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	<title>Page turners</title>
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	<link>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners</link>
	<description>National Library of Australia staff love to read</description>
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		<title>Uncommon Soldier</title>
		<link>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/12/11/uncommon-soldier/</link>
		<comments>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/12/11/uncommon-soldier/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 11 Dec 2012 05:03:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Elaine Bulluss</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/?p=802</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Who are you and what do you do? I am Elaine B. I work in Overseas Serials which is part of the Collections Management Division. Our main job is to process the books, serials, newspapers and other collection material. By &#8230; <a href="http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/12/11/uncommon-soldier/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>Who are you and what do you do?</h2>
<p>I am Elaine B. I work in Overseas Serials which is part of the Collections Management Division. Our main job is to process the books, serials, newspapers and other collection material. By processing I mean cataloguing books or accesssioning serials, so they are ready for our readers.</p>
<h2>What are you reading?</h2>
<p>Uncommon soldier by Chris Masters</p>
<h2>Why are you reading it?</h2>
<p>For the National Year of Reading I wanted to expand my reading. I love fiction and read my favourite authors constantly.</p>
<p>I wanted to learn more about our soldiers work in Afghanistan especially around Tarin Kowt, as it is always mentioned on the news.  And when I learnt that Chris Masters was going to talk here at the National Library of Australia, I made sure to go and listen and was inspired to read his book.  The library has made a <a href="http://www.nla.gov.au/podcasts/talks.html">podcast of his talk</a>, so you don&#8217;t have to miss listening too.</p>
<h2>What do you think of it?</h2>
<p>The book achieved Chris Masters&#8217; aim of taking us into the lives of our soldiers.  It took a long time for the story to be written (6 years).  He arranged to meet the troops while they were undergoing their training in Australia at Kapooka and later followed their progress at Tarin Kowt in Afghanistan.  He also interviewed their families.  By showing their side of the story and what both they and their loved ones experienced, he has managed to shine a positive light on the modern soldier.</p>
<p>I learnt more than I expected to including the recent history of the rotations of our soldiers, their conduct on missions and actions taken.  Tactical leadership is shown and how our soldiers operate during missions.  The difficulties that they face are highlighted, and it really demonstrates how different the environment in Aghanistan is from our previous overseas engagements.</p>
<p>One soldiers comment really encapsulated this for me.  He said that when he was home or if he struck up a conversation, he described his job as a fire fighter. An interesting and evocative description, especially after reading this book.</p>
<p>Perhaps reading this book made we aware, but I was struck by the number of ADF personnel that were out in public areas such as shopping centres on Rememberance Day this year.  Was this a reflection on the losses of personnel recently? Or possibly an effort to make us all realise the personal cost of the commitment our troops have always made to resolve conflicts worldwide.  Do I mind? Not at all. There are no easy answers to those questions of war and peace and we need to support Legacy who assist widows and families of deceased Veterans.</p>
<p>If you don&#8217;t get this book for christmas, make a point of buying your own copy.</p>
<h2>What format are you reading it on? Why?</h2>
<p>In beautiful hardprint, signed by the author. I love the tacticity of books in print.</p>
<h2>What will you be reading next?</h2>
<p>Notorious nineteen by Janet Evanovich, but I won&#8217;t post about this one just savour the next installment in one of my series.</p>
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		<title>Lola Bensky</title>
		<link>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/11/01/lola-bensky/</link>
		<comments>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/11/01/lola-bensky/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 31 Oct 2012 22:00:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dianne Dahlitz</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/?p=784</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Who are you and what do you do?  My name is Dianne Dahlitz, and I am currently the Acting Events &#38; Education Manager at the NLA What are you reading?  I am reading Lola Bensky, by Lily Brett. Why are &#8230; <a href="http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/11/01/lola-bensky/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>Who are you and what do you do?</h2>
<p> My name is Dianne Dahlitz, and I am currently the Acting Events &amp; Education Manager at the NLA</p>
<h2>What are you reading?</h2>
<p> I am reading Lola Bensky, by Lily Brett.</p>
<h2>Why are you reading it?</h2>
<p> The Library hosted an author talk event with Lily Brett a few weeks ago.  Lily&#8217;s reading from her book made it sound so good, I bought a copy of it for myself.</p>
<h2>What do you think of it?</h2>
<p> So far it is really interesting, Lola, while not based on Lily, parallels Lily&#8217;s experiences as a rock journalist in the 60&#8242;s.  Where I up to in the book,  Lola is interviewing Mick Jagger, goes off to interview Manfred Mann, and receives a phone call from Mick&#8230;.inviting her to come back as Paul McCartney had just arrived.  All of Lola&#8217;s experiences are interwoven with her personal story of being the only child of holocaust survivors. This is also Lily&#8217;s story, as both her parents were the sole survivors from each of their families,  and both lost many family members in prison death camps.</p>
<h2>What format are you reading it on? Why?</h2>
<p> Hard copy book, signed by the author!!</p>
<h2>What will you be reading next?</h2>
<p> Still want to get back to Kate Morton&#8217;s The Secret Keeper before she too is in the Library in weeks.</p>
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		<title>Journey into Cyprus and In Siberia</title>
		<link>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/10/26/journey-into-cyprus-and-in-siberia/</link>
