Personal Learning Network

Some recent blogs such as Tania and Kate (and others that I fail to remember at this point) have been discussing the benefit of their Personal Learning Networks (PLN's). You can catch me on Twitter @gemmas1980 however I'm not a big tweeter - more of a silent observer. I'm more of a face-to-face girl and have immensely enjoyed that last few days catching up with my lovely library girls!

As I am currently on maternity leave I'm not as often in touch with those who I regularly called on for help with library related issues. On Sunday I caught up with Michelle (local), Laura (Melbourne) and Sherrill (Geelong) who travelled to Ballarat for lunch. It was great to catch up on library news and just to discuss life over wine. Something I have missed immensely the last few months.

Today I travelled to a kids indoor play centre in Hopper's Crossing to catch up with Tania (who is also on maternity leave) and Jill who is just starting back in the library world after having time off to be a mum. We chatted about libraries, life and motherhood! A fantastic time where the two toddlers could play and we could chat. Rather different to the dinners and library events where we normal meet.

To me these PLN's are invaluable. Though I benefit from networks such as Twitter, nothing beats the face-to-face interaction for me!

Book: Bark Cutters

Summary: Sarah Gordon knows what she wants: the family homestead, Wangallon. When it comes to working the homestead she’s a natural but as a woman, it’s not her birthright. Even when her beloved brother, Cameron James, first born and heir, is killed in a tragic accident, nobody looks to Sarah to inherit. Instead her grandfather passes management to the one man she truly loves. Feeling betrayed she runs away to Sydney to try to put Wangallon, behind her, but it’s in her blood. She is constantly drawn back to Wangallon but when will she finally admit that it’s not just Wangallon she longs for but the station’s manager, Anthony.

Loved this one. Was a bit more in depth than some of the other rural romances I like to read. Have the sequel at home. Just so little time and so many books...

Clunes Booktown 2011

Once again I was lucky enough to head out to the picturesque town of Clunes located only 15 minutes from my door. Booktown is held annually and consists of thousands of rare and second hand books, writers talks and street performances. This year I only bought about 10 books which was pretty good for me. I was however lucky enough to catch a couple of writers talks and my notes from these are below:

Writing Family, Peter Rose, Anne Deveson, Tara June Winch

AD - Wrote it 2 years after his death
PR - About brother who became a quadriplegic, written 1 year after his death (Brother, Uncles, Fathers all played for Collingwood, Father coached them)
ALL - Started from tragedies and deaths
AD - Help came from the most unlikely of places - the plumber!
PR - Sometimes books are over dramatised to draw in readers. Lots of woe. Not always that bad though. Hard to write memoir due to repercussions etc. But don't baulk at it, write it. Very liberating.
TJW - Characters are an amalgamation of the traits of different family members/friends.
AD/PR - People approached them thinking they were experts on schizophrenia/quadriplegia etc. as they had written about them in their books. Also having mental illness/disability in the family soon highlights those friends that are loyal.

Bob Hawke, Biography
I was lucky enough to hear Bob Hawke speak this year, last year it was Malcolm Fraser. Just so fantastic the array and calibre of guests they are drawing. Anyway, here's a bit of what Bob had to say, such a character:

Thinks Tony Abott is potentially dangerous as a future PM.
Good leadership is: capacity/willingness to listen; intelligence; readiness to take risks.
Doesn't think any international leaders stand out as fantastic. All are good - but not great.
A lot of politics is charades. No genuine debate if you already have the numbers.
No such thing as free education - it's who pays? Hence introduction of schemes like HECS.
In reflection he thinks his performance as PM was overall "pretty bloody good". But in hindsight could obviously improve in some areas.
Enabling people to make judgements on knowledge - biography/autobiography.
Today's big issues - climate change; economy; indigenous disadvantage.

Just had the most brilliant time there. Well worth going to!

Book: North Star

Summary: Since her divorce a year ago, Kate Thurston feels like she's lurched from one disaster to another. Her teenage daughter, Georgia, seems to have morphed into a monster overnight, and her son Liam breaks her heart with his sad brown eyes.
When Kate receives news that her grandfather has bequeathed her North Star, the vast property that has been in her family for generations, it feels like the perfect opportunity to flee the hectic pace of city life for a calmer rural existence.
As soon as she arrives at North Star, however, Kate realises she's going to need every ounce of determination to restore the rundown homestead to its former glory and fulfil her dream of turning it into a bush retreat. And as for the farm, well it's in utter disarray. As she starts to make headway with the homestead's restoration, and falls for a local bloke, Kate finally feels like life is going right for her. Then her ex-husband comes to town and triggers a series of events that will change her life forever ...

