Archive for November, 2009
Australian poet Robert Gray has become the first Eastern Suburbs resident to win the Waverley Library Award for his work “The Land I Came Through Last”.
The prize, had over 160 entries from all over Australia vying for the $20,000 prize money. Gray, who has won many awards for his seven poetry books, said the recognition Continue reading
Australian poet, author and TV personality Clive James is in the running for a prestigious 2009 Costa Book Award.James’ collection of poems, Angels Over Elsinore, is on the shortlist for the poetry prize given as part of the awards.
The book includes reminiscences of the 70-year-old’s Australian childhood, observations on the 21st Century and
A recent entry told of a British family’s shock when they discovered a first edition of Charles Darwin’s “The Origin of Species” on a shelf in their guest toilet.
According to Reuters; the book, which had been kept in a bathroom bookcase in England for years, fetched 103,250 pounds ($171,000) at auction on Tuesday, around twice its pre-sale estimate… Continue reading
Borders are holding emergency talks to secure their future.
Store bosses are concerned the firm do not have enough cash to make it through the key Christmas trading season. They are suffering because of rising competition from supermarkets and online book sellers. The group, who also run the Books Etc brand, are said to be in discussions with firms including Waterstone’s parent HMV as fears mount… Continue reading | 2 Comments
Thursday saw the long awaited release of New Moon; the second film adaption of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series.
While fans generally won’t be let down, does the movie live up to all the monumental hype? Does it do the book justice?
Based on 162 reviews collected by the film aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, New Moon has received a “Rotten” rating of 30%, with a weighted average score of 4.8 out of 10.
Digital… Continue reading | 6 Comments
The phrase phrase “mad as a hatter” means to be completely and utterly insane.
There are many theories regarding the origin of this simile. Perhaps the most intriguing and also the most plausible theory was offered in “The Journal of the American Medical Association” (vol. 155, no. 3).
Once, it was common to use Mercury in the manufacture of felt hats. In those days the toxic nature of quicksilver… Continue reading | 3 Comments
A first edition copy of Charles Darwin’s seminal “On the Origin of Species” will be sold this week after it was found in a family’s toilet in southern Britain, an auction house said Sunday.
The book, which was first printed in 1859, was bought by a family for just a few shillings… Continue reading
You really do have to wonder how serious the Rudd Government was about knocking down the Australian book publishing industry’s import protection wall.
In choosing the Productivity Commission to examine the industry, the Government ignored the obvious candidate, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
As a result, it got a report that was a political orphan and easy to reject, as it did on Wednesday after a concerted… Continue reading
“Perhaps there can be no perfection. Only levels of imperfection”
Peter Goldsworthy’s novel Maestro is a wistfully beautiful bildungsroman that is set in Darwin, Australia from 1967 to 1977.
Maestro was chosen for the “One town – One book” project, is part of the HSC curriculum, and in 2003 it appeared at #22 on the Australian… Continue reading
The toilet is something we all take for granted; but imagine life without them!
The toilet has many names; including:
The origin of the… Continue reading | 3 Comments
