Books

Placeholder Content Image

"Crossover of a lifetime": Bindi Irwin's exciting new career move

<p>Bindi Irwin has delighted fans with the news of an exciting new project. </p> <p>The wildlife warrior took to Instagram to share the news, which is set to be a hit with the whole family. </p> <p>The 25-year-old is following in the footsteps of many other Aussie celebrities, who have made their debut in the animated world of the hit children's TV show <em>Bluey</em>. </p> <p>Bindi announced that she will be narrating the new audiobook called <em>The Creek</em> for the <em>Bluey Book Reads </em>series, as the Bluey pandemonium continues around the world. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/C33e0xUI6eY/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C33e0xUI6eY/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Bluey (@officialblueytv)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>She shared a picture of herself along with the words: “Introducing <em>The Creek</em>, read by Bindi Irwin,”, adding, “Love you Bluey and Bingo!” in the post caption.</p> <p>Fans were delighted by the news, excited to see the young mum take on work outside of Australia Zoo.</p> <p>“Crossover of a lifetime, are you kidding me?” one fan wrote. “I am so excited.”</p> <p>“WHAT 😍😍 the perfect combo!!” added a second.</p> <p>“OK, definitely need the Irwin’s on <em>Bluey</em>!!!!” wrote a third.</p> <p>Another mum said Bindi was now fulfilling a role for her children that Steve and Terri Irwin had performed for her when she was growing up.</p> <p>“(Bindi’s) parents ‘helped raise me’ through the TV, and now she and Chandler are doing the same for the next generation! ❤️,” the fan wrote.</p> <p>“Bindi, Bluey and Bingo, what a trio,” noted another.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram </em></p> <p> </p>

Books

Placeholder Content Image

Who wrote the Bible?

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/philip-c-almond-176214">Philip C. Almond</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a></em></p> <p>The Bible tells an overall story about the history of the world: creation, fall, redemption and God’s Last Judgement of the living and the dead.</p> <p>The Old Testament (which dates to 300 BCE) begins with the creation of the world and of Adam and Eve, their disobedience to God and their expulsion from the garden of Eden.</p> <p>The New Testament recounts the redemption of humanity brought about by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It finishes in the book of Revelation, with the end of history and God’s Last Judgement.</p> <p>During the first 400 years of Christianity, the church took its time deciding on the New Testament. Finally, in 367 CE, authorities confirmed the 27 books that make it up.</p> <p>But who wrote the Bible?</p> <p>Broadly, there are four different theories.</p> <h2>1. God wrote the Bible</h2> <p>All Christians agree the Bible is authoritative. Many see it as the divinely revealed word of God. But there are significant disagreements about what this means.</p> <p>At its most extreme, this is taken to mean the words themselves are divinely inspired – God dictated the Bible to its writers, who were merely God’s musicians playing a divine composition.</p> <p>As early as the second century, the <a href="https://archive.org/details/fathersofchurch0000unse/page/382/mode/2up">Christian philosopher Justin Martyr saw it</a> as only necessary for holy men "to submit their purified persons to the direction of the Holy Spirit, so that this divine plectrum from Heaven, as it were, by using them as a harp or lyre, might reveal to us divine and celestial truths."</p> <p>In other words, God dictated the words to the Biblical secretaries, who wrote everything down exactly.</p> <p>This view continued with the medieval Catholic church. Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas put it simply in the 13th century: “the author of Holy Writ is God”. He <a href="https://www.ccel.org/ccel/aquinas/summa.FP_Q1_A10.html">qualified this</a> by saying each word in Holy Writ could have several senses – in other words, it could be variously interpreted.</p> <p>The religious reform movement known as Protestantism swept through Europe in the 1500s. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Reformation">A new group of churches formed</a> alongside the existing Catholic and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eastern-Orthodoxy">Eastern Orthodox</a> traditions of Christianity.</p> <p>Protestants emphasised the authority of “scripture alone” (“sola scriptura”), meaning the text of the Bible was the supreme authority over the church. This gave greater emphasis to the scriptures and the idea of “divine dictation” got more support.</p> <p>So, for example, <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924029273996&amp;seq=254">Protestant reformer John Calvin declared</a>: "[we] are fully convinced that the prophets did not speak at their own suggestion, but that, being organs of the Holy Spirit, they only uttered what they had been commissioned from heaven to declare."</p> <figure class="align-left zoomable"><figcaption></figcaption></figure> <p>“Divine dictation” was linked to the idea that the Bible was without error (inerrant) – because the words were dictated by God.</p> <p>Generally, over the first 1,700 years of Christian history, this was assumed, if not argued for. But from the 18th century on, both history and science began to cast doubts on the truth of the Bible. And what had once been taken as fact came to be treated as myth and legend.</p> <p>The impossibility of any sort of error in the scriptures became a doctrine at the forefront of the 20th-century movement known as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christian-fundamentalism">fundamentalism</a>. The <a href="https://www.apuritansmind.com/creeds-and-confessions/the-chicago-statement-on-biblical-inerrancy/">Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy in 1978</a> declared: "Being wholly and verbally God-given, Scripture is without error or fault in all its teaching, no less in what it states about God’s acts in creation, about the events of world history, and about its own literary origins under God, than in its witness to God’s saving grace in individual lives."</p> <h2>2. God inspired the writers: conservative</h2> <p>An alternative to the theory of divine dictation is the divine inspiration of the writers. Here, both God and humans collaborated in the writing of the Bible. So, not the words, but the authors were inspired by God.</p> <p>There are two versions of this theory, dating from the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Reformation">Reformation</a>. The conservative version, favoured by Protestantism, was: though the Bible was written by humans, God was a dominant force in the partnership.</p> <p>Protestants believed the sovereignty of God overruled human freedom. But even the Reformers, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Martin-Luther">Martin Luther</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Calvin">John Calvin</a>, recognised variation within the Biblical stories could be put down to human agency.</p> <p>Catholics were more inclined to recognise human freedom above divine sovereignty. Some flirted with the idea human authorship was at play, with God only intervening to prevent mistakes.</p> <p>For example, in 1625, <a href="https://archive.org/details/catholictheories0000burt/page/46/mode/2up">Jacques Bonfrère said</a> the Holy Spirit acts: “not by dictating or inbreathing, but as one keeps an eye on another while he is writing, to keep him from slipping into errors”.</p> <p>In the early 1620s, the Archbishop of Split, Marcantonio de Dominis, went a little further. He distinguished between those parts of the Bible revealed to the writers by God and those that weren’t. In the latter, he believed, errors could occur.</p> <p>His view was supported some 200 years later by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-John-Henry-Newman">John Henry Newman</a>, who led the Oxford movement in the Church of England and later became a cardinal (and then a saint) in the Roman Catholic Church.</p> <p>Newman argued the divinely inspired books of the Bible were interspersed with human additions. In other words, the Bible was inspired in matters of faith and morals –  but not, say, in matters of science and history. It was hard, at times, to distinguish this conservative view from “divine dictation”.</p> <h2>3. God inspired the writers: liberal</h2> <p>During the 19th century, in both Protestant and Catholic circles, the conservative theory was being overtaken by a more liberal view. The writers of the Bible were inspired by God, but <a href="https://archive.org/details/catholictheories0000burt/page/186/mode/2up">they were “children of their time”</a>, their writings determined by the cultural contexts in which they wrote.</p> <p>This view, while recognising the special status of the Bible for Christians, allowed for errors. For example, in 1860 <a href="https://archive.org/details/a578549600unknuoft/page/n359/mode/2up?ref=ol&amp;view=theater&amp;q=inspir">the Anglican theologian Benjamin Jowett declared</a>: “any true doctrine of inspiration must conform to all well-ascertained facts of history or of science”.</p> <p>For Jowett, to hold to the truth of the Bible against the discoveries of science or history was to do a disservice to religion. At times, though, it’s difficult to tell the difference between a liberal view of inspiration and there being no meaning to “inspiration” at all.</p> <p>In 1868, a conservative Catholic church pushed back against the more liberal view, declaring God’s direct authorship of the Bible. The Council of the Church known as Vatican 1 <a href="https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum20.htm.">declared</a> both the Old and New Testaments were: “written under the inspiration of the holy Spirit, they have God as their author.”</p> <h2>4. People wrote it, with no divine help</h2> <p>Within the most liberal Christian circles, by the end of the 19th century, the notion of the Bible as “divinely inspired” had lost any meaning.</p> <p>Liberal Christians could join their secular colleagues in ignoring questions of the Bible’s historical or scientific accuracy or infallibility. The idea of the Bible as a human production was now accepted. And the question of who wrote it was now comparable to questions about the authorship of any other ancient text.</p> <p>The simple answer to “who wrote the Bible?” became: the authors named in the Bible (for example, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – the authors of the four Gospels). But the idea of the Bible’s authorship is complex and problematic. (So are historical studies of ancient texts more generally.)</p> <p>This is partly because it’s hard to identify particular authors.</p> <p>The content of the 39 books of the Old Testament is the same as the 24 books of the Jewish <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hebrew-Bible">Hebrew Bible</a>. Within modern Old Testament studies, it’s now generally accepted that the books were not the production of a single author, but the result of long and changing histories of the stories’ transmission.</p> <p>The question of authorship, then, is not about an individual writer, but multiple authors, editors, scribes and redactors – along with multiple different versions of the texts.</p> <p>It’s much the same with the New Testament. While 13 Letters are attributed to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Paul-the-Apostle">Saint Paul</a>, there are doubts about his authorship of seven of them (Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, and Hebrews). There are also disputes over the traditional authorship of a number of the remaining Letters. The book of Revelation was traditionally ascribed to Jesus’s disciple John. But it is now generally agreed he was not its author.</p> <p>Traditionally, the authors of the four <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gospel-New-Testament">Gospels</a> were thought to be the apostles Matthew and John, Mark (the companion of Jesus’s disciple Peter), and Luke (the companion of Paul, who spread Christianity to the Greco-Roman world in the first century). But the anonymously written Gospels weren’t attributed to these figures until the second and third centuries.</p> <p>The dates of the Gospels’ creation also suggests they were not written by eyewitnesses to Jesus’s life. The earliest Gospel, Mark (65-70 CE) was written some 30 years after the death of Jesus (from 29-34 CE). The last Gospel, John (90-100 CE) was written some 60-90 years after the death of Jesus.</p> <p>It’s clear the author of the Gospel of Mark drew on traditions circulating in the early church about the life and teaching of Jesus and brought them together in the form of ancient biography.</p> <p>In turn, the Gospel of Mark served as the principal source for the authors of Matthew and Luke. Each of these authors had access to a common source (known as “Q”) of the sayings of Jesus, along with material unique to each of them.</p> <p>In short, there were many (unknown) authors of the Gospels.</p> <p>Interestingly, another group of texts, known as the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/apocrypha">Apocrypha</a>, were written during the time between the Old and New Testaments (400 BCE to the first century CE). The Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Christian traditions consider them part of the Bible, but Protestant churches don’t consider them authoritative.</p> <h2>Divine or human: why does it matter?</h2> <p>The question of who wrote the Bible matters because the Christian quarter of the world’s population believe the Bible is a not merely a human production.</p> <p>Divinely inspired, it has a transcendent significance. As such, it provides for Christians an ultimate understanding of how the world is, what history means and how human life should be lived.</p> <p>It matters because the Biblical worldview is the hidden (and often not-so-hidden) cause of economic, social and personal practices. It remains, as it has always been, a major source of both peace and conflict.</p> <p>It matters, too, because the Bible remains the most important collection of books in Western civilisation. Regardless of our religious beliefs, it has formed, informed and shaped all of us – whether consciously or unconsciously, for good or ill.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214849/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/philip-c-almond-176214"><em>Philip C. Almond</em></a><em>, Emeritus Professor in the History of Religious Thought, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-wrote-the-bible-214849">original article</a>.</em></p>

