Day 7 of Blogging the twelve days of Christmas #blog12daysxmas

Clearing the (Christmas) clutter.

Here are a few titles to help you get your home back into shape after Christmas...

Ewer, Cynthia Townley. Cut the clutter: get thrifty, speed your cleaning, be eco-smart

Koll, Randall. The organized home: design solutions for clutter-free living.

Ramsland, Marcia. Simplify your space: create order & reduce stress!

Oliver, Lissanne. Sorted: the ultimate guide to organising your life - once and for all. "Professional organiser Lissanne Oliver shares her knowledge and hands-on experience from years of organising people's lives for a living. In 42 clear and easy-to-follow recipes, Lissanne will teach you the steps and systems that will help sort your personal, work and living spaces - once and for all."

Walmsley, Bernice. Teach yourself decluttering.

Rosace, Nina. Home sorted!: a simple and effective guide to organising your home. Maintaining your home is one of the most important jobs to do. But sometimes, a little bit of cleaning can turn into a lot if you don’t do it often. Home Sorted is here to help you organise your household. There are easy reference tabs divided into different rooms of the house. Within these sections are plenty of quick tips and cleaning advice to fast track you to a clean and happy home!

Click here to access the catalogue.

Day 6 of Blogging the twelve days of Christmas #blog12daysxmas

Our Story Summer Reading Program

As part of the National Year of Reading, eight books will be chosen by Australia that describe our country. There is a shortlist of books for each state and territory and you can vote for the book that you think best represents your state.
You can vote in any of the Boroondara Library Branches or just vote online or join an online conversation at The Reading Room.

The Victorian books are

Bearbrass by Robyn Annear









The Comfort of Water by Maya Ward

Sold by Brendan Gullifer

Radical Melbourne by Jeff and Jill Sparrow

Unpolished Gem by Alice Pung

Well done those men by Barry Heard

There's only a few days left to vote so get reading!

Day 5 of Blogging the twelve days of Christmas #blog12daysxmas

New Year's Eve is coming up in only a couple of days so why not have a party to celebrate the New Year arriving!

Your library has some great books that might help you get started.  There are some cookbooks here in this list but there are also some great books on making cocktails.  Click here for the library catalogue.

For making cocktails check out these books:

Fizz : recipes for fabulous cocktails & party food by Pamela Clark.

500 cocktails : the only cocktail compendum you'll ever need 

The cocktail Jane Rocca - fabulous drinks and fabulous illustrations by Kat Macleod.

Or maybe you want to venture out have a look at Melbourne's bars and pubs for 2012 to find a special place where someone else will make the cocktails!

For fun party food check out these books:

Dress your cupcake : bake them! Dress them! Eat them! by Joanna Farrow

Hip hip hooray : 40 fun party cakes Julie Lanham

Make me cake and cookie pops

Party : how to make a brilliant bash : the essential guide

Food, fashion, friends Karen Bussen

My party Pete Evans

Party music to get your groove on!

Disco music : originals  various artists for the retro discotheque!

Born this way Lady Gaga put your meat suit on and boogie off to this one!

Zonoscape Cut/Copy quirky, catchy tunes that will keep this one on replay!

Beyond the sea Various artists - groovy tracks to dance to from the fifties to now! 

Day 4 of blogging the twelve days of Christmas #blog12daysxmas

What is summer in melbourne without a barbecue?

Try these books for some bbq inspiration....

The Heart Foundation BBQ and grill cookbook. Written by award-winning author Loukie Werle, it brings you dozens of mouth-watering recipes and provides healthy eating through a variety of inspirational foods. You can be confident that the recipes meet the Heart Foundation's strict guidelines based on healthy food options and nutrients, including saturated fat, kilojoules (energy), sodium (salt), and fibre and serve size. The Heart Foundation BBQ & Grill Cookbook also includes practical heart health information, alternative cooking methods, a healthy shopping list, a meat cuts cooking chart and answers to frequently asked questions.

500 bbq bites : the only barbecue compendium you'll ever need. by Paul Kirk. With 500 sizzling recipes, this book in the popular 500 series caters for every taste and encompasses all styles of barbecue. With tips for selecting ingredients for the grill, preparing mouthwatering marinades, and making delicious accompaniments, this is the only barbecue book you will ever need.

Stéphane Reynaud's BBQ .With over 140 recipes irresistible recipes including tender cutlets, succulent roasts and ribs, as well as a selection of accompaniments, from minted grilled vegetables to a decadent baked camembert, there's a recipe for every barbecue get-together. Written in his well-known eccentric style, Stephane never fails to entertain, and his passion for barbecuing is highly contagious.

