Summer Stars runs from Tues 4 June to Sat 31 August. Get Reading! Now that school is over you can still spark your imagination, join in activities and take part in our exciting Summer Stars challenge.
It's almost a cliche at this point to say that teen fiction isn't just for teens anymore. Young adult fiction is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is targeted to teenagers, approximately half of YA readers are adults. Summer, like youth, is fleeting. But the books we read when we're young can stay with us for a lifetime. Both these titles come highly recommended for our teen readers by our colleague Eimear from the relief staff panel.Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly. It’s the moment she’s waited for – Isabelle is about to win the handsome prince. There is only one problem, Isabelle isn’t the beautiful girl who lost the glass slipper and stole the prince’s heart. No, Isabelle’s the ugly stepsister, who decided to cut off her toes in order to fit into Cinderella’s glass slipper…. which by the way is now filling with blood.When the Prince discovers the truth, Isabelle is banished, cast out in shame. But after all it’s no more that Isabelle deserves: Isabelle’s a plain girl in a world that values beauty, a feisty gir, in a kingdom that expects women to be seen but not heard. Isabelle has tried to fit in, to be just like Cinderella, but she’s not.Instead, Isabelle cuts off her toes in order to fit into a world that doesn’t accept a girl like her. A world that has made her jealous, empty and mean spirited. The is what she has been told and that is what Isabelle believes, until she gets a chance to change her destiny and prove to the world that it will take much more than heartache to break a girl. Evoking a darker, earlier version of the Cinderella story, bestselling author Jennifer Donnelly brings us a tale of empowerment, that challenges gender roles and reminds us that we all have a say in our destiny.The Red Scrolls of Magic (a Shadowhunter’s novel) New York Times bestselling author Cassandra Clare and award-winner Wesley Chu team up to bring you the first installment in this new series. It follows High Warlock Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood as they tour the world together after the Mortal War.Magnus Bane wants a holiday — more like a lavish trip around Europe, with his boyfriend Alec Lightwood of course! No sooner have the two settled in Paris when news arrives that a demon-worshipping cult called the Crimson Hand has begun causing chaos all over the world. Now Magnus and Alec must race against time to track down the Crimson hand and its new leader, before it’s too late!Watch our how-to video on Borrowbox.Access eBooks/eAudiobooks on your phone, tablet or reader. Once you have installed the app, search for Dublin in the ‘Library’ field provided and then sign in using your library membership card number and PIN.Members of other library authorities will need to access BorrowBox using a different link.
World Book Online is a suite of websites from the publishers of the famous World Book encyclopediae. Early World of Learning is for Pre-school and Junior/Senior Infants. World Book Kids is suited to Primary school students. World Book Student is designed for Secondary school students.World Book Early World of LearningWorld Book Early World of Learning is a resource for preschoolers and children in early primary. Developed with experts on early childhood education, image-based navigation helps young readers explore stories, games, videos, and interactive colouring pages for educational entertainment. There's lots of guidance for parents too with lesson ideas and how-to videos. Visit World Book Early World of Learning, all you have to do is enter your library card number. World Book KidsWorld Book Kids is the premier online resource developed especially for young students, ideal for older primary school children. The site has been optimized for tablets and features image-based navigation, easy-to-read articles, thousands of images and videos as well as a wealth of engaging games, science projects, and activities.Watch how to use tutorials and visit World Book Kids, all you have to do is enter your library card number. World Book StudentWorld Book Student is for secondary school students and includes all the articles from the print versions of the famous World Book encyclopedia, plus thousands of additional articles, learning resources, and research tools. Containing numerous tools to engage users in 21st-century education and blended-learning practices, it features responsive design, daily current events and dedicated resource guides to provide blueprints for advanced learning and college and career readiness.Watch tutorials on how to use the site and Visit World Book Student, all you have to do is enter your library card number.
