Saturday, May 28, 2016

Wonderful winter reads

The colder weather has finally arrived and our libraries have some brilliant reads to curl up with this winter. You can reserve items on our online catalogue, or call in to a branch for a browse. New titles are arriving all the time, making for a wonderful winter of reading!



The Addisons - Julia and Tonio, ten-year-old Dewey, and Uncle Robbie - are driving home after collecting Robbie from yet another trip to rehab. When a terrifying blizzard strikes outside the town of Good Night, Idaho, they seek refuge at the Travelers Rest, a formerly opulent but now crumbling hotel.
With nowhere else to go, they decide to stay the night. But once inside, the family becomes separated and the hotel begins to work its eerie magic. As Julia and Tonio drift through the maze of the hotel's spectral interiors, Dewey ventures outside. Meanwhile, a desperate Robbie quickly succumbs to his old vices. As they desperately try to reach each other, they relive the same day over and over again. The mother, Julia, holds the key to their release - but can she save her family from the fate of becoming Souvenirs - those citizens trapped forever in Good Night - or, worse, from disappearing entirely?



Aisling, a goddess in human form, was born to rule both domains and--with her twin, Anya--unite the Celts with the powerful faeries of the Middle Kingdom. But within medieval Ireland interests are divided, and far from its shores greater forces are mustering. Both England and Rome have a stake in driving magic from the Emerald Isle. Jordan, the Vatican commander tasked with vanquishing the remnants of otherworldly creatures from a disenchanted Europe, has built a career on such plots. But increasingly he finds himself torn between duty and his desire to understand the magic that has been forbidden.
As kings prepare, exorcists gather, and divisions widen between the warring clans of Ireland, Aisling and Jordan must come to terms with powers given and withheld, while a world that can still foster magic hangs in the balance. Loyalties are tested, betrayals sown, and the coming war will have repercussions that ripple centuries later, in today's world--and in particular for a young graduate student named Sara Hill.
The Last Days of Magic introduces us to unforgettable characters who grapple with quests for power, human frailty, and the longing for knowledge that has been made taboo. Mark Tompkins has crafted a remarkable tale--a feat of world-building that poses astonishing and resonant answers to epic questions.



What would you do if your ex-con father suddenly came to visit...indefinitely? Family drama ensues when Nicki's dad unexpectedly wants to move in with her, her son, and her boyfriend in this comedic novel from successful TV writer Tracy McMillan.
Nicki Daniels owns a home appraisal business, but real estate is her true passion: she lives for open houses and really knows her way around a floor plan. And especially at this juncture of her life, real estate has come to signify the stability she is trying to build with her teenage son, Cody, and her much younger boyfriend, Jake. She's finally ready to find the perfect house for the three of them and work on a new business venture with Jake that she thinks will jump-start their lives together.
Meanwhile, Ronnie, a longtime inmate at a nearby correctional facility, is getting some good news for once--there was a mistake in his sentencing, and he's eligible to get out of prison. Ronnie decides his best option to avoid homelessness is to move in with his estranged daughter: Nicki. Even though they haven't spoken in years, her door is always open to him, right?
Imbued with wit and profound insight into relationships, Multiple Listings speaks poignantly--and often hilariously--about the ties that bind families of all types together



Back to Moscow is a dazzlingly original, witty and ultimately haunting debut. Months after his arrival in Moscow, doctoral student Martin hasn't written a word of his thesis on the heroines of the Russian classics because, for him and his expat friends, the cheap, bright lure of nightclubs, vodka and real women is predictably hard to resist. It's the early 2000s and the city is storming into the twenty-first century - the grim old soviet certainties are fading as money and an assertive political elite rise to power. Martin finds himself torn between opposing sensibilities: on the one hand, the limpid appeal of Lena, and her insistence on the Mysterious Russian Soul; on the other, that of his research supervisor Lyudmila Aleksandrovna, diligent, serious, caught in the shadow of a soviet past. Can the fates of Anna Karenina, Pushkin's Tatyana or Chekhov's three sisters help him understand the women in his life? Martin's restless explorations turn into a half-grasped search for meaning as Moscow leads him to dark and unexpected places tinged by Russia's ever-present sense of impending tragedy.




Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Listen to something different



Discover classical music, jazz and opera with Naxos Music Online, Newcastle Library's new music streaming service. Naxos includes thousands of recordings both traditional and new, along with biographies, cover notes and opera story lines.

Library members can access the service with a password, just phone 4974 5340 or contact us online for details . Sessions are limited so please logout when you have finished listening to a recording.

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Good news for creative people

Newcastle Library's digital magazine collection has expanded to include even more art, design and popular culture titles.


PressReader now features Collective Hub, Art Almanac and Cosmos along side Computer Arts, 3D World, Italian and French Vogue, Mojo, hooray and hundreds more magazines. These titles can be read online via the library's emagazines webpage using your library card or visit a Newcastle Library branch or the Civic Digest Cafe and use the free wi fi to open the PressReader app and activate seven days of free magazine downloads.



New to the Zinio digital magazine collection are The New Yorker and Artist Profile. They join titles such as Dumbo Feather, Juxtapozed, Yen and Architecture Australia. To download from the Zinio collection go to the library's emagazines webpage and register a Zinio account with your library card.

Soak up what's new in colour, text and design now.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

eSafetyWomen - Taking control of technology




With a disturbing increase in the use of technology to harass and stalk Australian women, a new initiative -eSafetyWomen- has been launched by the Office of the eSafety Commissioner to help inform and empower women to take control of technology.

The site focuses on knowing how to use technology safely to maintain privacy, socialising online and what to do if you are experiencing harassment.

eSafetyWomen will continue to be updated with new information and resources as they become available.


Wednesday, May 04, 2016

Happy Star Wars Day!


It's no surprise Star Wars fans have declared 4th May to be Star Wars Day, taking one of the most popular movie quotes of all time ("May the force be with you") and transforming it into a pun (May the fourth) that fans worldwide use to celebrate possibly the most loved space opera of all time.

The first recorded use of "May the Fourth Be With You" dates back to 1979, 2 years after the original Star Wars installment was released, when a London paper used the phrase to congratulate Margaret Thatcher's election as British Prime Minister on the 4th May. Now, the day is used by fans to celebrate and binge on all things Star Wars and there is no lack of resources to get your fix - the official Star Wars universe comprises not only the 7 movies released thus far, but animated series, books, graphic novels and games. There are plenty of great spin offs to get into as well, such as the hilarious Lego Star Wars movies - in particular check out 'The Padawan Menace' and 'The Empire Strikes Out'. Plenty more from the Star Wars universe can be found on the Newcastle Region Library catalogue. If that's still not enough to keep you going, you only need to wait until the end of the year for the new movie 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' to be released.



As Star Wars canon is ever expanding, you'd be forgiven for losing track of characters and their relationships to each other. There are some great online resources to help you navigate this galaxy of intrigue including Wookieepedia, a Star Wars encyclopedia
contributed to and edited by fans.

And if one day of celebrating Star Wars isn't enough for you, you can carry on tomorrow and celebrate the 'Revenge of the Fifth' ;-).


JennieH, May the Fourth, 2016


Visit Newcastle Region Library's Catalogue and Website.

Monday, May 02, 2016

New in the eLibrary - My Career Match




One of the secrets to a successful career is matching your personal style to a career that you love.

My Career Match  is a free online career and resume tool for Library members. Just login with your Library card and complete a 15 minute survey. You will then receive a personalised report describing the careers best suited to you. Career information is linked to an Australian Government website that provides up to date information on education requirements, employment opportunities and more. The resume report provides tips, templates and an online resume builder to help you secure the job you want.

My Career Match and other great resources for learning are located in the Search area of our  eLibrary.