50 Exercises you can do at the library (without looking foolish)

This came into my feedbox from LISNews - I've had a look at a few of these 50 Exercises you can do in the Library.

Not sure about getting away with not looking foolish, you may need to explain yourself to other Library users and to the staff - just tell them I sent you.

If you see a staff member acting oddly - give them a smile of encouragement.

It baffles me somewhat that this is "news"

Yesterday the Manila Bulletin online had a story about how it is Hip to be a librarian (click on the link to read the story) :

"Librarians are old-fashioned boring nerds, unapproachable old maids or widowers -- not!

Today’s new breed of librarians have broken free from those dank and dusty school libraries, the century-old stereotypes, and have evolved into dynamic, progressive and most-sought after career people employed by large corporations, IT comp anies, hospitals and law firms.

Yes, a librarian can now be anyone -- from your cute neighbor or cool classmate, to that sophisticated babe or handsome hunk".

So there!

But you knew that - you're a regular at Blue Mountains City Library - that article's talking about us!

(via LISNews)

Creating readers

It's book week this week as you will have gathered. Book week is all about encouraging children to read with and for enjoyment.

The James Patterson's Read Kiddo Read website has some great ideas for encouraging children to read and you can start with these 12 ways to ease reluctant readers into good books (each of these twelve pointers have been dealt with in more detail in the article 12 tried and true ways to get your kiddos reading) :

1. Read something aloud every day
2. Laugh alot as you fool around with language
3. Act out stories
4. Tell stories
5. Encourage drawing
6. Learn a new fact every day
7. Ask and encourage questions
8. Get out of the house ~ come to the library - bring your children to our Storytime, Babytime, Fab Friday and other children's activities
9. Love your books and your library ~ we can help you here - bring your children to our storytimes and other children's activities
10. Look for oldies but goodies ~ we can help you here - there is plenty of good-books-for-children-type material we can refer you to, plus staff with specialist knowledge. See below
11. Look for what's next ~ we can help you here. See below
12. Trust your instincts
    

Help in the Library (start with some of these) :

• Who next? A Guide to Children's Authors (Reference and lending copies available)
• The New York Times Parent's Guide to the Best Books for Children (Reference only)
• The Reading Bug and how you can help your child to catch it (Lending copies available)
• Rocket Your Child Into Reading (Lending copies available)
• Don't Leave Childhood Without : a Guide to the Best Books for Children (Reference only)
• Reading Under the Covers : Helping Children to Choose Books (Lending copies available)

Look up books in the Library catalogue using 'Literary Prizes, Juvenile' or 'Australian Children's Book Awards' as search terms.

Ask a librarian - we like questions!

Help Online :

• There are many Read Kiddo Read lists including a specialist Classics list and Summer reading doesn't have to be punishment list
• BMCC Library Recommended Sites Literature Page
• Children's Literature Web Guide
• Children's Book Council of Australia
• NSW Premier's Reading Challenge (other states in Australia have their own Premier's Reading lists)
• Reading Planet
• Fantastic Fiction
• Down Under Literature Good Books

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

The unassuming cover of Still Alice, a debut novel by Lisa Genova hides a powerful story.

Alice Howland, wife, mother and university professor is 50. She teaches psychology at Harvard University where she is well-respected, she has done well in her career and she has kept fit and active through running. Life is good.

When Alice starts having problems with her memory she at first dismisses it, thinking it may be due to menopause. But one day she has a terrifying episode where during a run she gets lost in her own neighbourhood and realises there's more to it than menopause.

Several medical tests later, Alice is told she has early onset Alzheimer's Disease and her life takes a very different turn. The novel takes us through Alice's journey, from Alice's point of view, through the denial and bargaining that followed diagnosis, telling her husband and children, telling her colleagues, trying to find others in a similar position, the plans she makes and we see the unravelling of her mind.

This book grabbed me from the first paragraph (below) and I read it in just 3 sittings.

"Even then, more than a year later, there were neurons in her head, not far from her ears, that were being strangled to death, too quietly for her to hear them. Some would argue that things were going so insidiously wrong that the neurons themselves initiated events that would lead to their own destruction. Whether it was molecular murder or cellular suicide, they were unable to warn her of what was happening before they died."

