"Poe" Old Man
It's been raining ever so heavily for the last few weeks, and that has no doubt cast a gloom over many. Instead of trying to repel the cheerlessness, why not indulge in abit of "bleak lit"?
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March 27, 2008
February 13, 2008
Don't Get Burned On eBay
Fancy doing some online shopping? Browse and click according to your needs? eBay has heeded the call of this raging market. But here's the interesting twist!
A book written by: Shauna Wright
January 29, 2008
It's A Mystery!
Today, we make 5 book recommendations on all things mysterious and suspenseful. Hair-raising and nerve-wrecking thrillers that will keep you reading through the night and on the edge days after. Also, the essential elements which make any thriller novel so tantalising.
1) Whodunit
Although basically a synonym for mystery, the term whodunit is generally used to describe words such as the many "traditional" or classical mysteries of the 1920s and 1930s, which contain significant elements of the puzzle.
2) Crime Novel
From the standpoint of the criminal- hit man/woman, con artist. Often, in a crime novel, the "good guys" and the "bad guys" share equal time- YOU know whodunit- but you don't know how the story will be resolved.
3) Cozy
Think Agatha Christie. Think cats. The cozy is a mystery in which the murder, perhaps violent is committed without any significant unpleasantness to the reader. In the entertaining 1977 book, Murder Ink, Dilys Win decribed the cosy as a "small village setting, a hero(ine) with a faintly aristocratic family connections, a plethora of red herrings, and a tendency to commit homicide with sterling silver letter openers and poison imported from Paraguay".
How true.
4) Hard-Boiled
Plainly, murder taken out of the drawing room and into the streets. Realism. Chandler wrote about authors who "gave murder back to the kind of people that commit it for reason, not just to provide a corpse". Imagine: A private detective, pervaded by pessimism. The humour, if any, will be dark. Lawrence Block's Matt Scudder novels are excellent examples. This styles inevitably get made into movies, the likes of "The Big Sleep", "The Maltese Falcon", "Out of the Past" and can be categorized under the same term, noir. Like crime stories, hard-boiled stories tend to be urban.
5) Caper Novel
One of the newer forms, centered on the commission of some type of crime of scam, usually outrageous and frequently humorous. Will it succeed? Will the scoundrels get away with it? You'll be rooting for characters you wouldn't dare to root for in real life.
Blogger's Note:
Keep in mind that these definitions are shorthand labels that can be used as references for discussion. If you ask what a book is like and someone says "cosy", it gives you an idea of what to expect. Also, these styles can be mingled, so a suspense story might be cosy or a whodunit could be hardboiled.
Here come the raving book reviews:
January 16, 2008
Stephen King- The Horror Novelist
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of more than 200 stories including over 50 bestselling horror and fantasy novels. King was the 2003 recipient of The National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and his numerous literary awards place him among the most-honored horror authors in recent history.
January 03, 2008
The Limits of Medicine
What are the final limits of medicine? What should we not try to cure medically, even if we had the necessary financial resources and technology? This book philosophically addresses these questions by examining two mirror-image debates in tandem.
December 21, 2007
Christmas Reads
Is your Christmas spirit almost as big as Christmas itself yet? No?
If so, we have lined up eBooks from almost all of our eBook database collections, for you to read and make sure you inspire everyone who runs into you during the holidays.
November 15, 2007
Going Away?
Its holiday season and you might be thinking of taking off for a much-needed holiday.
October 25, 2007
Laughter is the Best Medicine
Maybe You Never Cry Again
A True Story
Edition: Abridged
by Bernie Mac
©2003 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
By the tender age of five, Bernie Mac had found his calling: making others laugh. Since then, he has become one of the greatest comedians of our time. Now, this amazing comedian delves deep down inside to retell the poignant story of his childhood and the people who helped shape him into the comedian, and the strong and self-reliant man he is today.
