Miles Franklin Literary Award: 2012 Long List announced

The Miles Franklin Literary Award, 2012 Long List has been announced, with seven of the thirteen contenders being women. This is noteworthy, as no women have appeared on this list in two of the past three years. To win this prestigous prize, the winning author "must present Australian life in any of its phases". Best of luck to each of the authors listed below.

Blood by Tony Birch
The spirit of Progress by Steven Carroll
Spirit house by Mark Dapin
The precipice by Virginia Duigan
All that I am by Anne Funder
Sarah Thornhill by Kate Grenville
Five Bells by Gail Jones
Foal's Bread by Gillian Mears
Autumn Laing by Alex Miller
Cold Light by Frank Moorhouse
Past the shallows by Favel Parret
The street sweeper by Elliot Perlman
Animal people by Charlotte Wood

The short list will be released in April, and the winner announced in June 2012.
Each of these books are available in the library, so why not read some of the nominated titles, and tell us about your favourites.

Lunch Time Read Aloud for Adults


How often have you read stories to your children, grandchildren or brothers & sisters and wished someone would do the same for you?

In celebration of the National Year of Reading, library staff are reading aloud adult stories at lunch time.So bring your lunch, settle in, relax and be entertained on the first Wednesday of each month.

Last month Dianne (from Interlibrary Loans) read several shorter stories, mostly from Australian collections.

Bag Limit - a short, sharp story about duck hunters and ghostly spirits AND The Rock Lobster Club - a young man is dismissive of his father's safe, boring life as a newsagent in the suburbs. He moves to the city and tries life in the fast lane. He comes unstuck when trying to be cooler than he is. Both from the collection Under Stones by Bob Franklin.

The Rip by Robert Drewe. A dad and his estranged daughter stroll along a beach the morning after a shark attack. At the expense of his fragile relationship with his daughter he goes into the water to help a woman who falls in a rip.

Melinda read a funny poem so you could have a laugh and shift around in your chairs.
Camel College by Matthew Crompton. A man travelling in India despises the country, but comes to understand and love it after a tour guide explains his Camel College philosophy. From The best travel writing 2011.

How I met my daughter / Max Barry from the Herding Kites collection. A couple have fertility problems and follow a prescribed pattern in an attempt to fall pregnant. When their daughter eventually arrives, dad feels shut out. Tragedy strikes, and the dad has to learn to look after his daughter whilst his wife is in hospital. Can he manage a close relationshipwith both his wife and his daughter - or only one or the other?

At an extra read aloud which was scheduled in celebration of Seniors Week Melinda (our Children's Librarian) read A Man for All Seasons. An Australian Story about rugby league coach Wayne Bennett. Followed by a clever poem, The Death of Reading by crime writer Jeffrey Deaver. Then a good murder story - Lamb to the slaughter by Roald Dahl.

On the 4 April starting at 1pm, come along and hear Jacinta, our Reference Librarian read her selection.

Throughout this year, on the first Wednesday of the month, bring your lunch and listen to a variety of library staff read their favourites.

Wednesdays 1pm - 1.45pm, Sutherland Library - Southern Lounge

See you on the 4th April.

2012 The National Year of Reading

Do you think you've got no time to read? Think again!



So you think you don’t have time to read? Think again!
Here's a short list of tips to get you thinking about how you can get reading:

Just do it.
Pick up a newspaper or a magazine. Read a twitter post or a recipe. Keep reading this blog (it's short). Whatever you read, for however long you read it, whether it's a couple of minutes or a couple of hours, it all counts as reading.

Swap something else for reading.
Read instead of watching TV, or swap surfing the net for reading an e-book. (You can download them free from the library via Overdrive).

Read one page a time.
You don’t have to read a lot, just a little bit at a time. Try reading an article, or even one or two pages of a book. Those couple of pages may be all it takes to get you hooked on a book.

Keep it short.
Read a short story, or a short book. Try one of the less-than-200 page Quick Reads, a collection of novellas by well-known authors available from the library.

Just ten minutes a day.
Aim to read for ten minutes a day. Early in the morning, at morning tea, afternoon tea or lunch time, in the bath or before bed.

Seize the moment.
Take a book, or an e-reader (loaded up with those books you’ve been wanting to read) with you everywhere, to give yourself more opportunities to read.

Listen.
Download an audio book onto your ipod and listen while you exercise, cook or garden. Try listening to a CD audio book as you drive.

Learn to speed read.
Read more in less time!

