Ashfield Library Gazette
DECEMBER 2015/JANUARY 2016 z VOLUME 21/6
A message from
21ST YEAR OF PUBLICATION
Michael Costello
The two overriding themes of my novel Season
of Hate are Discrimination and Justice.
IN THIS ISSUE
❚❚ LOCAL STUDIES
❚❚ WRITING WORKSHOPS
FOR ADULTS
❚❚ READING GOALS
❚❚ COO-EE MARCH 2015
❚❚ APPETITES OF ASHFIELD
❚❚ AUREALIS AWARDS
❚❚ MAN BOOKER PRIZE
Discrimination towards Johnny be­cause of his
Aboriginality, Miss Kitty because of her reclusiveness,
Shen because of his Chinese heritage or even the bullying
of new boys at school, 8 year-old twins Pat and Doug.
Sometimes this leads to ostracism or violence.
With regard to Justice: there is the type of justice our legal
system dispenses, represented by the rather ineffective
policing of Sergeant Farrar. There is also the kind of
justice that happens when good people speak up and
take a stand, like Dad, Miss Kitty, Pat and Doug and their
friends. Finally, there is the karmic justice that sees Bob
Wood obtain a sort of redemption, but at a terrible cost.
WHAT’S ON
LIBRARY HOURS
CONTACT US
Season of Hate finishes with a positive message, the promise
of hope for not only this country town, but society in general.
Look after
unemployment
and the Budget will
look after itself.
Michael Costello will be in conversation with Walter Mason
about his novel Season of Hate on Saturday 6 February 2016,
11am in the Local Studies Room Level 2, book for sale and
signing on the day from Better Read Than Dead Newtown.
BOOK
BITES
STAFF
REVIEWS
OFF THE
SHELF
John Maynard Keynes
YOUNG
READERS
SUBSCRIBE
FREE
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Writing Workshops
for Adults
FROM THE LOCAL STUDIES LIBRARY
Walter Mason
Fabulously Creative on Friday 5
February 2016 10am-1pm.
Keith Whelan
Writing a Horror Story Saturday
27 February 2016, 10am-12pm
How to write a Blog Saturday
27 February 2016, 12.30pm-2.30pm Bookings for all three
workshops are essential.
A Local Studies ‘Blast from the Past’ from Local Studies Librarian
Mandy. What busy intersection in Ashfield is this, back in 1948?
intersection certainly doesn’t look like this anymore, with the shops
demolished and of course traffic signals have been installed.
Appetites of
Ashfield
Book Trivia
evening
Coo-ee March
re-enactment
Ubud Writers and
Readers Festival
Renee’s
Reading Spots
Aurealis
Awards
Man Booker
Prize
Snippets
It’s Liverpool Road and Milton Street. The tramcar is on its way to Enfield
and Burwood turning from Liverpool Road into Milton Street. The major
LIBRARY BOOK BITES
SHORT STORY
STAFF REVIEWS
Read “Last Night” a short story
KATHY’S COOKBOOKS
by James Salter published
GINA’S CRAFT CORNER
in The New Yorker.
YOUNG READERS
CHILDREN’S
PICTURE BOOKS
Public Selection Voting
Are there books you’d like to see added to our collection?
You can log in with your Library Card and email address and vote on
Here’s your chance to let us know.
new books that you would like to see in the collection.
The Public Selection Voting tool has gone live on our new
Library Acquisitions staff will receive statistics on items that have
catalogue. Click on Vote for A Book on the catalogue.
been voted for, and will consider for purchase for the Library. Titles
There are categories for Fiction, Non Fiction, and Junior, Young Adult.
will be updated monthly.
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Reading Goals
As we wrap up the 21st year of The Ashfield Library
Gazette, regular reviewer and team member Renee
shares her 2016 Bookish Resolutions.
Earlier this year, I tossed around a few of my ideas about
reading goals: Do you aim to read a certain number of books
per year? One Haberfield Library patron tackled a variation
of this numerical goal by deciding to read a set number
of words per day. Do you want to read books from a few
different and unfamiliar genres? Finally read that classic that
everyone in the world has read except you? Attend a writers’
festival? Should one even set reading goals at all? At the
time, I proclaimed, “I want to read 40 books, and 2015 is
the year – mark my words – that I will finally read George
Eliot’s Middlemarch.” I am pleased to report that I have achieved both goals. I had fun, too; after
all, leisure reading should be pleasurable, perhaps challenging, but not a chore. I have to admit,
however, that I started reading Middlemarch in print form,
and after falling asleep, book in hand, on many an evening,
I switched to an audiobook version so that I could read during
the school run and my commute to work. Fortunately, I didn’t
fall asleep. Was Middlemarch one of the best novels ever
written? Not in my opinion. Did it stretch me, challenge me and
take me to another place and time? Yes, and for that reason
Marcos Saboya and Gualter Pupo’s ‘aMAZEme’ is a labyrinthine
maze that was erected during the 2012 London Olympics and
was constructed of some 250,000 used and new books.
We think a literary
link exists between
this staff member’s
colourful nails and
the classic story by
Rudyard Kipling, The
Jungle Book
I will continue to read at least one classic per year. At the
risk of being boring, I am repeating my 2015 reading goals in
2016: 40 books, including one classic. Catch-22, I’m looking at
you! Whatever your reading goals may be, I wish you a mindexpanding year of reading, and I hope that Ashfield Library will
continue to be a part of your lifelong learning journey. Renee
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TRIVIA NIGHT
You could cut the tension in the air with the
knife as The Cat in the Hat faced off against
Mr Darcy, and Madame Bovary took on
Bridget Jones in a battle of wits. The travel round
was deemed the hardest, closely followed by the
superhero round, and the tables remained neck
and neck for most of the night until The Cat in the
Hat won the night by 4.5 points in the final round!
