What's On at Vision Australia Library

00:05 UU  (PROGRAM THEME)

Let's. Take a look. To take a look inside the book. Take a look...

00:24 S1

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. Our guest today is Maureen O'Reilly, who's going to tell us about some fabulous events coming up in the library. And we've got a reader-recommended and some samples of some interesting books. Hope you enjoy the show. I'm here today with Maureen O'Reilly, our community engagement coordinator here at Vision Australia Library. Hi, how are you today?

00:58 S2

I'm excellent. Frances, how are you?

01:00 S1

I'm well, thank you. Yes. Very well.

01:02 S2

This is my favourite time of the month. I get to sit down and chat with you and get paid for it. Oh, good on you.

01:07 S1

No, I know, I know the feeling of chatting with you. It's great. While we're setting up, we often cover a lot of topics. Today... we've talked about photography. We've talked about The Waltons. We did. So, yes, but now we're going to focus on library.

01:22 S2

That is probably better. That's what we're here for.

01:24 S1

Yeah. So what are you currently reading?

01:27 S2

Oh, I get to make you insanely jealous. I am reading a book by one of your favorite authors, which is actually not even released yet, so I'm reading Highwire by Candice Fox.

01:40 S1

Oh, wow. I am jealous. Is it good?

01:43 S2

It is excellent. It is actually really good. It is. It's in some ways it's an easy read, as in, you get really, really absorbed in it and the time just flies. But it's very complex still because there's so many layers and interwoven plots and you just can see that everything is going to be intersecting at some point. But then, as happens in crime fiction, very unexpected twists and turns along the way. So it's really lovely.

02:14 S1

Is it... does it have... familiar characters from her other novels, or what are the characters like?

02:21 S2

The characters are, they're really a lovely mix. So there's characters which are really endearing, and you warm to them very quickly as characters that are, I would describe as an enigma. So you know that there's this backstory and you really like them, but you just can't quite trust them because you keep hearing these inferences to something else that has happened in the past. And then you've got characters that you know are full of... well, I don't think lies is the right word, but definitely what they're presenting and saying about themselves isn't the reality. But then you're not sure... is the a reality that they're a good person or a bad person? And then there's characters that are just really bad, as it often is in a crime fiction. 

But then, because you're not really sure the true backstory of some of the other characters, you're thinking, Well, maybe there is a reason that they're seeking this revenge. Maybe it's actually justified, as much as a horrific crime could be justified. So it's really good.

03:28 S1

Oh, I'm looking forward to reading it with the rest of the public when it's released.

03:33 S2

Yes, 29th of September, of course. No, 24th of September. 

03:38 S1

Awesome. And you've got an event with Candice coming up?

03:42 S2

I do, that's why I get to have the lovely privilege of a pre-read. We have our In Conversation with Candice Fox coming up on the 2nd of October. So Candice will be joining me and we're going to discuss... oh, we're going to discuss everything. We're going to discuss Candice's childhood. What has led her to writing these amazing crime fiction novels? We're going to discuss her journey along the way, in terms of how she's got such an incredible level of expertise into crime and murder, and the way that these... horrible people's minds work and the motivation behind them. We'll talk about her collaborations she's done. We'll talk about High Wire as well. 

But it's going to be very hard, because the whole time I'm going to be sitting there thinking, Oh, spoiler, I can't say that. Spoiler or I can't say that. So yeah, I think you'll hear me... stalled a lot when I start to say something and then think, Oops, no, can't mention that.

04:45 S1

Oh, I'm sure you'll be fine. But... wow, that's so exciting. How do people attend or find out or Zoom or, yeah...

04:54 S2

Yes. So it's online on Zoom, so everyone can attend from home. If you go to visionaustralia.org/library ... that will take you to the library website. You go down to our What's On page and you can see all the upcoming events in the library. And this one's called In Conversation with Candice Fox. So it's from 1 to 2 p.m. Australian Eastern Standard Time. So that works for all of our listeners and members across the country. And it will be an hour of Candice and I chatting, and we will have the little chat open in the webinar as well, so you can put your own questions in there, if you think I'm doing a terrible job and not asking the best ones.

