Chatting Books

2011-05-09T22:39:00.000-07:00

Good Reading Magazine.

Everything about books!

This is a terrific magazine for booklovers and book writers of all ages. Well worth a look.

2010-01-26T20:13:00.000-08:00

Read a story in the making....

Ever heard of an Exquisite Corpse? It's not what you might think. An Exquisite Corpse is an old game in which people write a phrase on a sheet of paper, fold it over to conceal part of it and pass it on to the next player to do the same. The game ends when someone finishes the story, which is then read aloud.

Read.gov's "Exquisite Corpse Adventure" works this way: Jon Scieszka, the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, has written the first episode, which is "pieced together out of so many parts that it is not possible to describe them all here, so go ahead and just start reading!" He has passed it on to a cast of celebrated writers and illustrators, who must eventually bring the story to an end.

Every two weeks, there will be a new episode and a new illustration. The story will conclude a year from now. To get bi-weekly updates with new Exquisite Corpse Adventure chapters, click here.

"This story starts with a train rushing through the night...." No one knows where or how it will end!

2009-09-06T20:23:00.000-07:00

Book Reviews

The Readers Robot

Reviews that reveal the appeal. 18,942 books to date covering 21 genres.

Not only can you read what others have had to say about a particular title, you are encouraged to contribute your own review.

2009-09-01T23:27:00.001-07:00

The Indigenous Literacy Project

The Indigenous Literacy Project (ILP) is a partnership between the Australian Book Industry and The Fred Hollows Foundation.

Working closely with the Australian Booksellers Association and the Australian Publishers Association, The Fred Hollows Foundation purchases and supplies books and other culturally appropriate learning materials to remote communities where the Foundation works.

These communities select and order reading material from catalogues and sample books provided by The Australian Booksellers Association. The Fred Hollows Foundation staff also identify other literacy needs.

The books are then supplied to schools, libraries, early learning centres such as crèches, women's Centres and other identified institutions, to enhance their pool of literacy resources.

Our major fundraising effort in 2009 is Indigenous Literacy Day to be held on Wednesday September 2 2009.

2009-09-01T23:19:00.000-07:00

Literary Events

Thought you might like to keep up with some enjoyable literary events (lunches, author talks etc.)

Books Alive
Dymocks
Angus & Robertson
State Library of New South Wales
Gleebooks

2009-09-01T23:02:00.000-07:00

50 Books You Can't Put Down

Do you love a book so much that you can’t put it down and can't bear to finish it?

We do. Which is why, as part of this year’s Books Alive campaign, a FREE Guide to 50 books that you can’t put down has been produced.

And when you buy one of the 50 books listed in the Guide between 26 August and 30 September 2009, you’ll receive a FREE book – either a dazzling collection of brand-new short stories by ten of Australia’s best writers, or Grug Learns to Read, a new title in the classic Australian children’s series.

You can view the Guide here, or pick up a copy at your local book retailer. And browse our site for more information about the free books, events, authors, and much more.

2009-08-30T22:37:00.000-07:00

Audio Books

LibriVox
There are several options for listening. The first step is to get the audio files (mp3 or ogg vorbis) into your own computer. There are two main ways to do this:

* They podcast one book at a time, with three audio installments a week.

* Visit the catalogue and download books you wish to listen to.
You can search the catalog page, browse the catalog, or use the advanced search options.

Once you find a book you like, you can download the zip file of the entire book.
or
Subscribe in itunes. You can download an entire book using the subscribe feature in iTunes.

Books Should Be Free
These are completely free audiobooks from the public domain which are easily accessible in MP3, iPod or iTunes format.

The site has a really large choice of genres to select from and you don't even have to sign up. Just find the title you want to hear and start downloading.

2009-08-30T22:19:00.000-07:00

Favourite Authors

Fantastic Fiction
This site has bibliographies for over 25,000 authors. Use the browse menu on the left to find an author by surname, or use the search boxes on the right to search for an author or book.

It also has information on over 300,000 books. Throughout the site, just click on a book to see its cover picture, description and publication details. Click here to search by series.

Literature Map
This site uses tag clouds to find authors whose writings are similar to your favourites. A fun site.

2009-08-30T22:02:00.000-07:00

Online Books Clubs

Book Clique Cafe
These affiliated groups use different combinations of internet modalities to create book discussions on the Web:

*Chat Rooms
*Message Boards
*Listserv/Email Discussions
*Web Pages

2009-08-30T21:51:00.000-07:00

Genres
Websites which can help you find a new read in your favourite genre.

OverBooked
Provides timely information about fiction (all genres) and readable non fiction.

Whichbook
Whichbook gives readers an enjoyable and intuitive way to find books to match their mood.

Stop, You're Killing Me

Is a resource for lovers of mystery, crime, thriller, spy, and suspense books. Listing over 2,900 authors, with chronological lists of their books (over 32,000 titles), both series (3,300+) and non-series.

2009-08-26T18:34:00.000-07:00

Databases

The Fairfield City Library Service subscribes to Databases which are great for those who are looking for 'something to read'. Have a look at these.

