Author Archives: Jody

Podcast – Episode 32 – From All the Lands on Earth

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Episode 32: From all the lands on earth

Belonging, respect and inclusiveness are core messages of Harmony Week – a time that highlights multicultural Australia, celebrating the fact that while there are so many of us with vastly different stories, there is so much more that brings us together.

Join Katherine, Nisa and Antonia as they discuss books they have recently read:

Brave not perfect / Reshma Saujani. Harper Collins, Feb 2019

New kings of the world: dispatches from Bollywood, Dizi and K-pop / Fatima Bhutto. Columbia Global Reports, Oct 2019

Born a crime / Trevor Noah. Spiegel & Grau, Nov 2016

Arab of the future: a childhood in the Middle East: 1984-1992 / Riad Sattouf. Metropolitan Books, Nov 2019

Parra Pods Episode 31 – #eachforequal – Gender Equality

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Episode 31: #Eachforequal: gender equality

Bias and inequality are concepts that generate a great deal of debate. While they may often be popularly associated with one gender having power over another or one colour of skin being afforded more privileges, there is now an emerging body of literature on some of the more complex arguments to come out of the struggle e.g. what happens when race and gender collide, who gets to decide the ‘appropriate’ way to fight bias and how to break the pattern of inequality that is generational.

To celebrate International Women’s Day Katherine, Nisa and Antonia look at some books from perspectives that haven’t always been heard. Books discussed include:

A woman is no man / Etaf Rum. Harper Collins, Mar 2019

The seven necessary sins for women and girls / Mona Eltahawy. Hardie Grant, Oct 2019

White tears, brown scars / Ruby Hamad. Melbourne University Press, Sep 2019

Happy Listening!

Book Review – Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

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Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Last Month our Cultcha Club Book Club read ‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine’ by Gail Honeyman.

Read what they thought of it below.

This was a highly anticipated read for our book club.. and it did not disappoint!! What a great read!!  We absolutely loved it!!  Brilliant characters and wonderfully written.  While some of our readers found it a little slow to start, as more of Eleanor’s story was revealed, they soon fell in love.  We liked the way the author took a heavy subject, and turned it into a warm, and funny story, yet never making light of Eleanor’s past.  A perfect holiday read.  Can’t compliment this one enough!!

9/10

Parra Pods – Episode 30 – What is a Romance Novel?

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Episode 30 – What is a Romance Novel?

Stories of love – romantic love – have been entertaining people for thousands of years. Shared through the written medium, stories within the romance genre have been one of the biggest publishing phenomena of the last century.

Join Katherine and Nisa as they discuss this vast and unwieldy category of books, home to a variety of sub-genres ranging from paranormal romance, fantasy romance and historical romance to contemporary romance,  (possibly) chick lit, erotic romance and religious/Christian romance novels. 

Books discussed include:

Pride and Prejudice / Jane Austen. T. Egerton, 1813

Love in the time of cholera / Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Alfred A Knopf, 1988 [originally publisher in Spanish in 1985]

Pride, prejudice and other flavours / Sonali Dev. Harper Collins, May 2019

Outlander / Diana Gabaldon. Delacorte Books, 1991.

Reading & Puzzle Competition Wrap-Up

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Our Summer ‘Reading & Puzzle’ competition has now finished. Thank you to everyone who participated.

Eligible entries were placed in a draw and the winners randomly drawn by the Manager Libraries, on Wednesday 19 February. The three lucky winners have notified and will soon be enjoying their ‘bag full of books’.

Participation certificates (for those who elected to receive one), will be available for collection from nominated libraries from Wednesday 27 February 2020. Any certificates not collected by 20 March 2020 will be confidentially destroyed.

If you would like to check your answers, you can do so below or at any of our libraries.

Reading & Puzzle – Answers

We hope you enjoyed participating in this years Summer ‘Reading & Puzzle’ competition and will join in again next Summer!

P.S.

We have already started discussing ideas for next Summer and we hope to present a bigger and better program for all our members to enjoy!

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