So what do you think of ebooks? Your library wants to know. Will books via PCs and mobile phones take off here like they have overseas? Do ebooks signal the end of reading books? Will no one get high on the smell of a new book (tragic – I know) but you know what I mean, or linger over beautiful covers, marvel at illustrations and the perfect font. Where is all this headed? A small screen somewhere – mobile phone, laptop, kindle etc. Read more in this article titled The Future of Reading by Tom Peters published in Library Journal. http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6703852.html Let us know your thoughts by adding a comment – right here, right now.

Here are some more reviews from our CWL Book Chain for Dreams From My Father. From Mandarin 1: Have to agree with Obama's statement in his introduction that his memoir could be further edited by at least 50 pages. I say double or perhaps even triple. As he charts his background growing up in a white household, struggling to find his identity as a righteous black man by resisting "the pure and heady breeze of privilege", his story bogs down in discussions of racial exploitation without really shedding any new light on the subject. Although I did find his trip back to Kenya, reuniting with his new found siblings and defining "what is a family?" intriguing. Just a thought - I find it hard to believe that Obama wrote his first memoir in one year. I suggest that he may had major editorial help, even a ghostwriter. Successful politicians have sought this service with acknowledgment of their help. Why Obama has not, is perhaps due to his political persona built around his presumably superior intellect.

Mandarin 2: What makes someone become a president? Let alone coming from a mixed race background, American mother, African father, an Indonesian stepfather and growing up in different countries I really enjoyed reading this, discovering all about this boy growing up into a man who is wise beyond his years. It is quite detailed, the conversations he recalls and his thoughts about different events, like the advertisements for whitening skin. I found his real father fascinating even though Barack hardly knows him - he was brought to life. It is well written and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. When he became president I honestly didn't know much about him but now I feel I know him well and what life events have shaped his ideas.

Mandarin 3: This is an excellent read about race in modern society and his struggle to find where he fits in life. It is also about an absent father – and discovering a family a world away....a real insight into the man of the moment – the US President. Thank you "Mandarins", More reviews to come............

Guest speaker Dr Frank Brennan - a Sydney physician, will relate hopeful and compassionate stories from his writings which are based on caring for sick and terminally ill people at Orange City Library on Wednesday 25 November from 6pm - 8pm. Frank worked for the Aboriginal Medical Service in Redfern, as a paediatrician in South Africa, and for the Sacred Heart Hospice before specialising in palliative care. Refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to the Library on 6393 8132. All welcome.

The Orange Civic Theatre Festival Curtain was made in 1983 by more than 300 volunteers from around the district. Orange City Council is calling upon anyone who may have assisted or knows someone that was involved in the project. Council wanted to record memories of the curtain. This is one way of keeping the history of the curtain alive. Stories are often lost when people pass away or the item is removed from its context. Council intends to record the stories on video. The curtain project was designed and directed by local artist, the late Cath Wyatt. It was a community craft project to celebrate the biennial Orange Festival of Arts. The work now forms a giant backdrop to the stage of the theatre and depicts the rural landscape of Orange. The curtain is made up of 30 panels. Anyone with information about the curtain can contact Alison Russell on 6393 8170 at Orange City Council.

Our inaugural CWL Book Chain (via email) has ended for this year with two groups (Mandarin and Tangerine) reading a total of six books they self-nominated. Keep in mind not everyone read all the books so there will be more reviews for some books than others. Here are the reviews from the Mandarin Book Chain for Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates. Our next email book chain will start next year.

From Mandarin 1: A portrait of the artifice of American suburban life in the '50's.Told through Frank Wheeler, a selfish and insecure man who has a deep investment in maintaining his male status quo. Frustrated, Frank with his wife, April and two children move to suburban Connecticut. As a temporary measure, Frank takes a job that is dull due to his belief that he is destined for an extraordinary creative life. How and when? He's not quite sure although April may have the solution... I really thought this novel was very well written. It's a familiar theme similar to movies like "American Beauty" and the TV show "Mad Men" in which hysterical housewives and angry suburban men dream of escaping while simultaneously protecting their fragile stability. However, the confronting "honesty" that Yates is recognised for does not allow the reader to sit back and enjoy an ultimate moral conviction. We find the novel judging our own harmonious reality and the role of chance. There are those who may view this theme depressing. However the well developed characters, the astonishing understanding of human nature that is sometimes portrayed with cynicism and Yates refusal to let sentiment seep in will capture the reader in a novel that is utterly absorbing. A very memorable performance.