Books

Placeholder Content Image

Surprise choice for Time's 2023 Person of the Year

<p>Hold onto your hats, folks: Taylor Swift has been crowned <em>Time</em> magazine's Person of the Year for 2023, leaving the world collectively scratching its head and asking, "Did we miss the memo that we're living in Taylor's world now?"</p> <p>Traditionally reserved for influential political figures or those who've left an indelible mark on the global stage – <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">you know, like Russian President Vladimir Putin, King Charles III, Barbie – </span><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">this time the Person of the Year honour has been bestowed upon a pop sensation </span><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">who can make you both weep and dance in the span of a three-minute song.</span></p> <p>In a statement that surely made a few historians raise an eyebrow, <em>Time</em>'s editor-in-chief, Sam Jacobs, explained, "In a divided world, where too many institutions are failing, Taylor Swift found a way to transcend borders and be a source of light." Because when we think of bridging divides and bringing people together, we immediately think of "Shake It Off" and "Love Story".</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Time Magazine: We’d like to name you Person of the Yea-</p> <p>Me: Can I bring my cat. <a href="https://t.co/SOhkYKSTwG">https://t.co/SOhkYKSTwG</a></p> <p>— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) <a href="https://twitter.com/taylorswift13/status/1732406430857093501?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p>While past Persons of the Year have included world leaders and political heavyweights, Swift's victory signals a definite paradigm shift. Apparently, in 2023, the ability to make millions of people sing along to your breakup anthems and inspire an army of fans to don cat ears for Halloween is a more valuable global contribution than, say, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy being honoured for his courage in resisting Russia's invasion.</p> <p>In 2023, it seems we've collectively decided that what the world really needs is more "Bad Blood" and less, well, actual bad blood between nations.</p> <p>Chinese President Xi Jinping and Hollywood strikers also found themselves on the shortlist, along with <em>Barbie</em>, who apparently had a banner year as the highest-grossing film of 2023. Forget geopolitics; it's all about the dollars and sense.</p> <p>Swift also triumphed over King Charles III, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, and even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Apparently, even the promise of artificial intelligence couldn't outshine the real magic of Taylor Swift.</p> <p>In the end, T-Swift's ability to sell out stadiums and break box office records with her concert movie proved that in a world full of political turmoil and global challenges, what we really need is a good sing-along. </p> <p><em>Images: Twitter / X</em></p>

Books

Placeholder Content Image

Readers Respond: What's a book you love that most people have never heard of?

<p>Looking for a new book to kickstart your year?  Look no further we've got you covered. </p> <p>Here are a few of our reader's book recommendations that you may not have heard of. </p> <p><strong>Ruth Fontaine</strong> - I’m reading <em>We of the Never Never </em>atm. Not sure if it’s still well known. I’ve read it before but awhile back and love it. I love reading how they lived nearly 120 years ago. </p> <p><strong>Elaine Rosenberg</strong> - <em>The Abbey Girls Series</em> by Elsie J Oxenham.</p> <p><strong>Maryika Welter</strong> - <em>The courage to be disliked.</em> ... Furmitake Kogan, Ichiro Kishimi.</p> <p><strong>Janice Stewart</strong> - <em>A Fortunate Life</em> by Albert Facey</p> <p><strong>Suzanne Midson</strong> - <em>On Our Selection</em> by Steele Rudd. Read it when I was about 10/12. Best laugh ever. Australian humour at its best.</p> <p><strong>Julie Anderson</strong> - <em>Episode of Sparrows</em> by Rumor Goddin </p> <p><strong>Nancie Golsby</strong> - <em>The Half Burned Tree</em> by Dympna Cusack</p> <p><strong>June Maynard</strong> - Sahara, by Paula Constant. Preceded by Slow Journey South. A thrilling, actual account of her adventure.</p> <p><strong>Peter Rayner </strong>- <em>Enforcer</em> by Caesar Campbell</p> <p><strong>Meg Milton</strong> - <em>I Heard the Owl Call My Name</em> by Margaret Craven</p> <p><strong>Edie Dore</strong> - <em>The Curious Incident of the Dog </em>in the Night-time by Mark Haddon.</p> <p><strong>Christine Cornforth</strong> - <em>A Grief Observed</em> by CS Lewis. </p> <p><strong>Wendy Oliver</strong> - <em>The Good Earth</em> by Pearl Buck</p> <p>Do you have any other recommendations that we might have missed?</p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p> <p> </p>

Books

Placeholder Content Image

Surprise choice for "Word of the Year"

<p>The Oxford University Press has named its word of the year, and the results are not what you expect. </p> <p>From "Swiftie" (an evid Taylor Swift fan), "situationship" (an informal romantic or sexual relationship)  and "prompt" (an instruction given to an AI program), it's clear that this year's line up was heavily influenced by Gen Z. </p> <p>This year's winner truly speaks volumes about the impact of the younger generation, after results from a public vote reveal that "Rizz" is the word of the year. </p> <p>Rizz is believed to come from the middle of the word charisma, and it is often used to describe someone's ability to attract or seduce someone else. </p> <p>The publishers of the Oxford English Dictionary also said that it can be used as a verb as in to "rizz up"  which means to attract or chat someone up. </p> <p>"It speaks to how younger generations create spaces — online or in person — where they own and define the language they use," the publisher said.</p> <p>"From activism to dating and wider culture, as Gen Z comes to have more impact on society, differences in perspectives and lifestyle play out in language, too."</p> <p>In a news release,  Oxford Languages President Casper Grathwohl said: "Rizz is a term that has boomed on social media, and speaks to how language that enjoys intense popularity and currency within particular social communities — and even in some cases lose their popularity and become passé — can bleed into the mainstream."</p> <p>One of the first instances of a celebrity using it, was when earlier this year <em>Spiderman</em> star Tom Holland said that he had "no rizz whatsoever", during an interview with <em>BuzzFeed</em>. </p> <p>"I have limited rizz," he said at the time, joking about his relationship with co-star Zendaya. </p> <p>Rizz was one of eight words that made it to the shortlist, which included a few other words like: “beige flag”, “parasocial”, “heat dome” and “de-influencing”. </p> <p>Rizz is heavily used online with the hashtag racking up billions of views on TikTok.</p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p> <p> </p>

Books

Placeholder Content Image

New royal book pulled from shelves over huge legal blunder

<p>Copies of an explosive new book about the royal family are being pulled from shelves and destroyed after a translation error "accidentally named" the alleged "royal racist". </p> <p>Sales of the new book <em>Endgame</em>, written by Omid Scobie who also wrote <em>Finding Freedom</em> about Harry and Meghan's exit from the royal family, were "temporarily" put on hold just days after its release after what has been labelled an error. </p> <p>According to Xander, the publishers of the Dutch edition of Scobie's book, a translation error led to a member of the royal family being identified as the person who made comments about baby Archie's skin colour. </p> <p>“[We are] temporarily withdrawing the book by Omid Scobie from sale. An error occurred in the Dutch translation and is currently being rectified,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.</p> <p>Meanwhile, <em><a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/royals/24884315/royal-racist-accidentally-named-omid-scobie/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sun</a></em> claims that thousands of copies of the book are now being destroyed as a result.</p> <p>The "racist royal" scandal dates back to when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sat down with Oprah Winfrey for a tell-all interview in 2021, when Markle  alleged that while she was pregnant with their first child, Prince Archie, there were “concerns and conversations” from a member of the royal family about how dark his skin might be.</p> <p>The Duchess of Sussex stopped short of naming the person involved, telling Winfrey, “I think that would be very damaging to them.”</p> <p>In the original edition of his book, Scobie also declines to identify the royal, claiming libel laws prevented him from doing so – although he has confirmed he knows who it is.</p> <p>“I do know who made the comments about Archie’s skin colour,” he told UK program <em>Good Morning</em> during his book press tour.</p> <p>“The names were mentioned in letters between Meghan and Charles that were exchanged sometime after the Oprah interview."</p> <p>“We know from sources that Charles was horrified that that’s how Meghan felt. Those conversations were, and that he wanted to, sort of as a representative for the family, have that conversation with her.</p> <p>“And it is why I personally think they have been able to move forward with some kind of line of communication afterwards. Though they may not see eye-to-eye on it.”</p> <p>It’s understood the royal family member accidentally named in the Dutch edition was not the person Meghan had been referring to.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images / Harper Collins</em></p>