		<comments>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/10/26/journey-into-cyprus-and-in-siberia/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Oct 2012 22:24:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Marie-Louise Ayres</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/?p=769</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Who are you and what do you do? I&#8217;m Marie-Louise Ayres, and I look after the part of the Library that runs Libraries Australia, Trove, and national electronic resources consortia. What are you reading? I&#8217;ve just had the interesting experience &#8230; <a href="http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/10/26/journey-into-cyprus-and-in-siberia/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>Who are you and what do you do?</h2>
<p>I&#8217;m Marie-Louise Ayres, and I look after the part of the Library that runs <a title="Libraries Australia" href="http://librariesaustralia.nla.gov.au/" target="_blank">Libraries Australia</a>, <a title="TRove" href="http://trove.nla.gov.au" target="_blank">Trove</a>, and national electronic resources consortia.</p>
<h2>What are you reading?</h2>
<p>I&#8217;ve just had the interesting experience of simultaneously reading two books by <a title="Colin Thubron" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Thubron" target="_blank">Colin Thubron</a>, <em>Journey into Cyprus</em> (1975), and <em>In Siberia</em> (1999).  And because I&#8217;m still dipping into the latter, I&#8217;m &#8216;still&#8217; reading it.</p>
<h2>Why are you reading it?</h2>
<p>I love Colin Thubron&#8217;s travel writing, and have read several other works, starting with <em>Shadow of the silk road</em> (2006), and then going back to <em>Behind the wall: a journey through China</em> (1987).  I most recently read his 2011 <em>To a mountain in Tibet</em>.  Thubron makes long and arduous journeys in remote places that I will almost certainly never visit.  But even better, he is amazingly erudite about the multi-layered histories and archaeologies of the places he travels, and wonderfully insightful and respectful about the people he encounters.  The writing itself is beautiful &#8211; and has become more distinct and distilled over time.  He is the President of the Royal Society of Literature which gives a sense of the esteem in which he is held by his literary peers.</p>
<h2>What do you think of it?</h2>
<p>In this case, it&#8217;s what do I think of them.  I enjoyed both books greatly, but <em>In Siberia</em> &#8211; written nearly a quarter of a century later than <em>Journey into Cyprus</em> &#8211; is certainly the superior of the two.  <em>Cyprus</em> documents Thubron&#8217;s 600 mile walking journey through Cyprus just a couple of years before it riven into Greek and Turkish Cyprus.  He walks through a land shaped by thousands of years of successive waves of cultural influence &#8211; Greek (not just one kind of Greek!), Turkish, Phoenician etc.  I found it fascinating &#8211; but also felt that Thubron was occasionally a bit heavy-handed with the history, allowing it to swamp the individuals he met along the way.  There are lots of them, and they are all unfailingly generous, but they tend to be a bit more pen portrait-y than is the case in his later works.</p>
<p>It was <em>In Siberia</em> which really captured my attention.  Thubron spent months travelling (walking, by train, on trucks, by bus, by Aeroflot) this enormous part of the world, starting in the west in June, and ending up at the Pacific just as winter is really arriving.   I have had my atlases out and been Wikipedia&#8217;ing like mad to follow his path and to learn more about many of the places he visits.  Siberia starts as a kind of imaginative &#8216;blank&#8217; for Thubron, and in many ways it stays that way.  He tries to make sense of it, tries to make it cohere &#8211; and keeps finding that both its landscape and its people slip away from his grasp.   His descriptions of the natural landscape are wonderful.  But it is his consideration of Siberia&#8217;s ancient and more modern history, and especially his concentration on the utter awfulness of 20th gulags that I found really compelling.  The last few chapters of the book (the last 2-3 hours of the audiobook) were stunning, as he travelled all the way to the region of Kolyma, the very north-eastern corner of Siberia, retracing the steps of the  hundreds of thousands of political prisoners and criminals who were shipped by Stalin across the Trans-Siberian Railway, then boarded on ships to sail through the Sea of Okhotsk to build the port and then the city of Magadan, and then the roads and then the Kolyma mines.  This is the coldest inhabited part of the world, with minus 97 degrees C recorded one winter.  Most, possibly almost all, died.  It is sobering reading, but leavened by wonderful portraits of men and women &#8211; Russians, Ukrainians, Buryat (around Mongolia), Sakha.  I was very affected by Thubron&#8217;s reverence for all those who died nameless, in horrendous circumstances, and his desire to be where they were, to do his own honouring.</p>
<h2>What format are you reading it on? Why?</h2>
<p>The reason I was reading two books simultaneously was because they were in different formats &#8211; and because I was greedy for more Thubron!  I read <em>Journey into Cyprus</em> in paperback, mostly in that half hour before sleep at night &#8211; but was also listening to <em>In Siberia</em> on my i-pod, sometimes in the car, but often in the very early mornings when I woke long before the sun.    I love audiobooks, listen to them a lot, and had &#8216;read&#8217; both <em>Silk Road </em>and <em>Behind the wall</em> in audio form (<em>To a mountain</em> was in paperback).  I think using the different formats helped me to keep the two books separate in my head (I often read two books at once, but usually a fiction and a non-fiction, not two books by the same author at the same time)</p>
<h2>What will you be reading next?</h2>
<p>I&#8217;ve just started Anne Funder&#8217;s <em>All that I am</em> (in paperback), but because I&#8217;m off to Melbourne this weekend, I&#8217;ll also be listening to a new audiobook, this time Robert Harris&#8217; <em>Ghost</em>.  A bit of light relief.</p>
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		<title>Uncommissioned Art: An A-Z of Australian Graffiti</title>
		<link>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/10/26/uncommissioned-art-an-a-z-of-australian-graffiti/</link>
