Bookworms @ Blackheath Library

Children's Author of the Month

Books Available by Margaret Wild
@ Blue Mountains City Library
Miss Lily’s fabulous pink feather boa (Easy)
First day (Easy)
The midnight feast (Easy)
Tom goes to kindergarten (Easy)
Fox (JF WILD)
Nighty night (Easy)
The house of Narcissus (JF WILD)
The very best of friends (Easy)
Sam’s Sunday dad (Easy)
All the better to see you with (Easy)
Thank you Santa (JF WILD)
Our granny (Easy)
Toby (Easy)
Old pig (JF WILD)
Looking after Alice & co. (Easy)
The midnight gang (Easy)
Little Humpty (Easy)
Kiss, kiss! (Easy)
Piglet and Mama (Easy)
Too many monkeys (Easy)
The bilbies of Bliss (Easy)
The little crooked house (Easy)
Hop, little hare! (Easy)
Piglet and papa (Easy)
Pat the cat and sailor Sam (JF WILD)
Lucy Goosey (Easy)
Baby bird’s blankie (Easy)
Big red hen and the little lost egg (Easy)
Harry & Hopper (Easy)
Puffling (Easy)
The pocket dogs (Easy)
The pocket dogs go on holiday (Easy)
Piglet and Granny (Easy)
Going home (Easy)
Hush, hush! (Easy
Itsy-bitsy babies (Easy)
Seven more sleeps (Easy)
Jenny angel (JF WILD)
Jinx ( YA WILD)
Let the celebrations begin! (JF WILD)
Chatterbox (Easy)
Remember (Easy)
Baby Boomsticks (Easy)
Grandpa Baby (Easy)
Farmer Fred’s cow (Easy)

Winner of the Literary Review's Bad Sex in Fiction Award 2010

This year the winner of this much feared award is given to Rowan Somerville for the use of "unsettling insect imagery in The Shape of Her.

The judges of the award are reported to have been particularly impressed by a sentence that compares lovemaking to "a lepidopterist mounting a tough-skinned insect."

Rowan Somerville, born in London but now living in Ireland, took his victory in good part saying "there is nothing more English than bad sex." I can't comment on that . . .

Read yesterday's post on the Shortlist

Christmas @ the Library

This year Blue Mountains City Library will be closed over the Christmas and New Year period from 5pm on Christmas Eve (note that is 30 minutes early for Blaxland, Springwood and Katoomba branches) until we open again at 10am on Tuesday 4th January 2011.


Extended Loan Period ~ From Monday 6th December 2010 we will be extending the loan period for most items from the usual 3 weeks to 6 weeks to cover the Christmas and New Year closure of the Library (see below for exceptions). The number of loans will remain at 20 items per membership. This will continue until Monday 10th January 2011 when the loan period will return to 3 weeks.

Not included in the Extended Loan Period ~ TOYS, DVDs and COMICS will not have any extension to the loan period, or increase in the number of items allowed.

Holds/Reserves ~ The Hold period for reserves also remains at 2 weeks.

Literary Review's Bad Sex in Fiction Award shortlist

As posted last month, Tony Blair had been nominated for a Bad Sex Award, the first time a non-fiction work had been nominated for this award that most authors would surely wish to avoid having on their CVs - apparently Alastair Campbell is the exception.

Sadly, Mr Blair does not appear on the official Literary Review Bad Sex in Fiction Award nominations list but these do :

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas

The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon

Maya by Alastair Campbell

A Life Apart by Neel Mukherjee

Heartbreak by Craig Raine

The Shape of Her by Rowan Somerville

Mr Peanut by Adam Ross

The winner will be announced in London today so hopefully I'll be able to report fully tomorrow.

Storytime @ Lawson Library

2010 Inky Awards Winners

The 2010 Winner of the Gold Inky for an Australian book for Young Adults is :

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

The 2010 Winner of the Silver Inky for an international book for Young Adults is :

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Also announced at the ceremony at the State Library of Victoria was the winner of the Creative Reading Prize : Natalie Keynton aged 15 who sent in a portfolio of designs around Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games. See pages from the portfolio here.


Remind yourself of the shortlisted titles in each category here.