When Bernie Mac was just sixteen years old, he lost his beloved mother to breast cancer. While he grew up, she was a tough but loving teacher of life lessons and "Mac-isms" that would carry him through many hardships. These lessons gave him an inner strength that led him to choose hope over despair, and to follow his dream of becoming a comedian.
Bernie Mac recounts his slow rise to stardom, from doing stand-up at a church dinner at age eight, to performing in amateur open-mike nights to make ends meet, to eventually entertaining huge audiences on stage and in film and television. He also shares the secrets to life, and to comedy, that he learned along the way.
Ceck out this ebook at Overdrive.
October 18, 2007
Humpty Dumpty and more!
Ran out of nursery rhymes to entertain your children with?
Check out this audio eBook in Overdrive. You could even burn the rhymes on a CD during the lending period, and play it anywhere, anytime (PS. For personal use only).
Title: 50 Favourite Nursery Rhymes
Edition: Unabridged
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks
Description: 50 favourite nursery rhymes, contains lots of the most common nursery rhymes and all those you may have forgotten!
October 05, 2007
Seeking adventures?
Fancy reading about adventures? Explore our eBook collection for a dosage of them then.
Here are some of the many in the collection:
Spider-Man: The Adventures of Spider-Man
By Michael Teitelbaum
From NLB Overdrive Collection
Adventures of a Psychic
By Sylvia Browne
From NLB Overdrive Collection
Adventures of a Scottish Heiress
By Cathy Maxwell
From NLB Overdrive Collection
The Adventures of Gerard
By Arthur Conan Doyle
From NLB Overdrive Collection
Adventures of Pinocchio
By C. Collodi
From NLB Overdrive Collection
The Adventures of Robin Hood
By Howard Pyle
From NLB Overdrive Collection
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
By Mark Twain & Pat Bottino
From NLB Overdrive Collection
The Complete Life and Adventures of Santa Claus
By L. Frank Baum
From NLB Overdrive Collection
September 25, 2007
Honouring Literary Figures
Great Short Works of Mark Twain
by Mark Twain
Publisher: HarperCollins
Imprint: PerfectBound
Subject(s): Classic LiteratureFiction
A masterpiece collection of great literature, The Great Short Works of Mark Twain belongs on every bookshelf, featuring classics such as Old Times on the Mississippi, The Mysterious Stranger, The Jumping Frog, and more.
September 07, 2007
Opera Appreciation, anyone?
Who's Who in Opera
by
Oxford University Press
Publisher: Oxford University Press UK
Containing over 2,500 operatic characters, this guide gives plot synopses for over 250 operas and operettas, and details full information on each operatic role, including its creator and notable performers. Well-known personalities contribute articles on favourite roles, for example, Placido Domingo writes on the character of Otello and Janet Baker on Mary Stuart. Other contributors include Andrew Porter, Sena Jurinac, Philip Langridge, Jonathan Miller, Sir Charles MacKerras, and Marie McLaughlin revealing much about the creative process behind some of the most famous performances in opera history.
Why not click through to Overdrive in our eBooks section and borrow it?
July 27, 2007
Like him or loathe him Frank Lloyd Wright carved a sinious swathe across the landscape. This book looks at his approach to landscapes.
Frank Lincoln Wright was born to William and Anna Wright in Richland Center, Wisconsin, on June 8, 1867, just two years after the end of the Civil War. He was strongly influenced by the period of growing American self-awareness that evolved in the course of the next two decades.
"The eventual success of a cultivated environment is not merely the result of plants or structures upon the landscape, but rather the sum of both the tangible and the intangible? that is, the unification of the substantive elements upon the site with the personalities and experiences of those who visit or reside in the total environment
that has been created."
Why not click through to eBrary in our eBooks section and borrow it?
DIRECT LINKS
from Aguar, Charles E. Wrightscapes : Frank Lloyd Wright's Landscape Designs.
Blacklick, OH, USA: McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing, 2002. p ix.
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/singaporenatlib/Doc?id=10152987&ppg=10
Copyright © 2002. McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing. All rights reserved.