The second blog post written by Transition Year student, Aisling, on recent work experience in Pearse Street Library, all about her favourite films this time.Starting off with arguably one of my favourite movies from 2019 - Elton John’s biopic, Rocketman! With arguably one of the best performances I’ve ever seen by Taron Egerton as the Pinball Wizard himself, Rocketman led me through a rollercoaster of emotions I never expected to take as we peer into the life of Reginald Dwight, now known as Elton John. I can concede that the cast album is nothing short as amazing as the film itself - it’s on constant loop on my Spotify! It’s definitely a film I’d recommend, though keep in mind it’s for 16 year olds and up!Yet another film that see’s Taron Egerton as the lead, we next have Kingsman:The Secret Service, which is the first of the two films. The story is a perfect blend of ‘gentleman spies’, British comedy and Iggy Azalea references to keep you wanting more. One of the very best things I can note about this film is how its fight scenes are filmed. I can’t help but let my jaw drop each time the Church Scene is shown! Kingsman tells the story of Eggsy Unwin, a young man who grew up in a dangerous part of England with his mum, baby stepsister and frankly horrible stepfather. He soon meets up with Harry Hart, better known through his codename of “Galahad” through yet another amazingly filmed battle scene, and eventually Eggsy finds out his father used to be part of the Secret Service of gentleman spies, and begins his journey to become one of them, despite being your stereotypical ‘chav’.I can’t go through this list without mentioning the most iconic of animated films I’ve ever seen, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse! Definitely my favourite film of 2018, Into The Spider-Verse completely changed my view on animated movies with its stylised 3-D look to its special effects, story, and spectacular soundtrack. This film tells the story of Miles Morales, a Afro-Latino fourteen year old boy who finds himself holding up his universe’s Spider-Man’s task of saving the multiverse. And let me tell you, there are plenty of Spider-Men to go around. My one and only love will always be Gwen Stacy, however. This film is definitely something I’d recommend if you’re interested in animation but want a more mature story.With its jaw-dropping stop-motion animation and beautiful story, I’m surprised no one has talked much about Kubo and the Two Strings. Kubo and the Two Strings tells the story of Kubo, a young boy, along with Monkey and Beetle (yes, that is their names), trying to find and wear his father’s legendary suit of armour in order to defeat an evil spirit. The movie also includes a chilling, more Eastern cover of The Beatles’ While My Guitar Gently Weeps by Regina Spektor. I can’t say much about the film due to spoilers, but I can say for certain that it was beautiful and stunning throughout. Alas, it’s probably one of the last feature length films the company, LAIKA Studios, will create due to low budgets.Now, call me childish, but you have to admit that The Lego Movie is actually the peak of film. I could go on and say that this film is a masterpiece, but I can already see you rolling your eyes from beyond the screen. Don’t you think I can’t. With it’s stylised CGI animation (yes! No stop-motion, minus the credits,) The Lego Movie told a timeless story behind a story through it’s fantasy world of Emmet, an ordinary individual prophesied to be the Special, and is entrusted with a huge responsibility of saving the Lego world from the cruel ways of Lord Business. And honestly? This movie is too quotable for its own good. I can’t count how many times in 2015 I found myself randomly yelling “SPACESHIP!” at the top of my lungs.
This blog is brought to you by Transition Year student, Aisling, on work experience in Pearse Street Library, and it's about her five favourite books ever. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is my favourite book series at the moment. Five of the six books books have been published so far. The Miss Peregrine’s series is perfect for those who prefer the slightly ‘cryptic’ side of fantasy with chilling photographs throughout. Even as a fan, be aware that the first book can be a bit slow as you only meet the peculiar children halfway through. The Conference of the Birds, released January 14th of this year, means that you will have to wait a very long while for the conclusion.Next we have a classic comic series that always has a special place in my heart, The Adventures of Tintin - (Volume 3). Tintin comics by Hergé are a classic. It features a reporter thrown into the craziest of situations. His trusted dog Snowy, and a sailor trying to quit alcohol, make up the unlikely trio along with a whole bunch of other zany characters. Tintin travels all over the world to solve cases.Carry On, and its sequel, Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell. Carry On asks the simple question, “what if the Chosen One absolutely sucked at their job”, then instantly delivered. Based on the ‘fiction within fiction’ story in Rowell’s other novel Fangirl, Carry On tells the story of Simon Snow and his time among fantastical wizards trying to avoid fighting the ‘Big Bad’ the entire time. Oh, did I mention his boyfriend is a vampire? Yeah, it’s a pretty cool novel, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who feels dissatisfied with the ending of Harry Potter.Comet in Moominland, or pretty much any other story in Tove Jansson’s Moomin series, is a surefire way to increase your dosage of serotonin. My source is this perfect cover. This particular installment is the second novel Jansson wrote for the Moomins and friends. The book debuts of my favourite character in the franchise - Snufkin!He’s the little fellow in red on the cover. The main plot of this story is that a comet is coming to destroy the valley the Moomins call home, and they’re off to try and stop it! It’s probably one of the more serious issues in the series.For my final novel, we’re going back to the classics with my favourite book, The Maze Runner by James Dashner.Despite similiar books like The Hunger Games or Divergent, The Maze Runner is the only one of the post apocalyptic Young Adult novels that stuck with me. I have read all five and each time I wanted more of this strange universe and the characters. I wanted to learn more about what made Cranks the way they are. This book is also half the reason I picked up a lot of strange slang. My favourite will always be the original novel, though, as it’s about a boy named after Thomas Edison who woke up in a box and ended up surrounded by a maze with a bunch of other boys for company, trying to survive.