05:36 S1

Oh no, I'm sure you'll be fine - but that's a lovely option to have though, to ask the questions. Oh that's great, exciting. And what else is coming up with the library?

05:45 S2

Oh, well, we have a number of things. Well, if we look retrospectively, we've had a very, very big August in the children's library, which has been lovely. We had Science Week, so we had Dinosaurs Unearthed at the Queensland Museum, which was a beautiful day for our families of our vision impaired children, and we got to explore the Most Magnificent Dinosaurs exhibition, which was incredibly tactile. And... we got to listen to recordings, obviously synthesised recordings, got to feel fossils and also replicas. So that was a beautiful day. 

And we then moved on from Science Week to Book Week, and we had the gorgeous Sally Rippon in at Vision Australia in Kooyong in Victoria. And that was the most magnificent day. Sally has written the Billy B Brown series, the Hey Jack series and the Monster series and a current new release. And in fact, I think we got a preview on that. I don't think that's released yet either. Her current about to be released book in the Monster series includes this beautiful monster who is vision impaired and is a Braille reading monster and has a seeing eye monster that she walks along with. And it's it's just gorgeous. 

S1

Oh, that sounds amazing. 

S2

Yeah, it actually is really, really lovely. And then we also... indirectly for our children, had a wonderful Lego Braille bricks... professional development session for teachers working with vision impaired children. So it was all about how you can utilise Lego bricks within your classrooms and how that can be a very inclusive experience, because everybody loves Lego. And it's just an added bonus that the Lego has Braille on it. So it's actually an educative process as well. So Children's Library has been incredibly busy in the adult library for want of a better term. 

We've had our mindful reading program running. We've had our memoir writing program running, which has been amazing. And then looking forward, as well as obviously Candice Fox, we have our final course for the year, which will be coming up, which is our publishing course. So the theory is, if you have participated in our memory writing or short story writing or children's book writing, and you feel that you've actually got a piece of work that is at that stage that you'd love to look at publishing it, then we have a course starting mid-October, and that will take you through the the twists and turns of how to navigate the publishing industry, and look at getting that wonderful transcript that you have there out into the wider world. 

08:38 S1

Oh, that's great. How many weeks does that go for?

08:40 S2

That is a three week course. So it's three weekly sessions, and it is a course that we've run before with a facilitator that we've used before. And Nadine's wonderful. And everybody gave us wonderful feedback last time, so I'm sure it'll be really good.

08:57 S1

Great. And, yeah, so dust off your manuscripts and get them ready. And...

09:01 S2

Yeah, definitely. And then our last one is a beautifully inclusive day, which is our treat yourself for Halloween. So that's where everybody who loves Halloween loves their scary stories, their horror stories, their children's Halloween stories. Right through to the ones that I can't possibly read because they would keep me awake at night. We all get to come and chat about our favorite authors, our favorite characters. Which ones have made a transition to film really well? Which ones were better in the book? And it's just basically a big brainstorm about all things Halloween.

09:38 S1

And which librarian will be with you on that? 

09:42 S2

At this stage, I think it may be Sarah Blunden, who's our library manager.

09:45 S1

Yeah, I love horror. So yeah...

09:48 S2

Oh, I'd love it if you joined us.

09:50 S1

I'd love to. I might, I might do that, because I just adore horror.

09:53 S2

Oh, look, that will be wonderful. And that is on the 31st of October because that is Halloween. And then it's also in the evening. So we thought we'd have an evening session just to make sure it's dark outside and adds to the ambience. So that will be from 8 pm to 9 pm on Australian Eastern Standard Time.

10:15 S1

Lovely. And is there anything else coming up, Maureen?

10:19 S2

I think for the moment they would be our major ones. We have our Treat Yourself where we'd love everyone to come and just chat about their favourite books. Our publishing course for those people who have put all the work in throughout this year on our courses and want to go to the next step, and then our In Conversation with Candice, which I am personally very excited about.

10:41 S1

And then it's, you mentioned earlier off the air that then it's planning for next year already.