July 23, 2007
The Dance of Anger
by Harriet Lerner Ph.D.
While anger deserves our attention and respect, women still learn to silence our anger, to deny it entirely, or to vent it in a way that leaves us feeling helpless and powerless. In this vivid, engaging and eminently wise work, Dr. Lerner teaches women to identify the true sources of anger and to use anger as a powerful vehicle for creating meaningful and lasting change. The challenge of anger is at the heart of our struggle with intimacy, self-esteem, and joy. The Dance of Anger has inspired more "You changed my life" stories from both women and men than perhaps any other bestseller on the American scene today.
Access this title in Overdrive.
July 04, 2007
Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
“Crime is common. Logic is rare,” Sherlock Holmes states in The Adventures of Copper Breeches. Stories of crime have been told since the time of Greek tragedies, and though heroes come and go, not a year goes by in modern times without new stories in which Sherlock Holmes appears.
Through this lifelike detective and sidekick Dr. Watson, Sir Arthur offers many answers to the changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution in Victorian England as he comes up with stunningly original mysteries for his characters to solve. Of course, The Final Problem puts an end to that…or does it?
Some of the other reader’s favorites included in this collection are:
- “The Adventures of the Beryl Coronet”
- “The Five Orange Pips”
- “The Musgrave Ritual”
- “The Red-headed League”
Access this book in NLB Overdrive Collection
June 28, 2007
Lose it or use it !
Honor Your Anger
How Transforming Your Anger Style Can Change Your Life
by
Beverly Engel
Not your brain - your anger! Anger can be healthy and life-transforming (ask the Incredible Hulk) - so says
therapist Beverly Engel in this stimulating book which tries to show how to transform unhealthy anger into a force for good!. Combining prescriptive action steps with inspiring personal stories, she offers a positive, easy-to-follow program to manage one's anger - did you know that you have an anger style? So what ever your style - violent outbursts, fear of expressing anger, or passive-aggressive behavior you can poick up a few tips here on how to channel your moree violent passions
June 22, 2007
Exploring the Pyramid
We thought we would go all historical on you this week with a dig into ancient history. We have all become familiar with the striking shape and so-called ancient curses of the pyramids. These books go deeper - excavating facts, old and new; true and mythical. take a journey into the past with us.
Did you know that:
the shape symbolizes the primeval mound from which the Egyptians believed life, in the shape of sun god Ra, emerged
there are actually over 100 pyramids in Egypt?
Astronomers decided which way the pyramids should face to line up with
favourable stars?
So why not click through to our e-books in netLibrary and do some exploring?
June 15, 2007
You've GOT to Read This Book!
55 People Tell the Story of the Book That Changed Their Life
by
Jack Canfield
Gay Hendricks
There's nothing better than a book you can't put down or better yet, a book you'll never forget. This book puts the power of transformational reading into your hands. Jack Canfield, cocreator of the bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, and self-actualization pioneer Gay Hendricks have invited notable people to share personal stories of books that changed their lives. What book shaped their outlook and habits? Helped them navigate rough seas? Spurred them to satisfaction and success?
So why not click through to our e-books in OverDrive.
June 04, 2007
Classics that'll never be forgotten
Many of you would know the ogre Shrek by now, a character from the children’s book by William Steig made famous by the movie Shrek. Recently released Shrek the Third might have refreshed your memory and brought to mind many classics that may have been deeply embedded in your mind but forgotten. (Noteworthy: Shrek the Musical might be on its way to Broadway!).
Tempted to re-read those classics and indulge in reminiscence? Perhaps you might want to share them with your younger ones. Occupy the time of young ones with these priceless classics. The holidays are here after all!
The Adventures of Pinocchio
The puppetmaster Geppetto has obtained a new puppet who not only can dance and turn somersaults, but also talk and misbehave -- his name is Pinocchio and if the truth be told, he longs to be a real boy. This book recounts the adventures of Pinocchio -- the puppet who wants to be a little boy and whose nose grew longer whenever he told a lie.
Author: Carlo Collodi
eBook Collection: TumbleReadables
Cinderella; The Little Glass Slipper
This is the classic fairy tale. Cinderella, the evil step sisters, the fairy god mother, the prince, the glass slippers…It’s all here, a classic tale for all times. What’s surprising to the reader returning to the book after many years are the number of true moral lessons contained in the simple tale -- for instance Cinderella and the prince first meet when Cinderella nurses a lame bluebird in the forest; this same bluebird later becomes the fairy godmother. There’s a reason this book had endured...
Author: n/a
eBook Collection: TumbleReadables
Grimm's Fairy Tales
The Frog Prince * The Elves and the Shoemaker * Snow White Hansel and Gretel * The Golden Goose * The Dancing Shoes Tom Thumb * Rumplestiltsken * Little Red Riding Hood The Fisherman and his Wife * Cinderella * The Little Tailor Here are some of the most enchanting fairy stories of all time. The Brothers Grimm conjure up a world of fantasy, hope and good fortune where the princess meets and marries the right prince (even if he was once a frog), and where the cruel witch, the arrogant wife...
Author: n/a
Length: 2hrs 20min
eBook Collection: TumbleTalkingBooks
May 30, 2007
Ease Your Mind and Spirit
Many people meditate, regardless of religion. Are you a beginner? Don't worry, help is on the way! Check out these titles.
Still the Mind: An Introduction to Meditation
By Alan Watts
Collection: NLB netLibrary Collection
WHEN "you" understand the art of contemplation, there is no experiencer separate from experience, and there is no one to get anything out of life, or therefore to get anything from meditation.
Finding the Center Within: The Healing Way of Mindfulness Meditation
By Thomas Bien & Beverly Bien
Collection: NLB netLibrary Collection, NLB Overdrive Collection
WHO wouldn’t want to live a calmer, more peaceful existence? Thomas and Beverly Bien teach that if we find the center within through ongoing mindfulness we...
Meditation for Dummies -- For Dummies; 2nd Ed.
By Stephen Bodian
Collection: NLB netLibrary Collection
THE truth is, you can learn the basics of meditation in five minutes. Did you realize that meditation has an illustrious multicultural history?
The Soul's Companion: Connecting With the Soul Through Daily Meditations
By Dayton, Tian
Collection: NLB netLibrary Collection
THEY may be daily quiet time or meditation, journaling or nature walks.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Meditation
By Joan Budilovsky & Eve Adamson
Collection: NLB netLibrary Collection
A POSITIVE mental state is ideal for meditation, and meditation can make the most of a positive mental state. Meditation Is Healing Power But meditation is more than stress relief, fitness ally, and preventive medicine.
Audio eBooks:
Angels & Guides Healing Meditations
By Sylvia Browne
Collection: NLB Overdrive Collection
YOU'LL find a new level of comfort, safety, and clarity as you listen to these four uniquely powerful meditations from world-renowned psychic and best-selling author Sylvia Browne. Discover that...
Creative Visualization Meditations
By Shakti Gawain
Collection: NLB Overdrive Collection
SHAKTI Gawain’s Creative Visualization Meditations audio has sold over 300,000 copies since its release nearly 30 years ago. Shakti Gawain gently guides listeners through meditations from her...
Native American Meditations
By Amanaska
Collection: NLB Overdrive Collection
Meditations
By Shakti Gawain
Collection: NLB Overdrive Collection
FOR nearly thirty years, listeners have found practical advice for improving their lives in Shakti Gawain’s audio products. The guided meditations found on this audio offer easy-to-implement approaches...
Want more? Well then explore our eBook Collections!
May 24, 2007
"Create me ..." said the digitally animated voice softly
Fifty years ago, there were about 1,000 animators in Hollywood - most likely employed by Disney, who worked in the Looney Tunes backlot of the movie industry. In the last few years everywhere you can throw a stick a digital animator jumps up and says "Hey you!", an effects specialist goes "Whatsup" , or a videogame maker gets very animated. The term "filmmaking professional" now covers the usual set designers and cinematographers, but have been joined or have morphed into computer-generated imagers, motion-capturers, and digital compositors. They are the spell-casters whose animated effects have even crawled into the "real world" of the documentary or the big budget blockbuster. There are some in the industry who are suggesting that it won't be too long before the Tom Cruises of today will be taken over by the an ultra-sophisticated improvement on the Shreks and Final Fantasists and only be paid those mega bucks for a voice over.
Continue reading ""Create me ..." said the digitally animated voice softly" »
May 23, 2007
Taking a tour anytime soon?
Perhaps these eBooks from NLB Overdrive collection might come in handy. Access these titles and more right here.
Love shopping? Get the best bargains with Suzy Gershman guidance. Check out her books:
Suzy Gershman's Born to Shop Hong Kong, Shanghai & Beijing
The Ultimate Guide for Travelers Who Love to Shop
by Suzy Gershman
FOR nearly twenty years, Suzy Gershman has been leading savvy shoppers to the world s best finds. Now Born to Shop Hong Kong, Shanghai & Beijing is easier to use and packed with more up-to-date listings than ever before. Inside you ll find:
- What is hot in Hong Kong, from hip new fashions and designer labels to porcelain, jade, and colorful markets
- The best of Shanghai, from the Old City to the exciting new Pudong area
- Terrific buys in Beijing, from the Silk Market to the Pearl Market to the famous antiques street of Liulichang
- A completely new section on Hanoi and its unique treasures such as contemporary art, sophisticated lacquer, and funky ethnic fashions
May 17, 2007
Cool, really cool, and high
A little behind time as usual but may be not too late for us to give a little boost to our ebook collection covering high and cold parts of the world. So whether you are an armchair climber, a sofa scrambler or a bona fide adventurer there may be something for you to chill out with .......
Himalaya
by
Michael Palin
©BBC Audiobooks LTD 2000
Winner of a Silver Award for best Non-Fiction at the Spoken Word Awards 2005
Michael Palin reads his own entertainingly written account of his journey accross the countries of the Himalayas, accompanying a major BBC TV series in 2004.
In his most challenging journey to date, Palin tackles the Himalayas, the greatest mountain range on earth. It is a virtually unbroken wall of rock stretching 1800 miles from the borders of Afghanistan to south-west China. Penetrated but never conquered, it remains the world's most majestic natural barrier, a magnificent wilderness that shapes the history and politics of Asia to this day. Having previously risen to the challenge of seas, poles, dhows and deserts, the highest mountains in the world were a natural target for Michael Palin.
May 14, 2007
A Handful of New WhoDunIts in Audio
Just for a change we thought we would turn up the sound on our audio ebooks and encourage you to detect the modus operandi of some of our crime fiction titles
First up ......
Total Recall by Sara Paretsky
This powerfully suspenseful novel confronts the machinations of a vast and corrupt industry that trades on the victims of Nazi terrorism; the strange and dubious phenomenon of "recovered memory;" and a personal story that brings V. I. Warshawski, the unorthodox P.I. into the long-buried past of her dearest friend and mentor, Dr. Lotty Herschel.
Lotty was a child of nine when she came to England in 1939 as a refugee from Austria. Having lost her entire family to the Nazi terror, she grew up and completed her medical training in London - and there fell in love with a fellow refugee. She ended the affair when she discovered she was pregnant and bore the child in secrecy, giving it up for adoption. Now, that long-held secret may be exposed.
April 04, 2007
eBooks: The Classics
Check out some of World Book Day 2007's Top 10 books right here, in our eBook collections:
Pride and Prejudice
By: Jane Austen
eBook Collection: NLB Overdrive
Description: Since its publication in 1813, Pride and Prejudice’s blend of humor, romance, and social satire have delighted readers of all ages. In telling the story of Mr. and Mrs. Bennett and their five daughters, Jane Austen creates a miniature of her world, where social grace and the nuances of behavior predominate in the making of a great love story.