Lisa Genova has a Ph.D in neuroscience from Harvard so she knows what she's writing about. At the back of the novel, as well as book club discussion questions, there is an interview with the author. Genova's grandmother had Alzheimer's and the results of the disease were plain to see on the outside but the scientist in her wondered what it must be like from the sufferer's point of view. She interviewed people involved with the various Alzheimer's support groups and associations in the US, caregivers and sufferers and this is reflected in this sensitive, touching and engrossing novel. Highly recommended.

Lisa Genova has begun work on a second novel which, according to the interview, will be called Left Neglected about a woman in her mid-30s who suffers a traumatic head injury in a road accident and has Unilateral Neglect - the left side of her world is gone - she has lost all interest in and ability to percieve information coming from the left side of space. Sounds interesting.

Reviewed by Alba

For more information about Alzheimer's Disease contact:

Alzheimer's Australia (click on the link) ~ Provides information, support and referral for people with dementia, their family and carers, and service providers (each state in Australia has its own branch)

Alzheimer's Australia in NSW 02 9805 0100

National Dementia Hotline 1800 100 500

Surprise?

I very much doubt this will surprise people - The Guardian reports that Dan Brown, author of the massive hit, The Da Vinci Code and experiencing renewed interest in Angels and Demons because of the new film, is Oxfam's most donated author with second place going to John Grisham. Brown, however, need not fret; he is also the second most bought author in those same shops.

The most donated authors to Oxfam shops this year:

1. Dan Brown

2. John Grisham

3. Ian Rankin

4. Danielle Steel

5. Helen Fielding

6. Stephen King

7. JK Rowling

8. Catherine Cookson

9. Patricia Cornwell

10. Mills & Boon

A favourite of mine, Ian Rankin, creator of the John Rebus detective series set in Edinburgh comes top of the Oxfam's bestseller list. "It's always good for an author to know that their books are popular," said the Scottish author.

The Oxfam shop bestseller list:

1. Ian Rankin

2. Dan Brown

3. Bernard Cornwell

4. Stephanie Meyer

5. Terry Pratchett

6. Khaled Hosseini

7. Helen Fielding

8. Margaret Atwood

9. James Patterson

10. Jodi Picoult

Oxfam, with more than 130 specialist bookshops and with books in almost all of its 700 stores, sells a staggering £1.6m-worth of books a month, making Oxfam Europe's biggest high-street retailer of secondhand books and the third-biggest bookseller in the UK .

Oxfam recently had a drive for book donations which resulted in donations rising 40% and sales rising by more than 10%. Some of the donations were rare or first edition books - a first edition of Lord of the Rings sold for £800.

The top 10 most valuable donated books:
1. JRR Tolkien, Lord of the Rings – first edition, sold for £800
2. Don Giovanni sheet music – first edition, sold for £750
3. Sowerby's Catalogue of Shells – sold for £600
4. Richard Adams, Watership Down – first edition, sold for £500
5. Handbook of Indian Dances - first edition with hand-blocked prints, sold for £500
6. Richmal Crompton, Just William - first edition, sold for £440
7. Sylvia Plath, Ariel – first edition, sold for £350
8. Ian Fleming, From Russia With Love – first edition, sold for £300
9. Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit – second print, sold for £200
10. WE Johns, Biggles in Australia – first edition, sold for £150

The Age Book of the Year winners

The Age Book of the Year winners were announced at the opening of the Melbourne Writer's Festival last Friday, 21st August. Judged by novelist and poet Lisa Gorton, writer and Overland editor Jeff Sparrow, critic James Ley, Melbourne University professor Janet McCalman, and The Age poetry editor Gig Ryan, prize money was awarded for Fiction, Non-fiction and Poetry and an overall Book of the Year awarded. (Read about the shortlisted books/poems here).

