Don’t forget A Craft Christmas Market, Saturday 18 December 10am to 4pm in Poplar Lane and the High Street Pop Up Market Day , Sunday 19 December 11am – 3pm. 
They are great opportunities to support the inner city, and finish off your Christmas shopping at the same time. The CCC Tuam Street car park will be free and the Wilson car park between Barbadoes and Madras will be $2 all day.
If the crafts on display inspire you have some holiday fun with our suggestions on Craft 2.0
I love camping. However I am not talking the small tent, one burner and a torch variety. Oh no, I like to camp in comfort. I have comfy chairs, a lounger, gas fridge and a lovely big tent which becomes a home away from home.
At present though I have a yearning for a caravan, and the reason that this has come about is because of this book: My cool caravan : an inspirational guide to retro-style caravans by Jane Field-Lewis. Filled with the cutest and snuggest little caravans, it is enough to bring out the traveller in all of us.
However the cost of a caravan is prohibitive at the moment so I will be content with my trusty tent.
Discovering a new camping cookbook has helped ease the pain. The camper van cookbook: life on 4 wheels, cooking on 2 rings by Martin Dorey has some great cooking ideas for both inside and out, and a trusty old favourite Blue sky kitchen : creative cookery for Kiwi campers by Nicola Saker is always a good standby. Damper over the fire anyone?
Are men as hard to find library books for, as they are to buy presents for?
In a female-dominated workplace such as the Library, I often look at our book displays and recommendations, and wonder if we are doing enough to cater to the needs and wants of our male readers. What else can we be doing to make the library more “guy-friendly”?
As we review the best reads of 2010 and prepare displays brimming with good books for you to take away on holiday, we want to know what authors and titles you blokes have enjoyed and would recommend to the other fellas out there. Tell us what kinds of books you want us to have ready for you to grab and go. And if you are not a man but go hunting for library books on behalf of one, tell us what has been a successful find.
Do men have more sophisticated tastes than we give them credit for, or will a pile of action-packed thrillers and mysteries suffice?
Christchurch City Libraries Blog 