Books

Placeholder Content Image

"I still can't fathom it": Wendy Harmer names and shames inappropriate guest

<p>Wendy Harmer has named and shamed the high-profile comedian who would regularly expose his genitals to her during an ongoing radio prank. </p> <p>Recalling the X-rated moments in her new memoir <em>Lies My Mirror Told Me</em>, the 68-year-old broadcasting veteran revealed that her former 2Day FM co-host, comedian Jamie Dunn would consistently expose himself as a joke. </p> <p>Harmer recalled how she never found the joke amusing nor sexual in nature, writing, "I suspect Jamie was a bit of a naturist."</p> <p>"I still can't fathom why he would do it as a gag on radio," she said, later confirming that she saw Dunn's penis "more times" than she "cared to remember". </p> <p>Harmer recalled the "joke" in detail, while her former co-host, Paul Holmes, also shared his experience in the memoir, saying he never understood the reasoning behind the bizarre prank.</p> <p>Holmes wrote, "He'd drop his dacks, exposing his penis, raise his hands in the air and strike a pose."</p> <p>When approached by the <em>Sydney Morning Herald</em> for comment, Dunn, who was best known for voicing and operating the children's puppet Agro, admitted to exposing himself "once or twice" as a "harmless joke". </p> <p>In her memoir, Harmer went on to detail the early days of her career in the male-dominated media industry, and shared how she very quickly learned to stand up for herself. </p> <p>“I was a kid, I soon developed a more assertive attitude ... Many men I have worked with have said I’m a bit scary, they’re usually the ones who got second billing,” Harmer told the <em>Sydney Morning Herald</em>.</p> <p>“Certainly, I would not like my daughter to have gone through some of the things I went through in the workplace.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Books

Placeholder Content Image

The unexpected health benefits of reading

<p>Not only does reading expand your mind but it also comes with many health benefits. So next time you lose hours (or days) of your life chomping through a novel, don’t feel so bad because you’re doing yourself the following favours.</p> <p><strong>It reduces stress</strong></p> <p>According to a 2009 study from the University of Sussex, reading for just six minutes can reduce stress levels by up to 68 per cent. Researchers found that silently reading to yourself slows down heart rate and eases muscle tension, and it achieves this more effectively than other relaxing activities such as listening to music or having a cuppa.</p> <p><strong>It refines brain function</strong></p> <p>A 2014 study published in Brain Connectivity found reading fiction improves reader’s ability to flex the imagination and “puts the reader in the body of the protagonist”, increasing a person’s emotional intelligence and ability to be compassionate.</p> <p><strong>It helps your memory</strong></p> <p>In her landmark paper "What Reading Does For The Mind", psychologist Dr. Anne Cunningham concluded, “reading is a very rich and complex and cognitive act.” She found the benefits of reading become reciprocal – reading helps your brain retain information over time (as every time you read, you create a new memory), which in turns makes you read better, which in turn make you sharper and smarter.</p> <p><strong>It enhances mental agility in old age</strong></p> <p>The 2013 study from the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago measured memory and thinking in over 200 participants aged 55 and over, annually for six years until their deaths. The participants answered the same questions about whether they read books, wrote letters and took part in other mentally stimulating activities.</p> <p>The researchers found that those who kept their brain busy had a rate of cognitive decline estimated at 15 per cent slower than those who did not.</p> <p>“Based on this, we shouldn't underestimate the effects of everyday activities, such as reading and writing, on our children, ourselves and our parents or grandparents,” says study author Robert. S. Wilson, Ph.D.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Books

Placeholder Content Image

How to write a memoir

<p><strong>How to start a memoir</strong></p> <p><em>My Story </em>by Russell Durling is my 85-year-old father’s account of the highlights of his life. He is writing and editing it, by hand, in several notepads I gave him as a Christmas gift to encourage the memoir project he had talked about for years.</p> <p>In it, my dad shares stories of summer jobs when he was a teenager, breaking up log jams on the Saint John River near his hometown of Meductic, New Brunswick. He’d move from log to floating log to reach shore again safely – and he loved every minute of this adventure, even when he’d land in the water.</p> <p>Reading an early draft, I learned new details of his history, like how when they were children, his cousin Clara had a pet crow. He also wrote about lessons learned from his Royal Canadian Mounted Police career, which was spent mostly in Nova Scotia, and shared insights about how to retire well. Pro tip from my father: to add a decade to your life, ditch the city (if you can).</p> <p>This memoir will be a treasure for our family, and I’m glad my father was finally able to start writing it, after spending a long time talking about wanting to. And I get it. Writing your life story can feel like a daunting project. But it’s worth it, both to the writer and their potential readers. If you’re having a hard time putting pen to paper, here’s advice on how to start a memoir.</p> <p><strong>First, ask yourself why you're writing a memoir </strong></p> <p>Esmeralda Cabral is a writer who works with people who wouldn’t normally consider themselves writers through her workshop, <em>Writing Your Life</em>. Often, she helps people create written treasures for their families, and sometimes they’re writing just for themselves. To her, and those she teaches, memoir writing can be a way of remembering and reflecting on experiences both positive and negative.</p> <p>“There is a clarity that comes when you put something down on paper,” says Cabral. “Remembering and writing helps us make sense of things. If you don’t write it down or tell it, it’s lost. And that’s a shame.”</p> <p>Begin by jotting down your reasons for writing your story. You could summarise those reasons on a Post-It and stick it on your fridge as an encouraging reminder to stay motivated. After all, there are many good reasons to write: to remember and reflect on your past, to capture your adventures, to share life lessons with family and friends, or maybe even to be published. Consider sharing your plan with a friend or family member who can check in and cheer your progress.</p> <p><strong>Where to start</strong></p> <p>You don’t have to start a memoir with day one. In fact, as much as your future readers love you, they may find that approach less than gripping.</p> <p>In her workshops, Cabral helps people to start a memoir by using a photo that is meaningful to them. She asks them to imagine sitting down with a good friend and telling them the story behind it. Or begin your writing with an event or story you are particularly interested in sharing. What grabs you as a big moment? Select a vivid memory and start there.</p> <p>“Plug your nose and jump in and write down all your memories as truthfully as you can,” summarises New York Times bestselling author Anne Lamott in <em>Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life</em>. Maybe start with a birthday party you remember, or your first-grade classroom. Try writing at the same time every day, so you can build a routine that will keep you putting words on the page.</p> <p><strong>Write what you want </strong></p> <p>In every life, there is light and shadow, joy and grief. If you are hesitant to write your memoir because you have difficult stories that might hurt others, there is a solution. First, “You don’t have to write about everything,” says Cabral. “It’s okay to have secrets that go with you to the grave.”</p> <p>Simply knowing you have the freedom to not go to the darkest of places in your writing can lift you over those psychological hurdles of hesitation. However, writing often takes on a life of its own. If you find yourself standing outside a door you had marked as “Do Not Enter,” consider Cabral’s advice: “Write about the hard things as if the person you are writing about is reading it. Be as kind as you can. Leave them with dignity.”</p> <p><strong>Who is your audience?</strong></p> <p>If you’re writing for your eyes only, as a kind of personal therapy, then you may be purposely opening doors and exploring what’s on the other side. That’s okay, too. You are creating a treasure for yourself, and that can be very healthy.</p> <p>Besides, whether the writing is for you or for others, you can always hit the delete button or visit the paper shredder later, if you wish. For now, just get it down.</p> <p><strong>Stop yourself from sticking to rules</strong></p> <p>Avoid letting worries over style or structure stop you from writing. If you care enough about grammar, you can ask someone you trust to read it over later on, or even hire a freelance editor if you’re really fretting over verb tenses. Remember, perfection in writing is not your goal.</p> <p><strong>Readers are interested</strong></p> <p>Writers also might hesitate to share stories because they fear they are boring. “I hear a lot of people say, ‘Oh no, that wouldn’t be interesting to anyone but me,’” says Cabral. But our life stories are of interest to others, whether they feel ordinary to us or if they really are extraordinary. They remind us we are all in this together.</p> <p>Writer Pauline Dakin, author of the award-winning 2017 memoir <em>Run, Hide, Repeat: A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood</em>, was surprised how much the unusual story of her childhood on the run connected with readers. She’s since heard from hundreds of people. “They often begin by saying, ‘My family wasn’t nearly as crazy as yours, but…,’” she says. “They are relieved to hear my story. It makes them feel they are not alone.”</p> <p>We are all far more interesting than we know, she adds. It’s just a matter of believing we have a story to tell.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/uncategorized/how-to-write-a-memoir" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>. </em></p>

Books

Placeholder Content Image

US school teacher sacked after reading Aussie book to class

<p dir="ltr">A US primary school teacher is forced to resign or terminate her contract after reading an Aussie book to her class.</p> <p dir="ltr">Katie Rinderle, from Cobb County, Georgia wanted to teach her fifth graders about inclusion and acceptance through Aussie author Scott Stuart’s book, <em>My Shadow is Purple</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">The book itself explores this through the theme of “gender beyond the binary” and the story of a child who neither identifies as a boy or girl.</p> <p dir="ltr">Rinderle discussed the main message behind the book before asking them to reflect and write their own poem, which has been praised by some parents.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, not all of them were happy about Rinderle’s initiative and one parent filed a complaint which led to an investigation.</p> <p dir="ltr">Rinderle was sacked for violating the Divisive Concepts law, which disallows teachers from educating about divisive concepts and was given the notice of termination on June 6.</p> <p dir="ltr">Investigators reportedly deemed the book to be “pornographic” material which included “inappropriate topics”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Stuart, the author of the book, responded to the situation and shared his “disgust” on <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@scott.creates/video/7247741499775995137?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“A teacher’s just been fired for reading one of my books,” he said in the video.</p> <p dir="ltr">“(She) had parents reaching out saying that this kind of lesson was something that they wanted in the class. This is a teacher who gets phenomenal feedback from the principal, the students, the parents.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Her teaching is described as transformative and key to the school’s success,” he defended Rinderle.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This whole thing just really goes to show how much more interested the school system in the US is in playing politics than they are in educating kids,” he added</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s gross. It’s disgusting.”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Cobb County School District has responded to the situation in a statement to<em> FOX 5 a</em>nd claimed that any action taken was “appropriate considering the entirety of the teacher’s behaviour and history”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The District remains committed to strictly enforcing all Board policy, and the law,” the statement concluded.</p> <p dir="ltr">Rinderle will face a termination hearing in August.</p> <p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #323338; font-family: Figtree, Roboto, Rubik, 'Noto Kufi Arabic', 'Noto Sans JP', sans-serif; background-color: #ffffff; outline: none !important;"><em>Images: TikTok</em></p>

