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NEWS UPDATES |
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NEW FICTION PICKS |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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 |
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Recent additions to the Fiction collection | Booklists | MyLibrary Booklists MyLibrary |
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BOOK AWARDS |
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Adult Book Awards Costa Book Awards The Crime Writer's Association IMPAC Dublin Award. The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes LAMBDA Literary Awards Man Booker Prize "Everything about the Booker Prize" site Montana New Zealand Book Awards New Zealand Literature Nobel Prize for Literature The Orange Prize for Fiction Pulitzer Prize |
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BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS |
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Librarian's Choice | New York Times Best Sellers | Publishers Weekly Best Sellers Librarian's Choice |
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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) |
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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) |
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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) |
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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) |
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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) |
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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) |
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New York Times Best Seller Publishers Weekly Best Sellers Radio New Zealand Books Page Top 100 Novels The BBC Big Read Top 100 The Modern Library 100 Best Novels Radcliffe Publishing Course: the century's top 100 novels Guardian Unlimited top 100 books of all time Time Magazine-All time 100 Novels Whitcoulls List - Top 100 books in New Zealand 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: |
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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." |
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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." |
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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." |
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Lost souls / Lisa Jackson. (2008) Reader's comment: "I thought this book was very enjoyable. I would like to read more from her." |
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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." |
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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." |
BOOK REVIEWS | |
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Allreaders. com Book Browser Complete Review Guardian Books Unlimited What do I read next? and Literature Resource Centre | |
BOOK CLUBS | |
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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. | |
FINDING A PARTICULAR BOOK | |
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Finding fiction in our catalogue What's next (Books in Series) Which book | |
MYSTERY FICTION | |
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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 Mystery File January Magazine The Thrilling Detective |
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SHORT STORIES | |
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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. | |
ROMANCE FICTION | |
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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 All About Romance Dangerously Curvy Novels The Romance Reader | |
SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY FICTION | |
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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 Science Fiction Resource Guide The Best in Science Fiction and Fantasy
ASFA : Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists | |
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Last updated 16 August 2010 | |
Reader's Choice
