Benjamin Law's "The Family Law"

“The Family Law” is a fun and quirky not-quite-biography of the Frankie editor, Benjamin Law. It details the life of a Chinese family living in Australia, putting their most humorous and fun moments to pen and paper.

This book is certainly not without its charm, particularly in the individual characters and most often their peculiar traits. The Law family is one which is closely knit, but not without strain or troubles.

While the characters and stories aren’t personally familiar to me (I come from a typical white, domestically-troubled family), they were reminiscent of my Chinese-Australian high school friend’s childhood and adolescence (the close bonds of the siblings and cousins, their joking-teasing nature, and the huge family gatherings).

The only thing I dislike about this book is the anecdote about cockroaches and his pet mouse. I am realising that animal neglect in childhood is a common theme for humour writers, but I find this somewhat disappointing, but my guess is that most readers won’t really have a problem with the dismissive air, “They were just a child!” (I wish parents would realise that it is a sentient life, and a far greater responsibility than watering a pot plant or putting your shoes on the rack, and should be supervised closely.)

It is an interesting but sometimes heart-breaking view of Australia (relatives who are illegal immigrants are sent back to China, despite being in Australia to escape the violence there). I recommend “The Family Law” to those with an interest in humorous writing like that of David Sedaris, family anecdotes (especially those a little dysfunctional), Australian literature, or Chinese-Australian perspectives.

Eowyn Ivey's "The Snow Child"

This is an amazing modern adaption of the fairy-tale by the same name, or, alternatively, Snegurochka in Russian. The original tale is referenced frequently throughout the story, which actually serves as a prophecy to foreshadow the entire plot, to some extent. I won't spoil the ending, but not everything is as it seems throughout the story.

Jack and Mabel represent the childless couple. Mabel contemplates death and suicide while out in the forest, feeling helpless as she no longer has much to life, while Jack works every day, and they struggle to say afoot. Their marriage seems to be dwindling, and they almost seem to be holding on just because there is little else out there.

One night they rekindle their love, and happen to also build a little snow girl, who they give a hat and mittens. After this, they start to see a little girl, as light as snow herself, running through the woods, donning the clothes they left out in the snow.

Both Mabel and Jack change their stance throughout the story of whether or not this is a little girl formed from snow, or a real little girl, lost from a local village somewhere. Getting to snow the girl, and inviting her into their home, doesn't really change their answer for the majority of the story.

Meanwhile, for a lot of the story, Mabel is convinced that their little girl is really a snow child. She sends home to her sister for her original copy of the book, and is careful to try and appease the forces in the real world that caused the snow child harm in the book (such as the fox, or the fire).

It is wonderfully beautiful, and you begin to wonder whether or not the world displayed in this book is that of reality as we know it, or one of absolute magic and fairy-tale. The ending is left open to your interpretation, but will most likely further displace your idea of "The Snow Child"s world.

My problems with the book are subjective, not to mention quite shallow: I don't get why human life is so revered, while animals are hunted sometimes meaninglessly in comparison for fur and meat. This is a small and nitpicky problem with a great book, and doesn't detract too much from the story.

There is a little trailer for the book here, and to further immerse yourself in the world of "The Snow Maiden", you can listen to Tchaikovsky's incidental music here. This book is only short, and can be polished off on a cold, indulgent reading day.

Audiobooks & Podcasts, Part 1: Introduction

For the last few months, I have become obsessed with podcasts, specifically library-related ones, and general audiobooks. They are fantastic for distraction, and I find myself listening to them while walking to the station, bus-stop, library, shops, and so forth.

I knock out close to three hours of podcasts / audiobooks a day as I walk, and I find that I get so much more absorbed than with listening to music. Being a partner to a musician, I have become quite guilty in the way that I sometimes skip over half a song while I am walking because it is getting a bit "dull". I tend to devote time fully to listening to music now, or at the very least putting it on the background and not switching tracks half-way through.

So, I compiled a list of some great things to listen to. Firstly, a brief introduction:

Podcasts are digital audio files made available for download or transfer, usually in MP3 format. You can listen on your phone, MP3 player, tablet, computer, or equivalent device. Podcasts can simply be recorded lectures, interviews, casual chats, or even stories. Most podcasts are available for download, but some are only available through streaming.

The best way to come across podcasts is to simply search for podcasts, either generally or relating to a specific subject (libraries, engineering, games, cooking).

