May 25th THE BLURB

TUESDAY 25th May
The Blurb, with Bernard Ryan, Robyn Hodge, John Bartlett and Sarah McInnes.

SONG: 'Unknown Country', Broderick Smith

REVIEW: Bernard talks to us via phone.

Books Bernard’s been reading: Obama’s biography, ‘The Bridge’ by David Remnick, Americans really know how to write history. ‘Atheist Delusions’ by David Bently Hart.

Yann Martel – Beatrice and Virgil. Fate can take many forms. For Henry, a writer living in a foreign city, it arrives in the form of an envelope from a reader. Instead of the usual fan mail, the envelope contains a story by Flaubert, a scene from a play featuring two characters named Beatrice and Virgil, and a note asking for Henry’s help. The note is signed “Henry,” and the return address is not far from where Henry lives. When Henry walks his dog to hand-deliver his response, he is surprised to discover a taxidermist’s shop. Here, stunning specimens are poised on the brink of action, silent and preternaturally still, yet bursting with the palpable life of a lost, vibrant world. And when the mysterious, elderly taxidermist introduces his visitor to Beatrice and Virgil—a donkey and a howler monkey—Henry’s life is changed forever.

Phillip Pullman – ‘The Good Man Jesus and The Scoundrel Christ’. The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, the latest addition to the fabulous Canongate Myth Series, is a retelling of the life of Jesus Christ according to the New Testament. In Pullman’s version, Jesus and Christ are two different people: they are twin brothers born to Mary. One goes out to become the revolutionary speaker the Bible tells us about, while the other thinks of himself as a historian: he records what his brother says and what he sees him do, sometimes “letting truth from beyond time into history”. The obvious implication is that the stories we know today are a direct result of his editorial decisions.

The gospel and parables are cleverly weaved throughout the story, and it is a very earthy Christian reflection, with the message to get people to read the Bible for themselves.

SPONSOR MESSAGES

REVIEW: John reviews two crime books by Andrea Maria Schenkel, a German writer. 'The Murder Farm' and 'Ice Cold'.

'The Murder Farm' set at the close of the second world war, the whole family has been brutally murdered. Based on historical fact where it seems that only the names have been changed, from 1920's Germany. Told in 3rd person sequences from different characters (different typefaces have been used to differenciate these), newspaper scraps and some 1st person. The voices of the story are rural and respond to the hardlifestyle after the war. Fragmented crime writing, where the clues are dropped throughout the story, with the big picture put together for you at the end. Great suspence and tention which motivates you to keep reading! Dissapointed that the story was so closely taken off a historical event.

'Ice Cold' set in 1930's Munich and has plenty of historical background. A story of murder, rape and execution. Had a nasty feel to it, for a female writer and a crime novel, the story and murder details were very graphic without adding to the story. Again a fragmented story to put the clues together.

SPONSOR MESSAGES

GARRY DISHER AUDIO: John attended the event and gives us a brief of the author meeting, and Sarah plays an edited clip with some of the best bits of Garry's talk.

REVIEW: Sarah reviews 'Nice Work' by Jana Wendt. A well known journalist know turning her hand to writing. It talks about the lives of working people, one per chapter, and what they go through in their life and the way they are tied to their job. Very honest and interesting writing and well worth the read.

SONG: 'Sweet Disposition'by Temper Trap.

Tune in this week (JUNE 1st) to win 2 great children’s books!! Just be the first caller on 5222 5947!!

WIN ‘I Want To Be An Olympian’ by gold medallist Sally Carbon. Describes the quest for Olympic competition through the eyes of a young boy.

WIN ‘Jackson’s Footy’ by former AFL player Dwayne Russel. About a young boy who loves his Sherrin football and the adventure it creates.

The Blurb May 18th

TUESDAY 18/5/10 with Robyn and Sarah.

