00:10 S1 (Program ID)
Take a look. Take a look inside the book. Take a look.
00:24 S2 (Frances)
Hello and welcome to Hear This. I'm Frances Keyland, and you're listening to the Vision Australia Library radio show, where we talk about books in the Vision Australia Library collection. Today we have a really special guest: we have Stella Glorie coming on to talk about books and also what's happening in some libraries in Australia. Somebody I'm very happy to have here in the studio with me today is Stella Glorie, a familiar voice for many of our radio listeners. Hi, Stella.
00:57 S3 (Stella)
Hi, Frances. What a lovely welcome. And I'm excited to be here as well with you.
01:03 S2
Oh, look, this is great. And so I've asked you to come in on a regular basis to perhaps update us with things that are happening in libraries around Australia. And also, you know, your own ideas about what you've been reading and what you like, even if our library doesn't have it.
01:17 S3
Because we love libraries. And 14th of February coming up quite soon is Library Lovers' Day. So what's not to love about a library? And I always sort of knew this that libraries weren't only books, but when I was doing this research, I was absolutely floored by the amount of activities in the amount of things like libraries are really community houses now.
01:43 S2
They certainly are. Where are you going to start with your travelling around libraries?
01:48 S3
I'll kick off in what's happening in Victoria, given that that's where I am at the moment and I have been to this. So if you go to the State Library of Victoria, there's a fantastic exhibition of... State Library of Victoria also always has great exhibitions for free. This one is The World of the Book, and it goes until the 18th of May. Chart the rise, and it says, rest... resting. Is that a word, or have I just... resting of the beloved book, in this one-of-a-kind exhibition on the history of book design, production and illustration from the Middle Ages until today.
02:25 S2
Well, so they've got original pieces on display.
02:28 S3
Yeah. And it's... really interesting how they've done it. And I don't know if they change it up from week to week. It's a bit like, you know, the music vault in the Art Centre. They change that around from month to month, but they've got these fantastic... bird books or nature books that are absolutely huge, like one and it's like one of 18, like the volumes there. They've got beautiful covers of 1954 versions of Jane Eyre. So it just shows you through the years or through the decades, what particular covers of books might have looked like.
It's great - and it's accessible, because I did look that up. There's a number of ways that you can have a tour, but also if you get online, you can download accessible versions of the tour and they explore books and ideas, books and imagination, art and nature, which is the one that really captured my attention. Artists and natural history and artists and books.
03:37 S2
Mm. It sounds lovely - and air conditioned, of course. So perfect, summer Melbourne.
03:42 S3
Just about to say.
03:43 S2
Waterproof.
03:44 S3
And waterproof. It's... and the State Library's lovely. It's really great. Now if you are still in Victoria and you are in Geelong, like there would be so many libraries that are doing this book chat every Tuesday from 10:30 to 11:30 at the Geelong West Library. Come along and enjoy a conversation about books you've been reading and hear recommendations from others. So similar to what Vision Australia Library does with its book...
04:14 S2
In Conversation.
04:14 S3
Conversations, yeah. Now, if you're at the Queensland State Library, I have to say, when I looked at the Queensland State Library, they have everything - they have... there's so many libraries have sewing now and there's a lot of, like heaps for little kids. You can tell school's back - and you know, parents are bringing their toddlers in for book time. If you've ever been in a library when there's book time going on, it's pretty exciting. Like I, you... all you see is little kids, little toddlers running around going, Book time, book time! It's very cute. Queensland State Library in particular.
Now, I don't know whether it's because maybe Melbourne and Victoria has more libraries, but our state library doesn't have the, what the Queensland State Library does in terms of making things and far more... I don't know how to say it, like accessible or, you know, everyday type of stuff. But then we also have library at the dock that does all that type of stuff. So Anzac Day is coming up. And because of that, they have the Anzac Square Memorial Galleries and you can do a free tour there, and all you have to do is contact the Queensland State Library.
Now if you're in WA... I looked up the place, the library where I grew up, which was Queen's Park, Kensington. So Kensington Libraries have something. Saturdays they've got Noongar language and cultural class, which I think is brilliant. And it's hosted by Marie Taylor, a traditional owner and elder of Noongar country. Come and expand your knowledge. Try a new language now. We've all tried different languages. I have never tried to speak any Aboriginal language or an English language. And I look at this and go, if I live there, I would be going to this.
And if I lived anywhere in Perth and connect with local culture at this great opportunity for beginners to learn the language of the first people of South Western Australia. Now this is another indication of First Nations people saying come and look at our culture. Come like it's an open invitation. Marae is a traditional owner and elder of Noongar country. It's fantastic. So that's check out [?Canning] libraries. And it's on every Saturday morning from 9:40 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Hillview Intercultural Community Centre, which is in Bentley, which is the library... it's the library my parents used to take me to.
