"Books were a friend to anyone who opened them." ~ from LaShonda Katrice Barrett's Jam on the Vine
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We'd like to know what you think... - How do you rate Christchurch City Libraries?
- What are we doing well?
- What can we do better?
The survey is open between 1 April - 17 May 2015.
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New and Recently Released!
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| A touch of stardust: A novel by Kate AlcottAs (fake) Atlanta burns, Julie Crawford gets fired by film director David O. Selznick. Julie, an aspiring screenwriter from Indiana, finds work in California on the set of Gone With the Wind before becoming the personal assistant of movie star Carole Lombard. Julie's backstage access gives her a front row seat to the blossoming love affair between Lombard and Clark Gable, recently cast as Rhett Butler. Witnessing a burgeoning scandal (Gable's married) that could derail the stars' careers as well as a troubled shoot that's constantly over-budget and behind schedule, Julie quickly discovers the chaos and heartbreak beneath Hollywood's glittering facade. |
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| The strangler vine by M.J. CarterWith his sensational writings, English expatriate Xavier Mountstuart scandalised polite society even before he went missing in 1837 Calcutta while (rumor has it) investigating the notorious thuggee organisation. However, the city is also the home base of the East India Company, which effectively controls the entire Indian subcontinent. Into this politically charged situation stumbles William Avery, an ensign tasked with accompanying intelligence operative Jeremiah Blake on a mission to rescue Mountstuart. Far from being, in Avery's words, "some tragic, leprous, broken-down creature...too opium-added to collect his own pension," Blake -- though admittedly eccentric -- is a brilliant investigator whose facility for languages, disguises, and navigating different strata of society introduces Avery to an India he never imagined, full of peril as well as beauty. |
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| The siege winter: A novel by Ariana Franklin and Samantha NormanSet during the 12th-century war of succession between Empress Matilda and King Stephen -- rival claimants to the English throne -- this novel focuses on ordinary individuals caught up in extraordinary circumstances. Mercenary and arbalist Gwilherm de Vannes rescues peasant girl Em from a brutal assault; Em disguises herself as a boy and becomes apprentice archer Penda as the pair hunts down her attackers. Their paths soon cross that of 16-year-old Maud of Kenniford, reluctant wife to an ailing lord, who offers her castle as safe haven to Empress Matilda and soon finds herself and her household in the midst of a siege. Begun by the late Ariana Franklin and completed by her daughter, Samantha Norman, this suspenseful, intricately plotted novel stands on its own but is loosely connected to Franklin's Adelia Aguilar series (beginning with Mistress of the art of death). |
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Gutenberg's apprentice
by Alix Christie
Summoned home to Mainz, Germany, by his adoptive father, master scribe Peter Schoeffer becomes the apprentice of Johannes Gutenberg, who's covertly developing a system of movable metal type. Charged with keeping an eye on the wily, unpredictable Gutenberg, Peter initially chafes at his father’s orders but soon recognizes the world-changing potential of Gutenberg’s press when they begin work on an ambitious project: a printed Bible. But in a 15th-century Europe characterized by economic troubles, political unrest, and religious reform, bringing their masterpiece to completion will require back-breaking labour, utter secrecy, and (most importantly) preventing the reckless Gutenberg from sabotaging his own life’s work.
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| Sharpe's tiger: Richard Sharpe and the siege of Seringapatam, 1799 by Bernard CornwellA less-than-heroic infantryman in the British Army's 33rd Regiment of Foot, private Richard Sharpe is contemplating desertion with the widow of a fallen comrade when his actions earn him a court martial and a sentence of 2,000 lashes. One of Sharpe's superiors intervenes and halts the punishment, but only to give the disgraced soldier a dangerous assignment. Sharpe must masquerade as a member of Tipu Sultan's army, infiltrate the besieged city of Mysore, and establish contact with a Scottish spy. Set during the Seige of Seringapatam in 1799, this is the 1st book in the long-running Richard Sharpe series. Although the action eventually shifts to Europe's battlefields, this novel and its immediate sequels, Sharpe's triumph and Sharpe's fortress, take place in India. |
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| Jack Absolute: A novel by C.C. HumphreysA character in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's classic 1775 comedy The Rivals comes to life in this fast-paced, action-packed tale of a British soldier's experiences during the American Revolution. A handsome rogue with a "talent for trouble," Jack is equally skilled on the battlefield and in the bedroom. Like George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman books, Jack Absolute combines adventure and comedy as it follows a smart, swashbuckling scoundrel and his Mohawk friend Até as they skirmish with enemies, infiltrate secret societies, and (narrowly) survive all manner of sticky situations. For more, check out the novel's sequel, Absolute Honour, as well as its prequel, The Blooding of Jack Absolute. |
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| Captain Alatriste by Arturo Pérez-ReverteCaptain Alatriste is a mercenary in 17th-century Spain, offering his skills as a swordsman (and, let's face it, an assassin) to the highest bidder. In this swashbuckling series opener, a group of mysterious masked men have hired Alatriste to kill a pair of visiting Englishmen. However, when Alatriste elects not to go through with the assassination, his decision angers his employers and soon the sellsword finds himself fending off threats from all sides. Full of action and adventure as well as rich historical detail, Captain Alatriste is a "pleasure of swash, buckle and atmosphere" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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