Books

Placeholder Content Image

Settle in with one of these top reads this winter

<p dir="ltr">It can be challenging deciding on a new book to read, but with these titles releasing throughout July 2023, you’re sure to find something to settle in with.</p> <p dir="ltr">Whether an edge-of-your-seat murder mystery, a laugh-out-loud romantic escapade, or even a deep-space adventure is more your cup of tea, the time has come to dive into your next favourite novel, and maybe even convince your book club to read along with you. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>For the budding detectives out there:</strong></p> <ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><em><a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/zero-days-ruth-ware/book/9781398508408.html">Zero Days</a></em>, Ruth Ware</p> </li> </ul> <p dir="ltr">“Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack and her husband Gabe are the best penetration specialists in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead. To add to her horror, the police are closing in on their only suspect – her.</p> <p dir="ltr">“On the run and out of options, Jack must decide who she can trust as she circles closer to the truth in this unputdownable and heart-pounding mystery from 'one of the best thriller writers around today' Ruth Ware.”</p> <ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><em><a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/four-dogs-missing-rhys-gard/book/9781760687724.html">Four Dogs Missing</a></em>, Rhys Gard</p> </li> </ul> <p dir="ltr">“While estranged twins Oliver and Theo Wingfield are identical in appearance, they couldn't be more different. Theo, an extrovert verging on arrogant, was always a drifter, a nomad, operating on the fringes of the law. Oliver, intense, creative and introspective, was destined to become a winemaker. Each vintage, every bottle from Oliver's Mudgee-based label, Four Dogs Missing, sells out.</p> <p dir="ltr">“And now, after fifteen years without contact, Theo unexpectedly turns up at his brother's vineyard, bearing an invitation that his twin knows nothing about. The quiet and fulfilling life that the winemaker has built for himself is about to change overnight: Theo's arrival is the catalyst for a series of murders involving those closest to Oliver. Finding himself the main suspect, Oliver soon discovers that not everyone in Mudgee supports a reclusive and unorthodox vigneron who's shied away from the community that helped him succeed.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Oliver is inexorably drawn into a sinister world where poisoned liquor and stolen art leave a deadly trail. Abandoning his grapevines, he sets out to solve the crimes – and confront his damaged past – before someone else he loves is found dead … beside a bottle of his own wine.”</p> <ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><em><a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/none-of-this-is-true-lisa-jewell/book/9781529195989.html">None of This is True</a></em>, Lisa Jewell </p> </li> </ul> <p dir="ltr">“Celebrating her 45th birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summers crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her 45th birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins.</p> <p dir="ltr">“A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix's children's school. Josie has been listening to Alix's podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Josie's life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can't quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Slowly Alix starts to realise that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it Josie has inveigled her way into Alix's life - and into her home.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, her life and her family's lives under mortal threat.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?”</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>For the sci-fi fanatics:</strong></p> <ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><em><a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/circle-of-death-james-patterson/book/9781529136630.html">Circle of Death</a></em>, James Patterson</p> </li> </ul> <p dir="ltr">“Since Lamont Cranston - known to a select few as the Shadow - defeated Shiwan Khan and ended his reign of terror over New York one year ago, the city has started to regenerate.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But there is evil brewing elsewhere. And this time the entire world is under threat.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Which is why Lamont has scoured the globe to assemble a team with unmatched talent.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Only their combined powers can foil an enemy with ambitions and abilities beyond anyone's deepest fears.</p> <p dir="ltr">“As their mission takes them across the globe and into the highest corridors of power - pushing them beyond their limits - can justice prevail?”</p> <ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><em><a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/a-psalm-for-the-wild-built-becky-chambers/book/9781250320216.html">A Psalm for the Wild-Built</a></em>, Becky Chambers</p> </li> </ul> <p dir="ltr">“It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend.</p> <p dir="ltr">“One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how.</p> <p dir="ltr">“They're going to need to ask it a lot.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Becky Chambers's new series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?”</p> <ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><em><a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-mother-fault-kate-mildenhall/book/9781760859848.html">The Mother Fault</a></em>, Kate Mildenhall</p> </li> </ul> <p dir="ltr">“Mim’s husband is missing. No one knows where Ben is, but everyone wants to find him – especially The Department. And they should know, the all-seeing government body has fitted the entire population with a universal tracking chip to keep them ‘safe’.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But suddenly Ben can’t be tracked. And Mim is questioned, made to surrender her passport and threatened with the unthinkable – her two children being taken into care at the notorious BestLife.</p> <p dir="ltr">“From the stark backroads of the Australian outback to a terrifying sea voyage, Mim is forced to shuck off who she was – mother, daughter, wife, sister – and become the woman she needs to be to save her family and herself.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>For those with a passion for romance: </strong></p> <ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/palazzo-danielle-steel/book/9781529022421.html"><em>Palazzo</em></a>, Danielle Steel</p> </li> </ul> <p dir="ltr">“After her parents perish in a tragic accident, Cosima Saverio assumes leadership of her family's haute couture Italian leather brand. While navigating the challenges of running a company at twenty-three, Cosima must also maintain the elegant four-hundred-year-old family palazzo in Venice and care for her younger siblings: Allegra, who survived the tragedy that killed their parents, and Luca, who has a penchant for wild parties, pretty women, and poker tables.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Cosima navigates her personal and professional challenges with a wisdom beyond her years, but her success has come at a cost: Her needs are always secondary. She's married to the business, and her free time is given to those who rely on her . . . until she meets Olivier Bayard, the founder of France's most successful ready-to-wear handbag company.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But Luca's gambling habit gets out of control and Cosima is forced to make an impossible choice to save him. The palazzo, the family business or cut Luca loose. Or is there another way to rescue everything she has fought for before it goes up in flames?”</p> <ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-willow-tree-wharf-leonie-kelsall/book/9781761066092.html"><em>The Willow Tree Wharf</em></a>, Leonie Kelsall</p> </li> </ul> <p dir="ltr">“Samantha, owner of Settlers Bridge cafe Ploughs and Pies, is short on confidence and big on regrets. Married young to fill the void left by an unhappy childhood, she still works in the same small town where she grew up, too filled with self-doubt and insecurity to ever risk spreading her wings. Yet will the end of her abusive marriage force her to start anew?</p> <p dir="ltr">“City restaurateur Pierce di Angelis knows what it is to have his career and family ripped away. However, a chance encounter with the intriguing Samantha ignites his passion, and together they concoct a plan for a destination restaurant.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But, with their personalities like oil and water, will old hurts and hidden truths destroy the new business before it's afloat?”</p> <ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><em><a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-forgotten-bookshop-in-paris-daisy-wood/book/9780008525248.html">The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris</a></em>, Daisy Wood</p> </li> </ul> <p dir="ltr">“Paris, 1940: War is closing in on the city of love. With his wife forced into hiding, Jacques must stand by and watch as the Nazis take away everything he holds dear. Everything except his last beacon of hope: his beloved bookshop, La Page Cachée.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But when a young woman and her child knock on his door one night and beg for refuge, he knows his only option is to risk it all once more to save a life…</p> <p dir="ltr">“Modern day: Juliette and her husband have finally made it to France on the romantic getaway of her dreams – but as the days pass, all she discovers is quite how far they’ve grown apart. She’s craving a new adventure, so when she happens across a tiny, abandoned shop with a for-sale sign in the window, it feels fated.</p> <p dir="ltr">“And she’s about to learn that the forgotten bookshop hides a lot more than meets the eye…”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Books

Placeholder Content Image

How to start your own book club

<p>Starting a book club is easy – all you need is to love reading. Here’s how to get yours off to a flying start.</p> <p><strong>Finding Fellow Readers</strong></p> <p>Ask around your existing personal networks, including neighbours, friends, social media, or a community noticeboard. Once you mention you want to start a club, you’ll be surprised how many people may want to come along. Ask at your local bookshop and library for ideas – many run regular reading groups and can point you in the right direction for good books. Identify what common interests you and your group have and use these to help draw like-minded people. Once you start looking, you’ll find book clubs for men or women, seniors, sci-fi lovers, teenagers or cookery buffs.</p> <p><strong>The Time, the Place</strong></p> <p>Once you have a group, agree on how often you want to meet – typically clubs meet monthly, though the time-poor may want to make it bi-monthly.</p> <p>For many clubs, meeting at home works best as you don’t have to get dressed up, and noisy public venues can make talking hard. If members bring a plate of food or a bottle, it takes the pressure off the host. But try rotating your meeting location as this will help to stimulate fresh thoughts.</p> <p><strong>Idea</strong></p> <p>Tailor your venue according to the book’s subject matter. The Light Between the Oceans by M.L. Stedman was discussed over fish’n’chips by one club, while The Red Tent by Anita Diamant was chewed over at a Middle Eastern restaurant.</p> <p><strong>Size Matters</strong></p> <p>According to Christine Callen, a book club veteran of 15 years, you need a minimum number of people per meeting to make it interesting. “Seven is the magic number – fewer and there’s not enough for healthy debate,” she says. “You can have ten people in the club – not everyone will be able to make it every time – seven provides enough opinions.”</p> <p><strong>Choosing the Books</strong></p> <p>If you’re the club instigator, it’s easier if you pick the first book. Seek out book reviews in good magazines and newspapers and at bookshops. The flavour of the books you choose will be largely dictated by the personalities attending – you might like to have a wide range of genres from sci-fi to romance to travel epics. Or stick to one genre, such as history books. Decide on a strategy and a time frame – say five to 12 books across the year – then review how everything appeals to the majority.</p> <p>Take turns to come up with a list of four or five titles, then circulate the list via email shortly after your last discussion.</p> <p>Members can then vote on their preferred next book and meeting time. The member scheduled to host the next meeting coordinates the responses to decide the title and date most voted for.</p> <p><strong>Starting Discussion</strong></p> <p>Callen recommends beginning by asking all members to briefly give their opinion on the book. “Everyone arrives and has a drink to loosen up,” she explains. “Then we take it in turns to go around the room and each give the book a mark out of ten, saying in a few sentences what we liked or disliked about it. This gives everyone a chance to speak early in the night and stops one person dominating the conversation from the start.”</p> <p><strong>Tip</strong></p> <p>There is no one way to interpret a book. In fact, differing opinions are good.</p> <p><em>This article first appeared in <a href="http://www.readersdigest.com.au/home-tips/How-to-Start-Your-Own-Book-Club">Reader’s Digest</a>. </em></p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Books