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED. Awesome trashy country romance! Can't wait for more from this author!

Book: Dark Country

Summary: Most people in the small town of Dungirri have considered Morgan ‘Gil’ Gillespie a murderer for eighteen years, so he expects no welcome on his return. What he doesn’t expect is the discovery of a woman’s tortured body in the boot of his car, and new accusations of murder. Wearied by too many deaths and doubting her own skills, local police sergeant Kris Matthews isn’t sure whether Gil is a decent man wronged by life, or a brutal criminal she should be locking up. But she does know that he is not guilty of this murder – because she is his alibi . . .

Between organised crime, police corruption, and the hatred of a town, Gil has nowhere to hide. He needs to work out who’s behind the murder before his enemies realise that the one thing more punishing than putting him back in prison would be to harm the few people he cares about. Kris is determined to help him, but will their search for the truth make her the next target?


The first book, As Darkness Falls (review below) was great. This one was a little slower to get into. Still loved it though and am looking forward to more from this author.

Blog Everyday of June

As my blogging is somewhat sporadic I thought I'd attempt the Blog Every Day of June Challenge. The official hashtag for this event is #blogjune

So for those who don't know me a little bit of info...

I live in Ballarat in regional Victoria and work as a medical librarian. I am currently on maternity leave playing mum to 4 month old Luke and my beautiful 2 year old boy Adam. Back to work later in the year though...

I live on about 5 acres just out of town with my hubby, kids and dogs and love the space we have to roam.

In my spare time (yeah right!) I love to sleep, read, cook, scrapbook and make cards. Am actually participating in a make 30 cards challenge also this month!

So what can you expect from me this month.... Book reviews, library/literary event reviews and who knows what else! That's as far as I've thought ahead!

The Big Read, at Ballarat Library

On Sunday April 10th, Adam, Luke and I headed to our local library for the Big Read. We heard a story-teller, looked at some books then sat down to read. I pulled out Adam's new Thomas the Tank book which he received on the day and the lollipop in the bag to actually make him sit still. We read for about 1o minutes before he got bored (pretty good) and it goes without saying that his new book now has several sticky pages!! Was a great morning though and was a pity we had to leave as he'd have done the crafty things all day. Oh, there were Chinese dragons who were VERY loud. He only liked them from a distance...

Book: Eliza's Gift

Summary: When Abigail Durant inherits a cottage from her friend, the world famous knitting guru Eliza Carpenter, she's sees it as her chance to start anew after the terrifying end of her last relationship. Only problem is, the cottage is slap-bang in the middle of a sheep ranch owned by Cade MacArthur, Eliza's tall, dark and infuriating nephew. Cade's a man's man, a cowboy through and through, and he's none too pleased there's now a young - albeit very pretty - woman living on his property. And that's before she tells him she plans to turn her new home into a knitting shop a With battlelines drawn, city girl and cowboy go head to head. But soon, with the sexual chemistry fizzing between them, both start to question the real nature of Eliza's gift...

Awesome cowboy romance! Makes me want to take up knitting. Just a lovely trashy country chick lit book. Loved it!

Tuesday Night Bookgroup: Breath

Summary: In the first part of the book, the narrator, Bruce Pike, recounts his boyhood friendship with Ivan "Loonie" Loon. As young boys, Pikelet and Loonie dare each other to perform dangerous stunts in the local river. When they become teenagers, they take up surfing and meet a former professional surfer named Sando, who leads them to new levels of recklessness. The novel explores the boys' youthful urge to seek out the farthest limits of courage, endurance and sanity in an attempt to escape the ordinariness of their lives. The second half of Breath is concerned with the disintegration of Pikelet's friendship with Sando and Loonie and his developing relationship with Sando's American wife Eva.

I liked this book alot but I didn't love it. It just lacked... something for me. Not sure what though. Also thought it was quite similar to Dirt Music in places. Worth reading though, it is a Miles Franklin winner after all!

