Tag: Reading

New Calendars and Old Books

Forward thinking and backward reading. Or a calendar in nearly every room and at least three retro books on the bedside table…

Some of my favourite New Year calendars 2023 © Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2022

First in line ‘The Fourth Crow’ (2012) a Constable & Robinson Ltd hardback featuring a series written by well respected historical fiction author Pat McIntosh. Her Gil Cunningham murder mysteries are lusciously populated with all manner of people and goings-on in Glasgow in fifteenth century Britain. The ye olde atmosphere is so vividly written that you can imagine yourself right there, and this series was recommend to me by a medieval historian and lecturer.

Historic Note: 👑
The movie ‘The Lost King’ (2022) is a story about the real Philippa Langley who actually found the final resting place of King Richard III. The poetic licence has been challenged but it’s immersive viewing, filmed entirely on location in Edinburgh Scotland with great care and compassion, humour and heartache and so relevant on so many levels. Can recommend!

Three retro books for New Year reading © Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2023

Next in line ‘Death in Disguise’ (1992) by Carolyn Graham on BorrowBox Audio, but do I really have to mention anything about Caroline Graham’s Midsomer Murders mystery series? DCI Tom Barnaby has had so many crimes to solve over so many years in books and on ITV television that he’s almost a real person.

This story is nicely read by John Hopkins with a foreword by John Nettles who played the first Tom Barnaby. I have to admit I am not far into this tale of criminal intent because I am finding the plot slow and the scene-setting long. However, the writing quality is top notch in relation to some of the light-weight stuff around today.

Summertime in Brisbane © Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2022

The third book ‘Love and Summer’ (2009) a Charnwood large print hardback written by highly regarded award-winning Irish author William Trevor. I had not heard of him until a WordPress blogger Reading Matters posted and wrote about the William Trevor Reading Challenge.
https://readingmattersblog.com/2022/12/17/a-year-with-william-trevor-is-almost-here/
This tale hooked me straight away with subplots, instant twists and turns and interesting characters. “Ellie falls in love with Florian, although he’s planning to leave Ireland and begin anew after what he considers to be his failed life… and a dangerously reckless attachment develops between them”.

Of course, I review books on Goodreads regardless of whether or not anyone reads them. Either the books or my reviews! The interesting fact of my 2022 Goodreads Reading Challenge is I nominated to read 37 books over the year. I ended up reading 78 books (211%) so that was a surprise.

JOIN A LOCAL BOOK CLUB AND BE SURPRISED!

Happy New Year 2023 and may you be pleasantly surprised by________________(fill in the blank).

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Concurrently Reading Four Books

Concurrently reading in May 2022 © Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2022

Many people read more than one book at a time and I have been doing this for several years. If one book is slow or doesn’t capture my immediate interest, I switch to another one. Plots and characters never seem to get confused because I usually read different genres.

And I always like to finish a book!

Watch out for a special blog post for my 100th Book Review. This milestone took me by surprise. I have many more reviews on Goodreads but I personalise my blog post reviews.

Have a quick look at Fantastic Fiction, my favourite go-to resource:

https://www.fantasticfiction.com/f/jasper-fforde/great-troll-war.htm

https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/margaret-hickey/cutters-end.htm

https://www.fantasticfiction.com/w/h-g-wells/invisible-man.htm

https://www.fantasticfiction.com/m/val-mcdermid/1979.htm

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

JOIN A LOCAL BOOK CLUB AND BE SURPRISED!

Happy New Year 2022

Dust off the old year and brighten up the new year 2022 @ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Wishing you all a clearer, brighter, fresher New Year 2022.

Thank you for reading my blog.

I have enjoyed reading yours!

And books.

Here’s to another year of literary endeavour.

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

* * * * * * *

Preview of my forthcoming Agapanthus post “From Buds to Bundles of Blooms on Sticks” @ Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2021

Host a ‘Great Book Swap’ 2021


The Great Book Swap is a fantastic way to celebrate reading, and raise much-needed funds for remote communities. Schools, workplaces, libraries, universities, book clubs, individuals and all kinds of organisations can host one. The idea is to swap a favourite book in exchange for a gold coin donation.

Here’s a letter from Executive Director Karen Williams—-

“The Great Book Swap is back and registrations for 2021 are now open. Register your school, library or organisation to hold a Great Book Swap anytime throughout the year. Last year the pandemic stopped many individuals, schools and organisations from hosting a Great Book Swap, but we’re hoping 2021 will be our biggest year yet.

“We are aiming to raise $350,000 to gift 35,000 culturally relevant books to children in remote Australia and we need your help! Visit our new-look website, and access some great features and resources to help make fundraising easier, fun and more successful than ever.

