This blog update comes with mega apologies. As I've been on leave for a couple of weeks I haven't posted the last few radio show updates.
For folks that are aware of The Eastern Regional Library Show, 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.
16th September
What do you know about Graphic Novels? All our branches have collections of these, but Belgrave has the SUPER collection. This is a style of book which has always been around, but has experienced a huge surge of popularity flowing from the boom of Japanese anime (a particular style of film cartoon) which has transferred over to book. However, it is not just the anime style of illustration which is being used, there is a wide range of brilliant illustration styles being used for both original stories, and for bringing classics and well known novels to a new audience.
I picked up Serenity [Graphic novel] : those left behind at Belgrave recently, because I love the TV series Firefly and movie Serenity, on which it is based (both of these are available for loan). It retells some of the story but also bridges the gap between the movie and the series. The style of illustration is partly comic strip and partly full page illustration. All the Graphic Novels use illustration in ways to best bring the story to life, so there is a wide range of story styles, from The curious case of Benjamin Button, Macbeth, The Discworld, to John Constantine, Hellblazer. Just do a keyword search with 'graphic novel' to see how wide the selection is.
Music today was from the soundtrack of Hairspray, and Travl'n light by Queen Latifah.
30th September
When the rain lashes down, and the tv is uninspiring, put on a great dvd. What? You don't have anything new? Then take a brisk walk down to your local library and browse the great dvd collection. I'll tell you about some of the dvd's I've been watching lately. As a bit of research for the French theme of Lilydale's first Chataboutabook on October 21st, I watched The last Metro, directed by Francois Trufaut and starring the delectable Gerard Depardiue and Catherine Deneuve. Set in Paris in 1942, it portrays the difficulties faced by an actress who is both hiding her Jewish husband from the Germans, and trying to keep the theatre that he founded from being closed down. Another movie of the theatre, Being Julia is set in England between the world wars. A woman at the peak of her stage career falls in love with a younger man and finds the experience both rejuvenating and challenging. However, the young man is not as open as he seems, and soon she finds herself undermined on several fronts. How Julia (played with great charm by Annette Benning) triumphs in the end makes for a very satisfying conclusion.
For a completely refreshing, laugh out loud experience, you could try any of the dvd's of poet Pam Ayres live performances. I have recently watched both Pam Ayres : in her own words and Pam Ayres : live on stage. They are wonderful viewing, for the poetry, the linking stories which are just as funny as the poems, and the warm rapport she has with her audience. A different type of humour, sometimes whimsical, sometimes black, sometimes totally hilarous, is to be found in the tv series Northern Exposure. This ran to six series, so there is a lot of compulsive viewing here. The range of quirky and endearing characters who populate the Alaskan town of Cecily are a challenge to (and challenged by) the new doctor, a New York Jewish sophisticate who is in Alaska very much against his choice.
Finally, another tv series that I missed when it went to air, but has been recommended to me by a great many library users is Cranford. Set in an idyllic English country town during the 1840's, this is depicts a village society dominated by the strong and eccentric women of the town, who are decidedly averse to change. There are many challenges to the status quo personally and on a larger scale. The new young doctor who brings innovative ideas on medical treatment, the overseer of the local manor's property who would like to see education available to all, and the threat of the railway. There are extremes of drama and pathos in the story, but also a very happy romantic ending.
Music today was from cd 1 of a 3 cd series of Ella Fitzgerald, A-tisket A-tasket
7th October
You heard it here first....Lyn Baines is not going to buy a single book in 2010! I might be jumping the gun here, but on today's program Lyn was enthused by a new book from Susan Hill, Howard's End is on the landing. Hill is well known as detective fiction writer, but this book is an autobiographical tale which began when she went hunting for her copy of E.M. Forster's Howard's End.
She came upon a book she had forgotten that she had bought a year previously, and resolved to spend a year reading through her own large collection , rather than buy any new books. It is a whimsical investigation of books she has loved, new books and reflections on her life. This title is not due out until November, but Lyn will put a record on the database within the next couple of weeks in case you are interested in ordering it.
A new autobiographical work from Margaret Drabble is on our shelves now. The pattern in the carpet grew from a period when Drabble was anxious about her husband who was being treated for cancer. As a relaxation she began making jigsaw puzzles, and became fascinated about where they came from. This book is an interweaving of the history of jigsaw puzzles, childhood memories of her aunt, and later relationships in her life. A poignant and gentle read.
