Film: The Public, written & directed by Emilio Estevez

When this film was first announced, I'm sure like me, other librarians across the globe were full of anticipation, albeit slightly skeptical, about a library themed feature film. It was a film which, on the surface, seemed to promise a behind-the-scenes glimpse of reality that we could point at and say 'That! that's what libraries are really like' to everyone who doesn't get it - humanity, in all it's states of undress, not just books and cardigans. 

Life happens and finally this week I got around to watching the DVD. Let me say, do not be put off by the opening sequence, which is an old school recruitment advertisement for librarians. Do not be put off because the edgy, winter grim and a cast of imperfect characters quickly reveal this is no library biopic, instead it's a film that questions, holds up a mirror to discrimination, and frustrates with the way that agendas and power play out, instead of compassion and basic human dignity.

At times I watched with a sense of dread at how events were going to end - essentially the story revolves around a group of homeless men, who with no where else to go refuse to leave the library in the middle of a bitterly cold winter, staging a sit-in protest. It's their library too after all (an interesting theme of democracy raises it's head). There are moments where the tension feels ready to explode and resonates with current BLM protests going on around the globe. However, the film a little too conveniently avoids this eventuating, and this is my only criticism. A few cliches here and there are easily forgiven, but the full punch this film could pack is reduced somewhat by its wrapped up ending. Although, with a top-notch cast and engaging story-line, importantly this thought provoking film triggered a fair amount of discussion afterwards at my place and really, that's the outcome Estevez may have been aiming for. All things considered, I rate this movie 3.75 stars. Well worth watching. 

Catalogue DVD Link here         

Reviewed by Jaime

   

Harry Potter: Revisited

I am not ashamed to admit it, I am 25 and I LOVE Harry Potter.

Over the years, admittedly more in recent years, many people have given me the side eye when I proclaim my love for all things Potter. Some have even gone as far as telling me that they feel sorry for me! An adult who liked to read kids’ books?

Sorry for ME? Here are the reasons why I don't feel sorry for me.

Harry Potter has been my constant companion since the Christmas my brother and I received The Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets. I believe I was 8. What started as a bed time read-aloud quickly became an all-out war over who would be allowed to read the next chapter first, once lights were meant to be out, of course. That year also brought my first Harry Potter party. It wouldn't be my last!

Over the years I have visited Hogwarts, the Burrow, Hogsmead and Diagon Alley enough that I know them like the back of my hand. I know Ron and Hermione well enough to know that we would be great friends (I always felt that a fourth friend named Kristen was needed). I know that if I had received my owl inviting me to attend Hogwarts I would be in Ravenclaw… but we all know how unreliable owl post is these days.

I remember the summer at the end of high school where my best friend and I had a race to see who could read the whole series the fastest, back to front, because what better way is there? The online Harry Potter quizzes we would take, just to make sure there was nothing we didn’t know.

Don’t even get me started on the madhouse our house became when a new Harry Potter book was released! Mum had to buy AT LEAST two copies to help meet the household demand. Over the next few days there would be a house full of tired, grump kids (and adults) who were all too afraid to shower, use the bathroom or go to sleep because the minute they put the book down it would be snapped up by other family members who were circling like wolves. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was the first book that kept me up all night, there was no way I was letting it out of my sight until it was finished!

As I sit here listening to my Harry Potter audiobook, colouring in my Harry Potter colouring book reminiscing over my recent 25th birthday (Harry Potter themed of course) I feel very lucky. At a young age I discovered a series of books that hooked me. I discovered a series of books that grew as I did. I discovered early on that any book can be enjoyed by anyone of any age and that there is nothing wrong with that.

Books we got (and gave) for Christmas

Working at a library, you might think we see enough books to last a lifetime, and that receiving them as gifts is a bit of a busman’s holiday. Not for us! We really can’t get enough of them and we think we have the best job in the world; working in a library is like being a kid in a sweet shop so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that most of us here found at least one book in our stockings come Christmas morn, and we gave as good as we got!

