Inheritance and Foal's Bread

‘Inheritance’, the long awaited final book in Christopher Paolini’s wonderful series, is now on the shelf at the Library. Yvonne Zipp reviewed ‘Inheritance’ for The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books), and this is part of what she had to say: “Paolini began writing the first book, “Eragon,” when he was 15, and his parents, who owned a press, published it. He traveled to schools and Renaissance fairs, hand-selling his opus, until Carl Hiassen picked up a copy for his son on a fly-fishing vacation and put in a good word at Knopf. The rest is publishing history. Eragon and his blue dragon, Saphira, were an endearing duo, but critics, including this one, noted the novel’s debt to everyone from J.R.R. Tolkien and Anne McCaffrey to George Lucas. (I caught a David Eddings reference or two in the new one.) But Paolini had readers at “dragon.” "

"This final volume offers sieges, duels, traps, secret tunnels, evil priests, more sieges, vision quests, sea monsters and man-eating snails. Aside from a sadly underused Orik, now king of the dwarves, most of our favorite characters get their moment of derring-do. Eragon’s cousin Roran, who relies on wits and sheer cussedness, has risen in the rebel ranks — despite his lack of noble birth. He’s the U.S. Grant of the Varden. The quixotic Angela, who’s never mentioned without her title “the herbalist,” demonstrates heretofore unsuspected fighting skills, like Yoda in “Attack of the Clones” Eragon’s ally and crush, the elf Arya, and the female leader of the rebels, Nasuada, remain as formidable as ever.”

We have also received ‘Foal’s Bread’, the new book from Australian author Gillian Mears.Set in hardscrabble farming country and around the country show high-jumping circuit that prevailed in rural New South Wales prior to the Second World War, ‘Foal’s Bread’ tells the story of two generations of the Nancarrow family and their fortunes as dictated by the vicissitudes of the land. It is a love story of impossible beauty and sadness, a chronicle of dreams 'turned inside out', and miracles that never last, framed against a world both tender and unspeakably hard.

‘Foal’s Bread’ was reviewed by Owen Richardson for The Sydney Morning Herald (http://m.smh.com.au/entertainment/books ) on 6th November, 2011. He wrote of it: “Gillian Mears was never merely promising: the short stories she published and the Vogel-award-winning ‘The Mint Lawn’, all written when she was still in her 20s, showed a talent already working at a high level. In all these books, there was the vitality of a young writer but it was managed by the intelligence and control of a fully mature artist. It's been 16 years since that last novel. Time and energy have been given over to the battle with illness recounted in her matchless personal essays published in ‘Heat’. With ‘Foal’s Bread’, it's good to see one of our best writers is back in the game…….The prose of ‘Foal’s Bread’ doesn't always have the compressed energy and taut rhythms of Mears' earlier work. Yet, like all her writing, it is full of crystal-sharp observations, things seen with rapt attention."

The Library will be closed from 12noon on Saturday 24th December, re-opening at 10am on Tuesday 3rd January. We wish you a very happy Christmas, and hope you have the opportunity to enjoy a great book over the holidays.

New audiobooks at the Library

We have recently received the new audiobook “Lazarus Rising” by former Prime Minister John Howard. John Howard spent decades under media scrutiny, and while he is well known as a political leader, family man and sports tragic, in this biography he reveals much more about himself. He traces his political and personal journey, from childhood in the post-World War II era through to the present day, painting an interesting picture of a changing Australia. This audiobook is read by the author, John Howard.

“Desert Queen; the many lives and loves of Daisy Bates” by Susanna de Vries is another new arrival. In the 1890’s, when a woman’s role was seen as marrying well and raising a family, Daisy Bates reinvented herself from humble governess to heiress-traveller and ‘woman of science’. She would become one of the best-known and most controversial ethnologists in history. Born into tough circumstances, Daisy’s prospects were dim. Through sheer strength of will, young Daisy overcame her miserable start, and in 1883 she migrated to Australia with a boatload of orphans, passing herself off as an heiress who taught for fun. Marriage followed, first with a young Breaker Morant, then bigamously with two other husbands. Susanna de Vries presents a complex portrait of the ‘Queen of the Never Never’. This audiobook is read by Beverley Dunn.

“And then the darkness” by Sue Williams is the story of the disappearance of Peter Falconio and the trials of Joanne Lees. This audio book was reviewed by SJH for AudioFile online magazine (http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/), and this is what they had to say: “Australia--tourist haven or murder capital? Kate Hood narrates the true-crime ordeal of English tourists Peter Falconio and Joanne Lees. While on a dream trip around the world, the couple is attacked in the Australian outback. Joanne manages to escape, but Peter is never seen again. Shortlisted for the 2006 Crime Writers Association Gold Dagger Award, the book is sprinkled with tales of Australia's criminal culture, the rough, alienated men who cruise long, barren stretches of dangerous roads, and the many backpackers murdered while traveling in Australia. Hood makes Joanne's every anguished moment real, keeping things intense--from the attack itself to the tedious police procedures in the hunt for the attacker.”

By the by, Audiofile magazine is a nifty site for audiobook readers. It has reviews of books, and information about narrators. While access to the whole site requires subscription, some of the content is available without subscription. The subscription includes six issues of Audiofile magazine. This US based site is worth a look if you are a keen audiobook reader.

These 3 audiobooks are in the MP3 CD format, so the whole audiobook is on just one CD, and can be played on modern CD players and computers. To see what other books the Library has, visit the library catalogue at http://nwls.spydus.com, or come in and browse. Happy reading and listening!

Peter Fitzsimon's new book 'Mawson'

Sir Douglas Mawson, born in 1882 and knighted in 1914, remains Australia's greatest Antarctic explorer. On 2 December 1911, his Australasian Antarctic Expedition left Hobart to explore the virgin frozen coastline below Australia, 2000 miles of which had never felt the tread of a human foot. He was on his way to fulfil a national dream he had first conceived three years earlier, while on his first trip to the frozen continent on the Nimrod expedition under the leadership of the charismatic Anglo-Irishman Sir Ernest Shackleton.

Even as Mawson and his men were approaching Antarctica, two other famous Antarctic explorers were already engaged in nothing less than a race to become the first men to reach the South Pole. While Roald Amundsen of Norway, with his small team, was racing with dogs along one route, England's legendary Scott of the Antarctic, with his far larger team, was relying primarily on ponies and 'man-hauling' to get there along another.

As Mawson and his men make their home on the windiest place on earth and prepare for their own record-breaking treks, with devastating drama to be their constant companion, the stories of Amundsen and Scott similarly play out.

In his new book, “Mawson and the Ice Men of the Heroic Age: Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen”, Peter Fitzsimons provides a compelling portrait of these great Antarctic explorers. In a recent talk reported in “The Bayside Bulletin”, Peter Fitzsimons said “Mawson's perseverance in the face of challenges and setback was inspiring. I think the thing that stood out the most for me was when Mawson finally returns and is on the home stretch, and he sees the ship he was meant to be sailing home on slowly sailing away in the distance.”

This book and many other good books are available for loan from the Library. We hope you enjoy whatever you are reading this week. To see what books the Library has, check out the online catalogue at http://nwls.spydus.com.