Finally, Bluestocking by Jane Robinson is a history of English women's struggle to gain access to education and acknowledgement of their acheivements. Even though women were allowed to attend lectures and study at Oxford and Cambridge from the mid to late 1800's, it was not until 1920 that Oxford gave women degrees, and not until 1947 at Cambridge. This is a fascinating study of the women who challenged the status quo, and paved the way for women of our century to participate fully in our society.
Music today was from A-tisket A-tasket by Ella Fitzgerald.
---- Lesley
Showing posts with label ella fitzgerald. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ella fitzgerald. Show all posts
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
The Eastern Regional Library Show - 1st April 2009 and 8th April 2009
Apologies, I've been remiss in posting the summaries of the latest radio shows. I'm also working on getting a few more podcasts up as well so sorry about their tardiness too.
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 1st April show
Sometimes the best next book to read is an old favourite. Today Lyn brought in some reprints of books which she first read many years ago. From the wonderfully named Felony & Mayhem Press comes Sheila Radley's Death in the morning, The Chief Inspector's daughter and A talent for destruction. This publisher has brought to light some classic British and American detective fiction, in two very nicely produced series. Radley's central detective is Inspector Quantrill, an old school policeman in an English market town who is sent a new sergeant, one of the new breed Oxford graduates, a bright young man. Much of Death in the morning is about the steep learning curve for the new sergeant, who discovers that entering pig pens without wearing wellintons is not wise, but does provide the locals with much amusement. You can find out more about this publisher at http://www.felonyandmayhem.com/
Another favourite author is Barbara Pym, who has a wry sense of humour and ability to bring the lives of 'ordinary' people into sharp focus with affection and insight. In Excellent women she introduces Mildred who is on the brink of spinsterhood, a capable woman who can cope with anything from birth and death to jumble sales and fetes threatened by bad weather. Is she vulnerable to the dashing new neighbour Rockingham Napier? Pym has several other equally enjoyable reads, Jane & Prudence, No fond return of love and An academic question.
The third author mentioned today was E.M.Delafield and her title The diary of a provincial lady was followed by The provincial lady in London and The provincial lady in America. Lyn feels that the first story was the best, and as an evocation of a time long gone, when 'everyone' had servants, and the battles with the cook and the kitchen range were more important than international events. It is a picture of a life between the wars which was never to return, and is portrayed with much humour. Next week I will be talking about some other authors of this period who wrote some delightful fiction and autobiography.
Music today was from Classic marches from the Royal Australian Navy Band.
On 8th April show
Charles Dickens and the Bronte sisters have never been out of print, but many good writers of the past have fallen from fashion, and from view. It is possible to find old editions in many libraries, and quite a few authors who have not been on book store shelves for many decades, have been reprinted in Large Print issues and in audio recordings.
One of my favourites is E.F.Benson (1866-1941) who published from 1893 to 1940, and whose two best known characters are Miss Mapp and Lucia. Benson wrote sharp and funny satire about the social hierarchy of an English village between the two world wars, in which autocratic spinster Miss Mapp and 'artistic' social climber Lucia via for supremacy. Queen Lucia was the first of the series, and my introduction to the characters was through Miss Mapp. There are several more, including Mapp and Lucia, which is available on audio CD read wonderfully by Prunella Scales. Benson was also an excellent writer of ghost stories, which appear in collections such as The restless ghost and other encounters and Classic ghost stories.
Another excellent writer of the same period is Elizabeth Von Arnim (1867-1940), who had a success with her first book Elizabeth and her German garden, published in 1898. The book is about the first year she spent on the isolated estate of her German husband, in Pomerania, very close to the Baltic sea. She writes with gentle whimsy and humour about her adaptation to her new culture and her growing love for her garden and the countryside beyond the estate. As a widow in 1910 she went to live in England, and perhaps it is her memories of a very wet Devon which suggested the story of one of her best known novels, The enchanted April. The story is about two women who meet at their club in London on a wet English spring day and dream of escaping to Italy. They follow their dream and rent a house which they share with two other woman, and revitalise their lives. It was made into a successful film, Enchanted April, with Natasha Richardson and Joan Plowright. Von Arnim wrote many more novels which often had an autobiographical starting point, and one of her most charming is All the dogs of my life. She insists that she is not writing her biography, but only about her beloved pets, yet details and reminiscences slip through in the most disarming way.