Placeholder Content Image

The 10 best romance novels of all time

<p>Books in which man meets woman, man woos woman (or woman woos man), and man and woman live happily ever after are a dime a dozen. Enjoyable, for sure, but not what you'd call memorable. So, Reader’s Digest have come up with a list of 10 of the best romance novels that tell favourite, and timeless, love stories, each of which goes above and beyond basic romance.</p> <p>Whether it’s glimpsing 19th-century Russia in <em>Anna Karenina</em> or witnessing endless family drama on the Australian outback in <em>The Thorn Birds</em>, each of these fabulous books has something special.</p> <p>“These are much more than love stories; they are life stories,” says US Select Editions editor-in-chief Laura Kelly.</p> <p>“If you like a good love story, books are so much more satisfying than movies,” she continues.</p> <p>“Books take you into the minds of all the characters, where their hopes and dreams will really fire up your own imagination.”</p> <p><strong>1. <em>The Thorn Birds</em> by Colleen McCullough (1977)</strong></p> <p>Set in 1915 Australia, this remarkable saga chronicles the forbidden love between a beautiful, headstrong young girl and a priest.</p> <p>You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll stay up way too late reading this fabulous story.</p> <p><strong>2.<em> Jane Eyre</em> by Charlotte Brontë (1847)</strong></p> <p>“Reader, I married him.” Charlotte Brontë’s gothic masterpiece, with its unyielding heroine, dashing love interest Mr. Rochester, creepy manor house, and foggy English countryside, has become synonymous with 19th-century romance.</p> <p>And writing love stories ran in the Brontë family – Charlotte’s sister Emily’s classic <em>Wuthering Heights</em> is also a strong contender for this list of best romance novels.</p> <p><strong>3. <em>This Is How You Lose Her</em> by Junot Díaz (2013)</strong></p> <p>Technically a collection of short stories, <em>This Is How You Lose Her</em> counts as a novel because the stories all somehow connect back to the same one character’s life.</p> <p>The impressive way the Pulitzer Prize-winning Díaz weaves together multiple love stories – happy and sad, fleeting and lasting – from all around the world makes this one of the best romance novels of the 21st century.</p> <p><strong>4. <em>The Notebook</em> by Nicholas Sparks (1996)</strong></p> <p>Nicholas Sparks has made a name for himself as the writer of some of the best romance novels in recent years.</p> <p>Though he’s written more than 20 books, his first has stood the test of time for a reason.</p> <p>Noah and Allie’s tear-jerking, decade-spanning story remains the wonderfully escapist romantic read it was 20 years ago.</p> <p><strong>5.<em> Call Me By Your Name</em> by André Aciman (2007)</strong></p> <p>Even if you’ve seen the Academy Award-winning film, this enchanting story of first love and self-discovery is still more than worth a read.</p> <p>Prepare to fall just as in love with the magnificent Italian setting as with the story of summer romance and intoxicating attraction.</p> <p><strong>6.<em> The French Lieutenant’s Woman</em> by John Fowles (1969)</strong></p> <p>A Victorian gentleman is engaged to a wealthy and suitable woman, but when he encounters a beautiful, mysterious woman rumoured to be the forsaken lover of a French lieutenant, he becomes utterly smitten.</p> <p>Truly magnificent entertainment.</p> <p><strong>7. <em>Beautiful Disaster </em>by Jamie McGuire (2012)</strong></p> <p>With an edgy, modern twist on the good-girl-meets-bad-boy theme, <em>Beautiful Disaster</em> has topped must-read romance lists for a reason.</p> <p>After reinventing herself just before college, Abby finds herself involved in a tantalising bet with her school’s resident tattooed player.</p> <p>Neither of them is prepared for the results.</p> <p><strong>8.<em> The Time Traveler’s Wife</em> by Audrey Niffenegger (2003)</strong></p> <p>Every love has its challenges, and while your husband being an unwitting time traveller may not be one you’re familiar with, this four-hanky tale will still tug on your heartstrings.</p> <p><strong>9. <em>Anna Karenina </em>by Leo Tolstoy (1877)</strong></p> <p>Trapped in a loveless marriage, Anna Karenina succumbs to temptation and embarks on a dangerous affair with the handsome Vronsky.</p> <p>Tragedy unfolds amid the canvas of 19th-century Russia, in the most famous of doomed love stories.</p> <p>A memorable and enduring classic.</p> <p><strong>10. <em>Outlander </em>by Diana Gabaldon (1991)</strong></p> <p>A powerhouse time-travel romance, this is the first in Gabaldon’s hugely successful series.</p> <p>Strong, beautiful Claire Randall leads a double life, married to a man in one century, with a lover in another century.</p> <p>Filled with humour, passion, wit and wonderful Scottish scenery, this is one fast read for a 600-plus page book.</p> <p>Enjoy the wallow!</p> <p><em>Written by Reader’s Digest Editors. This article first appeared in </em><em><a href="http://www.readersdigest.com.au/true-stories-lifestyle/book-club/10-best-romance-novels-all-time">Reader’s Digest</a></em><em>.</em></p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Books

Placeholder Content Image

20 old words that have new meanings since the birth of the internet

<p><a href="../Dictionary.com"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Dictionary.com</strong></span></a> has revealed a list of commonly used words that have seen their definition change considerably in the last couple of decades.</p> <p>The changes have been primarily driven by the increased use of social media. While 1995 may seem like it was just yesterday to some of us, 20 years is actually a really long time. The world has change from dial-up modems and VCRs to unlimited broadband and Netflix streaming.</p> <p>Check out the list of 20 words with new meanings below:</p> <p><strong>1. Bump</strong></p> <p>Then: “to come more or less heavily in contact with.”</p> <p>Now: “to move an online post or thread to the top of the reverse chronological list by adding a new comment or post to the thread.”</p> <p><strong>2. Cloud</strong></p> <p>Then: “a visible collection of particles of water or ice suspended in the air.”</p> <p>Now: “any of several parts of the Internet that allow online processing and storage of documents and data as well as electronic access to software and other resources.”</p> <p><strong>3. Core</strong></p> <p>Then: “the central part of a fleshy fruit, containing the seeds.”</p> <p>Now: “the muscles of the torso, which provide support for the spine and pelvis.”</p> <p><strong>4. Fail</strong></p> <p>Then: “to come short or be wanting in action.”</p> <p>Now: “to make an embarrassing or humorous mistake, be in a humiliating situation, etc., and be subject to ridicule.”</p> <p><strong>5. Footprint</strong></p> <p>Then: “a mark left by the foot.”</p> <p>Now: “a unique set of characteristics, actions, etc., that leave a trace and serve as a means of identification.”</p> <p><strong>6. Friend</strong></p> <p>Then: “someone attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.”</p> <p>Now: “to add a person to one’s list of contacts on a social-networking website.”</p> <p><strong>7. Glance</strong></p> <p>Then: “to look quickly or briefly.”</p> <p>Now: “Information on an electronic screen that can be understood quickly or at a glance.”</p> <p><strong>8. Goldilocks</strong></p> <p>Then: “a person with golden hair.”</p> <p>Now: “Not being extreme or not varying drastically between extremes, especially between hot and cold.”</p> <p><strong>9. Like</strong></p> <p>Then: “having the same or similar qualities or characteristics.”</p> <p>Now: “to indicate one’s enjoyment of, agreement with, or interest in website content, especially in social media.”</p> <p><strong>10. Meme</strong></p> <p>Then: “a cultural element, as a custom or concept.”</p> <p>Now: “A cultural item in the form of an image, video, phrase, etc., that is spread via the Internet and often altered in a creative or humorous way.”</p> <p><strong>11. Ping:</strong></p> <p>Then: “to produce a sharp, ringing, high-pitched sound.”</p> <p>Now: “to make contact with someone by sending a brief electronic message, as a text message.”</p> <p><strong>12. Profile:</strong></p> <p>Then: “the outline or contour of the human face, especially as seen from the side.”</p> <p>Now: “the personal details, images, user statistics, social-media timeline, etc., that an individual creates and associates with a username or online account.”</p> <p><strong>13. Sandbox:</strong></p> <p>Then: “a container holding sand, usually located in an outdoors area.”</p> <p>Now: “an environment in which software developers or editors can create and test new content, separate from other content in the project.”</p> <p><strong>14. Swipe</strong></p> <p>Then: “a stroke with full swing of the arms.”</p> <p>Now: “to move the fingers across a touchscreen.”</p> <p><strong>15. Takeaway</strong></p> <p>Then: “food or beverage purchased for consumption elsewhere.”</p> <p>Now: “conclusions, impressions, or action points resulting from a meeting, discussion, roundtable, or the like.”</p> <p><strong>16. Text</strong></p> <p>Then: “the main body of matter in a book or manuscript.”</p> <p>Now: “to send a text message.”</p> <p><strong>17. Timeline</strong></p> <p>Then: “a representation of historical events in the form of a line.”</p> <p>Now:  “a collection of online posts or updates associated with a specific social-media account, in reverse chronological order.”</p> <p><strong>18. Tweet</strong></p> <p>Then: “the weak chirp of a young or small bird.”</p> <p>Now: “a very short message posted on the Twitter website.”</p> <p><strong>19. Unplug</strong></p> <p>Then: “to disconnect by pulling the plug from it or from a power socket.”</p> <p>Now: “to refrain from using digital or electronic devices for a period of time.”</p> <p><strong>20. Viral</strong></p> <p>Then: “relating to or caused by a virus.”</p> <p>Now: “becoming very popular by circulating quickly from person to person, especially through the Internet.”</p> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong> </p> <p><a href="../lifestyle/technology/2015/07/eight-tips-for-your-kindle/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>8 great things you can do with your Kindle</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="../news/news/2015/05/new-words-in-merriam-webster-dictionary/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Can you guess what new words have been added to Merriam-Webster dictionary?</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="../travel/travel-club/2015/05/free-translation-apps/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>3 great FREE translation apps to use when travelling</strong></em></span> </a></p>

