School Holiday Activities 2010

CROSS CULTURAL ECOSYTEMS with Johnny Ngomeley & Chandu Bickford

Friday 22nd January @ Springwood Library
10:30am-12noon

For Children aged 6-12 years

Cost : $5 each

Be dazzled by African puppets, costumes, dance, song and learn some Swahili language. In this workshop you will learn to share the secrets of wisdom handed down through one of the world’s ancient cultures.

Bookings Essential

Book early to avoid disappointment

School Holiday Activities 2010

NATIVE AMERICA : Native American Dream Catchers with Naomi

Thursday 21st January @ Blaxland Library
10:30am - 12noon
For children aged 6-12 years
Cost: Family ticket $10 each

Based on Native American traditional dream-catchers, used to filter out bad dreams and welcome in the good ones.

Your Tutor : Naomi Oliver
Naomi is a Blue Mountains-based artist, who has exhibited her artwork both nationally and internationally. She has been involved in art gallery public programs and has in the past contributed to HSC study material for NSW students.

Bookings Essential

Book early to avoid disappointment

School Holiday Activities 2010

AUTHOR VISIT : Jan Latta

Wednesday 20th January @ Katoomba Library
11am - 12noon
For all ages
Cost: Family ticket $10 each

Come on a great adventure with author and wildlife photographer Jan Latta.

In 1994, Jan came face to face with a mountain gorilla in Rwanda. The experience changed her life. When her guide said there were only 600 mountain gorillas left in the world, Jan decided to create books for children on endangered animals.

The True to Life books are in the Premier's Reading Challenge list.

This presentation will include over 100 photographs Jan has taken in Africa, India, Borneo and China that all the family can enjoy.

Bookings essential.

Book early to avoid disappointment.

School Holiday Activities 2010

GREECE : Ancient Greek mask making with Jane

Tuesday 19th January @ Blaxland Library
10:30am - 12noon
For Children aged 6 - 12 years

Cost: $5 each

Masks are fun to make & the ancient Greeks has some incredible ideas for their masks. Join this workshop to colour & cut your own paper mask to surprise your friends & family.

Bookings essential.

Book early to avoid disappointment.

Your Tutor : Jane Davidson
Jane is a freelance artist. She is a sought after tutor for workshops in regional galleries and councils for children, both primary and secondary age.

Summer Holiday Activities 2010

RUSSIA : Paper 'Babushka' dolls with Jane

Monday 18th January @ Blackheath Library
10:30am - 12noon
For Children aged 6 - 12 years

Cost: $5 each

Learn about the detailed & fascinating designs of Russian
folk art by crafting & decorating your own set of free-standing,
paper matruyshka dolls.

Bookings essential.

Book early to avoid disappointment.

Your Tutor : Jane Davidson
Jane is a freelance artist. She is a sought after tutor for workshops in regional galleries and councils for children, both primary and secondary age.

School Holiday Activities 2010

Digital Photography with Naomi

Friday 15th January @ Springwood Library
10:30am - 12noon
For young people aged 10-15 years

Cost: $10 each
Limited Places : Bookings essential.

Book early to avoid disappointment.

Your Tutor : Naomi Oliver
Naomi is a Blue Mountains-based artist, who has exhibited her artwork both nationally and internationally. She has been involved in art gallery public programs and has in the past contributed to HSC study material for NSW students.

Christmas @ the Library

The staff of Blue Mountains City Library wish all our friends near and far a very Happy Christmas and we look forward to seeing you all again when we re-open on 4th January 2010

School Holiday Activities 2010

JAPAN : Origami and Kirigami with Jane
Thursday 14th January @ Lawson Library
10:30am - 12noon
For Children aged 6 - 12 years

Cost: $5 each

Would you like to try the delicate Japanese art of folding & cutting beautiful paper models? This workshop is suitable for younger children.

Bookings essential.

Book early to avoid disappointment.

Your Tutor : Jane Davidson
Jane is a freelance artist. She is a sought after tutor for workshops in regional galleries and councils for children, both primary and secondary age.

School Holiday Activities 2010

NEW ZEALAND MAORI : Clay Art with Jane

Wednesday 13th January @ Katoomba Library
10:30am - 12noon
For Children aged 6 - 12 years

Cost: $5 each

There are truly many interesting ways to work clay into makingAa Maori Symbol of Life, of New Beginnings and of Growth and Harmony.