10:47 S2

It is, it is planning. But we do have a couple of things coming up just before then... we will have our final Treat Yourself, which will be a Christmas one, and we'll also have our final In Conversation, which will be with Monica McInerney, who is phenomenal. So fantastic. Oh, I was chatting to Monica just I think last week, and that is very, very exciting. So it's a lovely way to finish the year there as well.

11:11 S1

Yeah, very, very celebratory and very light and humorous.

11:15 S2

Well, we're very lucky because we've actually pulled her out of her sabbatical. She's in Ireland, in Dublin, and she's taking... Long Service Leave, she calls it after writing non-stop for.... I think it would be close on 25 years. Yeah. So she's having a bit of a break. So I feel very privileged that we've managed to pull her out.

11:35 S1

Well done, Maureen, and thank you so much for today and letting us know what's happening in the library.

11:40 S2

Oh, that is fine. Now, I will say one more thing. Just to remind people I spoke about last month, which is that we have our Ask a Librarian session, which is on every Tuesday. So if you've got any questions about the Vision Australia library... authors, books, genres, our programs, our In Conversations, how to use your envoi. Any questions at all that pertain to the library, join us online via Zoom between 11 and 1 on a Tuesday and we will have one of our technical library people, Jamie, there. And then we have one of our librarians, Bree, that's there as well. And they can help you with any questions that you may have, or really just having a wonderful chat about all things books. 

S1

Wonderful. 

S2

So if you want the links to those, they're on the Vision Australia Library website, which is Vision Australia dot org, forward slash library.

12:38 S1

Fantastic. Thank you so much, Maureen and lovely to see you again.

12:42 S2

It is always lovely to see you Frances.

12:45 S1

And we'll be back with you next month. Bye bye. Thank you to Maureen O'Reilly for coming in for her monthly wonderful news about what's happening in the library. And she's responsible, the person behind the novels that made up Troppo, which is into its second series on the ABC. I'm going to play a sample of a book that, unusually, isn't set in Australia and the outback. Like her latest book, Aim High, High Wire is... this is a book set in... the United States, and I read it a couple of years ago. A lot of people use the terms, oh, unputdownable...thrilling pace. But this book really did keep me... enthralled for the few hours that I read it. And I do think she deserves the title of Australia's Queen of crime. 

Let's hear a sample of Gathering Dark. Blair Harber, once a wealthy, respected surgeon in Los Angeles, is now an ex-con down on her luck. She's determined to keep her nose clean to win back custody of her son. But when her former cellmate Sneak Lawlor begs for help to find her missing daughter, Blair is compelled to put her newfound freedom on the line. Joined by allies most feared underworld figure Ada Maverick, the crew of criminals bring outlaw tactics to the search for Daley. 

Detective Jessica Sanchez has always had a difficult relationship with the LAPD, and her inheritance of a $7 million mansion as a reward for catching a killer has just made her police enemy number one. It's been ten years since Jessica arrested Blair for the cold blooded murder of her neighbor. So when Jessica opens the door to the disgraced doctor and her friends, she expects abuse, maybe even violence. What comes instead is a plea for help. So let's hear a sample. Gathering Dark by Candice Fox. It's narrated by Erin Bennett.

14:41 S3

I looked up into the eye of a gun. She'd been that quiet, that fast. At the edge of my vision, I'd half seen a figure pass the front window of the pump and jump gas station. A shadow Walker blur against the red sunset and silhouetted palm trees. That was it. She stuck the gun in my face before the buzzer had finished. The one note song that announced her made her real. The gun was shaking. A bad thing made somehow worse. I put down the pen I'd been using to fill out the crossword. Deep regret. Remorse. Maybe the last word I would ever write. One I was familiar with. 