Read about what you love.
Reading the genres and topics that interest you, means you’re more likely to keep reading it –and to finish it.

Read to someone.
Take the time to read a bedtime story to a child. A great way to spend some quality time together and create a reading habit; a gift that can last a lifetime.
Would you like to be read to? Come along to Adult Storytime at Sutherland Library (bring your lunch), the first Wednesday of each month from 1.00pm. Listen as library staff read short stories to you during your lunch break.

photocredit: Flickr user Moriza "On the platform reading"

New System Software for the Library

Improvements to the library catalogue are on their way towards the middle of the year.


Over the past 12-18 months or so Sutherland Shire Libraries Have been working towards replacing the software that we use to manage our collection and borrower information, our Integrated Library System (ILS).

The selection phase is now complete We have selected a vendor and we are now into the implementation phase.  Over the next 3 or 4 months we will be setting up the new ILS, to be ready to change hopefully towards the end of June or start of July.

For the most part, library users will not notice any changes. We are endeavouring to make the change over as seamless as possible. Loan periods will remain the same, for instance, and the change to our system will not generally change the way we provide our service to you.

Where you will notice the change, however, is when you interact with the library through the catalogue and related online services. If you search for books or other materials online, once we've changed over you will be using a completely new online library catalogue.  We're excited about the improvements coming to the catalogue. While we know that some people find it difficult when we make changes like this, we hope that once you get used to the new interface you will agree that the changes are worthwhile.

Some of the improvements that are coming include:
  • A simpler, more Google like search.
  • An improved discovery experience making serendipitous discoveries more likely.
  • Improved visibility and access to alternative online resources - newspaper and magazine articles, online books, etc.
  • Opt-in borrower history - elect to have the library store a list of books/items you borrow.
It's still very early in the set up phase so we don't really have a working example that we can show you yet. Hopefully before we make the switch we'll be able to give you a chance to try the new catalogue out.  The software we'll be using is being widely used. You can get a feel for what it's like at these libraries:

Five questions in five minutes with Mark Dapin

Mark Dapin, popular newspaper columnist and successful Australian author, answers five questions in five minutes...




What are you reading right now, and are you enjoying it?

I'm reading Tunnel Rats by Jimmy Thomson and Sandy McGregor. It's a book about Australian engineers in the Vietnam War. I'm actually in Vietnam with Jimmy and Sandy as I answer these questions.

Could you tell us a bit about your favourite book?

My favourite book is probably Money by Martin Amis. I read it in my twenties, and it helped me understand what was wrong with my life. My joint-favouite book, Graham Greene's The Quiet American, still helps people understand what was wrong in Vietnam.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

I write, I train at the gym, I go to the pub, and I look at my children at marvel at how beautiful they are. That's my whole life, really.

Whats next for Mark Dapin?(could you give us a clue about your next book...)

I don't know what I'm going to do next. Newspapers, magazines and book publishing all seem to be in perpetual crisis. Maybe I'll become a pole-dancer.

If you could have dinner with two famous people, who would they be, and why?

I wouldn't really want to have dinner with anyone famous. It'd be too much like work.



Mark Dapin will be presenting an author talk/book signing at Sutherland Library, on Tuesday, 20th March, at 6.30pm. Copies of his books including his latest novel "Spirit House" will be available for purchase on the night, courtesy of Berkelouw Books.






You are welcome to join us for this event, bookings are essential. You can book online, or call the Library on 9710 0351.

Philosophical Fiction

Are you looking for something to read that makes you think? Books that make you reflect upon the ideas and different perspectives presented, and often pose interesting questions to ponder upon? If so, try some philosophical fiction.

This has been defined by Wikipedia as:

"works of fiction in which a significant proportion of the work is devoted to a discussion of the sorts of questions normally addressed in discursive philosophy. These might include the function and role of society, the purpose of life, ethics or morals, the role of art in human lives, and the role of experience or reason in the development of knowledge...The modus operandi seems to be to use a normal story to simply explain difficult and/or dark parts of human life".


Not only are the books listed below entertaining, they also provide some thought provoking ideas. Do you agree, or have any other suggestions to add to the list? Feel free to tell us what you think about these books, in the comments.


The Alchemist by Paul Coelho


Atlas shrugged by Ayn Rand


Brave new world by Aldous Huxley




Cats cradle by Kurt Vonnegut


Crime and punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky


Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes


Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barberry


Gullivers travels by Jonathan Swift




Life of Pi by Yann Martel


Moby Dick by Herman Melville




Steppenwolf (electronic resource) by Hermann Hesse


Stranger in a strange land by Robert Heinlein


War and peace by Leo Tolstoy



Maybe you've read some (maybe even all) of these - what did you think?


