50 Great Reads - 48 and counting down

Baby Wombat's Week by Jackie French, illustrated by Bruce Whatley

This book follows on from Diary of a Wombat also from the talented duo listed above. Mothball has had a baby and like any new baby he is proving to be a bit of a handful. In a similar format to Diary of a Wombat, we follow baby through his week as he discovers the garden and then a human baby and they both go of to have adventures together. The text is very simple and the joy of these books lies in the illustrations by Bruce Whatley. I have long been a fan of his work which includes Looking for Crabs, The Ugliest Dog in the World and Clinton Gregory's Secret. I always feel the adults can get as much enjoyment if not more from these books, especially spending time looking at the illustrations and the looks on Mother's face as she copes with her offspring.
Mothball is back this year for Christmas, with Christmas Wombat and if you have wondered who eats the carrots you leave out for Santa's reindeer, maybe check for a wombat hole in the garden!
There are now 47 titles left in the 50 great reads list and I am hoping someone else is out there working on their reviews, otherwise I am for a lot of reading between now and December.

Get Reading 2011

This year's Get Reading Campaign is underway and there is a great range of titles to read, so here is the challenge. From now until the end of December 2011, lets see how many of the titles listed in the reading guide, we can 'collectively' read. When you have read one of the books, post your review here on the blog and I will do updates as we tick of the titles on the list. I am offering an incentive - a small surprise of a 'smiggly' nature to anyone who posts a review on the blog.
To kick start the reviews, and I have to admit I did read these prior to the Get Reading Campaign starting here are my reviews of 'When God was a Rabbit' by Sarah Winman and 'Mr Badger and the Big Surprise' by Leigh Hobbs

When God was a Rabbit is the first novel by author Sarah Winman and this is delightful read about a sister and her brother, their parents and friends. I really enjoyed this book and it has some interesting twists and turns. There are some wonderful characters who wander into the family's life and the rabbit's is really named God. The novel is set in modern times, including the the bombing of the twin towers, which I wasn't sure really worked but this was not enough to put me off the book. My favourite opening to a chapter in the book was 'I'll have two gin and tonics and a water for the fish', how could not read a book with a line like that!

Mr Badger and the Big Surprise introduces a new series by Leigh Hobbs, creator of the 'Old Tom' books and 'Mr Chicken goes to Paris'. Mr Badger is the special events manager of Boubles Grand Hotel in London. Mr Badger is actually a badger, not something you expect to see as special events manager in a grand London hotel but he does his job with a dedication to duty which makes you want to go and stay at Boubles Grand Hotel. These books are light easy read chapter book, excellent as a bedtime story. I have read all four books in the series and look forward to further adventures with Mr Badger at Boubles.

So, two down and only 48 to go - Get Reading!

Benediction - Edward Abbey

Please find Benediction by Edward Abbey, he reads it in a deep bass profundo Orson Welles voice. It makes me laugh - hope it appeals to you. Reading his book 'The Monkeywrench Gang' at the moment:

"Benedicto: May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. May your rivers flow without end, meandering through pastoral valleys tinkling with bells, past temples and castles and poets' towers into a dark primeval forest where tigers belch and monkeys howl, through miasmal and mysterious swamps and down into a desert of red rock, blue mesas, domes and pinnacles and grottos of endless stone, and down again into a deep vast ancient unknown chasm where bars of sunlight blaze on profiled cliffs, where deer walk across the white sand beaches, where storms come and go as lightning clangs upon the high crags, where something strange and more beautiful and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams waits for you­beyond the next turning of the canyon walls."

Little Free Libraries

I was reading the National Year of Reading Newsletter (Issue 8, 31 August 2011) today and they featured a small piece about 'Little Free Libraries' and so I went and googled it and found their website. This is a great idea, you build something that looks a bit like a birdhouse, put it on your front lawn or near bus stop or your child's school and fill it with books. People can borrow the books, read them, talk about them and meet other people at the library.

Here is the link, check it out http://www.littlefreelibrary.org/

Where do you think we could put some 'Little Free Libraries'. What would your design look it?

I think one above is quite cute - Cathy

Libraries and Web 2.0 Conference

I'd like to shameless promote an online conference that I am participating in. It concerns Web 2.0, online communities, libraries, Facebook, social media and networking, online identities, gaming, privacy issues and all other things Internet.

The 2011 Online Communities and Social Networks
Student Conference

http://networkconference.netstudies.org/2011/

My paper entitled "Library 2.0: Reading the Social Network" deals with how libraries are engaging with people online by using Web 2.0 and benefits reaped by libraries, patrons and online communities.

If you are interested in the future (and present) of libraries online, please pop by and have a look...

The changing role of Libraries (and our library)

It's obvious that libraries are going through a period of great change.

The integration of technology into the library sector has had (and will increasingly have) a big impact on what services we provide and how we provide them.

Gadgets like iPhones, iPads and tablets. smartphones and ebook readers give people the freedom to communicate and interact from anywhere. Are we doing enough to engage with these people? What do service do they expect from us? Do we need more training on how these technologies work or even more exposure to them?

What are your thoughts and concerns? I know we have briefly touched on this at previous meetings, but maybe this is something we look at in more depth to get a better understanding of how we feel as library staff.

I don't think this is about drawing a line in the sand but just seeing the need for change if the justification is there.

National Year of Reading 2012

Did you know...there are 46% of Australians who can’t read newspapers; follow a recipe; make sense of timetables, or understand the instructions on a medicine bottle.

Australian libraries and library associations are behind a campaign to turn 2012 into the National Year of Reading, linking together all the great things that are already happening around books, reading and literacy, and giving them an extra boost, with fun programs and activities taking place across the country.

A planning session for the National Year of Reading 2012 was held at Falcon eLibrary and Community Centre last Friday. Library staff and managers gathered to brainstorm the four local initiatives to be tackled by Mandurah Libraries. These were:

• Library membership drive
• One Country Reading
• Workplace literacy campaign
• The Reading Hour

I'll be posting some of the ideas that came in the next few posts, so feel free to add your thoughts!

Check out the website for more info: http://www.love2read.org.au/