Books

Placeholder Content Image

The 10 most beautiful libraries around the world

<p>Whether you’re a bookworm or just a lover of fine architecture, these gorgeous libraries are sure to fill you with wanderlust. Here are 10 of the most stunning libraries around the world.</p> <ol> <li><strong>Clementinum in Prague, Czech Republic</strong> – built in 1722, the Baroque library hall is adorned with elaborate frescoes and houses The National Library of the Czech Republic.</li> <li><strong>Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., USA</strong> – established in 1800 and boasting over 160,000,000 items on catalogue, the Library of Congress has the largest collection in the world.</li> <li><strong>Marciana Library in Venice, Italy</strong> – a pinnacle of Renaissance architecture, this stunning library took 50 years to build after construction began in 1537.</li> <li><strong>Trinity College Old Library in Dublin, Ireland</strong> – the grand Long Room is the most iconic part of this historic library, founded in 1592.</li> <li><strong>Bodleian Library at Oxford University, England</strong> – established in 1602, this library is the second largest in Britain and was used as a filming location in the first two Harry Potter films.</li> <li><strong>Biblioteca Joanina in Coimbra, Portugal</strong> – another Baroque masterpiece built in 1717, this library is known for its elaborate decorative elements.</li> <li><strong>Austrian National Library in Vienna, Austria</strong> – built in 1723, this incredible library was once the palace library, and once you see in side you won’t be surprised to hear of its royal past.</li> <li><strong>The Library of El Escorial in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain</strong> – this royal library is spectacularly adorned in gold and classic frescoes and is nestled in the magnificent royal site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.</li> <li><strong>Abbey Library in St. Gallen, Switzerland</strong> – at over 1,000 years old, this World Heritage site is designed in the Rococo style and survived the devastating fire in 937 which destroyed the Abbey.</li> <li><strong>Sainte-Geneviève Library in Paris, France</strong> – designed nearly 200 years ago, the grand glass and iron reading room is one of the most iconic libraries in France.</li> </ol> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Books

Placeholder Content Image

Stan Grant’s new book asks: how do we live with the weight of our history?

<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/heidi-norman-859">Heidi Norman</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-technology-sydney-936">University of Technology Sydney</a></em></p> <p>This month, journalist and public intellectual Stan Grant published his fifth book, <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9781460764022/the-queen-is-dead/">The Queen is Dead</a>. And last week, he abruptly stepped away from his career in the public realm, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-19/stan-grant-media-target-racist-abuse-coronation-coverage-enough/102368652">citing</a> toxic racism enabled by social media, and betrayal on the part of his employer, the ABC.</p> <p>“I was invited to contribute to the ABC’s coverage as part of a discussion about the legacy of the monarchy. I pointed out that the crown represents the invasion and theft of our land,” <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-19/stan-grant-media-target-racist-abuse-coronation-coverage-enough/102368652">he wrote</a> last Friday. “I repeatedly said that these truths are spoken with love for the Australia we have never been.” And yet, “I have seen people in the media lie and distort my words. They have tried to depict me as hate filled”.</p> <p>Grant has worked as a journalist in Australia for more than three decades: first on commercial current affairs – and until this week, as a main anchor at the ABC, where he was an international affairs analyst and the host of the panel discussion show Q+A. The former role reflects his global work, reporting from conflict zones with esteemed international broadcasters such as CNN. His second book, <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9781460751985/talking-to-my-country/">Talking to my Country</a>, won the Walkley Book Award in 2016.</p> <hr /> <p><em>Review: The Queen is Dead – Stan Grant (HarperCollins)</em></p> <hr /> <p>In this new book, Grant yearns for a way to comprehend the forces, ideas and history that led to this cultural moment we inhabit. The book, which opens with him grappling with the monarchy and its legacy, is revealing in terms of his decision to step back from public life.</p> <p>Released to coincide with <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronation-arrests-how-the-new-public-order-law-disrupted-protesters-once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity-205328">the coronation</a> of the new English monarch, Charles III, The Queen is Dead seethes with rage and loathing – hatred even – at the ideas that have informed the logic and structure of modernity.</p> <p>Grant’s work examines the ideas that explain the West and modernity – and his own place as an Indigenous person of this land, from Wiradjuri, Kamilaroi and Dharawal country. That is: his work explores both who he is in the world and the ideas that tell the story of the modern world. He finds the latter unable to account for him.</p> <p>“This week, I have been reminded what it is to come from the other side of history,” he writes in the book’s opening pages. “History itself that is written as a hymn to whiteness […] written by the victors and often written in blood.”</p> <p>He asks “how do we live with the weight of this history?” And he explains the questions that have dominated his thinking: what is <a href="https://theconversation.com/whiteness-is-an-invented-concept-that-has-been-used-as-a-tool-of-oppression-183387">whiteness</a>, and what is it to live with catastrophe?</p> <h2>The death of the white queen</h2> <p>In his account, his rage is informed by the observation that the weight of this history was largely unexplored on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II’s death last September. The death of the white queen is the touchpoint always returned to in this work – and the release of the book coincides with the apparently seamless transition to her heir, now King Charles III.</p> <figure class="align-right zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527406/original/file-20230522-29-dcc0ot.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527406/original/file-20230522-29-dcc0ot.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527406/original/file-20230522-29-dcc0ot.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=917&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527406/original/file-20230522-29-dcc0ot.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=917&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527406/original/file-20230522-29-dcc0ot.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=917&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527406/original/file-20230522-29-dcc0ot.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1152&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527406/original/file-20230522-29-dcc0ot.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1152&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527406/original/file-20230522-29-dcc0ot.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1152&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption></figcaption></figure> <p>In the lead-up to the coronation, “long live the king” echoed across the United Kingdom. Its long tentacles reached across the globe where this old empire once ruled, robbing and ruining much that it encountered. The death of the queen and the succession of her heir occurred with ritual and ceremony.</p> <p>Small tweaks acknowledged the changing world – but for the most part, this coronation occurred without revolution or bloodshed, without condemnation – and without contest of the British monarchs’ role in history and the world they continue to dominate, in one way or another.</p> <p>Grant argues the end of the 70-year rule of Queen Elizabeth II should mark a turning point: a global reckoning with the race-based order that undergirds empire and colonialism. Whereas the earlier century confidently pronounced the project of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-power-of-yindyamarra-how-we-can-bring-respect-to-australian-democracy-192164">democracy</a> and liberalism complete, it seems time has marched on.</p> <p>History has not “ended”, as Francis Fukuyama <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-end-of-history-francis-fukuyamas-controversial-idea-explained-193225">declared</a> in 1989 (claiming liberal democracies had been proved the unsurpassable ideal). Instead, history has entered a ferocious era of uncertainty and volatility.</p> <p>Grant reminds us that people of colour now dominate the globe. Race, <a href="https://theconversation.com/racism-is-real-race-is-not-a-philosophers-perspective-82504">as we now know</a>, is a flexible and slippery made-up idea, changing opportunistically to include and exclude groups, to dominate and possess.</p> <p>Grant examines this with great impact as he considers the lived experience of his white grandmother, who was shunned when living with a black man, shared his conditions of poverty with pluck and defiance, then resumed a place in white society without him.</p> <p>And writing of his mother, the other Elizabeth, Grant elaborates the complexity of identity not confined to the colour of skin, but forged from belonging to people and kinship networks, and to place – which condemns the pseudoscience of <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/speeches/power-identity-naming-oneself-reclaiming-community-2011">blood quantum</a> that informed the state’s control of Aboriginal lives. This suspect race science has proved enduring.</p> <p>Grant’s account of the death of the monarch is a genuine engagement with the history of ideas to contemplate the reality of our 21st-century present.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527467/original/file-20230522-27-ts8u8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527467/original/file-20230522-27-ts8u8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527467/original/file-20230522-27-ts8u8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527467/original/file-20230522-27-ts8u8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527467/original/file-20230522-27-ts8u8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527467/original/file-20230522-27-ts8u8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=502&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527467/original/file-20230522-27-ts8u8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=502&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527467/original/file-20230522-27-ts8u8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=502&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">Grant argues the end of the queen’s 70-year rule should mark ‘a global reckoning with the race-based order that undergirds empire and colonialism’.</span> <span class="attribution">Yui Mok/AP</span></figcaption></figure> <h2>Liberalism and democracy = tyranny and terror</h2> <p>In several essays now, Grant has engaged with the ideas of mostly Western philosophers and several conservative thinkers to explain the crisis of liberalism and democracy. Grant argues that, like other -isms, liberalism and democracy have descended into tyranny and terror.</p> <p>The new world order, dominated by <a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-stan-grant-on-how-tyrants-use-the-language-of-germ-warfare-and-covid-has-enabled-them-204183">China</a> and people of colour, is in dramatic contrast to the continued rule of the white queen and her descendants.</p> <p>In this, perhaps more than his other books and essays, Grant moves between big ideas in history – the <a href="https://theconversation.com/criticism-of-western-civilisation-isnt-new-it-was-part-of-the-enlightenment-104567">Enlightenment</a>, modernity and democracy – to consider himself, his identity, and his own lived experience of injustice, where race is an undeniable organising feature.</p> <p>In this story he explains himself, as an Indigenous person, “an outsider, in the middle”; “an exile, living in exile, struggling with belonging”; living with the “very real threat of erasure”.</p> <h2>Love, friendships, family, Country</h2> <p>In the final section of the book, Grant’s focus switches to the theme of “love”, and to friendships, family and Country. He speculates that his focus on these things is perhaps a mark of age.</p> <p>Now, he accounts for the things in life that are truly valuable – and this includes deep affection for the joy that emanates from Aboriginal families. Being home on his Country, paddling the river, he finds quiet and peace.</p> <p>The death of the monarch of the British Empire, who ruled for 70 years, should speak to the history of empire and colonial legacy and all its curses – especially in settler colonial Australia. Yet her passing – which coincides with seismic change in the global economic order with China’s ascendance and the decline of the United States and the UK, the global cultural order and the racial order – has been largely unexamined in public discourse in Australia.</p> <p>The history of colonisation and of ideas that have debated ways to comprehend the past have been a feature of Grant’s intellectual exploration, including on the death of the queen. As he details in his new book, the reaction from some quarters to this conversation has exposed him to unrelenting and racist attack.</p> <p>In this work and in others, exploration of the world of ideas to understand the past and future sits alongside accounts of the everyday; of the always place-based realities of Aboriginal accounts of self.</p> <p>The material deprivations and indignities, the closely held humility that comes with poverty and powerlessness - shared socks, a house carelessly demolished, burials tragically abandoned – are countered by another reality: the intimacy of most Aboriginal lives, characterised by deep love, affection, laughter and belonging. These place-based, “small” stories Grant shares sit alongside the bigger themes of modern history, such as democracy and freedom.</p> <p>In this latest work, Grant details his sense of “betrayal” at the discussion he sought about the monarch’s passing and the discussion that was actually had, the history of ideas and his own place in this.</p> <p>And now, of course, he has announced his intention to exit the public stage. Racism, we are reminded, is an enduring feature of the modern world – a world yet to allow space for an unbowing, Wiradjuri-Kamilaroi-Dharawal public intellectual.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204756/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/heidi-norman-859">Heidi Norman</a>, Professor, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-technology-sydney-936">University of Technology Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/stan-grants-new-book-asks-how-do-we-live-with-the-weight-of-our-history-204756">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Images: Q+A / ABC</em></p>