Photo credit: "Spiral staircase, philosophical reading- room" by flickr user Curious Expeditions'

Quilting Demonstration at Caringbah Library

Quilting & Patchwork Demonstration

When:Start: 9:30am, 14 Mar 2012
Finish: 11:30am, 14 Mar 2012

Where:Caringbah Library
376-378 Port Hacking Road, Caringbah NSW

Cost:Free

The Southern Quilters Finishing School will give a Demonstration of Patchwork and Quilting at Caringbah Library.

Light refreshments will be provided for attendees.

Please call Cheryl Nelson for further information on 0417 049 275 or 9525 8598.

International Womens Day, 2012

International Womens Day is being celebrated today, 8 March, 2012! This is the perfect day (particularly with the weather being inclement) to curl up and start reading some great fiction by Australia women writers. Its also a great opportunity to participate in The Australian women writers 2012 challenge, by reading and reviewing books written by Australian women. This challenge is running throughout the National Year of Reading, from 1st January-31 December 2012. Whatever you read whether it's romance, fantasy, crime, biographies, non-fiction all of these, you're invited to participate.

To get you started, here is a list of recently published contemporary Australian women writers.

Belinda Alexandra

Diane Armstrong

Larissa Behrendt

Jesse Blackadder

Dianne Blacklock

Geraldine Brooks

Jaye Forde

Nikki Gemmell

Kerry Greenwood

Kate Grenville

Lisa Heidke

Katherine Howell

Wendy James

Maggie Joel

Fleur McDonald

Nicola Moriarty

Judy Nunn

Fiona Palmer

Bronwyn Parry

Lisa Walker

This list is by no means exhaustive, so why not tell us some of your favourite Australian women writers?

New Online Reference Books @ your Library

One of the problems that libraries and their users perennially face is that of availability, especially when it comes to reference material - those books that are used for looking up information for assignments and the like.

You know the problem - when you come to the library for some information, only to find that all the books have been lent out.  To combat that problem libraries have traditionally restricted many of the the most useful title to their reference collections. They are always available in the library because they are not for loan but that's not always all that helpful, as you want to take them home to read.



In more recent times, however, we have been allocating more of our reference collection budget to digital books.  These are electronic versions of reference books made available online via our website to Sutherland Shire Library members.

These electronic versions contain all the same content as the original print versions but with the advantages of being available to many users at the same time.

In addition to the regular index ordinarily found in the back of the book, you can also search these books by keyword .  Indeed, you can often keyword search across all the online reference books in a collection, so you don't even need to decide which book to start with.

To give you an idea of the scope of the library's online reference collection you can see below the title list for one of our collections - the Gale Virtual Reference Library.

You can login to the Gale Virtual Reference Library and try it out! (enter your library card number)

You can see all the online reference books and encyclopedias in our collection on our website.
> Explore more Encyclopedias and Reference Books on the library website