Mess involved. Wear old clothes.

Bookings essential.

Book early to avoid disappointment.

Your Tutor : Jane Davidson
Jane is a freelance artist. She is a sought after tutor for workshops in regional galleries and councils for children, both primary and secondary age.

School Holiday Activities 2010

NATIVE AMERICA: Clay Fun with Jane

Tuesday 12th January @ Wentworth Falls Library
10:30am - 12noon
For Children aged 6 - 12 years

Cost: $5 each


The natives of the North West Pacific coast carve beautiful
and majestic totem poles to stand tall and proud in front of their
homes. Come along to this fun workshop making your own
totems using clay. Create your own special meaning for
your totem!

Mess involved. Wear old clothes.

Bookings essential.

Book early to avoid disappointment.

Your Tutor : Jane Davidson
Jane is a freelance artist. She is a sought after tutor for workshops in regional galleries and councils for children, both primary and secondary age.

Christmas @ the Library Reminder Again

It's getting close to Christmas (just 4 more sleeps peeps!) so here's another reminder that all branches of Blue Mountains Library will be closed between Christmas and the New Year.

Libraries will be open on Christmas Eve, Thursday 24 December 2009, as normal but will be closed from Friday 25 December 2009 until Saturday 2 January 2010 - reopening on Monday 4 January 2010.

• Remember though, until Saturday 9 January 2010 any items issued (except DVDs and Comics) will have an extended loan period of 6 weeks instead of the usual 3 weeks.


• During the closure, you will be able to return library items via the After Hours Return bins which will be cleared on a daily basis by library staff.


• You can also renew items via the Library Catalogue - you will need your Library card and your PIN to do this.

The Manager and Staff of Blue Mountains Library wish all our members a safe and happy holiday and we look forward to seeing you all again in the New Year.

School Holiday Activities 2010

China : Beautiful fans with Jane

Monday 11th January @ Springwood Library

10:30am to 12 noon

For children aged 5-12 years

Cost $5 per child

It’s summer and you always need a fan to
keep you cool in summer! Come along and learn about Chinese art while you design and make your very own Chinese style fan. Art to keep you cool!

Bookings essential

Book early to avoid disappointment.

Your Tutor : Jane Davidson
Jane is a freelance artist. She is a sought after tutor for workshops in regional galleries and councils for children, both primary and secondary age.

Jane Austen gone awry

Has anyone else read this book? It's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies written by Seth Grahame-Smith and Jane Austen.

It's a fun read and now it's been announced that Natalie Portman has signed on to produce and star in the movie version. Yay!

There is also a companion book, Sense and Sensibility and Seamonsters by Ben Winters and Jane Austen - here's a trailer for it :

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jZVE5uF24Q&feature=player_embedded]

(The release date is for the book, not a movie)

NORAD Santa Tracker

My family has been using the NORAD Santa Tracker for a few years now.

NORAD is the bi-national U.S.-Canadian military organization responsible for the aerospace and maritime defense of the United States and Canada. NORAD, created by a 1958 agreement between Canada and the United States, provides advanced warning of impending missile and air attacks against its member nations, safeguards the air sovereignty of North America, and maintains airborne forces for defense against attack.

NORAD began tracking Santa in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement for children to call Santa misprinted the telephone number. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief's operations hotline. The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, and a tradition was born.

Since that time, NORAD men, women, family and friends have selflessly volunteered their time to personally respond to Christmas Eve phone calls and emails from children. In addition, we now track Santa using the internet. Last year, millions of people who wanted to know Santa's whereabouts visited the NORAD Tracks Santa website.

The NORAD Tracks Santa website helps you count down to Christmas. In addition there is a Kids Countdown Page with lots of fun games and activities and you can follow Santa on Google Earth.

Make this part of your Christmas Eve tradition this year.

What Library staff are reading . . .

