eBooks for Newcastle Region Library Members

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Newcastle Region Library members can read a variety of eBooks at home or elsewhere 24 hours a day.

You just need internet access and your library card - library membership is free.

Use the widget above to search dinosaurs, aptitude & psychometric tests, climate change, recipes, fashion, body adornment, Ancient Greece and pop art (just to name a few subjects we cover).

You will need to type your library card number in when prompted.

Many titles are suitable for children as well as adults.

For assistance, phone the reference staff at Information & Research Centre on 4974 5340

or send a question via:

ASK a Librarian: http://nrl.altarama.com/reft120.aspx 

Visit Newcastle Region Library's Catalogue and Website.

Inside WikiLeaks: my time with Julian Assange at the World's Most Dangerous Website

Author: Daniel Domscheit-Berg (translated from German by Jefferson Chase)

Publication Date: 2011

Category: Adult non-fiction

Who'll want to read it? Anyone interested in Julian Assange and the WikiLeaks phenomenon.

Classic line: "Never in my life have I known such an extreme person as Julian Assange. So imaginative. So energetic. So brilliant. So paranoid, so power-hungy, so megalomanic." pg 3.

What's it all about? In the Prologue the author relates that Julian Assange wrote an introduction to a recent set of leaks named "Cablegate". The leak "illustrated the contradictions between public appearances and what goes on behind closed doors. People, he asserted, have a right to know what happens behind the scenes."  In response, Daniel Domscheit-Berg states "You can't put it any better than that. And it's high time to look behind the curtains of WikiLeaks itself." You might like to read this before Julian's biography comes out later this year. Newcastle Region Library holds several copies. If you would like to reserve a copy visit or phone one of our branches.

Publisher: Crown Publishers

Visit Newcastle Region Library's Catalogue and Website.

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, Book 1: The Mysterious Howling

Author: Maryrose Wood  
                  
Illustrator: Jon Klassen

Publication Date: 2010                     
Category: Children's book

Who'll want to read it? Primary school girls & grown up girls who think it might have been fun to attend the well regarded "Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females". Also if you enjoyed Jen Storer's Tensy Farlow and the Home for Mislaid Children or Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Point of no return: I admired 15 year old Miss Penelope Lumley's pluckiness from the very start and wanted to stay with her on her journey: "... Miss Lumley was far more awake than she wished to be. Had she really said something about bandits? She had seen cats fall clumsily from windowsills and then walk off as if nothing had happened; this, Miss Lumley realized, was her wisest course of action. Best not to mention the bandits, ever again." Pg 3.

Classic Line: ' "If I can provide them with a fraction of the steady care that Swanburne and Miss Mortimer have given me, then all will be well," she thought, before blurting: "Dear me, Cassiopeia, mind your dress! I realize it may be faster to go on all fours, but I think you will find your stockings will last longer at the knee if you walk upright. Here, allow me to demonstrate." ' Pg 65.


What's it all about? The very proper and determined Miss Penelope Lumley arrives at Ashton Place for her first job as a governess. An air of mystery surrounds both Miss Lumley's past as well as the origin of her three charges. Alexander, Beowulf and Cassiopeia appear to have been raised by wolves and delight in nipping, barking, howling and chasing squirrels. It is the job of Miss Lumley (or Lumawoo as the children take to calling her) to convert the children into socially acceptable people. The children are of course adorable and I found myself wanting to reach into the book to give "Cassawoof" a big hug. There is lots of lovely irony concerning the display of "civilised" behaviour within the walls of Ashton Place, especially at the Christmas Day party. I have found myself craving cinnamon scented Plum Cakes since I read this book, so I'm off now to find a suitable recipe.

Publisher: Balzer + Bray (An imprint of HarperCollins)

Visit Newcastle Region Library's Catalogue and Website.

Do you remember the Freedom Ride - Australian style?

Well it is on again - 12th February - 26th February, 2011 Forty-one years ago a group of 29 students form Sydney University set out on a road trip around the countryside in New South Wales, Australia. Their aim was to raise awareness of issues affecting indigenous people, especially discrimination and racism. The trip around the outback and coastal towns drew a growing media coverage, after fiery incidents were reported in town after town wherever the road trip stopped. The freedom ride was led by a young and passionate student leader named Charles Perkins. By the time the trip had finished, he was known around the country as a new style advocate for Aboriginal rights. Tomorrow, a group of 30 young people are setting off again to re-tracing the original 2,300km journey made in 1965. They will be finishing up at Newcastle, NSW on the 26th February, 2011. They will be carrying a message stick and recording their journey along the way. They will interview elders in the communities that they visit to see what things have changed in the intervening years. Why not say hello if you see them? The Information and Research Centre library has a book called 'Freedom Ride' by Ann Curthoys. Ann was one of the original riders.

You can borrow the book from Wallsend District Library. For more information about the Freedom Ride see the website at: Freedom Ride website and: Central Coast Youth Connections website Visit Newcastle Region Library's Catalogue and Website.

And the Pursuit of Happiness

Author & Illustrator: Maira Kalman

Publication Date: 2010

Category: Whimsical, artistic, creative and poetic non-fiction

Who'll want to read it? Anyone who thinks Abraham Lincoln would have made a great boyfriend.

Point of no return: If you are like me, you will be hooked from the very first page. I saw the Maira Kalman interviewed on "The Colbert Report" and had to read it. View the interview and I think you will be charmed into reading it also.

Classic line: "All of this history makes me want to embrace Lincoln and bring him into my world. I imagine us walking around New York. We would go straight to the Museum of Modern Art. Maybe we would look at self-portraits by Frida Kahlo. Would he be fascinated by a female artist with a unibrow and mustache flaunting her sexuality and visions? I think so." pg 83-85

What's it all about? It's an illustrated history lesson and love letter to all that is good in the USA. It doesn't skip over the bad bits, but makes you think about things without being confronted or horribly depressed. You don't even need to read this book to enjoy it, the illustrations and photos are so delicious. If you would like to borrow a copy contact the lovely staff at Newcastle Region Library - 02 4974 5344.

Publisher: The Penguin Press

Visit Newcastle Region Library's Catalogue and Website.