the plantation owner and the country they all inhabit. This is a captivating, beautifully written and cleverly constructed novel.
amazon book cover link. February is the fourth published novel by Lisa Moore. She was born and raised in Newfoundland, Canada. Although she studied art at the Nova Scotia of Art and Design, she chose writing as her career, becoming full time after her first novel was published in 1995. Alligator, her third novel - published in 2005, won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize Best Book Award for the Caribbean and Canada Region and was also long-listed for the 2007 IMPAC Dublin Award. February tells the story of Helen who becomes a widow when the oil rig, Ocean Ranger sinks off the Newfoundland Coast during a storm in 1982. She is left pregnant and with a young family to rear. Twenty five years later and Helen is still really in mourning, and it is not until her wayward son returns home in trouble, that she begins to face the future and let go of the past. This is a deeply moving, skilfully structured, remarkably human novel.
amazon book cover link. Trespass by Rose Tremain is her twelfth novel, but first to be long-listed for the man Booker Prize, although she has been on the judging panel twice, in 1998 and in 2000. Born in London she studied at the Sorbonne and the University of East Anglia where she taught creative writing from 1988 to 1995 and where she still lives. Her first novel, Sadler's birthday was published in 1976, with eleven other novels published she also has four collections of short stories. Music and Silence published in 1999 won the Whitbread Award for that year and Restoration won the 1992 James Tait Black memorial Prize. In 2008 she won the Orange Prize for Fiction for her novel The Road Home. Trespass is set in a valley in the Cevenol region of France. An isolated stone farmhouse the Mas Lunel is owned by Aramon Lunel, an alcoholic so haunted by his violent past that he's become incapable of all meaningful action, with his land and home going to ruin. His sister, Audrun, lives alone in her modern bungalow within sight of the Mas Lunel, where she dreams of exacting retribution for the unspoken betrayals that have blighted her life. Into this closed Cevenol world comes Anthony Verey, a wealthy but disillusioned antiques dealer from London. Now in his sixties, Anthony hopes to remake his life in France, and he begins looking at properties in the region. From the moment he arrives at the Mas Lunel, a frightening and unstoppable series of consequences is set in motion. Two worlds and two cultures collide. This is wonderfully thrilling story of hidden damaged family history and the consequences of lies and deceit.
amazon book cover link. The Slap is the fifth published novel by Australian writer Christos Tsiolkas. Born and educated in Melbourne, where he completed an Arts Degree in 1987, he published his first novel titled Loaded in 1995. This was adapted into film and titled Head On in 1998. In 2006 his novel Dead Europe won the Age Book of the year fiction award. The Slap won the Commonwealth Writers Prize 2009 for the best novel in the South-East Asia and South Pacific region. Christos Tsiolksa is also a playwright, essayist and screen writer. The Slap begins at an Australian suburban barbeque. When a male guest slaps an unruly 3-year-old boy who is not his own son, this single act of violence, reverberates through the lives of everyone who witnesses it happen. This novel explores this domestic incident as seen from eight very different perspectives. The Slap is a well written closely observed novel that has polarised many reviewers. It shows us the world we live in, modern family and domestic life, their boundaries and limits, all with great honesty.

Click here for previous new fiction picks

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NEW BOOKS

Recent additions to the Fiction collection | Booklists | MyLibrary

Booklists
For monthly lists of new material in our libraries collection, this includes, general fiction, science fiction and fantasy, murder mysteries, large print and books on cassette and CD.

MyLibrary
Wellington City Libraries have a useful service available online called MyLibrary. Each month we provide recent picks from the latest material available in each of the selected areas: New Contemporary Fiction, New Murder Mysteries, New Science Fiction & Fantasy, plus a different fiction genre each month.
Links to relevant Databases and Popular Topics are updated regularly and customers can also create their own username if they want to customise the list of Recent Picks or add links to their own favourite websites.