The shortlist for the An Post Irish Book Awards 2019, features a diverse mix of exceptional writing from new and established writers across sixteen categories, including Novel of the Year, Children’s, Cookery, Crime Fiction, Popular Fiction, Nonfiction, Sports, Short Story, Poetry, Teen and Young Adult and Irish Language. Shortlisted writers include Kevin Barry, Edna O’Brien, Joseph O’Connor, Cecelia Ahern, Emma Dabiri, Fintan O’Toole, Samantha Power, Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen, Jamie Heaslip, Andrea Corr, Vicky Phelan, Diarmaid Ferriter, Sinéad Gleeson, Mary Costello, Rosita Boland, Joe Duffy and Freya McClements.The An Post Irish Book Awards 2019 Shortlist is as follows (with links to our catalogue):Eason Novel of the YearNight Boat to Tangier – Kevin Barry (Canongate Books)Girl – Edna O’Brien (Faber & Faber)Shadowplay – Joseph O’Connor (Harvill Secker)This is Happiness – Niall Williams (Bloomsbury Publishing)The Narrow Land – Christine Dwyer Hickey (Atlantic Books)The River Capture – Mary Costello (Canongate Books)National Book Tokens Popular Fiction Book of the YearOnce, Twice, Three Times an Aisling – Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen (Gill Books)Filter This – Sophie White (Hachette Ireland)Postscript – Cecelia Ahern (HarperFiction)When All is Said – Anne Griffin (Hodder & Stoughton)Schmidt Happens – Ross O’Carroll-Kelly (Penguin Ireland)Seven Letters – Sinéad Moriarty (Penguin Ireland)Bookselling Ireland Non-Fiction Book of the YearElsewhere – Rosita Boland (Doubleday Ireland)Heroic Failure – Fintan O’Toole (Head of Zeus)Republic of Shame – Caelainn Hogan (Penguin Ireland)Constellations – Sinéad Gleeson (Picador)The Border: The Legacy of a Century of Anglo-Irish Politics – Diarmaid Ferriter (Profile Books)The Education of an Idealist – Samantha Power (William Collins)Ireland AM Popular Non-Fiction Book of the YearMy Crazy World – Christy Dignam with Damian Corless (Simon & Schuster)Overcoming – Vicky Phelan with Naomi Linehan (Hachette Ireland)Barefoot Pilgrimage – Andrea Corr (HarperNonFiction)The Personals – Brian O’Connell (HarperNonFiction)Live While You Can – Fr Tony Coote (Hachette Books Ireland)The Making of a Detective – Pat Marry (Penguin Ireland)Sunday Independent Newcomer of the YearLeonard & Hungry Paul – Ronan Hession (Bluemoose Books)Last Ones Left Alive – Sarah Davis-Goff (Tinder Press)When All is Said – Anne Griffin (Hodder & Stoughton)Show Them a Good Time – Nicole Flattery (The Stinging Fly Press)Minor Monuments – Ian Maleney (Tramp Press)Don’t Touch My Hair – Emma Dabiri (Allen Lane)TheJournal.ie Best Irish Published Book of the YearThe Great Irish Science Book – Luke O’Neill, illustrated by Linda Fährlin (Gill Books)Children of the Troubles – Joe Duffy and Freya McClements (Hachette Books Ireland)Dare to Dream – Irish People Who Took on the World (and Won!) – Sarah Webb, illustrated by Graham Corcoran (The O’Brien Press)Beautiful Affair – Mike Hanrahan (HarperNonFiction)Ireland Through Birds: Journeys in Search of a Wild Nation – Conor W. O’Brien (Merrion Press)A History of Ireland in 100 Words – Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh and Gregory Toner, illustrated by Joe McLaren (Royal Irish Academy)Irish Independent Crime Fiction Book of the YearRewind – Catherine Ryan Howard (Corvus)Cruel Acts – Jane Casey (HarperFiction)The Chain – Adrian McKinty (Orion)Twisted – Steve Cavanagh (Orion)The Wych Elm – Tana French (Viking)The Hiding Game – Louise Phillips (Hachette Ireland)Avoca Cookbook of the YearCornucopia: The Green Cookbook – Tony Keogh, Aoife Carrigy, the Chefs of Cornucopia, Deirdre and Dairine McCafferty (Gill Books)Clever Batch – Susan Jane White (Gill Books)One Pot Feeds All – Darina Allen (Kyle Books)Clodagh’s Suppers – Clodagh McKenna (Kyle Books)From the Oven to the Table – Diana Henry (Mitchell