Author: ThoughtsBecomeWords

Reader Writer Miscellaneous Blogger

Old Books – Timeless or Laughable?

It is time to attack my bookberg.  Book sorting!  Only another book lover will know this task is emotional, dusty work with frequent trips back and forth to the reject box to retrieve a volume you just can’t live without.

I did not factor in the impact of nostalgia.  As I sifted and culled, I was overwhelmed by the memories which came flooding back.

Relating to the photograph above, here’s a small sample of the tip of my bookberg:

  • Those aching muscles as I tried to emulate actress and fitness guru Jane Fonda using her inspiring 1981 ‘Workout Book’.  The less said about the front cover the better.

 

  • My 1986 major motion picture tie-in ‘Out Of Africa’ by Karen von Blixen was purchased after I saw the movie because I wanted to see how much the movie had altered the book.  Well, let’s just say it was movie mush.

 

  • ‘Finest Moments’ the hilarious 1975 antics of Norman Gunston (Australian TV comedian Garry McDonald) were clever but now make me cringe.  Gunston dared to go where no journo had gone before.  McDonald was a good scriptwriter but.

 

  • I tried and tried to read this 1984 paperback of Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’.  Even now as I look at its yellowing pages (it cost me $4.50 back then) I don’t think I will ever read it.  Most of it has come true, right?

 

  • The small yet 383-page book ‘Angels & Fairies’ written 2005 by Iain Zaczek was a surprise.  A gift, seemingly unread, it contains works of art from famous British painters in 1800s Victorian era.  Such luminous illustrations, if ever there was a misnamed book, it’s this one!  Nothing cutesy about it.  A serious study for art aficionados.

 

IMG_20200302_183938
Need I say more? Heavy old coffee-table books, classic black and white photographs with depth and clarity, each one telling a story.

During re-reading and culling, three things struck me immediately.

  1. The smallness of the paperbacks.
  2. The density of the print.
  3. The amount of information.

I guess smaller books meant cheaper to print, easier to handle.
Because I now need reading glasses, the print looks tiny to me.
Does excessive screen time influence the way we read off screen?
We read less content, larger font and wider spaces today, because of what?

Several of my earlier paperbacks have bios, dedications, illo plates, notes, etc.
Or a pull-out page so you could fill in your details and mail to the publisher to receive the author’s complete booklist.

Fortunately the only thing which hasn’t changed is real bookshops.
They may be fewer in certain countries but they are alive and well where I live.

Getting back to those rejected books, I have cardboard boxes (ah, that smell of cardboard) to pack them in and send off to University of Queensland for their Book Fair.

I was mightily impressed with UQ book wrangling skills, particularly after I visited their Book Auction and saw frantic bidders making the value of old books rise higher and higher until the final bid, the hammer fall, the cry of delight from the successful bidder.

Blogging Image 04My three-part series of UQ Book Fair visits last year—brilliant photos—

PART ONE
https://thoughtsbecomewords.com/2019/04/28/rare-book-auction-and-alumni-book-fair/

PART TWO
https://thoughtsbecomewords.com/2019/05/05/rare-book-auction-and-uq-alumni-book-fair-part-two/

PART THREE
https://thoughtsbecomewords.com/2019/05/08/rare-book-auction-and-uq-alumni-book-fair-part-three/

This post is pure procrastination.  But look at this book on Rome, I was a little bit in love with the professor…

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

IMG_20200301_132250
ROME OF THE CAESARS by Leonardo B. Dal Maso, Professor of Archaeology and Ancient History, Roma. An autographed copy September 1983. Bonechi-Edizioni ‘Ill Turismo’ Via dei Rustici, 5-50122 Firenze. FRONT COVER shows reconstruction model of the centre of Rome in the age of Constantine by architect Italo Gismondi. GOLDEN COIN was issued by Emperor Hadrianus. WAX STATUE personal collection.

Poetry ‘Deep Into the Heart of Wales’

Sunday 1st March 2020 the Wales Readathon and Dewithon20 begins!  To get fired up, read Gareth Evans emotive poem, one of many he penned on a trek across Wales.

“In the summer of 2003, Gareth Evans walked the length of Wales from Cardiff to Holyhead, taking 28 days to cover over 500km and 18000m of ascent.  Twenty-eight poems were inspired by the journey.  Some are humorous, some are philosophical, some are descriptive and all are the product of quiet, solitary observation.  Join Welshman Gareth as he probes deep into the heart of Wales.”

