Judy Nunn's "Maralinga"

November 2009 has been a good month for Australian author Judy Nunn. Her new novel, "Maralinga" was November's selection for the Daily Telegraph Big Book Club. To top that off, Judy Nunn was on the cover of November's edition of "Good Reading" magazine, and the lead story was about her writing career and "Maralinga". "Maralinga" is the story of British Lieutenant Daniel Gardiner, who, in 1956, accepts a twelve-month posting to the wilds of South Australia on the promise of promotion. His fiance, Elizabeth Hoffman, is an adventurous English journalist. The site Daniel is posted to is the top-secret nuclear testing facility at Maralinga. There he is drawn into the unique madness surrounding the nuclear tests, where the young soldiers and the local Indigenous people were exposed to radiation. Sarah Minns, writing for "Good reading" magazine, November issue, stated that "The book is hard to categorise: part historical fiction, part intelligent thriller, part romance, it is very compelling, and often the most memorable parts are the scenes inspired by the true accounts of the period. For example, a gripping scene in "Maralinga" portrays the time the young British and Australian soldiers were instructed to stand near the explosions wearing just their combat uniforms, so the army could test out various fabric's suitability to nuclear warfare".

Judy Nunn is one of the most popular authors in our Library.

Attention all writers!

There are some great opportunities coming up in December for writers to hone their skills. The first is the WritersLINK workshop at Macquarie Regional Library, Dubbo, on Thursday 3 December, from 9.30am- 4.45pm. The workshop lineup includes Trudi Sheppard, an experienced publicist, who will talk about PR and marketing and media release writing. Dr David Reiter will talk about the application of new media in the composing and publishing of text and cross art form works. Kathielyn Job will discuss living and working as a professional artist in regional Australia with a focus on short stories and contemporary poetry. Peter and Pat Dargin will run a session that focusses on children's books, historical biography and family history, and different forms of writing. Paul Stafford, a literacy consultant and author, will cover writing for children and will give hints and tips on the challenges encountered. His latest series of comedy-horror books "Horror High" are published by Random House Australia.

This is a fabulous opportunity to attend a regional writer's workshop, at a cost of only $25 (includes lunch). To register for this workshop you will need to contact Orana Arts, phone 6817 8705, or email Kerry Ellen kellen@oranaarts.com .

The NSW Writer's Centre in Rozelle, Sydney, are running a Masterclass; a Fiction Writing Workshop with Jean Bedford, who is a well-known Australian novelist and short story writer. She has also been a journalist and an in-house or freelance editor for many of Australia's mainstream publishers. She has taught creative writing for over 20 years in most of the universities and writer's centres on Australia's east coast and has been a judge for many prestigious writing awards. She currently lectures in Creative Writing at UTS. The objective of this workshop is to allow participants to focus on their own writing and the work of others, developing critical abilities and skills to bring the work to completion. Benefit from the insight of Jean and other writers, share your experiences and learn from other writer's mistakes. This workshop will be held on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December, 10am-4pm, at the NSW Writers Centre, Rozelle, and the cost is $250. For more information, call 9555 9757 or visit www.nswwriterscentre.org.au

Health issues- books for young people

The Library has received some new books for young people about various topical issues. The first one “Body image” by Ann Harth explores the influences on body image and self-esteem. An Australian publication, this brief book delivers lots of good food for thought in a bright, magazine style format. A second book; “Too fat? Too thin? The healthy eating handbook” is a British publication. It is also presented in a bright, attractive format with sections on body image, healthy eating, portion size, BMI, eating disorders, food groups, balanced diets and the benefits of exercise.

“Youth with bipolar disorder: achieving stability” by David Hunter and Phyllis Livingston tells a story about a young girl who develops bipolar disorder. This story is presented as a simple novel, with coloured information pages at the end of each chapter. These pages discuss the symptoms and possible causes of bipolar disorder, and treatment and techniques to maintain mood stability. This book is a US publication, presenting a lot of information in an easy-to-read format.

Another volume in the same series is “Youth with conduct disorder: in trouble with the world” by Kenneth McIntosh and Phyllis Livingston. This one tells the story of an angry, destructive boy who is diagnosed with conduct disorder. Again, each chapter of the novel is followed by a series of coloured information pages, which describe what conduct disorder is, its possible causes and treatments, and some ways of coping. While these two books are aimed at teenagers, they could help people of all ages to develop a better understanding of these disorders.

New magazines at the Library

Did you know that the Library has current magazines for you to borrow? These range from Notebook, Australian Country Style, Better homes and Gardens, Gardening Australia and Good taste to Wheels, Good health, Diabetic living, Good reading, Practical Parenting and Grass roots. We also have Handmade and Australian Patchwork and Quilting. We subscribe to Wartime, The World of Antiques and Art, Choice magazine, Australian Geographic and R.M. Williams’ Outback magazine.

We have recently added two new magazines to our collections. The first of these is Choice Computers. This is a bimonthly magazine, and it covers reviews of computers, software, devices and printers, and has tips for getting the most out of your computer. The September/ October issue tests 10 budget laptops, ergonomic keyboards and mouse alternatives and has a report on online privacy.

Our other new magazine is Australasian Dirt Bike. The October issue has a review of the new Yamaha YZ250F, the Husqvarna TE 610I.E., and the Suzuki Kingquad 500 4x4 . It also has a report on the National Motocross championships and on the 2009 Australasian Safari.
We hope you enjoy whatever you are reading this week.

Stress less over homework

Did you know that if you have a Gilgandra library card, you can log in to a free tutoring service online? The service is called “yourtutor” and you find it by going to the Library catalogue website (http://nwls.spydus.com). Scroll down the page and click on the link (“click here”) to access the program, using your library membership card number to login.

