Category Archives: Online Library

Parra Pods Just for Laughs

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In this episode of Parra Pods Katherine, Nisa & Sandra share some laughs, while discussing some of the entertaining reads they recently read.

The business of making people laugh dates back far into antiquity.

Kitty Flanagan excelled at it on The Project, David Mitchell does a fine job through his comic rants, Celeste Barber gives joy to many on Instagram and David Ayoade has kept it going through the IT Crowd and beyond. Join Katherine, Nisa and Sandra for an upbeat chat about books recently written by all four.

Books Discussed:

Dishonestly is the second best policy: and other rules to live by / David Mitchell. Guardian Faber Publishing, Nov 2019.

Ayoade on top / Richard Ayoade by Richard Ayoade. Faber & Faber, October 2019. 

Challenge accepted: 253 steps to becoming an anti-it girl by Celeste Barber. Harper Collins, September 2018.

Kitty Flanagan’s 488 rules for life: the thankless art of being correct by Kitty Flanagan. Allen & Unwin, October 2019.

Happy Listening!

Introducing Click & Read

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City of Parramatta Libraries are proud to introduce a new series of promotional material to help our community connect with books 24/7, especially while we are closed. We have been very busy behind the scenes producing online content and purchasing additional Online Library items. Our ever popular eBooks, eAudio & eMagazines have been getting a real workout.

‘Click & Read’ postcards are an alternative to our in-library bookmarks and are designed to make it a little easier to find authors in your favourite genre. Each postcard lists a number of great authors who write eBooks/eAudio in popular genres or subjects. Simply click on the author name to display a listing of available titles via our library catalogue, choose a title you wish to read and borrow it via our Wheelers ePlatform or Bolinda BorrowBox apps.
Why not download the first set of ‘Click & Read’ postcards by clicking on a genre now?

  • Click and Read Thrillers
  • Click and Read Crime
  • Click and Read Legal Thrillers
  • Click and Read Romance
  • Click and Read Rural Romance
  • Click and Read Historical Romance

Book Reviews Alice to Prague and The Mother-in-Law

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Alice to Prague

Tanya Heaslip

A Parra Reads Book Club title for May 2020. ‘Alice to Prague’ was one of two titles picked for our newly established online book club and it was an enjoyable read!  

In it, Tanya shares her personal experiences as she leaves behind her life as a lawyer in Alice Springs to teach English in the Czech Republic. With no prior teaching experience or grasp of the language, Tanya certainly shows us she is a person of considerable determination with an unstoppable strength of spirit.

Alice to Prague is a well-rounded read with a good balance of ‘something for everyone’ through the story. History and travel, a life adventure and even love.

Well worth a read!

Keep an eye out for Tanya’s new book ‘An Alice Girl’

Jody

The Mother-in-Law

Sally Hepworth

Sally Hepworth’s ‘The Mother-in-Law’ is one of those reads that grabs you from the first page, and doesn’t let go. Told from two points of view, daughter-in-law Lucy, and mother-in-law Diana, and spanning alternate timelines, it is fast-paced and engaging.

From the moment Lucy met Diana, she was kept at arm’s length. Diana is extremely polite, but Lucy knows, even after marrying her son Oliver, that they’ll never have the closeness she’d been hoping for. Diana is picture perfect. The pillar of the community, an advocate for social justice, the matriarch of a loving family. And yet, while Lucy tries time and again to please her, Diana remains cold and distant.

That was ten years ago. Now, Diana has been found dead, leaving a suicide note. But the autopsy reveals evidence of suffocation. And everyone in the family is hiding something…

Creating a character that you both love and hate is never an easy feat, but Sally Hepworth manages to do just that. I found myself conflicted, changing my opinion of Diana constantly between chapters, which is refreshing. In fact, I liked the nuanced character of Diana more than I did Lucy. As Sally Hepworth peeled back the details of the experiences that shaped her personality I wanted more. She seemed very reflective of the time in which she was born, and recognisable.

While people expecting to read a thriller might find themselves disappointed, I found the book to be an ideal mix of thriller and domestic drama.

A must read!

Jody

There is no such thing as ‘Too Many Books!’ Or is there?

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I am happy to admit that I ‘love reading and books’ but sometimes, well if I am honest, most of the time I find it extremely hard to read. Does that make sense? What I am trying to say is that while I want to read, I find it hard to concentrate and make a decision on what to read. You can only re-read Harry Potter and Jasper Jones so many times!

You might think working in a library would make this decision easier, well it doesn’t. In fact it makes it one thousand times harder. When your job requires you to be up to date with what new titles are coming out and provide reading suggestions on an almost daily basis, having to then decide what books you want to read can prove almost impossible.

I find my interest is influenced by what I am working on at the time. For example while providing personalised reading suggestions for one of our recent Parra Reads Match requests; which was for thriller recommendations. I thought to myself you know what, I think what I feel like reading is a, thriller!

You might think this story ended there and I picked up the perfect thriller. Well it didn’t. I did choose four wonderful books to read and read the first few pages of each. Then put them all down. Not because they weren’t good, it was because I had already moved on to working on some ‘Chick Lit’ or you might like to call them, ‘Rom Com’ title recommendations for our library readers.

Hopefully you can now understand my dilemma. Or maybe you are thinking how hard is it to pick just one book to read. Or you might be wondering if I finally managed to choose a book to read.

Well unfortunately I haven’t actually managed to read any book yet. I have however managed to pick some amazing titles which, fingers crossed I will eventually read!

Until that time, I hope that you might find a great book to read or listen too among my ‘Wish List’.

Happy Reading, fingers crossed!

Jody

Jody’s Wish List

House of Earth and Blood, Crescent City Book 1 by Sarah J Maas

Jacinda Ardern by Michelle Duff

The Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler

Maggie’s Going Nowhere by Rose Hartley

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

The Nowhere Child by Christain White

The Secrets She Keeps by Michael Robotham

The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth, (Parra Reads Online Book Club)

Alice to Prague by Tanya Heaslip, (Parra Reads Online Book Club)

The Switch by Beth O’Leary.

NSW PRC eBooks

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Calling all NSW students in Kindergarten to Year 9 and taking part in PRC!

Take part in this year’s NSW PRC from home with our collection of eBooks from the official booklists. All you need is your Library Card number and your PIN/password – hint if you have forgotten it reset it online via the Library Catalogue or contact us. Visit the website or download the app to start reading one now.