06:55 S2
Oh how wonderful.
06:57 S3
Yeah, yeah, that's my whip around. I'd love to hear from people, if you would like me to explore what's happening in your local library or promote something. Now, what I have been reading? I finished it last year. I read this book, The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I read it 30 years ago, but they've rereleased an audio version where Donna Tartt is narrating the book. Now the Vision Australia Library doesn't have this, but you should be able to get it somewhere. Or maybe ask for it. It is outstanding - outstanding and sad and beautiful. And you know when narration is good, you know. And authors don't always make the best narrators. She does.
07:44 S2
Wow, I could imagine. Very dry.
07:46 S3
Yeah. And all the different. Yeah. And all the different sort of accents that she did. Not accents, but variations and the rhythm of the language. And it's interesting. When she did the male voices, it just sounded... because sometimes I've heard male narrators do female voices and I'm like, What are you doing? We don't walk around with a falsetto voice. No. Yeah, but it was totally believable.
08:15 S2
Mm.
08:15 S3
Absolutely. Loved it. Highly recommend it.
08:18 S2
I love Donna Tartt.
08:19 S3
Yes.
08:20 S2
Yeah.
08:21 S3
So the only one of hers I've read.
08:23 S2
Oh.
08:23 S3
And... I have also read Lech Blaine, Australian writer memoir called Australian Gospel. I'm... hoping the Vision Australia library will be getting that one. It's it is about his family who fostered children and then adopted them from another family. And it's about the relationship with this other family. These... like it is heartbreaking. It is hilarious. It is shocking. It will... it's amazing. I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style - very short sentences - but I understand it fitted that particular tone. It didn't impact my reading of it and appreciating what a great book it is.
09:16 S2
Wow.
09:17 S3
And I just finished reading a recent release of Dorothy Parker in Hollywood. And forget the Algonquin Round Table. That was just like a small little pocket of her life. And what, she went to Hollywood, and that's where she became very political. She was a huge advocate for social justice and her fight for democracy, which is really interesting considering what's happening in America and is impacting the whole of the world. So that's my little political speech for the afternoon.
And so she was one of the writers. There were three writers of the original script of A Star Is Born, and that that's been made three, three times now, which just shows you. And there's a host of other movies and some movies writers aren't credited for, because in the end, it goes through so many hands and so many production studios. You don't know who's written what.
10:19 S2
Yeah. Great. So does it look at the Hollywood system?
10:22 S3
Yes it does. And also it takes into account the fact that she was a female in a male dominated industry. She was also could be an extremely unpleasant person. People loved her, but they didn't want to leave a room or a party while she was still there because they were scared of what? Then she would say, gosh, she was she. At the same time, she could be completely compassionate, like she was just a mess of contradictions and sometimes just a mess. But her legacy, like, I love her short stories, you know? And we all probably know it's a bit like Shakespeare. I'm comparing her to Shakespeare. Like, there are quotes that we often say that. You think she came up with that?
Yeah, but the whole Algonquin Round Table, that they were all intellectuals and witty. She is absolutely... no. People rehearse their lines, you know, and she didn't think these artists had much to say about what was happening in the world. Wow. But she was also very self-deprecating. So the author, she points out that you had to sometimes take what Dorothy Parker said with a about herself and her work. She would say, It's not that important. My work is not that important. But it was. Mm.
11:49 S2
Yeah. Yeah. Well, you've inspired me to pick up another Dorothy Parker because I read her short stories many, many years ago.
11:55 S3
Big Blonde... it's a fantastic... yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a great short story. It's my favourite.
12:01 S2
Stella, you're a great person to have here. With your love of books and your knowledge of books and your passion about promoting books and authors that you love. And... so you have social media channels. Can you tell us about those?
12:17 S3
Yes. So it's called Thirty Books - and you spell the word out, thirty. I didn't sort of think ahead at that. So I was at this... writing masterclass once and somebody was talking about that. They had sat down. I don't know what the mathematics behind this is, but they're... what they figured out was that if we all bought 30 Australian books a year, our publishing industry would thrive. Now, not all of us can afford 30 books a year. So I'm talking about libraries as well, because here in Australia we have lending rights, authors have lending rights, but also just reading Australian books, talking about Australian books. And hence I started calling it Thirty Books.
And it started off by saying, look, back then books cost $30 - and of that $30, the writer gets $3, and I would start pointing out what you could buy for $3, which was like a light bulb, maybe half a battery. I mean, this was five years ago, and we've seen what's happened, but it's since evolved. Then I talk to authors, I... read.
13:29 S2
Go to bookshops.
13:30 S3
I go to bookshops as well, which I love. I don't know what I love more, a bookshop or I think I love libraries more. I know it's not a competition, but in both places. And I love little libraries. I love free libraries. I've spoken to a lot of Australian authors, and many of them, they're absolutely fine with people buying their books at op shops because they figure they make so little money anyway. Why not? Yes, yes. So you can find me on Instagram. Thirty Books... and on YouTube and here, on here. This, once a month.
14:06 S2
Lovely. And so Thirty Books is the... Thirty Books. So just one word. Yep. That's the one. Thank you so much, Stella. It's been a pleasure to have you. Thank you for recommending such wonderful books and for, you know, talking about libraries because... there is much more in the world. You know, there's Vision Australia Library, but there's also events and books and audio books available from other libraries and wonderful doing things, sewing and that. So thank you for keeping us up to date.
14:33 S3
Get yourself out there and make your make yourself known to libraries. Thanks, Frances.
14:44 S2
And lovely to have Stella here.... today, talking about books - and one of the books she mentioned, Lech Blane's Australian Gospel, a Family Saga... The Guardian gave it a great review. Caitriona Menzies Pike on November the 1st, 2024 says... Australian Gospel is a welcome antidote to the Australian mythology of lucky strivers and exceptional individuals who achieve social mobility through force of will and a few good breaks. It's a book that affirms the importance of the social bonds that form through families and communities in sports clubs, unions and pubs. We've become perhaps too accustomed to hearing family values invoked by conservative conservatives and reactionaries.
I've had a brief look to see if it's available as an audiobook in any other libraries. It's a fairly new release - early or late last year, but if you would like to suggest it for the library, Lech Blaine is spelt [spells name]. Australian Gospel, a Family Saga... and Black Ink Books dot com dot A U. Black Ink Books has a Q&A with Lech Blaine in which he's asked such questions as, Why write this book at this point in time for him? Does he consider it a memoir? And what other authors and books have influenced him through his his life? So that's blackinkbooks.com.au ...
And then there's the fabulous Donna Tartts book, The Secret History that is read by the author. And that's available from numerous libraries.... City of Yarra Library. The audio book is available Bayside Libraries. It's in an e-book as well, but I would contact your local library and see if they have it or if they can get it. And that sounds absolutely fabulous. So that's the Secret History by Donna Tartt. Donna Tartt, T A R double T, and we do have a version of it in our library collection as well in Vision Australia. But if you would like to hear the Donna Tartt version, you might have to step into another library and see if they have it.
And then Dorothy Parker, I remember years ago the library did have some works by Dorothy Parker, but we don't anymore, so you might have to step outside the library again just to get some Dorothy Parker material, but also suggest it to the library. Put it in the suggestions. Stella's... recommendation was for the for the work Big Blonde by Dorothy Parker. But getting back to Dorothy Parker in Hollywood, it is available at Audible. They call it... An expansive, illuminating study of legendary writer Dorothy Parker's life and legacy in Hollywood.
And Stella touched on the wonderful, um, things that sayings and, uh, bon mots that Dorothy Parker is famous for. So here's a couple of them... Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone. And... If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to. And... Heterosexuality is not normal, it's just common. And there's just tons and tons of these little gems. So that is Dorothy Parker, and Gail Crowther is the author... [spells name].
Now, if you want to get in contact with Stella to have something that may be at your library publicised on Hear This, you can always contact Stella on Facebook by following her Thirty Books. It has its own Facebook page or there's YouTube as well. So Thirty Books. Just search Thirty Books... Stella Glorie... G L O R I E. Or you can always just email the library and I can pass any messages on to Stella. And lovely to have her back on Vision Australia Radio.
Last week with the passing of Marianne Faithfull, I did have a sample of a book that was called Parachute Women, and it was about the lives of Anita Pallenberg and Marianne Faithfull and other women, but firmly under the umbrella of the experience of the Rolling Stones of this, of these women. And I didn't play a sample of Marianne Faithfull's autobiography, and I had to listen to it through the week and thought, Oh, she was much more than just that period of time. So we will play a sample of Faithfull, which is her autobiography.
When Marianne Faithfull settled into a love affair with Mick Jagger, her life looked like a rock and roll fairy tale, except that her passion for drugs increasingly dominated her life. The fairy tale masked a dizzying world of intrigues, affairs and dangerous games that finally brought Marianne's whole world crashing down. She discusses her life as a junkie, her suicide attempts, and her growing will to live, leading to a triumphant return as a songwriter, singer and actress. Let's hear a sample of Faithfull by Marianne Faithfull. It's narrated by Norma West.
19:51 S4
After the trial, Mick didn't miss a beat. He just kept going. I used to think how amazing it was that he came out of prison and we just went right on. We weren't going to let a little national scandal stop us. After all, we hadn't finished with our quest. I went out a lot on my own at that time. Every night I'd go to a club. It was a habit I had started when I was with John. And when I began living with Mick, I just carried on. I think Mick rather liked it. Chrissie had always stayed at home and kept his dinner in the oven.
