Happy reading

Island life

2012-02-05T12:04:00.005+13:00

This debut novel by Madeline Tobert is about a remote island surrounded by sea and its inhabitants. The sea is so important to the story that the rythm of the writing has a rise and fall like the flow of the tide and the breaking of the waves. The Sea on our skin is about contrasts: sunshine and rain, traditional island life and the modern world, sadness and happiness, violence and gentleness, the ordinary and the unnnatural, suffering and joy and lots of pain and love.
Following three generations of the Matete family, this is haunting storytelling that left me thinking about the people involved long after I had turned the last page.

The Butterfly Effect

2012-01-15T10:20:00.006+13:00

Penelope Lively's new novel How it all began starts with an event that alters the lives of several characters just as the beating of a butterfly's wings eventually results in a hurricane (James Gleick, Chaos 1998). This is a novel of manners, an exploration of relationships and circumstances with a set of character studies that fit my requirements for a good read.

Penelope Lively was made a Dame in the British New Year's Hounours list; her contribution to modern literature is impressive. As a new children's librarian in the 70's I read, purchased and promoted her wonderful stories; 1972 The Driftway, 1973 The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, 1974 The house in Norham Gardens, that combined history, fantasy and reality with such readability.
Her first adult novel, The Road to Lichfield, was published in 1977. I devoured it and have read every one of her books since then.

All the novels trace relationships amongst an assortment of characters. They also comment on memory, history and circumstance. But all are contextual and different. How it all began references several current events: street crime, financial recession, migrants and also comments on personal preoccupations: aging, loss, memory. The random incident at the beginning of the novel obliquely affects seven lives and the narrative charts the consequences and choices made by the characters as they go about their normal day to day lives. Charlotte, the main character is sensitive, sympathetic, humourous and wise and her tone is gentle satire. I especially enjoyed Charlotte's comments on reading, story, worrying and endings that were part of her musings or conversations - all seamlessly included in the development of the novel. The review from the NY Times says this is "an elegant, witty work of fiction, deceptively simple, emotionally and intellectually penetrating, the kind of novel that brings a plot to satisfying closure but whose questions linger long afterward in the reader’s mind." Exactly!

I can recommend all the novels but my own favourite is The Photograph. The children's books may seem a little old-fashioned now but I would still recommend them for fluent readers. They also make good read-alouds. Her best read aloud title, because it is amusing for parent readers, has to be The voyage of QV66 about a boatload of animals in flooded Britain. Gentle satire again.

Hard to walk on shaky ground

2012-01-07T13:07:00.003+13:00

Fiona Farrell's The Broken book defies classification; it is about walking but is not a travel book, it includes memories but it is not a biography, there are poems but it is not a poetry book. It is in fact all of these things and more.

The book consists of a Preamble, four essays on life and walking and an Epilogue but is interspered with 20 earthquake poems. The poems arrive at random times and interrupt the flow of the essays. This book shows how an earthquake can change everything in a moment. The poems comment on that immediacy while the essays are thoughtful, often meandering like walking but always connected and enjoyable.

This is a very special book - sensitive, wise, lyrical.

The reading year

2012-01-04T16:54:00.009+13:00

I read 57 books in 2011, mostly fiction, but surprisingly I increased my non-fiction reading to 6 titles. I also read a lot of poetry but since I dipped into many books to find just the right poems I did not record the titles. I'm sure that the poems I read would add up to 2 books full so that I can claim consistency with my 2010 reading total of 59 books.

An assessment of various reading blogs shows that most include a list of titles read even though titles reviewed are fewer - look out for a new addition to this blog page this year.

Some of the poems I have really appreciated recently come from the following books:

Fiere by Jackie Kay
How to survive the morning: new poems by Kevin Ireland
Mirabile dictu by Michele Leggott

The book that lead me into more poetry reading this past year is by Paula Green and Harry Ricketts and is well worth dipping into; I haven't yet managed all the suggested 99 ways into New Zealand poetry

Family stories

2011-12-04T11:13:00.008+13:00

Other people's lives, fictional or biographical, are fascinating. Memoirs, it seems, blur the boundaries between fiction and biography and although not always completely truthful are still insightful.

This is certainly the case with Hidden lives by Margaret Forster, a writer whom I greatly admire. Knowing very little about the early life of her mother and grandmother, Forster researched, imagined and embellished their social and family circumstances. It is a compelling story. I remember when I read her earlier book The diary of an ordinary woman I was unsure whether it was fact or fiction - but that didn't really matter. It was true to time and place and was an excellent story.

Another prolific writer, Joyce Carol Oates, whose novels I have enjoyed, has recently written a memoir called A widow's story. The book is about becoming a widow and all the heartache and difficulties that come with the new status but it also explores, the unknown to her, parts of her husband's life by poignantly analysing the content of a novel that he had been writing for most of his life.

I found the combination of reality and imagination in these two memoirs perceptive and revealing.

Fantasy v reality?

2011-11-06T10:19:00.004+13:00

or perhaps somewhere in between; let's call it allegory.

Reflecting on why I enjoyed The night circus by Erin Morgenstern when I am usually averse to out-of-this world experiences I examined the notion of allegory as a form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative are equated with meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. Usually the underlying meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance, but in this case meanings are related to the general social condition and the universal aspects of love, relationships, friendship, courage, perseverance and hope. And these are all readability factors for me.

The night circus has been created and exists by magic but the people who inhabit it are real and complex. Descriptions of circus decorations, activities, acts and food are vivid and inventive. The Edwardian setting gives an atmosphere of romance and possibility and the characterisation, especially of Celia and Poppet, is enchanting and credible.

There are some clever twists and elements of surprise and they all add up to a mesmerising read.

Books about books (and libraries)

2011-10-05T13:23:00.011+13:00

I want to write about two recent books, one a novel and the other a reading memoir, that are book centric but I must begin with Book book by Fiona Farrell which is a novel framed by and immersed in books but is also a reading memoir describing the significance of books from Milly Molly Mandy to Owls do cry. If you missed this one (it was published in 2004) you are in for a treat!

A first novel, The Borrower, by a new young witer Rebecca Makkai, is all about books and reading and also includes amusing glances at libraries and librarians. The library borrower is ten year old Ian but then Lucy the Librarian turns borrower when she embarks on a road trip with Ian. Along the way are references to many well known children's books and even some rather clever paraphrasing of stories. The author admits to borrowing ideas from Lolita and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to move the plot along but she has created a unique character in Ian which makes for lively if not credible reading. There have been mixed reviews about this book but I think it is worth a try.

The memoir The Reading promise by another debut writer, Alice Ozma, is an exortation for reading aloud and comes complete with an appendix of good read-aloud titles. Alice's bedtime reading with her father lasted all through her childhood and continued until she left home for college at 18 years old. There are references in the text to many books and characters and also some links to the Library profession, but the main subject is parenting and the real content is the personal story of Alice and her father. Nearing sentimentality at times, it is nevertheless an interesting look at solo-parenting and an endorsement of the importance and significance of books and reading to the human condition. Oh yes, and libraries as well!

Art houses

2011-09-14T18:10:00.008+12:00

I have surprised myself by not only reading but really enjoying a non-fiction book. My average is two non-fiction titles a year and I've reached that number already with a quarter of the year still to go.

At the top of my non-fiction list is this prize winning biography/history/social commentary The Hare with the Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal.

This book caused quite a stir in the UK earlier this year, winning the Galaxy new writer's award, the Costa Biography Award and the Ondaajte Prize for a work that "best evokes the spirit of a place". de Waal though is not writing about one place, his narrative, subtitled a family's century of art and loss, moves from Paris to Vienna to Tunbridge Wells to Tokyo to Odessa and finally to London. The story follows the family heirloom collection of Japanese netsuke as it moves from place to place with the tide of history.

A combination of family history, art history and social history and including the tragedy of war, the dehumanisation of the Jewish people and the horror of the Holocaust this book is perfectly pitched to be page-turningly readable. In the words of judge Ali Smith it is a work "whose lightness, when it comes to dealing with the weight of history, is almost miraculous" and poet Don Paterson said that the book "never slips into sentimantalism; it is as smooth and perfect as his own ceramic works".

Yes, de Waal is an artist, a potter, and describes the netsuke, the paintings and other aspects of art, design and architecture with understanding and love.

I found myself revisiting the Impressionists and the works of Klimt, searching for more images of the netsuke, reading more about Odessa and Vienna and finding out about de Waal's celadon cylinders.

Reading this book is an all-round experience; it is personal but universal, sad yet happy, interesting and enlightening. A perfect read!

State of wonder

2011-08-11T08:25:00.006+12:00

It's hard not to compare Ann Patchett's latest book to her prize-winning novel Bel Canto but it's not really helpful. State of wonder is another unique book from a good storyteller with a positive approach to her characters. Most of the people in this book want to make the world a better place but they also want to preserve what is good about the current world. The setting, deep in the Amazon jungle, and the more than difficult way of getting there, gives the book an exotic flavour but the struggles of each character with their own feelings, memories and desires provides a more urbane contemporary feel. Aspects of science, medicine, anthropology and tourism inform this novel but it is the way the characters blend and resolve their situations that is so enjoyable.
Ann Patchett says State of wonder is like all her other books in that it is about "a pocket of the world just before that pocket disappears". I really enjoyed discovering this particular pocket and thinking about its disappearance.
Hope you find it satisfying and thought-provoking too.

Caleb's crossing

2011-07-26T20:27:00.010+12:00

Geraldine Brooks provided readings, discussion and interviews about Caleb's crossing during her visit to New Zealand in June. She was very forthcoming about the historical background to her latest book, the research that she had done and the reasons for creating a female fictional narrator. Kim Hill's interview was revealing and local reviews were mostly favourable.

