Category Archives: Podcasts

Podcast Episode 34 Historical Fiction

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Historical Fiction as a genre is fascinating for the window it provides to the past, to characters and events both real and imagined, to lives in a time so different to our own.

Historical Fiction is one of my favourite genres that I have been reading for so long. This is purely because I love escaping my reality for a while and getting sucked into the past. While it may not always be pleasant, I find it fascinating.

Because I have been reading Historical Fiction for a long time there are literally hundreds of titles that I could add to the books Nisa and Antonia discussed in the podcast. However, I think my ‘Top Six’ might have to do for this post; after all I am supposed to be promoting our latest episode of Parra Pods!

Needless to say the podcast as always was interesting to listen to and when I say listen, I mean it! When you edit a podcast you have to listen through at least three times or at least I normally do.

Anyway enjoy our ‘Historical Fiction’ podcast. And if you are looking for some more recommendations checkout the recommendations below.

Happy Reading & Listening!

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Stella Prize Winner 2020

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Congratulations! 2020 ‘Stella Prize’ Winner Jess Hill for her novel ‘See What You Made Me Do: Power, Control and Domestic Abuse’.

The ‘Stella Prize’ is one of our favourtie awards here at City of Parramatta Libraries. With each year being a celebration of the talent and quality of Australian women’s writing in our every growing community of Australian Writers.

Each year the ‘Parra Reads Group’ of book-crazy Librarian’s get together and read all the books that make it to the ‘Stella’ shortlist and of course discuss each one. For the past two years we have featured that discussion on our podcast, Parra Pods. This year in episode 33 Nisa and Sandra read and discussed ‘See What You Made Me Do’; which stood out among the other titles as a “gripping & essential read”. I can remember Nisa very passionately telling anyone who would listen that they had to read ‘See What You Made Me Do’.

If you missed our special ‘Stella Prize’ episode of Parra Pods you can listen anytime on Podbean, Apple Podcasts and Google Play, or here!

As a special promotion for Book Clubs and our wider reading community, ‘See What You Made Me Do’ is available as an eBook with NO WAITING, NO HOLDS! Available to download from our rbDigital app. Just download the app to start ‘Reading Together’, at home!

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Podcast Episode 34 – Wellbeing

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Find ways to relax, to meditate, to pursue balance, to consider gratitude, to engage in kindness, to strive for positivity…. all of these are important considerations for those interested in creating a sense of wellbeing for themselves and those around them.

Join Nisa & Antonia as they talk about some books that explore this and more!

The books discussed in this episode of Parra Pods include:

In Search of Happiness: following mindful paths to fulfillment by Mike Annesley. Worth Press, October 2018.

Smart Girls Screw Up Too: the no-nonsense guide to creating the life you want by Bella Zanesco. John Wiley & Son, January 2018. 

Unwind Your Mind: the life changing power of ASMR by Emma WhispersRed. Ebury Publishing, September 2019.

Happy Listening!

Podcast Episode 33 The Stella Prize Shortlist

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Named after a giant in the Australian literary landscape, The Stella Prize celebrates both fiction and non-fiction writing by Australian female writers.

Join Nisa and Sandra as they celebrate the prize’s eighth year.

Books discussed include:

The weekend / Charlotte Wood. Allen & Unwin, Oct 2019

Here until August: stories / Josephine Rowe. Black Inc, Sep 2019

See what you made me do / Jess Hill. Black Inc, Jun 2019

There was still love / Favel Parrett

 Also mentioned:

 The yield / Tara June Winch. Penguin, July 2019

Diving into glass: a memoir / Caro Llewellyn. Penguin, Mar 2019

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