Our November trivia night was loads of fun, with
great prizes and great company. As you can see it
came down to the wire!
Appetites of Ashfield is a cookbook full of
wonderful recipes from some of our library members.
You can buy a copy at either library for $5 each.
Five free things from your library
ŠŠ Access up to 4hrs 500mb wifi every day
ŠŠ Take home up to 30 items
ŠŠ Download music
ŠŠ Borrow book club sets of 10 for your book club
ŠŠ Renew items online using the Bookmyne app
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Coo-ee March re-enactment
This year marks the centenary of the Coo-ee March. This route
recruiting march left Gilgandra, NSW on 10 October 1915
with 26 marchers and arrived in Martin Place, Sydney on 12
November 1915 with 263 marchers. 22 men signed on for the
war when the Coo-ees camped at Ashfield, the last overnight
stop before they made their way to Martin Place.
A 2015 re-enactment of the Coo-ee March happened this
year and arrived in Ashfield on Tuesday 10 November 2015 at
approximately 4.50pm.
A commemorative service was then held at Ashfield War
Memorial before the marchers and members of the public
attending the service, moved to Coo-ee Car Park for a commemorative service at
Wests Ashfield Leagues Club.
A buffet dinner, and sing-along, was held at Wests Ashfield Leagues Club in the
evening, which was very much appreciated by the marchers, and everyone else
attending.
The marchers camped for the night at Ashfield Boys High School, on the site of
the Ashfield Drill Hall, where the Coo-ees stayed in 1915.
Read on:
Marching to remember the Cooees of 1915 abc open
Blisters, bush camps and overcoming 2015 bureaucracy brings
WWI Coo-ee March back to life abc central west news
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UBUD WRITERS AND
READERS FESTIVAL
2015
This is just a brief overview of the four
wonderful days I spent at the Ubud Writers
and Readers Festival this year, to give you
a flavour of what the event is like. Karen
To give you an
idea of the quality
of the speakers,
these are some of
the key speakers
that I saw in
sessions during
the week.
Anuradha Roy
Christina Lamb
Eka Kurniawan
Mohsin Hamid
Michael Chabon
Hyeonseo Lee
The theme for UWRF 2015 was “17,000 islands of
imagination”.
The main festival ran from 29 October to 1 November,
in venues across Ubud, in central Bali.
It was the 12th annual festival, but this year was
tainted by the Indonesian government, for the very
first time, intervening and controversially banning
sessions on political issues with a 1965-related focus
and threatening to shut down the whole festival if the
organisers didn’t comply. This was alluded to in many
of the talks.
The wonderful thing about the Festival is that you
learn about Indonesian authors and issues in the
Mpho Tutu
Indonesian area, particularly this year there was a lot
of discussion on climate change and the fires burning
in Indonesia. You hear intimately about how these
issues are impacting on the lives of the Balinese.
THE UBUD WRITERS AND READERS FESTIVAL IN PICTURES
I made it to the opening address
of the Ubud Writers & Readers
Festival, early on the first day,
at the beautiful Neka museum.
There was Balinese dancing,
Janet DeNeefe, the Festival
organiser, gave a welcome
speech and proceedings began
with an inspiring address by
Desmond Tutu’s daughter
Reverend Mpho Tutu. It was a
packed session.
Before the Festival began in earnest, I
attended a book launch at the very nice
Nomad restaurant in Ubud’s main street.
I followed this with a session
on journalism with Endy Bayuni
and Andreas Harsono, a human
rights journalist.
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THE UBUD WRITERS AND READERS FESTIVAL IN PICTURES
Top left: Listening to Mohsin Hamid read
and talk about his writing, doesn’t get better
than this.
Centre left: Christina Lamb in a panel
session on extremism.
Bottom left: Awesome panel of women,
Anuradhapura Roy, Porchesta Khapour,
Dorothy Tse, talking on their creative process
in their books, at a relaxed venue Taman
Baca.
Top right: This is the view from Taman Baca.
Centre right: Of particular interest to me was
a Graphic Novel session at the Ubud festival
with illustrators from Japan, Indonesia,
Philippines and France on how they produce
their comics works. Interestingly, the Festival
used a youth moderator for some sessions in
the Taman Baca
Bottom right: Fascinating and entertaining
presentation by Budjette Tan on Philippine
comics and how they have adapted American
influences and made them their own.
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THE UBUD WRITERS AND READERS FESTIVAL IN PICTURES
Left: Last day at the Ubud
festival … sessions on climate
change and drowning islands,
Vietnamese refugees in an
interactive online graphic novel,
words by Nam Le, Indonesian
authors and more.
And finally, my trip to the library in the
centre of Ubud … they couldn’t turn on
the lights for me to look around, so that’s
why it’s so dark.
Right: Michael
Chabon
interview.
Below: Views from the Neka Museum, one of the main venues
And … that’s just
your typical view
of having lunch in
Ubud.
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Renee’s Spotlight on Reading Spots
I’ve always had this dreamy image of lying on a hammock on
a tropical beach, engrossed in a novel, without a care in the
world. Then I visited Vanuatu in July, drawn to a particular
resort because of its beach and, yes, its abundance of
hammocks. There were hammocks on the beach, hammocks
on my bungalow’s porch overlooking the lagoon, hammocks
everywhere. It was my idea of paradise ... until I curled up on
one such hammock and remembered that hammocks make
me dizzy. I quickly relocated to a comfy chair that did not
move a centimetre and, accompanied by the resort’s cat,
flew through The Happiest Refugee, happy as can be. This
experience got me thinking about favourite reading spots.