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BOOK AWARDS

Adult Book Awards
International awards including, Science Fiction, Mystery, Romance and Christian fiction.

Costa Book Awards
Formerly known as the Whitbread Awards, this page includes shortlists, previous winners, and book information.

The Crime Writer's Association
Information about all Crime Fiction awards, past winners and short listed novels, author biographies and reviews of new crime novels.

IMPAC Dublin Award.
Archival lists of nominations, short-listed titles, winners, author profiles and book reviews.

The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes
Major award for fiction and biography awarded annually includes past winners and short lists for both categories since 1919.

LAMBDA Literary Awards
These awards recognize and honour the best in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender literature. Winners are announced in May each year.

Man Booker Prize
(formerly known as The Booker Prize) Official site

"Everything about the Booker Prize" site
This site gives archival lists of nominations, short-listed titles, winners and author profiles.

Montana New Zealand Book Awards
Short-listed titles and winners from 1996, each with short synopsis.

New Zealand Literature
A comprehensive resource for information on writers, poets, adult and children's literature, awards and publishers, with many journal and blog links.

Nobel Prize for Literature
Winning authors since 1901.

The Orange Prize for Fiction
An annual prize awarded to women fiction writers. Previous winners, short listed novels, with reviews and author biographies.

Pulitzer Prize
Includes winners' biographies, nominated finalists since 1980, and winners since 1917.

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BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

Librarian's Choice | New York Times Best Sellers | Publishers Weekly Best Sellers
Radio New Zealand Books Page | Reader's choice

Librarian's Choice
Recommended by Wellington City Libraries' staff members, these novels are displayed with gold Librarian's choice stickers. A very popular display and a guaranteed good read. A list of the novels chosen is available from the Central Library Fiction desk.

Amazon book cover Underworld / Don DeLillo. (c1997)
"This novel opens at the Shea Stadium at the World Series Game of 1951, where the ball is caught by a young, black man in the crowd, and continues to change hands throughout the book. The various recipients of the ball tell the story of post-war US history giving a panorama of America from the 50s to the 90s." (Amazon)
Amazon book cover Our precious Lulu / Anne Fine. (2009)
"Lulu has always been intolerable. From spending every childhood moment worming her way into the affections of her stepmother (spitefully undermining poor Geraldine, her dumpy and hardworking stepsister, along the way) to growing into a sexy, long-legged and ruthless adult. Jobs, lovers, fashionable clothes: Lulu picks them up at whim and drops them with equal ease, confident that Geraldine and her faithfully supportive husband, Robert, will bail her out of every passing problem. But not even watchful Robert has realized quite how much Geraldine's exemplary patience has rested on one simple but long-lasting assumption about her family." (Amazon)
Amazon book cover A film by Spencer Ludwig / David Flusfeder. (2010)
"Spencer Ludwig, idealist and filmmaker, is making one of his regular duty visits from London to New York City to tend to his declining but still fearsome father. Driving back from one of their doctors' appointments, Spencer decides not to take the turn to his father's apartment: instead, they hit the road. Ahead of them will be an emotional ride taking in police and prostitutes, film festivals and gambling in Atlantic City, as father and son try to make sense of each other's lives and hearts, and their own." (Amazon)
Amazon book cover Eat cake : a novel / Jeanne Ray. (c2003)
"Feisty middle-aged housewife Ruth Hopson's life comes crashing down around her when her hospital administrator husband is made redundant. As the family's financial problems begin to mount, Ruth must also cope with her sulky teenage daughter and warring elderly parents. As she tries to keep the peace in this eccentric, dysfunctional household, Ruth's only solace comes from baking cakes. But what begins as a distraction and grows into an obsession just might provide an ingenious solution to the family's dilemmas." (Amazon)
Amazon book cover One D.O.A., one on the way : a novel / Mary Robison.(c2009)
"Enter Eve. Based in New Orleans, she's a location scout for a movie production company and complacently married to Adam. He's just been diagnosed with a grave illness and gone back to the palatial family home where his parents reside. It's all just fine with Eve, or so she tells herself at the beginning. But standing left of centre in this still-prosperous but mortally wounded family does not get easier as the weeks wear on. As she negotiates her way around the anger of Adam's despised twin brother Saunders, maintains her friendship with his beautiful and volatile wife Petal, and protects what's left of the innocence of her niece Collie, Eve finds more than the Louisiana heat oppressive." (Amazon)
Amazon book cover The sirens of Titan / Kurt Vonnegut. (1999)
"When Winston Niles Rumfoord flies his spaceship into a chrono-synclastic infundibulum he is converted into pure energy and only materializes when his waveforms intercept Earth or some other planet. As a result, he only gets home to Newport, Rhode Island, once every fifty-nine days and then only for an hour. But at least, as a consolation, he now knows everything that has ever happened and everything that ever will be. He knows, for instance, that his wife is going to Mars to mate with Malachi Constant, the richest man in the world. He also knows that on Titan, one of Saturn's moons is an alien from the planet Tralfamadore, who has been waiting 200,000 years for a spare part for his grounded spacecraft." (Amazon)