Some Library Facts

I've just been perusing the November edition of the Austalian Library and Information Association (ALIA) magazine, inCite and I have learned some interesting facts about libraries in Australia :

• Australia has 1402 public libraries with 1480+ library service points - that's nearly twice the number of McDonald's restaurants (780+)


• there are 78 mobile libraries


• there are more than 110 million library visits - that's more than there are visits to the cinema


• more than 46% of Australians are library members - that's 9.9 million people


• there are 41.5 items to use and borrow from Australian public libraries


• Australian public libraries provide access to more than 11,6000 computers for public use


• it costs $882.3 million to run public libraries in Australia but they return at least $2.6 BILLION worth of community benefits (and as a case in point, what about the story about the Newcastle library borrower who has paid a $5000 fine for an overdue book, Knots, Splices and Fancy Work, which he took out in August 1957. He has since built a multimillion dollar business producing steel cables and rigging gear - from Australian Library News).

So that got me thinking, what about Blue Mountains City Libraries (2009-2010)?

• Blue Mountains City Library has 7 service points including Book Express three mornings a week on Springwood and Katoomba stations - that's 6 more than the number of Mcdonald's restaurants in the Blue Mountains LGA


• Blue Mountains City Library had 456,411 visits


• 50% of the Blue Mountains population are members of the Library - 38,803 people


• Blue Mountains City Library has 128,555 items for loan


• there were 541,733 items loaned in 2009-2010


• Blue Mountains City Library provides 26 public access computers - all free to Library members

This is how we measure up (double click on the image below to see it better) :

Libraries in Literature Quiz

Here's a literary quiz for you to do from The Guardian online.

Libraries are facing widespread cuts and closures as councils try to save money following the government's funding cuts. But not only are libraries a crucial part of the book world, they also play an integral role within literature. Test your knowledge with our quiz.

Let me know how you go – I got a miserable 4/10. Could do better.

I like very much that the questions also explain to the public why libraries are so important. In the UK and the US public libraries are under all sorts of threats - yesterday's article said : Widespread library closures are expected as councils cut their services and look to volunteers in an attempt to balance budgets hit by the coalition's spending review.

North Yorkshire is considering reducing its 42 libraries to 18 over four years, while Leeds is proposing to axe 20 smaller libraries. Cornwall, Brent, Lewisham, Hammersmith and Fulham, Richmond, Barnsley and Warrington are also planning closures.

In Buckinghamshire, 14 libraries could become volunteer-run; in Gloucestershire, 12 will be closed if volunteers do not step forward. Camden, Westminster, Oldham, Southampton and Cambridgeshire are among the councils whose plans include greater use of volunteer staff. (It was distressing to read an article about proposed volunteer takeover of library work a while back when the only answer to this that was printed was would volunteers still go in to work in the snow like paid library staff would? - nothing about the information, reader's advisory and other skills librarians have!)

Recent statistics from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy showed a drop of nearly 1,000 in the number of paid library staff in the 12 months to March 2010, a 3.4% fall to a total of just under 25,000. Over the same period the total number of volunteers in UK public libraries rose 7.7% to 17,111.

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly : Reviewed by You

This review is by Library user, Joy, in one of our The Good, the Bad, the Ugly : Reviewed by You journals.

Suspension by Richard E. Crabbe (2000)

Review: The story is about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge in America. An unusual story but a great look at the times.

Also recommended by Richard E. Crabbe - Empire of Shadows (2003)

Look out for The Good, The Bad, The Ugly : Reviewed by You in your library and add your own review

What Library staff are reading . . .

• Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson ~ my family doctor’s favourite childhood book but, unfortunately, not mine


• Tove Jansson sounded like a really interesting person though, so I’ve checked out an adult’s book that she wrote . . . more on that next month


• Wesley: the story of a remarkable owl by Stacey O’Brien ~ my neighbours put me on to this one . . . they fell in love with Wesley, I fell in love with Wesley, maybe you will too?


• The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett ~ a delightful bit of Pratchett nonsense


• New Light for the Old Dark by Sam Willetts ~ many awesome poems in here


• What men want in bed by Bettina Arndt ~ wanted to read this after listening to Bettina and urologist Dr Phil Katelaris on the ABC’s Lifematters program. I’ve blogged about it recently on Readers in the Mist. I’ve also taken home What Women Really Want in Bed – just so I know what to ask for!