Bernard joins us live via phone. Refers to ‘Small Island’ by Andrea Levy, which Bernard will talk about it the weeks to come. Walter Mosley and Phillip Kerr, American crime writers. Bernard recommends Mosley’s writing but is finding Kerr’s latest, ‘The Dead Not Rise’, a bit of a drag and hard to read.
Colin McLaren’s novel ‘Sunflower’ is written about his grandfather. Sunflower was his grandfather’s nickname. The cover gives you the impression it will be a bit saucy. It is an autobiographical novel. Felt it was a bit long and drawn out. Contains war stories, and Egyptian views.

POEM: Bernard O’Dowd, Australia, written in 1912.

LAST sea-thing dredged by sailor Time from Space, Are you a drift Sargasso, where the West In halcyon calm rebuilds her fatal nest? Or Delos of a coming Sun-God’s race? Are you for Light, and trimmed, with oil in place, Or but a Will o’ Wisp on marshy quest? A new demesne for Mammon to infest? Or lurks millennial Eden ’neath your face? The cenotaphs of species dead elsewhere That in your limits leap and swim and fly, Or trail uncanny harp-strings from your trees, Mix omens with the auguries that dare To plant the Cross upon your forehead sky, A virgin helpmate Ocean at your knees.

BOOK REVIEW: Maggy O’Farrell ‘The Hand That First Held Mine’. Set in 1950’s England and the mix up of two families. Not a bad read but felt it was overpublicised in the lead up to Mothers Day. Kirsten Tranter’s first novel ‘The Legacy’ is quite an achievement. Set in great locations, Sydney and moves to New York. Beautifully created characters and their intimacies, and looking at the relationships between them.

SPONSORS / SONG: Angus and Julia Stone, Down The Way, ‘Big Jet Plane’

INTERVIEW: Richard Everist, ‘The Complete Guide to the Great Ocean Road’. Richard has his own publishing agency, and has written for Lonely Planet since their early days. Talks about how the book was made and how much he learnt during the research, even as a local.

SPONSORS / SONG: John Butler Trio, April Uprising, ‘Come On Now’

INTERVIEW: Brendan Ryan, local poet. Discusses his life growing up on the farm, how he develops his poetry and what it means to him.
Read his poem ‘Maternity Paddock’ from his book of poems, A Paddock in his Head’.

NOTES FROM BERNARD:

• Local poet Brendan Ryan (on the show next week), has a moving essay about his experiences on the 15th Feb 1983, better known as Ash Wednesday, in the latest edition of ‘Heat’.

• The latest edition of Griffith Review (from Griffith University) has excellent essays to inform us on the emerging debate of Australia’s resource boom/dependence.

• For babyboomers, Crows Nest Press are publishing beaut omnibus Kipling and WE JOHNS (‘Biggles”) volumes for just $30.

e Blurb, 11/5/10, with Robyn Hodge, Sarah McInnes and John Bartlett.

NEWS: Unfortunately a very wet and windy week everyone!

SONG: Elvis ‘A Little Less Conversation A Little More Action’.

INTERVIEW: Author Neil Humphreys was in the studio to talk about his latest book ‘Match Fixer’, a fictional story about the corruption in soccer leagues. Sports journalist, Nick Mcaveney, joined us by phone to help us with our soccer knowledge!
Neil had a lot of great stories about his time in England and Singapore, and the hold that corruption and gambling have on Singapore’s culture.

SPONSORS / SONG: The Hipstones ‘Dreamers’


BOOK NEWS:
- Garry Disher author meeting (which John will be attending and hopefully getting a great interview). Sunday 16th May at the Geelong City Library, 2-3pm.
- A lecture given by Dr Helen Caldicott on ‘The perils of all things nuclear’. Also at the Geelong City Library, on May 19th at 5.30pm (for a 6pm start).
Register for these events by calling the Geelong City Library on 52726010 or through their website.

BOOK REVIEW: John Bartlett reviews ‘The Long Song’ by Andrew Levy.
The book is humorous without being trivial. The Caribbean slave girl who narrates the story is interesting, entertaining and has an authentic broken English sound. The writing is very theatrical and could easily be imagined as a movie or television series. The book juxtapositions the idea of what a white lady should be, during that time, and what a black Caribbean girl really is. The slave girl narrating the story is renamed Margaret after her white caretaker decides it is a much nicer name than her own, July. The book was very informative about Jamaican slavery and the events of its time, definitely worth the read as the story twists and turns through the intertwined relationships of the characters.