Gale Virtual Reference Library Title List

The 100 Most Important Chemical Compounds: A Reference Guide, 2007
21st Century Communication: A Reference Handbook, 2v, 2009
21st Century Criminology: A Reference Handbook, 2v, 2009
21st Century Political Science: A Reference Handbook, 2v, 2011
Addiction: A Reference Encyclopedia, 2010
Air Pollution, 2011
Alternative Energy, 2010
Animal and Plant Anatomy, 11v, 2007
Animal Rights, 2011
Animal Sciences, 4v, 2002
Animal Welfare, 2011
Anxiety Disorders, 2010
Aptitude, Personality and Motivation Tests: Analyse your talents and personality and plan your career, 3rd ed., 2009
Architecture of Italy, 2008
Are Video Games Harmful?, 2011
Armstrong's Handbook of Reward Management Practice: Improving Performance Through Reward, 3rd ed., 2010
Art and Architecture of the World's Religions, 2v, 2009
Artificial Intelligence, 2011
Asperger Syndrome, 2011
The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 2011
Autism, 2009
Back Roads Australia, 2010
Baseball, 2011
Basketball, 2011
Biology, 4v, 2002
Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, 2nd ed., 1999
Cambridge Dictionary of Scientists, 2nd ed., 2002
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Child Development, 2006
Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine, 2nd ed., 2007
Career, aptitude and selection tests: Match your IQ, personality and abilities to your ideal career, 3rd ed., 2009
Censorship, 2010
Censorship in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, 2011
Cerebral Palsy, 2011
Chemical Elements, 2nd ed., 3v, 2010
Child Abuse, 2011
Child Labor, 2009
China Emerging: 1978-2008, 2009
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, 2012
Class Conflict in Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, 2011
Climate Change, 2009
The Cold War, 3v, 2011
Commonsense Direct & Digital Marketing, 5th ed., 2007
Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography, 27v, 2008
The Concise Encyclopedia of World War II, 2v, 2010
Cultural Identity and New Communication Technologies: Political, Ethnic and Ideological Implications, 2011
Culture and Customs of Croatia, 2011
Culture and Customs of Sweden, 2010
Culture and Customs of the Hmong, 2010
Daily Life through World History in Primary Documents, 3v, 2009
Deafness and Hearing Impairment, 2010
The Death Penalty, 2011
Discrimination, 2011
DIY Programming and Book Displays: How to Stretch Your Programming without Stretching Your Budget and Staff, 2010
Drugs, 2009
Electric Cars, 2012
The Elements of Library Research: What Every Student Needs to Know, 2008
Encyclopedia of Body Adornment, 2007
Encyclopedia of Depression, 2v, 2010
Encyclopedia of Environmental Issues, Rev. ed., 4v, 2011
Encyclopedia of Evolution, 2v, 2002
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, 3v, 2003
Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics, and Plagues, 2v, 2008
Encyclopedia of Sports Medicine, 4v, 2011
The Encyclopedia of the Cold War: A Political, Social, and Military History, 5v, 2007
Encyclopedia of the Solar System, 2nd ed., 2007
Endangered Species, 2012
Energy Alternatives, 2011
Environmental Encyclopedia, 4th ed., 2v, 2011
Eritrea, 2011
The Essential Guide to Workplace Mediation & Conflict Resolution: Rebuilding Working Relationships, 2008
Ethiopia, 2011
The Evolution Wars: A Guide to the Debates, 2nd ed., 2008
Family Garden, 1st American ed., 2008
Famine, 2009
Female Action Heroes: A Guide to Women in Comics, Video Games, Film, and Television, 2010
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, 2011
First Encounters: Native Voices on the Coming of the Europeans, 2010
Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Beliefs, Customs, Tales, Music, and Art, 2nd ed., 3v, 2011
Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia, 4v, 2011
Food Safety, 2012
Food-Borne Diseases, 2011
Food: In Context, 2v, 2011
Fresh Flower Arranging, 1st American ed., 2011
The Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health: Infancy through Adolescence, 2nd ed., 4v, 2011
The Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders, 3rd ed., 2v, 2010
The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, 4th ed., 6v, 2011
Garbage and Recycling, 2011
Gay Marriage, 2010
Gender in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, 2011
Genetic Engineering, 2012
Genocide in Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl, 2012
Genocide: A Reference Handbook, 2011
The Global Financial Crisis, 2010
Global Organized Crime: A Reference Handbook, 2010
Global Positioning Systems, 2011
Global Refugee Crisis: A Reference Handbook, 2nd ed., 2010
Global Warming, 2010
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Global Medieval Life and Culture, 3v, 2009
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Homes through World History, 3v, 2009
The Greenwood Library of World Folktales: Stories from the Great Collections, 4v, 2008
Grow Vegetables, 2008
The Handbook of Project Management, Rev. 2nd ed.: A Practical Guide to Effective Policies, Techniques and Processes, 2007
Hepatitis, 2010
Historical Dictionary of Australian Radio and Television, 2007
The History of Pakistan, 2008
The History of the Philippines, 2008
The History of Ukraine, 2008
History of World War I, 3v, 2002
History of World War II, 3v, 2005
Holidays Symbols and Customs, 4th ed., 2008
The Holocaust, 2011
Homosexuality, 2011
Hot Spot: Sub-Saharan Africa, 2010
How to Deal with Stress, 2nd ed., 2010
How to Motivate People, 2nd ed., 2010
How to Pass Advanced Aptitude Tests: Assess Your Potential and Analyse Your Career Options with Graduate and Managerial Level Psychometric Tests, Rev. ed., 2008
How to Pass Advanced Verbal Reasoning Tests, 2008
How to Prepare a Business Plan, 5th ed., 2008
How to Sell Yourself, 2010
How to Write a Business Plan, 3rd ed., 2010
How to Write Reports and Proposals, Rev. 2nd ed., 2010
How to Write Your Will: The complete guide to structuring your will, inheritance tax planning, probate and administering an estate, 19th ed., 2009
Human Origins 101, 2007
Human Rights, 2011
Ice Hockey, 2011
Immigration, 2009
Imprisonment, 2010