• The Last Train by Jay Parini ~ for Book Group 1 - the film is way better


• The Booktalker's Bible: How to Talk About the Books You Love to Any Audience by Chapple Langemack ~ not as good/interesting as I thought it would be


• Balthazar Jones and the Tower of London Zoo by Julia Stuart ~ absolutely delightful – also blogged on Readers in the Mist


• Invisible by Paul Auster ~ for Book Group 2 - I think I enjoyed it although I didn’t quite understand it


• Blackout by Connie Willis ~ time travelleing historians get stuck in WWII Britain unable to get back home to Oxford in 2060. This is the first in a pair so I’m now in the middle of the sequel, All Clear. I had a lovely afternoon in bed with it on the weekend, reading and dozing and grumping at my daughter for waking me and reading and dozing again


• Perfumes :The Guide by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez ~ Lush. Putting in to words what I have always thought about my perfumes. Although with some of my faves they are a bit harsh eg: p. 323 “Sicily (Dolce & Gabbana) ** oleaginous floral. Indigestible soapy floral with a weird, rice-like bergamot top note, a sort of sun-faded Bal a Versailles.” I challenge you – when have I ever smelt like that????


• Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard ~ a delicious love story – with recipes – can't wait to try the Quick and Dirty Chocolate soufflé. Captures an American living in Paris beautifully


• The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany ~ set in Cairo, around an apartment complex. You love I love my middle eastern fiction


• To love honour and betray (till divorce us do part) by Kathy Lette ~ chewing gum for the eyes. Filled with every one liner imaginable!


• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling ~ audio book in the car – loving Stephen Fry


• The heart of the matter by Graham Greene


• A Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger ~ an unflinching coming-of-age story, dealing with issues such as masculinity, money, drugs, familial expectations and social issues


• Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis ~ interesting to read this book straight after A Catcher in the Rye as they both contain very similar themes; disaffected youth, apathy, sex and drug experimentation. Living life to excess, in every way


• American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis ~ an elaboration on the author’s previous work – with high society in the 1980s, jaded rich characters, class issues and surreal, sadistic violence. As graphically grotesque as I had expected (possibly more!). It is a horrifying portrait of a Wall Street trader who is also a detached, pathological serial-killer. Obviously not everyone’s cup of tea, and definitely not for the squeamish


• Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis ~ a fictionalised autobiography, dealing with his notoriety, rise to fame, life as an author and coming terms with the death of his father. It’s a curious book; strange in the way it uses dream-logic rather than fact to navigate the author’s life. It is misleading and creates an even more mythological character out of the author. I felt like it was a comment on how readers/viewers/listeners often confuse the art with the artist, and how simplistic and deceptive the results of that approach can be


• Impractical Jokes by Charlie Pickering ~ a shocking and hilarious account of the author’s father, who has a penchant for over-the-top and dangerously extreme practical jokes. The book is consistently funny all the way through – makes me want to find out more about Charlie Pickering’s other comedy work. A very Australian voice, to bring to life some ripping yarns!


• The new Detective Dave Robicheaux novel from James Lee Burke: The Glass Rainbow ~ more gritty crime adventures in the bayous of Louisiana. This is number 18 in the series and very much up to the usual high standard!


• The Women in Black by Madeleine St John~ set in 1950s Sydney, another world and time is delightfully brought to life


• Inheritance by Nicholas Shakespeare ~ he’s an English writer but much travelled. I enjoyed his Secrets of the Sea, set in Tasmania, and find that this one is partly set in Western Australia. He’s a fine storyteller, knows how and when to set each brick in place. Nice resonant style too


• Christos Tsiolkas’ controversial novel The Slap ~ most people I spoke to said “Can’t stand the characters, didn’t finish it.” I thought it was excellent! Okay, very body-centric, lots of colourful language; but he’s a fine storyteller, and his central Bad Guys (the couple with the bratty child) were so well-drawn and compelling


• English by Gang Wang


• Mr Rosenblum’s list: or friendly guidance for the aspiring Englishman by Natasha Solomons ~Jack Rosenblum has come to England to escape the plight of the Jews in Europe. Jack intends becoming a very English gentleman so he compiles a list of ideas to work through and tick off. Not a real page turner to start with but quite delightful as you read on.
  

Alison's Picks - November 2010

Jay Parini : The Apprentice Lover

John O’Farrell : May contain nuts

Joan London : The Good Parents

John Updike : The Maples Stories

Kate Figes : What About Me? (Audiobook)

Chalk Art @ Blaxland Library

Small Island on ABC TV

A favourite of mine, Small Island by Andrea Levy, is being shown on ABC 1 this Sunday in the 8:30pm slot.