Peter Howard's BBQ collection. This is a combination of the best recipes from Peter's first three books, "Barbecued!", "Licence to Grill" and "Barbecue Seafood" plus more new recipes including pizzas and souffles. Includes roasting and wok frying recipes done on the side burner.

Ainsley's ultimate barbecue bible. The book is packed with mouth-watering dishes inspired by flavours from around the world including a host of sensational salsas, marinades, barbecue breads and summertime drinks to complete your menu.

The complete book of vegetarian barbecuing : over 150 delicious recipes plus tips and techniques.

The great Aussie barbie cookbook. An irreverent celebration of the great Australian barbecue, this superb collection of recipes shows you how to make the most of this enduring tradition. The Great Aussie Barbie Cookbook covers al the basics of cooking on a barbie and a bit more, and is full of ideas for delicious dishes to suit any occasion, whether it be for a family gathering, a special celebration or just a regular evening meal.

Asian barbecue. The days of boring barbecues are over! Asian Barbecue brings you spicy sweet satays, tangy grilled chicken, skewers loaded with fresh seafood, and even fresh fruit flamed to caramelised perfection. Asian Barbecue will show you how to barbecue, grill and hibachi your way to wonderful Asian-inspired flavours time and again!


Click here to access the library catalogue online.

Day 3 of blogging the twelve days of Christmas #blog12daysxmas

You might have spent yesterday at the cricket, the Boxing Day sales or eating ridiculous amount of leftovers from your Christmas lunch.  By now you might be feeling that there should be more to life than watching men wacking balls around, low quality plastic wares supposedly marked down or inventing new ways to eat cold ham and turkey (turkey tacos, maybe?).

Then you need to get back into reading.

Here's some stimulating brain food to feast on for the summer holidays. Use our catalogue to reserve something today.

1835 : The founding of Melbourne and the conquest of Australia by James Boyce.  Go back in time to see Melbourne from a whole new light with this amazing historian.  Learn how Melbourne was established and how that history might still have an impact on how we see our city today.

Kinglake 350 by Adrian Hyland.  Follow Roger Wood police officer from Kinglake through Black Saturday as he attempts to comprehend the day that changed everything.  Hyland writes fiction and has crafted this nonfiction book deftly to tell the stories of the people of Kinglake.

The magic of reality: how we know what's really true by Richard Dawkins.  Ever contentious Dawkins takes on magic in his new book to get people excited about reality!  He explains how the universe works, what we are made of, how stuff happens and how to love science even if you hated it in high school!  His books are very readable but are great brain food too.

The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Henrietta had some of her cells taken from her during the 1950s without her knowledge. The cells were the first to be grown in a laboratory and are still alive today even though she had been dead for sixty years. They played a vital role in the development of a polio vaccine, cancer research and side effects of the atomic bomb.  This book tracks the authors search for more about this woman's life.

The psychopath test  by Jon Ronson.  This is a book about madness.  How is madness defined and why do people challenge and resist its definition? Jon is inspired by the Psychopath Test and the psychiatrist who developed it to use the test to see if he can spot a psychopath in the corporate world.   The book is funny, insightful and a little scary.

Blogging the 12 days of christmas. Day 2

Boxing Day in Melbourne.

Cricket.

The Boxing day test at the MCG.

Six and out - Non Fiction.

Wisden's cricket almanac. Published annually. Everything you wanted to know about cricket but were afraid to ask.

Ryan, Christian. Australia: story of a cricket country. A selection of Australia's best writers share their thoughts on different aspects of the game and its place in our national culture; from bowling, captaincy and scoring, to alcohol, media and literature.

Hawkes, Chris. World cricket records 2012. If you ever get into an argument about cricket facts and stats, anywhere in the world, "World Cricket Records 2012" will not only provide you with the definitive answer, it will also give you loads of additional information that will amaze your audience.

Ford, Daniel. A fan's guide to world cricket. A guide to some of the world's top cricket teams and their homes. It covers the various test teams, including history, their test and ODI records, championships won, key players and the grounds. It also contains information about the cities and countries of each team, including local culture, the best attractions and great places to eat and drink.