Music today was from the very mellow Ella Fitzgerald's double CD Ella Fitzgerald sings the Cole Porter songbook, the equally mellow Queen Latifah from Trav'lin light, and from the soundtrack of the movie Sex in the city.
---- Lesley
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 1st April show
Sometimes the best next book to read is an old favourite. Today Lyn brought in some reprints of books which she first read many years ago. From the wonderfully named Felony & Mayhem Press comes Sheila Radley's Death in the morning, The Chief Inspector's daughter and A talent for destruction. This publisher has brought to light some classic British and American detective fiction, in two very nicely produced series. Radley's central detective is Inspector Quantrill, an old school policeman in an English market town who is sent a new sergeant, one of the new breed Oxford graduates, a bright young man. Much of Death in the morning is about the steep learning curve for the new sergeant, who discovers that entering pig pens without wearing wellintons is not wise, but does provide the locals with much amusement. You can find out more about this publisher at http://www.felonyandmayhem.com/
Another favourite author is Barbara Pym, who has a wry sense of humour and ability to bring the lives of 'ordinary' people into sharp focus with affection and insight. In Excellent women she introduces Mildred who is on the brink of spinsterhood, a capable woman who can cope with anything from birth and death to jumble sales and fetes threatened by bad weather. Is she vulnerable to the dashing new neighbour Rockingham Napier? Pym has several other equally enjoyable reads, Jane & Prudence, No fond return of love and An academic question.
The third author mentioned today was E.M.Delafield and her title The diary of a provincial lady was followed by The provincial lady in London and The provincial lady in America. Lyn feels that the first story was the best, and as an evocation of a time long gone, when 'everyone' had servants, and the battles with the cook and the kitchen range were more important than international events. It is a picture of a life between the wars which was never to return, and is portrayed with much humour. Next week I will be talking about some other authors of this period who wrote some delightful fiction and autobiography.
Music today was from Classic marches from the Royal Australian Navy Band.
On 8th April show
Charles Dickens and the Bronte sisters have never been out of print, but many good writers of the past have fallen from fashion, and from view. It is possible to find old editions in many libraries, and quite a few authors who have not been on book store shelves for many decades, have been reprinted in Large Print issues and in audio recordings.
One of my favourites is E.F.Benson (1866-1941) who published from 1893 to 1940, and whose two best known characters are Miss Mapp and Lucia. Benson wrote sharp and funny satire about the social hierarchy of an English village between the two world wars, in which autocratic spinster Miss Mapp and 'artistic' social climber Lucia via for supremacy. Queen Lucia was the first of the series, and my introduction to the characters was through Miss Mapp. There are several more, including Mapp and Lucia, which is available on audio CD read wonderfully by Prunella Scales. Benson was also an excellent writer of ghost stories, which appear in collections such as The restless ghost and other encounters and Classic ghost stories.
Another excellent writer of the same period is Elizabeth Von Arnim (1867-1940), who had a success with her first book Elizabeth and her German garden, published in 1898. The book is about the first year she spent on the isolated estate of her German husband, in Pomerania, very close to the Baltic sea. She writes with gentle whimsy and humour about her adaptation to her new culture and her growing love for her garden and the countryside beyond the estate. As a widow in 1910 she went to live in England, and perhaps it is her memories of a very wet Devon which suggested the story of one of her best known novels, The enchanted April. The story is about two women who meet at their club in London on a wet English spring day and dream of escaping to Italy. They follow their dream and rent a house which they share with two other woman, and revitalise their lives. It was made into a successful film, Enchanted April, with Natasha Richardson and Joan Plowright. Von Arnim wrote many more novels which often had an autobiographical starting point, and one of her most charming is All the dogs of my life. She insists that she is not writing her biography, but only about her beloved pets, yet details and reminiscences slip through in the most disarming way.
Music today was from the very mellow Ella Fitzgerald's double CD Ella Fitzgerald sings the Cole Porter songbook, the equally mellow Queen Latifah from Trav'lin light, and from the soundtrack of the movie Sex in the city.
---- Lesley
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