BOOK OF THE YEAR - 2012 - R. J. PALACIO

"WONDER" by R. J. Palacio

I know it's early in 2012 to call any book 'the book of the year', and yet I really don't think any other story is going to move and affect me as much as this one did. R. J. Palacio has written a book for young adults; this is also a book for adults. There are so many ways this story can touch the reader. Here is an interview with the author, she gives the background to how the story came into being and that is a story in itself.

Click on the title above and read the story description, then please buy the book (or borrow from the library or a friend) and when you've enjoyed the story, it would be wonderful if you would put a review on our website, please. This is a title that will be on our shelves in the bookshop and on my bookshelves at home. I will even buy a copy to loan out! It's a story I think everyone should read.

NATIONAL YEAR OF READING - 2012 AUSTRALIA'S BOOK CHOICE

Between November 2011 and January 2012, more than 16,200 readers voted online to choose eight titles, one for each state and territory, which would provide the basis for Australia's biggest book group for 2012. The winners were announced on February 14th at the National Library of Australia in Canberra. The books are:

Well Done Those Men by Barry Heard for Victoria

Jasper Jones By Graig Silvey for Western Australia

Wanting by Richard Flanagan for Tasmania

Time's Long Ruin by Stephen Orr for South Australia

TheWhite Earth by Andrew McGahan for Queensland

Listening to Country by Ros Moriarty for the Northern Territory

The Idea of Home by John Hughes for New South Wales

Smoke & Mirrors by Kel Robertson for the Australian Capital Territory

What a great list of books for any book club's list for 2012. If you decide to add these titles to your club's list please send us a review on all or any of them for our website.

NATIONAL YEAR OF READING - 2012

Nearly half the Australian population struggles through their life without the literacy skills to meet the most basic demands of everyday life and work. 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.

This National Year of Reading is about children learning to read and keen readers finding new sources of inspiration. It's about supporting reading initiatives while respecting the oral tradition of storytelling. It's about helping people discover and rediscover the magic of books. And most of all, it's about Australians becoming a nation of readers.

The National Year of Reading is supported by some familiar names. William McInnes is the Patron and the list of Ambasadors covers authors, booksellers, politicians, sports women and men, professors, radio and television identities. The children's authors include Felice Arena, Graeme Base, Alison Lester, Andy Griffiths, Jackie French and Shaun Tan. To read more about the National Year of Reading visit the official website here. We are pleased to be involved in this Australia wide movement.

Happy New Year 2012

Alison Lester and Boori Monty Pryor are the first Australian Children's Laureates, this was announced early in December 2011 as the first project for the National Year of Reading. For more information on the Australian Childrens Laureate visit the website here. And to follow the National Year of Reading visit their website here.

The Patron for the National Year of Reading is William McInnes and the list of Ambasadors reads like a 'who's who' of celebraties and politicians. The children's authors who are on this list include Hazel Edwards, Andy Griffiths, Jackie French, Shaun Tan, Alison Lester, Graeme Base and Felice Arena.

This is going to be an interesting year for books and readers, watch this space for more information on these two great initiatives.

CUMULUS eREADER NOW IN STORE

With Cumulus you can read ebooks purchased from the bookshop you choose. You're not locked in to one platform as you are when you buy Kindle. You can download directly from the internet to Cumulus and use the menus and layouts to view all your books in colour. Look at our ebook website here, see what we recommend and search for that special title.

For those who need to know, these are the tech specs:
Size: 193mm x 115mm x 12.5mm
Weight: 380g
Battery Life: Up to 7 hours
Charge Time: 3 hours
Screen: 7" 16.9 capacitive, 800x480px
ebook software: ReadCloud pre-installed
Camera: 13 megapixel CMOS
System: Android 2.3 Gingerbread
Memory: 512 DDR3 + 4Gb NAND flash
Processor: Telechips 8803 ARM Cortex A8 1.2 GHz
Wifi: Support 802.11b/g
Input/Output: USB 3G dongle, 1080P HDMI, TF card, mini USB
3.5mm audio jack, DC
Media: Flash 10.1, 3D games, audio
Warranty: 1 year

Price $199.00

BOOKBUSKING - FOSTER PRIMARY SCHOOL

Waiting their turn..........

On Friday December 2nd we had the best day ever with students from Foster Primary School. We set them up outside the bookshop with table and chairs, microphone and a large guitar case. From 10 am to around 2.30 pm 50 students read a small section of a favourite book. People passing stopped to listen and made very generous donations. This fund raising event may well become an annual event.

LADIES DAY AT FOSTER LADIES GOLF

101 Dalmations complete with dog bowls.

The Three Little Pigs with Wolf.

The Cats in Hats.

November 18 was a great day at the Foster Golf Course when it was invaded by characters from children's storybooks. There were a number of Cats in Hats, more Where's Wallys than I think anyone could handle (finding) Three Little Pigs plus Wolf and many more. We were very pleased to support the Foster Ladies in their annual 'housewives day', it seems like they had a record attendance.

The most entertaining aspect of the day was the arrival of Spot the Dog, who insisted on stealing the flag...................!!