Clacking knitting needles were a constant sound in the library during the past month. Orange City Library wishes to thank all the volunteers who have been busily knitting squares for the ABC Local Radio Knit-In to donate to the charity Wrap With Love – creating colourful wraps to send to communities in need around the world. Lisa Martin (pictured with just some of the wraps) said more than 60 wraps were collected with volunteers (including Suzie and Margaret pictured) putting the finishing touches to knitted squares to make the final few rugs on Thursday. Another 35 wraps from the Kenna Hall Knitting Group will be added to the collection and sent to the charity. Brooke Daniels from ABC Local Radio was the special guest at the Thank you Morning Tea – she praised everyone for their time, effort and support. The number of wraps would not have been possible without donations of wool, needles and time. Pats on the back (and knitting needles) all round! Whew!

Once again the ladies of Cowra and district have contributed to the ABC Knit In by making dozens of wraps for charity and donating hundreds of squares. Yesterday we had a final knit-in together at the library. It was a much anticipated event and we were overwhelmed by the number of squares that were left at the Library this year. A big THANK YOU is extended to all involved. In addition to healthy discussion about knitting techniques a review of some books took place. The gathering discovered new books with great recipes and free knitting patterns and others that could be used for Book Clubs containing lists of questions and ideas for discussion. Highly recommended were:

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs;

Death by Cashmere  a seaside knitters mystery by Sally Goldenbaum;

Elm Creek quilts novels by Jennifer Chiaverini;

Great recipes in: Two days after the wedding by Joan Medlicott and Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke.

The judges for the 2010 Man Booker Prize for Fiction announced the longlist for the prize, the leading literary award in the English speaking world. A total of 138 books, 14 of which were called in by the judges, were considered for the 'Man Booker Dozen' longlist of 13 books. The longlist includes:
Peter Carey – Parrot and Olivier in America;
Emma Donoghue – Room;
Helen Dunmore – The Betrayal; Damon Galgut – In a Strange Room; Howard Jacobson – The Finkler Question; Andrea Levy – The Long Song; Tom McCarthy – C; David Mitchell – The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet; Lisa Moore – February
Paul Murray – Skippy Dies; Rose Tremain – Trespass;
Christos Tsiolkas – The Slap; Alan Warner – The Stars in the Bright Sky.
The 2010 shortlist will be announced on Tuesday 7 September and the winner will be revealed on Tuesday 12 October. They will receive

Tracing your family history is fast becoming a favourite pastime for many but where do you start? During National Family History Week Orange City Library is hosting a one hour seminar titled “Tracing Your Family History  A Beginners Guide” to help family historians get started on the right path.
You can discover all the best tips and resources to begin researching your family history at Orange City Library on Wednesday 4 August from 2.30pm to 3.30pm. Participants in the seminar will also learn about useful family history resources from catalogues to newspapers, websites and photographs. To book your place, please call the Library on 6393 8132.

About 30 poetry fans enjoyed a night of witty and amusing poetry by spoken word artist Tug Dumbly (pictured) at the Australian Poetry Slam heat held last night. They also heard contemporary poems from local poets. Tug's poems “I Like it Strong” and “Ordinary Australians” received great reactions from the crowd. There were five contestants for the Poetry Slam – Patricia Stevenson, Alan Fragar, Darrin Yates, Joshua Simpson and Wolfgang Kline. They performed a range of poetry from traditional rhymes to lyrics about love, nature, life, garbage and storms. The winner, judged by the audience on the night was Darrin with a poem commenting on people taking the time to connect with their inner self – titled Beautiful Mind. Joshua Simpson of Bathurst, and Alan Fragar of Cowra, also won the opportunity to be at the Regional Final to be held at Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre on Saturday 7 August at 8pm during their Cabaret Kite event. For tickets contact BMEC.