Miles Franklin Shortlist 2017

Are you ready for the announcement of the Miles Franklin Award winner in September? The short list was announced this month, and you will find all the books at Blue Mountains Library. Each of the authors is a first time nominee and you are bound to find one that appeals.

An Isolated Incident by Emily Maguire  – An intriguing exploration of two women, a murder and media and masculinity set in a tough regional town.
The last Days of Ava Langdon by Mark O’Flynn – A warmly empathetic portrayal of a misunderstood but spirited outsider who refuses to concede to society’s conventional expectations.
Their Brilliant Careers by Ryan O’Neill – A rich and entertaining
satire featuring 15 biographies of imagined Australian writers whose bizarre and exaggerated lives are neatly slotted into real literary history.
Waiting by Philip Salom – A deftly executed and very human novel about a pair of odd couples, who are both waiting for something or someone to change their lives.
Extinctions by Josephine Wilson – A clever and compassionate novel exploring ageing, adoption, grief and remorse, rescue and resistance to rescue.

You can find more information about the awards and Miles Franklin herself on the official website.

2017 Man Booker International winner announced

A Horse Walks into a Bar

An excellent title, and now we are assured an excellent read, Israeli author David Grossman’s A Horse Walks into a Bar has been awarded the Man Booker International Prize for 2017.

Translated by Jessica Cohen and published by Jonathon Cape, the novel is set in a comedy club in a small Israeli town. An audience that has come expecting an evening of amusement instead sees a comedian falling apart on stage; an act of disintegration, a man crumbling, as a matter of choice, before their eyes. They could get up and leave, or boo and whistle and drive him from the stage, if they were not so drawn to glimpse his personal hell. Dovaleh G, a veteran stand-up comic – charming, erratic, repellent – exposes a wound he has been living with for years: a fateful and gruesome choice he had to make between the two people who were dearest to him.

And of course you can borrow this title from Blue Mountains library. Read reviews and an excerpt from the book on the catalogue, and place it on hold using your library card number and password.

 

What are We Reading?

Australia’s most borrowed library books 

Have you ever wondered what the most popular books are in Australian Libraries? The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) & Civica Libraries Index publish an annual list of the most borrowed books from the previous 12 months.

We certainly like our crime and thriller novels. They make up the top 10 spots in the 2017 list, and account for 15 of the top 20 books borrowed. At number one is Make Me by Lee Child, followed by The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins and Personal, also by Lee Child.

Topping the list of Australian titles this year was Rain Music by Di Morrissey, followed by Spirits of the Ghan by Judy Nunn and Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty.

Non-fiction honours went to Reckoning by Magda Szubanski, then The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes From a Small Island by Bill Bryson.

Find the full list on the ALIA website.

Carolyn’s Books of the Month – June 2017

Carolyn reads a variety of genres so you’re bound to find something that resonates.

Best Read :  The Obsession by Nora Roberts

Crime :  My Sister’s Secret by Tracy Buchanan

Australian Author : Fearless by Fiona Higgins

General Fiction :  Homegoing by Yaa  Gyasi

Thrillers : Marked for Life by Emelie Schepp  and Good Me, Bad Me by Ali Land

Saga/Romance : Ruby Flynn by Nadine Dorries

 

eBook of the Month

Have you discovered our eBooks yet?

You will find our eBook collection on two platforms. AXIS360 has over 2500 titles in fiction, non fiction, YA and children’s titles.

 BorrowBox has our newer titles and includes the eAudio collection. Find information on how to sign up on the library website, or ask staff for details.

Finding new items in the library catalogue

Everyone who uses the New Titles lists on the library website knows how great they are. They are simply impossible not to love! Now you can easily find even more new additions to the library collection. You can search for new items by subject, format, author, key word, collection and more. You can also opt for new titles from the last 30, 60, 120 & 365 days.

How is this possible you ask? Simply start a blank search in the catalogue and look at the search limiters on the left hand side of the screen. You can either start by choosing the time frame of the new title list you want to look at and then narrow your results to your area of interest, or do it the other way round.

For example, here is a search for new picture books at Lawson Library from the last 30 days.

 

Make your search as broad or as narrow as you wish. And remember, New Title lists don’t include items that are on order, so if you are looking for something that has just been, or is just about to be published, also search for it by title. If you have any questions about getting the most from the catalogue library staff can help you.