Here is one of his poems—

“The Dragon’s Back”

Turned to motionless stone by a great Welsh wizard

His red scaly back turned to a silvery grey

The most powerful dragon that ever lived

Is harnessed by a mysterious, magical spell

His elongated head peers down on the Llanberis lakes

His massive body full of spikes is a fearsome sight

His rock-studded spine slumped high above Ogwen

Gashes line his steep sides like old war wounds shooting down to Idwal

Gullies and arêtes form the webs of his folded wings

A bristly tail drops down suddenly, decorated by spectacular pinnacles

Before flicking up again with one last majestic sweep

To its triple-pronged tip soaring towards the heavens

The roar that once filled the valleys preserved forever

In the howl of the wind and the scream of the jets in Nant Ffrancon

His beauty is held in the eagles that now circle above him

He lives on in the spirit of the people of Wales

Courage and passion are mirrored in their eyes

And his fire still burns in the depths of their hearts

By Gareth L Evans 2003

Poetry from “Deep Into the Heart of Wales”
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewPoetry.asp?AuthorID=8106

Wales Readathon 2020
 https://bookjotter.com/2020/02/03/are-you-ready-for-wales-readathon-2020/

My Dewithon20 post
https://thoughtsbecomewords.com/2020/02/21/are-you-ready-for-wales-readathon-2020/

‘One Moonlit Night’ by Caradog Prichard is currently winging its way to me via Booktopia.  It is the book chosen by Dewithon20 as a group read.  Or pick your own book and join us!

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Welsh Flag

Dewithon Logo Daffs

 

Moths Stopped Me in My Tracks

Suburban shopping centre covered in moths after drought-breaking rains.  Warm humid conditions released flora, fauna and insects which burst forth in a delayed exhibition of springtime in Brisbane.

My apologies if you have ‘Mottephobia’.

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

IMG_20200227_091619
IMG_20200227_091629_BURST001_COVER
IMG_20200227_091637
IMG_20200227_091936
IMG_20200227_091949

INFORMATION : This activity is unusual.  Could these small arthropod insects with feelers, six legs and one pair of wings be a Dry Leaf Looper Moth?  More at home in leaf-litter under trees?  The images shown on the website (below) are similar moths to the ones I have photographed and were found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.

http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_loopers/DryLeaf.htm

Dry Leaf Looper Moth – Idiodes siculoides – Subfamily Ennominae? – Family Geometridae

Are You Ready for Wales Readathon 2020?

Wales Dragon Readathon Dewithon2020 (2)
This Welsh girl is reading an exciting tale to the dragon. Or perhaps she is so intent on the story she doesn’t notice the dragon until the last page. The perfect team, a cool dragon and a super keen reader participating in the forthcoming Wales Readathon and #dewithon20. Any age or species can participate. Details https://bookjotter.com/2020/02/03/are-you-ready-for-wales-readathon-2020/ or my blog post https://thoughtsbecomewords.com/2020/02/21/are-you-ready-for-wales-readathon-2020/

Interested in Welsh literature?  Maybe even dragons?  This is for you!  Wales Readathon and Dewithon20 offer the opportunity for book bloggers around the world to discover Welsh writers and their works.

The list includes fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays, in fact anything written in English or Welsh with links to the nation of Wales.

Wales Dragon Flag Dewithon2020

This 31-day literary celebration commences on Sunday 1st March 2020 (St. David’s Day) and ends Tuesday 31st March 2020.  All ages welcome, dragon optional!

The perfect time to join with the readers of Wales and follow #dewithon20 trailblazer Book Jotter

Dewithon Logo Daffs

You are free to read and write on any literary subject relating to Wales

OR

read the set book classic ‘Un Nos Ola Leuad’ (One Moonlit Night) by Caradog Prichard.

One Moonlit Night by Caradog Prichard

The first of four Read-Along posts are scheduled for Saturday 7th March 2020.

Dragons ahoy, I am participating again this year!

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

More details—

DHQ Dewithon Headquarters

Official hashtag #dewithon20 when tweeting

Dewithon Reading List Wales Readathon Library

Book Jotter https://bookjotter.com/2020/02/03/are-you-ready-for-wales-readathon-2020/

Reading Wales http://readingwales.org.uk/en/

Welsh flag texture crumpled up

Review ‘Peace’ by Garry Disher

IMG_20200216_104859

Hypnotic, laconic writing from Garry Disher.  Another superb story featuring lone country Constable Paul Hirschhausen.  In his 4WD police Toyota, Hirsch patrols hundreds of kilometres through a vast dusty landscape around the small town of Tiverton in South Australia.

The plot weaves in and out of his long days on duty encountering misdemeanours ranging from wayward teenagers to rural theft and murder where nothing is as it seems.