		<comments>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/10/26/uncommissioned-art-an-a-z-of-australian-graffiti/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Oct 2012 22:23:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Emily Sykes</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/?p=754</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Who are you and what do you do? I&#8217;m Emily and I work in the Pictures and Manuscripts Branch. I get to have a hand in the acquisition of some of the amazing artworks that come into the Library&#8217;s collection. &#8230; <a href="http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/10/26/uncommissioned-art-an-a-z-of-australian-graffiti/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>Who are you and what do you do?</h2>
<p>I&#8217;m Emily and I work in the Pictures and Manuscripts Branch. I get to have a hand in the acquisition of some of the amazing artworks that come into the Library&#8217;s collection. We collect art as visual documentation of Australian history, society and culture.</p>
<h2>What are you reading?</h2>
<p>Uncommissioned Art: An A-Z of Australian Graffiti by Christine Dew.</p>
<h2>Why are you reading it?</h2>
<p>I purchased this book on a recent trip to Melbourne. I find the subject of street art particularly intriguing, not only because it is visually pretty amazing but also from an art historical point of view. As a genre it is intrinsically ephemeral &#8211; how are we going to collect or preserve this art form so it can be appreciated and studied?</p>
<h2>What do you think of it?</h2>
<p>I am finding the book very interesting, the short bursts of text arranged alphabetically e.g. Art crimes, Beautiful, City and Drip (sorry about the) interspersed with amazing and symbolic street art make it easy to pick up and put down.</p>
<h2>What format are you reading it on? Why?</h2>
<p>A very nice paperback worthy of being a coffee table book. I love having a hard copy of something so pretty just laying around, I imagine this would be difficult to replicate with a digital version. I am, however, reading a less visually appealing book on my new ipad and loving the ease and versatility of the ebook.</p>
<h2>What will you be reading next?</h2>
<p>There are a stack of books I&#8217;m only part way through. Next I am hoping to finish the first book in the Game of Thrones series, A Song of Fire and Ice by George R. R. Martin.</p>
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		<title>The Happiest Refugee</title>
		<link>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/10/18/the-happiest-refugee/</link>
		<comments>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/10/18/the-happiest-refugee/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Oct 2012 21:48:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dianne Dahlitz</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/?p=756</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Who are you and what do you do? I am Dianne Dahlitz and am currently the acting Manager of  Events and Education.   What are you reading?  I am reading The Happiest Refugee by Ahn Do Why are you reading &#8230; <a href="http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/10/18/the-happiest-refugee/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>Who are you and what do you do?</h2>
<p>I am Dianne Dahlitz and am currently the acting Manager of  Events and Education.  </p>
<h2>What are you reading?</h2>
<p> I am reading The Happiest Refugee by Ahn Do</p>
<h2>Why are you reading it?</h2>
<p> It was recommended to me by my son, who really enjoyed it.</p>
<h2>What do you think of it?</h2>
<p> Ahn Do&#8217;s story is really interesting.  He came to Australia as a &#8216;boat person&#8217; refugee from war-torn Vietnam when he was about 3.  Even his experience of being on the sea for some days was pretty terrifying, as their boat was attacked by pirates twice. It is an  uplifting story that gives real insight into the plight of many refugees who develop a love for their new country but can still appreciate their own culture. Ahn&#8217;s journey to becoming one of Australia&#8217;s most well-known refugees and his appreciation of what Australia has given him and his family is really inspiring.</p>
<h2>What format are you reading it on? Why?</h2>
<p>Hardcopy book, because that was the format my son gave to me.</p>
<h2>What will you be reading next?</h2>
<p> I am hoping to get into The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton, as she will be giving an author talk here in the Library in November.</p>
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		<title>Crossing the Ditch</title>
		<link>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/10/11/crossing-the-ditch/</link>
		<comments>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/10/11/crossing-the-ditch/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Oct 2012 22:00:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Paul Hagon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/?p=736</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Who are you and what do you do? I’m Paul Hagon. I’m part of the the web team here at the Library. What are you reading? I&#8217;ve just read Crossing the Ditch by James Castrission. It’s the first diary from the &#8230; <a href="http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/10/11/crossing-the-ditch/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>Who are you and what do you do?</h2>
<p>I’m Paul Hagon. I’m part of the the web team here at the Library.</p>
<h2>What are you reading?</h2>
<p>I&#8217;ve just read <em>Crossing the Ditch</em> by James Castrission. It’s the first diary from the adventurers Cass &amp; Jonsey.</p>
<h2>Why are you reading it?</h2>
<p>I read <em><a title="Extreme South" href="http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/08/30/extreme-south/">Extreme South</a></em> a little while ago and was captivated, so started reading this about their earlier adventure becoming the first people to kayak across the Tasman Sea from Australia to New Zealand.</p>
<h2>What do you think of it?</h2>
<p>It&#8217;s a really easy read. It&#8217;s a great background on their lives and is a great introduction to see what inspired their further adventures. Although it was an amazing feat and story, it didn&#8217;t captivate me in the same way that their Antarctic adventure in <em>Extreme South</em> did. I found the stories surrounding the background and preparation to the adventure to be more interesting than the journey itself, which I guess is why they succeeded, they did the necessary planning and preparation.</p>
<h2>What format are you reading it on? Why?</h2>
