Did you know that common dormice may spend up to three quarters of their life asleep.

So we don’t get in trouble for posting something that has nothing to do with libraries,  here are some books that feature dormice…

British mammals : a photographic guide by Liz Gogerly, Nick Williams

This book introduces the variety and habitats of insects, seashore plants and animals, trees and wild flowers. The series introduces the most common birds and mammals found in Britain today. There are full descriptions of the scientific name, size, family and habitat of each animal. The titles show children how they can identify different animals. Activities at the end of the book show children how to make animal homes and identify footprints.

Don’t wake Mr Bear! by Jill Newton

It is autumn and as many forest animals are setting down to hibernate, others take up their instruments to play a special winter lullaby. The forest orchestra is organised by the Dormouse, who heads off to sleep, reminding the others that under no circumstances must they wake Mr Bear. At first all is quiet but then, suddenly, a group of merry-making wolves crash into the forest. They are a lively bunch, and don’t care about not waking Mr Bear – they just want to party! Their joie de vivre is infectious and it’s not long before the forest orchestra have swapped their flutes and harps for guitars and speakers. It’s all tremendous fun until a dark, bear-shaped shadow looms over the forest…This is a funny story that also teaches the importance of the rhythms of nature.

This atmospheric, sinister thriller uncovers murder and secrets of a dark family history.

Find The Devil Walks by Anne Fine on our library catalogue.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes. The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger.

Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4) by Stephanie Meyer
To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, she has endured a tumultuous year of temptation, loss and strife to reach the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fate of two tribes hangs. Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating and unfathomable consequences.

The Hobbit : or there and back again by J. R. R. Tolkien; Illustrated by J. R. R. Tolkien
Bilbo Baggins enjoys a quiet and contented life, with no desire to travel far from the comforts of home; then one day the wizard Gandalf and a band of dwarves arrive unexpectedly and enlist his services — as a burglar — on a dangerous expedition to raid the treasure-hoard of Smaug the dragon. Bilbo’s life is never to be the same again.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. But Katniss has been close to death before – and survival, for her, is second nature. “The Hunger Games” is a searing novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present. Welcome to the deadliest reality TV show ever…

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, the house’s sole inhabitant, unaware of the tragic secrets which lie hidden behind the shuttered windows. It is not until he glimpses a wasted young woman, dressed all in black, at the funeral, that a creeping sense of unease begins to take hold, a feeling deepened by the reluctance of the locals to talk of the woman in black – and her terrible purpose.

Test your knowledge of the bard’s works!

To test your knowledge of the work of our local bard visit the Local and Family History department at Carnegie Library .

The first correct entry drawn will receive a printed copy of our newly published Records of the Ayrshire militia, from 1802 to 1883.

Closing date for entries is Saturday 28^th January 2012.

Set before and during the great war, Birdsong captures the drama of that era on both a national and a personal scale. It is the story of Stephen, a young Englishman, who arrives in Amiens in 1910. His life goes through a series of traumatic experiences, from the clandestine love affair that tears apart the family with whom he lives, to the unprecedented experiences of the war itself.

Find Birdsong and other titles by Sebastian Faulk on our library catalogue.

Eddie Redmayne talks to Digital Spy about his reaction to first reading the novel.

Lady Almina and the real Downton Abbey : The lost legacy of Highclere Castle / Countess of Carnarvon by Lady Almina

Lady Fiona Carnarvon became the chatelaine of Highclere Castle – the setting of the hit series Downton Abbey – eight years ago. In that time she’s become fascinated by the rich history of Highclere, and by the extraordinary people who lived there over the centuries. One person particularly captured Fiona’s imagination – Lady Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon. Almina was the illegitimate daughter of banking tycoon Alfred de Rothschild. She was his only daughter and he doted on her. She married the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, at 19, with an enormous dowry. At first, life at Highclere was a dizzying mix of sumptuous banquets for 500 and even the occasional royal visitor. Almina oversaw 80 members of staff – many of whom came from families who had worked at Highclere for generations. But when the First World War broke out, life at Highclere changed forever.

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

In the summer of 1956, Stevens, the ageing butler of Darlington Hall, embarks on a leisurely holiday that will take him deep into the countryside and into his past …A contemporary classic, “The Remains of the Day” is Kazuo Ishiguro’s beautiful and haunting evocation of life between the wars in a Great English House, of lost causes and lost love. This title is the winner of the Booker Prize.

Netherwood : The Hoyland family has its secrets. Their employees know them all by Jane Sanderson

Eve Williams is about to discover just how the other half really live…Yorkshire, 1904:  Above stairs Lord Hoyland keeps his considerable fortune ticking over with the profits from his three coal mines in the vicinity. It’s just as well the coal is of the highest quality as the upkeep of Netherwood Hall, his splendid estate on the outskirts of town, doesn’t come cheap. And that’s not to mention the cost of keeping his wife and daughters in the latest fashions– and keeping the heir to the Hoyland wealth, the charming but feckless Tobias, out of trouble. Below stairs: Eve Williams, is the wife of one of Lord Hoyland’s most stalwart employees. When her ordered existence amid the terraced rows of the miners’ houses is brought crashing down by the twin arrivals of tragedy and charity, Eve must look to her own self-sufficiency, and talent, to provide for her three young children. And it’s then that ‘upstairs’ and ‘downstairs’ collide in truly dramatic fashion…

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

In a dusty post-war summer in rural Warwickshire, a doctor is called to a patient at Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the Georgian house, once grand and handsome, is now in decline, its masonry crumbling, its gardens choked with weeds, the clock in its stable yard permanently fixed at twenty to nine. But are the Ayreses haunted by something more sinister than a dying way of life? Little does Dr Faraday know how closely, and how terrifyingly, their story is about to become entwined with his. Prepare yourself. From this wonderful writer who continues to astonish us, now comes a chilling ghost story.

The World of Downton Abbey by Jessica Fellowes

The official companion to series one and two. Downton Abbey portrays a world of elegance and decadence, a world of duty and obedience and a world of romance and rivalry: this companion book, full of rich historical detail, takes fans deeper into that period than ever before.

We discovered this wonderful video on YouTube and just couldn’t resist sharing it.

Don’t picnic with a python, don’t attach a turbo booster to a chicken or a rooster. Hilariously illustrated in bold, bright colours this book, about how not to behave, will appeal to 4 – 7 year olds.

Find Never Shake a Rattlesnake by Michaela Moffat and Nick Sharratt on our library catalogue and more books recommended by Glori on Glori’s Stories.

We had a fabulous day last Wednesday when all three Ayrshire’s joined together  at Eglinton Park for Bookbug’s Winter Wonderland.  As well as Bookbug Sessions there was lots to do from biscuit decorating to meeting Santa’s reindeer. If you were very lucky you got to meet Mrs Claus (Santa was too busy getting ready for the big day). Bookbug was on hand to wish all the children a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Branch libraries that are not open on Wednesdays will re-open at their normal opening hours on Thursday 5th January 2012.

Need to renew your library items?

Should you require to renew library items you can do so on our online catalogue - Please note:  your library card number and PIN will be required.

My Library Anytime -Your 24hr Library

Remember during the holidays  you can still download eBooks and eAudio and access all our of on-line resources at My Library Anytime.