I spread my fingers flat on the counter between the bowl of spotted bananas at a dollar a piece, and the two for one Clark bars. Don't scream, the girl said as I let my eyes move from the gun to her. All I could see was trouble. There was sweat and blood on her hand, on the finger that was sliding down the trigger, trying to find traction. The safety switch was off. The arm that held the weapon was thin and reedy, would soon get tired from holding a gun that clearly wasn't hers, was too heavy. The face beyond the arm was the sickly purple gray of a fresh corpse. She had a nasty gash in her forehead that was so deep I could see bone fingerprints in blood on her neck. Also too big to be her own. 

Screaming would have been a terrible idea - if I startled her, that slippery finger was going to jerk on the trigger and blow my brains all over the cigarette cabinet behind me. I didn't want to be wasted in my stupid uniform, my hat emblazoned with a big pink kangaroo and the badge on my chest that truthfully read "Blair", but lied "I love to serve". I had a flash of distracted thought, wondering what my young son Jamie would wear to my funeral.

16:43 S1

So that's one of the opening scenes introducing us to Blair. Gathering Dark by Candice Fox. Candice is spelt [spells author's name], and that's a standalone novel. But we have the Eden Archer series and the Crimson Lake series as well, which is what the series troppo is, is based on, and the Harriet Blue series as well, which is also set in Australia, and the collaborations with James Patterson, including The Inn, which is a recent release and that's available in Braille and in audio and narrated by award winning narrator Edoardo Ballerini - who's got the most amazing voice. Lots to indulge in, if you are a fan or you're going to become a fan of Candice Fox.

We have a Reader Recommended from Bob, and this book is, or this novel is, Mrs. Winterbottom Takes a Gap Year. Bob's in Canberra, the ACT and he's part of an audio book club. Or he runs an audio book club in in Canberra. Mrs. Winterbottom Takes a Gap Year is a recent one. It's by Joanna Nell... and Bob, in his email said Nell described this book herself as like a traditional baklava, golden and wrinkly on the outside, sweet and a bit nutty on the inside, with just a hint of something spicy deep down. So thank you, Bob, for that. 

In Mrs. Winterbottom takes a gap year, husband and wife GPS Alan and Heather Winterbottom have worked side by side in their idyllic rural practice for over 40 years, but now they've decided to hang up their stethoscopes and retire. Joyous celebration or not, Heather dreams of exploring the Greek islands, of escaping the shackles of her routine life and embracing an exciting new adventure. Alan dreams of growing his own vegetables... when things come to a head. At a family lunch, Heather announces that she has decided to take a year off from her old life, from her marriage, from Alan. 

Alone in beautiful Greece, Heather embarks on her very own odyssey, complete with unforgettable experiences, pitfalls and temptations. But could what's waiting for her back in Netherwood be Heather's biggest adventure yet? Let's hear a sample of Mrs. Winterbottom Takes a Gap Year. It's by Joanna Nell, and it's narrated by Jenny Seedsman.

19:12 S4

Doctor Heather Winterbottom often joked that she had fallen half an hour behind on her first day, and 40 years later, she was still trying to catch up. She always apologised for keeping her patients waiting, even on the rare occasions her appointments ran to time. What's more, her face, with its harried arrangement of frown lines and downturned mouth, had taken on an expression of permanent contrition. All that was about to change. Today, on her last ever day as a doctor, she would take back those 30 precious minutes and add them to the rest of her life. There was an entire world beyond Netherwood Medical Centre. So many things she wanted to do and see. This day marked the beginning of a whole new chapter in her life, if not a whole new life. 

But first, she had to remove a cotton bud from Mr. Clifton's left ear. Mrs. Clifton had never trusted her husband to be an effective advocate for his own body, and always accompanied him to his appointments. Between them, they had clocked up enough hours in Heather's waiting room for it to qualify as a second residence. Ever the pragmatist, Mrs. Clifton had packed sandwiches and a thermos of tea. The Clifton's were the kind of couple who scraped mud off the bottom of each other's boots before getting into the car. They wore matching fleeces and finished each other's sentences. Unlike Heather and her husband Alan, who lived in the same house and worked at the same practice but were rarely seen together, the cliftons were rarely seen apart. Heather brought up Mr. Clifton's file on the computer, while the couple debated who should sit in which chair.