The Age Book of the Year

and Fiction prize winner

Things we didn't see coming by Steven Amsterdam

Described by the judges as ''suspenseful and involving, it succeeds both as a compelling vision of the future and as a study of human resourcefulness and endurance''

Non-fiction prize winner

Down to the crossroads by Guy Rundle

An account of the 2008 US elections and described by the author as a series of reflections on what America is. ''It was an enormous moment when a new US came up against older ideas of itself. Barack Obama was a captivating historical force.''

Poetry prize winner
Better than god by Peter Porter

(on order at time of posting)

A deliberately teasing title. ''God's work in the world, if it exists, is only to be seen through the people we are who act it out. And so in a way, whether we invented him or he invented us, we have to live the life given to a human being on earth. And we are so good at interpreting it and making it work. (So) it is really in praise of human endeavour and imagination'' - Peter Porter

Reported in The Age online 22 August 2009

Childrens Book Council of Australia winners

We are now into Book Week (August 22nd - 28th) and the Book Week awards have just been by the Childrens Book Council of Australia. Here they are:

Older Readers Book of the Year 2009 Winner
Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan
Honour Books
Into White Silence by Anthony Eaton
A Rose for the Anzac Boys by Jackie French

Younger Readers Book of the Year 2009

Winner

Perry Angel’s Suitcase by Glenda Millard, illustrated by Stephen Michael King

(third book in the Kingdom of Silk series)

Honour Books

The Wish Pony by Catherine Bateson

Then by Morris Gleitzman

Early Childhood Book of the Year 2009

Winner

How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham

Honour Books

Leaf by Stephen Michael King

Tom Tom by Rosemary Sullivan, illustrated by Dee Huxley

Picture Book of the Year 2009

Winner
Collecting Colour by Kylie Dunstan

Honour Books
Home and Away by Matt Ottley, text by John Marsden (a YA book, not for little ones)
The Big Little Book of Happy Sadness by Colin Thompson

Eve Pownall Award for Information Books 2009

Winner

Alive in the Death Zone by Lincoln Hall

Honour Books

The Word Spy by Ursula Dubosarsky, illustrated by Tohby Riddle

Simpson and his Donkey by Mark Greenwood, illustrated by Frané Lessac

Reserve your copies with the Library now. Click on the title links to our library catalogue and reserve for yourself using your library card number and password, or if you don’t have a password on your card to reserve items, ring your nearest branch library.

And don’t forget our special Book Week activities:

John Hockney will be conducting storytime sessions at Springwood and Katoomba libraries for schools on the theme ‘The Library Safari, a free adventure of discovery’.

The Funny Green Smelly Things will be performing in a vibrant, rib tickling comedy show for the under-10 crowd on

Friday 28th August

Lawson Community Centre from 11am-12 noon

and

Katoomba Civic Centre from 1.30pm – 2.30pm

Admission FREE

What Library Staff are Reading . . .

• Love & war in London : the mass observation wartime diary of Olivia Cockett ~ the Mass Observation diaries of a woman in her twenties living in London during the war. Her observations of everyday life make for riveting reading and helps explain how people made sense of life in the turmoil of war


• The book thief by Markus Zuzak ~ after a very longgggggg wait I finally reached the top of the list. Well worth the wait! A really unusual narration style which made the story come alive and let the reader glimpse what was happening in the lives of those around the main characters as well as on them. Don’t be put off by the fact that Death narrates the story or that it is set in Nazi Germany – well worth reading!!! Excellent!!!


• Death and the Running Patterer: a curious murder mystery by Robin Adair


• The marriage bureau for rich people by Farahad Zama


• The Cornish Trilogy by Robertson Davies ~ clever, perceptive writing, characters you want to know more about


• And how could I not read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith ~ the Bennett girls still wear big dresses and petticoats but are mean hands with a sword. Killing zombies is a daily irritation, as they go about the countryside


• The House at Salvation Creek by Susan Duncan which I enjoyed as much as Salvation Creek


• and I listened to The Olive Sisters by Amanda Hampson ~ another light talking book, good for car/walking


• According to Queenie by Beryl Bainbridge ~ a witty, darkly humorous historical fiction about the larger-than-life Samuel Johnson. I loved it so much, I look forward to reading more books by this author


