Street Libraries

It is wonderful to wander around Melbourne and see the many book cupboards (called Street Libraries) in shopping centres and outside schools and in suburban streets where people can deposit or swap (for free) their books.

In the US, such street libraries are coodinated by Little Free Library, and here in Australia, they’re coordinated by Street Library Australia. They are weatherproof boxes set up outside a house or in a public space, filled with books that community members can take from or donate to (and it's all free).

The founder of Street Library Australia was inspired by the ones in the US and decided to bring the idea back here in 2015. In the beginning, he planned on having about 30 libraries, but there are now about 4,500 registered Street Libraries in Australia. The idea has now spread to 91 countries.

In a 2025 article, Parramatta claims to lead Australia with over 120 street libraries in the local area. That is fantastic. I know Melbourne has lots but as many as Parramatta?  I don't know!

Beyond the focus of free access to books, a large part of these libraries is the idea of bringing the community together. Both organizations let individuals petition to bring a street library to their community and Little Free Library even hosts building events. On top of that, the idea that anyone can give and take books at their leisure incentivizes helping your community while they help you back.

You can even make your own Li’l Book Swap in front of your house. Here's a great story: https://streetlibrary.org.au/library/lil-book-swap/.

My Favourite Second-Hand Bookshop is now even better!

I posted in August 2015 that my favourite second-hand bookshop in Melbourne was found in the iconic Moonee Ponds shopping strip. It's still there and it's still my favourite.

Robert Cornwell Stamps and Coins (trading as RMC Stamps)
639 Mount Alexander Road, Moonee Ponds
http://www.robertcornwell.com.au/

In fact, it's now EVEN better. Recently sold and now under new management, the huge piles of books have been removed, the titles have been sorted into genre and alphabetical order and all books are on sale for $2 each at the moment.

If you go in, I challenge you to come out without at least buying one book.

What are the best first lines in fiction?

I thought it appropriate to share this article, written by By Hephzibah Anderson on 29 October 2019 - see http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20191022-what-are-the-best-first-lines-in-fiction. 

The article quotes some fine examples, with which most of us are familiar

Charles Dickens: David Copperfield

Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.

Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol

Marley was dead, to begin with.

Charles Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

Herman Melville: Moby Dick

Call me Ishmael.

I would like to extend the idea to include the best opening paragraph from a book, which to my mind belongs to The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman

So gorgeous was the spectacle on the May morning of 1910 when nine kings rode in the funeral of Edward VII of England that the crowd, waiting in hushed and black-clad awe, could not keep back gasps of admiration. In scarlet and blue and green and purple, three by three the sovereigns rode through the palace gates, with plumed helmets, crimson sashes, and jeweled orders flashing in the sun. After them came five heirs apparent, forty more imperial or royal highnesses, seven queens–four dowager and three regnant–and a scattering of special ambassadors from uncrowned countries. Together they represented seventy nations in the greatest assemblage of royalty and rank ever gathered in one place and, of its kind, the last. The muffled tongue of Big Ben tolled nine by the clock as the cortege left the palace, but on history’s clock it was sunset, and the sun of the old world was setting in a dying blaze of splendor never to be seen again.

And what of some other famous lines that do not open a book but I wish they did. For instance, how about this from Dante's Divine Comedy

TO ENTER THE LOST CITY, GO THROUGH ME.

THROUGH ME YOU GO TO MEET A SUFFERING

UNCEASING AND ETERNAL. YOU WILL BE

WITH PEOPLE WHO, THROUGH ME, LOST EVERYTHING

MY MAKER, MOVED BY JUSTICE, LIVES ABOVE,

THROUGH HIM, THE HOLY POWER, I WAS MADE -

MADE BY THE HEIGHT OF WISDOM AND FIRST LOVE,

WHOSE LAWS ALL THOSE IN HERE ONCE DISOBEYED

FROM NOW ON, EVERY DAY FEELS LIKE YOUR LAST

FOREVER. LET THAT BE YOUR GREATEST FEAR

YOUR FUTURE NOW IS TO REGRET THE PAST,

FORGET YOUR HOPES, THEY WERE WHAT BROUGHT YOU HERE.