Beazley)Donal’s Super Food in Minutes – Donal Skehan (Yellow Kite)Bord Gáis Energy Sports Book of the YearAbout That Goal – The Official Autobiography of Seamus Darby – Seamus Darby with PJ Cunningham (Ballpoint Press) - on order, please reserve in person in branch.Recovering – Richie Sadlier with Dion Fanning (Gill Books)All In – Jamie Heaslip with Matt Cooper (Gill Books)Something in the Water: How Skibbereen Rowing Club Conquered the World – Kieran McCarthy (Mercier Press)Camouflage – My Story – Eoin Larkin with Pat Nolan (Reach Sport)The Dublin Marathon – Celebrating 40 Years – Sean McGoldrick (The O’Brien Press)RTÉ Radio One Listeners’ Choice AwardNight Boat to Tangier – Kevin Barry (Canongate Books) – Championed by Joe DuffyGirl – Edna O’Brien (Faber & Faber) – Championed by Sean O’RourkeShadowplay – Joseph O’Connor (Harvill Secker) – Championed by Ryan TubridyOvercoming – Vicky Phelan with Naomi Linehan (Hachette Books) – Championed by Ray D’ArcyOnce, Twice, Three Times an Aisling – Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen (Gill Books) – Championed by Miriam O’CallaghanSpecsavers Children’s Book of the Year (Junior)The President’s Surprise – Peter Donnelly (Gill Books)Boot: Small Robot, Big Adventure – Shane Hegarty, illustrated by Ben Mantle (Hachette Children’s Group)Don’t Worry Little Crab – Chris Haughton (Walker Books)Tiny and Teeny – Chris Judge (Walker Books) - can be reserved through other local authorities123 Ireland! – Aoife Dooley (Little Island Books)Take Five – Niall Breslin, illustrated by Sheena Dempsey (Gill Books)Specsavers Children’s Book of the Year (Senior)Family Fun Unplugged – Peter Cosgrove (Penguin Ireland)The Lost Tide Warriors – Catherine Doyle (Bloomsbury Publishing)A Strange Kind of Brave – Sarah Moore Fitzgerald (Hachette Children’s Group)Gordon’s Game – Gordon D’Arcy and Paul Howard (Penguin Ireland)Shooting for the Stars – My Journey to Become Ireland’s First Astronaut – Norah Patten, illustrated by Jennifer Farley (The O’Brien Press)Lily at Lissadell – Judi Curtin (The O’Brien Press)Dept 51 @ Eason Teen / Young Adult Book of the YearToffee – Sarah Crossan (Bloomsbury Publishing)All the Invisible Things – Orlagh Collins (Bloomsbury Publishing)Perfectly Preventable Deaths – Deirdre Sullivan (Bonnier Books UK)Other Words for Smoke – Sarah Maria Griffin (Titan Books)The M Word – Brian Conaghan (Bloomsbury Publishing) -can be reserved through other local authoritiesAll the Bad Apples – Moïra Fowley-Doyle (Puffin)Listowel Writers’ Week Irish Poem of the YearSalt Rain – Audrey Molloy (Mslexia, September 2019)The Kerchief – Christine Broe (Poetry Ireland and Trócaire Poetry Competition 2019)Pine Box in the Flea Market – Dean Browne (The Stinging Fly, Summer 2019)Dear Sean – Paul McMahon (The North – Special Irish Issue)Writing.ie Short Story of the YearParrot – Nicole Flattery (The Stinging Fly, Issue 39, Volume 2, Winter 2018-19)A Real Woman – Orla McAlinden (Full of Grace, published by Red Stag)Mother May I – Amy Gaffney (HCE Review, Volume 3, Issue 1)Sparing the Heather – Louise Kennedy (Banshee, Issue 8)Balloon Animals – Laura-Blaise McDowell (Still Worlds Turning, published by No Alibis Press)The Lamb – Andrea Carter (Counterparts: A Synergy of Law and Literature, The Stinging Fly Press)The Love Leabhar Gaeilge Irish Language Book of the YearGáire in Éag – Seán Ó Muireagáin (Éabhlóid)Gráinne Gaiscíoch Gael – Siobhán Parkinson (Cois Life)Mar a Bhí ar dTús – Joe Steve Ó Neachtain (Cló Iar-Chonnacht)Tairngreacht – Proinsias Mac a’Bhaird (LeabhairComhar)Cití na gCártaí – Réaltán Ní Leannáin (Cois Life)An Tromdhámh – Feargal Ó Béarra (Leabhar Breac)Votes may be cast until 13th November, visit the Award website to register your vote. The winners will be announced at the gala ceremony in the Convention Centre Dublin, Spencer Dock, on Wednesday 20th November.