21:02 S1

And that was Mrs. Winterbottom Takes a Gap Year by Joanna Nell. Joanna is [spells name]. That book goes for 9.5 hours. And Joanna Nell's other titles are The Single Ladies of the Jacaranda Retirement Village, The Great Escape from the Woodlands Nursing Home, The Tea Ladies of Saint Jude's Hospital, The Last Voyage of Mrs. Henry Parker. So there's a few there, so there's a few Joanna Nells to enjoy there. Thank you, Bob, for that recommendation. 

The next book is an unusual one. It is called Mammoth, and it's by Chris Flynn, narrated by a 13,000 year old extinct mammoth. This is the mostly true story of how a collection of prehistoric creatures came to be on sale at a natural history auction in New York in 2007. By tracing how and when these fossils were unearthed, Mammoth leads us on a funny and fascinating journey from the Pleistocene epoch to 19th century America and beyond, revealing how ideas about science and religion have shaped our world. Let's hear a sample of Mammoth by Chris Flynn. It's narrated by Rupert Degas.

22:22 S5

The passage of time is difficult for me to phrase. I know only the day follows night. And then the sun goes down and the cycle begins again. 13,354 years is too great an amount of time to comprehend. And yet that is what I am led to believe has elapsed since the antediluvian days. The primeval struggle for survival. Man versus beast. Those were heady times. We lost, of course. But we gave you a run for your money. The first time I killed a man - that was a good feeling, Clovis. You were back then. You hunted in packs just like Smilodon. And you were much weaker, but somehow also stronger, more resourceful. 

Clovis did not roam the grasslands. You stayed in one place. A group might live in a cave or a basic settlement constructed from hewn trees. You worked marvels with your awkward hands, cleaving and building, making things, tools and weapons, representations of beasts you blithely harvested, carved from the severed horn of a scelodonta antiquitatis, or from the tusk of my dead sister. Remember the one you speared? I hated you. We all did. Glyptodon. Megalonyx. Arctodus. Camelops. Bison. Priscus. Equus. All were hunted without mercy. You ate our flesh and wore our hides. You used our bones to fashion ever more complex butchery devices. You burnt the grasslands and forests. You starved us. You drove us to our deaths over cliffs. You hurled rocks and dug pits.

24:27 S1

And that was Mammoth by Chris Flynn. Chris is [spells name]. And that book goes for seven hours. This book is a novel, but it's based on some real science. The Guardian called it Ambitious, hilarious, and a clever beast of a novel. Chris Flynn excavates the strange fascination powerful men have for big pets. And that's from a review by Paul Daly from May 2020. 

One just to finish off today, a tribute to Tim Bowden, who was the presenter of Backchat, which then became Mediawatch, later on reincarnated with Paul Barry. We have a few of Tim's books in the library. One of them is Spooling Through, which is his autobiography or his memoir. There's also the series of travel books that he wrote about travelling around Australia in his vehicle that was named Penelope. So there's Down Under in the Top End. Penelope Heads North, and there's also the Devil in Tim Travels in Tasmania. Penelope Bungles to Broome. The Way My Father Tells It. The Story of an Australian life. Larrikins in Khaki. Tales of irreverence and courage from World War II. Diggers and the Way My Father Tells It is also available in Braille. 

Vale, Tim Bowden - and 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of these novels: A Passage to India by E.M. Forster, which we have in the library in audio, and The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann, which is widely considered to be one of the most influential works of 20th century German literature. But it does go for 39 hours in audio if you like a big, long book and a classic. That's the Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. It's also the 130th anniversary of Seven Little Australians written by Ethel Turner, and that book is also available in the library in audio narrated by Mary-Louise Walker. 

Thank you so much for joining us on Hear This. Thank you to the library's community engagement coordinator, Maureen O'Reilly with that array of wonderful events that are coming up. If you want to know any more about those events, or if you want to find out more about what the library can offer you and how you can join, you can always call the library on 1300 654 656. That's 1300 654 656 - or email library@visionaustralia.org ... that's library at Vision Australia dot org. Hope you have a lovely week and we'll be back next week with more Hear This.