<p>I&#8217;m reading it on an iPad. I&#8217;ll admit that the only reason I&#8217;m doing that is because it was really cheap. It&#8217;s actually a bit of a pain. The story is a diary. At the start of the book is a map showing day by day progress that you want to keep referring to this as you progress through the book. It&#8217;s really easy to refer to something like this in a physical book, but I found it so annoying trying to flip back &amp; forth between two places in a book on an iPad. I did have one good experience, halfway through the book I was lucky enough to get an upgrade of my iPad from a 1st generation model to the latest generation model. It was nice to be able to just pick it up and it automatically start at the right page. The difference in the screen between these two devices is simply amazing. Text is so crisp &amp; makes reading on the device so much more comfortable.</p>
<h2>What will you be reading next?</h2>
<p>I have no idea what I&#8217;ll be reading next, I&#8217;ve got a few books sitting there &amp; it might just be a lucky dip as to which one I start.</p>
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		<title>Sicily, It&#8217;s Not Quite Tuscany</title>
		<link>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/10/08/sicily-its-not-quite-tuscany/</link>
		<comments>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/10/08/sicily-its-not-quite-tuscany/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Oct 2012 01:17:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dianne Dahlitz</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/?p=732</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Who are you and what do you do? My name is Dianne Dahlitz and I am currently the Events &#38; Education Manager. What are you reading?  I have just finished Sicily, It&#8217;s Not Quite Tuscany by Shamus Sillar. Shamus and his &#8230; <a href="http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/10/08/sicily-its-not-quite-tuscany/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>Who are you and what do you do?</h2>
<p>My name is Dianne Dahlitz and I am currently the Events &amp; Education Manager.</p>
<h2>What are you reading?</h2>
<p> I have just finished Sicily, It&#8217;s Not Quite Tuscany by Shamus Sillar. Shamus and his wife have moved to Sicily where she is working as an English teacher. Shamus is supposed to be using his time in historical Sicily for inspiration for his thesis. Far from being a &#8216;Tuscan holiday&#8221; their experiences in Sicily are mixed. Their apartment is in one of the seediest areas of Sicily&#8217;s least appealing cities.  The constant mini eruptions of nearby Mt Etna give everying a grubby appearance.  However, the couple do develop an understanding, acceptance and real affection for the true Sicily.</p>
<p><strong>Why are you reading it?</strong></p>
<p> I am reading this because it was a gift for my birthday&#8230;but I also love travel diaries as a genre and have read many over the years. I enjoy reading about other people&#8217;s experiences and impressions of places that I have been to, or would like to go to.</p>
<h2>What do you think of it?</h2>
<p> I enjoyed it very much, it was honest about of the grimness, crime and mystery of Sicily but also was a story of learning to understand and accept the mystery.</p>
<h2>What format are you reading it on? Why?</h2>
<p>Good old fashioned hardcopy book. </p>
<h2>What will you be reading next?</h2>
<p> My next book is The Happiest Refugee by comedian Ahn Do.</p>
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		<title>Sailing Alone Around the World</title>
		<link>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/10/04/sailing-alone-around-the-world/</link>
		<comments>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/10/04/sailing-alone-around-the-world/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Oct 2012 01:01:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dianne Dahlitz</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/?p=721</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Who are you and what do you do?  I’m Mary-Louise Weight, part of the Libraries Australia/Trove team at the Library. What are you reading? I recently read ‘Sailing Alone Around the World’ by Joshua Slocum, first published in 1899. He &#8230; <a href="http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/10/04/sailing-alone-around-the-world/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>Who are you and what do you do?</h2>
<p> I’m Mary-Louise Weight, part of the Libraries Australia/Trove team at the Library.</p>
<h2>What are you reading?</h2>
<p>I recently read ‘Sailing Alone Around the World’ by Joshua Slocum, first published in 1899. He was the first man to sail alone around the world in a very small boat, the Spray.</p>
<h2>Why are you reading it?</h2>
<p> I read it because I found myself on holiday in New Caledonia without enough books to read, having romped through the few Henning Mankell books we had with us. So I downloaded some classics via <a href="http://gutenberg.net.au/">Project Gutenberg</a> <a href="http://gutenberg.net.au/">http://gutenberg.net.au/</a>to my smart phone.</p>
<h2>What do you think of it?</h2>
<p> I loved it. It’s great escapism to read a story like this, a story of something you can only just dare to imagine. It’s inspiring and informative. I particularly enjoyed the chapters about his time in Australia and have since verified many the incidents he refers to in the digitised newspapers of the time in <a href="http://trove.nla.gov.au/">Trove</a> , <a href="http://trove.nla.gov.au/">http://trove.nla.gov.au/</a> such as his reference to a “rain of blood’ dust storm while he was in Melbourne.</p>
<p>What format are you reading it on? Why?</p>
<p>I read it on my smart phone, when I could get it from my husband who was reading another classic on it concurrently!  I was so thankful to be able to read it that way, grateful for the technology  and surprised at how enjoyable it was.</p>
<h2>What will you be reading next?</h2>
<p> I have just started to read Mark Tedeschi’s ‘Eugenia: A true story of Adversity Tragedy Crime and Courage’. It’s a true story of Eugenia Falleni who had a daughter, lived as a man, married twice and went to prison for the murder of the first of his wives.  I am reading the paperback edition, in tandem with my tablet of course, to read the newspaper <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31655266">articles</a>  <a href="http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/31655266">http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/31655266 of</a> the day in Trove. Reading will take me twice as long with all the associated Troving I will be doing!</p>
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		<title>Midnight Empire</title>
		<link>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/10/01/midnight-empire/</link>