“Why not check to see if a Great Book Swap aligns to your organisation’s Reconciliation Action Plan, or you can ask your employer to match donations? It is also a great conversation starter to get teams talking and sharing their reading interests and passions.

“Get ready to celebrate reading, hold your business or organisation to their social responsibilities, and raise funds for an excellent cause.”

REGISTER NOW

Holding the Great Book Swap brought us together as a team, we had a chance to share our love of reading and raise money for an excellent cause.”—-Alice Dickins, Heide Museum of Modern Art.

Thank you for your support.

Happy swapping!

Karen Williams
Executive Director.
“READING OPENS DOORS”
SIGN UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER
Indigenous Literacy Foundation
https://www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au/


I reckon swapping could work for little Street Libraries with a BBQ and live music 🙂

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Favourite School Story – Helen Hollick on Ruby Ferguson’s Jill Series

After reading two of Debbie Young’s Sophie Sayers mystery novels out of order, I decided to savour the series and start from the beginning with ‘Best Murder in Show’.  Debbie also writes St Brides, a British girls’ boarding school series for grown-ups, and in that vein she has interviewed award-winning historical and fantasy novelist Helen Hollick about her favourite childhood books.

Please read on…. ♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Debbie Young's Writing Life

The fourth in my occasional series of interviews with author friends who love school stories

First in my own series of school stories for grown-ups

When I launched my St Bride’s series set in a British girls’ boarding school, I asked some author friends which school stories they’d most enjoyed when they were growing up and invited them to share their enthusiasm on my blog. So far I’ve run posts by Jean Gill talking about Anne of Green Gables, Helena Halme on Pippi Longstocking, and Clare Flynn on The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie – all very different books set in different countries: Canada, Sweden and Scotland.

Now at last it’s time for my home country to get a look in, as historical novelist Helen Hollick explains her passion for a classic English series: the Riding School stories by Ruby Ferguson.

Helen Hollick writes:

First in my own series…

View original post 1,502 more words

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.

Christmas Reading in a Shoebox

In the tried and true method of storing items of a precious nature, I have used a shoebox to delineate my important Christmas reading.  Methinks this bundle of books will take me into the New Year!

IN ORDER OF SHOEBOX CONTENT

Bloody-Bastard-Beautiful-Mocco-Wollert SWWQ

I just love the front cover of Mocco’s book. That yellow dress pops!  Back cover reads: “Adventurous, lovable and laughable, Mocco captures the heat and vibrancy of Darwin, in the 1950s rugged unruly Northern Territory of Australia.”  And “I am on my way to Darwin to find a job.  I have no money…”

 

 

Maybe The Horse Will Talk by Elliot Perlman

Another front cover I love!  You just know this will be quirky and Elliot’s Stephen Maserov has problems.  A onetime teacher, married to fellow teacher Eleanor, he is a second-year lawyer working in imminent danger of being downsized.  The back cover reads “I am absolutely terrified of losing a job I absolutely hate.”

 

 

In My Fathers House by Indrani Ganguly

Such a tranquil front cover.  It reminds me of my own father reading the newspaper every morning.  Many will remember my review of Indrani Ganguly’s “The Rose and The Thorn”, well, this is the book which precedes it.  Indrani has included her poetry, art work, short stories, photographs of her travels and more.

 

 

Toni Risson Greek Cafe Malted Milks Bookcover

Another beautiful front cover.  Must be viewed in person to appreciate the qualities!  You may recall my post about the opening of Queensland State Library’s exhibition “Meet Me At The Paragon” a Greek Cafés retrospective.  Toni’s companion book bulges with photos and historic information.

 

 

IMG_20191123_112408

The front cover certainly sets the tone.  The back cover reads “A city girl stranded in the middle of the desert.  A circus performer with haunted wings.  A rebellious fighter with a kangaroo heart.  A boy who dreams of holding his home in his heart.  A house made of flesh and bone.”  Maree writes unexpected stories!

 

 

IMG_20191203_092400

Almost last but never least, “Dewey” with photos inside, and “Miss Read”.  My own photograph of these two front covers is larger than the others because—

(A)  I worked, lived and breathed libraries for years but never read Vicki Myron’s series about “The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched The World” and

(B)  Miss Read, aka school teacher Dora Jessie Saint, had a particular cosy-village style and a huge following in the UK in 1960s when I wasn’t interested in that sort of stuff.  A slim little volume chosen because of the title “Village Christmas” far removed from my dry hot Aussie festive season.

HONOURABLE MENTION

Joanna Baker Devastation Road Bookcover 2019The final two books are on my iPad.  Written by Joanna Baker they are set in country-town Victoria, Australia.  I can whisper that I have already dipped into “Devastation Road” and it’s gripping.

Joanna Baker The Elsinore Vanish Bookcover 2019

There you have it!  Separate reviews will follow—eventually—on my blog as well as Goodreads.  Joy to the world!

