Indigenous Literacy Day

Today is Indigenous Literacy Day started by that amazing woman Suzy Wilson at The Riverbend Bookshop in Brisbane. Proof if you ever needed it that one woman and a community can make a huge difference. We will be giving 5 % of our sales to the ILF today along with loads of other bookshops that are also supporting this great event in different ways. So get on down to an ILF friendly bookshop and spread the love. On another tack( is that the sort of tack I mean) I have been reading up a storm. I totally adored Alice Pung's beautiful and moving memoir Her Fathers Daughter, really really liked Amy Waldman's The Submission the story of a 9/11 Memorial Competition a very interesting look at the power of prejudice and the media. Also, do not get too jealous, reading the newest Kerry Greenwood, Corinna Cooking The Books which as always is Kerry Greenwood enjoyable. Has anyone been to the Victorian Pyrenees? I went this weekend and it was pretty countryside with really good wine, practically no other wine visitors highly recommended. Another high recommend is The Naked boy and the Crocodile edited by Andy Griffiths, a fund raising book for the ILF.

Kinglake-350

Kinglake-350

By Adrian Hyland (published by Text*)

This book blew me away. It is both enlightening and emotionally engaging. The story follows Roger Wood the Police Officer in charge at Kinglake on that fateful day, his courage and dedication is a total inspiration. The strong sense of community and the courage of Wood and many others shine through in what is a heartbreaking and compelling account of the terror that they faced. It has the narrative drive of good fiction but also the research and detail to vividly inform us of the nature of the Black Saturday fires and the relationship between fire and the Australian landscape. This is a not a finger pointing exercise like so many other things that I have seen written about that day, it is the real face to face experience of the people on the frontline. Highly recommended.

Michelle

*If you buy any book by Text Publishing for the next little while at the Sun Bookshop you will go in the draw to win $150 worth of Text books!

NatBookshopDay - Kerry Greenwood!

Kerry is here! She is wonderful! We love her and are so excited to be launching Medea today.

National Bookshop Day - Kerry Greenwood!

Come down to the Sun Bookshop tomorrow for National Bookshop Day. Let the world know that real bookshops with real staff and real books are here to stay!

Join us for the launch of the incredible Kerry Greenwood's book Medea at 1pm.

10 Ballarat Street, Yarraville. It's where it's all at. Be there.

Well, what a great start to the week I had an excellent lunch at Cumulus yesterday thanks to the lovely Hachette folk. An incredible meal with US crime writer John Hart, who has a new book Iron House just in stores at a great price. Our lunch was a bit like a John Hart crime novel a range of surprises arriving to keep us interested, and just when you thought it was all over wham here comes the main course. Of course we were all left feeling very satisfied. Quite excited about National Bookshop day I am thinking a Greek Theme for our snacks at the Kerry Greenwood launch of Medea. We now officially have a lot of events coming up. Andy Griffiths Launch,William McInnes and Sarah Watt Launch, Sam DeBrito visit,Barry Hall with Karaoke? Another Kerry Greenwood Launch and Kaz Cooke. Well keep checking the website for dates times etc.

Win a book to Review

Well goodness me what about England very scary and not to make light of it maybe less TV and more reading could help. I have been reading up a storm and have no inclination to riot. Finally read One Day ,some of it is set in Hackney, (enjoyed it a lot) and I was reading it in the flipback edition which was a very fine experience didn’t feel any different except for the lack of weight in my bag this has to be a good way to go. Okay so we have been going a little mad at the shop this week organising National Bookshop day events it is suddenly only 1 week away but just confirmed is the Wests own William McInnis reading a few stories for little ones at 10.00am yeh! Another Westie Kerry Greenwood is relaunching her Delphic Women Series starting with Medea at 1pm double Yeh! We have prizes from Text and Hachette Childrens and other fun stuff too.
I don’t want to make you all too jealous but I am reading Jeffrey Euginedes newest book (out soon) The Marriage Plot. I love it. Calling Yarraville readers of this blog if you are out there and would like to review a book for us I have 1 copy of The Ridge by Michael Koryta and 1 of Megan Delahunt’s new book To the Island so the first 2 people into the shop on Friday 12th of August ,that’s tomorrow, can WIN!

Not Actual Bedside Table

Well tonight is bookclub night and we will be at the Sun Theatre upstairs room 8pm. Unusually we are reading optional books this month either The Hare with Amber Eyes that prize winner, or Townie the book that Michael loves. I unfortunately due to holidays and conferences and time flying and 50 books in a pile beside my bed have read neither bookclub book! Sorry. I have, in the non- fiction vein, started the incredible Kinglake-350 by Adrian Hyland it is a book about the 2009 bushfires, Adrian lives in St Andrews and has written the story in a moving page turner way. Stay tuned for dates on Adrian attending the bookclub (we hope).‘So you have been on holidays’ I hear you say, the answer is a big yes to warm, warm Bali where I read trashy holiday reads only, it was fab. I loved Poison tree by Erin Kelly and Beauty Queens Libba Bray and I can’t remember what else weird as it was only a week ago. What I do remember was an unforgettable meal at Mozaic in Ubud and I came back to find the book of the restaurant is out in September, yummy. So much is going on I had better get into more blogging, and up with the times as I am do you follow us on facebook?