		<comments>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/10/01/midnight-empire/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Oct 2012 00:12:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kathryn Favelle</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/?p=629</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Who are you and what do you do? My name is Kathryn Favelle. I look after the Library&#8217;s events and education programs. As part of my work, I meet lots of authors &#8211; like Andrew Croome. What are you reading? &#8230; <a href="http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/10/01/midnight-empire/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>Who are you and what do you do?</h2>
<p>My name is Kathryn Favelle. I look after the Library&#8217;s events and education programs. As part of my work, I meet lots of authors &#8211; like Andrew Croome.</p>
<h2>What are you reading?</h2>
<p><em>Midnight Empire</em>, Andrew Croome&#8217;s second novel, which has just been published.</p>
<h2>Why are you reading it?</h2>
<p>I have to declare an interest. I met Andrew when he participated in our conference, <em>True Stories: Writing History</em> in April 2011. His first novel, <em>Document Z</em>, won the Vogel Award and was a perfect fit for that conference, re-imagining the story of the Petrov affair, a true tale of espionage and defection in Canberra in the 1950s. Andrew now lives in Canberra and asked me to launch <em>Midnight Empire</em> for him. I was very honoured &#8211; I&#8217;ve organised lots of launches but never done the launching before.</p>
<h2>What do you think of it?</h2>
<p>One of the great gifts of being a book&#8217;s launcher is that you have an excuse to read thoughtfully &#8211; and <em>Midnight Empire</em> gives the reader plenty to think about.</p>
<p>Superficially, it&#8217;s a thriller. Young computer programmer, Daniel Carter, is sent by his Canberra firm to the US, to help install new cryptographic technology into the drones used by the US defence forces in the war on terrorism. He is sent to Creech Air Force Base, just outside Las Vegas. Before he knows it, he is caught up in a war he knows little about. The men he works with are being killed one-by-one, and he gets mixed up with Ania, a poker player with a mysterious past. It is a thrilling read.</p>
<p>It is also a very thoughtful and thought-provoking book that asks the reader lots of questions. The one I&#8217;m pondering most at the moment is: what happens when, in our hyper-connected world, you become disconnected from your home, family and friends, and ultimately from yourself? And then there&#8217;s the question about whether drones really offer a safer method of fighting wars or whether they bring the battlefield into your own city?</p>
<h2>What format are you reading it on? Why?</h2>
<p>I read the first half of <em>Midnight Empire</em> on A3 printouts while waiting for a proof copy to arrive, hot off the press. The second half of the book I read in paperback &#8211; much easier to manage than the large sheets and bulldog clip. But there is something very special about reading a book before it looks like a book. It&#8217;s a privilege.</p>
<h2>What will you be reading next?</h2>
<p>Well, I&#8217;m going on long service leave so I&#8217;m hoping to read a lot. Next on the list is Ian McEwan&#8217;s new novel, <em>Sweet Tooth</em>.</p>
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		<title>The Naked Boy And The Crocodile</title>
		<link>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/09/27/the-naked-boy-and-the-crocodile/</link>
		<comments>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/09/27/the-naked-boy-and-the-crocodile/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 27 Sep 2012 00:08:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Matthew Stuckings</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/?p=691</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Who are you and what do you do? My name is Matthew. Normally I&#8217;m an archivist and I get to look after the Library&#8217;s wonderful manuscripts collections, but at the moment I&#8217;m really enjoying helping people as a reference librarian &#8230; <a href="http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/09/27/the-naked-boy-and-the-crocodile/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>Who are you and what do you do?</h2>
<p>My name is Matthew. Normally I&#8217;m an archivist and I get to look after the Library&#8217;s wonderful manuscripts collections, but at the moment I&#8217;m really enjoying helping people as a reference librarian in our Reader Services branch.</p>
<h2>What are you reading?</h2>
<p>The <em>Naked Boy and the Crocodile</em> &#8211; an anthology of stories that were written and illustrated by children aged 5-10 living in remote indigenous communities, assisted by notorious children&#8217;s author Andy Griffiths.</p>
<h2>Why are you reading it?</h2>
<p>Last week a great bunch of musicians who are on staff at the Library formed a choir to sing on Indigenous Literacy Day, and one of the songs we sang was based on one of the stories &#8211; about a crocodile whose favourite food was NAKED PEOPLE. So I thought I&#8217;d check out the original story.</p>
<h2>What do you think of it?</h2>
<p>I LOVE IT! I love children&#8217;s books in general, and have a collection of them that I like to read, including Jackie French&#8217;s <em>Diary of a Wombat</em>, Maurice Sendak&#8217;s <em>Outside Over There</em>, some Dr Seuss, some Grug (come on, please tell me you know Grug!!!), and heaps more. This one is definitely worthy of my collection, and my niece and nephew and two godchildren are all going to get a copy for Christmas this year (they&#8217;d better not be reading this &#8211; they&#8217;re aged between 0 and 3, but kids these days are so clever with technology that you just never know&#8230;)</p>
<h2>What format are you reading it on? Why?</h2>
<p>It&#8217;s a proper book of course!!! I love the look, smell and feel of books too much to read them in any other way.</p>
<h2>What will you be reading next?</h2>
<p>One of my lovely colleagues Jenny told me recently about an Australian author called Wendy Binks who has written some children&#8217;s books about a character called Stripey. I can&#8217;t believe I hadn&#8217;t heard about them, so I&#8217;ll be popping in to the Library bookshop to get them&#8230;</p>
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		<title>The Good Soldier Svejk</title>
		<link>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/09/24/the-good-soldier-svejk/</link>