As a university student, I would spend hours stretching
out a single cup of coffee over a book at a cafe. These
days I tend to grab a takeaway coffee because between
work and family, who has the time to read a book at a
cafe? Well, I recently dropped in to a pop-up cafe in Hyde
Park, which was a replica of Central Perk, the cafe that
prominently featured in my favourite 90s TV series, Friends.
dreamed of sitting on that famous couch all by myself, whiling
away the hours with a hot drink and a good book. Although my
time was limited to a few minutes instead of hours, as you can
see from the photo, my nerdy dream finally came true. I have
since resolved to take the time to read at cafes more often, and
to read something other than Facebook whilst there. Where do
you like to read? Under a tree? On your favourite chair or couch?
‘Do you know who that is?’
‘No’, was the answer.
‘That’, said the first, ‘is the celebrated Thacker!’
‘What’s he done?’
I hope in the coming year that you include Ashfield Library and
‘D-d if I know!’
Haberfield Library amongst your favourite local reading spots.
Bayard Taylor, Critical Essays and Literary Notes
A nice old lady who sat next to
Wodehouse at dinner one night …
raved about his work. She said that
her sons had great masses of his
books piled on their tables, and never
missed reading each new one as it
came out. ‘And when I tell them’, she
concluded, ‘that I have actually been
sitting at dinner with Edgar Wallace,
I don’t know what they will say.’
P. G. Wodehouse, Performing
Flea. A Self-Portrait in Letters,
ed. W. Townend
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AUTHOR
ANECDOTES
Now, I love my own flesh-and-blood friends, but I have always
No unusual incidents marked [William Makepeace]
Thackeray’s lectures in St. Louis and Cincinnati, though
he was fond of relating an anecdote which had Barnum’s
Hotel in the former city as its setting. Dining there one
day he overheard one Irish waiter say to another:
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2015 PRIME MINISTER’S
LITERARY AWARDS
SHORTLISTS ANNOUNCED
Set up by Kevin Rudd in almost his first action on
winning the 2007 election these Awards celebrate
Australian literature and historical scholarship and
recognise the unique role these endeavours play in
communicating Australian stories. They also play
an important role in strengthening the profile of
Australian writers and illustrators and contribute to the
growth of audiences for Australian books.
Prize for Australian History
The Europeans in Australia – Vol
3: Nation, Alan Atkinson
Young adult fiction
Are You Seeing Me?, Darren Groth
Descent into Hell, Peter Brune
Tigers on the Beach, Doug MacLeod
In Certain Circles, Elizabeth Harrower
Charles Bean, Ross Coulthart
The Minnow, Diana Sweeney
Golden Boys, Sonya Hartnett
Menzies at War, Anne Henderson
The Protected, Claire Zorn
The Golden Age, Joan London
To Name Those Lost, Rohan Wilson
The Spy Catchers – The Official History
of ASIO Vol 1, David Horner
Poetry
Devadatta’s Poems, Judith Beveridge
Non-Fiction
John Olsen: An Artist’s Life, Darleen Bungey
My Dad is a Bear, Nicola Connelly
and illustrated by Annie White
Exhibits of the Sun, Stephen Edgar
Private Bill, Barrie Cassidy
Poems 1957-2013, Geoffrey Lehmann
This House of Grief: The Story of a
Murder Trial, Helen Garner
My Two Blankets, Irena Kobald and
illustrated by Freya Blackwood
The 2015 Prime Minister’s Literary
Awards shortlists are:
Fiction
Amnesia, Peter Carey
Earth Hour, David Malouf
Towards the Equator: New & Selected
Poems, Alex Skovron
Encountering the Pacific: in the Age of
Enlightenment, John Gascoigne
Wild Bleak Bohemia: Marcus Clarke, Adam Lindsay
Gordon and Henry Kendall, Michael Wilding
The Astrologer’s Daughter, Rebecca Lim
Children’s fiction
Two Wolves, Tristan Bancks
One Minute’s Silence, David Metzenthen
and illustrated by Michael Camilleri
Withering-by-Sea, Judith Rossell
The awards will be presented in early December.
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Aurealis Awards
Fans of science fiction will be interested in the Aurealis Award
winners announced earlier this year. The 2015 winners will
be announced at the 55th Australian National Science Fiction
Convention in Brisbane from 25-28 March 2016.
Winners of the 2014 Awards were:
Best Fantasy Novel
Dreamer’s Pool by Juliet Marillier
Best Fantasy Short Story
St Dymphna’s School for Poison Girls by Angela Slatter
(published in The Review of Australian Fiction, Volume 9, Issue 3)
Best Science Fiction Novel
Peacemaker by Marianne de Pierres
Best Science Fiction Short Story
Wine, Women and Stars by Thoraiya Dyer
(published in Analog Vol. CXXXIV #s 1 & 2 Jan/Feb)
Best Horror Novel
Razorhurst by Justine Larbalestier
Best Young Adult Novel
The Cracks in the Kingdom by Jaclyn Moriarty
READ the
Best Fantasy
Short Story:
St Dymphna’s School
for
Poison Girls
Best Children’s Fiction
Shadow Sister: Dragonkeeper #5 by Carole Wilkinson
Best Collection
The Female Factory by Lisa L Hannett and Angela Slatter
Best Anthology
Kaleidoscope: Diverse YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories,
edited by Alisa Krasnostein and Julia Rios
Best Graphic Novel/Illustrated Work
Mr. Unpronounceable and the Sect of the Bleeding Eye by Tim Molloy
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A Brief History of Seven Killings wins
2015 Man Booker Prize
A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James won
the 2015 Man Booker Prize for Fiction. The 44-year-old
James, now resident in Minneapolis, is the first Jamaican
author to win the prize in its 47-year history.