Music Lending, a smash hit at Pearse Street Library
Instrument Carousel - a partnership between Girls Rock Dublin and Dublin City Libraries was a smash hit with all the teenagers in Pearse Library on Culture Night last Friday. Instrument Carousel was an opportunity for participants to explore their musical potential.It marks the launch of the “GRD Gear Library”, the gear loan service designed for teenagers by Girls Rock Dublin & Dublin City Libraries. Sixteen teenagers took over the Library in a fun & loud experiment involving electric guitars, basses, synths, keyboards & drums. By moving through different rooms and engaging with GRD coaches, participants learned a song on each instrument, and finished by performing the song together.Girls Rock Dublin is a non-profit, volunteer-led organisation that builds girls’ self-esteem through music creation and performance. Providing workshops and technical training, GRD creates leadership opportunities, cultivates a supportive community of peers and mentors, and encourages social change and the development of life skills. From Culture Night any teenager who is a member of Dublin City Libraries can borrow their preferred instrument for three weeks. All you need is your library card!Teenagers will need the signature of a parent or guardian when completing the membership form. Their parent or guardian will need to bring photo I.D. and proof of address. Get access to great online resources, borrow books, DVDs and now musical instruments! There are no fines and you can use your card in any library in Ireland. Joining is easy. Call into Pearse Street library and borrow what you like. The GRD Gear Library is a collection of instruments, amplifiers and musical accessories that Girls Rock Dublin are now making available through Dublin City Libraries all year round. The collection is made up of donated gear from people in the community who value the work of Girls Rock Dublin and from purchases made from funding received with thanks to Reverb.com. GRD Gear Library also welcome donations of 'gear'.The library is an ongoing project, more pics from Culture Night 2019 on flickr. Dublin City Libraries are free,fun and easy to use. Find out more.
Vampires - From Dracula to Twilight and everything in between
Post by Fabienne Sauberlich.Are the Acheronian Dracula and the sparkling chick magnet Edward Cullen one and the same? Definitely not. But they are both vampires. Maybe there is not "That Vampire" anymore but a few very different types of vampires? And that is exactly how it is; they kind of spread over the whole media market placing themselves in different genres with different attributes. So if you think you know vampires, vampires fiction and vampires movies you might have missed some. What vampires do you like? The creature of human nightmares, the pitiless hunter of the night longing for your blood? You can find them with famous horror authors like Stephen King in Salem’s Lot, hunted by brave people like Van Helsing, Buffy and so on, or in classics like Dracula and Nosferatu.Or is it the more complex vampire you are looking for? The one struggling with his conflict between the need for blood and his reluctance to kill or hurt others. Fighting his own demons while losing everyone he loves, to be damned to an eternal life of loneliness while trying to find his way, like Louis in Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, or like Darran Shan, and other characters of fantasy authors.If a vampire has human-like feelings as Louis and most modern vampires have, he is also able to love. But how can you be with the one you love when losing control might result in killing him/her? And if you did fall in love with a stranger, could you still love him if you knew his secret? Would you follow him into his world? Love, danger, secrets and dark passion. That is what you find in the stories of Lynsay Sands, Kerrelyn Sparks and many more.So that is what they are. Vampires. Murderers and gentleman. Passionate and cool as ice. And everything in between.------------------------About our Guest BloggerFabienne Sauberlich is a student of Library and Information Science in Germany with special interests in Psychology, Horror, Fantasy and Mystery Media.