• Sundays at Tiffanys by James Patterson ~ absolutely beautiful!
• Hide and seek by Sandra Wilson ~ historical romance
• The Last Stormlord by Glenda Larke ~ wonderful, wonderful fantasy fiction. I’ve put in a Purchase request for all of her works that we don’t have
• Am in the middle of Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel ~ I have to confess that I’m struggling with it; I just can’t get on with her writing style
• The World Beneath by Australian writer Cate Kennedy ~ it’s set on the Overland Track, Tasmania (Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair) which I have walked and know the terrain she’s referring to. Great style, pacy, dramatic, insightful – and most interesting of all she tells the story via at least four different points of view, which is both impressive and inspiring
• The Spare Room by Helen Garner ~ a wonderfully honest and human story about caring for a terminally ill friend
• Floor Sample: a creative memoir by Julia Cameron ~ a great read about the tumultuous life of the beloved creativity teacher, Julia Cameron. Beautifully written, it exposes the exhilarating, uncontainable side of Hollywood fame, as well as the life-affirming payoffs that arrive after overcoming addiction
• The weight of silence was last month’s book group choice and we all hated it. It was recommended as the author, Catherine Therese, was a fantastic speaker at the Writer’s festival. Many felt her writing was not so riveting
• I’ve just finished The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas which I almost threw away but have persevered with as I want to know how it ends. The blokey language and sexual descriptions really slight women generally. Definitely not a favourite for the year
• Australia Street by Ann Whitehead ~ a good old Aussie saga set in inner city Sydney just after World War II
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini ~ has been on my “to read” list for ages. What a good book – thoroughly enjoyed it
• Night by Elie Wiesel ~ A very moving account of Elie’s survival as a boy in the Nazi death camps of WW II
• Australia’s birthstain: the startling legacy of the convict era by Babette Smith ~ lots of interesting details about a selection of convicts: their crimes, trials and life in the colony and the politics behind it all
• I am reading Motherlode: Australian Women’s Poetry 1986 - 2008 edited by Jennifer Harrison and Kate Waterhouse ~ the poems in this collection have floored me with their beauty and challenged me with their frankness. I would go so far as to say that every Australian woman should at least take a look inside this book
• Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer
• Incurable by John Marsden
• Auggie Wren's Christmas Story by Paul Auster
• The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
• The Complaints by Ian Rankin ~ classic Rankin, the first in a new series
• The Lady in the Tower : the fall of Anne Boleyn by Alison Weir
• In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
  
  
  And what we plan to read over the holidays while the library is closed . . .
• It’s time for me to reread Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien so that’s next on my agenda apart from Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys for book group
• Alex Miller’s new book ,Lovesong
• Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro and maybe Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
• Finding Water: the art of perseverance by Julia Cameron
• The Gift by Lewis Hyde
• I’m looking forward to reading the 3rd book in the Millenium series by Stieg Larssen (The girl who kicked the hornet's nest) over the break. I’m not usually a crime reader but this series got me in
• Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift ~ because I am writing a poem that seems to be developing a Lilliputian theme, but I’ve never actually read this book
• Ransom by David Malouf ~ because I heard David Malouf speak at the Carrington a couple of months ago and kind of fell in love with him for being such an eloquent public speaker and so interesting too
• Striped World by Emma Jones who was recently featured in The Australian newspaper as being Australia’s up and coming poetry star. She is currently living in the UK
• This Charming Man by Marian Keyes
• The thirty-six by Siegmund Siegreich ~ story about a boy's survival of the Holocaust
• Australians Origins to Eureka, Volume 1 of Tom Keneally's epic history of Australian people
• Sold by Brendan Gullifer ~ I've no idea why this is on my list, I must have read a good review and requested it
• FamilyFun Cookies for Christmas and Cooking for Christmas ~ well, the family can live in hope . . .
• Fires of Faith : Catholic England under Mary Tudor by Eamon Duffy ~ someone tell my husband you can't get enough Tudor history
• Vermeer and his World by Serena Cant ~ this oversized book just begs to be pored over
• Horrible Christmas by Terry Deary ~ to read with my daughter
• Scroogenomics : why you shouldn't buy presents for the holidays by Joel Waldfogel ~ I'm Scottish!

Just look at this . . .

This is from the New Zealand Book Council by way of The Book Cover Archive blog. Just beautiful and amazing.

Alison's Picks - December 2009

Kate Jennings : Stanley and Sophie

Jane Borodale : The Book of Fires

Andrew Lindsay : The Slapping Man

Katarina Mazetti : Benny and Shrimp

Joel Stratte-McClure : The Idiot and the Odyssey; walking the Mediterranean

Summer Holiday Activities

Throughout the summer holidays of 2009 - 2010 there will be a range of fun multi-cultural workshops and events for children at Blue Mountains Libraries.