The New Geelong Library

I have often noticed when driving through Geelong, the large dome visible in the middle of the Geelong CBD. Knowing it was the main City of Geelong library, I have always meant to pay a visit. Earlier this year (May 2019), I decided to rectify that oversight.

I have many wonderful memories of the many older style libraries in Melbourne, in particular, the La Trobe Reading Room in the State Library of Victoria. As a schoolboy, I used to frequent that iconic space whenever I was in the city, and never ceased to be amazed by the huge number of books, the wonderful Victorian architecture, the quietness and the studiousness of the huge room.

I was keen to see how the Geelong Library stacked up. Alas, I was disappointed. The layout of various reading rooms on multiple levels meant that it did not feel like a library to me. Gone was the possibility of wandering through 'miles' of stacks, all in one area. It just seemed to lack atmosphere. Where do you start. Where can I find C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien books? Sure, there are hundreds of terminals at which you can work but that is not what a library means to me. The feel and smell of the books, old and new, was sadly missing.

This is not amongst my recommended visits. Mind you, not everyone thinks the same - see a more positive review at https://babblingbooks.com.au/geelong-australia-library/.

Who is my favourite author

I am sure we have all asked that question of ourselves at various times of our lives, and the answer probably changes with time.

As a young bloke, I would probably have said Thomas Hardy (wow, that's pretty bleak!). Then in my thirties, I would have said Stephen King. During a 10 year period (or somewhere around that timeframe), I purchased and read just about his entire anthology. I still have over 40 of his novels on my bookshelves. Then there are my all time favourites like H.G. Wells, John Wyndham, C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

But what makes a favourite author. For me, the following springs to mind

If you see one of that author's books, you buy it.
Once you start reading the book, you can't put it down until you finish it.
You read late into the night, unable to put it down.
You re-read it at a later stage and you enjoy it just as much on the second read.

So my favourite author is David Gemmell (see http://timsbestreads.blogspot.com/p/david-gemmell-waylander-ii.html).

His fantasy books are second to none, his imagination always inspires, his heroes are true heroes and his stories are unforgettable. Sadly, his sudden death in 2006, aged 57, robbed us of so many more stories.

Luckily his widow Stella Gemmell has continued with his work (see http://timsbestreads.blogspot.com/p/stella-gemmell-city-i-have-been-avid.html).

Long live David Gemmell!

Why I love My Local Library

Yesterday's Melbourne Age newspaper (Saturday 4 August 2018) contained a great opinion piece by Caitlin Fitzsimmons, headed Why I love my library and you should too. And I couldn't agree more - our local libraries are havens and vital resources for people of all ages.

The city of Moreland, where I live, is lucky enough to have 5 libraries

Brunswick Library
Campbell Turnbull Library
Coburg Library
Fawkner Library
Glenroy Library

as well, as a huge range of online services. It doesn't matter whether you want to browse a newspaper of journal or periodical in person, or borrow a toy or a book or an audiobook, or electronically borrow an ebook or reserve a hard to find book, it can all be done simply and safely.

I usually attend the Coburg Library at least once a fortnight, even though I have a huge library at home. There is always something going on is this vital community hob.

May our local libraries always be there for us.

Bookboon - free books for everyone

There are plenty of free book websites around but a special plug for https://bookboon.com/. This site is full of free textbooks and more, covering a huge range of disciplines. Sometimes a bit of self improvement is needed, regardless of who you are.

Textbooks

Accounting
Career & Study advice
Economics & Finance
Engineering
IT & Programming
Languages
Marketing & Law
Natural Sciences
Statistics & Mathematics
Strategy & Management

Business - Premium

Accounting & Finance
Career management
Communication & Presentation
Engineering
Entrepreneurship
IT Management
Job search & CV
Management & Strategy
Marketing & Sales
Office Programs & Software
Personal Development

Bookbub - It's Free and Actually Works

BookBub is a free service that helps you discover books you'll love through unbeatable deals, handpicked recommendations, and updates from your favorite authors. BookBub doesn't actually sell books. The site introduces you to books that are available on retailers like Amazon's Kindle store, Barnes & Noble's Nook store, Apple's iBooks, and others.