Not sure if it's over one or more weeks but it should be really good.

Costa Book Awards 2010 shortlist

The shortlisted books for the 2010 Costa Book Awards has been announced. The Costa Book Awards is unique in having five categories: First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children's Book. It is also the only prize where children's books and books for adults vie equally for the final prize.

Here are the shortlisted books in each category. Instead of the usual links to the Blue Mountains City Library catalogue, these links will take you to a summary of each book and comments from the judges on why each was chosen. An asterisk indicates that Blue Mountains City Library has a copy of a book :

Costa First Novel Award

• Witness the Night by Kishwar Desai*
• Coconut Unlimited by Nikesh Shukla
• The Temple-Goers by Aatish Taseer*
• Not Quite White by Simon Thirsk

Costa Novel Award

• Whatever You Love by Louise Doughty*
• The Blasphemer by Nigel Farndale*
• The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell*
• Skippy Dies by Paul Murray*

Costa Biography Award

• How to Live : A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer by Sarah Bakewell*
• My Father's Fortune by Michael Frayn
• The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal*

Costa Poetry Award

• Standard Midland by Roy Fisher
• The Wrecking Light by Robin Robertson
• Of Mutability by Jo Shapcott
• New Light for the Old Dark by Sam Willetts*

Costa Children's Book Award

• Flyaway by Lucy Christopher
• Annexed by Sharon Dogar
• Bartimaeus: The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud
• Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace

The winner in each category receives £5,000. The 2010 category winners will be announced on January 5th 2011. Then one of the five category winners will be selected as the overall Costa Book of the Year winner, to be announced on January 25th 2011, and the author receives a further £30,000.

To be eligible for the Costa Book Awards, the author must have been resident in the UK or Ireland for over six months of each of the previous three years and the books, which are submitted by the publisher not the author, must have been first published in the UK or Ireland between 1 November of the previous year and 31 October of the current year. Books previously published elsewhere are not eligible.

A pdf file of previous Costa/Whitbread Book Award winners can be downloaded from this page.

International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award

The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, with its prize of €100,000, is the world's richest literary prize. The award, established in 1994 and awarded annually since 1996, is sponsored by Dublin Corporation and IMPAC, a productivity improvement company which operates in over 50 countries world-wide.

Last night the longlist for the 2011 Award was announced in Dublin. There are 162 eligible nominations come from 126 cities and 43 countries. 42 of the shortlisted titles are translations spanning 14 languages and 35 of them are first novels.

Aussie nominees include :

• Peter Carey - Parrot and Olivier in America
• Nick Cave - The Death of Bunny Munro
• JM Coetzee (we're adopting him as our own) - Summertime**
• MJ Hyland (another adoptee, she was born in London to Irish parents in 1968 and spent her early childhood in Dublin but she studied English and law at the University of Melbourne) - This is How
• David Malouf - Ransom**
• Alex Miller - Lovesong
• Kristina Olsson - The China Garden**
• Kalinda Ashton - The Danger Game

Those marked ** are the titles nominated by the State Library of New South Wales.

Nominations are made on the basis of "high literary merit" and come from over 100 public libraries worldwide; an unique international library cooperative project. Nominations are made by libraries in capital and major cities and each library can nominate up to three novels each year.

To be eligible for the 2011 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award the novels need to have first been published in English between January 1st and December 31st 2009 (novels in translation can have been published between January 1st 2005 and December 31st 2009 and first published in English in 2009).

As stated above, this is the world's richest literary prize with the winner gaining a trophy and €100,000 (or €75,000 to the author and €25,000 to the translator for a novel that has been translated).

The shortlist of a maximum of 10 titles, selected by an international panel of judges, will be announced April 12th 2011 then the winner on June 15th 2011.

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly : Reviewed by You

One Library user, Joy, has made an author recommendation in one of our The Good, the Bad, the Ugly : Reviewed by You journals.

Marcia Willett

(in the Library catalogue and Fantastic Fiction)

Joy says "any of Marcia Willetts books are wonderful reading. She has a great insight into human behaviour and you will 'live' with her characters.

Those books that you are always sorry to finish.

A very good read."

Look out for The Good, The Bad, The Ugly : Reviewed by You in your library and add your own review

Blaxland Art Class

Blaxland Art Class, ages 6 -12, explore making art with unusual/everyday items; in this case, sticky tape! The results are great...

