Dear FOBL members,
We hope that this finds you and your loved ones well at this difficult time. We are delighted that our Balmain Library is open once again as, for us, at least, reading has been a great solace whilst we are keeping our distance from one another.
The FOBL committee has been keeping itself busy. Just last week we met in Balmain Library to donate 38 books to the library. After raising funds at our last function of 2019, the marvellous talk by Bruce Beresford, we asked the library for their wish list. Another two copies of the most requested books, each of which has a large reservation list, was what they requested. We ordered and bought them from Hill of Content, to whom we are very grateful for their continued support of FOBL by giving us a generous discount.
Kathleen Arundell, Head Librarian at the Balmain Library, was delighted to receive the books from us. Thank you to you, our members, for your support in raising funds to ensure that more books are available for keen readers.
The books which FOBL donated were:
Becoming, Michelle Obama; Boy Swallows Universe; Bruny: Dark Emu; Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine; In The Dream House; Normal People; Phosphorescence; Say Nothing; See What You Made Me Do; She I Dare Not Name; The Silent Patient; The Testaments; The Weekend; Three Women; Too Much Lip; Where The Crawdads Sing; Your Own Kind Of Girl; and last but not least, Girl, Woman, Other. If any of those books are on your to read list be sure to head down to library and borrow a copy.
Book Donations
Throughout this year we have also donated books for the Open Book Group, ensuring the availability of books for their monthly meetings. We have donated copies of The Power written by Naomi Alderman, Small island by Andrea Levy, The Line Becomes A River by Francisco Cantu, The Buried by Peter Hesler, Milkman by Anna Burns, In Our Mad and Furious City by Guy Gunaratne, The Erratics by Vicki Laveau-Harvey, and A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. Most recently FOBL donated 6 copies of The Man in The Red Coat by Julian Barnes, 4 copies of Buckley’s Chance by Garry Linnell and 6 copies of The Education of An Idealist by Samantha Power.
Proposed Upcoming Events
We are hoping that we might be able to host some FOBL events later this year, subject to Covid-19 Safety Guidelines and the availability of the Town Hall Small Meeting Room. We would ask you to save these dates in your diaries:
We look forward to re-scheduling the following events in 2021.
Michelle Balogh talking about her memoir, Her Kind of Luck
Michelle’s book, Her Kind of Luck, a work of imaginative biography and memoir, is subtitled A violin prodigy. A Guinness-World-Record Holder. A suspected spy. A grandmother … so you can see that Michelle had an intriguing subject to write about. Meticulously researched and told with great heart, this is the story of Shan-Yi’s unparalleled life and the inspiration it afforded Michelle – exactly when she needed it the most.
L A Larkin, a local Balmain author
L A Larkin, a local Balmain author whose fast-moving psychological thrillers, with plenty of action and adventure, mysteries and plot twists have been both popularly and critically acclaimed. She has written Prey, Deep Water, Devour, Thirst and The Genesis Flaw.