New York Times Best Seller
Hardcover and paperback Fiction and Non-fiction best seller lists. Links to reviews and first chapters.

Publishers Weekly Best Sellers
Features author interviews, best seller list, reviews and book news.

Radio New Zealand Books Page
Lists the guest radio reviewers choice of favourite books for the year.

Top 100 Novels
As we entered into the twenty-first century, many lists of the top novels of the last century were produced. Some were collated by reader vote, some just the personal opinion of Literary critics and some by the publishing trade. Here is a small selection of the many that are available.

The BBC Big Read Top 100
This list was compiled from the votes of nearly 140,000 people in the United Kingdom. Of the 100 authors listed 66 were British from past and present, from Charlotte Bronte to Roald Dahl.

The Modern Library 100 Best Novels
This list has been compiled by Random House publishers and gives a list of the board's selections and another of reader's selections, both are very different.

Radcliffe Publishing Course: the century's top 100 novels
This list was complied by 100 publishing students at Radcliffe, selected from 400 possible titles.

Guardian Unlimited top 100 books of all time
This list was determined from a vote by 100 noted writers in 54 countries. Don Quixote by Cervantes was voted the top book of the century.

Time Magazine-All time 100 Novels
Time Literary critics complied this list of 100 top novels with links to the original reviews.

Whitcoulls List - Top 100 books in New Zealand
This list was complied form the votes of Whitcoulls customers nation-wide. It includes some non-fiction titles.

Reader's choice stickerReader's Choice

We are always interested in the opinions of our readers, and so provide opinion forms with new debut novels, and new fiction as they are received. We also have these forms available on the Reader's Choice display, along with forms for favourite novels. Readers can also submit reviews online or email us with any questions.

The response to Reader's Choice had been amazing, and each novel that receives good readers reviews is displayed with a light blue Reader's Choice sticker. All completed opinion forms, with either good or bad comments are displayed in a folder, on the display stand. This display has proved extremely popular, as a guaranteed good read can be found there.

We also have a new webpage devoted to archived customer reviews.

Here are a few recent ones:

Book Cover Liars all / Jo Bannister. (2009)
Reader's comment: "I thought this book was another excellent book in the series. It may be a bit harder to follow for people who have not read her previous books."
Amazon book cover The disappeared / Kim Echlin. (2009)
Reader's comment: "A riveting, provocative enlightening very real read. Courageously written, heart wrenchingly disturbing about what people do to one another."
Amazon book cover An echo in the bone : a novel / Diana Gabaldon. (c2009)
Reader's comment: "I thought this book was a great read. Diana Gabaldon has produced another gripping epic novel that keeps you entranced and not wanting it to end."
Amazon book cover Lost souls / Lisa Jackson. (2008)
Reader's comment: "I thought this book was very enjoyable. I would like to read more from her."
Amazon book cover Trial by fire / J.A. Jance. (2009)
Reader's comment: "I thought this book was good enough to return to the two middle books in this Ali Reynold series I skipped. All have very strong characters and different plots."
Amazon book cover As darkness falls / Bronwyn Parry.(2008)
Reader's comment: "I thought this book was excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Well written and held my interest to the last word."