Holly Christmas 02          ♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

 

Three Things #8

Looking Thinking Reading!  Three Things very different this time—Tawny Frogmouths, Blogging Reward plus authors Malcolm Gladwell, Rohan Wilson, Mocco Wollert and Maree Kimberley—mix the sequence, have a sticky-beak. GBW.

LOOKING

On my Home page there was an image of two Tawny Frogmouths which live in my front garden.  If you missed it, for your edification I have re-posted my original “Photo Of The Week” image—I change them every Saturday.  I think this photo shows the unique adaptability of nature. GBW.

A Tawny Frogmouth Couple in Flame Tree Nov2019
CAN YOU SPOT THE TAWNY FROGMOUTH? Actually there are two Tawny Frogmouths in my tree. They are night birds with an owl-like appearance but are actually more closely related to the nightjars and they lack the curved talons of owls. The general plumage of the Tawny Frogmouth is silver-grey, slightly paler below, streaked and mottled with black and rufous. During the day, these Tawny Frogmouths perch in the tree, well camouflaged as part of the branches. At night they hunt nocturnal insects, worms, snails, and often catch moths in the air during flight. They make a soft, deep and continuous ‘oom oom oom’ sound. They live all around Australia in a variety of habitats from city to rural areas. GBW. https://australianmuseum.net.au/learn/animals/birds/tawny-frogmouth/

THINKINGThinking Bubble Thought 01

Quote “I think the pleasure of completed work is what makes blogging so popular.  You have to believe most bloggers have few if any actual readers.  The writers are in it for other reasons.  Blogging is like work, but without co-workers thwarting you at every turn.  All you get is the pleasure of a completed task.” —Scott Adams “Dilbert”.

Gretchen says:  Like many things, e.g. press columns, literary reviews, magazine articles, in the blogging world I am only as good as my latest post.  This idea isn’t new, and it’s debatable, but there’s so much coming along all the time that nobody has two seconds to scroll through my back posts – except spammers looking for a way in.  Accordingly Scott Adams is right, for me it’s the pleasure of completing a task.  Reimbursement?  Pfft… that ain’t on my cards, baby. GBW.

Quote “And it occurred to me that there is no such thing as blogging. There is no such thing as a blogger. Blogging is just writing—writing using a particularly efficient type of publishing technology.”—Simon Dumenco “Media Guy”.

Gretchen says:  Hmm, “just writing” hey?  Each and every blogger is using this individualistic approach to writing.  And they “publish” their little hearts out.  I think blogging is more artistic than “just writing”.  Yet I agree with Dumenco.  All writers have their own agenda, and possibly two or three outlets, regardless of the name.  I accept the term “blogger” because that efficient “publishing technology” supports me as I tread a path of my own making. GBW.

READING

A change of pace.
Four vastly different books.
A mixed bunch of authors. 

IMG_20191120_210355

Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell.
The #1 New York Times and top ten Sunday Times bestseller quote “I love this book … reading it will actually change not just how you see strangers, but how you look at yourself, the news – the world.”  So far I have found nothing new but I will persevere in the hope that something startling will be uncovered considering “No one shows us who we are like Malcolm Gladwell.”
https://www.gladwellbooks.com/

Daughter of Bad Times by Rohan Wilson.
This dystopian novel comes well recommended.  “In its vision of the future, Daughter of Bad Times explores the truth about a growing inhumanity, as profit becomes the priority.  Supposedly dead, Rin’s lover Yamaan survives a natural disaster and turns up in an immigration detention facility in Australia, no ordinary facility, it’s a corrupt private prison company built to exploit the flood of environmental refugees.”
https://www.allenandunwin.com/authors/w/rohan-wilson

Bloody Bastard Beautiful by Mocco Wollert.
“The frank and hilarious account of an immigrant girl who follows her German lover to Darwin.  Adventurous, loveable and laughable, Mocco captures the heat and vibrancy of Darwin and its larrikins, in a decade where the Northern Territory makes its own rules.”  Or as Mocco says “I am on my way to Darwin to find a job.  I have no money to buy petrol or oil, man, I am desperate.”  I met her at GenreCon and she’s quite a lady.
https://www.boolarongpress.com.au/our-authors/authors-w/mocco-wollert/

Never the Tracked: And other Stories by Maree Kimberley.
At GenreCon, I signed up for Maree’s newsletter and she gave me this booklet of outstanding short stories with a twist.  I will be buying her forthcoming book because I love a bit of surrealism.  “Coming in late 2020 from Text Publishing, Dirt Circus League is set in modern-day remote Queensland, a YA genre-bending slice of Australian paranormal fantasy and surrealism.”
https://mareekimberley.com.au/

Did I mention that I am a thorough reader?  Don’t wait up!

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Wales Readathon Dewithon 2019 08

HISTORICAL NOTE—One post in three parts “Reading Looking Thinking” a neat idea started by blogger Paula Bardell-Hedley.

Check out Book Jotter her informative, interesting and totally book-related website!

Book Backlog and Being ‘Beswitched’

Every reader has book backlog.  If we didn’t, there would be no such thing as the TBR, or stacks of unread ARCs, neither shelves groaning with books nor e-readers crammed with downloads.  My bedside table is piled high with enticing yet unread novels and, well, you get the idea.  You have book backlog, too.

There are so many excellent books in the world that I know I will never catch up—so I’m being choosy and will read what I want, when I want.  And taking the sinful route of skipping pages if it’s not up to scratch.

My reading material may not be literary, it may not be controversial, it may not be popular, it may not be the latest or greatest, however, it will be a book I’m interested in from cover-to-cover.  An occasional blog post is sure to come out of it, no matter how fluffy or deep the content.

‘Okay, okay, enough!’ I hear you cry.  ‘When does time travel come into this?’

Beswitched by Kate Saunders 01“A ripping English boarding-school story with a perceptive heroine and time-travel twist guaranteed to appeal to modern schoolgirls.”—Kirkus Reviews


BESWITCHED BY KATE SAUNDERS
 is the kind of story which I would have loved when I was a girl.  Well paced and absorbing, it is eerily accurate of all those Famous Five and Girls Own Annual stories I read yonks ago.  Saunders tight writing style easily pulled me into the dilemma which rather spoilt young schoolgirl Flora Fox finds herself, viz, she gets fobbed off to boarding school and never arrives.

Actually she does arrive, but she’s zapped back in time.  Instead of luxurious Penrice Hall, she arrives at St Winifred’s in pre-war 1935 where all the ‘gels’ are ever-so-British-upper-class, the underwear is scratchy and the food is awful.

As you can imagine this is a personal growth tale, cut through with humorous chronological comparisons, nightmare teachers, ripping seaside hols, scary bonding adventures and a neat twist to the enlightening finale.  Jolly. Good. Fun.

I won’t go into the logistics of time travel but suffice to say the elements meld together well.  Recommended for 8 to 12 year olds, although anybody can read it for a look at life when steely friendships were forged by facing boarding school adversity together.

My kidlit rating soars above five stars!

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Kate Saunders Author
Kate Saunders won the Costa Children’s Book Award for ‘Five Children on the Western Front’ published 2014. Photo by Clara Molden. Review https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kate-saunders/beswitched/

Re-reading Old Stuff

It was a nice surprise to discover an older piece of writing I’d forgotten, particularly when it still holds up.

My overview of Fiona McIntosh’s historical fiction “Tapestry” was penned for Top 40 Book Club Reads 2015, a regular Brisbane City Council Library Service booklet written and compiled by unacknowledged library staff.

The book—billed as timeslip fiction—has a layered plot and it was hard to write a 100 word description without sounding too stilted.  McIntosh chose settings in two countries, Australia and Britain, in two different eras of history.  I particularly liked the second half in 1715 within the Tower of London.

IMG_20190809_111031
Synopsis by Gretchen Bernet-Ward

After visiting the Tower of London to research her book, McIntosh had “An unforgettable day and I attribute much of the story’s atmosphere to that marvellous afternoon and evening in the Tower of London with the Dannatts when the tale of Lady Nithsdale and my own Tapestry came alive in my imagination.”

Author Fiona McIntosh has written quite a stack of books set in many parts of the world, and in different genres: Non-Fiction, Historical Romantic-Adventure, Timeslip, Fantasy – Adult, Fantasy – Children, and Crime.

Check your local library catalogue in person or online.

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

In order of appearance, the Brisbane Libraries Top 40 book club recommendations for 2015—I have not read Poe Ballantine’s chilling tale “Love and Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere” and I may never read it—See how many titles you’ve read!

The Visionist;  Moriarty;  Tapestry;  The Bone Clocks;  California; Z – Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald;  The Mandarin Code;  Merciless Gods;  Upstairs at the Party;  Friendship;  Birdsong;  Heat and Light;  Time and Time Again;  What Was Promised;  The Austen Project;  The Paying Guests;  The Exile – An Outlander Graphic Novel;  Lost and Found;  Amnesia;  Cop Town;  Mr Mac and Me;  Nora Webster;  The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden;  Inspector McLean – Dead Men’s Bones;  The Soul of Discretion;  We Were Liars;  Stone Mattress – Nine Tales;  Family Secrets;  South of Darkness;  The Claimant;  This House of Grief;  She Left Me the Gun;  Mona Lisa – A Life Discovered;  The Silver Moon;  Revolution;  Love and Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere;  What Days Are For;  Mistress;  Warning – The Story of Cyclone Tracy;  The Birth of Korean Cool.

