Are you wondering what to read next? Check out City of Parramatta Libraries book lists, reviews, author events and Book Clubs. Parramatta City Library Invites you to participate, connect and learn.
The darkest part of our recent history, this story is the heartrending account of two survivors of Auschwitz. Lale and Gita met during three horrendous years of incarceration and their story is a tribute to their survival against all odds. History made personal in this way leaves a lingering mark on readers. A book well written and researched and well worth reading.
This novel was written with so many layers. It was complex yet at it’s heart, a family story with real, relatable characters.
We found the writing in the beginning chaotic but as the story evolved, it was very reflective of the lives of the characters. The style reminded us of a children’s spirograph with all the interwoven, bouncing lines coming together to form a resolution of reconnection, healing and love.
We so enjoyed the use of metaphors, succinct language and vivid descriptions. They had us laughing and crying. A novel well worth taking the time to read.
In January our ‘Cultcha Club’ book club read ‘This is Going to Hurt‘ by Adam Kay. Checkout what they thought below….
Summary
Welcome to 97-hour weeks. Welcome to life and death decisions. Welcome to a constant tsunami of bodily fluids. Welcome to earning less than the hospital parking meter. Wave goodbye to your friends and relationships … Welcome to the life of a junior doctor. Scribbled in secret after endless days, sleepless nights and missed weekends, comedian and former junior doctor Adam Kay’s This Is Going to Hurt provides a no-holds-barred account of his time on the NHS front line. Hilarious, horrifying and heartbreaking by turns, these diaries are everything you wanted to know – and more than a few things you didn’t – about life on and off the hospital ward. And yes, it may leave a scar.
Comments
Why not try Adam Kay’s other book….
Adam Kay was a junior doctor working for the NHS (British Healthcare) before turning his hand to writing comedy. The book is full of snippets of diary entries that he kept from his time working as a junior doctor. While very British, with a few references some may not understand, this one had us laughing out loud and sharing stories one minute to holding back tear the next. We thoroughly enjoyed this one. And being mothers, we enjoyed the insight into an OBGYN ward. Wonderfully written with a new appreciation for all healthcare professionals.
2020 was our first year of reading along together in an online environment, while COVID may have been the trigger it was an enjoyable experience for me. The ‘Parra Reads’ online book club proved to be an excellent way for me to connect, collaborate and read with my colleagues. City of Parramatta Libraries operates across seven branches and it is often hard for us book nerds to catch up and talk about books. The online book club has been one way for us to come together and share our love of reading with you all.
After much discussion we have decided to do things a little differently this year, in the hopes we can encourage more of you to read along with us.
So, what will 2021 look like for our ‘Parra Reads’ online book club? Well! For starters there will be more choices in regards to what title you read each month, we will be sharing more online via our blog, podcast, social media and in our Libraries.
If you are reading along with us and would like to participate and share your thoughts on what you have been reading, please do. You can share via Twitter, using the hashtag #parrareadsbookclub, or just comment on one of our tweets. Send an email to parrareads@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au and I will share any suitable book related comments on our blog and in the library, rest assured I will only share first names. If you are a Goodreads member and would like to join our Parra Reads Virtual Book Club, log in and send us through a request.
We also hope to run a couple of online book club meetings via Zoom throughout the year. I will share more information on this as details are confirmed.
Don’t forget to check out our ePlatform, rbDigital & BorrowBox collections! We have a huge library of both eBooks & eAudiobooks available for you to download.
However you choose to read & share with us this year is up to you, our only wish is that you read!
Each month we will provide some great reading recommendations to help you along your way, look out for these online and at all our Libraries.
Here’s wishing 2021 is a great year for reading!
Jody
Parra Reads Online Book Club – Monthly Reading Themes for 2021
February – A book by an Australian Author – Aussie Authors Rule! Check out our recommended reads below.
March – Books to Screen – Do you prefer to watch then read? Or read then watch? For me it is definitely read first!
April – A Thriller or mystery book.
May – Prize Winners – With so many different book awards each year what better selection could a reader ask for. Personally I will be reading my way through as many of the ‘Miles Franklin’ longlist titles that I can manage before the shortlist is announced in June.
June – Second Chances – Read a book you have tried to read before but couldn’t finish! My nemesis is ‘Wolf Hall’ by Hilary Mantel; I have tired many times and still haven’t managed to get past the first chapter.
July – Memoir – What makes a memoir a great one? Is it the setting, person or subject?
August – Big Bang Books – Books that have made a big splash in the last 10/20 years! Literally an endless supply of choices with this one!
September – Banned Books – One for the rebels!
October – The first book in a series.
November – Hot of the printing press! With so many great books planned for publication in 2021, what better way to end the year.
This month, two of our Dundas book clubs read and reviewed ‘The Things She Owned‘ by Katherine Tamiko Arguille and ‘The Surviors‘ by Jane Harper. Which just happen to be two of our new Book Club Kits; I hope they enjoyed them!
As most of our book clubs have started to meet again in some capacity, either online, in cafes or in their homes I thought it would be nice to share with you some of their book reviews.
Nuri, a beekeeper, struggling to hold onto hope as he leaves war torn Syria, with his wife, Afra, blind from the horrors she has seen. We follow their journey as refugees as they attempt to make their way to England, seeking asylum, hoping to reunite with his cousin.
This book is beautifully written despite its tragedy. Hauntingly beautiful, at times blurring the lines of reality. While this book is fiction, it felt incredibly real and as if we were reading a personal account. We watch the couple not only struggle with the physical journey, but also their relationship and finding hope and happiness after all they have endured due to things beyond their control. While the writing is lovely, and the writer knows her subject well, we felt the story lost its way a little in the middle.
Our library book club choice. A small group of mainly elderly Italians meet each Thursday night for supper. Previously their leader Miranda has cooked for them but as she is aging they begin sharing the meal preparations. Food is the predominant obsession for these people and it is an inextricable element of their culture and everyday lives. Over food and wine, in seemingly endless quantities, five of the women in particular share intimate life stories.
The book is well written but the enormous amount of often repetitive details about food began to be quite nauseating. Nevertheless, if you’re interested in Italian food and culture I think you’d enjoy it and might even be tempted to try making one of the many recipes at the back of the book.
