The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Carrie Ryan's young adult novel, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, is perhaps one of the most extraordinary works I’ve read all year. This horror novel is remarkably literate and astonishingly well-paced. Somehow Ryan manages to balance an unusual setting

and circumstance – an isolated village – with conflicted relationships giving an enormous level of tension to the book. And, though it’s amazingly well done, it’s a zombie novel, even if the word “zombie” is never used in the text. Actually, the unconsecrated, as they are known, provide a somewhat evil backdrop to the controlling religious order which governs life in the village. Be prepared – the novel is harrowing and intense, and a great character and relationship study.

SM's pick

Mass Effect 2In a year full of great game

releases, Mass Effect 2 for the Xbox 360 stands out from the

crowd. No, it doesn’t just stand out - it puts a mass accelerated

metal slug at near light speed through their pathetic game-

of-the-year aspirations.

After the climactic conclusion (read: EPIC SPACE BATTLE! PEWPEW!!!) of the first game, Mass Effect 2 is set two years following the destruction of the alien Reaper ‘Sovereign’. You reprise the role of Commander Shepard, now sent on a make-work patrol to the far edge of the galaxy where you have a fatal encounter with an alien race called The Collectors.

Without completely spoiling what happens next, through a series of missions you will build a team of specialists for a suicide mission against the enemy stronghold. The game is built around character development, exploration and we can’t forget the very fun, VERY explosive combat. Who doesn’t love nuclear fuelled hand cannons?

Mass Effect has better writing and story than a lot of big budget movies, and if you own an Xbox 360 you owe it to yourself to give it a try. You won’t regret it!

HB’s pick

Did you Know? - Matarki - Writers Read - Volunteer Awareness Week

Warm Wishes - Get Well Bags

Off the Beaten Path - Local Papers Past Online

What's New - Medianet

Staff Picks

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Palmerston North City LibraryPO Box 19484 The SquarePalmerston North

Phone: (06) 351 4100 Renewals: (06) 351 4101 Email: pncl@pncc.govt.nz

Monday 10am – 6pm Tuesday 10am – 6pm Wednesday 10am – 8pm Thursday 10am – 6pm Friday 10am – 8pm Saturday 10am – 4pm Sunday 1pm – 4pm

Branch Hours M-W-F 10am – 1pm & 2pm – 5pm T-Th 2pm – 5pm Sat 10am – 1pm During Daylight Saving - Friday 5pm – 6pm

Ashhurst Community LibraryCnr Cambridge & Bamfield StreetsPhone & Fax: (06) 326 8646

Awapuni Branch LibraryCollege Street Shopping CentrePhone & Fax: (06) 356 7634

Te PātikitikiMonrad Park, Highbury AvenuePhone: (06) 357 2108

Roslyn Branch Library8 Kipling StreetPhone: (06) 357 9287

Mobile LibraryPlease see website or leaflet for timetable

Website

“to inspire people to explore the pathways to the world - te ara whanui o te ao”

www.citylibrary.pncc.govt.nz

medianet The Film Archive is home to hundreds of thousands of moving images from New Zealand’s past including:

WHAT'

S NEW

In the Sound and Vision Zone at the Central Library we have two medianet terminals, which give quick access to this huge range of films.

It’s fast and free. Just point and click to browse hours of footage.

home moviesnewsreels

documentaries

television commercials

feature and short filmstelevision programmes

music videos

Free access to items in the Film Archive’s film and video collections is provided through medianet, a computer-based digital video resource. You can search the catalogue, browse the collection by category, decade, title or through descriptive tags, and view full length videos at full-screen quality.

If you have a sick child at home who needs some cheering up, give us a call. We will select a variety of

books, audiobooks, posters and DVDs for your child. Our bags are free and customisable to your

child’s interests and age.

We select, you collect.

Did

you k

now?

Local Papers Past OnlinePre 1900 copies of the Manawatu Evening Standard and the Manawatu Daily Times newspapers are now available online and are fully text searchable.

Thanks to a collaborative project between the City Library (who arranged for the papers to be re-filmed to modern archival standards, and then digitised), and the National Library (who took the digital copies and made them full text searchable and then put them online) all known surviving pre-1900 copies of both local newspapers can now be searched remotely from anywhere in the world. For the Standard, that’s covering the years 1883-1886, and for the Daily Times, 1877-1881 and 1883 -1884 .

As well as improved access, the biggest benefit is that these rare and historic papers are now fully searchable – you can enter a person’s name, an event, a business or a location and bring up all manner of articles, notices and advertisements as they appeared in the paper at the time.

It’s great for anyone interested in the early history of New Zealand, and especially of Palmerston North and the Manawatu. Family Historians who have links to the local area will also find it a boon for their research.

The two Manawatu papers join around 60 other titles currently available on the Papers Past website www.paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. The City Library is looking to work with the Papers Past team again in the near future to add some post-1900 papers.

For more digital items visit the City Library’s digital library at http://digitallibrary.pncc.govt.nz/

MatarikiThe appearance of

Matariki or Pleides

starts our new

year - it is a time to gather,

feast and to celebrate the next

year together.

Our New Year is marked by Matariki and the

sighting of the next new moon. The new moon can

be seen for the first time this year on June 14.

'Akona he pukenga hou' - Learn a new skill or

revive an old one. Matariki is a particularly

appropriate time to brush up on your reo Maori

- a few words or phrases would be a good start.

Maybe you can dust off the old guitar or piano

and learn a few tunes or enrol in a course.

You could put something back into your community.

Volunteer to help community groups or charity

organisations so they can help someone else.

Keep an eye out at our website for specific

events and happenings in the library.

Writers Read Palmerston North City Library and the Massey University School of English and Media Studies are bringing an exciting range of New Zealand writers to Palmerston North over the next four months for the Writers Read Series. The series provides an opportunity for the public to hear the best of New Zealand writers read from their work and answer questions about themselves and their writing. The series is like our very own Writers & Readers Festival here in Palmerston North. The readings will take place at the Central Library on Friday evenings at 7pm, with each event lasting

about an hour. Light refreshments will be provided from 6.30pm.

Writers Read kicks off on 11 June with Jennifer Compton, a poet and playwright who also writes prose and is the current Visiting Literary Artist at Massey University.

Jennifer will be followed by Jenny Bornholdt on National Poetry Day, 30 July, Witi Ihimaera on 20 August, and Charlotte Grimshaw on 24 September.

For more information, please contact Genny or Margaret on 351 4519, promotions@pncc.govt.nz or see www.citylibrary.pncc.govt.nz.

Volunteer Awareness Week, 20-26 JuneThis is a week to promote the work of the Library Volunteers and to acknowledge their ongoing and valuable contribution to the work of the Library, both in the Central Library and the branch libraries. For example:Volunteers contribute to the Library Home Service by selecting books

•and by delivering the book bagsVolunteers help keep the shelves tidy and material in the correct place

•Volunteers help in the City Archives to make local history materials

•more accessible

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer please contact Heather Hurrell on 351 4100 or email heather.hurrell@pncc.govt.nz

WARM WISHES

If you are not feeling well

And feel in need of care,

Think of the library get well bag

And send us a message here

Phone us on 351 4100 or fill in the online Get Well Bag form at

http://citylibrary.pncc.govt.nz/get-well-bags.html