The sleuth

Judith is in mystery mode this month, having used a gift voucher to pick up a copy of Wolf Winter by Ceclila Ekback – a chilly, Nordic mystery that looked interesting and a nice respite from the heat of summer. It is set in 1700s Lapland; a family of settlers arrive to eek a living out of a bleak and inhospitable climate, when the 14 year old daughter stumbles upon a body. The death is put down to mauling by wolves, but young Frederikia and her mother aren’t so sure and set out to find out the truth. Judith liked the eerie and atmospheric look of the story, plus the writing is good, vividly drawing you in. She also bought an eBook online, the first in The Detective’s Daughter series by Lesley Thompson. We have one of the later books at the Libraries' and it looked so good, Judith wanted to read this one first. It’s pretty good too – quirky peculiar amateur detective who decides to solve the case that obsessed her late father.

Catalogue Link: The Detective's Secret

The gastronome

This wasn’t strictly a gift but I’ve included it anyway as it was given at Christmas – even if Carla had to arrange it herself! A lover of modern gastronomy, both cooking and eating out, a subscription to Cuisine magazine was the perfect self-indulgent present for our Carla who loves both fine dining and good kai at home. Cuisine features try-at-home recipes and restaurant reviews and is available to borrow free of charge from the Hastings District Libraries.

Catalogue Link: Cuisine

The humanitarian

Kristen is the Childrens Librarian at Hastings War Memorial Library and always has a smile on her face and a kind word for anyone. She was given the Humans of New York storybook for Christmas which is filled with inspirational people with often heart-breaking (but uplifting) stories to tell. In 2010 photographer Brandon Stanton set out to create a photographic census of New York City. Armed with his camera, he began crisscrossing the city, covering thousands of miles on foot, all in an attempt to capture New Yorkers and their stories. The result of these efforts was a vibrant blog he called Humans of New York. If you haven’t come across this phenomenon yet, take a look at the Facebook page. Humans of New York is available to download free of charge as an eBook from Hastings District Libraries.

Catalogue Link: Humans of New York

The neophyte

I call myself a lifelong learner. I’m always into something new and I’m forever studying some topic or other. I’m also a very keen traveller but I am, however, a terrible photographer. I even bought myself a bridge camera last year in the belief that it was my tiny point-and-shoot that was letting me down. It turned out not to be my equipment but rather my lack of talent that was holding me back (“a bad workman blames his tools” and all that). So I was pretty chuffed to receive not only a copy of Cities: Explore 100 Fascinating and Iconic Cities by Falko Brenner, but the very practical Complete Photography Manual by Weldon Owen, which promises to turn me into the next David Bailey, or at least Instagram-superstar Taylor Swift. Hastings District Libraries holds large collections of both travel guides and photography how-to manuals available to borrow.

Catalogue Link: Travel guides
Catalogue Link: Photography Manuals

The baker

Viv, our Assistant Customer Services Team Leader, is an enthusiastic cook and loves whipping up puddings, pies and cakes for her delighted family and colleagues. She did actually receive a few cook books as presents but she gave a few as well! She chose Simon & Alison Holst’s Everyday Easy cookbooks as gifts for all FOUR of her sons as a sort of tongue-in-cheek present, but it turns out they love them! Everyday Easy is designed to help you prepare healthy, delicious food everyday with easy to follow recipes, ideas and inspiration, and all with affordable, readily available ingredients. We have an enormous collection of Simon and Alison Holst’s brilliant cook books at Hastings District Libraries.

Catalogue Link: Simon Holst books

The fanatic

If you’ve been keeping an eye on our microvlog series, you might have spotted Kim, the Local History Librarian at Havelock North Library, giving his opinion on Jerome Kaino’s autobiography. Kim’s reading habits reveal he’s a total fanatic who can’t get enough of the game, as he received not one but three books about rugby. First up is Sir Graham Henry celebrates The World Cups 1987 to 2015, by Sir Graham himself. Kim has always wanted to read this as he was fascinated by the World Cup. A slightly left-field entry, but rugby-themed nonetheless, was Rugby Pantry: Healthy Measures and Guilty Pleasures by Daisy Dagg, the wife of All Black Israel Dagg. It’s an awesome cookbook of great rugby food. Kim’s final (for now!) rugby read was Dan Carter’s My Story. Another book on Kim’s wish list, Dan was an awesome All Black and the book is a great read which showed us what makes him tick and the mischief he got up to as a child and an All Black. All three books are available to borrow from Hastings District Libraries.