• I just finished reading The Little Prince by Antoine Saint-Exupery ~ the essay for adults, titled Letter to a Hostage, included in the back of the BMCC Library copy that I read, was eloquent, beautiful prose that added to my understanding of the children’s story


• I’ve been reading around Henry VIII this month. It’s 500 years since Henry came to the English throne and to commemorate the British Library has had a big exhibition about him, guest curated by Dr David Starkey. Sadly unable to make it to the BL to take a look in the flesh, I’ve had to make do with their website : http://www.bl.uk/henry . They have a number of podcast lectures and talks about Henry stuff – a colleague brushed me up on my downloading podcast skills and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying them. Then across the Cataloguing desk came Henry VIII : man and monarch (942.052 HEN) which is the book from the exhibition – so beautiful I went out and ordered a copy


• Salmon fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday ~ hilarious political satire about a Yemeni sheik who wants to import salmon to his country so his compatriots learn peace and patience through fly fishing


• Kieron Smith, boy by James Kelman ~ this Scottish Saltire winner was a challenge for my book group but the eponymous Kieron is a darling little tyke and through his young eyes we get an authentic feel for working class Glasgow in the 50s and 60s


• Dating aphrodite : ancient adventures in the modern world by Luke Slattery


• Wildwood : a journey through trees by Roger Deakin.

Book Week 2009

Each year, many schools and public libraries from all over Australia spend a week celebrating books and Australian authors and illustrators. Book Week is the longest running children's festival in Australia, celebrating its 64th birthday in 2009.

The dates for Book Week this year are August 22nd - 28th.

Blue Mountains City Library will be celebrating Book Week with storyteller extraordinaire, John Hockney. John will be conducting storytime sessions at Springwood and Katoomba libraries for schools on the theme ‘The Library Safari, a free adventure of discovery’. John will be using his experience to captivate the interest and imaginations of children.

On Friday, August 28, there is FREE ENTERTAINMENT at Katoomba Civic Centre from 1.30pm – 2.30pm.

The Funny Green Smelly Things will be performing in a vibrant, rib tickling comedy show that will have kids cracking up. Their show is a non-stop nonsense packed with songs about all that smelly gross stuff that kids love. Lucy and Simon are vibrant, competent musicians and singers and have a lot of fun cracking jokes for the under-10 crowd.

Reading benches

How about this for an innovative way to promote reading in your town?

The city of Istanbul is promoting reading with public benches that look like an open book. Each bench carries poems from 18 famous Turkish poets.

Isn't that just great?

(Source: Oddee blog)

The lost art of reading

There's an article in the LA Times from a few days ago about how the quicker pace of life makes making time out for reading more difficult to find. It's well worth reading in its entirety, but this part I particularly liked:

Reading is an act of contemplation, perhaps the only act in which we allow ourselves to merge with the consciousness of another human being. We possess the books we read, animating the waiting stillness of their language, but they possess us also, filling us with thoughts and observations, asking us to make them part of ourselves.

The Hunter's Wife by Elizabeth Scholes

Story synopsis : Mara, a young Australian, falls deeply in love with John, a big-game hunter who lives on the spectacular grasslands of East Africa. He promises everything Mara is looking for, and she joins him there, full of hopes and dreams. But three short years later, their safari lodge is in trouble - and so, too, is their marriage. When a Hollywood movie crew descends to film on location, Mara knows this could be the lodge's salvation. The success of the shoot depends on her, and she thrives on her sudden responsibility and independence. But she also finds herself dangerously attracted to the film's leading man. A poignant love story set against the breathtaking backdrop of Tanzania, The Hunter's Wife explores a young woman's heartfelt struggle to reconcile duty and desire. Amid the gritty reality of the hunter's world and the make-believe realm of the film-maker, Mara finds that passion must be measured against courage, and that fate will reward the brave. (Source: Angus and Robertson)

Review : This is the latest book from Katherine Scholes and is a very good read and set in Africa. I had previously read “Rain Queen” by her and it was fantastic so I got this, her latest novel. If you enjoy The Hunter’s Wife then go back and read Rain Queen and The Stone Angel (both stand alone novels) and you won’t be disappointed, as in my opinion they were better books.

