Unfortunately we will no longer be able to post to this blog,

for information on Watch House Cross Community Library go to

www.limerickcity.ie/library or www.limerick.ie

see our Facebook page or call 061 457726.

Thanks to all our members and friends and keep in touch

Summer Reading Challenge

Are you a Summer Reading Star?

Read 6 books over the school holidays and be in with a chance to win great prizes this summer. 

Try something different with one of our recommended authors like Lincoln Peirce, Hiawyn Oram, Cressida Cowell, Morris Gleitzman  Herbie Brennan and many more. Just ask any member of staff for recommendations of new authors you might like to try.

Pick up a booklet in the library and receive a star for every book you finish, ask at the library desk for more details or ring 061 457726

Good luck and have a great summer !

Parent & Toddler Morning

Thanks to all the mums, minders, babies and toddlers for coming to our wrap up parent and toddler party and for supporting us all year, we've had great fun. 

Have a lovely summer, see you all in September and don't for get to spread the word .... because...... Babies Love Books!

The Parent & Toddler Morning will restart 

Friday 2nd of September 2011 @ 10.30am

Summer Activities for Kids

Get messy and have some fun this July in the library, with our free arts & crafts sessions and story times. 

Storytime, every Thursday throughout the summer @ 3pm, 

Stories, songs, rhymes colouring for 2-6 year olds

Art & Crafts 4-6 yrs                                 Art & Crafts for 7-11yrs

Thursday  7th July 3.30pm                                  Wednesday 6th July 3.30pm

Thursday 14th July 3.30pm                                 Wednesday 13th July 3.30pm

Thursday 21st July 3.30pm                                 Wednesday 20th July 3.30pm

Thursday 28th July 3.30pm                                 Wednesday 27th July 3.30pm

Children must be accompanied by an adult in the library, no booking necessary first come first serve for arts & crafts. 

Book of the Month

Announced on May 18, Philip Roth is the winner of the fourth Man Booker International Prize. He was chosen from a list of 13 eminent contenders. The Man Booker International Prize, worth £60,000, is awarded for an achievement in fiction on the world stage. It is presented once every two years to a living author for a body of work published either originally in English or widely available in translation in the English language.
Check our catalogue for a list of Philip Roth titles available in the library.


The Human Stain  - Phillip Roth


Retired professor Coleman Silk has a secret. His secret is deep and lies at the very core of who he is, and he has kept it hidden from everyone for fifty years. Set in 1998, with the backdrop of the impeachment of a president, The Human Stain shows an America where conflicting moralities and ideological division result in public denunciations and houndings, and where innocence is not always a good enough excuse. 


'Unnerving, hilarious and sad' New York Times


'The work of a genius at full throttle' Sunday Telegraph


'Astonishing...very beautiful' NY Times Book review

Limerick Intercultural Week

As part of Limerick Intercultural Week, The Dandelion Puppet Theatre visited the library with their 'Pumpkin Seeds' show of tales from around the world.

Children from Corpus Christi School, St. Munchins Girls School and St. Munchin's Boys School, were enthralled with stories like 'The Rainbow Crow' from North America, 'The Gumeatikakloodlea' from Australia and 'Anansi the spider' from Africa.

 

Family History Course

Students from St. Nessans Community School, with their teacher Mary O'Brien creating family trees with genealogist Sean Gannon. The transition year students have spent four one hour sessions in the library, learning about family history, genealogical records and how to create the a family tree.

The family history course can be tailored for primary or secondary school  classes. If you are interested, please contact staff for further details

Book of the Month

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle - David Wroblewski


On a farm in remote Wisconsin, the mute and brilliant Edgar Swatelle leads an idyllic life with his parents, raising a unique breed of dog. But when Edgar's uncle Claude returns unexpectedly, Edgar is forced to flee in to the wilderness and fight for survival. But the questions he has left unanswered, and his devotion to the Savelle dogs, turn Edgar ever homeward. 


The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is at once a brilliant retelling of an ancient story, a haunting exploration of a boy and the dogs he loves and an epic tale of devotion, betrayal and courage.


'An incredible journey that seems to have everything going for it; the beauty and flair of a great literary novel, the scale and pacing of a fantasy epic, and the absorbing thrill-ride of any glorious rites-of-passage adventure from our collective childhoods.' Sunday Business Post


Whether you read for the beauty of the language or the intricacies of the plot, you will easily fall in love with X’s generous, almost transcendentally lovely debut novel The Story of Edgar Sawtelle ... The scope of this novel, its psychological insight and lyrical mastery make it one of the best novels of the year, and a perfect, comforting joy of a book for the summer.’
Oprah Magazine


Try it you might enjoy it ...........................