I found the book well-paced, full of interesting characters and fascinating details. Bethia was portrayed as a child of her time but with such spirit and intellect and humanity that she became a vital part of the story and made me want to keep on reading.

Geraldine Brooks is certainly able to take a historical idea and create a novel experience for readers, always leaving us with something new to think about. Try also People of the Book and March.

Commonplace

2011-06-01T12:35:00.003+12:00

A word usually understood to mean general or ordinary but in association with the word book, as in commonplace book, it turns into meaning noticeable or perhaps even special. Elizabeth Smither's latest book The Commonplace Book is out-of-the ordinary and very interesting.

Elizabeth Smither has always kept notes of what she reads and hears; extracts from poems, overheard conversations, headlines from newspapers and intersperses these in her notebooks with her own thoughts and memories. In the preface she calls this "a miscellany of profound or light or provocative items...form the linkages of a life as it is lived. Particularly the life of a writer as it is affected by the writings of others". This commonplace book is not a diary but it does give insight into the thoughts and creative processes of a writer.

Charming, interesting, motivating - I have started my own commonplace book!

Festival highlights

2011-05-14T21:33:00.007+12:00

Fiona Farrell's Quake story at the Gala Night

Gail Jones' articulate analysis of her writing process

Michelle Leggott's wedding poem

Barbara Strauch saying that logical reasoning is at its peak by age 60 but you still won't know where the car keys are!

Best round up of events as usual is from Christchurch City Libraries

Auckland Writers and Readers Festival 2011

2011-05-10T21:32:00.004+12:00

The 2011 Auckland Writers and Readers Festival is bigger then ever with a schools programme, the Wordy Day Out, a series of workshops, special foody events, a free Poets Laureate event, words and music with the APO and lots of "meet the author" sessions.
I'm looking forward to hearing Aminata Forna, Fiona Farrell, Meg Rosoff, Madhur Jaffrey, Emma Neale, Charlotte Randall, Gail Jones, Elizabeth Smither, Tea Orbreht, and as many others as I can fit in to the packed weekend.
Hope to see you there!

A bird house

2011-03-30T20:45:00.005+13:00

I think I've got it! Several of my previous posts have questioned memoirs as a literary genre but I now realise that adding a memoir to a book title is the publisher's construct. Authors writing about important parts of their life are not confined by genres - they are telling their own story. Annie Proulx in her latest book Bird Cloud is telling the story of her dream house and woven into that story are many strands of history, genealogy, zoology, geology, ecology, philosophy and literature, in wonderful crystal clear writing. Penelope Lively in A House unlocked described her childhood house through its many generations of residents discussing the relevant social conditions of the day and the psychology of families and relationships.

These books are more than memoirs, wider than biography and deserve not to be pigeon-holed into any particular genre. They do deserve wide reading!

5 bells

2011-03-19T14:00:00.004+13:00

Character studies of four people who visit Sydney's Circular Quay one bright sunny day are carefully created, echoes from their past are carefully constructed into their present preoccupations, while hints about their future are carefully implied in their musings in the latest novel by Gail Jones. Five bells is a novel about individuals but it explores connections: personal, social, historic and literary. It is accurate, evocative writing and includes four different brilliant descriptions of the Sydney Opera House.

I enjoyed reading this book, becoming fully involved in the lives of the characters. The entry of the fifth person and the impact of the ending have kept me thinking about the story ever since I put it down with a sigh.

Gail Jones, who has written four previous novels, will feature in the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival in May. I am looking forward to finding out more about her and reading the other novels.

Navigating memories

2011-03-05T08:33:00.006+13:00

Another example of how memoir is becoming the preferred genre to autobiography. When approached to write her autobiography Joy Cowley was reluctant but by putting together her memoirs, she has created in Navigation a set of stories on the main themes of her life that combine description, analysis and insight. A writer for children, teenagers and adults, Joy Cowley has produced hundreds of readers for schools and is a founding member of Storylines, the Children's Literature foundation of New Zealand. Her literary life is extremely interesting and it is fascinating and enlightening to read about the background to Mrs Wishy-Washy and The Silent One to name just a couple of outstanding examples of her story making.

I like the title as it suggests navigating through life to reach a destination but I found myself wanting to know more; how did she manage to write Nest in a falling tree while raising four children and helping to run the family farm? Joy Cowley is an amazing woman - what is it that shapes such creativity and output?

I'm drawn to literary biography for answers to such questions but it seems that currently I will only find such information from authors themselves through their selective memoirs.

a novel idea

2011-02-18T20:37:00.003+13:00

With all the recent discussions about book stores and book selling, here is a timely fictional tribute to the knowledge and helpfulness of the independent bookseller that is a novel read. In fact it is a novel about novels. Some reviewers describe the book as a mystery, some a love story, some a fairytale but all agree that it is amusing, intriguing and enchanting.

Translated from French by Alison Anderson, who also translated The elegance of the hedgehog, another book about books, The Novel Bookstore is essentially a list of the best novels ever written. How these books are selected, sourced, organised, promoted and sold to readers is fascinating reading but the descriptions and explanations of how the book world reacts provide some wonderful quotable comments on writers, readers, publishers and reviewers.

At the book's website you can peruse a list of the good novels. I'd choose this list above The torchlight list any day!

Comfort stops

2011-02-05T11:23:00.008+13:00

A comfy chair, a view of the sea and a good book - what more could I need?

The book is the catalogue to headland Sculpture on the Gulf 2011 and worth reading from start to finish as well as using as a guide around the exhibition. An excellent collection this year. Recycling and sustainability were common themes; seen in the plastic flags along the walkway and the data cables in the bush and emphasised by the group of nesting boxes around a pond that listed New Zealand endangered bird species.

The selectors have chosen thoughtful, humourous and questioning installations that fit perfectly with the environment: the figures in Barebottomland cascading down the hillside, the Comfort Stops at viewpoints, French knitting in the pohutakawa tree, Throwaway Fix by the water's edge.

Take the ferry to Waiheke soon, the scultpures are only there for 2 more weeks.

The hand that first held mine

2011-01-22T20:29:00.005+13:00

I love composite titles whose meanings are revealed by the conclusion of the novel. Maggie O'Farrell is good at this; her previous novel was The vanishing act of Esme Lennox .

In The hand that once held mine two stories run parallel to each other finally converging to make sense of all the previous problems and misunderstandings. Admittedly I was aware of the solution before it was actually revealed but I was captivated by way the action developed and the characters interacted and still satisfied by the ending.

At first I thought that the stories were about the two women, Lexie in the Fifties and Elina in the present; in fact the second story is about Ted, Elina's partner and father of her new son. Jonah's birth is the starting point for Ted's reconsideration of his life so far. Lexie is a great character; clever, independent, wise and a wonderful mother. Elina is an inexperienced new mother and she is poignantly drawn. The other characters are well-rounded and credible and along with the plot structure make this novel a compelling read.

Ooooby

2011-01-16T14:14:00.006+13:00

Move over Annabel Langbein and Barbara Kingsolver, here comes Fionna Hill!

A Green granny's garden: a year of the good life in Grey Lynn is a charming, readable book by Fionna Hill subtitled The confessions of a novice urban gardener. Covering similar territory to the big names mentioned above: produce from the garden to the table, month by month descriptions of planting and harvesting, and comments on the benefits of locally grown food, Fionna Hill writes however with a refreshing realism about her venture. We hear about her gardening problems and failures; we hear about the differences in her approach to the idealist organic ethos and we hear about far more gardens than her little patch in Grey Lynn.

Ooooby (Out of our own backyard) is an organisation connecting growers and eaters in communities. Fionna Hill took her microgreens to exchange there but didn't have many takers, but that's another story. I loved this book for its gardening and cooking tips, its wry comments on people and society and isms and its personalised information. I just wish that it had an index so that I can quickly find again the recipes for preserved green figs and pickled olives; my post-it notes keep dropping out of the well turned pages.

Beach reads

2011-01-09T16:40:00.007+13:00

What wonderful weather for sitting and relaxing with a book. If you like a varied cast of characters, some interesting back stories and a satisfactory ending then The Widower's tale and The good daughters fit the type very well.

Novels by Julia Glass, including The Three Junes and I see you everywhere, have been described as "panoramic multi dimensional stories". The plots unfold from several points of view and explore the complexity of family and social relationships. There is always someone or something to relate to. In this latest novel Glass turns usual or expected events upside down with life-changing results.

The good daughters in Joyce Maynard's latest novel actually refer to the propogation of strawberry plants but the metaphor holds thoughout the novel as it describes the lives of Ruth and Dana who were born on the same day in the same place. Spanning a whole life time and ultimately revealing destiny-determining secrets this is an absorbing read.

Words chosen carefully

2011-01-02T14:33:00.003+13:00

What a good title for my first post of the new year; I hope that is what I will be able to do in 2011.

Also a very apt title for an edited book of interviews with writers about their art and their inspiration. Three of my favourite New Zealand authors are included in this book: Elizabeth Smither, Kate De Goldi and Fiona Farrell and their interviews by David Hill, Kim Hill and Iain Sharpe respectively are considered, articulate, insightful and enlightening. Siobhan Harvey's introduction is well worth the read too for its discussion of literature as part of a nation's heritage.

Her revival in this book of the literary interview should appeal to all who like to attend literary events and book festivals.

stream of consciousness

2010-12-13T09:37:00.004+13:00

In Slip stream Paula Green is conscious of herself and her condition and has composed a series of poems about her movement through a period of illness. Written in the third person, these short poems are immediate and personal but they are also very well crafted. As one says:

"she doesn't try to make poetry

out of her experience but keeps a diary

like a scrap basket, just in case."