THAT is a Stupid Word

THAT debate rages on.  THAT is an overused, unnecessary word, a redundant filler which bulks out your manuscript and changes just about anything into THAT nothingness.

Increasingly, ambiguous THAT is being used instead of ‘who’ and ‘which’ or more descriptive words to introduce a defining clause.  This is happening universally in writing today; THAT is slowing and neutralising sentences.

Seven examples where THAT is incorrect or useless, write your own, you get my drift:

  1. She said that it was in her best interest – delete.
  2. They walked down the stairs that are rather grand – use which.
  3. He visits the koala that he sponsors – delete.
  4. Judy thinks Angela is the sort of woman that enjoys tennis – use who.
  5. He assumed that they all wanted to singalong with him – delete.
  6. It takes a minute to realise that Sue is talking – delete.
  7. Tom has to tell her that her dog has been stolen – OK-ish.

A pronoun is a word taking the place of a noun.  THAT is a demonstrative pronoun and used in the right context it has a legitimate reason to exist, e.g. ‘That’s a good idea’.

That Word That Deleted

It is perfectly valid when THAT appears in character dialogue, but when a writer indiscriminately uses THAT in other areas of their work, I find it needlessly clunky.

Of course, you can change a passive voice to an active voice, or use the rule ‘Who is a person, THAT is an object’.  Remember ‘Who, what, when, where, why’ to help you decide.

On the other hand, there’s always exceptions.  Use your own discretion as to where you like or don’t like THAT, and where THAT actually does fit in your sentence.  Once you become aware of THAT, you will probably get rid of it unless you use American English.

CHALLENGE 

  • Read through text or a draft you have written in the last month.
  • Check for how many time you use the word THAT.
  • Are you surprised at your usage?
  • Could you use a more expressive word than THAT?
  • Could you condense your word count by omitting THAT?
  • Read a novel or document and watch for THAT exploitation.

IMG_20190513_111412Like me, not everyone has a degree in English grammar, check further:
https://www.bkacontent.com/avoid-overusing-word-writing/
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/List-of-pronouns.htm
https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2012/09/07/that-who-which/

If there’s a ‘Ditch THAT’ campaign running, I will sign up!

Why?  Because current literary exertion is being spent on THAT, an overworked and superfluous word.  What more can I say about THAT?  Or, what more can I say?

‘That’s all, folks’

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Blog Webpage Banner 31

Reading Hour – One Lousy Hour!

How pathetic!  We have 24 glorious hours in a day and only one is chosen!  And it’s not even held simultaneously around the country!  Have you read your one hour today?

Australian Reading Hour Bookshop Logo

This year Australian Reading Hour falls on Thursday 20 September 2018 and the nominal time in the evening is 6pm to 7pm.  But individual reading and group reads will be happening all day to avoid important sporting fixtures, special events and venue opening hours, and to accommodate the different time zones in Australia.

Fair enough, however, it’s still one lousy hour!  What is the Australian Reading Hour committee thinking?  There are 8760 hours in one year, so use some more of them.

If more hours aren’t forthcoming next year, why not (1) disrupt your sporting fixtures (2) put the special event on hold (3) pause during venue opening hours (4) delay that visit to the gym and (5) forget a few things to stop and READ for ONE lousy hour!

Meanwhile, find a really quiet, cosy place and settle down alone.  Betcha read for longer than an hour!

Or gather a group together at school, work, bookshops like Avid Reader, the library, the park or get the family together in your own home and read, read, read for one lousy hour.

One hour isn’t going to kill you, the world won’t crumble around you – but you and the adults and children of Australia will visit another place through the pages of a book.  For one lousy hour…

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Books Book Shelf 18

WordPress Likeable Post Tally 01
Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linked to my other post https://thoughtsbecomewords.com/2018/09/16/your-reading-hour-countdown/

What is Dads Read?

Dads Reading Be Their Legend 02

This post will bore anyone without children in their lives.

Dads Read recognises that fathers reading to their children strengthens literacy, models positive reading behaviour and builds children’s self-esteem around reading, especially for boys.

Dads Read is an early childhood literacy initiative, developed by State Library of Queensland in 2010 and launched statewide in 2012 as part of the National Year of Reading, to promote family literacy.  The program continues to expand and is now being delivered throughout Queensland and South Australia and plans are underway in Tasmania.

You can host your own event with their resources.  I’ve seen this program in action with a dedicated group.  Children choose a book, a slice of pizza and sit with their fathers to read.

Discrimination doesn’t apply, the Dads Read message is based on the simple but true premise that reading 10 minutes a day to your children is not only quick but also essential.