A Brief History of Seven Killings is a 686-page epic with over 75
characters and voices. Set in Kingston, where James was born,
the book is a fictional history of the attempted murder of Bob
Marley in 1976. Of the book, the New York Times said: ‘It’s like
a Tarantino remake of “The Harder They Come”, but with a soundtrack by Bob
Marley and a script by Oliver Stone and William Faulkner … epic in every sense
of that word: sweeping, mythic, over-the-top, colossal and dizzyingly complex.’
Referring to Bob Marley only as ‘The Singer’ throughout, A Brief
History of Seven Killings retells this near mythic assassination
attempt through the myriad voices – from witnesses and FBI
and CIA agents to killers, ghosts, beauty queens and Keith
Richards’ drug dealer – to create a rich, polyphonic study
of violence, politics and the musical legacy of Kingston of
the 1970s. James has credited Charles Dickens as one of
his formative influences, saying ‘I still consider myself a
Dickensian in as much as there are aspects of storytelling I
still believe in – plot, surprise, cliffhangers’ (Interview Magazine).
Michael Wood, Chair of the judges, comments:
‘This book is startling in its range of voices and registers,
running from the patois of the street posse to the book
of Revelations. It is a representation of political times
and places, from the CIA intervention in Jamaica to the
early years of crack gangs in New York and Miami.
‘It is a crime novel that moves beyond the world of crime
and takes us deep into a recent history we know far too little about.
It moves at a terrific pace and will come to be seen as a classic of our times.’
MAN BOOKER PRIZE
COMPETITION WINNER
Ashfield Library asked members to predict the Man
Booker winner. The first correct entry opened won
a copy of the winning novel.
At Ashfield Lucia Manuli proudly
took home her own copy of A Brief
History of Seven Killings.
What the media said:
Marlon James, Jamaican Novelist,
Wins Man Booker Prize new york times
“I’m not an easy writer to like,” he said,
referring to his experimental style.
The best book of the year? No,
Man Booker Prize winner ‘Seven
Killings’ is actually the most
HORRIBLE daily mail
Readers of a nervous disposition
should not start Marlon James’s A
Brief History of Seven Killings at the
beginning, but at the end.
Interview with Marlon James on
CBC radio
My novels are vulgar, explicit and
violent – Man Booker Prize winner
the jamaica gleaner
In addition to his £50,000 prize and trophy, James also receives a designer
bound edition of his book and a further £2,500 for being shortlisted.
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SNIPPETS
Outstanding Achievement
by a Young Person in the
Literary Arts shortlist
announced
Express Media has announced
the shortlist for the Outstanding
Achievement by a Young Person
in the Literary Arts Award.
bookseller+publisher
Top 10 bestsellers; The
Wimpy Kid storms to No. 1
20 November: The latest
instalment in Jeff Kinney’s Diary
of a Wimpy Kid has wasted no
time in hitting the top of the
bestseller charts. smh
Agatha Christie,
Chandler and other
great writers provide
rules for crime fiction
Raymond Chandler had his own
10 commandments of crime
writing. He was scornful of the
“cosy” school and insisted the
novel should be “about real
people in a real world”. smh
It’s a wrap: delish
unsandwiches and the rise
of the non-word
Social media are not the only
sources of pseudo-English. smh
Poet Chris Wallace-Crabbe
wins the Melbourne
Prize for Literature
Chris Wallace-Crabbe has won
the $60,000 Melbourne Prize
for Literature for a body of
poetic work that he began in
the late 1950s. smh
array of illustrated editions that
reveal the enduring allure of
Alice. guardian
SNIPPETS
Unpublished Charlotte
Bronte story and
poem unearthed
An unpublished story and poem
by Charlotte Bronte has been
discovered in a much-loved
book owned by her mother,
Maria Bronte. booktopia
Watch: 75 years,
75 Green Lanterns
This year saw Green Lantern
turn 75, check out a video that
DC All Access put together.
cosmic booknews
Children who inspired Enid
Blyton’s Famous Five book
covers are revealed
Illustrator Mary Gernat
sketched her four young sons
for the artwork for the books
by the great children’s author.
uk telegraph
Top 10 worst sex scenes in
modern literature
As Julian Barnes condemns
the commercial pressure on
authors to include sex scenes
in their work, we look at ten
recent winners of the Literary
Read the lost Percy Bysshe
Shelley poem The Existing
State of Things
Poem lost for two centuries
finally made public. independent
Tolkien’s annotated map of Middle-earth
discovered inside copy of Lord of the Rings
Map goes on sale in Oxford for £60,000 after being found
inside novel belonging to illustrator Pauline Baynes. guardian
Review Bad Sex in Fiction
Awards (warning: not for the
faint-hearted). uk telegraph
10 novels written
under the influence
Drugs, sex, and experimental
writing in post-War America
– it’s a wonder that Jack
Kerouac’s On the Road found
publication in 1957. flavorwire
Make it now: the rise of the
present tense in fiction
From Hilary Mantel and David
Mitchell to Goldsmith’s prize
winner Kevin Barry, more and
more writers are adopting this
way of storytelling to bring
immediacy and intimacy to their
work. guardian
Umberto Eco: ‘Real
literature is about losers’
To mark publication of his
new novel, Numero Zero, the
Italian novelist explored the
nature of conspiracies and why
great characters are never
successful. guardian
David Almond wins Guardian
children’s fiction prize
A Song for Ella Grey, the
author’s 21st-century retelling
of the Orpheus and Eurydice
myth, acclaimed by judges as
‘full of wonder’. guardian
Wonder follows wonder as
British Library celebrates
Alice’s 150th birthday
An exhibition brings together
the original manuscript and an
Short story ‘vending
machines’ to be installed in
Grenoble, France
Publisher Short Édition has
made over 600 short stories
from their library available to
purchase. independent
The Great Gatsby remains
most valuable first edition
of a 20th century classic
The Hobbit, Ulysses and Casino
Royale also make the top ten
on a new rare books index.
