Booklist: Christmas Cookery

Christmas is a special time with a delicious range of foods- delicate pastries, sumptuous roasts and indulgent salads you would never treat yourself to any other time of year. If you find yourself in need of a few recipes, or simply want to try something new this year, why not grab one of these books available at your library? At the time of writing, all of these items are available for loan, so get in quick!

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Taste of Summer

A Taste of the Past: Early Australian Cooking

The upside-down pudding : A small book of Christmas feasts

Winter in the Alps : Food by the fireside

Aussie cakes

The Australian Christmas book

Like grandma used to make : tried and trusted recipes rediscovered for today's cooks

Two hundred years of Australian cooking

Maggie's kitchen

Summer Camden Reads - It's On!

Armed with the motherload of giveaways and great prizes, Camden Library presents CAMDEN READS- the library's summer reading program. Divided into three categories: Adult, Youth and Children, Camden Reads rewards you for taking some time out for yourself with a good read, whether it be the latest gossip magazine, a downloaded eBook, an action-packed graphic novel, or the mesmerising novel.

Signing up is easy! Simply fill out the form at Camden and Narellan branches, and you're good to go. For every book you read, write it down on the tickets provided and each one goes in the draw to win heaps of great prizes including a bridge climb, museum and novelty park tickets, movie vouchers, books, and vouchers for a range of goodies.

Children receive (if we don't run out in the first few days!) a goody bag to get them going.

What are you waiting for? Get reading now! Check out these booklists or search our catalogue to get started. Or come into your local branch and have a look at the shelves!

Secret Santa eBooks for you!

Looking for a good Chrissie read? Not to worry, Santa has picked out something just for you! Click one of the presents above to find free Christmas ebooks that you can download to your computer or device.

Merry Christmas all!

Booklist: Staff Picks

You're reading whaaaat?

Did you ever wonder what librarians read (or did you assume they read everything)? Well, next time you're looking for a good book, why not try one of these- read and tested for your reading pleasure by library staff!

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith

Tales of Otori Series by Lian Hearn

Made for Goodness: And why this makes all the difference by Desmond Tutu

The Other Hand by Chris Cleave

Saving Private Sarbi by Sandra Lee

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

Gamble by Felix Francis

The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht

The City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Autumn Laing by Alex Miller

Divergent by Veronica Roth

And Kim (Youth Librarian) recommends:

Scoop.it!

A online magazine maker for topics- get searching!

Book Review: Virals

14 year old Tory Brennan, niece of renowned forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, has been living with her dad on a secluded island off the coast of South Carolina for six months. She meets a group of teenage guys (Hiram, Ben and Shelton) who are just as smart as she is. She quickly becomes the leader of their group, the “Sci-Philes”. Tory is obsessed with a wolf-dog pack that lives on Loggerhead Island where her dad works. When she notices her favourite wolf-dog Cooper is missing, she knows something is wrong. Upon breaking into one of the science laboratories on Loggerhead Island to clean an old army dog-tag, the friends find Cooper. He is sick and trapped in a cage for medical testing. The “Sci-Philes” take Cooper with them when they leave the lab and keep him for a few weeks to help him recover. As they are caring for him, they realise that they are exposed to an experimental type of canine parvovirus B19. The parvo alters their DNA; their senses heighten to become dog-like and they gain canine-quick reflexes.
Tory, Hi, Ben and Shelton combine their scientific knowledge with their new physical attributes to solve a cold-case murder mystery relating to the dog-tag they found. However, as they uncover more about the mystery, the murderer becomes anxious that they will uncover him, and decides to kill them. Fortunately, now they are a pack. They are Virals.

Kathy Reichs is a popular author who has written many adult crime novels. The TV show “Bones” is based on her adult books. Virals is the first of her books for youths and many critics were impressed. The terminology is all explained in a clear way, allowing people who don’t know much about science to understand the story line. Readers were also impressed with the way the characters were developed.

I recommend this book to any teenagers who are interested in “Bones”, mystery/crime novels or biology.

Thanks to Abbey for this greay review. You can reserve Virals through this link.