Audiobooks are the recorded readings of books, typically in MP3 or WMA format. You can listen to them on standard devices (phone, MP3 player, computer, tablet). Audiobooks can be purchased either online and directly downloaded, or in a store, in either the form of a cassette or CD.

There are plenty of places to obtain audiobooks. Chances are your library has a handy stock already. If you want to own a physical copy yourself, then Audio Books Direct has a pretty comprehensive selection. However, if you are more interested in direct downloads, then check out the links below.

Audible
Audible is a website and app used for finding, buying, downloading, and listening to audiobooks. A subscription to Audible costs $15 a month, but you get one free credit per month. A credit can be redeemed for a $70 audiobook (unbelievable, I know!), so it really works out in your favour. They are run by Amazon, so you know they are dedicated to quality.

Humble Bundle (Book Bundles)Humble Bundle offer weekly deals on games, books, and soundtracks. They offer amazing deals, offering you both quantity and quality. For their book bundle, they alternate between audiobooks and ebooks, but are always worth checking it out. The money you spend can be as little as 1 cent, but it goes to charity, so consider giving them their money's worth.


Library Podcasts

Digital Living
Digital Living describes the latest technology for work and home, from the newest in entertainment options through to forthcoming releases in software and even changes in industry standards...adding their great humour as well! (Available for download).

Popular Culture Happy HourNPR's entertainment and pop culture round-table podcast features spirited discussions of movies, books, television, nostalgia, and — every time — what's making us happy this week. (Available for download).

Adventures In Library Instruction Podcast
A monthly podcast by and for library information literacy instructors and teaching librarians. The show includes features, interviews and discussion about teaching in libraries. (Available for download).

Library Chat
Conversations about the library world with professionals working in and around libraries. (Available for download).

Circulating Ideas
Circulating Ideas is the librarian interview podcast hosted by Steve Thomas. (Listen online, not for download).

Dekalb County Library
Podcasts by a lovely library in Georgia that talk about novelists, poets, and their works. (Available for download).

National Library Of Australia
Their podcasts fall under a variety of topic headings, including events, conferences, collections, bookshop, digital culture, and media. (Available for download).

In The Library With A Comic Book

A tumblr by and for librarians, educators and people who just plain like comics. (Available for download).

The British Library
The British Library has podcasts relating to previous exhibitions, science events, talks, and audio guides (tours, general information, current exhibitions). (Listen online, not for download).

Books +
Books + is the one-stop destination for bibliophiles, a digest of the week’s best interviews about books and writing across RN. (Available for download).


Other Podcasts

Welcome To Night Vale
WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE is a twice-monthly podcast in the style of community updates for the small desert town of Night Vale, featuring local weather, news, announcements from the Sheriff's Secret Police, mysterious lights in the night sky, dark hooded figures with unknowable powers, and cultural events.

Turn on your radio and hide.

Gaming Podcasts

I haven't had a chance to listen to any of these yet, but here is a pretty comprehensive list of game podcasts. I am going to check these out later in the week.


Audiobooks - Non-Fiction

The Great Courses - Fine Arts & MusicA series of lectures about fine arts and music, including everything from talks about jazz and classical music, to guides about understanding the opera.

The Great Courses: History of Science
A series of physics lectures, with individual books about the theory of evolution, scientific ideas that changed the world, and essential scientific concepts. iifjf

The Great Courses: Western Literature
A series of lectures about Western literature, including books "The Iliad of Homer", "A Skeptics' Guide to the great books", "Greek tragedy", and "Classics of Russian literature".

Fry's English Delight"Stephen Fry hosts four programmes on the joys of the English language - as heard on BBC Radio 4, including Current Puns. Why does our language groan with the weight of puns? What exactly is a pun?"

Bankstown Library

Bankstown Library and Knowledge Centre reopened earlier this year, moving across the street to prime real estate in the middle of Paul Keating Park. As a result, they have hugely updated their services, and have succeeded where a lot of libraries fail.
Many upgrade their stacks without upgrading their general seating and desk space, but Bankstown has not fallen into that trap. There is always plenty of room to sit, no matter what the time of day. Not to mention that they all have a great view, and are extremely comfortable.
My favourite feature is the large wall of plants that lines the staircase. It is absolutely beautiful!