I'm pleased she did; it means the poems are understated but full of implication. And I love the references to cryptic crossword clues. Very clever.

Here is a full review from Beattie's blog

Great House

2010-12-08T09:18:00.005+13:00

This title of the latest novel by Nicole Krauss is a biblical reference to the House of David. The novel abounds with literary, historic and religious references but it is essentially an exploration of feelings of belonging and loss. Great house is composed of four inter-related stories narrated in two sections. The common thread is a huge desk that is special to many of the characters and forms an essential part of their lives and their creativity.

This book demands deep reading but you are rewarded with allusions and insights and a whole raft of quotable comments. I am still pondering over "I would not pass on a book that I had especially loved to another"

Krauss's previous novel The History of love similarly uncovers layers of meaning through analysing characters' reactions to events. Try both of these if you want an engrossing read.

Memories or memoirs?

2010-11-22T13:45:00.004+13:00

Recall is an interesting aspect of writing about one's own life. Dame Cath Tizard in Cat amongst the pigeons writes frequently that details "have vanished in the mists of my memory". True to the events or not, this is a very readable book covering the political life of an extremely busy woman and highlighting some major changes in New Zealand life over the last 50 years. She revels in the fact that there are now many more women in influential positions. This book is full of anecdotes, often amusing, about people she has met, from Royals to schoolchildren, and includes her outspoken comments about any unkindness, unfairness or discrimination that she met anywhere in the world. In her conclusion she quotes Aldous Huxley "it's a bit embarrassing to have been concerned with the human problem all one's life and find at the end that one has no more to offer by way of advice than - we should try to be a little kinder". Cath Tizard's kindness has had amazing repercussions in New Zealand and they are well-documented here.

Muddy metaphors

2010-11-18T11:13:00.001+13:00

Michele Roberts is an articulate, feminist writer; how is it that I have only previously read one of her books? I met her last month at the Beverley Literature Festival and learnt about her interests in poetry, Jane Austen and French culture. All of these appear in her recent book of short stories called Mud and subtitled stories of sex and love.

Mud, the title story explores a squidgy, sensual relationship but the idea of mud is used as a metaphor in many of the other stories in various ways including how aspects of writing can be compared to mixing earth and water to make mud.
Michele Roberts writes a story in 3 weeks but takes 3 years to produce a novel. Just out is her memoir of the 70s Paper houses that has taken 30 years to think about. A metaphor she used to talk about organising her memories and creating the book is that of ironing and putting all the neatly ironed garments into a tidy cupboard.
I'll let you know if the book really is like that.

Mesostic poems

2010-11-04T11:43:00.001+13:00

Found some wonderful poems in the Yorkshire Sculpture Park today. Arranged in a greenhouse were plant pots with labels that were poems forming the names of plants.

A mesostic poem is a vertical phrase which is
intersected by lines of horizontal text. These mesostics by Alec Finlay are composed of a name-stem and word-branches and the poems reveal something of the plant's character. The words used were very apt and described the plants charmingly. In this interview, the poet and propogator explains his approach to the project.

A unique way of bringing visual and written art together.

A Room without a view

2010-10-20T08:24:00.000+13:00

In Room Emma Donaghue has created a novel of paradox. Room is 12 foot square and contains everything Jack needs; his whole life, 5 years, has been spent in Room and we learn how Ma has loved and nurtured him during that time. Ma is captive but has made Room a safe place for her son. The story is told by Jack with naivity and precocity. We read the words to understand how Ma and Jack cope and we read between the lines to understand the horror and deprivation. Yet when they are Outside they are still not safe and we learn more about our world through the newly opened eyes of Jack.
This novel is both terrifying and charming but decidedly uplifting. It is about the power of maternal love and the importance of storytelling. Rightly discovered and entered for the prestigious Booker prize, this amazing read could well become the book of the year.

A windy place

2010-10-15T08:40:00.002+13:00

This is how Jackie Kay describes the aloneness of an adopted person who does not know about lines of heredity, stories of ancestors or family ties. In her latest book Red dust road, Jackie Kay tells the story of finding her birth parents and recognising her special ancestry. Many of her published poems have explored adoptive situations but this autobiography tells her very own story in a humourous and moving way.

I was very fortunate to hear her reading several passages from the book during the Beverley Literature Festival. Her presence is surprising; afro hairstyle, mid brown skin and broad Scottish accent, but so commanding. Her reading is always a performance and the message comes across loud and clear. I ventured to ask a question (I'm more used to running around with a microphone than speaking into one) as she had read about her birth father, her adopted mother and adopted brother and I wondered if the writing about her birth mother was more difficult? Indeed, she admitted that story is sadder and that she was unable to write about it with the humour that characterised the telling of Daniel's story but she agreed to read an extra short piece that the audience found very moving.

Jackie said that there are 3 families in this book which is a multivoiced memoir even allowing room for the reader to tell their own story along the way. What really struck me was the portrait of her adoptive parents as the most loving, understanding, conscientious people. The red dust road refers to the landscape of Nigeria that overwhelmed her on first arrival in the country. Her new relationship is to her ancestral land rather than to her father. And her final comment was that the story is still unfolding. Jackie Kay's ability to communicate so much through her prose and poetry is astounding. Listen to her here

Beauty in books

2010-10-07T07:26:00.001+13:00

Beauty in Books is the title of the current display at Beverley Public Library. It refers to the bibliomania and bibliosophia of John Edward Champney, Edwardian resident, book collector and benefactor. He provided the funds to build the Library and bequeathed his art collection to found the Art Gallery. On display were illustrated books by Arthur Rackham and Walter Crane and local works about Yorkshire by the sea. There will be a lecture called "Introducing Champney's books: conserving for future generations".

On the journey over to Britain I read People of the book by Geraldine Brooks that made me think about books as pieces of art and history. Fascinating story and ideas.

Many of the comments I have received when discussing ebooks relate to books as artifacts, as beautiful containers for the stories within and how we may lose the fascinating visual element of illustrated material. Perhaps I'll go to the lecture and ask about ebooks - there's a lot to think about.

Notwithstanding the English

2010-10-03T09:26:00.001+13:00

Louis de Bernieres, the first speaker at the Beverley Literature Festival, discussed his latest book Notwithstanding: stories from an English village and answered questions from the audience about Englishness. His previous books have all been set in more exotic places but he has realised that there is a lot of material much closer to home. In a series of linked short stories, he introduces a cast of unusual characters and gently hints at how English village life is gradually changing.

The Beverley Festival programme covers fiction, biography, poetry and politics with local authors and stages events over ten days. A Children's Literature Festival is also happening at the same time - wonder if they need another volunteer?

Reading the pictures

2010-09-29T03:27:00.001+13:00

In Beverley I have discovered an interesting way of displaying artworks. 22 paintings have been reproduced and brought out of the gallery onto the streets. Frederick Elwell born in Beverley in 1870 found inspiration for his paintings in the town; local people and places feature significantly. Now the local and domestic views can be found in prominent places around the town with explanatory captions.

It's a brilliant idea and I'll be walking the whole trail to see and read about local history.

Travel reading

2010-09-18T14:58:00.000+12:00

My Kobo is loaded with books for my journey, 27 hours of flying and a 10 hour layover. Included are modern classics that I haven't got round to reading: The Song of the Lark by Will Cather and Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, contemporary titles that somehow I missed on publication: The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak and People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, and some book group suggestions that I didn't have time for: Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Boudain and A Book of Common Prayer by Joan Didion.

Interesting that three of the titles include the word book!

Guide to a happy life

2010-09-13T07:35:00.002+12:00

Fiction is full of unhappy lives; the happy ones seem more difficult to write. The first part of Anna Quindlen's latest book Every last one depicts a happy, normal family and yet you know that something is going to happen to change that. What does happen is unexpected but the happiness is somehow restored by the end of the novel. My previous favourite novel by Quindlen is Blessings but I have also found her two small books of non-fiction very readable and well-written.

In How reading changed my life she comments that "In books I have travelled, not only to other worlds but into my own. I learned who I was and who I wanted to be, what I might aspire to and what I might dare to dream". In a Short guide to a happy life she reflects on how to live well taking nothing for granted. This is a short book with a message - one that I can relate to.

For several years Quindlen has written for the New York Times developing her concise, precise style. Many American and British newspapers publish columns by the best fiction writers of the time, readable for their choice of language and structure, and offering more than journalism. I'm looking forward to reading such columns while I am in England - look out for more comments on this.

NZ Post Book Awards 2010

2010-08-29T19:18:00.001+12:00

As the earth turns silver by Alison Wong won the Fiction Award at the 2010 NZ Post Book Awards this weekend. Judge Charmayne Poultney said ‘Based on meticulous research, this novel opens new windows on the development of our nation; it also opens our hearts to the anguish caused by racism, ignorance, failures in family relationships and communication, and war. The book is a delight to look at and hold, as well as deeply moving to read,’ The author herself said that she was inspired by her own family history and informed by her research but that she wanted to write about what it feeels like to be in such situations. In discussing her approach to writing, Alison Wong explained her love of beautiful language, she still writes poetry, and mentioned reading the works of Marilynne Robinson. Brian Turner, who won the Poetry Award, also noted the poetic language of Gilead and Home by Robinson. They are absorbing reads.

Always in the running for the Fiction Award, I put in my vote for As the earth turns silver for the People's Choice Award. This year the popular vote went to Al Brown's Go Fish, a "cook book with attitude" - lots of recipes, helpful hints, beautiful photos and important messages about food and sustainability.

The book or the film?