Books

Placeholder Content Image

2023 Australian Book Industry Awards winners announced

<p>The winners of the 2023 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) have been revealed, while a whole host of titles taking home their well-deserved accolades from an impressive shortlist of 70. </p> <p>Categories included Book of the Year for Social Impact, International Book, Literary Fiction, New Writer, General Non-Fiction, Biography, Children’s Picture Book, and more - to the delight of booklovers all across the nation. </p> <p>There was an ‘overall’ winner from the big night, too, with Nagi Maehashi’s <em>RecipeTin Eats: Dinner </em>taking home the Book of the Year award. </p> <p>Nagi took to social media to celebrate her win, in the wake of her self-proclaimed “worst acceptance speech of the year”, to thank everyone and express her enthusiastic gratitude for all of the support for her work. And, of course, to thank her four-legged best friend and ‘co-author’, Dozer the dog. </p> <p>She wasn’t the only one with a smile on her face on the big night, however, with her fellow given plenty of reason to rejoice right along with her. </p> <p>And so, in no particular order, here are all the winners from the 2023 ABIAs! </p> <p><strong>ABIA Book of the Year &amp; Illustrated Book of the Year:</strong> <em>RecipeTin Eats: Dinner</em>, Nagi Maehashi</p> <p>“150 dinner recipes. Fail-proof. Delicious. Addictive. The food you want to cook, eat and share, night after night.</p> <p>"Through her phenomenally popular online food site, RecipeTin Eats, Nagi Maehashi talks to millions of people a year who tell her about the food they love.</p> <p>"Now, in her first cookbook, Nagi brings us the ultimate curation of new and favourite RecipeTin Eats recipes - from comfort food (yes, cheese galore), to fast and easy food for weeknights, Mexican favourites, hearty dinner salads, Asian soups and noodles, and special treats for festive occasions.”</p> <p><strong>General Fiction Book of the Year: </strong><em>Dirt Town</em>, Hayley Scrivenor</p> <p>“On a sweltering Friday afternoon in Durton, best friends Ronnie and Esther leave school together. Esther never makes it home.</p> <p>“Ronnie's going to find her, she has a plan. Lewis will help. Their friend can't be gone, Ronnie won't believe it.</p> <p>“Detective Sergeant Sarah Michaels can believe it. She has seen what people are capable of. She knows more than anyone how, in a moment of weakness, a person can be driven to do something they never thought possible.</p> <p>“Lewis can believe it too. But he can't reveal what he saw that afternoon at the creek without exposing his own secret.</p> <p>“Five days later, Esther's buried body is discovered.”</p> <p><strong>Literary Fiction Book of the Year:</strong> <em>Horse</em>, Geraldine Brooks</p> <p>“A discarded painting in a roadside clean-up, forgotten bones in a research archive, and Lexington, the greatest racehorse in US history. From these strands of fact, Geraldine Brooks weaves a sweeping story of spirit, obsession and injustice across American history …</p> <p>“With the moral complexity of March and a multi-stranded narrative reminiscent of People of the Book, this enthralling novel is a gripping reckoning with the legacy of enslavement and racism in America. <em>Horse</em> is the latest masterpiece from a writer with a prodigious talent for bringing the past to life.”</p> <p><strong>General Non-fiction Book of the Year: </strong><em>Bulldozed</em>, Niki Savva</p> <p>“Between 2013 and 2022, Tony Abbott begat Malcolm Turnbull, who begat Scott Morrison. For nine long years, Australia was governed by a succession of Coalition governments rocked by instability and bloodletting, and consumed with prosecuting climate and culture wars while neglecting policy.</p> <p>“By the end, among his detractors — and there were plenty — Morrison was seen as the worst prime minister since Billy McMahon …</p> <p>“Niki Savva, Australia’s renowned political commentator, author, and columnist, was there for all of it … Now she lays out the final unravelling of the Coalition at the hands of a resurgent Labor and the so-called teal independents that culminated in the historic 2022 election. With her typical access to key players, and her riveting accounts of what went on behind the scenes, <em>Bulldozed</em> is the unique final volume of an unputdownable and impeccably sourced political trilogy.”</p> <p><strong>Biography Book of the Year: </strong><em>My Dream Time</em>, Ash Barty </p> <p>“<em>My Dream Time</em> is about finding the path to being the best I could be, not just as an athlete but as a person, and to consider the way those identities overlap and compete. We all have a professional and a personal self. How do you conquer nerves and anxiety? How do you deal with defeat, or pain? What drives you to succeed – and what happens when you do? The answers tell me so much, about bitter disappointments and also dreams realised – from injuries and obscurity and self-doubt to winning Wimbledon and ranking number 1 in the world.</p> <p>“My story is about the power and joy of doing that thing you love and seeing where it can take you, about the importance of purpose – and perspective – in our lives.”</p> <p><strong>Social impact Book of the Year: </strong><em>The Boy from Boomerang Crescent</em>, Eddie Betts</p> <p>“How does a self-described ‘skinny Aboriginal kid’ overcome a legacy of family tragedy to become an AFL legend? One thing’s for sure: it’s not easy. But then, there’s always been something special about Eddie Betts …</p> <p>“Sometimes funny, sometimes tragic and always honest – often laceratingly so – <em>The Boy from Boomerang Crescent</em> is the inspirational life story of a champion, in his own words. Whether he’s narrating one of his trademark gravity-defying goals from the pocket, the discrimination he’s faced as an Aboriginal person or the birth of his first child, Betts’s voice – intelligent, soulful, unpretentious – rings through on every page.</p> <p>“The very human story behind the plaudits is one that will surprise, move and inspire.”</p> <p><strong>Book of the Year for Older Children (ages 13+): </strong><em>Blood Traitor</em>, Lynette Noni</p> <p>“Kiva thought she knew what she wanted - revenge. But feelings change, people change … everything has changed.</p> <p>“After what happened at the palace, Kiva is desperate to know if her friends and family are safe, and whether those she wronged can ever forgive her. But with the kingdoms closer to the brink of war than they’ve ever been, and Kiva far away from the conflict, more is at stake than her own broken heart.</p> <p>“A fresh start will mean a perilous quest, forcing mortal enemies and uneasy allies together in a race against the clock to save not just Evalon, but all of Wenderall. With her loyalties now set, Kiva can no longer just survive - she must fight for what she believes in. For who she believes in. But with danger coming from every side, and the lives of everyone she loves at risk, does she have what it takes to stand, or will she fall?”</p> <p><strong>Book of the Year for Younger Children (ages 7–12): </strong><em>Runt</em>, Craig Silvey (illustrated by Sara Acton)</p> <p>“Annie Shearer lives in the country town of Upson Downs with her best friend, an adopted stray dog called Runt. The two share a very special bond.</p> <p>“After years evading capture, Runt is remarkably fast and agile, perfect for herding runaway sheep. But when a greedy local landowner puts her family's home at risk, Annie directs Runt's extraordinary talents towards a different pursuit - winning the Agility Course Grand Championship at the lucrative Krumpets Dog Show in London.</p> <p>“However, there is a curious catch: Runt will only obey Annie's commands if nobody else is watching.</p> <p>“With all eyes on them, Annie and Runt must beat the odds and the fastest dogs in the world to save her farm.</p> <p>“<em>Runt</em> is a heart-warming and hilarious tale of kindness, friendship, hurdles, hoops, tunnels, see-saws, being yourself and bringing out the best in others.”</p> <p><strong>Children’s Picture Book of the Year (ages 0–6): </strong><em>What to Say When You Don’t Know What to Say</em>, Davina Bell &amp; Hilary Jean Tapper</p> <p>“A warm and whimsical guide to negotiating life's little moments and big emotions with empathy, kindness and words from the heart.”</p> <p><strong>International Book of the Year: </strong><em>Lessons in Chemistry</em>, Bonnie Garmus</p> <p>“Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing.</p> <p>“But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of equality. Forced to resign, she reluctantly signs on as the host of a cooking show, Supper at Six. But her revolutionary approach to cooking, fuelled by scientific and rational commentary, grabs the attention of a nation.</p> <p>“Soon, a legion of overlooked housewives find themselves daring to change the status quo. One molecule at a time.”</p> <p><strong>Small Publishers’ Adult Book of the Year: </strong><em>The Dreaming Path</em>, Paul Callaghan</p> <p>“The Dreaming Path has always been there, but in the modern-day world, it can be hard to find. There are so many demands on us – family, health, bills, a mortgage, a career – that it can be hard to remember what’s most important: you.</p> <p>“It’s time to reconnect with your story.</p> <p>“Through conversations, exercises, Dreamtime stories and key messages, Paul Callaghan and Uncle Paul Gordon will sit you around the fire and share knowledge that reveals the power of Aboriginal spirituality as a profound source of contentment and wellbeing for anyone willing to listen.</p> <p>"This ancient wisdom is just as relevant today as it ever was.”</p> <p><strong>Small Publishers’ Children’s Book of the Year:</strong> <em>Off to the Market</em>, Alice Oehr</p> <p>“Sunday is market day. We are looking for pumpkin, apples, eggs, and bread. What else will we find? Where did it come from? And what will we make with it?</p> <p>“Learn all about produce in this delightful child’s tour of a food market, full of fun facts, delicious new discoveries, and charming characters.</p> <p>“A loving ode to the people who bring food to our table and connection to our community, from acclaimed artist Alice Oehr.”</p> <p><strong>Audiobook of the Year: </strong><em>The Whitewash</em> (Siang Lu, Wavesound) </p> <p>“Siang Lu's searing debut is a black comedy about the whitewashing of the Asian film industry, told in the form of an oral documentary. It sounded like a good idea at the time - a Hollywood spy thriller, starring, for the first time in history, an Asian male lead. With an estimated $350 million production budget and up-and-coming Hong Kong actor JK Jr, who, let's be honest, is not the sharpest tool in the shed, but probably the hottest, Brood Empire was basically a sure thing. Until it wasn't …</p> <p>“<em>The Whitewash</em> is the definitive oral history of the whole sordid mess. Unofficial. Unasked for. Only intermittently fact-checked, and featuring a fool's gallery of actors, producers, directors, film historians and scummy click-bait journalists, to answer the question of how it all went so horribly, horribly wrong.”</p> <p><strong>The Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year: </strong><em>WAKE</em>, Shelley Burr</p> <p>“Evelyn simply vanished …Mina McCreery's life has been defined by the intense and ongoing public interest in her sister's case. Now a reclusive adult, Mina lives alone on her family's sunbaked, destocked sheep farm. The million-dollar reward her mother established to solve the disappearance has never been paid out.</p> <p>“Enter Lane Holland, a private investigator who dropped out of the police academy to earn a living cracking cold cases. Lane has his eye on the unclaimed money, but he also has darker motivations.</p> <p>“<em>WAKE</em> is a powerful, unsparing story of how trauma ripples outward when people's private tragedies become public property, and how it's never too late for the truth to set things right.”</p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Books