The Sparrows of Edward Street- Elizabeth Stead

Hope can be found in the most unexpected places. Author Elizabeth Stead has recreated a little known corner of Australian history in this book. Having fallen on tough times, we follow Hanora and her two teenage daughters to a housing commission camp on the outskirts of Sydney in 1948.
I loved the cast of eccentric characters and especially look out for the hilarious "royal visit" from the Minister of Housing .

Linda

Music inspired booklist

Whether is be the delicate pluck of a string or the warbling note of a trumpet, music has often been used in fiction to highlight characters, bring life to places, and explore the human soul. The booklist below features novels in which music features heavily. Click on the title to view availability at Camden and Narellan libraries.

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin


The Soloist


Phantom of the Opera


The time of our singing


Oh, Play that thing


The Unconsoled


The Piano Tuner


Acqua Alta

Rainy Day Booklist

Well, the weather has certainly an unpredictable master these last few weeks. From beautiful summerlike days to idyllic rainforest downpours to chilling winds and snatched clothing off the line, we've had anything and everything.

So it's likely soon you'll have a day to spare, and why not use it in a great read? Here's five brand new bestsellers we'd recommend, all available at your local library.

1. 88 Killer by Oliver Stark

2. Born to Run by John M. Green

3. Covenant by Dean Crawford

4. Dragon's Time by Todd and Ann Mccaffrey

5. The Fix by Nick Earls

Eat History Booklist

All energised by the great foody events of Eat History Week? Our local studies librarian has compiled the following list to inspired!

1. Walkabout chefs : a fresh look at Aboriginal bush food by Steve Sunk and David Hancock

2. Mrs Beeton's Christmas book : practical ideas for creating the traditional Christmas compiled by Pamela Westland.

3. Feasting with the ancestors : cooking through the ages with 110 simple recipes by Oswald Rivera.

4. A taste of old Ireland : discover Ireland's culinary secrets, together with the legends, myths and stories of this emerald isle by Andy Gerald Gravette.

5. Elegant eating : four hundred years of dining in style edited by Philippa Glanville and Hilary Young.

6. Food : a history / Felipe Fernández-Armesto.

7. Hard to swallow : a brief history of food by Richard W. Lacey.

8. It's disgusting-- and we ate it! : true food facts from around the world-and throughout history! / by James Solheim ; illustrated by Eric Brace.

9. The medieval kitchen : recipes from France and Italy / Odile Redon, Franicoise Sabban, Silvano Serventi ; translated by Edward Schneider ; original drawings by Patricia Glee Smith.

10. A taste of history : the stories behind our favourite foods / Bryan Bruce.

11. The Fascinating history of your lunch / Jackie French ; illustrated by Judith Rossell.

Thankyou to Camden Reads sponsors!

And as all good things come to an end, so too does our winter reading program! With over 1000 registrations, this year's program is definitely our most successful. Prize winners will be drawn soon, so we'd like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors who made so many great prizes available.


• Bridge Climb Sydney
• Australian National Maritime Museum
• The Powerhouse Discovery Centre
• Australian Museum
• LG IMAX Sydney Theatre
• Dumaresq St Cinema
• Calmsley Hill City Farm
• Taronga Zoo

Spring is here, and we hope our patrons will "spring into reading" (Thanks to Sandy for the metaphor!).

Do you have any book recommendations from the program? Let us know and we'll post reviews on the blog!

Scintillating Science Fiction and Fantasy

The monthly twitter group, ReadIt 2011 has announced the August theme: Geek Reads. Share your favs with hashtag #geekreads

Looking for some new scifi or fantasy to get you started? Check out these latest titles available at Camden Library service!




Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris



Frankenstein: The Dead Town by Dead Koontz



The Devil's Diadem by Sara Douglass



Flashback by Dan Simmons



The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma



The Rogue by Trudi Canavan



Shadowrise by Tad Williams



Tome of the Undergates by Sam Skyes



Blackout by Connie Willis



Horns by Joe Hill

Red Hot Reads!

Present out newsletter when reserving these brand new titles to receive a free reservation (not bad, eh?)

Numerical and New!

There's a bit of a strange trend going on in our new fiction. Numbers seem to be the thing for authors this year - titles everywhere focus on the meaning and interplay of numbers. It just doesn't seem to add up! (Hahahahahaha...no? Not funny?)

Check out these new titles!

1. 31 Bond Street by Ellen Horan

2. 44 Charles Street (Audio Book) by Danielle Steel

3. 66 Degrees North by Michael Ridpath

4. Men x 3 by Bonnie Edwards

5. The 100 Foot Journey by Richard Morais

6. 300 Hours by Roderick Low

7. Mischief 24/7 by Kasey Michaels

8. Finger Lickin' 15 by Janet Evanovich

Booklist: Antartic Adventures

In anticipation of Charles Lindall's talk about the Mawson Expedition, here are some great fiction reads about Antartica:

1. Blood and Ice by Robert Masello
2. The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier
3. The Secret Hunters by Ranulph Fiennes


Click the titles to check them out at the library website.

Reserve these new titles for free!

Click to reserve now! All reservations on these new upcoming titles are free.
Against All Enemies - Tome Clancy
All For You- Sheila O'Flanagan
One Summer - David Baldacci
Blood Line - Linda La Plante
Happy Birthday - Danielle Steel

Recent Returns

Click 'n' Pick.

Twists and Turns - Reading List

Like your plot to be a roller coaster ride? Like unexpected falls, curious bends, and shocking turns of events? Then check out the reading list below. Click on the title to view our catalogue and availability.

1. Mice by Gordon Reece

2. The Whisperer by Donato Carrisi

3. Finch by Jeff VanderMeer

4. Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandanna

5. King of Swords by Nick Stone

6. Truth by Peter Temple

7.Trespass by Rose Tremain

8. The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostiva

9. Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd

10. Yellow Blue Tibia by Adam Roberts

Recent Returns

Outback Adventure Reading List

Red earth, blue sky and the crisp crack of gunfire across the plains of the Australian heartland - authors have been sweeping tension, mystery and adventure throughout cities, towns, deserts, rainforests and more for over two thousand years. From the dreamtime stories of Aboriginal tribes to the latest Helene Young novel, Camden Council Library Services is petered with Australian gems (or should we say opals?) for your reading pleasure. Check out our picks below. Simply click the title to go to our catalogue entries and check availability.

1. Jirrabal: Rainforest Dreamtime stories by Maisie Barlow

2. Helene Young - Shattered Sky

3. Tomorrow When the War Began series by John Marsden

4. Tree of Man by Patrick White

5.Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

Best Graphic Novels 2011

Phew! After the Easter holidays there was quite a build up of returns this morning. Did you see our staff all out on the library floor puttings things back? Now is the time to pop into your local branch and see the shelves fully stocked. As a little taster, here's 10 top adult graphic novels that are available at Camden and Narellan branches.

1. The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman
2. Ex Machina series by Calif La Jolla
3. Fringe: Tales from the Fringe by Scott Pearson
3. John Constantine series by Jamie Delano
4. Negima! series by Ken Akamatsu
5. Odd is on Our Side by Dean Koontz
6. Sandman Mystery Theatre by Matt Wagner
7. A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick
8. Strangers in Paradise series by Terry Moore
9. The Only Good Dalek by Justin Richards
10. Watchmen bvy Alan Moore

100 Free Ebooks

So, you have an iPad? And eReader? Or just want to view your favourite books from your PC? eBooks are often just as expensive as their physical counterparts. However, you can get a lot of ebooks online for free, particularly classics that have outlived their copyright. We've selected 100 books available online, for free, for Camden Council Library members. The list below is a combination of old favourites, classic literature, and a few bits and pieces you might never have come accross before. Be sure to let us know what you liked! And don't forget about our free downloadable audio books available through out website (On the right hand sidebar).

1. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (657)

2. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (781)

3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (630)

4. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (469)

5. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (428)

6. Ulysses by James Joyce (407)

7. Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie (384)

8. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (361)

9. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (352)

10. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (310)

11. Dracula by Bram Stoker (309)

12. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells (306)

13. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (302)

14. Moby Dick, or, the whale by Herman Melville (296)

15. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (284)

16. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (256)

17. Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (248)

18. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo (238)

19. Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (237)

20. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (237)

21. The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells (222)

22. Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne (211)

23. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (198)

24. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (193)

25. Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie (187)

26. Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (151)

27. Anna Karenina by graf Leo Tolstoy (149)

28. The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe (148)

29. The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (146)

30. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (146)

31. A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (133)

32. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (121)

33. Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence

34. The Call of the Wild by Jack London

35. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

36. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

37. A Study In Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

38. Aladdin and the Magic Lamp by Anonymous

39. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

40. The House of a Thousand Candles by Meredith Nicholson

41. Mysterious Mr. Sabin by E. Phillips Oppenheim

42. The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft

43. A Runaway Brig by James Otis

44. The Arabian Nights by Andrew Lang

45. Security Risk by E.M. Clinton, Jr.

46. The Book of Khalid by Ameen Rihani

47. The Abandoned Room by Wadsworth Camp

48. Watchbird by Robert Sheckley

49. Motherload by David Collins-Rivera

50. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

51. The Accused by Harold R. Daniels

52. The Rider of Golden Bar by William Patterson White

53. The Confessions of Lady Beatrice by Unknown

54. Acres of Diamonds by Russell H. Conwell

55. Burning Daylight by Jack London

56. Cleopatra by Jacob Abbot

57. Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott

58. 2BR02B by Kurt Vonnegut

59. All Things Considered by G.K. Chesterton

60. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

61. Candide by Voltaire

62. King Arthur and his Knights by Maude L. Radford

63. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbs

64. Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad

65. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis

66. Paradise Lost by John Milton

67. Plague Ship by Andre Norton

68. Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs

69. The Clue of the Twisted Candle by Edgar Wallace

70. The Elusive Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

71. The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield

72. The Last of the Mohicans by James Cooper

73. The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes

74. The Odyssey by Homer

75. The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

76. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

77. The Sand-Hills of Jutland by Hans Christian Andersen

78. The Sleeping Beauty by C.S. Evans

79. The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting

80. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

81. The Water-Babies by Charles Kingsley

82. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

83. Utopia by Sir Thomas Moore

84. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

85. The Clique of Gold by Emile Gaboriau

86. The Chronicles of the Canongate by Sir Walter Scott

87. The Lure Of The Dim Trails by B. M. Bower

88. The Man With Two Left Feet and Other Stories by P.G. Wodehouse

89. The Ear in the Wall by Arthur Reave

90. The Fat and the Thin by Emile Zola

91. The Fortune Hunter by David Phillips

92. The Hand But Not the Heart by T.S. Arthur

93. The Moon Out Of Reach by Margaret Pedler

94. The Ne'er-Do-Well by Rex Ellington Beach

95. Rose in Bloom by Louisa Alcott

96. Fernley House by Laura Richards

97. From Jest to Earnest by Edward Payson Roe

98. The Valley of the Giants by Peter Kyne

99. Three Things by Elinor Glyn

100. What Sami Sings with the Birds by Joanna Spyri

Best Historical Fiction (Booklist)

Feeling the history bug? Check out these top 10 historical fiction works for 2011. Links go straight back to our catalogue.

1. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
2. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
3. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
4. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
5. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory
6. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
7. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
8. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
9. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
10. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

Book Review: The Angel Experiment

Did you know that you can post reviews on our catalogue? Share your experience with others! All you need is your library barcode number (on the back of your card) and you password to log in. Check out one of the great reviews left by a library patron below;

The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

Its been years since I first read this book, and i still manage to read the series over and over and get the same rush of emotions. Its powerful, its thrilling, and it just keeps getting better.

Once your halfway through the next time you put the book down you'll find you've finished the book, I read it till one in the morning and started the second book. Its seriously enthralling.

The characters melt into one another, each are unique and realistic, and all work together. Max is the main character, and she will take you on a journey you will never forget. This is one imaginitive rollercoaster that will leave you on the edge of your seat.

Check out the catalogue entry here, and get posting!