As part of your free Bookbub membership, you receive a personalized daily email alerting you to the best free or deeply discounted titles matching your interests. The daily email normally includes one or more FREE ebooks that can be downloaded and read at your leisure. Most are in Kindle format which suits me. I even sometimes pay to get an ebook that sounds good.

You can also sign into the bookbub website (https://www.bookbub.com) and browse yourself.

Some of the more recent ebook titles I have either downloaded for free or purchased via a small payment, and then read.

The Acer Sampson Series by Oliver Tidy

Dirty Business (Acer Sansom #1)
Loose Ends (Acer Sansom #2)
Smoke and Mirrors (Acer Sansom #3)
Deep State (Acer Sansom #4)

Leap by Michael C. Grumley
History of Things to Come by Duncan Simpson
Ice by Kevin Tinto
Infinity Born by Douglas E Richards
Fused by Jude Hardin
Yesterday's Gone Season 1 by Sean Platt and David Wright
The Last Firewall by William Hertling

All great reads - you can google them for yourself.

I can hardly wait for Ice Genesis, the sequel for Ice, which is due out in December 2017.

Free Books are always a bonus

Bookbub is a great online resource to pick up cheap or free ebooks from both well known and non-so-well-known authors. Any you can often pick up a great read, sometimes for free.

Check it out at https://www.bookbub.com/home.

Just subscribe to the daily email feed.

I normally download to my Kindle software and then the book is formatted and ready for me to read when I am ready

Some of the free books I have recently downloaded and read include

History of Things to Come by Duncan Lincoln
Fused by Judd Hardin
Ice by Kevin Tinto
Leap by Michael C Grumpley
Dirty Business by Oliver Tidy
Yesterday's Gone (Season 1 and Season 2) by Sean Platt and David Wright
The Lady Who Sang High by Renee Dawlish

And in this case, they were all free.

Bonus!

Time for another Palomino Poem

Time to put my Palomino Black Wing 602 to the test again with another low quality poem

ODE TO GAFFNEY STREET

Backpack on the grass
And body laid flat
It's time for a breather
You know where you're at.

Toughen up you old bastard!
You used be so strong
What the hell's happened
What has gone wrong?

Raisins and chocolate
and a sandwich to boot
Drink bottle to lips
You're a satisfied coot.

Toughen up you old bastard!
You're covered in sweat
And aching and sore
But you're not beaten yet

Rolling hills in the distance
A haze in the sky
The view is outstanding
You've now climbed so high.

Toughen up you old bastard!
You cry to the crowd
The top is in sight
It's up there in the cloud.

See the cars far below
matchbox in size
You squint for a while
Then close your eyes.

Toughen up, you old bastard!
You'll beat it, you know
Half way to the letter box
1k to go.

My Favourite Doctor Who Quotation

Doctor Who - Remembrance of the Daleks by Ben Aaronovitch

This 4 part Doctor Who broadcast filled the opening weeks of Season 25 of the classic BBC Series in October 1988. In a variety of reader polls conducted by Doctor Who Magazine from 1998 onwards, Remembrance of the Daleks has consistently been voted as one of the greatest Doctor Who stories of all time.

A novelisation of this serial, written by screenwriter Ben Aaronovitch, was published by Target Books in June 1990. It contains much that is only hinted at in the TV series. One of the dialogues between Doctor and his companion Ace is my favourite Dr Who dialogue of all time.

They are discussing the Hand of Omega, the powerful Time Lord artefact that rival factions of Daleks are intent on capturing.

Ace: He talks to it as if it were ... It's alive?

The Doctor: In a matter of speaking. You don't mess around with the interior of stars unless you have some intelligence. It's less intelligent than the prototype though. That one was so smart that it went on strike for better conditions.

That sort of understatement could only come from the Doctor!

Read a book. It’s what Ryan Gosling would do

I came across this great little article in the Melbourne Herald Sun newspaper of Saturday 27 February 2016.Written by Xavier Toby. How true!

Read a book. It’s what Ryan Gosling would do

Do you think that evolution is going backwards? I do. If you’re reading this, I’m clearly not talking about you, since you can read. I mean read something longer than a street sign, an ironic tattoo and the winning lotto numbers and that’s the key.