Catalogue Link: Sir Graham Henry celebrates The World Cups! 1987 to 2015
Catalogue Link: Rugby Pantry: Healthy Measures and Guilty Pleasures
Catalogue Link: Dan Carter: My Story

The eclectic

Katrina, one of our Library Assistants at Havelock North Library, also chose to give Dan Carter’s My Story to the man in her life (for the gossips among you… this is not Kim!). He loves rugby but will only read one or two books a year so this was an inspired gift. Katrina’s 12 year old requested the YA classic, The Maze Runner by James Dashner after a friend recommended it, which sent Katrina on a treasure hunt of her own, only tracking down a copy after visiting her third book shop. After all this excitement, Katrina treated herself to a couple of self-indulgent reads. First off, the best-selling Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith. This is a great series and so far, in Katrina’s opinion, this one is the best yet. Lastly, she picked up a copy of Homemade Happiness by Chelsea Winter, a cookbook which has the most amazing looking custard square recipe which she is attempting this weekend! Again, all three books are available to borrow from Hastings District Libraries.

Catalogue Link: The Maze Runner
Catalogue Link: Career of Evil
Catalogue Link: Homemade Happiness

A tale of woe: books wounded in action

In the season of goodwill, spare a thought for those books which fail to make it through life without the occasional mishap; from the all-too-common drink spill to the lesser-spotted animal attack, we’ve compiled a tongue-in-cheek list of some of the rich pickings to be had amongst the great returns bin in the sky…

It’s worth pointing out that some of these mishaps happened to members of staff, so don’t feel too bad!

Water damage and spilt drinks

By far the most common scenario we come across when books are returned with damage is through exposure to water, often in the form of drinks bottles inside bags. The condensation on the outside of the bottle can seep into the book causing the pages to wrinkle, crease and become brittle when they dry out. Sticky soft drinks can also cause pages to stick together which rip when opened. One way to avoid this is to keep your books in a separate carrier bag when you need to transport them.

Left outside

Almost as common, and as unlikely as it sounds, we see quite a few books that have been left outside and been exposed to all the NZ weather gods can throw at them. This has the same effect as spilling drinks as pages get wet and then become fragile when they dry out. If the book is not allowed to dry, it may become moldy which presents a health risk to the reader. The other problem with leaving them outside is that rain water is not very clean so the books are exposed to salt and pollutants trapped in raindrops. We’ve also had the occasional book returned with slug trails on it!

Washed!

Accidents happen, and once in a while we see a book that’s definitely been through the ringer! Books can get bundled up into laundry if they’re near the bed, or put down absently-mindedly near the washing machine. Sadly, these books are well beyond repair – and identification as well! A tumble in the machine isn’t the only way to clean up a book… we hear of plenty of books that have taken a dunk in the tub at bath time along with their readers.

Repairs

We love that our customers love our books as much as we do, but if a books is damaged while out on loan please don’t be tempted to repair it yourself. Sticky tape can cause lasting damage when the acid in the glue seeps into the pages of the book. At the libraries we use special, acid-free tape to repair small tears and we have staff that are specially trained in the repair and restoration of books.

Too much love

Books can often be more than just a way to pass the time; some become treasured objects that invoke powerful feelings and memories in the reader. Some are handed down through the family and some are constant companions, read and re-read over and again. It’s these books which suffer from too much love as they become worn and weary, and tattered and torn.

My dog/little brother ate it!

More often heard in classrooms around the country, we’ve seen the odd dog-eared book come across our desk. Sadly most of these books are irreparable and we have no choice to but to dispose of them and replace them.