		<comments>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/09/24/the-good-soldier-svejk/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 Sep 2012 00:04:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John Lovering</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/?p=654</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Who are you and what do you do?  I am John Lovering, a cataloguer, and I enjoy reading books that make me smile. What are you reading?  The Good Soldier Svejk by the Czech author Jaroslav Hasek. This is his &#8230; <a href="http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/09/24/the-good-soldier-svejk/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>Who are you and what do you do?</h2>
<p> I am John Lovering, a cataloguer, and I enjoy reading books that make me smile.</p>
<h2>What are you reading?</h2>
<p> The Good Soldier Svejk by the Czech author Jaroslav Hasek. This is his only book.</p>
<h2>Why are you reading it?</h2>
<p> A Czech friend thought it would make me smile and he is right.</p>
<h2>What do you think of it?</h2>
<p> It is a book that pokes fun at bureaucracy, the army, the police, and life. It is set at the start of WWI in Prague and the Czech Republic. You can pick it up and put it down, enjoying its wry sense of humour over a period of time. It is well written. To tell you more would spoil it. Suffice to say it is a farce.</p>
<h2>What format are you reading it on? Why?</h2>
<p>Hardback because it is a library book.</p>
<h2>What will you be reading next?</h2>
<p>Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand because Mitt Romney gives it to his staff as Christmas presents and recommends it to his interns for reading. A book I have assiduously avoided but since its philosophy might be influencing our lives I think I will read it now.</p>
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		<title>First Man</title>
		<link>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/09/20/first-man/</link>
		<comments>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/09/20/first-man/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 20 Sep 2012 00:02:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>David Blanken</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/?p=650</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Who are you and what do you do? I&#8217;m Dave Blanken. I&#8217;m a sound technician in the Sound Preservation and Technical Services section, which is part of the Oral History and Folklore Branch. What are you reading? At the moment &#8230; <a href="http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/09/20/first-man/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>Who are you and what do you do?</h2>
<p>I&#8217;m Dave Blanken. I&#8217;m a sound technician in the Sound Preservation and Technical Services section, which is part of the Oral History and Folklore Branch.</p>
<h2>What are you reading?</h2>
<p>At the moment I&#8217;m reading the Neil Armstrong biography <em>First Man</em> by James R. Hansen.</p>
<h2>Why are you reading it?</h2>
<p>Neil Armstrong was a hero of mine and his recent passing saddened me greatly. I had already read this a few years ago, so I thought I would bust it out again so I could be close to the man who has been a huge inspiration in my life.</p>
<h2>What do you think of it?</h2>
<p>I think this is a great book. It&#8217;s rather long and detailed, but it paints a wonderful picture of a seemingly complicated and reclusive man. As you would expect, the section on the moon landing itself is gripping, but it goes about debunking some of the myths that have grown around the mission; for instance the common dramatic portrayal was that Armstrong and Aldrin, after missing the predetermined landing site, landed with only about 15 seconds of fuel left, which had them on the verge of disaster, but Armstrong reveals that during the training, the crew would often make landings with so little fuel in the tank and of all the things he was worrying about, fuel level was way down the list. These guys were tough!</p>
<h2>What format are you reading it on? Why?</h2>
<p>I&#8217;m reading an analogue version of this book. It&#8217;s thick and bulky and I have to turn pages by hand and hold it open with two hands, but I found it that way in a second hand book store years ago and I wouldn&#8217;t swap it for anything.</p>
<h2>What will you be reading next?</h2>
<p>Next up I have a choice between <em>The Lost World: Jurassic Park</em> by Michael Crichton and <em>Midnight In the Garden Of Good an Evil</em> by John Berendt. I&#8217;ll probably go with the former. What more could someone want after astronauts than dinosaurs?</p>
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		<title>A Thousand and One Nights</title>
		<link>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/09/17/a-thousand-and-one-nights/</link>
		<comments>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/09/17/a-thousand-and-one-nights/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 16 Sep 2012 23:57:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peter Cobcroft</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/?p=642</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Who are you and what do you do? My name is Peter Cobcroft (or if you google me, try Curufea) and I do logistics support for the Australian Newspaper Digitisation (NOT Digitalisation &#8211; there is NO &#8220;L&#8221; in digitise!) Program.  &#8230; <a href="http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/09/17/a-thousand-and-one-nights/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>Who are you and what do you do?</h2>
<p>My name is Peter Cobcroft (or if you google me, try Curufea) and I do logistics support for the Australian Newspaper Digitisation (<strong>NOT</strong> Digitalisation &#8211; there is NO &#8220;L&#8221; in digitise!) Program.  It’s mostly keeping track of who has what microfilm, digital version of the same, or OCRed derivative and updating the metadata around them.</p>
<h2>What are you reading?</h2>
<p><em>A Thousand and One Nights: a game of enticing stories </em>published as a second edition via the <a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/1001Nights?c=home&amp;a=141520">indiegogo kickstarter</a> by <a href="http://www.nightskygames.com/">Night Sky Games</a></p>
<h2>Why are you reading it?</h2>
<p>I&#8217;m a fan of storytelling games and collaborative storytelling &#8211; possibly more than I am of roleplaying games.  I helped fund this project because it quirked my interest.  It&#8217;s independent, well written, the rules are good and the art is very thematic.</p>
<h2>What do you think of it?</h2>
