HELENE YOUNG

Some of you will remember Helene Young who flew down from Brisbane one cold Friday night in July a couple of years ago to speak at the Twilight Talks we held at the Stockyard Gallery.  There's an interesting article on the Sisters in Crime website I thought you might like to read.

We always have her latest book on the shelf and we're very pleased to see her still going strong.
 

PHYRNE FISHER WINS HEARTS IN AMERICA

For those of you who love Kerry Greenwood's books on Phyrne Fisher you might like to know the character has won the hearts of American in the form of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries television series.  Take a look at the article that appeared in The Guardian.

 

JACKIE FRENCH LOVES WOMBAT

The new title from Jackie French is Wombat Wins which is the perfect companion to her other Wombat stories.  We'll have it on the shelf soon.

 

THE PEOPLE HAVE VOTED......

More than 1700 Dymocks Booklovers members have voted for their favourite children’s book of all time. The ‘Harry Potter’ series (J K Rowling, Bloomsbury) topped the poll, followed by The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle, Penguin) and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C S Lewis, various imprints). The ‘Treehouse’ series by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton (Pan) was the highest placed local entry in fourth spot. Eight out of the top 10 titles and nearly half of all 51 titles have been adapted for film or TV.

LIV, FOREVER BY AMY TALKINGTON

There's a great review of this title on our website, take a look here. 

 

WHY DO THEY DO IT?

A Macquarie University author survey has found that Australian authors earn on average $12,900 from their writing, with educational authors the highest earners, followed by children’s book authors and genre fiction authors. Nearly half of all authors supplement their income with a job unrelated to their writing, and 37.3% are supported by their partner’s income.  

So they really do write for the love of it…………we knew that.

One of these, a ream of paper and away you go.................

FOSTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY COMMENDATION

The book Prom Country: A History was short-listed for the Victorian Community History Awards and won a commendation.  Well done to the Foster Historical Society for publishing this great local history book.  And if you listen to 3mFM over the next 10 or 12 Saturdays at 1.00pm you'll hear some of the stories from this book.

Jennifer Jones was also awarded a commendation for her work on the Anzac exhibition currently on at the museum.  Congratulations Jennifer.

You might like to visit the historical societies website here. 

QUOTES

This wonderful quote with photo was sent to us from a customer and it deserves to be shared.  Thanks Jellie.

 

2015 CHILDREN'S PEACE LITERATURE AWARD

The 2015 Children’s Peace Literature Award was announced this week, and the winner is One True Thing by Nicole Hayes.

The award is organised by the Psychologists for Peace Group, part of the Australian Psychological Society. It is a biennial award to Australian authors of books for children that encourage the peaceful resolution of conflict or promote peace at the global, local or interpersonal level.

Here’s what the judges had to say about One True Thing:

“The main character in the winning book is Frankie, the 16 year old daughter of a female politician who is running for Premier of Victoria and who becomes the target of a shock jock trying to dig up damaging information about her past. The mother is struggling to keep her secret and also address the strains it puts on her relationships as well as her political hopes. The family is almost split apart and there are many conflicts, not only between Frankie and her parents but also between Frankie and her various groups of friends including band members and new boyfriend. Several different methods of conflict resolution are demonstrated; all are handled constructively and with empathy. After trying some ineffective strategies, Frankie shows understanding, tolerance and persistence and her actions are critical in resolving the conflicts peacefully.”

“The characters are realistic; the story is engagingly written and makes compelling reading. The work is concurrently of high literary quality and an excellent model of nonviolent conflict resolution by the child concerned. The judges of the prize were unanimous in their choice of this book to win the 2015 Children’s Peace Literature Award.” 

CHARLES HALL: SUMMERS GONE

Our last book signing for the year is on Saturday November 7th and it's with Charles Hall and his debut novel Summer's Gone.  Charles will be at the bookshop from 11am.

The blurb on the book is right: there are only a handful of novelists who have looked at the 60s of demonstrations, civil disobedience, riots, imprisonment and change.  Why is that, I wonder?  Why hasn’t our Baby Boomer major novelists tackled the dizzying world they grew up in, that shaped their identities?

The story begins when Nick’s Uncle Clem gives him the banjo that leads to him forming a folk band with his best friend, Mitch, and two Melbourne sisters, Helen and Alison.  Summer’s Gone details Nick’s relationship with Helen and explores the nostalgia of living in Australia in the 1960s. There are romantic affairs, a briefly successful folk band, women’s rights, sexual freedom, discourse around the Vietnam war - draft dodging and conscription, and other social and political issues that have had far reaching implications for following generations.

 

MAN BOOKER PRIZE FOR 2015

The Man Booker Prize for 2015 goes to................A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James. 