Remembrance Day

Today at 11am we will stop and give thought to those who died in wars around the world, those who fought, those who supported and waited at home and those who continue to do those things still . . .

KOALA Awards

A few days ago the 2010 KOALA Award winners were announced. The KOALAs (Kids Own Australian Literature Awards) are annual awards made by young readers in NSW to the Australian books they have most enjoyed reading during that year.

The winners this year are:

Save the Words

Here's a project that won't cost you anything and could be priceless to you.

Oxford Dictionaries are trying to keep alive little used words so that they don't disappear altogether. They ask that you register and then you can adopt words, either specific ones or ones that are randomly chosen for you and promise to try and insert those words somewhere in your life in meetings, letters, Scrabble, pet names, tattoos and other forms of communication.

I just signed up and did a random search - my word is ARTIGRAPHER - writer or composer of a grammar; a grammarian as in Though being sentenced to death was not much fun, the defendant had to admit the judge was a first rate artigrapher.

There you go, we've all learnt something, haven't we?

This is what the home page of Save the Words looks like

Look at all those poor, could be lost words. Sign up, adopt one now. If you can't quite be an ARTIGRAPHER you could always be a wordsmith.

Multicultural resources online

MyLanguage: This is great web site providing access to search engines, web directories and news in over sixty languages. Under the "training" tab, there are some translated factsheets and training manuals for introductory courses on using the Internet and email or searching the web. The languages covered in the manuals and factsheets are not as extensive as what you are offered on the home page, but they seem to be adding to it regularly.

Lerni:

The Lerni website is an online multilingual resource kit for ACE (Adult Community Education) providers working with emerging communities across Australia.

The website has been launched today as part of Adult Learners' Week. Lerni is an Esperanto word meaning learn.

The website provides:

• Information promoting the importance of adult learning through HTML, video and downloadable documents


• Languages include English, plus key languages of emerging communities from Africa, Central Asia and South East Asia


• A series of introductory computer training workbooks will be available online as a training resource for ACE providers


• State by state resource listings, including links to directories, major ACE providers and support organisations

This project is funded by the Commonwealth through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and the site has been developed and is hosted by Vicnet – State Library of Victoria. Valuable support for the project has been provided by AMES.

Both web sites have been added to our Delicious account, with a "multicultural" tag.

Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2010 Winners

The winners of the Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2010 have been announced by Prime Minister Julia Gillard today. These annual awards recognise literature's importance to our national identity, community and economy.

Fiction : Dog boy by Eva Hornung

"a testing but triumphant feat of the imagination"

Non-fiction : The Colony: The History of Early Sydney by Grace Karskens

"an intimate account of the transformation of a campsite in a beautiful cove to the town that later became Australia's largest and best-known city"

Young Adult Fiction : Confessions of a Liar, Thief and Failed Sex God by Bill Condon

"a poignant, funny and deeply insightful rite of passage novel"

Children's Fiction : Star Jumps by Lorraine Marwood

"a deceptively simple work with enormous resonance"

For more information about the books visit the Prime Minister's Literary Awards webpage here.

What Men Want In Bed

What Men Want in Bed by Bettina Arndt.

Sex can be a source of great joy or a source of misery and confusion.

Respected sex therapist, Bettina Arndt, had more than 150 men keep diaries for her so she could learn why sex matters so much to men, their secret delights and fears, their triumphs and disasters, what turns them on and their relationships. with their partners.

This is not a how-to book. Behind the coy cover and arresting title is a very serious book. Over half the book is given over to discussion of erectile problems, especially following prostate surgery. Erectile dysfunction (ED) can be devastating to men's sense of their manhood and equally to their partners and according to Arndt erectile problems affect around 50% of men over fifty so it's something that affects a lot of people.

A bit of a crusader for men's sexual health, Arndt discusses how even doctors may be unsympathetic/dismissive of the plight of men affected by ED and how many men do not get the help they need because of medical attitudes, their partners' attitudes and because treatment can be very expensive. It seems there is not the same support for men in this thing that affects their sexuality so badly as there is for women in the equivalent situation - post mastectomy.

It's a fascinating read and an important one for men over 50 . . . and their partners.

Reviewed by: Alba

Lawson Library Looking Luscious

As some of you may remember, Lawson Library was closed for a week while it had a little makeover with new carpet and some new shelving.