As a society, it’s a fact that we’re getting dumber. Think of it: Adam Sandler movies. Selfie sticks. Kardashians. A big part of the problem is that so few of us reads books anymore.

Now, if you don’t know what a book is, like most people under 30, let me explain.

A book is like a small piece of the internet but on paper. Unlike the internet, however, most books are not full of porn and much of what’s written in books is true. When you read a book, you pause to think about it and contemplate it’s deeper meaning. By not reading enough, we’re losing this ability to think deeply and contemplate anything. Basically, we’re turning into a society of goldfish.

Some of you have probably already forgotten what this article is about. I have and I’m writing it. In my defence, I was distracted by an urge to check how many likes I had for my post about the times Donald Trump’s hair has resembled mating swans. Six likes. Go me! Now how many do I need before I get a real-life friend?

Anyway, plenty of people claim to do all their reading on screens: laptop screens, tablets and TV screens. They may as well be reading a flyscreen. Reading a web page is nothing like reading a book, because nobody reads a web page. You scan it, because that’s how we’ve taught ourselves to read them as they’re packed with bright flashing things and there are unlimited ways to divert your attention. Such as checking your email or social media. As an intelligent and fruitful use of your time, that ranks up there with playing Candy Crush, waiting in line for the new Apple iAnything and expecting that anyone apart from Hawthorn to win the Premiership. I hate Hawthorn.

Apparently books, boring old words on a page, are having trouble competing with the other entertainment options out there: games, YouTube, movies, television, nipples. A book, however, is better than all those things combined — even nipples — and it’s because books cultivate something all those other options neglect and it isn’t just the feeling of superiority they provide when reading one on public transport. It’s your imagination.

Ever wonder why movies often struggle to be as good as the books on which they’re based? It’s because in your mind there’s an unlimited number of pixels, sounds, special effects and nipples. The more you read, the better become your abilities to fantasise and imagine.

If it’s not working? Well try a different book — there are plenty around. Then the next time you’re faced with one of life’s big decisions, such as:
“Should I binge-watch all of the Real Housewives?”
“As a man, should I be wearing leggings?”
“What would Ryan Gosling do?”

Hopefully you’ll choose the correct answer which is: read a book. It’s exactly what Ryan Gosling would do.

Full disclosure: I’ve written two books. Please buy them. I need the money, because nobody reads anymore.

Xavier Toby is a writer and comedian. His second comedy memoir ‘Going Out of My Mined’ is available now.

Have it - in the queue!

I normally have a pile of books waiting to be read. Today's no exception - the pile currently includes the following:

Leviathan: The Unauthorized Biography of Sydney by John Birmingham

An electrifying, epic history of the city of Sydney as you have never seen her before.'To peer deeply into this ghost city, the one lying beneath the surface, is to understand that Sydney has a soul and that it is a very dark place indeed.' Beneath the shining harbour, amid the towers of global greed and deep inside the bad-drugs madness of the suburban wastelands, lies Sydney's shadow history. 

He spent four years researching the history of Sydney for Leviathan which won Australia's National Prize For Non-Fiction in 2002.

Having read After America, Weapons of Choice, Designated Targets and Final Impact, I am a big fan of Australian author John Birmingham. Alas, I haven't read 'He died with a falafal in his hand' yet but I have now purchased Leviathon as of December 2016 and it is in the queue.

Paul Keating - The Biography by David Hay

Paul Keating and Gough Whitlam are my favourite two Australian Prime Ministers. In my opinion, they stand as giants in a sea of mediocracy, with Kevin Rudd the only recent PM to come anywhere near them in intellectual rigour and charisma.

Without doubt, Keating was one of the most significant political figures of the late twentieth century, firstly as Treasurer for eight years and then Prime Minister for five years. Although he has spent all of his adult life in the public eye, he has eschewed the idea of publishing his memoirs and has discouraged biographers from writing about his life.

Undaunted, best-selling biographer David Day took on the task of giving Keating the biography that he deserved. Based on extensive research in libraries and archives, interviews with Keating's former colleagues and associates, and walking the tracks of Keating's life, Day's book, published in 2015, painted the first complete portrait of Paul Keating, covering both the public and private man.