Improve your Communication Skills, Rev. 2nd ed., 2010
Indigenous Peoples, 2009
Influenza, 2011
The Innovation Handbook: How to Profit from Your Ideas, Intellectual Property, and Market Knowledge, 2nd ed., 2010
Inventors & Inventions, 4v, 2010
iPod® and MP3 Players, 2011
Lung Cancer, 2011
Lupus, 2010
Marijuana, 2012
Marriage, 2009
Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia of History and Innovation, 2v, 2010
Media Bias, 2011
Medical Ethics, 2011
Meningitis, 2010
Migraines, 2011
Modern Piracy: A Reference Handbook, 2011
Muscular Dystrophy, 2012
Nanotechnology 101, 2007
Nelson Mandela: A Biography, 2008
New Catholic Encyclopedia Supplement 2010, 2v, 2010
New Catholic Encyclopedia Supplement 2011, 2v, 2011
Oceans, 2011
Online Social Networks, 2010
Organise Yourself, 3rd ed., 2010
Paranormal Phenomena, 2012
The Persian Gulf War, 2011
Pop Art and the Origins of Post-Modernism, 2001
Population Growth, 2009
Preparing the perfect job application: Application forms and letters made easy, 5th ed., 2009
The Princeton Companion to Mathematics, 2008
The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs, 2010
Psychometrics in Coaching: Using Psychological and Psychometric Tools for Development, 2008
Public Relations Strategy, 2nd ed., 2007
Qualitative Research: Good decision making through understanding people, cultures and markets, 2009
Race in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, 2012
Raising Parents: Attachment, Parenting and Child Safety, 2008
Readymade CV's: Winning CVs for Every Type of Job, 4th ed., 2009
Real Astronomy with Small Telescopes: Step-by-Step Activities for Discovery, 2007
Religion, 2010
Renewable Energy: Sources and Methods, 2010
Robots, 2010
The Rough Guide to Amsterdam, 10th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Andalucía, 6th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Argentina, 4th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Austria, 4th ed., 2008
The Rough Guide to Barcelona, 8th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Beijing, 4th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Belgium and Luxembourg, 5th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Belize, 5th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Berlin, 9th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Bolivia, 2nd ed., 2008
The Rough Guide to Boston, 6th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Britain, 7th ed., 2008
The Rough Guide to Brussels, 4th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Buenos Aires, 2nd ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to California, 10th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Cambodia, 4th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Canada, 7th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Central America on a Budget, 2009
The Rough Guide to Chile, 4th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to China, 6th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Copenhagen, 4th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Corsica, 6th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Crete, 8th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Cuba, 5th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Cyprus, 6th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Denmark, 2nd ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Dubai, 2010
The Rough Guide to England, 9th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania, 3rd ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Finland, 2010
The Rough Guide to First-Time Africa, 2nd ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Florence and the best of Tuscany, 2009
The Rough Guide to Florida, 8th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to France, 12th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Genes & Cloning, 2007
The Rough Guide to Germany, 2009
The Rough Guide to Goa, 8th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Guatemala, 4th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Guitar, 2011
The Rough Guide to Hawaii, 6th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Hungary, 7th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Iceland, 4th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to India, 8th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Ireland, 10th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Istanbul, 2009
The Rough Guide to Italy, 10th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Japan, 5th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Jerusalem, 2nd ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Jordan, 4th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Kenya, 9th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Kerala, 2nd ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Languedoc and Roussillon, 4th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Laos, 4th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Las Vegas, 2011
The Rough Guide to Los Angeles & Southern California, 2nd ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, 6th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Mallorca and Menorca, 5th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Mexico, 8th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Montenegro, 2009
The Rough Guide to Morocco, 9th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Moscow, 5th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Naples & the Amalfi Coast, 2009
The Rough Guide to Nepal, 6th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to New England, 5th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to New Orleans, 2010
The Rough Guide to New York City, 12th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to New Zealand, 7th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Nirvana, 2009
The Rough Guide to Panama, 2010
The Rough Guide to Peru, 7th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Portugal, 13th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Prague, 8th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Provence & the Côte d'Azur, 7th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Puerto Rico, 2008
