Through books and stories, we remember.
The heroic tales, the unsung men, women and animals who served and fought for our Country at war and those left behind at home.
These stories of comradery, friendship and heartbreak are how we can remember and acknowledge the sacrifice and loss of a time past.
Explore some of these amazing stories and remember.
Lest We Forget
Are you tired of watching online author talks by yourself? Want to meet with other book lovers and reminisce about the 1960’s? We invite you to either watch at home or get your ‘groove on’ at our watch at the library event on Thursday 13 May at 1pm.
Join us at Parramatta Library at our Sixties gathering to watch the talk on our big screen. Enjoy our 60s themed décor and free light lunch inspired by the period. Did you know that the 1960’s saw the invention of Splice (1962), Tim Tams (1964) and the release of the first Margaret Fullton Cookbook (1968)?
Meredith Burgmann and Nadia Wheatley will be in conversation via Zoom with Melinda McNaughton from Wollondilly Library Service discussing Radicals: Remembering the Sixties with the support of NSW Public Libraries Association.
Register to attend our 60s themed ‘watch at the library’ event by calling Parramatta Library on 9806 5159 during opening hours. Each attendee for the on-site event will go into the draw for a chance to win a copy of the book in our lucky door prize. Get an extra entry into the draw by dressing up in Sixties themed clothing or accessories. Social distancing and covid19-safe restrictions will apply.
Unable to get to Parramatta Library but want to watch the talk?
To attend the event online via Zoom as an audience member – book here
The Sixties – an era of protest, free love, civil disobedience, duffel coats, flower power, giant afros and desert boots, all recorded on grainy black and white film footage – marked a turning point for change. Radicals found their voices and used them. While the initial trigger for protest was opposition to the Vietnam War, this anger quickly escalated to include Aboriginal Land Rights, Women’s Liberation, Gay Liberation, Apartheid, Student Power and ‘workers’ control’.
In Radicals some of the people doing the changing – including David Marr, Margret Road Knight, Gary Foley, Jozefa Sobski and Geoffrey Robertson – reflect on how the decade changed them and Australian society forever.
Ready, Set, Read!
2021 is certainly gearing up to be a great year for books, with so many great new titles hitting the shelves in the first three months.
Here, at City of Parramatta Libraries, we like nothing better than helping you; our readers, discover your great read. Whether that be a new author or revisiting an old favourite, we are here to help.
Below you will find a list of our, ‘Top Six’ most borrowed fiction, young adult, junior & picture book titles for January to March.
Have fun exploring! Remember placing a hold is free and you can pick it up from any one of our Libraries.
I have also snuck in my personal, ‘Top Six’ picks for books I have read over the past three months. Just to tempt you even more.
If you love reading and enjoy sharing what you are reading with other like-minded people, then follow Parra Reads on Goodreads or add us as friend.
Happy Reading,
Jody
It’s time to share the shame!
I am sure we have all experienced that awkward moment when a person asks, “Have you read…?” and you are forced to admit, “Actually, I tried but just couldn’t make it to the end. The book actually didn’t interest me”.
When I first started reading, there was no way I would stop reading a book even if I hated it. For months, I would struggle through reading a chapter a night, if I could manage it. Now, I don’t waste my precious reading time on books I either don’t like, or am not in the mood to read. There are too many great books out there waiting to be read, to waste my time on something I am not enjoying.
However, there are a few books I have abandoned and picked up again months or years later and enjoyed reading. ‘Jane Eyre’ was one of those books. Now I have read it I don’t understand why I didn’t enjoy it the first couple of times I tired. Maybe I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind to read it; I suppose I will never know. Now however, it continues to be one of my all-time favourites.
I won’t go on to share the long list of books on my ‘couldn’t finish list’, I will save those for June’s Online Book Club reading recommendations when we tackle, ‘Second Chance Books’. Keep an eye out for a post in June with a complete list of titles.
If you love reading and enjoy sharing what you are reading with other like-minded people, then follow Parra Reads on Goodreads or add us as friend.
Happy Reading,
Jody
Six Minutes by Petronella McGovern
Allen & Unwin, June 2020
How can a child disappear from under the care of four playgroup mums?
One Thursday morning, Lexie Parker dashes to the shop for biscuits, leaving Bella in the safe care of the other mums in the playgroup.
Six minutes later, Bella is gone.
Police and media descend on the tiny village of Merrigang on the edge of Canberra. Locals unite to search the dense bushland. But as the investigation continues, relationships start to fracture, online hate messages target Lexie, and the community is engulfed by fear.
Is Bella’s disappearance connected to the angry protests at Parliament House? What secrets are the parents hiding? And why does a local teacher keep a photo of Bella in his lounge room?
What happened in those six minutes and where is Bella?
The clock is ticking…
Comments
Bella has gone missing after she was left in the care of the playgroup mums Lexie meets up with once a week. She was only gone for six minutes. Where is she? What has happened to her?
As mothers, this would be our worst nightmare! Very relatable story, with lots of twists and turns that kept most of us guessing to the end. A few of our readers picked who had done what, but not necessarily why that had done it. Some of our readers found it a little hard to empathise with the main characters. We thought the premise was great, but it left us wanting a little more. Overall, we thought the book was well written. Another good book, set in Australia, from a first time Australian author.
We’d recommend this for readers who like Liane Moriarty books.
7/10
Read by Cultcha Club