independent
TS Eliot cat poem
unearthed after 50 years:
Meet Cumberleylaude the
Gourmet Cat
Cumberleylaude enjoys salmon,
duck and expensive French
wines and is a ‘particularly
fastidious eater’. independent
For a deeper sleep, forgo
the e-reader before bed
Study finds people who read
print books at bedtime sleep
better than those who use an
e-reader. npr
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e-Books
Ashfield Library has a
collection of e-books
that are available
in both audio and
text formats. Our
e-Books are available
to all library members.
They can be read
on Apple Macs and
computers with
Windows operating
systems. The Overdrive
audio player and
the Adobe Digital
editions, which
enable the PDF text
e-books, are free to
download. Titles are easily read on
mobile devices such as iPhones and
iPads as well as many MP3 players.
CHECK E-BOOKS OUT NOW!
YOUR LIBRARY ONLINE
Magazines
We have a collection of online
Audio recordings of selected
Authors at Ashfield events are now
available as podcasts.
Freegal is an innovative and legal MP3
download service which allows Ashfield
Library members to download music
from the extensive Sony catalogue
magazines that you can download
as well as many independent labels.
to a computer, tablet
or smartphone here.
Once you download a
magazine it is yours to
keep. You can access
the latest issue of these
magazines as soon
as they are available.
There about 135 titles
You can stream independent films
online via the Ashfield Library
website using any Internet-enabled
computer, smartphone or tablet
with a web browser.
If you already have a login for Zinio,
the Library’s downloadable magazine
service, you can now access IndieFlix
Freegal offers access to thousands
with the same login. If not, just
of artists, millions of songs and over
You’ll find craft,
register online with your Ashfield Library
100 genres of music. The MP3s don’t
science, music, history,
card. IndieFlix is a streaming movie
have DRM (Digital Rights Management)
sports, arts, health,
service providing unlimited access to
copy-protection, which means that
technology and gossip
award-winning shorts, feature films
library patrons can listen to them on
(and more) magazines to
and documentaries. With thousands
multiple devices. Library members can
choose from.
of films to choose from across more
download and keep the songs in their
than 50 countries, IndieFlix offers a
iTunes libraries. Freegal also offers a
unique viewing experience. The films
streaming music service and, combined
are not rated, but the viewing level is
with the free Freegal mobile app, you
indicated by Family, Teen or Adult. A
can search and stream music on the go.
synopsis is provided for each film, and
CHECK OUT FREEGAL MUSIC
available.
You need an Ashfield Library
PODCASTS
Movies
Music
membership card to register with Zinio
for access to the free magazine service
and you need to download some soft­
ware the very first time you use Zinio.
you can write your own
review online.
LISTEN HERE
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Staff Reviews
Therese’s Picks
STAFF REVIEWS
Birdman
Reckoning
The Girl with the Dogs
Anna Funder
F FUND
One of the delightful Penguin Specials
series which notes inside the book
Six Square Metres:
reflections from a small
garden
Margaret Simons
NF 158.1 SIMO
‘perfect to read on the train’. I took their
A delightful book about the regenerative
advice and was quite mesmerised by
powers of gardening, whether your
the power of Funder’s words in small,
garden is expansive, middling or really,
domestic settings which hint at larger,
really tiny with only periodic sunshine like the author’s. Taking us
more intricate subjects. Tess is off to London for a conference and
through the seasons and remembering what happened both in her
uses it as an excuse to recapture a past love and life in Paris, if only
life and her current and past gardens, Simons gently affirms the
momentarily. She leaves her husband, three children and her unwell
benefits – community interactions, family ties, mental and physical
father now in a nursing home. Which will prove more unsettling: the
health – of getting one’s hands dirty.
The Life-Changing
Magic of Tidying
While We’re Young
A Million Ways to Die
in the West
Kingsman
Kathy’s Cookbooks
Gina’s Crafter’s Corner
Emma’s YA and
Junior fiction
Kathy’s Picture Books
OFF THE SHELF:
The Heat
AUTHOR
ANECDOTE
leaving of Paris or the coming home to family?
SHAKESPEARE was godfather to one of Ben Jonson’s children, and after the christening, being in a deep study, Jonson came to cheer him up,
and asked him why he was so melancholy.
‘No, faith, Ben,’ says he, ‘not I, but I have been considering a great while what should be the fittest gift for me to bestow upon my godchild,
and I have resolved at last.’
‘I prithee what?’ says he
‘I’faith, Ben, I’ll e’en give him a dozen good Lattin spoons, and thou shalt translate them.’
— an anecdote attributed to Dr John Donne by his contemporary Sir Nicholas L’Estrange cited in E. K. Chambers, William Shakespeare.
ASHFIELD
LIBRARY
CATALOGUE
[Shakespeare’s witty pun is somewhat lost on modern readers because the word “lattin” has gone out of use. “Lattin” is a mixed metal of
yellow colour, either identical with, or closely resembling, brass. (Oxford English Dictionary).]
15
staff>reviews<
renee’s Picks
Birdman
Reckoning: a memoir
(DVD)
Magda Szubanski
I’m usually the rom-com type of movie-goer, but I couldn’t
B SZUB
resist borrowing this Academy Award-winning film.