2010-08-15T20:32:00.002+12:00

This is a topic that comes up at BookChats often; should we read the book before seeing the film? can we see the film without having read the book? shall we see the film instead of reading the book? why bother with the film if the book was good? I am reliably informed that although an excellent film The Girl with the dragon tattoo is infinitely better in book format because there is so much more story in the book. I cannot comment on this as I have neither read the book nor seen the film and probably will not do so. But that does suggest that the book and the film can be seen not only as different media but also as different stories.

I have just been reading and watching the film previews of Eat, pray, love and think that this might be the case here. I enjoyed about half of the book: the whole of Italy, about a third of India and just some of Indonesia. If the film has picked out the best bits and given them some flow and cohesion, then I'll be pleased to watch.

The best example I can give of both a successful book and film is The Time traveler's wife. Yes, there are more episodes and descriptions in the book and more soul searching but the film was poignant and brought out the daughter's story very well.

I think books into films will continue to be an interesting topic for discussion - there is a brilliant, although not completely up to date, list at Based on the book. Happy reading and viewing!

What's in a novel?

2010-08-09T11:40:00.002+12:00

I'm looking for a good story, interesting characters and a satisfying ending. Also that special something that makes the whole thing novel.

36 arguments for the existence of god by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein includes a debate on belief and faith and a description of ritual in a religious community. Not normally the domain of the novel, this book contains plenty of philosophy, anthropology, psychology and theology. I found it all fascinating and thought-provoking. The author has been both praised and criticised for her erudite approach.

A similar response occured in British reviews when A.S. Byatt published The Children's Book suggesting that she was too clever and was showing off her knowledge of art, literature, culture in the Edwardian era. I loved this book too; it had all the appeal factors listed above but it also helped me understand more about fabianism and early writing for children for example.
If you like a good dense read with some challenging ideas try these novels from two well-educated writers.

Who's telling the story?

2010-08-01T21:42:00.002+12:00

It's no secret that I read books mostly by women authors as I can relate better to the female perspective. And then along comes a male writer who writes a female character very effectively. In Brooklyn, Colm Toibin describes two years in the life of Eilis who leaves Ireland in the Fifties for a better life (or so it seems) in America. The voices in this novel are predominanatly female with the male characters mostly playing minor parts. The three major males are very kind and sympathetic men, making this appear to be a gentle read. It does however raise some important questions about family and loyalty and appreciation of others and can best be described as a thoughtful read. My list of favourite male authors has now increased to three!

Sometimes I also experience difficulty with a female writer who takes on a male perspective but was pleasantly surprised by Lionel Shriver's latest book So much for that. Shriver's narrator ends up caring for three sick people from different generations - some special person. This well developed story has a political and financial theme but it is the way the individuals deal with their problems that moves the story along and makes the male voice quite acceptable!

Poetry

2010-07-24T20:38:00.001+12:00

National Poetry Day, this year on Friday 30 July, aims to involve as many people as possible in celebrating poetry, poets and poems. There are events all over the country and also newspaper and radio items and interviews. The New Zealand Post Poetry Award for 2010 will be announced in August.

Newly published, and not eligible for this year's poetry award, is a lovely little book by Fiona Kidman called Where your left hand rests. Within the attractive cover and endpapers are beautiful illustrations and fascinating poems that encapsulate a deep sense of family and history. Various images of Victorian embroidery separate the sections of the book but the repetition of a perfect rose provides continuity. This is a special book to hold, look through and read - a little treasure.

Private life

2010-07-17T21:25:00.002+12:00

The latest novel by Jane Smiley, Private life, describes the lifetime of one woman, a very private life indeed but it occurs over 70 years of public and significant events in American history including the 1905 San Francisco earthquake, the Great War, the Spanish flu epidemic and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. What unfolds against this panarama of history is Margaret's internal struggle to understand herself and her relationships with those around her. In conversation with Kim Hill, Jane Smiley admitted that she set out to write an interesting story and used an eccentric character from her own family as a basis for Captain Andrew Jefferson Early. Posing the question "how does a normal person keep up with abnormality around them" Jane Smiley suggested the book could be seen as a parable for modern American society. I think what she has brilliantly achieved is a distillation of the many threads, forces and coincidences that shaped the life of Margaret and her sad marriage, into a symbolic study of selflessness.

Jane Smiley's book contains several other effective character studies; a Japanese midwife, an elusive male friend and the very independent Dora, a journalist who becomes a European war correspondent in 1916. Another novel worth reading with a female war correspondent, this time during the Second World War, is the Postmistress by Sarah Blake; also a study in the personal versus the political and how people cope in difficult situations.

a book or a Kobo?

2010-07-09T21:13:00.000+12:00

Not the right question? It's the content that matters. Ask instead - a novel or a biography, historical or contemporary, funny or serious, light or challenging?
What we read is more important than how and I am increasingly concerned about the articles and letters stating that the feel of a book, the smell of the pages is an integral part of the experience. For me it's the story every time.
Now I can choose to read a printed book or to download to my Kobo and I'm doing both quite happily. The pleasure of hunting out a good read and then getting hold of it and then just reading and reading - thank goodness it's the weekend!

The June issue of Good Reading Magazine, available by the way in print or online, included an article on music in novels. One title listed that I haven't read is now on my Kobo, immediate transfer, no waiting in a reserves queue or travelling to the bookshop and I can fit it easily into my bicycle basket.

Shortlisted - but how to choose the winner?

2010-07-01T20:54:00.002+12:00

Two novels and a book of short stories are the finalists for the fiction category of the New Zealand Post Book Awards 2010.
I want both the novels, As the earth turns silver by Alison Wong and Limestone by Fiona Farrell, to win and almost wish they had been listed in separate years.
I enjoyed both of them as they are highly readable quality fiction and well deserve being on this shortlist.

Contrasting these two novels reveals: a first time author and a very well established author; a story firmly set in New Zealand and a story that roams the world; a story that includes historical reality and a story that is wonderfully imaginative; a novel of short, sharp chapters and a novel of long complex chapters; an exploration of the past and an analysis of the present. Comparing the two books we find expressive writing and wonderful metaphors, character development and poignant personal moments, a feeling of how the past explains the future and the satisfaction of reading a well structured book and learning from it.

Since I chose As the earth turns silver for my banner above I think I must back this one as the winner - the announcement will be on Friday 27 August. I can even vote for it in the People's choice award.

Here is another recommendation for you

2010 NZ POST BOOK AWARDS FINALISTS:
Fiction: As the Earth Turns Silver by Alison Wong, Limestone by Fiona Farrell, Living as a Moon by Owen Marshall.

Poetry: Just This by Brian Turner, The Lustre Jug by Bernadette Hall, The Tram Conductor's Blue Cap by Michael Harlow.

General Non-Fiction: Aphrodite's Island by Anne Salmond, Beyond the Battlefield: New Zealand and its Allies, 1939-1945 by Gerald Hensley, Cone Ten Down: Studio pottery in New Zealand, 1945-1980 by Moyra Elliott and Damian Skinner, Encircled Lands: Te Urewera, 1820-1921 by Judith Binney, The Invention of New Zealand Art & National Identity, 1930-1970 by Francis Pound.

Illustrated Non-Fiction: Art at Te Papa edited by William McAloon, Go Fish: Recipes and stories from the New Zealand Coast by Al Brown, Maori Architecture: From fale to wharenui and beyond by Deidre Brown, Marti Friedlander by Leonard Bell, Mrkusich: The Art of Transformation by Alan Wright and Edward Hanfling.

All are available through North Shore Libraries.

Orange books

2010-06-24T19:55:00.005+12:00

The 2010 winner of the Orange prize for fiction is Barbara Kingsolver with The Lacuna. Daisy Goodwin, Chair of this year's judges, said "we chose The Lacuna because it is a book of breathtaking scale and shattering moments of poignancy". The scale is from Trotsky to McCarthy and the poignancy comes from the narrator's dealings with other people: his mother Salome, his mentor Frida Karlo, his assistant Violet Brown, as his past is explored and the present unfolds alarmingly. The book is about many things: art, politics, history, news and gossip, and the reader must work hard to fit all the pieces together. Kingsolver is exploring how we get to be who we are. In this case there is a gap, a lacuna, that is understood if you read optimistically to the very end.

The winner of the 2010 Orange award for new writers is Irene Sabatini for The boy next door. Set in Zimbabwe, this can be described as a love story with political scenery. From the first page I have found the writing is fresh and engaging and I am looking forward to reading the rest of this book.
The award for new writers always finds emerging talent and brings them to wider attention.

Last year's winner of the Orange award for new writers was Francesca Kay. I found the biographical style and the domestic descriptions in her novel An Equal stillness very real and evocative. She highlights the feelings of a talented artist struggling to mmet the demands of family responsibility. Her relationship with her husband and also with her art is all about balance. As Jennet finds her way, her husband is losing his and the reader learns more about that essential selfishness that drives the creative artist.

There is a wonderful blog devoted to the reading of Orange prizewinning writers that has some very interesting postings from readers all over the world; there are full reviews and comments and other news. It is well worth a look.

Funny books

2010-06-13T21:02:00.001+12:00

Not exactly laugh out loud titles but three amusing books that I have read recently:

Major Pettigrew's last stand by Helen Simonson has received rave reviews from all quarters - it is an English village novel with an unusual cast. There are the expected stock characters; the Lord of the Manor, the retired general, the Captain of the golf club and then the more contemporary characters; the Pakistani shopkeeper and the single mother. All are entertainly drawn. The action is somewhat predictable but the humour lies in the asides about class division, modern educational standards, global finance and family dynamics.