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BOOK REVIEWS

Allreaders. com
Latest reviews of all fiction genres, including detailed book searching.

Book Browser
A complex site for fiction and non-fiction. Has reviews, links to authors, recommended books, new books, book clubs, and much more.

Complete Review
Reviews of currently 950 books, old and new with book news, foreign titles and links to publishers and other review sites.

Guardian Books Unlimited
An excellent site for books published in Britain, fiction and non-fiction. Links to Authors, top 10s, and London Review of Books essays.

What do I read next? and Literature Resource Centre
Gale databases with book reviews, just login with your library card number.

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BOOK CLUBS

Book clubs or reading groups have become a popular way to read more, understand and discuss what you have read, make new friends and socialise.They can be small and informal, with a different work read each month from a list decided on by the group, or they can be formally structured, with a memberproviding author profiles each month and discussion taking more academic forms. They can also now be joined through the Internet, with several reading group sites available.

At Wellington City Libraries we endeavour to assist and encourage Book Club /Reading groups where we can, providing author information, reviews etc. Informal book groups also meet once a month at Khandallah, Karori, Island Bay, and Kilbirnie libraries. Come along, they are open to all!

Extensive information is given on the New Zealand Book Council website. This includes special support for Book Clubs, with Book Group Membership with the Book Council offered, discussion and a list of writers who visit Book Clubs.

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FINDING A PARTICULAR BOOK

Finding fiction in our catalogue
Can't find the fiction you want in our catalogue? Here are search tips and some clickable genre searches.

What's next (Books in Series)
Search by Author, Title, or Series title for all adult fiction in series.

Which book
Search by choosing details of main character, type of plot, setting, and country.

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MYSTERY FICTION

Mystery Fiction is another very popular genre with fiction readers. Our Mystery collection is the largest sub-genre within the Fiction collection and is distinguished for the readers by the use of red spine labels. Mystery readers are a diverse group from those who prefer classic English detective stories to the hard-boiled crime fans, so this selection of web sites will help to inform, entertain and lead readers to other great novels in their favourite genre.

The Rap Sheet
This new site is perhaps the best online resource for up to date daily posts on Mystery Fiction & its practitioners. It also features a great list of links to other sites.

Mystery File
An in-depth compendium of information, profiles on authors and other links. It also exists as a blog.

January Magazine
A great general book site on the web, January Magazine has a special section for 'Crime' fans.

The Thrilling Detective
'Who was that character, Jim...something? If only there was a site that could tell me...' But wait, there is... The Thrilling Detective site is an online Fiction magazine, with an astoundingly comprehensive list of 'Who's Who' in the mystery world.

SHORT STORIES

Wellington City Libraries has an extensive collection of short stories. At Branch libraries, short stories are interfiled with the general fiction collection; look out for 'short story' stickers on book spines. At Central Library they are found in two places in the Fiction collection. Books of short stories by multiple authors are kept in the main Short Story collection, on the ground floor between the adult video collection and the adult books on CD and Cassette, opposite the Issues desks. These are edited, collected stories by different authors. They are usually organised around a particular theme/subject, nationality, or era, and are shelved under the title of the volume. Books of short stories written by one author are held with the author's other works in the main Fiction Collection, under the author's surname.

Short Story Indexes are held at the Fiction desk at Central and these can be used to find a short story on a particular theme or subject. This can also be done on the catalogue using a Keyword Search option and entering the theme/subject required with the word fiction. Finding a short story on a particular theme/subject can be difficult and staff are always available to assist.

