Your library - open even when we are closed

The cold weather has settled in and doesn't seem to be leaving any time soon. For me, one of the great pleasures of living in a cold climate, is snuggling up under a blanket with a piping hot drink, a beloved pet and a great read. If you were paying attention, you would have realised that I didn't mention the word "book". I truly believe that we are in the epicentre of a tremendous change in the publishing and reading world and that books will one day imply a very explicit form of medium. In the same way that we don't use the word "record" any longer, but "album". Many of us readers love the tactile experience of holding an actual book; many speak of their love of "that new book smell". Yet there is something to be said for the sheer convenience of carrying many books in one compact light device, with features that may make up for not being a physical "book". Personally, I love being able to change the size and even the font when I am reading and very little  beats the guilty bliss of being able to read at night in bed after "lights out" time. I also love the fact that when I have run out of good reading material, I can simply log in to the TPL website from anywhere, find something new to eread , download a book, an audiobook or even a children's book by a familiar or a totally new author and be reading something deliciously new in minutes. And - did you know - you can now get French, Chinese, Spanish and Russian eBooks!

Your library continues to evolve, and offers you the opportunity of discovering the wonderful world of eReading. In the near future, I will be exploring these and other amazing reference resources you can read from home, your local coffee shop or even while on holiday.

Stay tuned!

 

The Real Housewives

If you haven't watch an episode of The Real Housewives, then Im sure you've at least heard about the reality television series, which follows the lives of extremely rich housewives in different cities all over America and Canada.  The series began in 2006 with the Real Housewives of Orange County and has since expanded to New York, Atlanta, New Jersey, Beverly Hills, Miami and Vancouver.  I didn't jump on the series till Beverly Hills but I was hooked right away.  Sometimes watching mindless TV is the best solution after a hard day.  I admit that the show can be tasteless at times but the drama is always good and I find that it's always fun to watch the lives of the rich and famous.  Whether you like the Housewives or not, its hard not to know what is going on in their lives because they are everywhere.  From magazine covers to book deals, they seem to get more and more popular every day.  For more information, check out some of these titles written by the Housewives themselves.

         

         

Looking for that Next Great Read for your Child?

Looking for something new to read to your child?  Check out some of the great lists we have on our website: 

	First & Best  is our annual list of top Canadian books for children from birth to five including picture books like I Can Do it Myself and Mr. Zinger's Hat.
	You can also go to Kidspace and look in  Books & Stories  for more great reads:
	100 Great Books offer some of the best books for all ages.
	If you're looking for books for a specific age, look no further than Great Books , where the Pick Below drop-down menu offers you lists of great books from Preschool to Grade 6.
	If it's Adventure & Sports, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Fun & Humour or any other type of book you need, Great Books  offers suggestions for all ages.
	Check out which Canadian books won awards in 2012 by searching Award Winners .
	Kids can also read and watch stories online by going to Read-a-Story  and looking at the recommended sites.
	Tumblebook Cloud offers ebooks, read along chapter books and graphic novels as well as videos and audio books.
	Children of all ages can Hear-a-Story in English and a range of other languages including French, Italian, Polish, Urdu, Mandarin, Korean and Russian.
	While we're on the topic of Great Reads, don't forget to have your child participate in our Design -A -Bookmark-Contest. Enter soon!  Contest finishes Saturday, February 9.  You can pick up your entry form at the library or download the form here.