There is much more to Magda Szubanski than her well-known
Riggan Thomson, played by Michael Keaton, is an ageing
comedic character Sharon Strzelecki from the popular TV
Hollywood star, best known for his movie role as the
series Kath and Kim. This beloved English-born Australian
superhero Birdman. Now he’s determined to cement his
comedian and actress weaves a fascinating coming-of-age
reputation by directing a Broadway play, but not everything
story into her complex family history, as she successfully
runs smoothly between rehearsals and opening night. Stellar performances by
constructs a cohesive, intelligent and honest narrative,
Keaton, Naomi Watts, Emma Stone and Ed Norton.
exploring topics such as cultural identity, school life, friendships, diets and
sexuality. Reckoning is a thoughtful, well-written and, as one would expect from
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying: the
Japanese art of decluttering and organizing
Marie Kondo
Szubanski, humorous memoir.
While We’re Young
NF 648 KOND
(DVD)
Kondo is a woman who is serious, almost to the point
Happily married forty-somethings Josh and Cornelia (played
of obsession, about minimalism. I know this book wasn’t
by Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts) have no kids, not by
meant to be funny, but it had me laughing out loud with
choice, and are feeling stuck in their careers and in life in
advice such as: greet your house when you enter it, fold
general. When they meet twenty-something couple Jamie
and/or hang your clothes in a particular way (don’t you
and Darby, they feel young again, as they experiment with
dare fold your poor socks!), and tidy your house all in one
new fashion, hip hop classes and a psychedelic spiritual
go. The biggest takeaway message for me was to keep only those items that
ceremony (a scene that’s not for the squeamish). Whilst
truly spark joy. Now that I’ve given my house a mini KonMari treatment and had
they can’t relate to their same-age child-rearing friends
a good laugh along the way, I would love to interview Kondo and see the state
anymore, is this new friendship with young hipsters the right fit? What’s so wrong
of her house now that she has a baby. Add your name to the holds list and
with growing old anyway?
discover whether life really begins once your home is in order.
16
staff>reviews<
chandra’s film reviews
A Million Ways to Die in the West
Director: Seth MacFarlane
Writer: Seth MacFarlane,
Alec Sulkin
Starring: Seth MacFarlane,
Liam Neeson, Charlize
Theron
Rated R : 116 mins : Comedy, Western.
As a cowardly farmer begins to fall
for the mysterious new woman in
town, he must put his new-found
courage to the test when her
husband, a notorious gun-slinger,
announces his arrival.
One of the funniest comedy movies
I’ve seen in a while. This movie will
make you remember what good comedy is in a Western
Kingsman:
the Secret Service
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Writer: Jane Goldman (screenplay),
Matthew Vaughn (screenplay)
Starring: Colin Firth, Taron Egerton,
Samuel L. Jackson.
Rated R : 129 mins : Action, Adventure, Comedy
A spy organization recruits an unrefined, but
promising street kid into the agency’s ultracompetitive training program, just as a global
threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.
If you haven’t heard of this movie, I highly
recommend it as it’s the kind of movie that will
surprise you.
I give this movie 5/5.
kinda way.
AUTHOR
ANECDOTES
I give this movie 5/5.
I can remember on one occasion through a cloud of smoke, looking
across a darkening room at the noble, grave head of the Poet-Laureate
[William Makepeace Thackeray]. He was sitting with my father in the
twilight, after some family meal, in the old house in Kensington. It is Lord
Tennyson himself who has reminded me how upon this occasion, while
my father was speaking to me, my little sister looked up suddenly from
the book in which she had been absorbed, saying, in her soft childish
voice, ‘Papa, why do you not write books like Nicholas Nickleby?’
Lady Ritchie, Records, pp. 49-50.
3 April 1928, Diary of John Bailey:
Bruce Richmond has just told me a lovely story about Walter de la Mare.
He is at last getting well fast after his long illness, but he was for three
weeks at the very gates of death. On one of these days his younger daughter
said to him as she left him, ‘Is there nothing I could get for you, fruit or
flowers?’ On which in a weak voice he could just – so characteristically
– answer: ‘No, no, my dear; too late for fruit, too soon for flowers!’
From John Bailey, Letters and Diaries, p. 294.
17
staff>reviews<
Emma’s picks
Junior Fiction Review
Demolition Dad
>shelf< >shelf<
OFF THE SHELF
The Heat
off_the
Garry Disher
off_the
>shelf< >shelf<
Wyatt, cool career criminal is back. He
needs some money but bank jobs are
off_the
out: too many hothead young guys
off_the
>shelf< >shelf<
Phil Earle
on drugs; Wyatt doesn’t need their
JF EARL
unpredictability. So he takes on
A hilarious book about a young boy whose dad is a
a job in Noosa, he knows the guy
construction worker by day, but has a secret identity as the
doing the deal, old school. Break
pro wrestler ‘Demolition Man’. Often laugh-out-loud funny,
into a house and steal back a
this is a great book for young readers. A highlight for me
painting which was one of the Nazi’s
is Sara Ogilvie’s illustrations which are spread throughout
trophies during WWII. Easy. Trouble
the book, they give the book life and add to the reading
comes in the form of the guy’s niece
experience.
who is a dodgy Noosa real estate
agent keen to hit the underworld big
time. She has Wyatt in her sights
YA Review
and wants him out of the way and
Boot Camp
The beauty of Disher’s writing is his clear and logical
Robert Muchamore
YF MUCH
This is the third book in the Rock War series by Robert
Muchamore (Cherub, Henderson Boys). This series
focuses on music and teens trying to make it in a band,
and while it’s very different to the Cherub series which I
really enjoyed, Muchamore’s unique writing style sucks
the painting for herself and her lover.
plotting, attention to detail and the intensity of the read.