Jane Eyre
By: Charles Bronte
eBook Collection: NLB Overdrive
Description: Winner of a 1995 Talkie Award from the British Spoken Word Publishing, Jane Eyre was written in 1847 by the woman writer Charlotte Bronte. It is an unconventional love story that pairs a simple looking Jane and her obsessive passion with the reserved and gruff Rochester. Jane Eyre remains a classic of 19th century literature.
Wuthering Heights
By: Emily Bronte
eBook Collection: NLB Overdrive
Description: Emily Bronte's only novel, Wuthering Heights is one of the pinnacles of 19th century English literature. It's the story of Heathcliff, an orphan who falls inlove with a girl above his class, loses her, and devotes the rest of his life to wreaking revenge on her family.
1984
By: George Orwell
eBook Collection: NLB Overdrive
Description: Perhaps no other novel in this century has had a greater impact upon the way we think and talk about our world than George Orwell's classic, 1984.
Great Expectations
By: Charles Dickens
eBook Collection: NLB Overdrive
Description: In this, perhaps Dickens' most profound and personal novel, we are invited to share in the sentimental education of Pip, the poor boy from the village forge who risks losing himself in snobbery and selfishness when he mysteriously inherits a fortune. The story moves from the bleak Kentish marshes of Pip's childhood to a thrilling climax which mingles tragedy and triumph.
Direck Links:
(1) World Book Day (http://www.worldbookday.com)
(2) Highbrowse (http://dl.nlb.gov.sg/highbrowseonline/2007/03/world_book_day_01_march_2007.html)
March 07, 2007
Avoiding Project Disaster
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Avoiding Project Disaster
Titanic Lessons for IT Executivesby Mark Kozak-Holland Series: Lessons from History Imagine you are in one of Titanic’s lifeboats just sighted by the rescue ship Carpathia. As you look back at the wreckage site, you wonder how such a disaster could have happened. What were the causes? How could things have gone so badly wrong? Why did she founder? No one had expected it. Titanic’s maiden voyage was a disaster waiting to happen as a result of the compromises made in the project that constructed the ship. This book explores how modern executives can take lessons from a nuts-and-bolts construction project like Titanic and use those lessons to ensure the right approach to developing online business solutions. It will help you successfully maneuver through the ice floes of IT management in an industry with a notoriously high project failure rate. Read this book to: |
February 08, 2007
Happily Ever After, it's POSSIBLE!
Valentine's Day is nearing ...
We should be reminiscing about all those love stories with fairytale endings (most of which are fictional, unfortunately) and basking in the mood of this widely romanticized month. Instead, we figured we should spare a thought (or many thoughts) for those who had tragic endings to their love lives.
Several names come to mind, at the mention of this. There were star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, passionate and power-hungry lovers Antony and Cleopatra, and not forgetting tabloids' favourites ex-happily married couples Ryan Phillipe and Reese Witherspoon, Britney Spears and Kevin Federline, and ex-match made-in-heaven Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston.
January 22, 2007
Global Warming: What will happen?
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Global Warming
by Burkhard Bilger
"Earth at Risk: Global Warming" tells the story of the discovery of this phenomenon and the scientific controversy surrounding it. It also describes the ways in which climatic change may threaten civilization and what governments and individuals will have to do to control it. |
January 16, 2007
Fight the flu bug's bite!
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The Good Doctor's Guide to Colds and Flu
by Neil Schachter, M.D.
Publisher: HarperCollins Under the weather? Eminent lung specialist Neil Schachter, M.D. arms you with the knowledge you need to boost immunity and avoid illness. And when colds, flu, and other respiratory infections do strike, you'll know exactly how to relieve uncomfortable symptoms like congestion and fever. In this book you'll find: - Treatment plans for the most common respiratory infections, including colds, flu, bronchitis, pneumonia, sinusitis, and strep throat With this eBook, you'll stay one step ahead of colds and flu. |