Carolyn

Reading CAN change your life

Here's an inspiring story out of the US about how just one book turned one man's life around (from LIS News).

Hakim Hopkins says his life changed with a book. Hopkins was 15 and in juvenile detention when his mother gave him a copy of Native Son by Richard Wright, a literary classic about the downward spiral of Bigger Thomas who lived in Chicago in the 1930s.

"That book just took me out," Hopkins, now aged 37, remembers. "I didn't know that a book could be that good. I became a book lover, and a thinker."

Now he's trying to change an entire community with a book shop. "It's not so much we sell books," Hopkins says. "We've become a light in the community."

Along with the fiction section, there's the "conscious" section, with books including Raw Law, "a hip-hop guide to law," and the New York Times best-seller The Secret. There's a stand of shea butter, natural soaps, and hand-dipped incense. There are movies, documentaries, and music CDs, including gospel and hip-hop, mostly from unsigned talents. Hopkins' employees mentor independent authors, artists, and DJs on promoting and distributing their work.

Read the full story at Philly.com.

In Praise of Shaun Tan

Yesterday I wanted something new from the Library, something completely different to who I ordinarily am, and something far simpler. I found myself in front of the shelves of graphic novels-- and sitting up, looking at me, was Shaun Tan’s “The Arrival”.

I have had a postcard version of the front cover of this book on my desk for years now. It’s an arresting image – a man in an old fashioned suit looks down curiously at a creature with a long tail. The tail curls like a question, and it’s little eyes ears stand up to attention. The man looks troubled, but not anxious. The creature itself is not unfriendly. It’s a fascinating portrait. And it shows the depth and skill of Shaun Tan’s work – every image has layers, and secrets, and its own narrative.

So despite the postcard that I own, I had never read this book. But now that I have, I think I will buy it and give it to everyone I love. If I had the money, I would probably give it away on street corners too.

“The Arrival” is composed entirely of illustrations. The book is meticulously drawn in gorgeous sepia and brown tones, and printed on textured paper, giving the book the feeling of an antique manuscript. A treasured possession or perhaps something you would find in an attic after a distant relative passes away.

The narrative of the book is a common theme – a man comes to a foreign place to find refuge and begin a new life. He leaves behind the woman he loves and his beautiful daughter. Nothing makes sense – the world is strange and incomprehensible – the chaos is overwhelming. He must survive the confusion. He must navigate his way through an alien world so that the people he loves can join him and live in safety.

I gave myself over to this beautiful book entirely. I read it all in one sitting – over a coffee in Café Zuppa this morning. When I turned the final page I found myself in tears, moved beyond words. Just lovely.

If you haven’t found a spare half hour to read this book, find it today. Get over to the Library and you will probably find it on the shelf, looking at you. I am going to return this copy today – and hopefully someone else will pick it up and find as much joy in its pages as I did.

You can find more about Shaun Tan, and see examples of his astonishing work, here at http://www.shauntan.net/

2009 Age Book of the Year Awards shortlists

The shortlists for the 2009 Age Book of the Year Awards have been announced for Fiction, Non-fiction and Poetry.

Fiction

Look who's morphing by Tom Cho

Butterfly by Sonya Hartnett

Things we didn't see coming by Steven Amsterdam

Cooee by Vivienne Kelly

Ransom by David Malouf

Non fiction The Red Highway by Nicholas Rothwell

The Tall Man : Death and Life on Palm Island by Chloe Hooper

Down to the Crossroads : On the trail of the 2008 US Presidential Election by Guy Rundle

Gough Whitlam : A moment in history by Jenny Hocking

Darwin's Armada by Iain McCalman

Poetry Fire season by Kate Middleton
The golden bird by Robert Adamson
Better than God by Peter Porter
Divine comedy : Journeys through a regional geography by John Kinsella
True thoughts by Pam Brown

The winners will be announced on the opening night of the Melbourne Writers' Festival which is Friday 21 August.