Dads Read aims to:
  • Raise awareness of the important role fathers play in their children’s development.
  • Inform fathers of the importance and benefits of reading to children from their early years, even before they start school.
  • Promote reading as a family.
  • Encourage fathers to read to their children and promote the value of reading.
  • Provide fathers with the tools to give them the confidence to read with their children.

My father was my reading mentor, instilling interest in books, and Dads Read program follows research which highlights the importance of dads reading to their children during their early developmental years.  As little as 10 minutes a day improves children’s literacy levels and stimulates creative and critical thinking.

‘Investment in early childhood is the most powerful investment a country can make’.
World Health Organization, 2007.

The Dads Read program has helped:
  • Address a real and significant issue which is at the core of our wellbeing as individuals, families, employers and communities: the need to be literate.
  • Support literacy development and help to develop the skills of Australia’s future workforce by building everyday skills for sustainable communities.
  • Build literacy levels among our younger generation while promoting family literacy and boosting the ability of reading in adults.
  • Connect families and communities in a cost effective and invaluable way.

Visit the SLQ website for some great book ideas and age-appropriate reading:
http://dadsread.org.au/reading-to-your-child/must-reads/

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Men Reading Books 36
Grandfathers can read too…

Indigenous Literacy Day

Indigenous Literacy Day 2018

You have the month of September to sign up to the new Indigenous Literacy Day fundraising campaign and fill your virtual shelf with books for children in remote communities.  Participate in the launch on Wednesday 5 September and discover how to fill a bookshelf for children in the remote Australian outback.

It’s something new, something a little different, something the Indigenous Literacy Foundation believes you’ll enjoy sharing with your friends and family, and something that gives you the opportunity of ensuring kids in remote communities have access to quality, new books.

Commencing on Indigenous Literacy Day (5 September 2018) the new ‘Fill a Bookshelf’ fundraising campaign aims to raise $300,000 to help ILF gift 30,000 new books to schools and service organisations in remote communities where books are scarce.

How does it work? The idea is simple…

  1. Sign up online to create a fundraising page and receive an empty virtual bookshelf.
  2. Ask family, friends, colleagues to donate a virtual book to your page (in the form of a donation)
  3. Fill your virtual bookshelf!
  4. Change the lives of Indigenous children.

Your donations will help buy new, carefully selected books for children who have none.  To put it quite simply – without your support, in a very real sense – bookshelves in remote Indigenous communities are empty.

All children in Australia deserve the same opportunities – in education, employment, health and wellbeing.  Evidence shows that literacy is the pathway to CHOICE for these opportunities, and BOOKS are the building blocks for literacy.  If you believe this too, sign up today!

I BELIEVE – SIGN ME UP  ‘Fill a Bookshelf’ and celebrate Indigenous Literacy Day!

The Indigenous Literacy Foundation
PO Box 663 Broadway NSW 2007
AustraliaIndigenous Literacy Foundation

Indigenous Literacy Day is a national celebration of Indigenous culture, stories, language and literacy.  Indigenous Literacy Day aims to raise awareness of the need to support literacy in remote and isolated Indigenous communities of Australia.

Indigenous Childrens Book Moli Det BigiBigi
‘Moli det bigibigi’ (Molly the Pig) a new children’s picture book written by Karen Manbulloo, from the remote Binjari community near Katherine in the Northern Territory. Written in Kriol and English, ‘Moli det bigibigi’ is a story based on a real-life pet pig of the Binjari community, found in the bush by Karen’s brother.

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Book Tag: Shelfie by Shelfie #1

This fun tag was brought to my attention by productive book blogger Paula Bardell-Hedley of BookJotter fame.  Originally created by Beth of Bibliobeth the idea is to share a picture (aka ‘shelfie’) of your favourite bookshelf and then answer ten questions related to the titles displayed.

Visit Beth’s blog to see more info, the logo and tag and view posts by participating bloggers.  Then launch your own unique Q&A Shelfie by Shelfie.

I think many readers will find these titles unfamiliar…

IMG_20180901_131746
Part of Gretchen’s book shelves.

1.  Is there any reason for this shelf being organised the way it is or is it purely random?

Short answer is ‘subliminally shelved’.  Long answer is there are many bookshelves in our home and until I decided to participate in Shelfie by Shelfie I didn’t realise that most of my books are grouped.  Either when they arrived or over a period of time, I’m not sure.  There are clumps like non-fiction, poetry, humour, crime, fantasy and (not all shown) Australian content.

2.  Tell us a story about one of the books on this shelf that is special to you, i.e. how you got it / a memory associated with it, etc.

Hard to pick just one.  I know some of the authors (or received uncorrected bound proofs to review prior to publication) but my all-time special one would have to be ‘My Beachcombing Days: Ninety Sea Sonnets’ by Brisbane poet John Blight.  His daughter, a family friend, gave it to me as a birthday gift in the same year as disastrous flooding hit the city.  The flood waters also coincided with me securing a glam job in a travel agency which had 12 inches of river mud throughout the ground floor office.