We start off in December with the Summer Reading Club which is aimed at encouraging children to read for enjoyment. Log books can be picked up from all branches of the library and children can get reading!

The workshops and other events start in January 2010.

Bookings are essential for all events.

China : Beautiful fans with Jane
Monday 11th January @ Springwood Library
10:30am-12noon
For 5-12 year olds, $5 each

Native America : Clay fun with Jane
Tuesday 12th January @ Wentworth Falls Library
10:30am-12noon
For 6-12 year olds, $5 each

Maori : Clay art with Jane
Wednesday 13th January @ Katoomba Library
10:30am-12noon
For 6-12 year olds, $5 each

Japan : Origami and Kirigami with Jane
Thursday 14th January @ Lawson Library
10:30am-12noon
For 5-12 year olds, $5 each

Digital photography with Naomi
Friday 15th January @ Springwood Library
10:30am-12noon
For 10-15 year olds, $10 each

Russia : Paper 'Babushka' dolls with Jane
Monday 18th January @ Blackheath Library
10:30am-12noon
For 6-12 year olds, $5 each

Greece : Ancient Greek mask making with Jane
Tuesday 19th January @ Blaxland Library
10:30am-12noon
For 6-12 year olds, $5 each

Author visit - Jane Latta
Wednesday 20th January @ Katoomba Library
11am-12noon
All ages, Family ticket $10

Native America : Native American Dream Catchers with Naomi
Thursday 21st January @ Blaxland Library
10:30am-12noon
For 6-12 year olds, $5 each

Cross-Cultural Ecosystems - African puppets, costumes, dance and songs with Johnny Ngomeley and Chandu Bickford
Friday 22nd January @ Springwood Library
10:30am-12noon
For 6-12 year olds, $5 each

For more information contact Blue Mountains City Libary on 4723 5036 or visit our website.

Christmas @ the Library Reminder

Just a reminder that all branches of Blue Mountains Library will close again this year between Christmas and the New Year.

Libraries will be open on Christmas Eve, Thursday 24 December 2009, as normal but will be closed from Friday 25 December 2009 until Saturday 2 January 2010 - reopening on Monday 4 January 2010.

• Remember though, until Saturday 9 January 2010 any items issued (except DVDs and Comics) will have an extended loan period of 6 weeks instead of the usual 3 weeks.


• During the closure, you will be able to return library items via the After Hours Return bins which will be cleared on a daily basis by library staff.


• You can also renew items via the Library Catalogue - you will need your Library card and your PIN to do this.

ABC 702 Mornings Top Ten Books for Summer

Each month 702 Mornings host gets together with literary critic, Geordie Williamson for their on-the-radio book club. Geordie has come up with 10 reads to get you through the summer holidays. You can read a precis of each book and listen to Geordie's insights on each title by clicking here.
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (the Library has this title on order at time of posting)
Outside Of A Dog by Rick Gekoski (the Library has this title on order at time of posting)
The Museum Of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk
Love and Summer by William Trevor (the Library has this title on order at time of posting)
The Good Parents by Joan London
Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi by Geoff Dyer
The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
Ransom by David Malouf
Life and Fate by Vassily Grossman
The Atmospheric Railway by Shena Mackay

And if you want to see the books discussed by the 702 Book Club you can click here - once in there you just click on each title for a plot outline, picture and the full interview.

999 Challenge - December 2009

The Neighbour by Lisa Gardner (Crime) : Sandra, a teacher, and Jason, a reporter, are a married couple with a three year old daughter who they are totally devoted to. They appear to be living the perfect life and then one night Sandra disappears without a trace. DD Warren is a career police officer who thinks Jason has something to do with the disappearence. Then there are the other suspects, a neighbour from a couple of doors down who is a registered sex offender and a student of whom Sandra has taken a special interest in.
The book is layered in secrets and deceptions and covers topics of sex offenders, child exploitation and internet crimes. I really enjoyed this book and will reading other titles by this author.

Diamonds and Dust by Sheryl McCorry (Biography) : I found a review of this book in Good Reading and thought it looked interesting.
Sheryl grew up in the outback. At eighteen she married a man she hardly knew and at the wedding she locked eyes with a man across the crowded room. The man was Bob McCorry a drover and buffalo hunter who was twice her age. Sheryl's marriage lasted only a couple of months and she then began an affair with Bob McCorry a union that would last a lifetime and take them into some of the harshed places in the Kimberleys. She learned to run rogue bulls, muster cattle and work within a team of men only stockmen. Sheryl and McCorry married and Sheryl became the first woman to run a two million cattle station in one of the toughest terrians in Australia. Her life was not without tragedy, losing her son at five years of age in an accident.
It is a story of hardship, love and joy and shows the strength this woman had and still has as she now lives between Mount Barker and Broome.