Mandarin 2: This is so well written and timely for today as people search for meaning in life. It is subtle and an insider's study of a couple, and their neighbours and striving for a life less ordinary. I can see some would say it is bleak but it reminds us about what makes us happy and reminds us to be be grateful for what you have.

So far mother nature has smiled rays of sunshine upon us for our Pre-Schooler Storytimes in Cook Park. We are taking part in the Orange Blossoms Garden Festival by hosting Pre-Schoolers Storytime next to the Fernery in Cook Park (Clinton Street side) rather than the normal Library location. Join in at 11am on the following days: 17, 18, 19 November and 24, 25, 26 November. If the weather's bad Storytime will be held in the Library. Storytime is a fun way to encourage children under 6 to be interested in books. Come along and enjoy reading in Cook Park then feed the ducks, play on the swings or have a picnic.

Good luck to our regional poetry slam heat winners Alan Fragar, of Cowra, and Josh Simpson, of Bathurst. They will be performing their original poems on Friday night at the State Library of NSW, Sydney, in the Australian Poetry Slam 09 State Final. Then the NSW winners will perform on 3 December, battling against state and territory winners for the coveted national title at the Sydney Opera House. All heat contestants are given a microphone, a live audience and just two minutes to impress the judges with their original spoken word poetry. Five judges are picked randomly by the MC throwing gifts into the audience. Whoever catches the gift is a judge. The judges' decision is final! So it is up to the audience to decide who wins. Good Luck guys!!!!! Wish them well everyone.

A big thank you to all the locals and visitors from around the state and Queensland who came along to the Lost in Black Sheep Weekend hosted by the Society of Australian Genealogists, Central West Libraries and Orange Family History Group. More than 70 family historians enjoyed the guest speakers, meals, venue, Library, Orange, book sales, prize draw (won by a Parkes delegate), socialising, family history advice and discovered a wide range of resources to help find ancestor records. Pictured above is Society of Australian Genealogists Executive Officer Heather Garnsey at the seminar book sale table. Read more about the seminar in today's Central Western Daily. http://www.centralwesterndaily.com.au/news/local/news/general/out-on-a-limb-to-trace-ancestors/1672817.aspx

Austen fans rejoice - the wait is almost over. All self respecting Jane Austen fans will not miss this: Miss Austen Regrets screening on ABC TV. Here is the promo: "Approaching her fortieth birthday, Jane Austen (Olivia Williams pictured, from Emma and The Sixth Sense) appears happily unmarried. When asked by her young niece Fanny (Imogen Poots) to help her vet potential husbands, Jane's confident composure is threatened as she finds herself looking back on her own potential suitors and the choices she has made. Could potential family financial ruin have been averted if she'd accepted the proposal of a wealthy landowner? And what about the handsome young physician Jane meets as a result of a family illness? Based on the life and letters of Jane Austen, Miss Austen Regrets tells the story of the novelist's final years, examining why, despite setting the standard for romantic fiction, she died having never married or met her own Mr. Darcy." And look out for Greta Scacchi in the role of Jane's sister Cassandra. It has received great reviews and of course is beautifully filmed. Screening on ABC TV on Sunday 15 November from 8.30pm to 10pm. A must see!

Central West Libraries and Orange Family History Group in association with the Society of Australian Genealogists is thrilled to be hosting the Lost in Black Sheep Weekend (7 & 8 November, 2009) and welcomes family history buffs to Orange for this event. We expect more than 70 visitors for the two-day family history weekend being held at the Orange Civic Theatre Forum, Byng Street, Orange. We hope everyone enjoys the range of expert speakers to help further their research. Welcome to Orange.