3.  Which book from this shelf would you ditch if you were forced to and why?

No contest!  It would be Tom Keneally’s ‘Shame and the Captives’ a semi-factual diatribe about World War II prisoners-of-war from Italy and Japan who are held in a compound in Gawell, New South Wales, but allowed to work on a local farm.  It does have its altruistic moments but there’s bloodshed aplenty and the ‘uncertainty and chaos’ never worked for me.

4.  Which book from this shelf would you save in an emergency and why?

‘Withering-by-Sea’ written by children’s author and illustrator Judith Rossell.  Young heroine Stella Montgomery is the epitome of someone I would have loved to have known when I was a child.  I did read a lot of British kids books!  Set in Victorian England, the story is both adventurous and creepy.  Apart from dressing up as a mature-age Stella Montgomery for library Book Week, two years ago I had my copy of the book signed by Judith Rossell when I attended her writers workshop in historic Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne.

5.  Which book has been on this shelf for the longest time?

Hmm, that would be a toss-up between Nobel Prize for Literature winner Patrick White ‘The Cockatoos’ and Miles Franklin ‘My Brilliant Career’ both yellowing reprints dated 1974 and 1979 respectively.  I guess Mr White wins.

6.  Which book is the newest addition to this shelf?

Another toss of the coin.  ‘Truly Tan Hoodwinked!’ (Book 5) kids chapter book written by Jen Storer, and ‘Care of Australian Wildlife: For Gardeners, Landholders and Wildlife Carers’ by Erna Walraven, a 2004 revised edition but in mint condition and recently purchased in a second-hand bookshop.  The most adorable teeny tiny Koala baby is on the front cover.  The Koala wins by a nose.

7.  Which book from this shelf are you most excited to read (or re-read if this is a favourites shelf?)

I have a ‘thing’ for DBC Pierre, expat Aussie writer, and admire his off-kilter books.  I own two of his novels (the rest were loans) and love ‘Breakfast with the Borgias’ which I willingly re-read; and I’m usually not a re-reader.  Perhaps the fact that one of the characters is named Gretchen has something to do with it.

8.  If there is an object on this shelf apart from books, tell us the story behind it.

There is a small cardboard cut-out figure of Lisa Simpson from TV series The Simpsons which probably came with a McDonalds meal deal.  Lisa is holding an armload of books and in the show she is the lone advocate of literacy and learning.  I always like to think she influenced a generation of TV viewers to read.  And that she’s happy on this shelf.

9.  What does this shelf tell us about you as a reader?

It doesn’t tell you that I borrow hugely from my local library; or that I read too many e-books; nor that my current audio book is, ironically, ‘The Book Case’ by Dave Shelton narrated by Colleen Prendergast.  It does shout that I’m an Australian reader.

I read most genres and most writers regardless of nationality (translated helps!) but I keep coming back to Australian authors.  In an online book forum, I recall an American reader saying he only read American books because he understood them.  He didn’t mean the language, he meant emotional ties, recognition, connection.  That’s what I get from Australian books, nevertheless, I do think we have to step outside our comfort zone.

10.  Choose other bloggers to tag or choose a free question you make up yourself.

A free question I can make up sounds good.  NOTE I do not activate Comments, you will have to answer it in your own Shelfie by Shelfie blog post.

BONUS QUESTION:  Do you discuss the books you read in a face-to-face situation, online book reviews, or clutch your latest read to your chest saying ‘my precious, my precious’?

Happy reading, blog stars!

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

For modern Australian book reviews I can recommend blogger and bookseller Simon McDonald https://writtenbysime.com/ while this list contains notably mature Australian authors:
Thea Astley
Bruce Beaver
Geoffrey Blainey
Martin Boyd
Christopher Brennan
David Campbell
Peter Carey
Marcus Clarke
James Clavell
Bryce Courtenay
Geoffrey Dutton
Len Evans
John Farrow
R.D. FitzGerald
Miles Franklin
Joseph Furphy
Helen Garner
Germaine Greer
Kate Grenville
Charles Harpur
Alexander Harris
Shirley Hazzard
Xavier Herbert
Dorothy Hewett
A.D. Hope
Janette Turner Hospital
Robert Hughes
Joseph Jacobs
Colin Johnson
Elizabeth Jolley
Henry Kendall
Thomas Keneally
Jill Ker Conway
Henry Kingsley
C.J. Koch
Leonie Judith Kramer
John Dunmore Lang
Ray Lawler
Henry Lawson
Norman Lindsay
Ern Malley
David Malouf
Furnley Maurice
James Phillip McAuley
Hugh McCrae
Colleen McCullough
Les Murray
Oodgeroo Noonuccal
Bernard Patrick O’Dowd
Vance Palmer
Eric Partridge
Hal Porter
Peter Porter
Katherine Susannah Prichard
Henry Handel Richardson
Steele Rudd
Nevil Shute
Peter Singer
Kenneth Slessor
Christina Stead
Alfred George Stephens
Douglas Stewart
Kylie Tennant
P.L. Travers
Ethel Turner
Arthur William Upfield
Morris West
Patrick White
David Williamson
Tim Winton
Judith Wright
Markus Zusak

Love Your Bookshop Day!