Children's Activities - Easter 2011

Easter Fun For Kids

Bring your kids to the library this Easter for some fun activities. 

Storytime takes place every Thursday at 3pm with stories, nursery rhymes, songs and colouring, the more children involved the more fun it is. Art & Craft sessions will take place on Wednesday and Thursdays during the Easter break. Don't forget our parent & toddler morning which takes place every Friday from 10.30am - 12.00pm, its a great way to meet other parents and have some adult conversation while at the same time introducing your child to the world of books!

Crafts 4-6yrs Thursdays 3.30pm

Thursday  21st April 3.30pm

Thursday 28th April 3.30pm

Crafts 7-10yrs Wednesdays 3.30pm

Wednesday  20th April 3.30pm

Wednesday 27th April 3.30pm

Book of the Month

Lost and lonely, there are many books languishing on the shelves in Watch House Cross Library which although highly acclaimed have either never been borrowed or have only been read once. This new feature hopes to address their plight and encourage our members to take a leap and try something new.

 I'm Not Scared - Niccoló Ammanti


It's a blistering hot summer and nine year old Michele and his gang are exploring the scorched wheatfields that surround their village. When they find an abandoned farmhouse, they place a game of forfeits and Michele makes a terrifying discovery. 'I'm not scared' explores the complex path from childhood innocence to the dark reality of the adult world.


I'm Not Scared is an exquisite parable. Ammaniti's short staccato sentences effectively describe the isolation and simplicity of rural subsistence, while long passages of direct dialogue touchingly portray the children's naive perceptions.' Daily Telegraph


'Niccolo Ammaniti is a writer of vigourous imagination and moral subtlety, [and] Jonathon Hunt's translation is fluent and forceful' Times Literary Supplement

1911 Census Centenary Celebration

Watch House Cross Library invites you to a celebration of the centenary of the 1911 census

Saturday 2nd April @ 2.30pm

Guest Speakers will discuss,

• Why celebrate the 1911 census?

• How to search the census.

• Social history of the time and the census.

Free Admission. All Welcome.

Book of the Month

Lost and lonely, there are many books languishing on the shelves in Watch House Cross Library which although highly acclaimed have either never been borrowed or have only been read once. This new feature hopes to address their plight and encourage our members to take a leap and try something new. 


This month's book which received rave reviews in 2006 and has recently been made in to a film, has never been borrowed from the library before.

Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell,
is an extraordinarily evocative novel set in the Ozark hills in America, it follows the Ree Dolly a 16 year old girl on a quest to find her father and save her family from ruin.


It brings us all the satisfactions of crime thriller and mystery...The beauty lies in the loveable and wholly believable character of Ree' (Guardian )

'A suspicion grows that you are reading the sort of book D.B.C Pierre's Vernon God Little might have been, had it been five times as keenly observed and deeply felt' (The Times )



'Reading this will make you feel that you walk on very, very thin ice, and know that chaos is very, very close. Such knowledge has many consequences, one of them is exhilaration.'
(Niall Griffiths, Observer )


Try it, you might like it ....... Other lost books to follow every month ....

Alan Quinlan Visit

A big Thank You! to Alan Quinlan for taking time out to visit the library and to Bord Gais & Limerick 95 Fm for a fantastic day

Author Visit

As part of the Bord Gáis Energy READISCOVER your Library Campaign, Watch House Cross Library is delighted to welcome Alan Quinlan on Wednesday 9th March at 2.30pm. 


Alan will discuss his new book 'Red Blooded', it provides a unique insight into professional rugby and reveals a candid portrait of a sportsman who has fought long and hard to live up to the brutal demands of professional rugby. Red Blooded documents the story of Alan's career from starting with Clanwilliam to his time with Shannon, Munster and the national side. 


Alan will discuss his book, there will be a meet and greet and a question and answer session in the library....a must for rugby fans of all ages

Local History Course

Are you interested in doing a local history course? 

We will be running a 10-week course from Wednesday 2nd March (2-3pm). 

Contact a member of the library staff for further information.

New Monthly Meeting

Welcome to Grow it Yourself Ireland

GIY is a registered charity (CHY 18920) which aims to inspire people to grow their own food and give them the skills they need to do so successfully.

They do this by getting GIYers together online and in community groups around Ireland so that they can learn from each other and exchange tips, ideas and produce. GIY meetings and membership are free and open to people interested in food growing at all levels, i.e. from growing a few herbs on the balcony to complete self-sufficiency, from beginners to old hands.

