ABR Favourite Australian Novel of all time

The Australian Book Review (ABR) blog is conducting a poll to find Australia's favourite novel. Apparently it's the first time novels have been targeted for this kind of poll - read the ABR blog for details.

Cast a vote for your single favourite Australian novel of all time by emailing poll@australianbookreview.com.au.au with the author and title of your favourite Australian novel and your contact details or you can fill out the entry form accessible on the ABR blog and fax or post it to them.

Can I think of my favourite Australian novel of all time?

For the Term of his Natural Life by Marcus Clarke, The Shark Net by Robert Drewe, Schindlers Ark by Tom Keneally, Lambs of God by Marelle Day, A Town like Alice by Neville Shute. . . I'll have to have a good long think, I think.

What would you nominate?

Mo-vember Mo-brarians

Movember is an annual, month-long celebration of the moustache aimed at highlighting men’s health issues, specifically prostate cancer and depression in men.

During Movember Mo Bros, supported by their Mo Sistas, start the month clean shaven and then have the remainder of the month to grow a moustache and through sponsorship raise money for Movember’s men’s health partners – The Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and beyondblue – the national depression initiative.


Movember is being claimed by library workers around Australia and you can join or follow them through their Mob-Brarians blog. I'm trying to convince a colleague to become a Mo Bro Mo-Brarian and even offered as his support Mo Sista not to shave my legs, but he's resisting even my considerable charms thus far . . . will just have to support my mate Nige instead!

Creative Connections Book on Sale

Creative Connections :Blue Mountains Writers and Artists is a local publication which highlights the diverse collection of writers and artists who have lived and worked under the spell of the Blue Mountains.

Creative Connections is now on sale in library branches for $9.95

Springwood Library Refurbishment

As previously mentioned Springwood Library will be closed from


Monday 26 October to Saturday 31st October for refurbishment.

During that time Springwood Library customers will still be able to access some library services, albeit differently :

• Reservations can be picked up between 10am and 5pm from the Sassafras Meeting Room in the Blue Mountains City Council (BMCC) Office


• Students wishing to use the HSC Collection will be able to do so from the Sassafras Meeting Room in the BMCC Office
  
• The Returns Bin will be open all day so you can still return items


• Staff at Springwood Library will not be taking phone calls so you are better to ring one of our other branches with questions, problems and for renewing items :


• Remember, Storytime is cancelled for Thursday 29 October

Springwood Library will re-open on
Monday 2 November at 10am

What Library Staff are Reading . . .

• Problem Child by James Roy ~ for children aged 8 and upwards. A funny story about Triffin and Max (who doesn’t think he’s a bully) and their school antics


• The Marriage Bureau for Rich People is the first novel by Farahad Zama. It’s set in India, about arranged marriages and is fun


• Yes Man by Danny Wallace ~ A random encounter with a stranger on a bus changed the author’s life. He was feeling stuck in his day-to-day, treading water, when a man suggested he “say ‘yes’ more”. This phrase struck a chord with Wallace and he made a decision to follow this advice, to the extreme! This is a very funny, uplifting adventure - a mostly true, and only slightly exaggerated, account of Wallace’s year of saying ‘YES’ to pretty much everything asked of him


• Are YOU Dave Gorman? by Dave Gorman and Danny Wallace ~ Similar to the premise of Yes Man, in that it’s one man obsessively pursuing an unusual goal to the extreme. Dave Gorman decided to see just how many Dave Gormans he could locate and make contact with, no matter how far around the globe it would take him. His flatmate Danny came unwillingly along for the ride. Although it had some very funny moments, this book was way too repetitive and indulgent for my liking. I did, however, love the photo section with Dave Gorman (author) posing with each Dave Gorman he found


• Dear Husband by Joyce Carol Oates ~ deliciously dark short stories. Very human - and as always with Oates, insightful and well-crafted


• Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs ~ the quirky, feverish, hilarious and controversial memoir of Burroughs. His childhood was more than slightly bizarre, having grown up in the chaotic household of his mother’s unconventional psychiatrist, after being effectively abandoned by his parents


• Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroughs ~ the author chronicles his current life in NYC, which is still very eccentric, but thankfully, a notch down on the tragedy scale


• New Moon by Stephanie Meyer


• Gossip Girl – All I Want is Everything by Cecily von Ziegesar


• Here at the End of the World We Learn to Dance by Lloyd Jones (author of Mr Pip)


• Taliesin by Stephen Lawhead ~ a fictionalised version of the history of the Arthurian Legend – I was bit disappointed in that some of the main characters didn’t seem to stay true to themselves, all a bit contrived really. Don’t know whether I’ll bother to read the sequel


• I’ve just read The Little Company, first published by Eleanor Dark in 1945. Eleanor gets down and dirty with the politics of World War Two, and some inter-personal politics as well


• I listened to a talking book by Liz Byrski called Trip of a lifetime ~ I enjoyed this a lot. It’s about the things that are too hard to talk about and how secrets are kept and those secrets cause problems with loved ones


• 31 Dream Street by Lisa Jewell ~ it claims on the jacket of the book to be a “warm and insightful novel that will capture the imagination and soothe the soul” and it did


• Typewriter Music, David Malouf's latest poetry book ~ I laugh, I cry; it's beautiful


• I Explain a Few Things : Selected Poems by Pablo Neruda ~ always entertaining


• The Boat ~ Nam Lee's prize winning short story collection. I loved how each story ended with a kind-of question mark. I found myself imagining a half dozen different endings; my subconscious just kept wanting to dwell on what I'd read


• The Winter Vault by Ann Michaels ~ an almost relentlessly sad read. I had to keep going because the prose was so beautiful and the character's so interesting, but I could only cope by reading it in short snatches. Also, I absolutely love Ann Michael's first novel Fugitive Pieces


• ABC reporter and presenter, Leigh Sales' blog is essential reading!


• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee ~ just beautiful, I was so sad to finish it. The film starring Gregory Peck which I watched on DVD right after was great too


• The White Queen by Philippa Gregory - the first in a new series about the Wars of the Roses


• After my puppy ate my mobile phone (having already digested a hot water bottle, the garden hose, a wellington boot and anything else left out in the garden) I thought it might pay to read Bark Buster's Guide to Dog Behaviour and Training by Silvia Wilson ~ some good tips in there


• Crooks Like Us by Peter Doyle ~ pictures and little bios of small-time crooks in Sydney in the 1920s


• The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn by Retha M Warnicke was dry stuff compared to the highly readable Henry VIII : King and Court by Alison Weir


• Mary S. Lovell is another excellent biography writer and I thoroughly enjoyed her book, Bess of Hardwick


• Clare in the Community ~ hilarious BBC Radio series about a social worker on CD


• Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death ~ also on CD narrated by Penelope Keith, another goodie from the Queen of Cosy Mysteries, M.C. Beaton


• The Chalk Circle by Fred Vargas ~ murder mystery set in Paris


• The Ignorance of Blood by Robert Wilson ~ murder mystery set in Seville


• What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty


• The White Tiger, the 2008 Man Booker Prize winner by Aravind Adiga ~ very enjoyable


• Witch Wood by John Buchan ~ dark tale of witches and warlocks in 17th century Scotland. Beautifully written but some of the language may be difficult for non-speakers of Scots.
  

Plagiarism detection software unearths new work by Shakespeare

"A scholar has examined Shakespeare's works with plagiarism-detection software, not because he believed the Bard was a cheat, but to prove that a previously unattributed work is likely one of his"In Edward III, it's quite a typical arrangement; Shakespeare writes three scenes near the beginning and one later on, presumably to guarantee some kind of continuity," says Vickers. "It's a very good play, but it suffers from some inconsistencies - characters who appear in some of Shakespeare's scenes don't appear later on."

You can read the full article from Yahoo! News here

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Storyline : Fifty-year-old Alice Howland, a Harvard professor of cognitive psychology, is at the top of her game. Her children are grown, her marriage secure, her career on fire when suddenly, after mere months of forgetfulness, she finds herself in the rapidly downward spiral of early onset Alzheimer's Disease. With no cure or treatment, Alice struggles to find meaning and purpose in her everyday life as her concept of self gradually slips away, leaving her unable to work, read, take care of herself, recognize her loved ones - even understand that she is unwell. Without memory or hope, she is forced to live in the moment, which is in turns beautiful, terrifying, and surprisingly uplifting. Genova uses the successful, articulate and independent Alice as the perfect vehicle to capture what it feels like to literally lose your mind (Source : Angus and Robertson)

Review : This is a book that everyone should read as it helps us to understand and appreciate what unfolds in a woman’s descent into early Alzheimers. It is a real depiction of the subtle changes in everyday life to the ultimate changes in both patient and family. Alice was a woman beloved by her family and well respected by her University colleagues who in the end is still Alice, not just her disease. It is well written and you'll admire Alice's strength and resourcefulness even as you cry over her losses. It brings a new understanding to a terrifying and fascinating disease.

Carolyn

(Reviewed previously in Readers in the Mist)

Carolyn's Books of the Month - October 2009

Best read for the month : Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Thriller : Skin by Mo Hayder

General : Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

Non Fiction : Cargo of women Susannah Watson and the convicts of the Princess Royal by Babette Smith

Saga/Romances : What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarity

Crime : The Watcher by Brian Freeman and Roadside Crosses by Jeffrey Deaver

Alison's Picks - October 2009

Flannery O’Connor: Complete Stories

Bill Bryson: Shakespeare : the world as a stage

Jonathan Safran Foer: Extremely loud and incredibly close

Annie Dillard: The writing life

Sue Monk Kidd: The secret life of bees

Springwood Library Refurbishment

Springwood Library will be undergoing a refurbishment at the end of October. All that is old will be made new again. How exciting!

In order to properly complete this make over Springwood Library will be closed for a week from

Monday October 26 to Saturday October 31

You will still be able to return items via the return chute which is situated outside the Library and you will also be able to collect your reservations. The five other Library branches will be open and operating normal opening hours while Springwood Library is closed.

Springwood Library will re-open on

Monday 2 November at 10am

NB : Storytime at Springwood Library is cancelled for Thursday October 29

Inky Awards for YA Literature shortlist

The Inkys are Australia's only book award where the winners are chosen by the people the books are written for, in this case young people aged 12-18.The Inkys are for books first made available to the Australian public during the financial year just gone and include books published in Australia and imports.

On the shortlist this year for the Golden Inky for an Australian author are :

Worldshaker by Richard Harland

Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell

Where the Streets had a Name by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Broken Glass by Adrian Stirling

Jarvis 24 by David Metzenthen

and the shortlisted titles for the Silver Inky for an International author :

Paper Towns by John Green

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Skim by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki

Exposure by Mal Peet

If you've read all or any of these books Click Here to get to the Inky Awards Home Page where you can VOTE for your choice.

Here, if you are interested, is the Longlist

The winners will be announced on 26th November 2009

999 Challenge - September

The Good Parents by Joan London (Australian Authors)
This is a story of loss and disappearances. Maya is a girl from Western Australia who moves to Melbourne to start a new exciting life after a failed relationship with a member of the Brethren. She finds work with a shady businessman, Maynard, whose wife is dying of cancer. Maynard initates an affair with Maya and after his wife dies lures her off to Queensland with him. Maya's parents are coming to Melbourne for a visit and Maya fails to let them know she will not be there. Toni and Jacob, Maya's parents, arrive with baggage of their own from the past. Toni when in her teens becomes involved with a Perth racketeer and engages Jacob to help her disappear. Long before this Jacob's own father disappears and his mother arranges her own disappearence from Sydney to Perth. Jacob's sister, Kitty, returns to Perth after a long absence overseas and Toni's friend and neighbour, Chris, vanishes overseas after meeting a man on the internet.
I was in two minds with this book as it didn't hold my interest all of the time it seemed to ramble on, never quite getting there.

The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas (General Reading)
This book was on of the best reads I have experienced in a while, although the language and the sex were a little full on at times.
It starts at a BBQ with family and friends when Harry slaps three year old Hugo (who needs to learn boundaries) and who is threatening his older son. It is not so much about the slap, but its far reaching effects on the people who witnessed it. The characters are multicutural, young, old, gay and straight and are like onions in that they all have many layers. This book gets you thinking what would you do given the same circumstance could you choose between partner, family and friends.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Biography)
When Elizabeth turned thirty she goes through a mid life crisis. She no longer wants to be married or have a sucessful career or a beautiful home. She goes through a depressing divorce and a failed love affair. She is consumed with panic and grief. To recover and to give herself time and space she takes a radical step and quits her job, gets rid of all her material belongings and undertakes a year long journey. First she goes to Italy, then to India and finally to Bali, spending four months in each place. This is a story of self discovery and what happens when you take responsibilty for your own contentment in life and when love is found in the least likely place. It was a very pleasurable read a travelogue of soul searching and self discovery.

The Shark Net by Robert Drewe (Biogaphy)
This book is the biography of writer Robert Drewe. The story is intertwined with a series of murders that were committed by Eric Cooke, a serial killer during the 1960's. Eric Cooke was the last man to be hanged in Western Australia. It is also the story of growing up in the 1950's and 1960's in the isolated and unpretentious city of Perth. Uprooted from his home in Melbourne when his father is promoted to assistant manager in the Dunlop firm in Western Australia, Robert Drewe starts his career as a young reporter on the West Australian under the supervision of gruff police roundsman Ralph Wheatley. Drewe is sent to cover the committal hearing of Eric Cooke. It is revealed that Drewe knew Cooke as he was employed by Dunlop and did occassional work around the Drewe home. One of the people murdered was also a friend of Drewe's.
It was a good read, a wonderful portrayal of growing up in the 50's and 60's. A few years ago I had read Broken lives: serial killer Eric Cooke's secret crimes by Estelle Blackburn and it was good to read a diffrent perspective on the crime part of the story. The DVD of the same title is a must watch.

Don't panic! 2009 HSC Advice Line

The HSC Advice Line provides course assistance and support from experienced teachers in 20 of the most popular HSC courses.
The Advice Line will be open from Saturday, 17 October to Thursday, 5 November 2009.

13 11 12

Give the HSC Advice Line operator your student number, course name and a summary of your question and you will be put through to the next available Adviser for that course. During very busy or off-peak times, you may be placed on a priority queue for callback later on the same day. You can call the Advice Line during the afternoon or evening, as well as all weekend.

HSC Advice Line Hours of Operation
Mon–Thu 4 pm–10 pm
Sat 10 am–6 pm
Sun 10 am–10 pm
NB: You cannot call the HSC Advice Line from a mobile telephone.

Advice Line course timetable

Also available are :

HSC 2009 Exam timetable

Students Online a one-stop online study shop for HSC students. It includes:
* your own HSC exam timetable
* quick links to the syllabuses
* past exam papers
* notes from the marking centre for your courses
* answers to frequently asked questions about the HSC
* access to your Assessment Rank Order notice when it becomes available.
You should log in to this site and change your PIN to one you’re likely to remember. If you do this now you’ll be ready to check your results without delay on 16 December.

HSC Online This website has information to help you prepare for the exams, including study strategies, advice on exam techniques and information about 48 different subjects.

And don't forget Blue Mountains City Libraries have new HSC collections at Springwood and Katoomba Libraries. The HSC collection is mainly a Reference collection, which usually means titles can only be used within the library, but we have made this a special collection and books can be borrowed overnight (up to two per card).

Good luck to all Blue Mountains HSC students.

Get in on the act

Author Neil Gaiman (who, according to his website, is "listed in the Dictionary of Literary Biography as one of the top ten living post-modern writers") is a prolific writer of works of prose, poetry, film, journalism, comics, song lyrics, and drama. Now he is trying something new (for him) writing a new 'crowd-sourced' short story on Twitter.

Gaiman, a well-known Twitter fan (@neilhimself) will Tweet the first line of a new story, and fans can continue it with their own 140-character contributions.

BBC Audiobooks America will then compile the contributions into a short story to be recorded by a professional narrator. Then the audiobook will be available for free download at BBCAudiobooksAmerica, iTunes and other audiobook retailers before the end of the year. No print version is planned.

Why don't you join in?

(Story via LISNews)

Here’s my list for this month:

‘Yes Man’ by Danny Wallace
A random encounter with a stranger on a bus changed the author’s life. He was feeling stuck in his day-to-day, treading water, when a man suggested he “say ‘yes’ more”. This phrase struck a chord with Wallace and he made a decision to follow this advice, to the extreme! This is a very funny, uplifting adventure - a mostly true, and only slightly exaggerated, account of Wallace’s year of saying ‘YES’ to pretty much everything asked of him.

‘Are YOU Dave Gorman?’ by Dave Gorman and Danny Wallace
Similar to the premise of ‘Yes Man’, in that it’s one man obsessively pursuing an unusual goal to the extreme. Dave Gorman decided to see just how many Dave Gormans he could locate and make contact with, no matter how far around the globe it would take him. His flatmate Danny came unwillingly along for the ride. Although it had some very funny moments, this book was way too repetitive and indulgent for my liking. I did, however, love the photo section with Dave Gorman (author) posing with each Dave Gorman he found.

‘Dear Husband’ by Joyce Carol Oates
Deliciously dark short stories. Very human - and as always with Oates, insightful and well-crafted.

‘Running With Scissors’ by Augusten Burroughs
The quirky, feverish, hilarious and controversial memoir of Burroughs. His childhood was more than slightly bizarre, having grown up in the chaotic household of his mother’s unconventional psychiatrist, after being effectively abandoned by his parents.

‘Magical Thinking’ by Augusten Burroughs
The author chronicles his current life in NYC, which is still very eccentric, but thankfully, a notch down on the tragedy scale.

- Naomi

Lawson Book Sale

Love a bargain? As part of the Lawson Festival there will be a

Saturday 14th November 2009

10am-1pm

Mid Mountains Community Centre

New Street, Lawson

All proceeds from the book sale go to Blue Mountains City Library.

Man Booker Prize Winner

The winner of the Booker Prize was announced in London a couple of days ago. The winner, with a close 3-2 win, is Hilary Mantel with her novel Wolf Hall.

Wolf Hall, the first in a series about Henry VIII's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell who rose from very humble beginnings as the son of a London blacksmith/publican to be made Earl of Essex before his swift fall and execution in 1540. Wolf Hall tracks Cromwell's life from the begining (mostly surmised as details of Cromwell's early life are scarce) through his apprenticeship under Henry VIII's other chief minister, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey to where he starts to make himself indispensible to the paper-work despising king.

Chairman of the judges, James Naughtie, said the decision to give Wolf Hall the award was "based on the sheer bigness of the book. The boldness of its narrative, its scene setting ... The extraordinary way that Hilary Mantel has created what one of the judges has said was a contemporary novel, a modern novel, which happens to be set in the 16th century."

Here is Hilary Mantel on video reading from Wolf Hall (from the Guardian). She also gave a lecture during the recent Henry VIII exhibition at the British Library in London which you can listen to here : Hilary Mantel : Wolf Hall podcast.

See also previous posts about the Man Booker Prize shortlist and longlist.