New HSC collection at Springwood and Katoomba Libraries

Blue Mountains City Library is excited to be able to announce that our new Higher School Certificate collection is ready for use.

The HSC collection is in its infancy and we will be adding to it. The focus so far is on English, but it also includes study guides for subject such as Maths, Chemistry, History, Religion, Computer Studies, Legal Studies and more.

The HSC collection is mainly a Reference collection, which usually means titles can only be used within the library, but we have made this a special collection and books can be borrowed overnight (up to two per card).

The HSC collections are housed at Springwood and Katoomba libraries but students at our other branches can get access to them, just ask your library staff.

What not to do with a library book

Some of you might be astonished, stunned, flabbergasted, astounded, gob-smacked, speechless, amazed, dumbfounded, incredulous or just plain dismayed by what some people do with their library books. Some may not be astonished, stunned, flabbergasted, etc. that someone has felt the need to make a poster like this one :



The need for most of those instructions beggars belief. I'm pleased to be able to report that the injunction not to "Fight bears with this book" is one that we will be able to leave off the Blue Mountains City Library version of this poster!

(From LIS News)

New Magazines at Blue Mountains Libraries

For a little while now both The London Review of Books and The New York Review of Books have been available at the Springwood and Katoomba branches of Blue Mountains City Library as reference serials.

We are pleased to be able to tell you that both these magazines are now available for loan (-except for the current issues which are for in use in the library only).

Alison's Picks - August 2009

• Valley of Grace by Marion Halligan
• Hateship, friendship, courtship, loveship, marriage by Alice Munro
• Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch
• The Lost Art of Walking by Geoff Nicholson
• Tea time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith
  

Notice of Temporary Library Closure

Those of you who visit the branch know how uncomfortable it can get at Katoomba library during the summer so there will be an upgrade to its ventilation system.

Katoomba branch library will be closed for three days on

25th, 26th and 27th August 2009

to allow for this important maintenance work.

Instead Blackheath and Wentworth Falls branch libraries will have extended opening hours and will be open from 10am to 5pm on the three days that Katoomba Library will be closed.

You can continue to return items to Katoomba Library via the After Hours Return box near the library entrance.

Storytime on Wednesday 26th August will be held in the Senior Citizens Lounge of the Senior Citizens Centre next door to the library.

Romance readers survey

The Australian Romance Readers Association has launched an online survey of romance reader habits this week as they are trying to get a broader understanding of the market in Australia.

Click here to take part in the survey.

702 ABC Sydney Knit In at Blue Mountains Libraries

Some photos from the 702 ABC Knit in at Springwood Library. Knitters young (from Winmalee High School and Blue Mountains Grammar) and not-so-young gathered to knit squares and sew them together to send to Wrap with Love.

Knitting squares

Putting the squares together

Enjoying each other's company

We have several large boxes in Library Headquarters which will be couriered to Wrap with Love. Our thanks to all those who came to take part in our various branches. You've done a wonderful job for a wonderful charity.

Library Doings - New Katoomba Library and Cultural Centre Display

A display featuring the new Katoomba Library and Cultural Centre will be at Springwood Library for the month of August.

Carolyn's Books of the Month - August 2009

• Best read for the month : The Hunter’s Wife by Katherine Scholes (see also the Readers in the Mist post for The Hunter's Wife)


• Thriller : Breakneck by Erica Spindler


• General : The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amerrezvani (see also the Readers in the Mist post for The Blood of Flowers) and First Family by David Baldacci


• Saga/Romances : Before the Storm by Diane Chamberlain


• Australian Author : Long Lost by Harlan Coben
  

999 Challenge - July 2009

I have managed to read ten books this month as I have been on holidays. I will only review a select few.

Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult ( General Reading) : Handle With Care is about a family with two daughters, the younger being born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) - commonly known as brittle bone disease. With the ongoing costs of raising a child with this disease, the mother decides to sue for wrongful birth. She feels if digagnosed earlier in the pregnancy it could have been terminated. The conroversy is that the obstetrician is the mother's best friend. The father decides he doesn't want to have anything to do with a court case as he doesn't want his daughter to think she wasn't wanted. The older daughter is unintentionally neglected and suffers from bulimia at this time. Sometimes you feel for the mother as she is trying to give her daughter a better future and how overwhelmed she is in raising a child with OI, but on the other hand to the detriment of the rest of her family. The characters are strong and complicated and, of course, there are many ethical issues raised. I really enjoyed the book but, like all her books of late, it seems to go down the same path with a different set health issues and ethical issues.