Why Wyatt hasn’t been made into a thrilling TV series I
will never know. I have read all of Garry Disher’s crime
novels and had the great thrill to interview him in 2011
as part of our Sydney Writers’ Festival event.
Therese
Read On: Wyatt; Kick Back; Pay Dirt.
you in and I found myself pretty invested. This is the third book in the series,
so check out Rock War and The Audition first.
18
staff>reviews<
Kathy’s Cookbooks
Traditional Christmas/
Modern Christmas
Simply Nigella:
feel good food
Australian Women’s Weekly
Nigella Lawson
641.568 TRAD
641.5 LAWS
It is that time of the year again
I am a newbie with Instagram and have
cooking, cooking and more cooking.
only started to ‘get it’. I follow Nigella and
Not to mention all the preparation
have been anticipating her new book as
that comes with it. Two books in
she has been posting photos of her new
one. Traditional Christmas on one
recipes without the recipes. Nigella, my
side flip the book over and we have
favourite female cook book author, has not
Modern Christmas on the other. The Australian Women’s Weekly
disappointed; her book is lovely and I wish
have a motto that they triple test their recipes so no excuses.
that she could come to Ashfield for a talk.
Calendar of cakes:
recipes, tips and
tricks from the South
Australian Country
Women’s Association
641.865 ROBE
A very tasty calendar indeed filled
with lots of treats for all to enjoy,
complete with lots of tips. Little
stories accompany each recipe
which makes them unique.
Rome: centuries in
an Italian kitchen
Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi
641.5945 CALD
When in Rome … eat, eat and eat. A yummy
food guide around Rome with mouth-watering
recipes. I, of course, went straight to the back
to check out the sweet things. I have always
wondered why they leave the best till last.
Why don’t cook books start with desserts and
end with mains?
19
staff>reviews<
Gina’s Crafter’s Corner
Welcome to Crafter’s Corner!
Crafting for adults and Social knitting have come to a close for the year. Our
patrons and participants have enjoyed a wonderful year knitting and creating unique
decor and jewellery. Crafts and knitting will re-commence in February 2016. Wishing
all our readers a happy festive and holiday season.
745. 5 POMP
How to package your
handmade products: tips
and creative inspiration for
crafters from crafters
Remember how much fun it was to make pompoms
Viola E. Sutanto
Make your own cute and easy
pompoms
by Pompoms
as a kid, well this book takes pompom making
658.564 SUTA
to the next level. Create pompoms with flowers,
An indispensable resource for innovative crafters
stripes, butterflies, even Christmas decorations.
and sellers, this book shows how to DIY product
Learn what tools to use, how to apply templates and much more. The
packaging for handmade goods and giving them
beautiful photography shows the final projects and gives you ideas on how
that professional edge thus turning a passion into a
to use your pompoms to give your knitting , crocheting and sewing the
lucrative business.
‘WOW’ factor.
From paper bags, bottles, wrapping, ribbons, stickers, casings and much more, the
book also includes printable box templates. The examples showcased are certainly eye
50 thrifty DIY lampshades:
how to make a lampshade in
50 ingenious ways
Adeline Lobut
745.593 LOBU
Lampshades always brighten up a dark spot, but
how much brighter do they shine when you make
them yourself. From contemporary chic, natural
organic, classic retro to boho modern, the diverse range of styles,
catching.
Totes amaze!: 25 bags to
make for every occasion
Amanda McKittrick
646.48 MCKI
A cute and quirky book for making tote bags in
all shapes and sizes with each bag designed for a
particular purpose eg. for picnics, shopping, jumbo
SUGGESTED READING
techniques and materials accompanied by simple instructions and
diagrams, useful templates and stencils, makes this the perfect book for
projects for all abilities.
beach tote and much more. It’s the perfect book for
those new to the craft and for those already adept,
as it covers all the basics and will have you creating
gorgeous, practical bags in no time.
20
YOUNG READERS
young>readers<
School Holidays
young>readers<
We have an exciting school holiday program coming up in January
young>readers<
for kids and teens. Check out the website here, the program will
PICTURE BOOKS:
K ATHY’S PICKS
EMMA’S
MUSINGS
Summer Reading Challenge
This January school holidays, the Summer Reading Challenge is
be out early December:
back! Starting the first week of January, school-aged kids can
Bookings are essential on Eventbrite.
pick up a form from Haberfield and Ashfield Libraries. Simply fill
out the form with your details, record the books you read over
the summer, and when you’ve read ten, you get a great prize!
Summer Reading Club
The theme is Lost Worlds
Underwater worlds, alternate universes, epic adventures, mythical
creatures and so much more await discovery in this summer’s SRC
program, Lost Worlds — what will you uncover?
The 2015 Summer Reading Club: Lost Worlds will officially run from
How to draw…
a n e l epha nt
With their elegant trunks, white tusks and enormous
stomping feet elephants might be easy to recognise in your
drawings but they’re tricky to get right. David Barrow has a
beautiful step-by-step guide.
Tuesday, 1 December 2015 to Sunday, 31 January 2016.
READ ON ...
15 B o o k s A s E n c h a n t i n g A s
T h e H a r r y P o t t e r S e r i e s,
Since You’ve Already
R e a d T h e m A M i lli o n T i m e s
21
Mo Willems
Pic W
A new picture book by
young>readers<
Waiting is
not easy!
young>readers<
young>readers<
young>readers<
young>readers<
young>readers<
Children’s Picture Books: Kathy’s Picks
PIC C
Mem Fox and
Judy Horacek
Little Piglet goes for his first adventure without his
mother. Poor
Pic F
little Pink Piglet
A good story to read
gets frightened
when you are trying
authors. I have already
by the other farm
to get your toddler to
tried it out during
animals. Will Pink
bed. A lovely ending to a nice story. Your child
Storytime and it was
Piglet be brave
will want you to read it over and over again.
a hit. Very fun read aloud book thoroughly
and not afraid?