On one of my sorties, I saw Jimi Hendrix at a little club called The Seven and a Half. I'd gone because Mick told me about him. He said he'd seen Hendrix in New York and that it had taken his breath away. He's going to tear the world apart. Mick didn't say things like that too often, so I thought I'd better go and see him. When I got to the seven and a half, there were perhaps a dozen people there, including a couple of roadies. I sat in this tiny basement club for hours and watched him play a tantric vision in a fashionable crushed velvet pants and a ruffled shirt.
Chas Chandler had obviously taken him to the King's Road. He was very awkward. He sang with his back to the stage or into his guitar, and mumbled so badly that you couldn't understand a word. There were long, unexplained gaps, while he discussed what he was going to play next with Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding, or fiddled with his amps. He hadn't got his persona together. He wasn't yet the voodoo child, and you could see he was painfully shy.
But once he began playing, he transformed. The music was sexually charged and direct. I had the feeling he was playing just for me, which, since the place was empty, was probably true. I'm such a fool. I should have hung around and seduced him. But typically I ran away.
21:35 S2
And that was Marion Faithfull's book, Faithfull - and Marianne is spelled [spells name]. That book goes for ten hours. It was published in the mid '90s, so not completely up to date.
Another novel in the library that people may enjoy is Conclave. This is by author Robert Harris. The Pope is dead. Behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel, 118 cardinals from all over the globe will cast their votes in the world's most secretive election. They are holy men, but they have ambition and they have rivals. Over the next 72 hours, one of them will become the most powerful spiritual figure on Earth. Let's hear a sample of Conclave by Robert Harris. It's narrated by Roy McMillan.
22:35 S5
I thought it wiser not to eat with the cardinals. I ate in my room at the 11th ballot. I was elected Pope. Oh, Jesus. I too can say what Pius the 12th said when he was elected. Have mercy on me, O Lord, according to thy great mercy. One would say that it is like a dream. And yet until I die, it is the most solemn reality of all my life. So I'm ready, Lord, to live and die with you. About 300,000 people applauded me on Saint Peter's balcony. The Arclight stopped me from seeing anything other than a shapeless, heaving mass. Pope John the 23rd. Diary entry 28th October 1958.
I was solitary before, but now my solitary ness becomes complete and awesome. Hence the dizziness. Like vertigo. Like a statue on a plinth That is how I live now. Pope Paul the sixth. Chapter One: Sede vacante. Cardinal Lomeli left his apartment in the Palace of the Holy Office shortly before two in the morning, and hurried through the darkened cloisters of the Vatican towards the bedroom of the Pope. He was praying. Oh, Lord. He still has so much to do, whereas all my useful work in your service is completed. He is beloved while I am forgotten. Spare him, Lord. Spare him. Take me instead. He toiled up the cobbled slope towards the Piazza Santa Marta. The Roman air was soft and misty, yet already he could detect the first faint chill of autumn.
24:22 S2
And that was Conclave by Robert Harris. Robert is [spells author's name]. And that book goes for eight hours and 20 minutes. And it was recently announced that Ralph Fiennes, who stars in this movie, is up for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Conclave is not a new book. It was published in 2016 by Robert Harris, phenomenally successful author of many, many books. Harris says that he was inspired to write a novel about papal politics while watching coverage of the 2013 papal conclave.
And at that time he was working on his Cicero Trilogy, a series of novels set during the Roman Republic and the papal electors reminded him of the Roman Senate. If you did want to embark on his Cicero series, you can start off by reading Imperium. When Tiro, the confidential secretary of a Roman senator, opens the door to a terrified stranger on a cold November morning, he sets in motion a chain of events which will eventually propel his master into one of the one of the most famous courtroom dramas in history. The stranger is a Sicilian, a victim of the island's corrupt Roman governor, Vérez. The senator is Cicero, a brilliant young lawyer and spellbinding orator determined to attain imperium supreme power in the state.
The author spent his childhood in a small rented house on a Nottingham council estate, and his ambition to become a writer arose at an early age, from visits to the local printing plant where his father worked. This is all from Wikipedia. Here he read English literature. Later on at Cambridge, and he was elected president of the Cambridge Union and editor of varsity. He became a journalist, working at the BBC and and also worked for the newspaper The Observer, The Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph. So that's just a little bit about Robert Harris.
Thank you so much for joining us on here this today. Thank you to Stella Glorie. Again, if you want to contact Stella, Thirty Books... have a search for that. And also you can email the library. The library's email is library@visionaustralia.org - that's library at Vision Australia dot org. You can call the library on 1 300 654 656. That's 1 300 654 656. And that's if you want to join the library, if you want to find out what other books are available, if you want to adjust the sorts of books that you've been getting. If you are a member of the library, you can contact them to discuss, explore. Open up your interests. The library is always there on the phone for you or via email.
Have a lovely week and we'll be back next week with more Hear This.