 A Brief History of Seven Killings, tells the story of the attempted assassination of Bob Marley, who is referred to throughout as “the singer”, and its aftermath. But perhaps more importantly, it tells the story of Jamaica in the 1970s and early 80s, when the guns flooded in, CIA agents took up residence, and the island went through one of its most violently defining moments. It is a story worth telling, and a story about Jamaica that doesn’t only take place in Jamaica.

James, aged 44, who lives in Minneapolis, is the first Jamaican author to win the prize in the Man Booker’s 47-year history.  His novel has a lot of fans: it was described by the New York Times as: “like a Tarantino remake of the The Harder They Come, but with a soundtrack by Bob Marley and a script by Oliver Stone and William Faulkner”.

 

THE GOLD INKY AWARDS

The Inky Awards recognise high-quality young adult literature, with the longlist and shortlist selected by young adults, and the winners voted for online by the teen readers of InsideaDog.com.au. There are two awards: the Gold Inky Award for an Australian book, and the Silver Inky Award for an international book.  Teenagers get to nominate to be judges through a very thorough process, see here.

This is the shortlist for the Gold Inky:

THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE BOOK

You are looking at a copy of the Bay Psalm Book printed in 1640. It sold at a Sotheby's auction for $14.2 million on November 26, 2013.

Not bad for a small book of psalms. But there are only 11 surviving copies and it is considered to be the first book printed in what became the United States, so its historical value is immense.

The auction firm estimated the sale price would be between $15 million and $30 million - but the final price still ensured it became the world's most expensive printed book.

I think you would want to be very careful when handling this, it doesn't look too stable to me.  And why isn't this person wearing white gloves?  It looks like somebody has written on the facing page, I guess that probably added to the value?

STEPHENIE MEYER - TWILIGHT SERIES

The Twilight Series is now 10 years old and the author Stephenie Meyer has rewritten the book.  In the new anniversary material, Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined, the gender roles of the series’ main characters are reversed, turning Edward into Edythe and Jacob into Julie.  The new story is told through the eyes of Beau, the male equivalent of “Twilight” star Bella Swan.

 I only report this material..........!!!

HENNING MANKELL

Henning Mankell, known for the Wallender Series has died aged 67, far too young and with many books still to write.  His stories were all based in dark beautiful Sweden and his main character Kurt Wallender is probably better known through the television series.

 

WE WILL BE OPEN

We wanted you to know we will be open on Friday 2nd October (Grand Final Eve holiday), so if you have ordered books to pick up, or you want to make the most of the day off and browse, we'll be here.  This will be a good time to start looking for special gifts, you can still put books on lay-by to be picked up on Christmas eve (can't believe I'm writing this!!!).

 

SIEGE BY SIMON KERNICK

Thanks to Ruth Carson for her review of this book.

Siege by Simon Kernick

‘They killed her as soon as she opened the front door.’

So begins this fast-paced thriller indicating as it does, the building of action and suspense. Short chapters with cliff-hanging endings employ a story telling method that draws in the reader at full speed.

Diverse explosions across London engage the attention of the authorities from the major objective of storming the prestigious Stanhope Hotel, Park Lane, by a highly trained group of terrorists identifying themselves as the Pan-Arab Army of God. They give the British government five hours to meet their demands before blowing up the building and all its’ guests. Of course the guests are many and varied with a range of issues of their own and it is sometimes difficult to keep up with all the characters. However, the brutality of the terrorists, the diversity of the guests and the difficulties faced by the police and anti terror squad add to the complexity.

This is indeed dramatic story-telling made more potent because of its clear relationship with recent events around the world.

 A good read.

 
 

MICHAEL ROBOTHAM WINS THE 2015 CWA GOLDSBORO GOLD DAGGER AWARD

Michael Robotham has won the 2015 CWA Goldsboro Gold Dagger Award for his bestselling 2014 standalone, Life or Death at a ceremony in London overnight. The Gold Dagger is awarded to the best crime novel of the year. It was originally created in 1955, under the name of the Crossed Red Herrings Award. It was renamed the Gold Dagger in 1960 and has been awarded ever since with variations in its name depending on sponsorship.

This is Michael’s first Gold Dagger win, though he was shortlisted in 2007 and 2008. Previous winners include James Lee Burke, Sara Paretsky, Ian Rankin and Minette Walters and Michael beat 2015 shortlisted authors including Stephen King and Robert Galbraith to the Gold. He is only the second Australian win, along with Peter Temple.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALICE IN WONDERLAND

Lewis Carrol's book is 150 years old this year and it still reads like a contemporary story, also still interesting for young and old.  It's interesting to think about the many versions of this story that have made it to the screen.

Take a walk into the world of Alice here. 

I LIKE BIG BOOKS

This was sent to us by a friend and I felt it should be shared with you.

It's set to the song 'Baby's Got Back' and you can listen if you want to the official video here.