Sex and Stravinsky by Barbara Trapido has a very attractive cover and enjoyably twisted content; mismatched couples ultimately get rearranged. Set in England and South Africa this novel is another case of family dynamics producing farcical situations. The book is well structured and the characters are sharply developed. Trapido is a clever and competent writer and creates just the right amount of amusement and implied judgment.

Laura Rider's masterpiece by Jane Hamilton also veers towards farce but handled by such a good writer this becomes satire at its best. In line of attack are radio presenters, creative writing teachers, lawyers and academics but it's a romance writer who wins the day. Another twisted plot with manipulated characters and lots of contemporary preoccupations; gardening, gourmet cooking, email, UFOs but all knitting together very well - very droll.

For some light reading that will make you smile, try one of these.

Reading by moonlight

2010-06-05T20:04:00.003+12:00

Lovely title, especially for the first ebook that I have read on my Kobo, but not a lovely subject. Reading by moonlight by Brenda Walker, subtitled how books saved a life, describes in five sections; surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, reconstruction and survival, the author's thoughts, feelings and fears about breast cancer and, alongside those, her reactions to and her understandings of the books that were important reading for her at the time.
This book is full of metaphor and quotable insights and I found it a mesmerising, lyrical read. Walker is a teacher and writer in Western Australia and has succeeded in explaining cancer diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation in a hopeful, inspiring way.
She commented that she "likes to read books that show us ways other people deal with problems" and Reading by moonlight is itself a perfect example.

I have read several novels that explore women's reactions to cancer; interestingly two that I would recommend are also by Australian writers and the third is by Stella Duffy who spent her childhood in New Zealand.

In The Spare room Helen Garner writes about the joys and limits of female friendship under the pressure of terminal illness. This book is both angry and funny and shows the resourcefulness of the characters when faced with medical and social difficulties. Books and writing play a part here too and Helen Garner chooses her words carefully to add atmosphere.

Debra Adelaide's novel The Household guide to dying is also funny whilst dealing with the sadness of a younger woman and her terminal cancer. There are links to books here too as Delia, the narrator and cancer sufferer, is the author of a series of Household guides usually containing more than the expected domestic content. That is also the case with The Household guide to dying since she can write chapters on Wills and wishes and Funeral festivities, including paint your own coffin, but she cannot write the chapter on the afterlife as she has not reached there yet!
There is much domestic detail and family consideration that is empathic for the reader. Indeed there is much empathy and sympathy in this novel. I wept.

Cindy, the narrator in the State of happiness by Stella Duffey, is not a writer but a map-maker but there are also revealing metaphors here as she deals with a progressive disease. The writing is cool, almost clinical and not emotional but it still has an impact that stayed with me after I finsished reading. One reviewer wrote "It's perfectly possible (once you've recovered from the reading) to use this remarkable book as a resource and have some coping strategies in the knowledge store because Stella Duffy made me think quite clearly and lucidly around what would I do, what would I feel, how would I deal with it, would I be like Cindy?"

And I think that's what Brenda Walker meant about learning from books.

Book, Boko? Kobo - yes!

2010-05-30T20:40:00.001+12:00

The future has arrived already.

My Kobo is loaded and ready. It is easy to read, easy to hold, easy to navigate and easy to carry around. I have 100 selected classics from the Gutenberg project, several New Zealand classics from the NZ Electronic text centre and one ebook that I have purchased; there is no public library system yet for the loan of ebooks.

The Kobo e-reader was launched in New Zealand on Thursday and sold out on Friday. I will have mine with me at the Library for anyone to test but if you want to know more details read Martin Taylor's review.

e-books, i-pads, q-books......

2010-05-27T17:22:00.003+12:00

......what will we be reading in the future?

This question was posed at the last session of the AWRF that I attended. Called Read any good bytes lately?, it was a panel discussion about electronic reading and the new toys for reading. In fact the plan had been to have a room of devices for reading for festival goers to explore and test but unfortunately that was not possible. I was really looking forward to that as I want to know how different an experience it will be reading from a machine instead of from a printed book. After all the story, the words, the meaning will be the same won't they?

Paul Reynolds, internet guru, Web 2.0 enthusiast and Library advocate, lead a discussion about how we are moving away from the traditional model of the book towards digital interactive material. Rhonda Kite demonstrated on an i-pad two children's books that were designed to aid reading development and comprehension. The discussion was wide ranging but inconclusive. I felt concerned that in this runaway digital environment we might lose some quality. Our book industry, developed over time, has created various means of quality control; for example we have well-read book reviewers, literary criticism and international awards. We will need digital equivalents of these that offer more than star ratings!

Paul maintained that the functions of libraries and librarians will be increasingly important - that is why everyone was so sad this week to hear of his sudden death. His funeral was held today and tributes from all around the country have appeared on blogs and websites:
http://brianedwardsmedia.co.nz/2010/05/on-the-death-of-dr-paul-reynolds/
http://beattiesbookblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/paul-reynolds-r.html
http://www.aucklandcitylibraries.com/blog/scooperonlibraries.aspx
http://publicaddress.net/6638#post6638

New Zealand writers are international too

2010-05-20T20:31:00.000+12:00

Among the big names from overseas, John Carey, William Dalrymple, Lionel Shriver and Colm Toibin, attending the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival our own New Zealand authors were equally articulate, interesting and challenging. And many of them are known internationally too; C.K. Stead has recently won the inaugural Sunday Times (UK) short story competition, Rachel King's first novel The Sound of butterflies was published in nine countries, Paula Morris teaches creative writing in New Orleans and was a finalist for the Commonwealth writers prize.

King and Morris discussed their books, their research, their approach to writing and their reading preferences with a great chairperson, Dorothy Vinicombe, and an attentive audience. They are both New Zealand writers but with worldwide perspective.

Personally I prefer the writing of Rachel King (pictured) which I find
detailed and atmospheric. Her novels are certainly unusual; they are historical dealing with ancestry, inheritance, collecting, tattooes, taxidermy but, especially in Magpie Hall, she brings those preoccupations right up to date. Read it and enjoy!

Her own blog, called the sound of butterflies, is well worth reading too.

Crowds of readers

2010-05-15T22:17:00.001+12:00

Saturday sell-out successes at the Writers and Readers Festival were:

Colm Toibin, best known for The Blackwater lightship, who was recently named in the Costa Book Awards for Brooklyn, a story about an Irish woman emigrating to Brooklyn in the 1950s
Lionel Shriver, best known for We need to talk about Kevin, explaining her newest novel So much for that, an indictment of the state of health services in America and an exploration of how individuals come to terms with serious illness and dying
Charlie Higson, the writer of the Young James Bond novels, proving with his new horror series beginning with The Enemy that books can appeal to teenage boys
C.K.Stead who filled the upper room to capacity with the very first outing of South-West of Eden: a memoir 1932 -1956

Quotes from Lionel Shriver

Libraries are expressions of social generosity
Book groups are a healthy cultural phenomenon

Thanks to Roberta Smith from Christchurch Libraries for her interesting interview with Lionel Shriver

Ideas need words

2010-05-14T22:30:00.001+12:00

This is the publicity slogan for the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival and it is emblazoned in capital letters 3 inches high on the volunteers' t-shirts. As I was heading for the bus stop tonight after a day of ideas and words someone pointed at me and said "that's not true you know". Well, I hadn't actually thought about it until that moment but I do think that people need books and books contain ideas and words describe those ideas and so I am quite happy with the phrase. It's not exclusive; ideas need images too and art is included in the Festival. Perhaps I will stop to chat with the next person who contradicts my t-shirt.

Today I heard Elizabeth Smither reading some of her poetry and talking about Lola, a novel that I have already read but I enjoyed hearing about its genesis and background.

An excellent session followed, chaired by Kim Hill with Anne Salmond and Thomas Keneally discussing their various historical books. Much of the discussion concerned the "cultural faultline" - that space between the new settlers and the native populations in Australia and New Zealand. Thomas Keneally hopes that his writing affirms the humanity of our ancestors on either side of the race divide whilst Anne Salmond sees herself dancing on the line cherishing things from both sides. She is always curious to find out what happened in the past to create a richer story and expects a blur between fiction and non-fiction if imagination is brought into the explanation of an event. Thomas Keneally then stated that "fiction is trying to tell the truth by telling lies whilst history is trying to tell the truth by trying to tell the truth". Thomas Keneally was amusing, Anne Salmond was expansive and Kim Hill was well-prepared, perceptive and probing with her questions. Her radio interview with Thomas Keneally will be worth listening to - find it here if you missed the broadcast.

Festival off to a flying start

2010-05-14T09:21:00.001+12:00

The 2 day schools programme at the AWRF was a great success - packed audiences for both local and international writers with lots of questions and chatter and vows to read all the books. Anna McKenzie and David Levithan were the big hits. Anna Mackenzie's The sea-wreck stranger is a well thought out story set in a possible New Zealand landscape.

The Opening night event in the ASB theatre was also packed, the audience listening eagerly to the readings of five very different writers. Commentating on the Festival is a team from Christchurch Libraries who are producing several blog posts a day with audio interviews as well. Check out the Christchurch blog here. Richard Liddicott described last night session in these terms:

Thomas Keneally had some masterful turns of phrase; Emily Perkins read an unpublished piece full of sensory detail; Colm Toibin read as if he was delicately tip-toeing a merry dance, even breaking into song; Lionel Shriver displayed her ‘beguiling barbarity’ – dropping some swear-bombs that had the audience squeezing their knees together, but also some stunning phrases such as ‘kisses that were like sucking a coin’; William Dalrymple capped it all off with his fascinating descriptions of ‘religious lunatics’. Minstrels who make Glastonbury look like a Rotary dinner, an orthodox priest on the West Bank, and a cricket-loving Indian customs official who loved ‘Bottom’ – Ian Botham.