Placeholder Content Image

Iconic Aussie author caught up in bizarre book ban

<p>Australian author Mem Fox, best known for her iconic <em>Possum Magic </em>book, has become the latest writer caught up in Florida’s wave of book bans. </p> <p>Her 1988 release <em>Guess What?</em> is the target, facing the ban in schools throughout Duval County over allegations of “pornography” in its depictions of nudity.</p> <p>The 2022 Florida law, part of the parental rights in conservative governor Ron DeSanti’s education bill, prohibits adults from distributing on school premises any content “of a person or portion of the human body which depicts nudity or sexual conduct, sexual excitement, sexual battery, bestiality, or sadomasochistic abuse and which is harmful to minors".</p> <p>Punishment for not complying includes a third-degree felony, which can mean a prison sentence of up to five years for any individual caught. </p> <p>The book asks children to guess the identity of character Daisy O’Grady with a series of questions - all yes or no - before finally revealing that she’s actually a witch. </p> <p>Illustrations through <em>Guess What?</em> - created by illustrator Vivienne Goodman - see Daisy going about her day-to-day routine, including one key ‘problem’ activity: taking a bath. </p> <p>It’s this scene that caused the trouble for Fox, with some dubbing it “pornographic”. </p> <p>However, it isn’t the first time that<em> Guess What? </em>has come into question for its depictions - past reviews took issue with its images of dead fish in underwear as well. </p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2023/05/GuessWhat_Embed.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p>Fox doesn’t seem too concerned about the ban though, with her agent even telling <em>The Guardian </em>that “Duval County is a county of 997,000 people in Florida. It is not important."</p> <p>As Fox herself said on <em>ABC Radio</em>, “it's pitiful, isn't it? It's like, the Americans keep killing each other with guns and then they do things like this as well.</p> <p>"You just feel sorry for them, you just think, 'people, you're so unsophisticated, you're so pitiful'.”</p> <p>She went on to note that Americans had treated her well in the past, in her 100-plus visits to the country over the course of her career. </p> <p>"They were so kind to me, they were so, so good, so generous, so warm-hearted, so affirming,” she said. “I just grieve for them.”</p> <p>And when it came to the bath time scene, she was firm in her stance that it is “completely appropriate. </p> <p>"She's washing herself, she's sort of sitting in this sink, you can't see any of her private parts at all.</p> <p>"The whole book is about guessing who this person is, it turns out to be a witch in the end."</p> <p><em>Images: Getty, Facebook</em></p>

Books

Placeholder Content Image

5 authors who hated the film adaptation of their book

<p>Most movies these days are adapted from something – whether it’s a book, a musical, a news story or even another film. However, commercial and critical success doesn’t necessarily guarantee everyone will be happy. Surprisingly, the authors of these 5 movies didn’t think much of the film adaptations of their books.</p> <p><strong>1. <em>Mary Poppins</em></strong></p> <p>Author of <em>Mary Poppins</em> P. L. Travers initially had no problem with her book being turned into a film, until she discovered that Disney had disregarded almost all of her edits. When it was released in 1964, then-65-year-old Travers voiced her disapproval at the animated scenes and the downplaying of Poppins’ stricter side. She reportedly spent most of the film premiere crying, and vowed never to let Disney near another of her books.</p> <p><strong>2. <em>The Shining</em></strong></p> <p>With such a prolific author like Stephen King, there are bound to be a few hits and misses when it comes to film adaptations. After King put his faith in acclaimed director Stanley Kubrick, whom he greatly admired, he found himself extremely disappointed in the final product, which went on to become a horror classic. “Kubrick just couldn't grasp the sheer inhuman evil of The Overlook Hotel,” the author explained. “So he looked, instead, for evil in the characters and made the film into a domestic tragedy with only vaguely supernatural overtones.”</p> <p><strong>3. <em>Forrest Gump</em></strong></p> <p>The 1995 Best Picture winner was a hit with everyone – except author Winston Groom, that is. Angry at the filmmakers for toning down the language and sexual references as well as omitting certain important plot points, Groom got back at Hollywood in the first few lines of the book’s sequel: “Don't never let nobody make a movie of your life's story,” he writes "Whether they get it right or wrong, it don't matter.” Groom sued the producers after failing to receive his promised 3% cut of the profits, and wasn’t mentioned in any of the six Oscar acceptance speeches by the cast and crew.</p> <p><strong>4. <em>A Clockwork Orange</em></strong></p> <p>It’s one thing to hate the film adaptation of your book, but to end up hating the book itself? It seems strange, but that’s exactly what happened to Anthony Burgess. Years after the release of the book and the film, Burgess claimed he regretted writing the book, which he wrote in three weeks and only because he was desperate for money, so was unhappy when it was turned into a film that “seemed to glorify sex and violence.” He adds, “The film made it easy for readers of the book to misunderstand what it was about, and the misunderstanding will pursue me till I die.”</p> <p><strong>5. <em>Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory</em></strong></p> <p>One of the most beloved films of all time, the adaptation of <em>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory</em> certainly wasn’t beloved by Roald Dahl. He thought the 1971 film was “crummy” and that Gene Wilder’s portrayal of Willy Wonka was “pretentious” and “bouncy”, claiming director Mel Stuart had “no talent or flair”. For this reason, as long as the rights to his work is in the hands of his family, you’ll never see the book’s sequel, <em>Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator</em>, grace the silver screen.</p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Books

Placeholder Content Image

“A lesson learned”: Uni student lands herself in an overdue book nightmare

<p dir="ltr">A university graduate student received the shock of her academic career when an email arrived in her inbox to inform her she owed her school’s library a whopping $11,900 in overdue book fines. </p> <p dir="ltr">Hannah took to TikTok to share her story, posting a snippet of the horror email, and the news that her library account had amassed a debt of “$11,9000 owed for 119 lost books”. The books had been declared lost, though Hannah was quick to note that she was “still using” each of them, and had every intention of returning them once she was finished with her studies. </p> <p dir="ltr">To drive home the fact that the books were not missing, and instead safely in her scholarly possession, Hannah panned around the various piles of tomes stacked around her home, with a caption reading “the books aren’t lost, I’m just hoarding them until I finish my dissertation.” </p> <p dir="ltr">The email itself explained the books were marked as lost in the library’s system if they exceeded 30 days overdue, and that there was a flat rate of $100 per book in such instances. And according to the library, it was up to each patron to renew their books, and that Hannah “received overdue notices on the following dates prompting you to renew your library books before they are declared lost.”</p> <p dir="ltr">As she explained to <em>The Daily Dot</em>, she had checked out her collection three years prior while she’d been preparing for exams, and confirmed that she had received four reminders to either renew or return the books, but she’d put it off each time. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Then I got the automatic email,” she added, “saying all of the books were marked as lost and my account was charged $100 per book.” </p> <p dir="ltr">Hannah’s woe drew a mixed response from her audience, with some surprised that her library had even let her withdraw that many books in the first place, others unable to wrap their heads around the fact she could have let her situation get so bad, and many quick to defend the librarian, who they declared had only been doing her job. </p> <p dir="ltr">“My library only lets me check out 5 books at a time,” one wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“That’s why keeping library books past their due date is considered stealing,” another said, to which Hannah responded to promise her lesson had been learned. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Only 30 days over due??? Damn give a lil more time,” said one, with Hannah informing them that she’d had the books for years by that point. </p> <p dir="ltr">It wasn’t all bad for the budding scholar though, with Hannah explaining in another comment that “it was hunky dory”, as the library had waived her fees as soon as she’d responded to them, and that she’d been allowed to keep all 119 for an additional year. </p> <p dir="ltr">And, as she told another follower, “I’ve never replied to an email faster.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: TikTok</em></p>

Books

Our Partners