The tutoring is for year 4-12 students and is available from Monday to Friday, from 4pm-8pm. You can select from a range of subjects, so that you get a tutor who has expertise in the area you are interested in. The idea is that you would login with a specific question you wanted to ask. It might be a maths problem you are having trouble with, or an essay topic you are having difficulty researching. Or perhaps you have nutted out a plan for your essay and want to know if you are on the right track. “Your tutor” enables you to communicate with the tutor via instant messaging, and has an interactive whiteboard so you can draw a geometry question on the screen to show the tutor what your problem is. There is also a file sharing capability, so you can send your rough draft through to the tutor and receive immediate feedback. And finally, “yourtutor” enables the tutor to share websites with you through a co-browser, if you are having difficulty researching your topic.

Tutors are certified teachers, professional tutors, post graduates and advanced undergraduates from Australian universities. Gilgandra Shire Library has taken a 12 month subscription to this service, which is provided by an Australian-owned company called Tutoring Australasia. We have had the subscription for just over a month, and have received a report from the company on the last month’s usage. At the end of each session, students are asked if they were satisfied with the service, and also to give a comment. This month, a year 11 student commented that “It was excellent. They really helped me a lot and gave me ideas on how to write creatively.” So why not give it a go and maybe cut some of the stress out of homework time.

Books Alive- "Esme Lennox" is a wonderful book

“The vanishing act of Esme Lennox” by Maggie O’Farrell is one of the books listed in this year’s guide “50 books you can’t put down”. The main character, Esme, has an unhappy childhood in colonial India, and later finds herself a troubled woman in 1930’s Edinburgh. Unable to fit into society, she is betrayed by her sister and edited out of the family history for over sixty years. Then, a young woman, Iris, discovers a great-aunt she never knew she had; Esme.

This is what author, Maggie O’Farrell, had to say on her website when asked what inspired her to write this novel: “It is a novel I’ve wanted to write for a long time. I first had the idea – of a woman who is incarcerated in an asylum for a lifetime – fifteen years ago. I tried to write it then, as my first novel, but it didn’t work and I ended up abandoning it to write After You’d Gone instead. This was in the mid nineties, after Thatcher’s Care in the Community Act, when psychiatric hospitals were being closed down and patients turfed out. There were a lot of stories flying around at that time of people, particularly women, like Esme who had been put away for reasons of immorality and left to rot. A friend told me about his grandmother’s cousin, who had just died in an asylum, having been put there in her early twenties for “eloping with a legal clerk”. The idea never went away and I gradually amassed more and more stories and examples of girls who had been committed in the early Twentieth century for little more that being disobedient or recalcitrant. When you start to dig a little deeper, into case notes and medical reports, the findings are terrifying. I’ve always been interested in the idea of what happens to the same type of woman – uncompromising, unconventional, refusing to fit into the domestic role society has set out for her – at different times in history. Centuries ago, she might have been condemned as a witch but as recently as sixty years ago she might have been deemed insane and committed to an asylum.” (http://www.maggieofarrell.com/bio2.html) Sounds like an interesting premise for a book, doesn’t it?

Well, I was intrigued when I read this, and I took the book home at the first opportunity. It thoroughly lived up to my expectations. It was well written, and I couldn't wait to get back to reading it. Between sections of narrative, the thoughts of one character seague into those of another, but I never found it confusing. I found the characters believable and moving and I have since recommended it to several friends. Thank you for a wonderful book, Maggie O'Farrell.

More Books Alive!

One of the books chosen for this year’s “Books Alive 50 books you can’t put down” is “The Slap” by Christos Tsiolkas. This book begins at a suburban barbecue, where a man slaps a misbehaving child who is not his own. This event has a shocking ricochet effect on a group of people, mostly friends, who are directly or indirectly influenced by the event. It divides this group of friends, with some supporting the outraged parents of the slapped child, and others supporting the man.

“The Slap” is told from the points of view of eight people who were present at the barbecue, with each given a chapter. How they each react to the incident draws the inherent conflict between their various personalities and beliefs to the surface. The characters are not all likeable, but it is fascinating to watch the story unfold, as the incident causes them to question how their own families work and what their beliefs are. I found this book very hard to put down, though I couldn’t easily identify why. It is set in Melbourne middle class suburbia, with many of the main characters being the children of post war migrants from various countries. There are age and cultural differences between the friends and yawning gaps between them in their core beliefs, which becomes divisive for the first time when they react so differently to the slap. I think the source of my fascination with this book was that the characters are so vividly drawn that it felt as though I was taking a walk in their shoes.

Another of the “50 books” is “The true story of Butterfish” by Nick Earls. It is the story of Curtis Holland, keyboard player in the famous band, Butterfish. Butterfish has imploded, and now Curtis is in his new Brisbane home, with a studio, set up to produce other people’s music. He plans to be reclusive, to avoid recognition, but he finds his single neighbour and her two teenage children have other ideas. He becomes involved, but then the former lead singer of Butterfish turns up, glamorous and fascinating.

This book was reviewed by Thornton McCamish on July 20 on the website www.watoday.com.au. He said “Earls' characters are superb, and the conversations in which they make furtive, toe-stubbing attempts to connect with each another are hilariously rich in the unsaid and the unintended. And while Curtis' low-key style can sometimes be unaffected to the point of homespun, the prose is also capable of artful shades of feeling, especially in the passages about the missing parents who haunt this story, and in some memorable descriptions of songs and singers, and the reasons we need music in the first place.”
Happy reading!