I recently went to see the film of the book My Sister's Keeper also by Jodi Picoult. I read the book a couple of years ago and was looking forward to seeing the film. It is the story of Anna who sues her parent for the right to make her own medical decisions. Anna was conceived by genetic engineering as a match for her older sister Kate who is suffering from leukemia. The story covers family issues during the trial. The ending was quite a suprise in the book, but with the film they completely changed the ending and it was such a let down. My friend who had not read the book loved the film, but it left me very disappointed.

The Choice by Nicholas Sparks (General Reading) : The storyline is about a man and woman living next door to each other. Travis, the male character in the story, is, of course, perfect in every way; attractive, quick witted, smart, great with children and of course wealthy as he has a veterinary business. New neighbour Gabby bursts through the bushes that divide their houses yelling about his dog getting her dog pregnant. After spending a weekend together they fall in love and of course marry and have the perfect children and marriage. Eleven years along, when driving home in a thunderstorm, Travis crashes the car. Travis wakes up in hospital but Gabby remains in a coma. After a couple of months Travis is faced with a 'Choice' of a promise he made to Gabby a few years previous that if anything happens to her and she was in a long coma that Travis would turn off the life support. Even though it was a very predictable plot I couldn't put the book down. For a man, Nicholas Sparks writes a very good love story.

The Killing of Caroline Bryne : a journey to justice by Robert Wainwright (Crime) : This is a story of justice and a father's determination of in finding the truth about his daughter's death. It is also about the testing of the justice system which is taken to the limit. After thirteen years of investigation by police into Caroline's fiancee he was finally bought to justice. Gordon Wood was an arrogant self-absorbed man who loved working out in the gym where he met Caroline. Wood chauffeured for stock trader Rene Rivkin who at this time was going through a turbulent time himself. The death at the time was treated as a suicide as Caroline was found at the bottom of the Gap a popular place for suicide. The police investigation was botched from the start. Wood's behaviour after Caroline's death was quite bizarre. what finally led to Wood's arrest was science. Scientific test were carried out using police cadets to see if it was possible to jump from a cliff and land nine metres away. It was proved that it couldn't be done. The police thought Wood had an accomplice as Caroline, Wood and another man were seen in Watsons Bay on the day of Caroline's death. Wood was found guilty in November 2008 thirteen years after Caroline's death. Even though I think he did it, it is not without reasonable doubt as there was little hard evidence due to the botched crime scene in the first place. An interesting read. A movie is now in production from this book.

Testimony by Anita Shreve (General reading) : Testimony tells the story of teenage sexuality and the long term ramifications of what happens when a decision is made in the moment. A video is given to the headmaster of the Avery Academy school which features a fourteen year old girl engaging in drunken sexual acts with three senior boys from the basketball team. The scandal shakes this private school to the core and changes the lives those involved forever. Who is to blame? Was it the boys because of their age taking advantage of the younger girl? Or was the girl a willing participant? She later claims she was raped. I think that decisions and actions taken in the heat of the moment will change lives forever and there is no going back. I really enjoyed this book a very compelling read.

Library Doings - 702 ABC Sydney Knit In

The annual 702 ABC Sydney Knit-In is a fantastic community event supporting Wrap with Love Inc which creates colourful wraps for communities in need around the world.

All Blue Mountains Library branches are now accepting donations of wool, knitted squares and completed wraps and 'Knit-Ins' are being hosted at several of our branches:

Friday 7th August

10am-1pm

Springwood, Katoomba &

Wentworth Falls library branches

1pm-4pm

Blackheath library branch

Tea, coffee and morning/afternoon tea will be provided.

All knitters and would-be knitters welcome - contact your local library branch for further details.