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.

More than 30 people attended Forbes Library recently to be among the first Australians to see a rare book by Galileo and hear Senior Curator Paul Brunton talk the book purchased by the State Library of NSW. Galileo was a mathematician, astronomer and philosopher who lived in Italy from 1564 to 1642. He is also regarded as the father of modern science for his improvements to the telescope and astronomical observations. The rare Galileo book is titled Dialogo dei massimi sistemi [Dialogue on the two chief world systems], Galileo's celebrated defence of the Copernican system, published in Florence in 1632. By casting Pope Urban VIII as the simple-minded Aristotelian Simplicius in the book, Galileo brought upon himself arrest, trial by the Inquisition and life imprisonment. The sentence was commuted to permanent house arrest, while the printing of any of his works was forbidden. Paul Brunton spoke about the origins of the book, how it was purchased and went into detail about Galileo's life. Surprisingly Galileo was not a rich man, despite his genius. Pictured above is: Barbara Cowled, Maud Morris and Glad Johnson from Jemalong Retirement Village, with Senior Curator of the State Library of NSW Mr Paul Brunton, at the talk and rare book display. Pictured below is the front of the book showing Aristotle, Ptolemy and Copernicus - note the candle burn on the side.

The Take Time Take Ten Literacy Program celebrates a milestone – handing out its 5,000th book to a newborn since the program began in 2002. The nuts and bolts of literacy are established in childhood and that's why this program is so important. Presenting newborns with a book is the first stage of our ongoing programs for children, we also have our Baby Rhyme and Read program for toddlers, Storytime for pre-schoolers and library resources for school students. We would like to thank the Take Time Take Ten volunteers - Orange Base Hospital Blue Ladies, Orange Base Hospital Maternity Ward, Margaret Schwebel at Book City for purchasing the books and our sponsors. Orange Credit Union has allowed us to purchase books for the 900 or so children to be born in Orange this year. The lucky family receiving the 5,000th Take Time Take Ten book was Amanda and Mark Paterson, of Orange, and their newborn daughter Amelia Jane. Pictured above is the Take Time Take Ten team: Margaret Schwebel of Book City, Blue Ladies President Cheryl Lobsey, Blue Ladies volunteer Mary O'Hare, Orange Credit Union Marketing Coordinator Noelle Cornish and Orange City Librarian Elizabeth Barry. Pictured below is Amanda and Amelia receiving the 5,000th book (and flowers) in the Take Time Take program from current sponsor Noelle Cornish from Orange Credit Union.

Join in talks by author Libby Gleeson and local illustrator Freya Blackwood when they tell school children about their latest book Clancy & Millie and the Very Fine House. The book is published by Little Hare Books and was launched just this month. It is about a little boy called Clancy who has moved to a new house that is huge and unfamiliar. He is missing his old house terribly - the new house is much too big and much too lonely. How will he ever make it his home? As despair takes hold Clancy hears a small voice. Soon, Clancy with the help of his new friend Millie is building towers to the sky and trains to the street outside, and together they build the home that Clancy thought he had lost forever. Libby Gleeson and Freya Blackwood will be talking about their new book Clancy & Millie and the Very Fine House at Orange City Library on Friday 30 October at these times: 9.30am – 10.30am; 11.30am – 12.30pm; 1.30pm – 2.30pm. Come along and sit in on one of the talks by this award-winning team. The event is supported by Boomers Bookshop & ABC Centre.

What a night! Can you believe we were fully booked with 100 people coming along to see Kim McCosker – 4 Ingredients cookbooks author. Co-author Rachael Bermingham couldn't make it on the night but as girls do – Kim called her beautiful mum Jennette and she did a fantastic job helping with food preparation and supporting Kim. The 4 ingredients team have such an inspiring story to tell. They are both busy mums but believed in their idea to provide simple recipes with 4 ingredients or less to get people out of the kitchen and spending time with their families – and who doesn't want that?. Kim spoke enthusiastically about the whole writing recipe and book production process. The audience asked questions and sampled Gluten Free recipes from their latest book - including dips, fruit cake and biscuits. The event was supported by Angus & Robertson Bookstore. Kim is pictured above signing books and entertaining the large audience.