There are many short story web sites; unfortunately these do not always include theme/subject indexes, although many have full text short stories. Here are a few that may be of interest.

Readbookonline.net has over 100 short story titles to choose from and all are full text. Although many American, all are classics and do include some Anthony Trollop, Rudyard Kipling and Leo Tolstoy.

Classic Short Stories again contains full text classic short stories with a very international flavour. The most interesting aspect of this site is the related links pages. From here there are links to Mystery short stories, Jewish short stories, to name a few, also links to many author collections, such as Jack London and the complete works of William Shakespeare.

East of the Web Short Stories provides a different short story experience. This site is interactive, and writers can post their own short stories and discuss others work. There are also short guides to other short stories, such as Katherine Mansfield, Fables, Vampires etc.

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ROMANCE FICTION

Romantic novels are a popular genre with fiction readers. These can vary from the simple romance, to the complicated suspense thriller type novel with romantic sub plots.

Locating the different types of romantic novels on Wellington City Libraries catalogue is very easy.

Try these searches for Romance, Romantic Suspense, or Historical Romance - you will get a list of the latest titles.

There are also many web sites for Romance readers. Here are a few that are helpful and interesting.

Top 100 romance novels
This list was compiled from over 1500 books and 500 authors nominated by readers. Authors chosen include Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer, Diana Gabaldon, Margaret Mitchell and Nora Roberts.

All About Romance
This web page give reviews of romance novels, author information, lists of the best novels, awards and contest. It is interactive with discussion and message boards.

Dangerously Curvy Novels
This is a comprehensive web site for the serious romance reader. There are fourteen different types of romantic novel sections, all with reading lists, reviews and links. This site is also interactive with chat rooms, writer information, and free stories.

The Romance Reader
The Romance Reader has book reviews, author interviews, new novels, and reading lists. There are only three types of romantic novel sections, Historical, Contemporary, and Time Travel/Fantasy, but all are very comprehensive.

SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY FICTION

Science Fiction and fantasy is another very popular genre with fiction readers. Although our collection is slightly smaller than the Murder mystery collection it is distinguished for the readers by the use of blue spine labels. Science Fiction and Fantasy readers are the most dedicated group of readers in our Library, so this selection of web sites and catalogue quicksearch will help to inform, entertain and lead the reader to other great reads in their favourite genre.

Catalogue Quicksearch:

Websites:

Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Database
This is a complex site holding 68,000 items covering science fiction, fantasy, horror supernatural and weird fiction. The site includes history, criticism, commentary, fan writings and some reviews. It is a very good tool for tracing short story publications. There is an extensive Thesaurus to enhance search options.

Science Fiction Resource Guide
This is an interesting site that covers just about everything for the Science Fiction fan. It contains, authors, awards, bibliographies, bookstores, chat channels, comics, writer's resources and some reviews. There are sections on movie resources, television achieves and resources, mailing lists and sample chapters. In fact just about everything a Sci/Fi fan could want.

The Best in Science Fiction and Fantasy
This is the ultimate site for reviews of new and past material. All the Science Fiction and Fantasy awards are reviewed, with book covers included. The site includes fiction excerpts, author list that includes Philip K. Dick, Paul J McAuley, Terry Pratchett, Kim Stanley Robinson and Dan Simmons and a Discussion Forum. There is a long list of links which includes Author and Fan sites, Conventions, Magazines and Interviews. The site will ensure many hours of enjoyment.

new!SciFan: Books and Links for the Science Fiction Fan
This is a great site for locating titles and order of books in a series. The searching is simple, by author or title. There is also a pick of the month, with current and future releases. For readers who wish to read by theme or subject a search is available with an extensive listing of theme, subjects, places, times, and character or alien type.

ASFA : Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists
Although this site is still in the early stages of development it is worth checking out. Included are gallery portfolios, new additions and recently updated art work, index of artists, articles and FAQ(s). For anyone interested in the art work that usually accompanies the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre, will find this site very informative.

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Last updated 16 August 2010

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