Access Road by Maurice Gee (Word of Mouth) : This story explores the world of seventy eight year old Rowan Pinker and her elderly brothers Roly and Lionel as they deal with old age, ill health and events in Lionel's past. After fifty years away Lionel and Roly return to the crumberling family home on Access Road. Rowan recalls the past, of Roly's disappearence from home at eighteen unable to cope with the pressure of an ambitious mother and Lionel who suffered from black moods and fits of violence who makes a career as a dentist which hold secrets of there own. Rowan escaped by marrying Dickie Pinker and moved to the better side of town. Rowan's brothers think that she should not delve into the past and to leave well enough alone. Rowan can not let go and her discoveries lead to a shocking conclusion.
The author's focuses are on family lives and behaviours that are often left stripped bare. I really enjoy this New Zealand author's books, his books are hard to put down. He is a great storyteller.

Penguin podcasts

Penguin in the US has a radio programme, called The Radio Room, broadcasting interviews and book excerpts weekly. We out-of-towners don't need to miss out, we can catch up with them in podcast form.

There is also the Penguin Screening Room and the Reading Room.

What a great idea.

International Volunteers Day

In photo (L to R) : Peter Adams, Matthew Tidswell, Vicki Edmunds, John Massar, Janet Kentwell, Patou Clerc, Kate Santleben, Phil Pinyon, Lynnette Hitchell, Judy Reading, Katharine White, Robyn Smith, Jeanette Ormerod, Narda Mahanga, Rosemary Menday, Adrienne Kailofer, Colleen Cliff, Ros Cusiter. (Volunteers in italics)

Last Tuesday, Vicki Edmunds (Manager Library and Community Services) welcomed Phil Pinyon (BMCC General Manager), Peter Adams (Manager Community and Corporate), 11 library volunteers and library staff to Blaxland Library to celebrate International Volunteer Day. December 5th was declared International Volunteer Day by the United Nations in 1986 by dozens of countries.

The Library currently has 21 volunteers and the morning tea was an opportunity for staff to thank the volunteers for their contribution to the library service and to wish them a happy Christmas. Our volunteers contribute in a variety of ways, assisting with storytimes, covering and repairing materials, conducting one on one internet training sessions, helping out in Local Studies and in a myriad of other ways. Library staff enjoy their company and appreciate their interest and energy and thank them sincerely for the time they put in for us and the Blue Mountains community.

Others thinking about volunteering with Blue Mountains Library can contact The Australian Centre for Volunteering - 02 9261 3600.

Ever fancied being a Librarian?

This flow chart may be of assistance in helping you decide (double click to make it bigger and easier to read, or put on your stern Librarian glasses) :

From LISNews

The Costa Book Awards shortlists 2009

The Costa Book Awards (initially known as the Whitbread Literary Awards between 1971 and 2006) is one of the most prestigious British literary prizes for writers based in the UK and Ireland. There are 5 categories: First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children's Book. One of these five books is then selected as the overall winner of the Book of the Year. The Costa Book Awards is the only literary prize which places children's books alongside adult books.

Since 1971, the awards have rewarded a wide range of excellent books and authors across all genres including The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson, The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman, Beowulf by Seamus Heaney, Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes, Small Island by Andrea Levy, The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney, Day by A.L. Kennedy's Day and The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry.

Here are the shortlisted books for 2009 in each category :

Costa First Novel Award

The Finest Type of English Womanhood by Rachel Heath • John the Revelator by Peter Murphy • Beauty by Raphael Selbourne • The Girl with Glass Feet by Ali Shaw

Costa Novel Award Family Album by Penelope Lively • Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel • The Elephant Keeper by Christopher Nicholson • Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

Costa Biography Award The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Quantum Genius by Graham Farmelo (the library has this on order at time of posting) • The Music Room by William Fiennes
• Coda by Simon Gray (the library has this on order at time of posting) • Dancing to the Precipice by Caroline Moorehead

Costa Poetry Award

Angels Over Elsinore by Clive James
(the library has this on order at time of posting) • One Eye'd Leigh by Katharine Kilalea (the library has this on order at time of posting) • Darwin: A Life in Poems by Ruth Padel • A Scattering by Christopher Reid (the library has this on order at time of posting)

Costa Children's Award

Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd • Troubadour by Mary Hoffman • The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (the library has this on order at time of posting) • Guantanamo Boy by Anna Perera

The award winners in each category will be announced in London on 5th January 2010 and the Book of the Year winner will be announced on 26th January 2010.