A lot of hard work goes into a project like this from go to whoa with planning and implementation of moving stock and furniture out, cleaning up, having the new stuff put in, returning stock and furniture to their old or new locations, cleaning up and getting ready to re-open. And it's not just the Lawson Library branch staff; many other staff pitched in in many different ways.

You have to break a few eggs to make an omelette - chaos reigns as we begin to dismantle the library

All the yucky old carpet tiles are taken up

And lovely new carpet put down. Doesn't it look big without any shelving?

The finished product including a lovely Children's area

Congratulations to Rosemary and Vanessa at Lawson Library and all the little Library Elves who also helped. Great job!

Family History Help

Did you know that Blue Mountains Family History Society volunteers are at Springwood Library from 10am to 1pm every Tuesday and Thursday? They are also on duty on the last Monday and Saturday of each month.

You will find them in the Family History area of Springwood Library. The Family History area houses relevant resources of the Blue Mountains Family History Society and Blue Mountains City Council.

Blue Mountains Family History Volunteers are also in Katoomba Library from 2pm to 4pm on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month.

Storytime and Babytime Cancellations

Due to staff sickness the Lawson Storytime scheduled for today, Wednesday 3 November, has been cancelled.

The Springwood Babytime scheduled for Friday 5 November has been cancelled as well.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused by these cancellations.

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly : Reviewed by You

Here is a review by a young Library user, Eleanor, in one of our The Good, the Bad, the Ugly : Reviewed by You journals.

Tensy Farlow and the Home for Mislaid Children by Jen Storer (2009)

Plot summary: Tensy Farlow is dumped in the River Charon, saved by the one who named her and given to Matron Pluckrose's Home for Mislaid Children. She is in great danger and it doesn't help that she has no guardian angel.

Where Raven's attack and guardian angels can't be trusted, in the Home for Mislaid Children it seems all hope is lost.

With Albie Cribble's search for the one he named, Guy and Magnus' search to find the one with no guardian angel, Tensy Farlow tries to escape.

Review: A very moving story and it can be sad but I loved it, I couldn't put it down! You have to read it!

It can be rather slow at the beginning if you are into fast moving stories, but once you get to Part 2 you just cannot stop reading it.

I loved Albie Gribble, but it is impossible to choose a favourite character. It is such a great story altogether. Loved it!

I give it 10/10!

Look out for The Good, The Bad, The Ugly : Reviewed by You in your library and add your own review

Topsy and Tim

Did you love the Topsy and Tim books when you were little?

In a video on the Guardian website, Jean Adamson talks about how she and her husband began writing and illustrating these iconic books and see Mrs Adamson enjoy playing with the iPad app that's been created.

New Scientist Old Sci Fi

The 23 October 2010 issue of New Scientist magazine has an item on brilliant Science Fiction books that have been largely forgotten. They asked scientists and writers to nominate their favourite lost Sci-fi classics.

Here's what they came up with :

Richard Dawkins, biologist - Dark Universe by Daniel F. Galouye

James Lovelock, originator of Gaia - Journey of Joenes by Robert Sheckley

Sean Carroll, cosmologist - The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem

William Gibson, cyberpunk writer - Random Acts of Senseless Violence by Jack Womack

Robert May, former UK chief scientific adviser - New Maps of Hell by Kingsley Amis

Margaret Atwood, writer - We by Eugene Zamiatin

Stephen Baxter, sci-fi writer - Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon

Kim Stanley Robinson, sci-fi writer - Floating Worlds by Cecelia Holland

Seth Shostak, astronomer - The Listeners by James Gunn

Freeman Dyson, physicist - Earth Abides by George R. Stewart

What are your favourite forgotten science fiction novels?

Check out the 23 October issue of New Scientist (on the shelf at Springwood Library) to read the full article which has an outline of each book and each scientist or writer's reason for listing their chosen book.

We don't currently have any of the listed books on our shelves, but have ordered copies of most of them (those above with a link) so you can put a reservation on for when they come in.

Carolyn's Books of the Month - November 2010

Best read : Blue Skies by Fleur McDonald

Thriller : Rough Justice by Stephen Leather

General Fiction : Beautiful as Yesterday by Fan Wu

Saga/Romance : Once in A Blue Moon by Eileen Goudge

Australian Author : Red Dust by Fleur McDonald

Crime : Fever Dream by Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston and Where Have You Been? by Wendy James