The first killings are shocking (not telling who or what but it’s emotional) and expertly told through the eyes of Hirsch and his inner monologue.  I love this single POV approach.  The next murders involve a family, and two young girls disappear.  In steps sensible Sergeant Brandl of Redruth HQ as well as Sydney’s Organised Crime Squad senior sergeant Roesch and Homicide Squad senior constable Hansen, two insensitive characters, and things get very tricky indeed.

Jondaryan Horses 004

The hot dry rural atmosphere seeps into every chapter, and unforced dialogue runs throughout the story.  The town’s characteristics and characters are spot-on, for example annoying citizen Martin Gwynne, and recluse Craig Washburn who lives in a caravan near a dried-up creek bed.  And who is spray-painting graffiti on an historical woolshed?

There’s a bit of romance with girlfriend Wendy Street although I do find her background role passive and uncomfortably supportive of Hirsch without any commitment on his part.  I would like to see her become more prominent in future books in the series.

On a positive note, ‘Peace’ does cover community matters and domestic welfare, all part of Hirsch’s extensive remit.

Redruth Burra South Australia 02

I enjoyed the touches of wry humour and Christmas festivities including Hirsch’s role as Santa.  The book title comes from “In the end he found three generic snowscapes with the single word Peace inside.  That’s all a cop wants at Christmas, he thought.”  If only he could be warned of what’s to come…

Certain people seem to think Hirsch bungles everything he touches.  Well, he does bungle a couple of things and gets hauled in to explain, but when it comes to detective work he has a keen eye.  Hirsch knows that nothing is random, everything means something.

See if you can untangle the threads before he does, bearing in mind that you are reading in a nice comfortable chair.

So far, my favourite read for new year 2020!

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

AUTHOR PROFILE:
Garry Disher Australian Crime Author 03Garry Disher was born in Burra, South Australia, in 1949 and he’s the author of over fifty books, from crime fiction and children’s literature to non-fiction text books and handbooks.

Disher graduated with a Masters degree in Australian History at Monash University and was awarded a creative writing fellowship to Stanford University in California.  He later taught creative writing before becoming a full-time writer, winning numerous awards both in Australia and overseas.

Garry Disher  https://garrydisher.com/
List of books  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/garry-disher/

TRIVIA:  Redruth Gaol exists in Burra, South Australia, but author Garry Disher could possibly have named Tiverton after a homestead on the Yunta Creek or the town of Riverton in South Australia.

Redruth Burra South Australia

‘Love…’ said Mr Jones

Love doesn’t make

the world go round.

Love is what makes

the ride worthwhile.

 

Franklin P. Jones (1908-1980)

Mr Jones was a reporter, public relations executive and humorist.

reading books 01

More of his agreeably witty sayings here
http://www.greatthoughtstreasury.com/author/franklin-p-jones

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Valentine's Day 12

Stilt Walkers – Fact and Fantasy

Toowoomba Train Trip 029
STILT-WALKER BUTTERFLY Toowoomba Queensland 2008 September Carnival of Flowers.

If you’ve ever been to the circus or a street parade, you will have seen someone walking along high above the crowd on a pair of stilts.  To the average person, stilt-walking is the mainstay of theatrical performers, clowns and jugglers and used to great effect in fantasy film and stage productions.

However, stilts (originally wooden) have been used in many industries for many hundreds of years, from ancient shepherding to wall painting, fruit-picking and hedge-trimming to modern construction.

Several websites have histories of the original stilt-walkers, but in the old days if you found yourself living in a flood plain, beside the beach, in marshland or some other area where the ground was less than steadfast, it was a great way to keep safe.

Raised above it all, striding through the landscape with a birds’ eye view, it’s easy to see how they became part of certain countries folklore and historical identity.

I remember as a child, turning round to see the silk-clad legs of a stilt-walker and being quite amazed as I slowly raised my eyes to the performer, a real person no less, teetering high above me.

  •   Apparently ‘Walk on Stilts Day’ is celebrated on 27 July every year

 

  •   In 2008 Roy Maloy of Australia took five steps on stilts 17m (56ft) high

 

  •   In 1891 Sylvain Dornon stilt-walked from Paris to Moscow in 58 days

 

  •   The Golden Stilt is the highest honour in the ancient sport of stilt-jousting

 

  •   European stilt-walking festivals are held in Spain, Netherlands and Belgium

 

  •   Canadian ‘Cirque du Soleil’ feature a dazzling array of stilt-walkers

 

  •   Moko Jumbie is spirit healer stilt-dancing from West Indies

 

  •   A centuries-old tradition, Chinese stilt-walkers bring good luck

 

  •   Modern stilt performances by gorgeous Leonie Deavin troupe

 

  •   Stilts can be ordered online – go for it!