For genealogists

The State Records Office of NSW has recently completed a pilot project to digitise assisted immigrant arrival records for arrivals 1838-1896. Find out more here.

There are plenty of online resources for family historians on the Genealogy page of the Library's Recommended Sites and a Family History collection at Springwood Library. This collection comprises books, journals, microfiche, microfilm, indexes guides and CD-ROMs.

Blue Mountains Family History Society material is also stored at Springwood for use in the library. It is available for loan only to members of the Society. Blue Mountains Historical Society offer free workshops at Springwood Library every 2nd and 3rd Tuesday morning from 9am-12pm and every 4th Saturday 9am-12pm. These workshops are led by experienced researchers from the Society. Volunteers are also available in the library for personal assistance each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 10am-1pm.

Anyone else want to get behind Do Nothing But Read Day?

Amanda Hyphenated Madison of Wisconsin in the US, a student Librarian, is leading a campaign to make Sunday 20th of December the first ever Do Nothing But Read Day. Amanda proposes that we take a day off from Christmas preparations and just read.

Those of you who remember the February post about National Read in Bed Day will know I'd like to get behind Do Nothing But Read Day, especially as an escape from Christmas which is not my favourite time of year.
Amanda gives us a leg up with a list of her Essential and Optional Requirements for the day :

Essential :

1. You must read more than one book (they can be short, and short stories count!)
2. You need to wear comfy clothing (jammies preferable)
3. No no shoes (slippers are ok)
4. You'll need mugs of beverages and armfuls of snacks (armfuls is my addition)/li>

Optional :

1. Sleepy cat(s)
2. Blankies

We in Australia are blessed with warmer weather this time of year (especially today which is forecast to hit 40 C in our neck of the woods and a Total Fire Ban has been declared) so I think our list of Optionals can be slightly different :

1. Swimmers
2. Sun hat
3. Sun screen
4. Flip flops - thongs in local parlance
5. Ice cream and cool drinks

What else would you gather around you for a lazy day? I'm going to add MP3 player for podcasts of author interviews from the BBC's World Book Club and ABC Radio National's Book Show for when your eyes need a rest and background music and a hammock.

Noah's Compass

AUTHOR: Ann Tyler
PUBLICATION DATE: 2009
No PAGES: 277
TIME PERIOD: Contemporary
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION: Baltimore, USA.
CATEGORY: Adult fiction; literary fiction.
PLOT SUMMARY: Tyler begins her story like this:
In the sixty-first year of his life, Liam Pennywell lost his job. It wasn’t such a good job, anyhow. He’d been teaching fifth grade in a second-rate private boys’ school. Fifth grade wasn’t even what he’d been trained for. Teaching wasn’t what he’d been trained for. His degree was in philosophy.
Having been ‘let go’ he downsizes, moving to a small apartment and paring down his possessions. Assorted friends and family take advantage of him in their various ways. Eventually there’s a relationship that requires him to assert, to be real, to abandon the safe certainties of his unattached life. What will he do?
COMMENTS: When a new Ann Tyler novel arrives, you read it and take note.
Liam is a man to whom things happen. I don’t know whether Tyler is having a sly dig at philosophy, but it feels like it. Liam resembles blancmange. It is the picturesque, the literary, the poetic in philosophy that attracts him, not the rigour. His reluctance to actually take a stand on anything is almost religious. You want to shake him. Tyler’s slow and deliberate exposition of his life and choices is masterfully done. Shakespearian tragedies typically focus on the downfall of someone from an exalted position in society; Liam’s story shows that tragedies afflicting the humble and unassuming are just as gut-wrenching, and just as worthy a subject for fiction.
This novel has a simple, accessible surface; but the human negotiations depicted here are not simple.
REVIEWER: Alison, December 2009.

