Love wine but the not the snobbery sometimes associated with it? Why not join us in conversation with Grace De Morgan at Parramatta Library for an entertaining evening of wine, cheese, and for some lucky members of the audience, live wine tasting! Grace will be speaking about her not so fancy-pants guide to wine and be available for questions and book signing. To book your ticket now just click on the image above.
This Podcast discusses difficult Father/daughter relationships in memoirs. Often in memoir and in literature family relationships loom large, especially father/daughter relationships. All three daughters suffered abuse & neglect in various forms, yet all three are high achieving women. This discussion focuses on these recent memoirs “Small Fry” by Lisa Brennan Jobs, Jeanette Walls “The Glass Castle” and Tara Westover’s “Educated”.
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Life After Life – Kate Atkinson
Book Summary
In 1910, Ursula Todd is born during a snowstorm in England, but two parallel scenarios occur – in one, she dies immediately. In the other, she lives to tell the tale. As the possibility of having a second chance at life opens up, the novel unfolds, following Ursula as she lives through the events of the twentieth century again and again.
What if you had the chance to live your life again and again, until you finally got it right?
During a snowstorm in England in 1910, a baby is born and dies before she can take her first breath.
During a snowstorm in England in 1910, the same baby is born and lives to tell the tale.
What if there were second chances? And third chances? In fact an infinite number of chances to live your life? Would you eventually be able to save the world from its own inevitable destiny? And would you even want to?
Life After Life follows Ursula Todd as she lives through the turbulent events of the last century again and again. With wit and compassion, she finds warmth even in life’s bleakest moments, and shows an extraordinary ability to evoke the past. Here is Kate Atkinson at her most profound and inventive, in a novel that celebrates the best and worst of ourselves.
Comments
The group found this book “Life after life” confusing and even frustrating. The writing was well done but passages in German did not help our understanding.
Going back and forward in time as well as the different realities did not make for continuous reading. Also, reviews of the book were misleading – not what we were expecting. It was a chore not a pleasure.
Group rating: 4 ½ out of 10
Read By – Dundas Readers
October is upon us and with recent rains it looks very much like the proper Halloween weather. One can debate the pros and cons of Australia increasingly adopting this heavily commercialized American holiday, but we can’t deny the occasion lends itself to enjoying a bit of mystery, thriller and horror. Visit your local branch of Parramatta libraries to enjoy a selection of recent releases, popular and classic titles in these genres.
Reserve some of our new titles in horror and mystery genres:
The best of the Best Horror of the year
The best Horror of the year vol.10
The mammoth book of Halloween stories by Stephen Jones
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2018 ed.
Don’t Believe It by Charlie Donlea
Out of the Dark: Tales of Terror by Robert Chambers
Ghosts in the House: Tales of Terror by Benson A.C. & Benson R.H.
Slender Man by Anonymous
The Invisible Eye: Tales of Terror by Emily Erckmann & L.A. Chatrian
The tall man by Phoebe Locke
It’s that time of the month – the top 10 reads of upcoming books as chosen by Library Staff around Australia. Why not reserve a copy now?
Bridge of Clay – Markus Zusak
Librarians’ Choice Favourite
The breathtaking story of five brothers who bring each other up in a world run by their own rules. As the Dunbar boys love and fight and learn to reckon with the adult world, they discover the moving secret behind their father’s disappearance.
At the center of the Dunbar family is Clay, a boy who will build a bridge—for his family, for his past, for greatness, for his sins, for a miracle.
The question is, how far is Clay willing to go? And how much can he overcome?
Any Ordinary Day – Leigh Sales
Shell – Kristina Olsson
The Arsonist – Chloe Hooper
Lost without you – Rachael Johns
Cedar Valley – Holly Throsby
Boys will be boys – Clementine Ford
Lenny’s book of everything – Karen Foxlee
You daughters of freedom – Claire Wright
The valley – Steve Hawke