<p>It really helps create the feel of the classic Arabian Nights of Richard Burton fame.  The language the author uses is evocative &#8211; and she even has a menu of foods that would be ideal to set the mood for running games with these rules.  Every player takes the role of a member of the Sultan&#8217;s palace, and when it is your turn to tell a tale, you have the narrative authority (You become the &#8220;GM&#8221;, the Game Master in roleplaying jargon) and can cast the other players into roles within your story.</p>
<h2>What format are you reading it on? Why?</h2>
<p>PDF &#8211; when the project was funded, the electronic version was immediately available, however the printing process takes time and took longer to arrive.</p>
<h2>What will you be reading next?</h2>
<p>With any luck, <em>Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple</em> by Daniel Solis, winner of this years <a href="http://www.rpg-awards.com/2011/game_of_year.shtml">Indie Game of the Year</a> award.  I had a brief look at a friend&#8217;s copy &#8211; but need to own my own, I think <img src='http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
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		<title>The Towers of Trebizond</title>
		<link>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/09/13/the-towers-of-trebizond/</link>
		<comments>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/09/13/the-towers-of-trebizond/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 12 Sep 2012 23:33:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Paul Koerbin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/?p=658</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Who are you and what do you do? My name is Paul Koerbin and I am the manager of web archiving. I manage the operation of the PANDORA Archive and other activities to collect Australian websites. What are you reading? &#8230; <a href="http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/09/13/the-towers-of-trebizond/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>Who are you and what do you do?</h2>
<p>My name is Paul Koerbin and I am the manager of web archiving. I manage the operation of the PANDORA Archive and other activities to collect Australian websites.</p>
<h2>What are you reading?</h2>
<p>I am reading <em>The Towers of Trebizond </em>by Rose Macaulay (1881-1958), published in 1956.</p>
<h2>Why are you reading it?</h2>
<p>Re-re-reading actually. This is one of a handful of books I return to every so often –  Kafka’s <em>Amerika </em>(Muirs’ translation), Thoreau’s <em>Walden</em>, Kleist’s <em>Michael Kohlhaas </em>(Greenberg translation) and the <em>Orestes </em>of Euripides (Lattimore translation) being others – for the nourishment of something substantial, striking or sublimely eloquent, very much the latter in the case of Macaulay’s book. As a young 20 year old Kafka wrote to a friend “I believe we should only read books that bite and sting us &#8230; books that make us happy we could, if necessary, write ourselves &#8230; a book must be the ax for the frozen sea within us”.</p>
<h2>What do you think of it?</h2>
<p>Re-reading an old favourite means you know why you are coming back to it but you also know it offers not only familiar pleasures but the prospect of new rewards. Re-reading books can of course turn into a disappointment, but not in this case.</p>
<p>The remarkable thing about Macaulay’s book, and which keeps this reader engaged, is that it is hard to nail it down to any genre or simple characterisation. At one level it is a semi (or mostly) fictional account of travels through Turkey on a High Anglican proselytising mission in the wake of the Baptist evangelist Billy Graham in the 1950s. And very funny it is too as the central character Laurie, her Aunt Dot, Father Chantry-Pigg and reluctant Turkish convert Halide &#8211; all bearing baggage, and not just of the travelling kind &#8211; fail in their mission in their own ways (Aunt Dot and Father ‘Pigg’ rather sidestep failure by disappearing mysteriously over the border into the Soviet Union on another mission). There are subtle references poking fun at various notable travellers following the fashion for &#8216;Turkey books&#8217; at the time, which is fascinating to me personally but not essential to follow to enjoy the book. And really, who would not be drawn to a book that begins:</p>
<blockquote><p>“Take my camel, dear&#8221; said my Aunt Dot, as she climbed down from this animal on her return from High Mass.</p></blockquote>
<p>A prerequisite for any great book of fiction is surely a great opening line – think of the openings to Kafka’s <em>The Trial </em>or <em>Metamorphosis </em>or Dickens <em>Bleak House </em>or <em>A Tale of Two Cities</em>.</p>
<p>What makes Macaulay’s book so great is the manner in which its depths unfold in layers of subtle yet profound writing. At one level the book is a fun jaunt with a cast of eccentric characters through exotic Turkey; but by turns it is a gentle satire on religous (specifically High Anglican) pomp, a meditation on Laurie’s struggle with faith, and ultimately, and most importantly, a deep hankering for some manner of grace amid confronting mortality (I won’t reveal the twist in the end).</p>
<p>At one point, late in the book, while staying in Jerusalem with her mother, Laurie is having drinks with one of the travellers doing his &#8216;Turkey book&#8217;, David (who is trying to appease Laurie because she knows he has plagiarised the travel notes of their friend who died while swimming the Hellespont), after which she falls into a semi-sleep. The book’s very core is revealed in the paragraph-long sentence that follows, in writing that moves in a breathless, serpentine way that is reminiscent of Kafka, especially in <em>The Castle</em>, and indeed the theme is similar:</p>
<blockquote><p>Then, between sleeping and waking, there rose before me a vision of Trebizond: not Trebizond as I had seen it, but the Trebizond of the world’s dreams, of my own dreams, shining towers and domes shimmering on the far horizon, yet close at hand, luminously enspelled in the most fantastic unreality, yet the only reality, a walled and gated city, magic and mystical, standing beyond my reach yet I had to be inside, an alien wanderer yet at home, held in the magical enchantment; and at its heart, at the secret heart of the city and the legend and the glory in which I was caught and held, there was some pattern that I could not unravel, some hard core that I could not make my own, and, seeing the pattern and the hard core enshrined within the walls, I turned back from the city and stood outside it, expelled in mortal grief.</p></blockquote>
<p>The sentence paragraph that follows this is typical of Macaulay’s light touch:</p>