Monthly meetings will take place here in the library on the last thursday of every month @ 6.00pm-7.30pm, starting from the 24th February

For more details go to www.giyireland.com

Unfringed 2011 at Watch House Cross

Friday 28th January, 11am

My life In Dresses by Sorcha Kenny

My Life in Dresses is part oral history, part performance. Its about how we remember things, how we connect with people and  the world  around us. It’s a journey. I hope you will  join me on it.Who will tell the story of your life long after you are gone? Sorcha Kenny believes her dresses will. Sparked by a  fascination for second-hand garments, she  embarked on a journey to uncover the real life stories behind the dresses lingering in wardrobes all over the country. Like photographs, they are mementos of a treasured past. 

Join Sorcha and her best friend Fiona  as they introduce  you to  her  virtual wardrobe of stories. Surprisingly, this is not a show about fashion! The walls can’t talk butthe dresses sure can.

Happy New Year to all our members and friends!


Fancy trying something new for 2011? Have a look at some of our new books. This is just a small selection of recent additions to our collection, and if you don't spot anything interesting come in and talk to our staff we are always happy to recommend something to suit any taste. 

The News Where You Are - Catherine O'Flynn

“Writing a second novel is a nervy business for a writer, especially when the first one has been unexpectedly and wonderfully successful, as was Catherine O'Flynn's debut What Was Lost, which went on to win the 2008 Costa first novel and a cluster of other awards. But O'Flynn need not be nervous. Her second novel, The News Where You Are, establishes her as, let's say, the JG Ballard of Birmingham. As Ballard dealt with the landscape of the motorway and made it his own, so O'Flynn deals with her particular city, finding poetry and meaning where others see merely boredom and dereliction. It is a most moving book. Lightly flinging a joke or two in the reader's direction, a snatch or so of knowledgeable brightness, O'Flynn comes across as the mistress of compassion.… This [is a] blend of Dickens and Alan Bennett, written in the kind of stripped-down, flat style that so suits its time and place. I loved it, and am haunted by it. While What Was Lost benefited from the existence of an actual child ghost ... this book is set in a less metaphorical, less fanciful world, but it has equal power. If you can write two good novels you can write another and another and another: I am sure O'Flynn will and I look forward to them.”--Fay Weldon, The Guardian


Conversations With Myself - Nelson Mandela

'Gathered from letters and bits of Mandela's unpublished autobiography, this book offers fresh and moving insights into the man behind the symbol...' --R W Johnson, Sunday Times Culture Magazine

'The documents present a remarkably candid picture of the former ANC leader... [and] the book also reveals flashes of Mr Mandela's mischievous humour. While being treated in hospital for tuberculosis, he was presented with a breakfast of bacon and eggs which a guard warned him was contrary to the order from his doctor to eat a cholesterol-free diet. The now 92-year-old freedom fighter replied: "Today, I am prepared to die; I am going to eat it."' --Independent 


The Empty Family: Stories - Colm Toibín

'I imagined lamplight, shadows, soft voices, clothes put away, the low sound of late news on the radio. And I thought as I crossed the bridge at Baggot Street to face the last stretch of my own journey home that no matter what I had done, I had not done that.’ In the captivating stories that make up The Empty Family Colm Tóibín delineates with a tender and unique sensibility lives of unspoken or unconscious longing, of individuals, often willingly, cast adrift from their history. From the young Pakistani immigrant who seeks some kind of permanence in a strange town to the Irish woman reluctantly returning to Dublin and discovering a city that refuses to acknowledge her long absence each of Tóibín’s stories manage to contain whole worlds: stories of fleeing the past and returning home, of family threads lost and ultimately regained.'


Astonishingly precise, depicting complex and conflicted states of mind with rare clarity (Observer)


The Governor: The Life and Times Of The Man Who Ran Mountjoy - John Lonergan 

In his talks to communities throughout the length and breath of Ireland, John Lonergan finds himself coming back to one theme: the importance of kindness. It is an unexpected theme for the former boss of Ireland's biggest and toughest prison, Mountjoy, but then John Lonergan is an unusual man. John entered the prison service in 1968 and in the years that followed, as he saw human nature at its worst - and often, unexpectedly, at its best - he developed a deep understanding both of human nature and of Irish society. Now, after 42 years in the service, 26 of them as the most senior prison officer in the country, John tells his fascinating life story - from his idyllic childhood in rural Tipperary, to coming face to face with the ugliest face of Irish life, to grappling with the politics of working in a service that was the plaything of officials and politicians. His description of life in the prison service is not only a gripping account of humanity at its rawest, but also an invaluable primer for anyone in top level management. Revealing, surprising and inspiring "The Governor" gives a unique insight into modern Ireland.
'Honest, forthright, highly readable ... thoughtful and compassionate' -- The Irish Times 23.10.10