Cannane, Steve. First tests: great Australian cricketers and the backyards that made them. The backyard has been the real academy of Australian cricket. Don Bradman′s unique grip, stance and backlift all evolved in response to the pace at which the golf ball rebounded off the tank stand in his backyard games. Greg Chappell′s trademark flick off the hip shot was invented on his backyard wicket where the best scoring opportunities lay on the leg side. Alan Davidson bowled accurately because he had to. If he missed the stumps on his home-made pitch, he had to chase the ball down the hill into the scrub. Doug Walters played spin with ease because his ant-bed backyard pitch spun like a top. Neil Harvey′s immaculate footwork came from playing balls that darted viciously off the cobblestones in his back lane.

Batchelder, Alf. Only yesterday: Don Bradman at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. from acclaimed sports writer Alf Batchelder, author of the magnificent history of the Melbourne Cricket Club 'Pavilions in the Park', a gripping account of the exploits of The Don at the MCG. The great man's Melbourne performances are set in the context of events surrounding him in Australia and overseas.

Santhanam, Vijay. If cricket is a religion, Sachin is God. Sachin Tendulkar is in Australia with the Indian cricket team. The 'little master' is one of the greatest cricketers of all time and this book looks at his cricket and his country.

Thompson, Harry. Penguins stopped play: eleven village cricketers take on the world. A group of unlikely cricketers attempt to play cricket on every continent. Their Antarctica match is particularly amusing as a group of penguins wandered onto the pitch to check out the action.

FICTION

Greenwood, Kerry. Death before wicket. Phryne Fisher is on holiday. She means to take the train to Sydney (where the harbour bridge is being built), go to a few cricket matches, dine with the Chancellor of the university and perhaps go to the Arts Ball with that celebrated young modernist, Chas Nutall. She has the costume of a lifetime and she's not afraid to use it.

McInnes, WIlliam. Cricket Kings. Step into the lives of a team of regular middle-aged men who meet each week to play cricket in their local park. They don't seem to be extraordinary - they are just like the rest of us - but like everyone, they each have a story to tell.

Blogging the 12 days of christmas.

The boss has laid down the challenge... Can each of the Library Blogs take part in the #blog12daysofxmas challenge on twitter.

Challenge extended.

Challenge accepted.

So for the next 12 days we will be blogging everyday.

Let the challenge begin.

**********

Crimes for Christmas ( a select list of crime novels with a festive holiday theme)

Atherton, Nancy. Aunt Dimity's Christmas.

Baldacci, David. The Christmas train.

Beaton, M.C. A highland Christmas.

Clark, Mary Higgins. Dashing through the snow.

Dunnett, Kaitlyn. A wee Christmas murder.

Fluke, Joanna. Candy cane murder.

Morrell, David. The spy who came for Christmas.

Mortimer, John. Rumpole at Christmas.

Page, Katherine Hall. The body in the sleigh.

Penny, Louise. Dead cold.

Perry, Anne. A Christmas homecoming.

Wingfield, R.D. Frost at Christmas.

Click here to check the library catalogue.

Gift ideas - fire up your foodie friends

Gingerboy - Teage Ezard, Chris Donnellan. Like it spicy? Ezard can deliver!

 Plenty - Yotam Ottolenghi. Deliciousness itself by the flavour gurus!

 Cumulus Inc. - Andrew McConnell. Make this restaurant come to your kitchen!











 Indulge - Rowie Dillon. You won't be allergic to this cookbook!

 Zumbo -  Adriano Zumbo. Not the dance craze...the sugar craze!!

New Middle Eastern Food - Greg & Lucy Malouf. Wish this had scratch and lick pages!

Reading advent calendar at Ashburton Library

Ashburton Library has their Reading Advent Calendar up again!  Each day in December a new book will be revealed. All the books were chosen because they won an award in 2011 or they were just fantastic books!  Come in and have a look and maybe get an idea on what to read over the summer holidays!

Some icy reads to chill you through summer!

Scandanavian crime/mystery author list

Alvtegen, Karin
Dahl, K.O.
Davidsen, Leif
Edwardson, Ake
Ekman, Kerstin
Eriksson, Kjell
Fossum, Karin
Holt, Anne
Indriðason, Arnaldur
Joensuu, Matti-Yrjana
Jungstedt, Mari
Kjærstad , Jan
Läckberg, Camilla
Larsson, Asa
Larsson, Stieg
Mankell , Henning
Marklund, Liza
Nesbsbø, Jo
Nesser, Håkan
Roslund, Anders & Hellstrom, Borge
Sewell, Kitty
Sigurðardóttir, Yrsa
Sjöwall, Maj & Wahlöö, Per
Staalesen, Gunnar
Theorin, Johan
Tursten, Helene

Reserve from our catalogue and check out the book album by liking us on facebook.