If your The Slap radar was tuned in this week you would've heard that the award-winning novel by Christos Tsiolkas, The Slap, will be developed into a television series by ABC TV and Matchbox Pictures. The eight-part (like the book's 8 chapters) drama series will begin development in November and will go into production in Melbourne in 2010. ABC TV's Acting Head of Drama, Amanda Higgs, says the drama will resonate with audiences. "The Australian novel that provoked fiery discussion from offices to dinner parties to mothers' groups and suburban barbeques will become the most talked about series on television." The Age newspaper reported Matchbox Pictures announced that after a competitive bidding process it had purchased the rights to produce a television adaptation of the novel, which is set in Melbourne. This year, The Slap has won the Commonwealth Writer's Prize, the Australian Book Industry Book of the Year award, the Victorian Premier's Literary Award, the ABA Book of the Year, and the Association for the Study of Australian Literature Gold Award. Go The Slap - there is no stopping the talking point power of this book as our Pageturners book discussion group discovered.

Robots, apples and others things quite unmentionable were topics discussed by best selling children's author Andy Griffiths and his fans at Orange City Library recently. Children asked lots of questions about where his ideas come from, how he came up with his book titles, details about his characters and what's coming up next. The author was in Orange to promote his latest book Robot Riot and he encouraged children to tell their own stories, getting them to generate ideas throughout his talk and even calling on volunteers to perform a robot showdown. It was all in good fun as he took time to sign autographs, shake hands with fans and learn from them their favourite things about Orange. He suggested a name change was in order because the city was known for apples but no one in the large audience voted yes. The event was a joint presentation with Angus & Robertson Bookstore. Pictured above is Kaleb Cook meeting Andy and below is Orange City Librarian Elizabeth Barry getting up close to Andy's touring bus.

Romanian-born German writer Herta Mueller won the prestigious 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature saying Nicolae Ceausescu's brutal dictatorship compelled her to write of how a powerful few can dominate and destroy a nation. The Swedish Academy paid tribute to Mueller "who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed." Mueller, who charted the brutality and oppressiveness of Nicolae Ceausescu's dictatorship, was lost for words when she learnt she had won the prize. Mueller is known for works such as "The Land of Green Plums" which she dedicated to Romanian friends killed under Ceausescu's Communist rule and "The Appointment" in which a Romanian woman sews notes saying "Marry Me" into suits of men bound for Italy.

Galileo is one of the fathers of modern science. He was a physicist, mathematician, and astronomer and 2009 is the 400th anniversary of Galileo's development of the telescope and his first pointing it to the heavens with such earth-shattering results. His book Dialogo dei massimi sistemi (Dialogue on the two chief world systems), his celebrated defence of the Copernican system, was published in Florence in 1632. It led to his house arrest and the banning of his books in Italy. The only copy of this book in Australia is held by the State Library of New South Wales and it has never before left Sydney until now.......... You are invited to see this rare book and hear Paul Brunton, Senior curator from the State Library of NSW, speak at Forbes Library,Victoria Lane, Forbes on Friday 16 October at 1pm for a 1.15pm start. Please RSVP by calling the Library on 6852 1463.

A concert featuring Paul Brunton and professional musicians from Orange Regional Conservatorium of Music performing Monteverdi (Heavenly Bodies Galileo and Monteverdi: A Feast of 17th Century Italian Genius) will also be held on Thursday 15 October at the Conservatorium at 7.30pm. For tickets ($35 Adults , $25 Concession) please contact Book City on 6393 1333. All funds raised will support the Conservatorium and Library.

The rare Galileo Book will also be on display at Orange City Library on Thursday afternoon. Paul is pictured above with a rare Longitudes book.

Hilary Mantel is the winner of the £50,000 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for Wolf Hall, published by Fourth Estate. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel was picked from a shortlist of six titles. A.S. Byatt, J.M. Coetzee, Adam Foulds, Simon Mawer and Sarah Waters. Wolf Hall is set in the 1520s and tells the story of Thomas Cromwell's rise to prominence in the Tudor court. Hilary Mantel has been praised by critics for writing 'a rich, absorbingly readable historical novel; she has made a significant shift in the way any of her readers interested in English history will henceforward think about Thomas Cromwell.' James Naughtie, comments 'Hilary Mantel has given us a thoroughly modern novel set in the 16th century. Wolf Hall has a vast narrative sweep that gleams on every page with luminous and mesmerising detail. Sales related to the Man Booker Prize have been exceptionally strong this year. More than double the number of copies of books have been sold between longlist and shortlist announcement, and from shortlist announcement to winner announcement, compared to last year. Check out www.themanbookerprize.com website for more details.