Library staff members Lesley Conway and Pia Butcher run a radio show each Wednesday 12:05pm-12:45pm on Eastern FM 98.1 called The Eastern Regional Library Show. Tune in next Wednesday for a great show.
On 20th January's show
Exciting discoveries in Family History can come when you least expect them. Just for interest sake I did a Google search for one of my great great grandgathers "Richard James Quinnell". Not only did I find records produced on www.familysearch.org/Eng/, but also record of his registration as a doctor in Victoria in 1892, and deregistration at his death in 1902. The important thing in doing a search like this is to enclose the name you are searching for in quotation marks, "Richard James Quinnell" so that you get exactly the person you are looking for. I also found this ancestor's will available via a link from ERL's Family History page,which took me to the Public Records Office of Victoria. Wills lodged up to 1925 have been scanned and are freely available. After this date, you will need to order the documents you are interested in.
Book Chat groups will be underway again from February, so check out if there is one at a convenient time and library for you. These groups meet monthly, are informal, and a great way to share thoughts on what you are reading, and be given new ideas for your next book. Lilydale Library's Chataboutabook club meets on the third Wednesday of the month, and as a part of our world trip through literature, have been reading about India and Asia over the last month. Some books I can recommend are,
A passage through India by Saili and Gill which is a beautifully produced travel and photography book of the sub-continent;
Stranger to history : a son's journey through Islamic lands by Aatish Taseer, a highly readable and enlightening book of a young man's journey through the Middle East in an attempt to understand Islamic culture and values; and
Great voyages of the world
which includes stories of travel down the Ganges, Rhine and Yellow rivers, around the coast of Britain, through the fjords of Norway, by lake and canal from St Petersberg to Moscow, and much more. Enough to give anyone itchy feet.
Music today was from Noel Coward.
On Wednesday 27th January's show
Some great fantasy teenage novels which have recently arrived were reviewed by Pia today.
Crowded Shadows by Celine Kiernan is the gripping sequel to
Poison Throne. Alone for the first time in her life, Wynter travels unprotected in bandit-infested mountains searching for missing Prince Alberon. But every tyrant and bully who ever threatened the kindgom is gathering to Alberon's table, and the forest is alive with spies and wolves. In
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George there is a reimagining of the fairy tale of the Twelve dancing princesses. Rose is the eldest of 12 sisters condemned to dance each night for the wicked King Under Stone deep in his palace. It is a curse that has haunted the girls since their birth - and only death will set them free. The Rose meets Galen, a young soldier turned gardener with an eye for adventure and a resolve that matches her own. Suddenly freedom begins to seems a little less impossible.
A new addition to the teenage graphic novel collection is
Calamity Jack by Shannon and Dean Hale and is a sequel to
Rapunzel's revenge. Jack thinks of himself as a criminal mastermind, with an unfortunate amount of bad luck...then one day Jack chooses a target a little more gigantic than the usual, and as a small bean turns into a great big building-destroying beanstalk his troubles really begin.
For our junior readers, a couple of new novels are
A birthday in the life of Ozzie Kingsford by Val Bird, and
Snake and Lizard by Joy Cowley. In the first, Ozzie Kingsford is celebrating his 11th birthday with his mate Fletch and his family. They are heading off to Cracker Beach for the day, will things go according to plan? And in the second, Snake and Lizard share a house and a friendship that is sometimes as rocky as the desert they live in. With a little patience, wisdom and much tolerance their friendship survives their essential differences.
A new junior graphic novel is
Captain Congo and the Maharaja's monkey by Ruth Starke. When the Maharaja of Bekar dies suddenly and mysteriously, Captain Congo and his loyal offsider Pug set off for India to investigate. They arrive in Rajputana to find the royal palace teeming with intrigue. Even as preparations begin for young Prince Beki to be annointed as the Maharaja, it is clear that powerful enemies are scheming against him. Whille Pug goes deep under cover, Captain Congo races agaisnt time to unravel a dastardly plot.
Finally, the wonderful Alison Lester has produced another lovely picture book,
Running with the horses. A tale of the dancing White Stallions of Vienna and their escape during World War II. A young girl's faith in an extraordinary old horse makes this an unforgettable story of courage, adventure and friendship. Nina and her father run from Vienna with some of the precious stallions to elude the advancing German army.
----Lesley