The Rough Guide to Rajasthan, Delhi & Agra, 2nd ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Rio de Janeiro, 2009
The Rough Guide to Romania, 6th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Rome, 4th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to San Francisco & the Bay Area, 8th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Sardinia, 4th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Scotland, 9th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands, 6th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Seoul, 2011
The Rough Guide to Shakespeare, 2009
The Rough Guide to Shanghai, 2nd ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Sicily, 8th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Slovenia, 3rd ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget, 2nd ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget, 2nd ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Southwest USA, 5th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Spain, 13th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Sri Lanka, 3rd ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Sweden, 5th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Switzerland, 4th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Sydney, 5th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Taiwan, 2nd ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to The Cotswolds, 2011
The Rough Guide to The Czech Republic, 2009
The Rough Guide to The Dominican Republic, 4th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to The Dordogne and the Lot, 3rd ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to The Grand Canyon, 3rd ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to the Italian Lakes, 2nd ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to The Lake District, 5th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to The Netherlands, 5th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to The Universe, 2nd ed., 2008
The Rough Guide to the USA, 10th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Tokyo, 5th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Travel Survival: The Essential Field Manual, 2005
The Rough Guide to Trinidad & Tobago, 5th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Tunisia, 8th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Turkey, 7th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Tuscany & Umbria, 7th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Vancouver, 4th ed., 2010
The Rough Guide to Vienna, 6th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Vietnam, 6th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Wales, 6th ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Walks in London & Southeast England, 2nd ed., 2009
The Rough Guide to Washington, DC, 6th ed., 2011
The Rough Guide to Yellowstone and Grand Teton, 2011
The Rough Guide to Yorkshire, 2011
The Rough Guide to Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, 4th ed., 2011
Same-Sex Marriage: A Reference Handbook, 2010
Schizophrenia, 2011
Science and Technology in Modern European Life, 2008
Scientific Exploration and Expeditions: From the Age of Discovery to the Twenty-First Century, 2v, 2010
Seas and Waterways of the World: An Encyclopedia of History, Uses, and Issues, 2v, 2010
Slavery, 2009
Smoking, 2011
Snowboarding, 2011
Soccer, 2011
Space Exploration and Humanity: A Historical Encyclopedia, 2v, 2010
Space Research, 2011
Story Behind the Protest Song: A Reference Guide to the 50 Songs That Changed the 20th Century, 2008
Succeed at IQ Tests: Improve your Numerical, Verbal and Spatial Reasoning Skills, 2008
Successful interview skills: How to prepare, answer tough questions and get your ideal job, 5th ed., 2009
Successful Time Management, Rev. 2nd ed., 2010
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, 2012
Suicide, 2012
Swimming, 2011
Teaching with Books That Heal: Authentic Literature and Literacy Strategies to Help Children Cope with Everyday Problems, 2007
Television, 2011
Torture, 2011
Ultimate Adventures: A Rough Guide to Adventure Travel, 2008
The Ultimate IQ Test Book, 2007
Vaccines, 2012
Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, 10th ed., 3v, 2008
Video Games, 2011
VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever, 2012 ed., 2011
Virtual Social Identity and Consumer Behavior, 2009
The War in Iraq, 2009
War in John Knowles's A Separate Peace, 2011
War in Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, 2011
Web 2.0, 2011
Women's Issues in Alice Walker's The Color Purple, 2011
Women's Issues in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, 2012
World Folklore for Storytellers: Tales of Wonder, Wisdom, Fools, and Heroes, 2009
Yoga Wisdom & Practice, 1st American ed., 2009
Youth Culture and Net Culture: Online Social Practices, 2011

Read and Think









The National Year of Reading theme for March is Think. This month is the time to think about what you are reading, and consider reading something that makes you think, whether its laterally-outside the box, critically, creatively or constructively.



Here are some books that make you think.
Fiction
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Lone wolf by Jodi Piccoult
Brave new world by Aldous Huxley
The alchemist by Paul Coelho
The 19th wife by David Ebershoff
We need to talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver
The da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
The handmaids tale by Margaret Atwood
The shack by William P. Young
Non Fiction
Dr Karl's brain food by Karl Kruszelnicki
How is the internet changing the way you think by John Brockman
30 second philosophies: The 50 most thought provoking philosophies each explained in half a minute edited by Barry Loewer
The LEGO idea book: you can build anything by Daniel Lipkowitz
The end of money: From cellphones to superdollars, a globetrotting search for the future of cash by David Wolman.

What do you think of these books? Tell us what else you've read that's made you think.

Photo credit: "Globe" by Flickr user carrotmadman6