I agree that it is a treat hearing from the authors direct. Richard's final comment was that in print they impress you – in person they astound.

I'm back at the festival today to be astounded!

Auckland Writers and Readers Festival

2010-05-10T20:34:00.000+12:00

starts this week!
I love attending book festivals to listen to authors and meet other readers. There is always a buzz at such events with people talking non-stop about books.

The Auckland Readers and Writers Festival is held annually in May and begins this year on Wednesday 12 May with public events held at the Aotea Centre from Friday 14 to Sunday 16 May. See the printed programme available in Libraries and bookshops or visit http://www.writersfestival.co.nz .

Actually just to feel the atmosphere you can pop into the Aotea Centre over the weekend and visit the bookstall – you are bound to see some of New Zealand’s top literary figures and there will be international authors signing copies of their books as well. Inspiring!

Books not bombs

2010-05-05T20:21:00.001+12:00

Following on from the huge success of Three cups of tea, ex-mountaineer Greg Mortenson has written Stones into schools; promoting peace with books, not bombs in Afghanisatan and Pakistan in which he charts the progress of his charitable organisation to establish schools, especially schools for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. His philosophy is that "if you educate a girl, you educate a community". The work of his 'dirty dozen' to reach such inaccessible areas and the speed with which schools have been constructed is amazing in areas that are war-torn and earthquake damaged.

The importance of education to national reconstruction and development is Mortenson's driving factor but both books are written with compassion and humility about the people involved, about cultural relationships that are built on respect and trust, about girls' individual successes and both offer hope for the future.

What is it about Canadian writers?

2010-04-26T22:05:00.000+12:00

Margaret Atwood, Carol Shields and Alice Munro are at the top of literary lists and I recommend Cat's eye, The stone diaries and Runaway as "must reads". But there are other contemporary Canadian writers who deserve to be read more widely.

I have just read February by Lisa Moore and was impressed by its uncovering of feelings through her analysis of family situations and an appalling tragedy. The narrative spirals round and round a preoccupation but is resolved in an understated way leaving the reader to fit the pieces together. Very satisfying.

And immediately afterwards I read Good to a fault by Marina Endicott which won the Commonwealth Writers Prize in 2009. Considered a social observer in the tradition of Jane Austen - Barbara Pym - Anne Tyler (yes, all on my list of highly recommended writers), Marina Endicott has drawn an unlikely picture of cohabitation and peopled it with memorable characters. She comments with wit and wisdom on illness, death, religion and goodness and provides another credible and satisfying ending.

Listen to an interview with Marina Endicott

What makes a New Zealand novel?

2010-04-16T16:38:00.000+12:00

The classic New Zealand novel by Jane Mander, The story of a New Zealand river explores feelings of isolation, remoteness and loneliness but there is a way for Alice to come to terms with her surroundings.

A modern New Zealand novel by poet Elizabeth Smither considers feelings in terms of family rather than landscape but it also includes a growing awareness of self that makes for interesting reading.
This contemporary novel, just like modern life, is wider than New Zealand including sections set in Australia and trips overseas.

Lola is a gentle read, written poetically with wry humour and I enjoyed it very much.

First person narratives

2010-04-12T14:59:00.000+12:00

First person narratives in fiction are always interesting, sometimes not reliable and increasingly speaking from elsewhere! I'm thinking about the books narrated after a character's death; The Lovely bones, If I stay and Her fearful symmetry in particular.

What links these books is that the narrator is trying to make sense of the current situation by considering the past and the possible future. In essence, these books explore relationships between the narrator and the other characters but because of the narrator's unique position they have more knowledge than any of the other characters. That adds an extra element of analysis and consideration that I have enjoyed in these three novels.

And I have just noticed that the covers are a similar shade of blue - now I wonder if that is significant too?

Morrall titles

2010-03-31T12:40:00.000+13:00

I just love the titles of the books by Clare Morrall. I first read Astonishing splashes of colour when I learnt that it had been shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2003. Then I found The language of others in the Heathrow airport bookshop and read it non-stop on my journey home to New Zealand. I have just finsished her latest book The Man who disappeared and realise that I like them all for similar reasons: they are about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances or maybe extraordinary people in ordinary circumstances; her characters lead interesting lives but there are always issues that need resolving. She describes people and situations with an understanding eye and lets her readers draw their own conclusions. Insightful, I would say!

Andrea Levy

2010-03-23T13:58:00.000+13:00

Andrea Levy, author of the Orange prize-winning novel, Small Island is in New Zealand talking about her new book The Long Song. With articles in The Herald and interviews on the radio she is gaining lots of interest and rightly so. In conversation with Carole Beau at The Raye Freedman Centre, she explained the origins of the book and its links with her family. She was both funny and serious and a pleasure to listen to.She switched her Jamaican accent off and on to read from the new book in the voices of various characters. In fact, she has recorded the audiobook herself and I am seriously considering listening instead of reading this time.

Fiction on Friday

2010-03-12T19:58:00.000+13:00

Although today began with two history sessions; serious stuff too, a panel on Judith Binney's books and then James Belich on Replenishing the earth, it was the fiction writing that formed most of the programme and I made a list of books to request and authors to investigate:

Alligator and February by Lisa Moore (pictured left) are set in Newfoundland. Lisa's writing is sharp but sympathetic and I'd like to see how it fits with other contempoarry Canadian writers that I've enjoyed.

The good parents by Joan London, a celebrated Australian writer, sounds dark but evidently explores intimacy.

American novelist Susanna Moore started her writing life with three books set in Hawaii that explore place, family and identity. She wrote the erotic thriller In the cut filmed by Jane Campion but read from her latest book The big girls a narrative about the aftermath of a brutal murder. Not my kind of read but I'd certainly like to find out about her early autobiographical novels.

The fiction finale brought together Neil Gaiman and Margot Lanagan with chairperson Kate de Goldi in a talkfest accompanied by thunderclaps, strong winds and drumming rain - yes, the southerly came through but Neil Gaiman kept a straight face and continued talking about sinsiter things in graveyards!

Discoveries on Thursday at the Writers' Festival

2010-03-11T21:03:00.000+13:00

The first session this morning with Geoff Dyer was very funny. I didn't know about him but North Shore Libraries does have some of his books. He is a travel writer, a columnist and a novelist who makes his readers work hard. His titles are carefully chosen to give clues about the book's content; for example Yoga for people who can't be bothered to do it and his latest Jeff in Venice, death in Varanasi which is made up of two parts with no narrative links but containing little clues and pointers to enhance the reader's understanding of the story. He was intellectual and witty and chairperson Emily Perkins was his equal.

Kamila Shamsie, author of Burnt shadows, is my choice for "best at the festival".

She has written four previous novels, collectively referred to as the Karachi novels, in which she explores the powerful legacies in the history of Pakistan; politics, war, love, family, food, flora, language, religion and gender. Burnt shadows is an international novel, an epic narrative - a very readable one that spans 5 continents and 60 decades relating the experiences of one woman affected, indeed buffeted, by a series of historical events from Nagasaki in 1945 to 9/11 in 2001.
Kamila talked about her books and her life with Kate de Goldi for an hour that passed so quickly. She was engaging, articulate, perceptive and a worthy nominee for the Orange Prize.

Further impressions from Thursday

Margot Lanagan shocked many in the audience
Bill Manhire's poetry reading was moving
Peter Singer got a full house and had many followers in his audience
At 12 o'clock I was on Freyburg Beach in the hot sun but by 2 o'clock after the next session it was raining and my feet were cold: guess I'll remember the first two blue sky days!

Highlights from Wednesday in Wellington

2010-03-10T21:16:00.000+13:00

Walking along the waterfront watching the sun rise
Emily Perkins reading from her novel in progress
Catching up with "old" colleagues from various places
Watching Audrey Niffenegger smile her way through a huge signing queue
The fig icecream

Sarah Waters has written 3 novels set in Victorian times and 2 set in postwar Britain. She described The Little stranger as exploring tensions, social, cultural and personal. She likes to surprise her readers but also wants the story to be intelligent, gripping and emotionally true. Her historical settings are not meant to recreate the past but to look at it with fresh eyes. That is quite different to Sarah Dunant's approach. The Little stranger is her most recent book and was shortlisted for the Booker prize but I prefer Night watch.

Audrey Niffenegger is an author, an illustrator and a teacher and a very interesting person to listen to. She described her books as extremist but appeared to be a gentle, bashful person. Her fearful symmetry is a twenty first century take on a nineteenth century novel and took a long time to research. She even became a tour guide at Highgate Cemetry in order to understand how to write it into the story. The Time traveler's wife was a huge success but she has not and will not see the movie as she holds her own pictures in her mind. She did work very hard constructing the story so that the "rate of reveal" was just enough to keep the action rolling along. She thinks fiction is unlimited in what it can offer the reader but it must still be recognisable with a certain amount of reality.

Gala opening

2010-03-09T22:02:00.000+13:00

Tonight was the first of 46 book related events happening in Wellington over the next six days. Kate de Goldi valiently attempted to lead four disparate writers in a conversation about the modern novel dropping several quotable remarks into the proceedings e.g. novels are adventurous wanderings in other lands, an opportunity to explore the outer reaches of human behaviour, report on experience speaking a realistic truth.
The authors spoke for themselves and failed to find any common ground; Gil Adamson said that reading novels didn't help her learn to write them, Audrey Niffenegger claimed that reading is everything. Neil Cross likes action but Kamila Shamsie is fascinated by words.
This panel introduced the authors and gave them all chance to comment on how they write their fiction but I am keen to hear Audrey Niffenegger and Kamila Shamsie in their own sessions tomorrow. They will have more time to explore the balance between reality and fantasy (Niffenegger) and between politics and domesticity (Shamsie). I won't be following up Neil Cross!