Book: Mr Darcy Broke my Heart

Summary: Recently unemployed Claire Prescott heads to England to give a paper for her sister at a Jane Austen seminar. Not an Austen scholar by any means, Claire feels out of place at Oxford among the learned Austenites until she’s approached by elderly Harriet Dalrymple, who claims to be in possession of a partial manuscript of First Impressions, an early version of Pride and Prejudice. When she shows Claire the manuscript bit by bit, Claire is surprised to find a very different love story for Elizabeth Bennet unfolding on the page. Claire is questioning her own relationship with her stable but sports-obsessed boyfriend, Neil, while engaging in a serious flirtation with James, a handsome, inscrutable publisher. When Claire presents her sister’s paper and finds some startling parallels to her own life in it, she realizes she has some serious reevaluating to do.

An Austen spin off. Was ok, didn't quite hit all the marks for me but a nice chick lit story none the less!

Monday Night Bookgroup: The Closers

Summary: After three years out of the LAPD, Harry Bosch returns, to find the department a different place from the one he left. A new Police Chief has been brought over from New York to give the place a thorough clean up from top to bottom. Working with his former partner, Kiz Rider, Harry is assigned to the department's Open-Unsolved Unit, working on the thousands of cold cases that haunt the LAPD's files. These detectives are the Closers — they put a shovel in the dirt and turn over the past. By applying new techniques to old evidence they aim to unearth some hidden killers and bring them to justice, for "a city that forgets its murder victims is a city lost." Harry and Kiz are given a politically sensitive case when a DNA match connects a white supremacist to the 1988 murder of Rebecca Verloren, a sixteen-year-old girl. Becky was of mixed race, and the case appears to have a racial angle. This was LA before the riots and Rodney King; the city was a powder keg waiting for a match. The detectives who worked the case all those years ago seem to have done a decent job, but something doesn't fit.

Loved this book. Will definitely be ready more Harry Bosch novels!

Book: As Darkness Falls

Summary: Haunted by her failures, Detective Isabelle O’Connell is recalled to duty by DCI Alec Goddard to investigate the abduction of yet another child from her home town. They have only days to find the girl alive, with few clues, a town full of suspects, and a vast wilderness to search. It soon becomes a game of cat and mouse, with Bella firmly in the killer’s sights. For Bella, this case is already personal; for Alec, his best intentions to keep it purely professional soon dissolve, and his anguish over Bella’s safety moves beyond the concern for a colleague. Their mutual attraction leaves them both vulnerable to their private nightmares – nightmares the killer ruthlessly exploits.

Loved it. Similar to the Aussie rural romance ones but with a bit of crime thrown in. Easy enjoyable read!

Monday Night Bookgroup: Alchemist

Summary: The tale of Santiago, a shepherd boy, who dreams of seeing the world, is compelling in its own right, but gains resonance through the many lessons Santiago learns during his adventures. He journeys from Spain to Morocco in search of worldly success, and eventually to Egypt, where a fateful encounter with an alchemist brings him at last to self-understanding and spiritual enlightenment.

One of those tales that is meant to touch you spiritually but just didn't do it for me (or anyone else in bookgroup either!)

Book: Place of Safety

Summary: The rape of a young asylum seeker plunges family care lawyer Lilly Valentine into the toughest case of her life. 14-year-old Anna lives in Hounds Place, a hostel in Bedfordshire for youngsters seeking refuge from the atrocities being carried out in their homelands. A chance meeting with three public schoolboys ends in her being horrifically assaulted. When Artan, Anna's friend and a fellow asylum seeker, approaches Lilly about seeking justice through the courts she warns him that the law may not be on their side. Who will believe the words of an asylum seeker over the account of three privileged English boys? Despite this, Lilly is loath to get involved. After all, she is supposed to be putting her family and work commitments first. But Lilly quickly lives to regret that decision when Artan and Anna turn up at a school armed with guns, determined to take matters into their own hands. The day turns to tragedy and Anna is arrested.Wracked with guilt, Lilly is compelled to take on Anna's case despite the objections of her boyfriend Jack, boss, and most importantly, her own son Sam - a pupil at the school. Her decision to defend Anna attracts a huge backlash from the press and the community. And when local racist groups pick up on the story, Lilly's family and friends become a target. Can Lilly follow her conscience and defend Anna - or is this case just too close to home?

Was a good read. A bit slow in places but I'll give this author another shot.