<blockquote><p>I was woken by my mother coming out and saying, &#8220;My dearest child, the mosquitoes, you’ll be eaten up.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Of course the book in not about the real Turkey or the real city of Trabzon – but having done my fair share of travelling in eastern Turkey (including Trabzon) chasing phantoms, I sort of get it. For me, Macaulay’s book is so great because it does not belittle these journeys but it reveals, perhaps, the inner workings of such quests, and does so in magnificent prose.</p>
<h2>What format are you reading it on? Why?</h2>
<p>The reader-friendly Flamingo/Fontana paperback (nice, substantial print without the aid of a device) – and because I like the cover (shallow I know) which bears absolutely no resemblance to the real Trabzon, but perhaps conjures an image of the elusive Trebizond of Laurie’s dreams (see picture). For me, the artefact can be, perhaps ought to be, an important part of the reading experience. While I also have a first edition hardback, I prefer to read this cheap edition.</p>
<h2>What will you be reading next?</h2>
<p>Reading fiction these days is a rare diversion for me, so it will be back to non-fiction and the latest and last work by the brilliant and inspiring scholar, John Miles Foley &#8211; who died in May 2012 (aged 65) &#8211; titled <em>Oral Tradition and Internet: Pathway of the Mind</em>. Foley was a classicist and scholar of oral traditions from Homer through Old English to Serbian epics to poetry slamming. His final work explores the similarities and correspondences between the oldest (oral tradition) and newest (Internet) ‘thought-technologies’. The book is designated as a ‘morphing book’ and is presented in a format of linked nodes to be read in many possible ways. The book also complements the <a title="Pathways Project" href="http://pathwaysproject.org/">Pathways Project </a>website.</p>
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		<title>Ice Station</title>
		<link>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/09/07/ice-station-by-matthew-reilly/</link>
		<comments>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/09/07/ice-station-by-matthew-reilly/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 07 Sep 2012 01:48:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Hale</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/?p=615</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Who are you and what do you do? My name is Alex Hale, or Hales, and I am the random, yet totally awesome, Work Experience kid from Stromlo High School What are you reading? I am reading Ice Station by Matthew &#8230; <a href="http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/09/07/ice-station-by-matthew-reilly/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>Who are you and what do you do?</h2>
<p>My name is Alex Hale, or Hales, and I am the random, yet totally awesome, Work Experience kid from Stromlo High School <img src='http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<h2>What are you reading?</h2>
<p>I am reading Ice Station by Matthew Reilly (or, at least, I was). It is the first book in the Scarecrow series.</p>
<h2>Why are you reading it?</h2>
<p>I am reading it because a friend recomended I read the third book in the series and I thought I would read the first two books first.</p>
<h2>What do you think of it?</h2>
<p>It is AMAZING <img src='http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif' alt=':D' class='wp-smiley' />  Really fast paced, lots of action, never a dull moment, quite a lot of blood and people dying in horrible ways so if you are squirmish, it might be a good idea not to read it.</p>
<h2>What format are you reading it on? Why?</h2>
<p>I am reading it as a paperback book because I don&#8217;t have any money to buy it for my Kindle  at the present time so I borrowed it from the library.</p>
<h2>What will you be reading next?</h2>
<p>Next I will be reading the rest of Matthew Reilly&#8217;s books. So, the rest of the Scarecrow series, the Jack West Jr series, and his three stand alone novels. Should keep me busy for a few weeks <img src='http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
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		<title>Entertain Us! The Rise and Fall of Alternative Rock in the Nineties</title>
		<link>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/09/06/entertain-us-the-rise-and-fall-of-alternative-rock-in-the-nineties/</link>
		<comments>http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/09/06/entertain-us-the-rise-and-fall-of-alternative-rock-in-the-nineties/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 05 Sep 2012 23:00:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jessica Annetts</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/?p=607</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Who are you and what do you do?  My name is Jess Annetts and I am one of the coordinators in Sales and Promotion and the online shop. What are you reading?  I&#8217;m currently reading a book called &#8216;Entertain Us!&#8217; Why are you &#8230; <a href="http://blogs.nla.gov.au/page-turners/2012/09/06/entertain-us-the-rise-and-fall-of-alternative-rock-in-the-nineties/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2>Who are you and what do you do?</h2>
<p> My name is Jess Annetts and I am one of the coordinators in Sales and Promotion and the online shop.</p>
<h2>What are you reading?</h2>
<p> I&#8217;m currently reading a book called &#8216;Entertain Us!&#8217;</p>
<h2>Why are you reading it?</h2>
<p> A lot of my favourite bands come from that era, so it&#8217;s great to read about them all in one place, rather than reading individual biographies.</p>
<h2>What do you think of it?</h2>
<p> It&#8217;s fantastic! The author, Craig Schuftan, has worked at ABC and Triple J and really knows what he&#8217;s talking about. It&#8217;s great to see how the bands interacted with each other and Schuftan gives an unbiased view of everyone, which is really refreshing in a biography. Even if you&#8217;re not a fan of the music it&#8217;s interesting from a sociological standpoint, as he talks about worldwide events that had an influence and the effect on the music industry once we started to depend on technology more.</p>
<h2>What format are you reading it on? Why?</h2>
<p> I&#8217;m reading the paperback version, I love the feeling of opening a book and being a physical page-turner (ha!)</p>
<h2>What will you be reading next?</h2>
<p> Next in my to-read pile is Zadie Smith&#8217;s new book &#8216;N-W&#8217;. Should be great : )</p>
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