NZ Post Writers and Readers Week, Wellington

2010-03-08T11:21:00.000+13:00

I'm off to Wellington on Tuesday to hear some wonderful authors talking about their books. I can't wait!
I have 3 days and 15 sessions covering fiction, poetry, history and contemporary issues. I have my laptop and will add posts as often as possible about what I hear and learn.
The opening session has Kamila Shamsie, Neil Cross, Gil Adamson and Audrey Niffenegger in conversation with Kate de Goldi. Watch this space!

Please add your comments too.

Summer season of international women writers

2010-03-05T16:09:00.000+13:00

Week 2 Xinran
At Raye Freedman Arts Centre, Epsom Girls' Grammar School, Silver Road

Xinran, author of The Good women of China and Sky Burial, described her childhood and working life in China and how she stored her experiences and insights in order to write her latest book Message from an unknown Chinese mother. This book tells the stories of Chinese mothers whose daughters have been wrenched from them, and also brings us the voices of some adoptive mothers from different parts of the world. These are stories which Xinran could not bring herself to tell previously - because they were too painful and close to home. She was in tears during the interview and so were members of the audience.

Summer season of international women writers

2010-03-01T16:43:00.000+13:00

Week One

Marina Lewycka

Sarah Dunant

The elegance of the hedgehog

2010-02-23T13:45:00.000+13:00

Mixed reviews for this one; a stunning success in France but found to be sentimental and laboured by American commentators. I found its interesting philosophical ideas and gradual unfolding of the action made for slow paced reading but the examination of people's prejudices and preoccupations is fascinating.
And it has a satisfactory ending - a big success factor for me.

Madame Michel has the elegance of the hedgehog: on the outside, she’s covered in quills, a real fortress, but my gut feeling is that on the inside, she has the same simple refinement as the hedgehog: a deceptively indolent little creature, fiercely solitary – and terribly elegant. From The Elegance of the Hedgehog, page 143

Check the Library catalogue for a copy of this book or read a review from Library staff

More about a life's work

2010-01-23T22:06:00.000+13:00

in the biographies of Elsie Locke Looking for answers and Alice Munro Lives of Mothers and daughters

Elsie Locke as a humanist, socialist, activist and writer; Munro as a short story writer. Amazingly focussed and hard working people managing children and domesticity with significant personal creative output.

An equal stillness by Francesca kay

2010-01-02T13:50:00.000+13:00

And now a novel exploring the same territory as Her life's work that offers more insights and understanding. This book proves why I read fiction; to learn about something/someone different, to understand something/someone different and to think about myself in relation to the events/characters portrayed. This is a first novel with depth and power and a very worthy winner of the Orange Prize for new writers. A study of a woman's life, her aspirations, her constraints, her marriage, her husband's attitudes, her mothering, her children, her creativity, her challenges, her integrity and her legacy. Also I learnt a lot about art along the way.
Here is an interview with the author about An equal stillness but please read the book to meet an artist struggling to meet the demands of her domestic life.

Her life's work: conversations with five New Zealand women

2009-12-31T10:06:00.000+13:00

“Pragmatism, humour, stubborn bloody-mindedness – what else does a woman need to carry her through the ups and downs of her life's work?"

This book describes and analyses the lives of five significant New Zealand women, through in depth interviews with historian and biographer Deborah Shepard. Although there are separate biographies and memoirs of these women, the interviewer is concerned here with the influences that have affected their careers; their education, their families, their self-image; their creativity; their aspirations and major events like the Land March of 1975, the rise of feminism and the Springbok tour. All have answered honestly about these influences and also about motherhood and domesticity and all make insightful comments on how they achieved the life balance needed to become such leaders in their own fields. The editor’s introduction and conclusion are also enlightening.

Shepard is a narrator rather than an interrogator and provides interesting details about the women's homes and surroundings. This book deserves a long slow read for its assessment of the way life unfolds for different people and the commitment of individuals to their own goals.

Did I get with it?

2009-12-07T15:25:00.000+13:00

I think so. I set up alerts and RSS feeds and got some interesting results. I did the extra reading and learnt about more exciting technologies.

Take, for example, the longpen devised by Margaret Atwood for interacting remotely with her readers:

People stood before a TV screen showing Atwood sitting in Toronto. Up in a corner of the screen was a live feed of the person in Halifax. Atwood talked to the person a couple of minutes, got the name (and perhaps any dedication desired). In Halifax, someone put a copy of the book in a machine on the top of a filing cabinet-sized unit. The book was put in clamps (reminded me some of the wringer rollers used in old washing machines). Once clamped, a pen(?) attached to a moving arm, something like the arms which hold drills on a dentist's chair, moved across the paper as Atwood moved her hand on the screen (I could not clearly see the implement she used). Then the book was unclamped and handed to the patron.

What's next? We must be open minded about innovations and willing to learn - an online program like this one is a great help. Thank you team! :)

Evaluating websites

2009-12-02T16:41:00.000+13:00

This is a very helpful topic and the information and readings offered are very useful for us in the Libraries. I thought the article: Web 2.0 Meets Information Fluency: Evaluating Blogs by Joyce Valenza was really enlightening and I lifted this whole quote from it:

"Blogs are essentially primary sources and can provide lively insights and perspectives not documented by traditional sources. They compare in some ways to a traditional interview, with the speaker controlling the questions. Ripe for essays and debate, blogs present not only the traditional two sides of an issue, but the potentially thousands of takes. And those takes take less time to appear than documents forced through the traditional publishing or peer review process. Blogs allow scholars and experts written opportunities to loosen their ties and engage in lively conversation."

As librarians we are detectives when searching for information, we do follow clues but the analogy of the fingerprint that the resource gives us is of real help when we need to verify what we find.

The helpsheets provided on Wikipedia would be useful for parents and students as we often hear that teachers do not want their students to use Wikipedia. Pretty useful for teachers too of course!

Putting the theory into practice
I looked critically at Library Thing using the given criteria and I found; about info, other links, help and FAQs. However it is still up to us as users to exercise our own judgement and discretion, remembering that the site is composed of input from all sorts of people. For example tags are created by each user without necessarily looking at previous tags; I noticed gentle fiction was not used as a tag for Remarkable creatures although the word and a rationale occured in more than one of the reviews. I know I'm a librarian but I do think that moderation or a controlled vocabulary would make Library Thing even more useful for people looking for their next best read.

Next I evaluated Beattie's Blog using the given criteria and it passed with flying colours (well yes it is a favourite of mine!). It has a full about me section, is very well organised and easy to read, has a search facility, a list of followers, lots of links and references to other writers, commentators, publications and websites. I got a link to a live screening of a talk by Tracey Chevalier. Just brilliant!

And it's available from The Reading Experience section of the North Shore Libraries website.

File converters

2009-12-01T13:31:00.000+13:00

That was a fun exercise! Gmail offers to open an attachment as a Google document but I thought I should follow instructions and download to my computer and then upload into Google docs. Was still waiting an houir later! However when I automatically opened the file as a Google doc it had certainly changed some elements, bullets, spacing etc.

Using gmail and google docs together is a good way of sharing files and cutting some corners and may prove useful if people are having difficulties with attachments but it is not for everyone. Our half an hour time limit on the public internet stations affords us little opportunity to help with tough file conversion problems e.g. documents created in older programmes, and wps and png files. Knowing about Zamzar and Convert.files means at least we can explain these facilities to our customers.
Open Office is a good suite of open source programmes that can be saved as word, excel, ppt docs. I think it is important that we remember the formats we want when saving our docs to avoid having to convert later but sometimes you just want to push the button when you've finshed composing!

The Author's Perspective

2009-11-28T22:52:00.000+13:00

There is a whole industry around the promotion of books by their authors; book launches, book tours, radio and television interviews, book festivals and book programmes. It is fascinating and enlightening to hear an author talk about the background to their book(s) and their writing lives. Audio books read by the authors themselves have a genuineness about them and interviews with authors can provide some depth to the reading experience. I love hearing authors speak - they usually choose their words carefully.
Sessions at our own Auckland Writers and Readers Festival in 2009 were recorded and replayed on NZ Radio and Christchurch City Libraries created audio blogs that were picked up from their website by people all over the country.
Yes, there is a place for information directly from the author and I think our customers would be really interested in listening too.

Specials @ Google

2009-11-28T21:22:00.000+13:00

Google is doing a fine job of integrating new trends into its search facility and to keep competitive will continue to do so. And then of course the others will try to beat or improve on Google - can only be good for us end users if we can keep up!
The Google search for videos goes directly to Youtube but Blinx includes news and other sites and came up with a much more interesting hit list on Filey than Google or Exalead.
Google books is useful for finding a known publication when wanting full text for example I have searched for some hard to find works by Carl Jung for a customer.

All the magazines listed so far appear to be popular American titles and I couldn't get interested in exploring them. No marks for effort here.
Poetry is the perfect medium for digitisation and it is good to see the New Zealand electronic poetry centre has such an accessible site with clear pages, bibliographies and links.

A few words from old postcards by Elizabeth Smither

It's dark at 4.30pm. That's your
London cum continent trip in 1996.
I raise a glass to you. Paris, outdoors.
The latest kind of snow-resisting lamps.

Just come from evensong in the Abbey.
(Bath). You were descending through
the layers of tourism to antiquarian books and textiles.
If this sounds choleric I have a raging 'flu.

