Book Review Mary’s Last Dance

Posted on 23 May 2022 by Jody

Summary

Mary’s Last Dance is a powerful and uplifting memoir about chasing an impossible dream, and sacrificing one’s own ambition for the love of a child. It is a moving and unforgettable story of passion, dedication and devotion – and the highly anticipated sequel to one of the world’s most beloved books.

Mary Li is an international ballet star and a mother like no other. She became a household name when her husband Li Cunxin published his bestselling memoir, Mao’s Last Dancer – but that book told only half the story.

Growing up in a rambunctious family in Rockhampton, Mary discovered an extraordinary early passion for ballet. It saw her move to London at age sixteen, to study at the Royal Ballet School and dance at the London Festival Ballet with the likes of Nureyev, and later to Houston Ballet, where as Principal Dancer she fell in love with the acclaimed dancer Li Cunxin. The couple became the darlings of the dance world, and were happier than they could have imagined at the arrival of their firstborn daughter, Sophie.

Then right at the height of her international career, Mary seemingly disappeared from view. What could have happened to cause a woman so committed, so talented, to give it all away in a heartbeat? Now, almost twenty years on, we learn what happened next to this inspiring family, and why it is Mary’s turn to tell a truly remarkable tale.

Comments

Mary’s Last Dance is the memoir of Mary Li. She is an acclaimed Australian ballet dancer and wife of Li Cunxin. Her story is a window into life in Rockhampton in the 1960s and 1970s, the world of international ballet and the sacrifice and journey Mary made in leaving ballet when her daughter was found to be profoundly deaf. While the writing might lack flair and the story a little repetitive, it tells about a high achieving family, love, deference, determination and acceptance. It was historically informative and opened our eyes to the conflict between the hearing and non-hearing communities. An enjoyable read.

Read by the MJ Readers

IDAHOBIT Day 2022

Posted on 16 May 2022 by admin

This Tuesday 17 May is International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT). It’s a day to recognise the efforts to remove discrimination against people on the basis of sexuality or gender identity and to show our commitment to building a more inclusive community #parramattapride.

The library has numerous resources to help people learn more about the LGBTQIA+ community and to support those who are members of the community. What does this acronym stand for? Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning (one’s sexual or gender identity), Intersex, Asexual/Aromantic/Agender and the “+” symbol simply stands for all of the other sexualities, sexes, and genders that aren’t included in these few letters.

It can sometimes be tricky to find the resource you are looking for as different keywords can be used by different people/groups here are some of the more common search terms you can try in our library catalogue: LGBT, any of the words in the LGBTQIA acronym, sexual minorities, same sex, gender. TIP – you can use the advanced search options to remove words that you don’t want to look for eg. Find items that have: queer and Don’t show items that have: queen.

Here are just some of the titles we have to borrow to help get you started. Why not learn more or show your support by borrowing one or more resources today?

Book Review A Man Called Ove

Posted on 13 May 2022 by Jody

Summary

Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon—the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him “the bitter neighbor from hell.” But must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.

Comments

Absolutely adored this book! A Man Called Ove is the story of Ove, a man in his late-50s recently widowed, and made redundant at work. Struggling to cope with life after losing his beautiful wife. His neighbours think he’s a little cantankerous, but his life is about to be changed by the family moving in next door after they quite comically, take out Ove’s letterbox.

A beautifully written story with wonderful characters we could all relate to.. From Ove to Parineh, the pregnant Iranian neighbour to Adrian, the young man who needs help mending his bicycle to the cat, that keeps coming back. An array of colourful characters that help bring this story to life. It will make you laugh. It will make you cry. The language flowed as much as our emotions did. Definitely recommend this book!

8.5/10 Read by Cultcha Club

Coming Soon! New Titles

Posted on 9 May 2022 by Jody

We’ve gotten in early and ordered some exciting new titles we hope you, our community of readers will enjoy.

Due for release in the latter half of 2022, the following titles are just a snapshot of some of the most recent titles we have placed on order.

Take a look! If you find something you might like to read place a Hold. We will put it aside for you when it arrives. Our Hold queues are checked regularly and additional copies are ordered to meet demand and help keep wait times down, so go nuts!

You will also find a list of some of our ‘Standing Order‘ titles. These are books by popular authors that we know you will want to read. To reduce waiting times and meet demand we have these author’s titles on order permanently. This means we will never miss Jane Harper’s or Michael Robotham’s new books and it means you can place a Hold sooner so you don’t miss out.

Happy reading,

Jody