Thursday, June 23, 2011

He died

My trip to Broome was a welcome warm change to winter in Melbourne. I'm now back home, and I had excepted to be quite depressed by the gloom and rain but I'm not. I'm having fun listening to 1932 A Hell of a Year and roasting winter vegetables.

But it hasn't all been lovely.

Sometimes I think I get more emotional listening to audio books than I do when I read a book. (That explains the hysterical sobbing at the end of the The Outsiders in Grade 6.)

1932 A Hell of a Year covers some of the major depression era events in Australia and so gets into some pretty gruelling subject matter. I've found some of it quite hard to listen to without choking up.

1932 was the year Phar Lap died.

What I don't understand is why the author, Gerald Stone, keeps going on about incidental events like the sacking of the New South Wales Premier.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Depressing - not!

I am listening to 1932: A hell of a year by Gerald Stone read by James Wright. It's all about the turbulent political times during the depression in Australia, and it is a surprisingly perky number.

I'm quite ignorant when it comes to Australian history. I'm embarrassed to admit I know more about America's Presidents than I do about Australia's Prime Ministers before my life time. So by listening to this story tape I am learning a lot and having fun at the same time. 1932 does a very good job of personalising the political figures and I am currently quite enthralled by the drama of the Sydney Harbour Bridge opening.

Sadly I'm to Broome tomorrow so I will have to wait 10 days to get back into it. And it's audio book month! If only I had planned ahead.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

June is Audio Book Month

A whole fricking month! Library and Information Week was only a week.

So, what will I being doing to celebrate? Listening to audiobooks. Tick.

Actually I haven't been listening to many audiobooks lately. I just haven't wanted to. I don't know why. Maybe I'm a bad person. Or maybe the interminable 14th Century followed by the abridgement fiasco left me burnt out.

Anyway, I've just borrowed 1932 A Hell of Year, a non-fiction audiobook about Australia in the depression. Hot stuff! It's going to be the best Audiobook Month ever, I just know it.