NoveList
NoveList allows readers to use a favorite author or title as a template to locate other authors and titles of interest. When you look up a favorite book in NoveList, you have the option of finding similar books in one of two ways: you can click on subject headings from your favourite book and search the database for more titles using the subject headings you have selected or you can click the "Find Similar Books" button (at the top of the title record) and search for similar titles.

Books & Authors
Books & Authors offers new ways to explore the endless possibilities and combinations of books, authors, genres and topics. Combining over 140,000 titles, 50,000 authors, and thousands of read-alike, award winner and librarians's favourites lists, Books & Authors helps bring readers and literature together. Through the use of expertly written and arranged content and a dynamic, cutting edge user interface, Books & Authors makes exploration of genre fiction and essential non-fiction fun!

2009-08-12T20:41:00.000-07:00

E-Books

We hold a number of excellent non-fiction e-books which cover a variety of topics. Great for the serious student as well as those with a general interest.

Buddhism
Christianity
Confucianism
Elizabethan England
Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania - 2 Volume set
Energy Supply and Renewable Resources
Fundamentalism
Globalization and Free Trade
Hinduism
Indigenous Religions
Islam
Judaism
Natural Resources and Sustainable Development
New Religions
Nuclear Nonproliferation
Pandemics and Global Health
Shinto
Sikhism
Taoism
Terrorism and Global Security
The Ancient World
The Eighteenth Century
The Medieval World
The Nineteenth Century
The Twentieth Century
The Victorian Age
World Poverty

Links to Even More E-Books

Project Gutenberg Australia
These free ebooks or etexts may be read on a computer using a simple text editor or viewer. The books are in the 'public domain' in Australia and all have been prepared by volunteers.
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Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg’s mission it is to encourage the creation and distribution of digital books. They provide copyright free eBooks for downloading via their excellent search engine.
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Google Books
After selecting a category of interest, go to the top left hand corner and click on Showing: All Books or Limited Preview or Full View or Full View only.

My eBooks
Read other peoples books or register (free) and put your own books out there!

Open Library
To date, the Open Library has gathered about 30 million records (20 million are available through the site now), and more are on the way. You can search millions of book records, narrow results by facet, and search across the full text of 1 million scanned books.

Internet Archives
The Internet Archive is a non-profit organisation that was founded to build an Internet library, with the purpose of offering permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format. In late 1999, the organization started to grow to include more well-rounded collections.

Read.gov
Throughout Read.gov, you will find classic books for readers of all ages that have been digitized for online reading, as well as lists of suggested titles that may be obtained at your local library.

2009-07-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

Book Discussion Groups

If you enjoy reading and would like to meet and chat with other readers now is your chance!

We currently have 4 book discussion groups running at our Fairfield, Smithfield, Wetherill Park and Bonnyrigg Branch Libraries.

The groups meet once a month and the books are the latest release items selected from our collection. This ensures that all members obtain a copy for the duration of the discussion period.

New members are alway welcome.

For further information on Book Groups being established in other branches or at other times, contact Daniel Ferguson 9725 0377.

2009-07-09T18:39:00.000-07:00

Online Catalogue

Anyone can view the Fairfield City Library Service's online catalogue.

Using the barcode on the back of your member card and your pin number you can access your personal account. This is where you can review your holds, place new reserves or renew any items you currently have at home.

If you are not a member just come into any of our five branches and bring some i.d. with your name and address - we will immediately give you your membership card so you can get started straight away.

Please contact the library on 029 725 0365 if you have any difficulties or have forgotten your pin.

Oh, and our "What's Hot This Month" is displayed on the front of the catalogue, so you need not miss out on the latest books.

2009-03-25T20:27:00.001-07:00

Staff Suggestions

Recently all the staff were asked to discuss their favourite books and guess what!

They displayed such a large variety of reading tastes, yet often the same titles were repeated.

So with the thought that perhaps you may like to try something new we decided to share them with you. Enjoy!

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Cun Xin
The Shadow Maker by Robert McCaig
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Ugly Duckling (Adapted by Bob Williams)
Love Letters from Your King by Sheri Rose Shepherd
The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
The Little Prince by Jule Saint Exupéry
A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Friends To The End by Bradley Trevor Greive
Daughters of Shame by Jasvinder Senghera
Looking For Alibrandi by Francesca Marcetta
Marley & Me by John Grogan
Laci: Inside the Laci Peterson Murder by Michael Fleeman
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Strength Finder by Tom Rath

Master of the Game by Sidney Sheldon
The Conqueror series by Conn Iggulden
Dewey by Vicki Myron
Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureshi
The Secret Servant by Daniel Silva
Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong
The Bible
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
The Alchemist by Paul Coehlo
The Complete Secrets of Happy Children by Steve & Shaaron Biddulph
The Biggest Loser Cookbook edited by Mandy Sinclair
Tiger Island
Wild Lavender by Belinda Alexandro
Princess by Jean Sassoon
First They Kill My Father by Luong Ung
The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton
By Any Means by Charley Boorman
The Just by Albert Camus
Possum Magic by Mem Fox
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer