Monthly Archives: March 2015

Gray Mountain

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gray-mountain

Gray Mountain 

John Grisham

Abstract

The Great Recession of 2008 left many young professionals out of work. Promising careers were suddenly ended as banks, hedge funds, and law firms engaged in mass lay-offs and brutal belt tightening. Samantha Kofer was a third year associate at Scully & Pershing, New York City’s largest law firm. Two weeks after Lehman Brothers collapsed, she lost her job, her security, and her future. A week later she was working as an unpaid intern in a legal aid clinic deep in small town Appalachia. There, for the first time in her career, she was confronted with real clients with real problems. She also stumbled across secrets that should have remained buried deep in the mountains forever.

 

Comments

Another gripping tale from bestselling author John Grisham!
Samantha loses her job at a top law firm in New York, so she accepts an unpaid internship at a legal aid clinic in small town Appalachia. Her life is in peril as she helps a local attorney furtively uncover the sinister world of coal mining and its devastation on the landscape and environment and its health impact on the community.
Samantha is forced to adopt daily challenges, stretching her boundaries beyond her own expectations as she comes face to face with Appalachia’s overbearing mining community.

Read by Preetha

Books for your brain

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brainThere is a book titled ‘The brain that changes itself’ by a Canadian psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Norman Doidge. It was an instant popular read. Since then there have been more and more books about brain and development of brain/neuro science that have made available on shelf. Recently Norman Doidge has written a new book, still about neuroplasticity “The brain’s way of healing : remarkable discoveries and recoveries from the frontiers of neuroplasticity“.

How human brain works is a biggest puzzle that has attracted many generations of scientists, neurologists and others working tirelessly in cross disciplinary. Recent researches and works, from brain injury, to Alzheimer’s, to recovery from stroke, to behaviour change, to ADHD, to brain training, etc, have been published with exciting new discoveries and treatment.

For your information and for your interest, we’ve come up with this laymen’s reading list and they are for borrowing at Parramatta City Library. Continue reading →

Mrs Queen takes the train

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Mrs Queen takes the trainMrs Queen takes the train
William M. Kuhn

Abstract
A charming, whimsical story of what happens when a long-serving and long-suffering monarch decides to go AWOL. A richly witty, warm and wonderful novel of responsibilities, escape and friendship.

Comments
Not a working mother’s book. Suitable for older democratic and monarchy fans.
Good for people who like character development over plot.
Characters were well developed but not overly likeable. Some of the English characters were hard to relate to being Australian.
Major themes were sadness, isolation, loss and not knowing how to move past it.
Overall the story was well written. Elegant phrasing and flowed easily. However, we felt that it didn’t draw us in. Complex characters let down by a lack lustre storyline.
Mixed reviews within the book club.

Rating – 5.5/10

Read by – Cultcha Club

Parra Reads Recipe Club

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recipe crop

This month at Parramatta City Library we had our first Parra Reads Recipe Club meeting and it was a great success.

The group will meet each month on the 2nd Thursday of the month, 2.30-4pm at Parramatta City Library.

If you love cooking and generally like talking about food then this could be the club for you.

Each month recipes will be selected and published on Parra Reads.

Join other foodies; share your recipes and discover some new favourites!

Click here for our first recipe 4 Hour Baguette

New members welcome.

 

No bookings required.

For more information contact the Library on

9806 5159.