The British Library is efficient but not beautiful.
Your red scarf wraps your shoulders like a cloak.
Anxiety is simply us trying to control events
from a distance. Head bowed, I see you writing it.

Google maps is one facility that I use all the time - it takes the guesswork out of exploring new places but it does mean you can arrive on time! And anywhere around the world.

Places in fiction

2009-11-23T13:10:00.000+13:00

I've been thinking about locations in novels. Somtimes books are clearly set in a particular place; for example Remarkable creatures has to be in Lyme Regis. Somtimes the place is completely fictional and sometimes there is a blending of the two. Kate de Goldi commented on this when she explained about the settings in 10pm question; although the boys started at the top of the zig-zag in Wellington by the time they got to the bottom they were in Christchurch! I have just read a book set in my old home town of Filey - a small seaside settlement in East Yorkshire. The book in question though was called Scawsby and it included elements from Filey; the cliffs, the bay, the brigg, the 2 carriage train that we all took to the Grammar school but it also included elements from other Yorkshire places to give depth to the story. Why was I so keen to read Scawsby? The book, a legal novel written in 1977, would not be a usual choice for me. I'm reminded of the debate televised for NZ Book month about 'the great New Zealand novel' - I think we do like to read about ourselves!

Read what Margaret Drabble wrote about Filey

Sites for readers and booklovers

2009-11-20T14:30:00.000+13:00

We Read
Library Thing
Shelfari
Google books

How to choose which facility to use? I've tried them all and have lists in several! I publish my lists to my friends in Facebook. I also have several hand written booklists and book journals. But do you know the best way of spreading the word about good books is actually to talk to people? What an idea! Maybe the next wave of book sites will include audio and video facilities so that we can actually see and hear the people who are enthusiastic about books. Just a minute I'd better check Google to see if this is being done already................ and the answer is lots of hits of course. Various people and organisations are podcasting and publishers are providing booktalks especially for children's books, for example here is a list of podcasts. I do think that our own Kate de Goldi is best at this; listen to her with Kim Hill on Saturday morning
And the people I find who can talk best about books that I like are part of this oufit

Happy Reading and sharing

Google etc. searching

2009-11-13T14:45:00.000+13:00

It seems that repeating searches (this is Montesquie Volvestre in France) in different search engines brings the same results; and there is a Googleopoly! In Exalead, which I really liked for its clear screens and the drop down menus, the ads are provided by Google.

All applications/vendors will follow the same general trends and bring out new features as they are created/developed/marketed.As users we will always have our own preferences regarding style, navigation, ease of use etc. and then as we become familiar with the options we become more efficient at searching. Using Google by default is reasonable in the Library setting. What is important is that we read the screens and follow the links and prompts to get the best out of any resource. And also that we keep up to date with new offerings (eg Wolfram Alpha, Google Squared) although their usefulness may only become apparent after some time.

In hovering flight by Joyce Hinnefeld

2009-11-07T21:58:00.000+13:00

a novel about mothers, daughters, and art; about illness, death, and burial; about fragile eco-systems and tenacious human relationships—all explored through characters who are inspired by the lives, and particularly the songs, of birds. Find out all about it here http://www.inhoveringflight.com/index.html

Keeping up to date

2009-11-01T13:46:00.000+13:00

Having explored the further reading and noted all the media tracking services available, I'm happy to wait for the breakthrough that can be understood by the ordinary library user - it all seems a bit geeky at the moment.
Just thought I'd add a reminder about using a public library and consulting books - both activities available world wide, photos are from Finland.

RSS Feeds

2009-11-01T13:19:00.000+13:00

Yes, RSS feeds from websites and blogs are very helpful for keeping up with what's going on. Alerts from databases are essential for researchers needing to be up to date with current thinking and publications. There is so much information out there - any tools we can use to cut through the forest of words eases the feeling of overload. The most useful are those that come direct to us into email, facebook or twitter, the applications being used on a daily basis. Or maybe there is something yet to be devised that will be even better! Bring it on :)

Twitter and Libraries

2009-10-31T20:34:00.000+13:00

Found this Library joke by searching for Librarians who twitter, seems that Librarians who twitter also blog!

In general Librarians use twitter to share information and ideas; Libraries use twitter to promote their resourses and services. One of the services provided by Vancouver Central Library is hosting weddings - well I would never have known that without twitter but I'm adding it to my list of places to visit around the world. Many of the tweets provided by Libraries (I looked closely at Rodney and Vancouver) do not actually answer the question "what are you doing" rather they inform people about events, provide links to websites with reviews, recommendations, news etc. and some individuals send topical messages e.g Happy Halloween.
Tweets do seem to be written in a new language; as a newbie I'm finding it hard to follow conversations and threads but I guess it will come with practice. I found the messaging from some of the Libraries using twitter to be one-sided; not many patrons following. I do wonder how widespread twittering really is? Or how widespread it might become ? Shall we worry about this tweet ?
"stereotypical library dying." "hipster staffers . . .who . . .use twitter. . . Edging out old school librarians."

My tweets are likely to be old school e.g.

bookchat today 10.30am bring a recommended book bring a friend c u @ECBLibrary

read the help gr8 stories of real people in tough times, touching and scary at same time but hopeful ending Enjoy!

Searching Twitter

2009-10-29T21:37:00.000+13:00

I searched for book groups and found readinggroupies who maintain that "Book groups are the new rock n' roll". Since I am part of 5 books, I must be doing lots of dancing :) This particular group is a network of reading groups in North London and they swap titles, trip details, event times and answers to quizzes.

In the same search I found Neighbours, a huge network of people across Dublin who run book clubs, tax evasion clubs, parties (halloween is next) and something to do with fire engines to name but a few.

The search engine was good because it found book groups, book clubs, reading groups and reading clubs - different names used in different countries; without me having to suggest alternatives.

For my third party search engine I chose Twoogle (loved its mashup name) and got 189 million hits. It looked just like an ordinary google search and only found the word twitter in the text of the website. At least in the first few pages of results there were no twitter sites. Adding twitter to the search string looked more promising and I found the Twitter Moms Book Club which is a webiste with a tweetboard but the book discussions happened on the website not by tweets. I guess 140 characters is not enough to really say what you think about a book.

Twitter and twittering

2009-10-28T21:08:00.000+13:00

I chose to look at Margaret Atwood's Twitter link. http://twitter.com/MargaretAtwood 2 hours later I am ready to write my post. There was so much to look at and so many links to follow - there is some truth in the idea that twittering is time wasting, it can certainly be time consuming but I guess it's just like getting carried away while surfing the net!
I read an interview with Margaret Atwood during which she educated her interviewer about tweets and twitpics. She seems to use Twitter to tell people about her book tours, launches etc. and to have conversations with her followers ( she actually has 9,811 followers). Can't wait for my hold on Year of the flood to come up.

My second choice related to some information I was looking up for a customer http://thesalon.blogspot.com/2009/07/kiwinew-zealand-musicians-on-twitter.html is a list of NZ musicians who Twitter. I was so pleased to find it but it does not help my info search as I'm looking for classical or world music but it was interesting. The list is provided so that members can network with each other, do some promoting of and find out about gigs etc. Obviously this can extend to any group/category of like minded people. I think there is a librarians who twitter list somewhere.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

2009-10-28T20:50:00.000+13:00

A story about civil rights in Mississippi in the 60s. A feminist, humanist perspective narrated by a white woman but writing the voices of black women maids. Touching, frightening, so many adjectives to use - are we making any progress on understanding each other?
A long and worthwhile read.

Syndetics summary

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step in Kathryn Stockett's New York Times bestselling debut, The Help . . .Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can look like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. and why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. and sometimes lines are made to be crossed.In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women - mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends - view one another.A deeply moving book filled with poignancy, humour, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

Creative Commons

2009-10-23T14:34:00.000+13:00

I love the CC iniative - it is in the true spirit of sharing.

a) The CC licence for this Get with it! programme means that readers are free to share and remix the contents.

b) This photograph, and others by Girolame of skiing in the Pyrenees, is available for copying and adapting
http://www.flickr.com/photos/girolame/3445288710/

CC fits the freedoms that Richard Stallman has been explaining in his talks around New Zealand recently. Listen to his interview with Kim Hill here http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/20091003
or his address to the LIANZA conference here
http://audio-video.gnu.org/audio/#LIANZANEWZ2009

OpenID

2009-10-21T14:42:00.000+13:00

I do like the sound of OpenID - but I would like to take it even further! In fact I am in favour of having one universal ID for everything; driver's licence, passport, flybuys, etc. and can see this expanding into digital ID with a digital fingerprint, eye recognition etc. Life would be much easier if we could do away with plastic cards, usernames and passwords.
OpenID run by google just means they have a monopoly over the services that I subscribe to - not really open is it?

Online privacy and security

2009-10-20T10:21:00.000+13:00

Well this is a dilemna. Whilst I am pleased with the strict controls on using my credit card over the internet, I am frustrated by the requirement to change my password every six weeks on my work computer. Internet security is both a blessing and a nuisance.
As a librarian promoting the use of digital facilities it is important to pass on information to other people so that they feel safe using social networking, banking and public opinion applications. Personally I don't see the world as any different; in feudal times everyone knew what everyone else was up to in the village. When I was growing up in a small community news of my whereabouts and who I was with always got back to my parents pretty quickly!
Surveillance may be now digital but is it always threatening?

Reamarkable creatures by Tracy Chevalier

2009-10-19T12:27:00.000+13:00

Devoured this book in a day (only stopping for more strepsils and panadol)
http://www.elgar.govt.nz/record=b2388780~S6
Big themes of fossils, friendship and feminsim.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/aug/29/remarkable-creatures-tracy-chevalier

Happy reading!