BOOK GIVEAWAY: Call in to win a book and the chance to tell The Blurb about it at 94.7 The Pulse! Call on 5222 5947.
Books include ‘Out of the Bottle’ by Sally Wise and ‘One-pot Cooking’ from Super Food Ideas (magazine).

PRE-RECORDED INTERVIEW: Sarah speaks to author Arnold Zable during his workshop last Wednesday at the Belmont Library. Arnold discusses his workshop, what attracted him to writing, his lecture later that day on writers and the persecution they face, and his involvement in a program to help people affected by the Black Saturday fires.

Books to give away in exchange for reviews!

Hi everyone,
We have 2 books to give away to the first people to put up their hand and offer to review them - foodies, these are for you!
Book 1 is:
"Out of the Bottle: Easy & delicious recipes for making and using your own preserves" by Sally Wise, author of the bestselling "A year in a bottle" and "Slow Cooker".

Book 2 is:
"One pot cooking: Easy, tasty, no-fuss dishes for the whole family from Australia's favourite food magazine" Super Food Ideas.

to win, contact us on air this Tuesday the 11th of May between 3&4pm on 52225947 and don't forget to tune in to 94.7 the Pulse!

We would like a short written review to post on our Goodreads page and for you to come on air either by phone or live in the studio to give your review.

Very shortly only Pulse subscribers will be eligible to win prizes so make sure you contact the station on the above number or check out the website:
www.947thepulse.com to subscribe!

The Blurb: May 4th 2010

THE BLURB

4/05/10 with ROBYN Hodge and SARAH McInnes.

With just me and Robyn in the studio, the show has a girl’s only vibe! Soon broken by our favourite Bernard Ryan.

Book News:

- Torquay Froth and Bubble Literary Festival, at Torquay College (45-55 Grossmans Road) 19th and 20th of June, 1-4pm. Experience a Living library, where you can register to be a book or a reader. You will attend the event and borrow a book (living person) for 20 minutes, and be able to ‘read’ them. If this interests you or you think you would be a great read for someone then register by email to sue.henczel@geelonglibraries.vic.gov.au.
More info at www.torquayfrothandbubbleliteraryfestival.com

- Qualified librarians are becoming a dying breed, as Kevin Rudd’s billions are building thousands of school libraries. Amanda Ellingworth, is the example in this story, she is now the only librarian at the Melbourne school where she works. Her student numbers have jumped from 900 to 1,200. Studies have found only 13% of Victorian primary school libraries are staffed by a professional librarian and with many in their 40s, they are due to retire in the coming years. Librarians are saying there is a lack of promotional opportunities and only four tertiary courses nationally to train them. People see them as unnecessary because students are now looking online for information, rather than the shelves, but the issue has become that some students are unable to use the Dewey system to find books and don’t know where to locate the index.

Song: The Gold Canary – Cloud Control / Sponsor messages
Story: Nelson Mandela’s Favourite African Folktales, ‘The Hare and the tree Spirit’

Bernard Ryan: Talks about some new books coming out soon and other book news.
Dianne Fahey, ‘Sea Wall and River Light’, short stories. Bernard reads the poem Tides.
Reviews Carmel Bird, ‘Child of twilight’. It’s a bit slow to start, but has great characters that you still think of even after finishing the book. Has a very playful tone, with chapter headings that read like movie titles.

Song: Amy V ‘Enough For Now’ / Sponsor messages

Interview: Leanne Stein, Arts Access Officer, Borough of Queenscliffe.
Discussing the events of the SEA OF WORDS festival this month.

Song: Bakerlight Radio, ’Don’t Judge Me to Hard’

Last song: Message from Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu, from Nelson Mandela’s Favourite African Folktales.