Bad S*x Award Winner

American author, Jonathan Littell, has won the Literary Review's Bad Sex in Fiction Award for 2009 (which goes annually to the author who produces the worst description of a sex scene in a novel) with his novel, The Kindly Ones.

The Kindly Ones is a novel about the Holocaust as seen through the eyes of an executioner. First published in French as Les Bienveillantes in 2006 and highly controversial because of the subject matter, it won the prestigious Prix Goncourt.

You can read the extracts from all the shortlisted novels in this Guardian article, The Bad Sex Factor and Last week's post about the BSIF Shortlist.

Carolyn's Books of the Month - December 2009

Best read for the month : The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Thriller : Swimsuit by James Patterson with Maxine Paetro and Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay

General : Book of Rapture by Nikki Gemmell

Australian Author : Dark Country by Bronwyn Parry

Saga/Romances : Flight of Swallows by Audrey Howard

Crime : The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly

Wheeler Centre - Books, Ideas, Writing

From 2010, Melbourne will have a new cultural institution, the Wheeler Centre. Named after the Wheelers of Lonely Planet fame, The Centre, and its website, will be dedicated to the discussion and practice of writing and ideas and will deliver a year-round programme of talks and lectures, readings and debates, and an evolving site featuring video and live blogging.

The Centre launches officially on 20th January 2010, when the inaugural three month programme of events will be announced.

You can check it out and perhaps subscribe to their e-newsletter here.

Christmas @ the Library

With Christmas approaching fast (only 18 more sleeps), it's time to tell you about what will be happening in the Libraries for Christmas.

All branches of Blue Mountains Library will close again this year between Christmas and the New Year.

Libraries will be open on Christmas Eve, Thursday 24 December 2009, as normal but will be closed from Friday 25 December 2009 until Saturday 2 January 2010 - reopening on Monday 4 January 2010.

• To compensate for the closure there will be an extended loan period of 6 weeks instead of the usual 3 weeks for all library items (except DVDs and Comics).


• This extended loan period starts today, Monday 7 December 2009 and will continue for items issued up to Saturday 9 January 2010.


• During the closure, you will be able to return library items via the After Hours Return bins which will be cleared on a daily basis by library staff.


• You can also renew items via the Library Catalogue - you will need your Library card and your PIN to do this.

Furnishing advice

For the ultimate in bedding design for book lovers :

Summer Reading Club

Have you joined the Summer Reading Club yet children? The Summer Reading Club started on 1st December and will run all the way until 12th February 2010. Click on the link above for details of how you can get started.

There is also a website you can visit with games for children from aged 5 and older. Click here to have a look.

Inky Awards for YA Literature Winners 2009

The Inkys are Australia's only book award where the winners are chosen by the people the books are written for, ie. young people aged 12-18. The winners are voted for by young people and this year the winners are:

Golden Inky - Australian author
Where the Streets Had a Name by Randa Abdel-Fattah
Hayaat is from Bethlehem and she is on a dangerous mission. Her objective: retrieve a handful of soil which could save a life. Her destination: Jerusalem. To get there she will have to get pass the impenetrable wall that divides the West Bank. She will have to deal with checkpoints, curfews and a best friend who manages to attract trouble wherever he goes. Her short journey may take her a lot longer than she thought.

Silver Inky - International author
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen lives in a post apocalyptic world. After several devastating disasters a powerful government called the Capitol has taken control. Every year the Capitol chooses twelve boys and twelve girls to compete in the ruthless Hunger Games. The contestants fight on live TV, forced to kill until only one remains. When Katniss is chosen to compete she regards it as a death sentence. But survival is second nature to Katniss. Maybe she has a chance to live?

You can read about all the Inkys longlisted books here.

Nil desperandum

You just have to admire the lateral thinking and resilience of some people.

When the English village of Westbury-sub-Mendip (population of approximately 800 in Somerset) lost both its mobile library service and its public phone box they didn't throw up their hands in despair, they came up with a brilliant way of reviving both.

For the outrageous price of £1, the villagers were able to buy the phone box from BT and stocked it with books, CDs and DVDs.

Now the library is available to the community can use the library at any time instead of once a week on a Monday as they used to.

Parish Councillor, Bob Dolby, said, "It's really taken off. The books are constantly changing". Adding, "It is completely full at the moment with books. Anyone is free to come and take a book and leave one that you have already read".

You can read more about this good news story at the BBC here and here. (Picture from the BBC report).