Book: Not Buying It

Summary: Other than phenomenal willpower and maxed-out credit cards, what does it take to simply stop purchasing for 12 months? Levine took the plunge and found it irritating, exhilarating, thought provoking, and humiliating among many other conflicting emotions. What's an inexpensive substitute for Q-tips? How to best gift a soon-to-be college graduate without spending any money? How to avoid the consumption seduction that lurks in every corner? Levine chronicles her feelings in this almost-weekly diary of the year of nonpurchasing. Many of her points are intentionally provocative; for instance, not buying makes her feel vulnerable and having to ask for help...

This book was ok but was quite intellectual in points and discussed economic theory etc. Not really what I was after but still a decent read.

Book: Heart of Gold

Summary: CJ Wishart is a hardworking country girl with a heart of gold but a life that can be tough. Her job as a wool classer is back-breaking, her family life is a disaster and, after a string of dating debacles, she's put men in the too-hard basket. When strong, handsome Lindsay arrives on the scene as their new shearer, CJ can't help but take notice. They have an undeniable spark, but can she handle the complications and potential heartbreak of falling in love? With help from her friend and an endearing old farmer, CJ learns that when you stay true to yourself and open your heart, anything is possible.

LOVE LOVE LOVE! I adore these books and just can't get enough. Trashy outback romance but with the Aussie flavour and shearing shed! Bliss!

Tuesday Night Bookgroup: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

Summary: This book tracks the lives of two teens, childhood friends who have been sent to a small Chinese village for "re-education" during Mao's Cultural Revolution. Sons of doctors and dentists, their days are now spent muscling buckets of excrement up the mountainside and mining coal. But the boys receive a bit of a reprieve when the villagers discover their talents as storytellers; they are sent on monthly treks to town, tasked with watching a movie and relating it in detail on their return. It is here that they encounter the little seamstress, whom Luo falls for instantly. When, through a series of comic and clever tricks and favors, the boys acquire a suitcase full of forbidden Western literature, Luo decides to "re-educate" the ignorant girl whom he hopes will become his intellectual match.

I liked the book but it was all a bit of fairy-tale type nonsense for me and I wasn't too keen on the open ending... Pleased to have read it though.

Tuesday Night Bookgroup: Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Summary: January 1946 - London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb. As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is.

Oh what a gorgeous book. I loved this. So beautiful, highly recommend reading.

Book: One Red Paperclip

Summary: Kyle MacDonald had a paperclip. One red paperclip, a dream, and a resume to write. And bills to pay. Oh, and a very patient girlfriend who was paying the rent while he was once again “between jobs.” Kyle wanted to be able to provide for himself and his girlfriend, Dominique. He wanted to own his own home. He wanted something bigger than a paperclip. So he put an ad on Craigslist, the popular classifieds website, with the intention of trading that paperclip for something better. A girl in Vancouver offered him a fish pen in exchange for his paperclip. He traded the fish pen for a doorknob and the doorknob for a camping stove. Before long he had traded the camping stove for a generator for a neon sign. Not long after that, avid snow-globe collector and television star Corbin Bernsen and the small Canadian town of Kipling were involved, and Kyle was on to bigger and better things.

In One Red Paperclip, Kyle takes you on a journey around the globe as he moves from paperclip holder to homeowner in just fourteen trades. With plenty of irreverent and insightful anecdotes and practical tips on how you can find your own paperclip and realize your dreams, he proves it’s possible to succeed in life and achieve your dreams on your own terms. Quirky and inspirational, this story of a regular guy and a small, red, now-legendary paperclip will have you looking at your office supplies-and your life-in a whole new way.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. It isn't the best written or anything but it just grabbed me from the start and I was hooked. Highly recommend!

Monday Night Bookgroup: An Orphans Escape

My Saturday Bookgroup has now switched to Monday nights - so much easier with kids!

Summary: It was Christmas 1940 when brothers Billy six, Bobby, four, and Frank, not yet three, became wards of the state. They spent twelve hard years inside the Ballarat Orphan Asylum, suffering cruelty, deprivation and humiliation at the hands of their carers in the emotional wasteland of state care. But Frank Golding and his brothers were not orphans at all; the state had deemed their parents unworthy of raising them due to an 'irregular domestic situation.' Golding and his brothers constantly wondered 'Where are our parents? Why won't they come to rescue us?' The questions itched like scabs. Fifty years later, Golding learned of his parent's desperate battle to regain custody of their sons despite bureaucratic bungling and autocratic indifference.

I only persevered with this book because it was for bookgroup and it was about Ballarat so I could visualize all the places etc. Otherwise it was a very dry read.