Stilt-walking is corporate business now, far, far removed from those sodden sheep in the marshes, guarded by a lone farmer on stilts with only his trusty sheep dog and knitting to keep him company.  Knitting was not gender specific in olden times; hardy men perched atop a pair of wooden stilts could knit a woolly vest while keeping a wary eye out for hungry wolves.

So forget those hole-punched tin cans and pieces of string you manoeuvred to clump up and down the driveway like a robot, stilts have entered the 21st century.

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Stilt Walkers 06
Stilt Walkers 02
Stilt Walkers 04
The smart will overcome all difficulties. Vector illustration

More information and fascinating photographs:
http://homunculustheatre.com.au/roving_acts/manoeuvre-stilt-performers/
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/12/05/stilt-walkers/
http://www.leoniedeavin.com.au/profile.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stilts
https://stiltfactory.com/

Debbie Young ‘The Natter of Knitters’ New Wendlebury Barrow Series

Mystery, Mayhem and Comedy in the Cotswolds

From UK author Debbie Young’s original Sophie Sayers Village Mysteries comes ‘The Natter of Knitters’, the first book in a new spin-off series set in Wendlebury Barrow.  And I’m keen to enter the draw to win a hand-knitted scarf associated with the launch of The Tales from Wendlebury Barrow series—read on for details.

Debbie Young Natter of Knitters 01Debbie Young says the title of each new tale will be a collective noun, whether a well-known phrase such as ‘The Pride of Peacocks’ (which I’ve read) or one she has invented to suit her own purposes like ‘The Natter of Knitters’ which I think is very appropriate.

Catalogued as quick reads (novelette or short novella) Debbie comments “The Tales from Wendlebury Barrow series contains intrigue, humour and romance but no murder—just gentle crime and misdemeanours.”  I am very interested to see what a gentle crime is!

In ‘The Natter of Knitters’, Sophie Sayers is keen to take part in a secret yarn-bombing campaign.  The definition of yarn-bombing is when a group of knitters surprises its local community by covering something in colourful knitted items, such as a statue.  In this case, an historic tree.

In walks mysterious new arrival, Ariel Fey.  ‘What is she up to?’ I ask myself.

Debbie Young Natter of Knitters 02
Enter the Prize Draw associated with ‘The Natter of Knitters’ new release.  The prize is the scarf Sophie knits in the book, created in four floral shades of blue (forget-me-not, hyacinth, bluebell, cornflower) using a soft warm mix of merino, cashmere and silk.  See Debbie’s website for details.

Debbie Young Natter of Knitters 04

Sign up for Debbie’s newsletter via her website to become a member of her Readers’ Club and you will automatically be entered in the Prize Draw to be held on Friday 14th February 2020.

As a welcome gift, Debbie will send the ebook ‘The Pride of Peacocks’, a short novella she’s written especially for new members of her mailing list.

Debbie has written several titles—and writing more

Debbie Young Natter of Knitters 03Quote “I’m putting the finishing touches to ‘Murder Your Darlings’, the sixth Sophie Sayers Village Mystery, and I’m writing the second Staffroom at St Bride’s novel ‘Stranger at St Bride’s’.  The second tale from Wendlebury Barrow is also bubbling…”

Such a noteworthy crop of cosy crimes with comfortable characters and Cotswold village mysteries to solve.  Don’t wait!  ‘The Natter of Knitters’ is now available in ebook formats (Kindle, Kobo, Apple, GooglePlay, etc) and also in a cute compact paperback the size of a picture postcard.

Put the kettle on, or brew the beans, then settle back for an enjoyable read.

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Debbie Young Natter of Knitters 05QUICK GLIMPSE FROM DEBBIE YOUNG:

“As a freelance, I’ve written for Cotswold Life and Country Garden & Smallholding (now Country Smallholding) on subjects such as organic box schemes, poultry keeping and country crafts, and I very much enjoy writing regular columns for the two magazines closest to my home. You can find these articles among my blog posts, tagged Hawkesbury Parish News and Tetbury Advertiser.

“In 2010, I started blogging, and book projects and ambitions started to materialise as if by magic. From 2013, I was commissioning editor of the Authors’ Advice Centre at the Alliance of Independent Authors, before giving it up to write full-time in 2019.”

Poetry Clipart 14Further reading:

https://authordebbieyoung.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debbie_Young

https://hawkesburypress.com/who-we-are

https://sophieetallis.wordpress.com/tag/debbie-young

https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/