Ian Sansom "Paper: An Elegy"

This one took a long time to read, since I was sharing it with Peter. In the end, I didn't even end up finishing it, but not due to time. The first half of the book is fantastic, and just deals with pure fact and history, but the second half of the book develops into a preachy, philosophical affair, and it only just stops short of saying, "Paper is God". I jest, slightly, but I'm not into such artsy interpretations, and preferred just hearing about the history of paper.

Peter made a good point in saying that it glossed over sheet music, which revolutionised the music world. The first half is still pretty good, but it is not completely comprehensive.

Sara Nelson “So Many Books, So Little Time”

I am going to be bluntly honest in my short “review” of this book, but I was rather disappointed.  Books about people who talk about books have fast become a favourite genre of mine, but this is the first book where I just thought “enough is enough”. Although maybe the problem I actually have with this book is with the author personally.

Books are mentioned half-heartily, more as a segue to talk, or rather complain, about lots of facets of her life: an interracial marriage, her husband working for Saturday Night Live, her husband not reading, her husband being angry, her child not reading, et cetera, et cetera.

I love the way she broke out of habits and read books relating to sports, or other subjects a bit out of most reader’s whims, but I otherwise didn’t relate to her tastes. Not that I can seriously find fault with an author not writing about things that I like, but rather that she did so in a way that failed to make it interesting for me. (And I can’t believe that someone who writes about books for a living would only get one chapter into “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” before putting it down. Surely I am not alone in thinking that is work of genius, am I?!)

Regardless of my complaints, I still enjoyed reading this for the most part. It is still a book about books, and the idea is wonderful; deciding to read at least one book a week and write about it. I feel like the author decided to make this into too much of an angsty journal process though.

If your local library has it, consider reading it, but if you’d prefer to skip a few books ahead to “The World’s Strongest Librarian”, I wouldn’t blame you.

"Best Books: Experts Choose Their Favourites"

This book is the ultimate gift and read for autodidacts and bookworms, serving as a gateway to fantastic books of a variety of levels. Experts are chosen to introduce their field in a short paragraph, and then recommend a multitude of books to cover the subject, with a quick introductory summary of each.

There are fifteen hundred books representing over fifty topics, under the main headings of aspects of society, language and literature, the arts, science and technology, and history. Education, religion, feminism, architecture, classical music, sport, medicine, geometry, plants, and ancient history are just a sample of the available subjects covered.

Richard Dawkins heads evolution, and chooses, among others, Darwin’s “Origin Of Species”, Cronin’s “The Ant And The Peacock”, Leakey’s “The Origin Of Humankind” and his own “The Blind Watchmaker”. The entirety of the mathematics section is represented by Ian Stewart, from numbers to geometry to applied mathematics, and a few of his own works also pop up.

Language and literature covers language, classical literature, English literature, American literature, third-world literature, genre fiction (horror, fantasy, romantic fiction, et cetera), children’s literature and women and literature.

I really enjoyed making my way through this book, as it provides a way of fixing obvious short-comings (I have never once read a book on sport, and my knowledge of history outside of Australia or  fantasy medieval realms is also rather lacking). The recommended texts get straight to the point of a facet of the over-all subject, therefore providing you with an easy starting place for your self-imposed study.

Burwood Library & Ultimo TAFE Library

Burwood Library re-opened last week, and I finally got to check it out on Tuesday. It looks pretty fantastic, if still a little loud due to the large amount of students, who often socialise more than they seem to study. I wish they'd gotten a room in the same way as the children did.

Regardless of my personal complaint, they have used to the space really well. Everything has room to breathe compared to the cluttered old library. They seem to have more books than before, which is absolutely amazing! (Or maybe everyone suddenly returned books I haven't come across).

The view from the second floor, which is mainly for adult fiction, is my favourite. You can see the bridge that goes over the train tracks, where we park just right on the other side.

I found some great books to borrow, and I also managed to lengthen my to-read list.

 

This is another post about Ultimo Library. Picture 1 is their amazing science section, which I was drooling over a little (erm, again). Pictures 2 & 3 are purely about computers and programming, and what is pictured here only goes up to 5.7, as the collection continues onto the other side. I am amazed. This is the biggest programming section I have seen in my life.

There are so many library books (books about libraries, I should say), that I want to check out, and I pictured a few of them below, including the stack that I ended up borrowing.

I also want to comment on the puzzle that they have set up. A communal puzzle in an adult environment is amazing, and I think they are awesome for making this available.