Beautifully illustrated as well.
entertaining and very funny.
PIC B
You are not
my friend, but
I miss you
An extremely
Daniel Kirk
Graeme Base
Phil Cummings and Sara Davis
This & that
one of my favourite
Eye to Eye
Be Brave, Pink Piglet!
beautifully-illustrated
PIC K
new book by a
Monkey and Dog are
classic author. A
best friends. Well, they
little boy comes
were until Dog decided to take Monkey’s red ball.
eye to eye with so many animals on his journey of
Monkey decides he doesn’t need a friend and that
adventure.
he will be his own friend. Not sure if it will be a good
idea though.
Another lovely read-aloud book.
Slug Needs
a Hug
Jeanne Willis and
Tony Ross
PIC W
Poor little Slug has
realised that his mummy
doesn’t hug him. All the
other animals come up
with all sorts of ideas so that he looks huggable. Poor
Slug was unrecognisable to his mummy. Slug realises
that his mummy can’t hug him because she has no arms,
but she can kiss.
22
Emma’s MUSINGS ...
young>readers<
young>readers<
young>readers<
young>readers<
young>readers<
young>readers<
young>readers<
EMMAS MUSINGS
Emma’s Websites to Watch
So I joined the work touch football team recently. I can practically hear your
laughter as I type this. Yes, me … the girl with no co-ordination and even less
athletic ability. The girl who’s been to one NRL game in her 26 years and got
horribly confused, then bored, then had a nap in the sun. I don’t think I could
even tell you who was playing. But one team were wearing pink jerseys on the
day so I went for them by default.
What does this have to do with libraries, or books, or reading, or … well …
anything?
21 Quotes From YA Heroines
That’ll Make You Feel
Unstoppable
Absolutely love these. Inspiring quotes
from YA heroines. Here’s to celebrating
strong women in literature.
Research.
Being a librarian I thought I’d give myself a head start and brush up on some
of the rules, history etc
I spent about an hour on the Wikipedia page. I took NOTES.
I was like … diligent and stuff!
Got to training … realised pretty quickly that I had been reading the page for
rugby union and that they were not in fact the same sport and that rather than
having a head start, I had just confused myself even more.
Moral of this story: when you’re researching, make sure you’re researching the
right thing.
Don’t do an Emma.
What
Would Your
DAEmon Be?
I’ve been ridiculously happy since finding out that one of my favourite series of all
times (Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials) is being turned into a BBC One series.
Celebrate my joy by completing this quiz to see which animal would be your
Daemon in the incredible universe that Pullman created. Me? I got an Osprey.
But it’s not all bad … I got a try one week! And other weeks … well … I just
try really hard.
And, yes, I’ve already forgotten everything I read about rugby union.
23
Mondays 10am-11am Haberfield Branch
Library
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays
10am-12pm Ashfield Library
❚❚ 1 Hour Book Sales
Tuesday 26 January 2016 both
libraries closed
❚❚ 2016 is the 200th anniversary of
Charlotte Bronte’s birth
❚❚ Pick up a copy of Staffpicks 2015
from either library or check out
Book Sugestions.
Ashfield Civic Centre Forecourt
Tuesdays 1, 8, 15 December 12pm-1pm
All items 50c each or 5 for $2
❚❚ Library Hours Christmas-New Year
Both libraries will be closed from 12pm
Thursday 24 December and will reopen at
9am Monday 4 January 2016. Extended
loans from 30 to 40, extended loan periods
from 3 weeks to 4 weeks, book chutes
open, access our online resources 24/7
The Women’s Pages Debra Adelaide
A Few Days in the Country Elizabeth Harrower
Numero Zero Umberto Eco
Detective Work John Dale
A Strangeness in My Mind Orhan Pamuk
Even Dogs in the Wild Ian Rankin
Keating Kerry O’Brien
The White Road Edmund De Waal
Where’s Will: find Shakespeare hidden in his plays
Anna Claybourne Tilly
The Marvellous Funambulist of Middle Harbour Hilary Bell
and Matthew Martin
Alphabetical Sydney Hilary Bell and Antonia Pesenti
The Mountain Shadow Gregory David Roberts
HOT NEW TITLES
❚❚ Justice of the Peace
❚❚ Australia Day
❚❚ Sydney Festival 7-26 January 2016
Details on Sydney Festial web site.
❚❚ Lunar New Year: Year of the Monkey
New Year’s Day Monday 8 February 2016
CONTACT US
CONTACT ASHFIELD LIBRARY
Email us Visit our web site
Ashfield Library has a policy of not
editing submitted articles.
SUBSBOX
LIBRARY HOURS
Ashfield Central Library
Level 3 Civic Centre
260 Liverpool Road
Ashfield.
Ph: 9716 1810
Fax: 9716 1833
Library Hours
Mon-Fri 9am–7pm
Sat 9am–4pm
Sun 12noon–4pm
Haberfield Branch Library
78 Dalhousie Street
Haberfield 2045
Ph: 9716 1000
Library Hours
Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm
Sat 9am-12noon
Sun Closed
Editor Therese Scott
Reviews Library staff
Contributor: Warren Kennedy
Ashfield Central Library and Haberfield Branch Library are services proudly provided by Ashfield Council.
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24
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,
Library>what s_on<