Love Your Bookshop Day 2018 001

This year bookshops across Australia are throwing a party and you are invited!

Here’s what their invitation says––

Love Your Bookshop Day is a chance to celebrate what makes your local bookshop great.
Whether it’s for their amazing staff, their carefully curated range or specialisation, a book launch or a must-see events program, we encourage you to visit your favourite bookshop on Saturday 11th August 2018 and join in with the celebrations.

Don’t forget to use the tag #loveyourbookshopday and share why your bookshop is special using the hash tag #whyIlovemybookshop

Get ready to party with those things made of paper with squiggles on them...books!
Visit the official website http://www.loveyourbookshopday.com.au/

DESTINATION:  I’m definitely going to visit Where The Wild Things Are, a wonderfully absorbing children’s bookshop in groovy West End, Brisbane.  See ya!

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Love Your Bookshop Day 2018 002

‘My Dragon Reads Books’ Rhyme

IMG_20180629_141407

My Dragon Reads Books

My dragon gives me dirty looks,

When I borrow his favourite books.

I settle down in cosy nooks,

Or rest beside babbling brooks,

To read about pirates with curvy hooks,

And wildly passionate celebrity cooks,

And scattered flocks of noisy rooks,

And a veggie patch of scratching chooks.

There’s even a dungeon full of crooks,

Trying to hide from shimmering spooks.

My dear dragon sulks and sooks,

He folds his wings and mutters ‘zooks’,

Then joins with me to read his books.

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Dragon Computer Gretchen

‘Don’t Keep History A Mystery’

Read a story which is thousands of years old.  I’d like to share the email I received from Mr Miller on National Sorry Day and to commemorate National Reconciliation Week––

“My name is Glen Miller, I am a Board Director of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and a descendant of the Butchulla people of the Fraser coast (Queensland). Today we acknowledge the 10th anniversary of National Sorry Day, a milestone in Australia’s history. This National Day of Healing is at the heart of our steps towards reconciliation. Tomorrow marks the beginning of National Reconciliation Week and we reflect on this year’s theme: ‘LEARN, SHARE, GROW – DON’T KEEP HISTORY A MYSTERY’. Here, we are invited to explore our past as a country; learn, share and acknowledge the rich histories and cultures of the First Australians; and develop a deeper understanding of our national story.

“Today I would like to share a story that is thousands of years old, that has been passed on from one generation to the next, and nearly came to be lost…

ILF Legends of Moonie Jarl Banner

“For many thousands of years the Butchulla people have been travelling between Queensland’s K’Gari (Fraser Island) and the mainland; catching winter mullet in stone fish traps set along Hervey Bay and trading with the mob up around the Bunya mountains. There are three laws that the Butchulla people live by: 1) What’s best for the land comes first, 2) If you have plenty, you must share, and 3) Do not touch or take anything that does not belong to you.

“While these were the laws that were taught to the children, they were also told stories that describe the origin of the land: The Legends of Moonie Jarl. These stories tell how the wallaby got its pouch, how the boomerang was invented, and how the little firebird came to have that bright scarlet spot on its back. These stories were told to me as a boy by my uncle Wilfy in the The Legends of Moonie Jarl. The year was 1964 and it was the first Aboriginal children’s book published and authored by Aboriginal people.

“Three years after its publication, Indigenous people were finally recognised as Australian citizens and 50 years on the stories continue to be shared among the Butchulla people. In 2014, our Foundation re-published The Legends of Moonie Jarl so now the stories are available to share with all Australian children.

Indigenous Literacy Foundation“A book isn’t just for reading; it’s more powerful than the information it provides. Reconciliation Week is an opportunity to look at the truths that need to be told and  celebrate our stories. This National Reconciliation Week I invite you to learn and share these rich histories and cultures of Indigenous people, and develop a deeper understanding of our national story. Please support the work of our Foundation by purchasing a copy of The Legends of Moonie Jarl or making a donation.”

Glen Miller
ILF Board Director
May 2018

“It was written by Uncle Wilf Reeves and illustrated by my mother Olga Miller” – Glen Miller.

Indigenous Literacy Foundation
PO Box 663 Broadway NSW 2007
Australia
info@ilf.org.au

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward