Dunedin Public Libraries News & Reviews Blog

Yet another great read from Ms Walters. This treat follows an army officer who is lucky to be alive after experiencing an horrific tour of duty in Iraq. Although severely disfigured facially, it are his personal conflicts and traumas that are at the heart of this book. An interesting array of characters with demons of their own all make for a thoroughly interesting read. Forget black and white; this is all shades of grey; just the way I like it. Enjoy

Recommended by Debbie

One for the children would be Ripley’s believe it or not! Special edition 2008.

This is the latest edition in the Ripley’s believe it or not series. It has lots of amazing photos and it is incredible what people think up in an attempt to get into the book.

It is arranged by categories , of which some are…Zany zones, Way Cool!, Creature features and Spooky tales.

Check it out at the Library. It sits right next to the Guinness Book of World Records and makes up part of our non-fiction area in the Children’s area.

There are lots of cool books to help fill in the school holidays. Come in and check out them

Don’t Judge a book by it’s cover!! This is so true about Last Resort.  The cover is appalling. 

A Missing child: Carissa Cooper, twelve, vanishes near her home - abducted, possibly by someone close to her.

A woman in crisis: Noelle Cooper comes back home to help search for her cousin and steps into a web of secrets. A man of faith: Nathan Trask, Noelles childhood friend, will do anything to protect Noelle from danger.

A lot happens in this book, but it keeps you on your toes.  A great read, I really loved reading it and can’t wait to read another by this author. 

reviewed by Dianne

For the men who enjoy Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum, there is a new writer of that genre, James Phelan. Patriot act is a fast-paced action-filled story.

September 11 changed how the world reacts to acts of terrorism. The U.S. Patriot Act gives greater authority to surveillance of individuals suspected of acts of violence.

Ex-navy operative and investigative journalist Lachlan Fox uncovers a trail of lies and corruption and cover-ups at top level government. It is a race against time.

This is a book which would translate onto the big screen, and is well worth a read.

“I was conceived in a bath in Norfolk in September 1946. How do I know? Well, my  mother told me. As she put it, they were all rather exhausted after the war and there weren’t many opportune occasions”
This is the opening paragraph of Spilling the beans by Clarissa Dickson Wright

When Two fat ladies hit the television screens they revolutionized cooking and travelling the English countryside by motorbike and sidecar.

We were all sorry when Jennifer Paterson passed away and with it the demise of the popular programme.

Here is the story of the “other” Fat Lady – Clarissa Dickson Wright.

This is a wonderfully funny and sad biography of a woman who  has battled her demons throughout her life -  a fractured childhood, successful barrister, drunk and then a household name and with it the pressures of stardom.

A truly honest and harrowing account of her early life gives you an insight into the person she has become. She is a woman who lives life to the fullest.

This story is chock-full of famous names and events.

 It was finally the cooking which has brought her success, sobriety and peace.

 This book makes up one of a tremendous range of biographies and autobiographies found in the Mosgiel Library.

A prisoner of birth  by Jeffrey Archer. This is Archer at his best. It was in the “Kane and Abel” and “Sons of fortune” vein.

Danny Cartwright is wrongfully convicted of the death of his best friend on the day he celebrates his engagement to Beth Wilson.

Facing 22 years of prison, he despairs for his future. He is befriended by his cellmate and learn to read and write and this opens up a new world to him.

The novel is split into the five stages of Danny’s life. From incarceration to release, to revenge and then finally redemption.

This 500-page novel was a real page-turner and I thoroughly recommend it.

Reviewed by Fiona

The latest issue of Dunedin Public Libraries publication The Word has been released.

We hope you enjoy the new-look graphic redesign of this publication.

As always it’s packed full of reviews, new book lists, library news and more.

Grab a copy today from your nearest public library or visit our website to download a .pdf version to read online.

Drawing on her vast knowledge of Shakespeare and Elizabethan times, Germaine Greer has written a scholarly but very interesting book on Ann Hathaway. She forms a picture that is quite different from the accepted view of Ann’s place in Shakespeare’s life.

Instead of an older (26) woman seducing a handsome young (1 Shakespeare, a hateful marriage and time spent mostly apart, Greer puts the few known facts firmly in the perspective of the times.

She portrays Ann as an intelligent, independent woman who runs the family home and business, and raises the children in her husband’s absence.

I did skim through some of this, especially the quotes, but I recommend Shakespeare’s Wife to anyone who enjoys history, Shakespeare and/or Greer’s witty style of writing.

Whether the title shocks or amuses you, this book is well worth reading. This really entertaining Australian adventure won the 2003 Australian Popular Fiction competition and though it does stretch the boundaries of reality at times, it is about a man having a mid-life crisis!!!

Martin Carter has a complete meltdown on his 50th birthday. Redundancy, danger, bitter truths, intrigue and romance, this book contains aspects that appeal to any adult reader.

Fat, Fifty & F***ed includes philosophical ideas about coffee, truck stop breakfasts, brown suede shoes, cancer and relationships. I feel this is a story written for film.

The latest issue of Childrens Choice has been published and contains a good list of books for kids spanning fiction, non-fiction, picture books as well as news updates from staff working in the childrens area.

Read the latest issue (.pdf) online today.