This book goes a long way to explaining the enigma that is Keating. All of those great lines are there, but also the challenges he supposedly faced as a young man (see below for a further explanation of this). The battle with Hawke for the top job is described with great intensity and the Keating Prime Ministership is examined without fear or favour. The man was impressive, whether you loved or hated him, you'd have to admit that. And any book which brings us closer to the truth of the man is to be applauded.

But that's not the end of the story. No sooner had the book hit the bookshops than Keating took exception to the premise that he had suffered from the reading and comprehension disorder known as dyslexia as a young man and that this had a  significant impact on his later life. The stoush intensified from there and quickly became lawyers at 20 paces. This led eventually to a spectacular capitulation by HarperCollins Australia who apologised and agreed to pulp unsold copies of its flagship 2015 release.  At its culmination Mr Keating branded the award-winning historian an "also-ran" and a "humbug", who, in the search for a new angle, had succumbed to "cussedness and ... crude prejudice".

Needless to say, I have not pulped my copy but will read it with the knowledge that it's is only a partially correct biography.

I also have the following two books about Paul Keating and have read them previously

After Words - The Post-Prime Ministerial Speeches by TJ Keating
The Book of Paul - The Wit and Wisdom of Paul Keating compiled by Russell Marks

Gough Whitlam: A Moment in History and Gough Whitlam: His Time by Jenny Hocking

These books form the definitive 2 Volume biography of Australia's 21st Prime Minister Gough Whitlam (1972-1975). On Tuesday 21 October 2014, Gough died, aged 98. It is fair to say that no Australian PM changed Australia more than Gough. It is time I read his biography!

 I picked up these 2 books for $10 each at the Book Grocer in Melbourne in July 2015. What a bargain.


The Girl in the Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz

When the Millennium Trilogy was published postumously, it seemed that that would be the last of the series, created by the now deceased Stieg Larsson. But lo and behold, the Estate has authorized distinguished Swedish author David Lagercrantz to write a follow-up in which Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist return for a further adrenalie-charged adventure. Thanks to my son Chris for getting me this for Father's Day 2015. I look forward to the read.


The Ode Less Travelled – by Stephen Fry

The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within is a book by author, actor, comedian, and director Stephen Fry about writing poetry. Fry covers metre, rhyme, many common and arcane poetic forms, and offers poetry exercises, contrasting modern and classic poets.

I've got my Palomino Black Wing 602 pencil. Now I must get my moleskine notebook, read the book and then put pencil to paper and try my hand!


The Explorers by Tim Flannery

Found this in my favourite second hand bookshop in Moonee Ponds in June 2015. Published in 1998, I got it for only $7.50. What a bargain. Starting with Willem Jansz (1606) and going right though to Robyn Davidson (the Camel Lady) (1977) and W. J.Peasley (1977), it covers just about everyone of significance except for Lasseter!

The Explorers tells an epic story of courage and suffering, of dispossession and conquest. This bestselling anthology, brilliantly edited and introduced by Tim Flannery, documents almost four centuries of exploration and takes us beyond the frontier into a world of danger, compassion, humour, brutality and death. The Explorers includes the work of Wills, Giles, Leichhardt, Sturt, Eyre and Mitchell, and a host of other fascinating figures. Here, in one place, is the most remarkable body of non-fiction writing ever produced in Australia.


Gold! by David Hill

In the 1840s, Victoria’s population was less than 80,000, with just 23,000 living in Melbourne.
It’s hard to believe that within a decade of the gold finds, Victoria’s population was more than half a million. Melbourne overtook Sydney to become Australia’s biggest city for more than 50 years.

Drawing on diaries, journals, books, letters, official reports, Parliamentary enquiries and newspaper reports, Hill shows how the gold rushes became a monumental turning point in the country’s history, tripling its population, driving the last nail in the coffin for convict transportation and subverting the hierarchical British class system.They laid the foundations of the egalitarian ethos that characterises our Australian way of life, and stimulated the ideas that led to the establishment of a democratic Australian federation.

Hill weaves a story that begins with Edward Hargaves’ discovery of gold in western New South Wales in 1851 – and there’s quite a story there too, as it wasn’t just a chance find. It was a calculated mission to claim a reward that the Government had promised, and his right to claim the reward was hotly contested for many years after.

