Post Colonial Children's Literature

I recently found an excellent course on iTunes from La Trobe University in Melbourne Australia. it is on post colonial children's literature and it is fascinating.

The lecturer is very entertaining but brings the salient points across in a very clear way.

The themes of colonialism, post colonialism, the Aboriginal and European voice and who owns the story is gripping listening.

Not a book but about books. The story of Little Black Sambo in colonial times and it's form in post colonial times is provocative and challenging.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

I Love the Library - the sequel

In my blog yesterday I mentioned about the two books I got out at the last moment. I got a start on both of them yesterday and will give my impressions below.

Book One

The English Class by Ouyang Yu

The story follows the journey of a young Chinese man from being a truck driver, learning English by himself and then ending up at university studying English. This is a tale of two cultures and the aspirations of a young man who wants to escape China. It is well written and the storyline moves forward briskly. The characters are rounded and I am hooked already.

Book Two

Dear Money by Martha McPhee

This story follows the adventure of a 38 year old novelist who becomes a Wall Street trader on a dare. It is a poignant look at the
interrelationships between art and business, between the avocation of literature and the pursuit of wealth. This will appeal to those who want a glimpse into the corporate life through the eyes of an artist. Not as compelling as The English Class but a good read nonetheless.

I love books...

Grant aka drkelp
Books completed 2012 = 0


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I Love the Library

It is a wet Saturday here so I took my two daughters to the library. We are all readers and the library is our favourite place (apart from the Internet). As we have only recently returned to New Zealand from the UK we had to supply proof of address to the library. Until we provided it we could only take out one book each!! Well we took the info in today and now we can take out 20 books each. Yippee.

The downside is that we got to the library 10 minutes before closing so I only had time to get two books.

Book One
The English Class by Ouyang Yu

Book Two
Dear Money by Martha McPhee

They both look great, leave a comment if you have read either of them.

Well I'm off to have a relaxing read.

Keep well

Grant aka drkelp
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Happy Reading

Last year was not a great year of reading for me. Only read 37 books which is a new low for me. Still the books I did read were excellent and I sucked the goodness out of them. My goal for this year is 100 books which I hope to achieve plus some.

I am still wading through Proust but I have a lot of biography and letters to read in 2012 including the letters of the Mitford sisters, Nigel Nicholson and Philip Larkin.

Wish me luck :)

Grant

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The Fry Chronicles - A Great Read

I loved this autobiography by the inimitable Stephen Fry: author, comedian, bon vivant and actor. This book gives a very good insight into what makes Fry tick. Great stuff on every page, with lots of laughs.

Highly Recommended

DK

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Looking for those interested in Virginia Woolf

If you enjoy reading the fiction and non fiction of Virginia Woolf then I would love to hear from you at the Viriginia Woolf Discussion Group at Yahoo.

You can subscribe at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/virginiawoolfclub

I also have a blog called Virginia Woolf - Radical Writer at http://vwradicalwriter.blogspot.co.nz/

We are a mixed group of literature lovers and academics, common readers who share an interest in Woolf's work.

Hoping to see you there.

Grant

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I am still Prousting

I am now onto Volume Two of Proust's In Search of Lost Time. I really enjoyed Volume 1 and Volume 2 has started well. I am behind schedule but still progressing, I will succeed but it might not be by years end as originally planned. As I progress through Volume 4 of Virginia Woolf's Diaries I am finding more references to Proust. I can see why she was fascinated and I think they are kindred writing spirits.

Have a great day

DK

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