Category Archives: Australian Authors

June Wrap Up: Book Clubs & Reading Groups

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City of Parramatta Libraries, Book Clubs and Reading Groups seem to grow each month; in June we welcomed another Book Club into our Club’s.

Before June comes to end I find myself already preparing July’s Book Club and Reading Groups Kits; with twenty seven kits already to for July!

The popular title and author this month was Jane Harper, with two groups reading The Lost Man and other reading Force of Nature. In fact Jane seems to re-appear each month on the list of book club reads. I can understand why too. I loved both The Dry and The Lost Man.

If you are also a Jane Harper fan then you might like to check out her website for more information and updates on the up-coming film version of The Dry; starring the talented Eric Banner as Aaron Falk!

As always you can read our Book Club and Reading Groups reviews on Parra Reads. Just search the Categories Book Club Kits and Book Reviews.

Happy Reading!

Jody

Book Review: Seven Types of Ambiguity by Elliot Perlman

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Seven Types of Ambiguity by Elliot Perlman

Following years of unrequited love, an out-of-work school teacher takes matters into his own hands, triggering a chain of events neither he nor his psychiatrist could have anticipated. At once a psychological thriller and a social critique, Seven Types of Ambiguity is a story of obsessive love in an age of obsessive materialism. 

COMMENTS

Beautifully written. The writer has a brilliant turn of phrase. For our little book club though, this book was a struggle.  We found its volume a little overwhelming and struggled to connect with any of the characters.  We liked the premise; we liked the way the story was told from each character’s point of view and how new pieces of the puzzle were revealed with each person as they told their version of the story.  We also found it fascinating that two people could be in the same situation and both see it so very differently.  However, towards the end of the novel, the changing of views, brought with it a lot of repetitiveness and it felt cumbersome. 

Overall, we would recommend this to readers who have time to read and are not reading to a deadline.  As even with an extension, many of our readers still struggled to get this one finished.

READ BY

6.5/10 – Cultcha Club Book Club

 

Book Review: The Bush by Don Watson

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The Bush by Don Watson

While most of us live in cities clinging to the coastal fringe, our sense of what an Australian is, or should be, is drawn from the vast and varied inland called the bush. But what do we mean by ‘the bush’, and how has it shaped us?

Starting with his forebears’ battle to drive back nature and eke a living from the land, Don Watson explores the bush as it was and as it now is: the triumphs and the ruination, the commonplace and the bizarre, the stories we like to tell about ourselves and the national character, and those we don’t.

A milestone work of memoir, travel writing and history, The Bush takes us on a profoundly revelatory and entertaining journey through the Australian landscape and character.

Continue reading →

Out of the Box!: New Arrival Highlights

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Each month behind the scenes at City of Parramatta Libraries staff work tirelessly to get thousands of new items onto the Library’s shelves each month! Providing library members with a wide range of titles and material to choose from.

Below is a small snapshot of just some of the items to arrive on the shelves in May 2019; including new publications and top-up titles.

Reserving your copy is easy and free, click on the book cover and have your library card and password/pin handy!

Adult Fiction

So many varied and interesting titles including thrillers, fantasy, historical fiction and more!

ADULT NON-FICTION

We have you covered with the following non-fiction titles; so many varied subjects to choose from!

FOR KIDS

A great selection of board books, picture books, junior fiction and non-fiction.

YOUNG ADULT

It does not seem to matter if I am browsing through ‘All About Books’ or checking our recent additions; I always seem to end up with too many Young Adult titles on my TBR list. I hope the following titles allow you to grow your own TBR pile!

All About Books – Winter 2019

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Welcome to the latest edition of our reading suggestions guide, All About Books. As usual the guide is packed full of an amazing selection of books being published over the next 3 months in addition to the popular staff picks section. There is something for everyone no matter there reading tastes or interests.

Pick up your FREE copy of the guide at any one of our library branches or download it now for those on the go – just click on the cover above.Each cover or title in the guide has a link to our library catalogue to make reserving your copy even quicker and easier – why not reserve the book before it is event published!
Stay tuned for our inaugural kids edition of the guide which will be available soon.