The story continues to Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory, before heading down to Tasmania and across to Western Australia. As Hill vividly describes the goldfields, they were some of the coldest, hottest, wettest and driest places, populated by fortune hunters who were often wild and dangerous.

There’s a full chapter on the Eureka Rebellion, of course, and much mention of bushrangers and conflict over the large number of Chinese prospectors who flocked to the diggings. 

The final chapter is on the ill-fated adventures of Harold Lassiter and his famous “Lost Reef” of gold. It ends with a poignant entry from Lassiter’s journal, written as he lay dying in the desert.


The Silent Service by T. M. Jones and Ian L. Idriess (1944)

Wow, another Aussie gem from the Moonee Ponds second hand bookshop, Originally published in 1944, I have the second edition from 1952 (minus dust cover unfortunately). It covers many of the great naval encounters of the Second World War, told from the point of view of those who were there. Great reading. 

To quote the dustcover (alas, missing in my case)

Torpedo-Man T. M. Jones has seen seventeen years' naval service in various classes of ships from submarine to battle cruiser. Ion L. Idriess is a bushman who can claim some knowledge of sailormen and of the sea, even to a shade of naval action.

My Favourite Book Shops

Melbourne is often described as the cultural centre of Australia and, as such, it has a huge number of bookshops, both new and old, as well as a huge network of publicly owned council libraries. My favourite bookshops are

Robert Cornwell Stamps and Coins (trading as RMC Stamps)
639 Mount Alexander Road, Moonee Ponds
http://www.robertcornwell.com.au/

My favourite second hand bookshop, found in the iconic Moonee Ponds shopping strip. The site boasts that they are Melbourne's leading seller of collectable stamps and collectable coins. The shop in Moonee Ponds also has thousands of secondhand books covering every conceivable subject, as well as stocking a huge range of secondhand CDs, DVD movies and documentaries, and video cassettes. If you go in, I challenge you to come out without at least buying one book.

The Book Grocer
414 Lonsdale St (near corner of Queen St) 
Melbourne CBD
http://bookgrocer.libro.com.au/

Whenever I am in the city, I make sure I have time to go to The Book Grocer in Lonsdale St and have a browse. Their range of books is superb and they are all $10, event the bigger hard cover books. Their history and politics and biographical sections always contain some superb bargains.
STOP PRESS (3 Nov 2015) - The Book Grocer has just opened a store in Moonee Ponds - even easier than going into the city. I went there today and bought two books - but more about them once I have read them. They get added to the unread pile which is now getting pretty high!

Dymocks Melbourne
Lower Ground Floor, 234 Collins Street, Melbourne CBD
http://www.dymocks.com.au

Dymocks Collins St is a huge bookshop with its own cafe. It includes stationary and an ordering department that can order just about anything. It is also possible to order online for either posting or pickup from the store. I love browsing the shelves for both new releases and older. Its sci-fi and fiction sections are very comprehensive but then so are all their other sections. It is hard for any smaller bookshops to compete with Dymocks.

Here is what the website blurb says - and I fully agree

With 65 stores in Australia and over 10 million books sold last year, Dymocks is the leading bookseller in Australia. As a family owned business and the oldest Australian-owned bookstore, Dymocks prides itself on meeting the leisure, learning and gift needs of all booklovers. As a franchised network Every Dymocks store is owned and operated by locals who are extremely well-read and passionate about books. They do more than just sell books but rather support their communities by expanding their reading knowledge.

Ode to the Palomino

I was listening to a music program on ABC National Radio in May 2015 - I'm not even sure at this stage if it was The Inside Sleeve or The Daily Planet - when the singer/songwriter being interviewed told the story of being in a restaurant in New Zealand and overhearing a conversation about the Palomino Black Wing 602 pencil, widely regarded as the world's best pencil. The long and short of it is that he was so impressed by the concept that he wrote a song called Palomino Pony or something like that.

This got me interested and I googled Palomino Black Wing 602 - and sure enough, there it was.

