Library News 15 October 2021
Published on October 15, 2021
New Non-Fiction
Lag Law: your rights inside prison and on release by Community Law Wellington and Hutt Valley
Animals in the Scond World War by Neil R. Storey
Overloaded: how every aspect of your life is influenced by your brain chemicals by Ginny Smith
One little life by Naomi Hunter
Reppin’: Pacific Island youth and native justice
A Cold War Tragedy by Ethel Rosenberg
Memoirs of my life by Kiri Atawhai Dewes
Agriculture and Horticulture in New Zealand by Massey University Press
Learn Tunisian Crochet in the Round by Sandy Walker
Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family by Dorling Kindersley
Dariann Sigley
Library Assistant
Since most of our programmes and services are being delivered online, our librarians have been busy this past year spring cleaning the library. We have made some physical changes from the physical layout to Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom’s new magazine display. We are also delighted that Sweet Dreams are now in the café space there. The Library Café in Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō celebrates their first anniversary this week. Congratulations to them both!
One of the tasks I do in the library team is to buy graphic novels for the teen and adult collections. We recently made the decision to try something new at Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō. We’ve taken the manga from the graphic novel collection and have given them a shelf of their own. This benefits both collections as there’s now space for display, while making it a lot easier to find the title you’re looking for. We’ve got more series on their way. Watch out for ‘The Way of the Househusband’ and ‘Solo Leveling.’
You may be wondering “What is a manga?” As a major fan and expert, I can fill you in. Simply put, manga is a comic/graphic novel created and published in Japan. Which means for English language speakers this means the book is read from right to left and is always published in black and white. Manga is read the way it is written because Japanese is read from right-to-left, and you start reading at the back of the book with the spine on the right. It may seem strange at first but you do get used to it quickly.
If you want to try out this new form of comic for the first time, I recommend the mystery series, Death Note. As opposed to the usual detective protagonist in Death Note the protagonist is a "villain" and we follow his journey avoiding the police.
The many genres within manga cross over frequently. From sci-fi-adventure like ‘Made in Abyss’ to action-comedy such as ‘Spy x Family,’ there really is something for everyone!
Don’t be put off by manga if you are new to it or think it’s a too niche industry. It is quite the opposite. The availability of manga and anime on streaming companies like Netflix shows the rise of geek and otaku (used to describe someone whose hobby is consuming Japanese media). The culture is becoming more and more popular in Horowhenua and the Manawatu and the Armageddon Expo even moved to Palmerston North this year. I recently spotted a five year old wearing one of my favourites, ‘My Hero Academia’ shirt in the Library. It made me realise just how mainstream anime and manga are becoming.
Why not try your favourite genre in a new format? If you do need any guidance, please do ask for me. I am happy to help.