The Palomino Blackwing draws a dark, velvety line, which has been described as being akin to ‘writing with butter’. It’s world famous too, with a raft of pop-culture icons including John Steinbeck and Frank Lloyd Wright choosing the Blackwing as their writing implement. The Blackwing writing pencil and 602 sketching pencil were originally made by Eberhard Faber in the 1930s. Today California Cedar’s Palomino produces the pencil using cedarwood and quality graphite. The signature replaceable eraser is rectangular, giving the pencil an individual aesthetic.

Wow, I must have one of those, I thought. Alas, a search showed it was next to impossible to purchase in Melbourne, except online, with a big postal cost. So it went on the backburner.

Thanks to my training partner Michelle who sourced the Palomino from Sedonia for only $5 per pencil. A few days after hearing this, I was presented with my own two Palomino pencils - thanks heaps Michelle!

For the record, Sedonia is found at 41 Gamon St, Sedon. Sedon is a suburb in Melbourne's west. It deserves your trade!

I went straight home and sat down and wrote my first ever poem, inspired by the pencil.

ODE TO THE PALOMINO

White parchment on the table
Palomino in the hand
Anticipation building
Will it be something grand?

As Steinbeck wrote The Pearl
The palomino formed each letter
Effortlessly it crossed the page
The finished product all the better.

A simple thing of wood and graphite
Yet so wonderful to hold
Words tumbled from his mind
The writing strong and bold.

No, I'm not a Steinbeck
For me the words come slow
Yet the palomino guides me
And helps the stanzas grow.

While it won't be published
Or read by people far and wide
Eventually I'll stop and read it
Palomino at my side.

Tim
9 July 2015

Yes, I know it's pretty poor but hey, it's original.

Why I keep buying print books

I have just read the article Why I keep buying print books by Dominic Knight (see http://www.domknight.com/why-i-keep-buying-print-books/).

To quote:

Every book on my shelf has a memory attached to it. I remember where I bought them, who I was with, what kind of a day it was. Which is another thing that’s wonderful about p-books – the experience of buying them from bookshops, a pleasure that no website “recommendations engine” can hope to replicate. When I’m browsing in a bookshop, I’ll discover titles that the bookshop’s staff recommend not because they’re bestsellers, not because they’ve profiled me, but because they love them. That’s an irreplaceable service, and while the days of mega-chain bookshops have already gone forever, and I miss the scale and range of those massive Borders that were only with us for a decade or so, I’m sure that smaller, local, independent bookshops will survive. I certainly plan to keep supporting them.

I love a brand new book, with that unique freshly-printed smell, but I also love second-hand books. Browsing through an emporium of musty tomes is a pleasure that an e-reader cannot hope to replicate – and second-hand is cheaper than buying e-books, too. You can’t resell e-books – in fact, you may not even be able to pass them on to your children, unless they’re going to juggle multiple Amazon accounts, for instance. And what happens if Amazon goes broke?

Too true!

What am I reading at the moment

I always have books on the go and am rarely reading just one book. Here is my current list, each at different stages of completion and contemplation.


Hamilton Hume, Our Greatest Explorer by Robert Macklin

A present from my son Matt in 2016, this was a new book (published 2016) that I had not heard about before. We all learnt about the explorations of 'Hume and Hovell' so the name was familiar. What Australian journalist and author Robert Macklin has produced is a well researched biography of the great Australian who, most notably, led the expedition from Sydney to Port Philip bay – the future site of Melbourne. It is also a potted history of the early colony of NSW, with its many intrigues and characters.

Currently enjoying the read.

Tim's Wish List

There is always something on my wish list.


The World's Longest Taxi Fare by Larry O'Toole

I read about this newly released book in the Melbourne Age of Thursday 4 September. It's the story of how a Victorian taxi driver accepted a fare in 1930 to drive three elderly women 11,000 km from Lorne to Darwin and back. One of his grandsons has now captured the story in book form and recreated the journey. Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/steve-heard-hails-grandfathers-1930-transaustralia-cab-fare-20140903-10bz61.html#ixzz3CfgCvh9t.

It will probably be the next book I order.

HOME - Tim's Best Reads

My brothers and I grew up surrounded by books and were greatly influenced by our mother Betty's love of books and literature.

My library is huge and just keeps on growing. So I thought that I would track my reading starting from 2014 and share what I have found to be interesting or inspirational or just plain enjoyable reading.