Fantasy Fiction Sitting under the umbrella of ‘speculative’ fiction, Fantasy Fiction pulls the reader into a universe made up of complex relationships, of magical beings, of fascinating creatures and of supernatural elements that are often based on or influenced by existing myths and mythology. Join Nisa and Rachel as they discussed two novels and two novellas in the genre:   The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart. Orbit, 2020 The Unspoken Name by A. K. Larkwood. Tor, 2020 The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo. Tor, 2020 Order of the Pure Moon Reflected by Water by Zen Cho. Tor, 2020

Parra Pods

Fantasy Fiction

YA books can be about love, loss, transitions, first experiences, school, future aspirations… anything experienced by young people. What makes YA literature unique is that the perspective is a teenage one. Back with more YA in 2021, join Nisa and Antonia for the first set of books they’d like to highlight:   A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. Electric Monkey, 2019 Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo. Hot Key Books, 2020 Welcome to the New World: Waking Up in Trump’s America by Jake Halpern and (illustrated by) Michael Sloan. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020.   Craving some more YA chat? Checkout our other YA podcast here!    

John le Carre

One of the most popular fiction genres, mysteries take the reader on a journey that involves trying to solve a puzzle, finding clues, engaging in logical deduction, considering (and discarding) red herrings… the who, why and how of a crime that must be solved, an event that must be explained.   Join Nisa and Crystal as they discuss a mix of classics and new books in the genre: Death in the East - Abir Mukherjee. Penguin Random House, 2019 The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman. Viking Press, 2020 Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie. Collins Crime Club, 1934 and Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie and François Rivière. Harper, 2007 A Study in Scarlet - Arthur Conan Doyle. Beeton’s Christmas Annual Magazine, 1887

Mystery Fiction

Horror Fiction seeks to thrill, to terrorise, to tap into the dark side of humanity. Sitting under the umbrella of ‘speculative’ fiction, Horror Fiction combines and contrasts the known with the unknown to induce a feeling of dread in the reader. Join Nisa and Rachel as they discuss a mix of classics and new books in the genre: Bird Box / Josh Malerman. Harper Voyager, 2014 and Malorie: a Bird box novel / Josh Malerman. Orion Fiction, 2020   The Southern Book Club's guide to slaying vampires / Grady Hendrix. Quirk Books, 2020   Carrie / Stephen King. New English Library, 1974   Frankenstein / Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor & Jones, 1818          

Horror Fiction

Yan’s Recommended Reads! Are you wondering what to read next? Well, maybe this episode will give you some ideas. Happy Listening! Books mentioned in this podcast include: Death in Daylesford, a new Phryne Fisher mystery by Kerry Greenwood Earthly Delights Series by Kerry Greenwood What is life? Understanding Biology in Five Steps by Paul Nurse Phosphorescence: On Qwe, Wonder and Things That Sustain You When the World Goes Dark by Julia Baird Neuroscience of Mindfulness: the Astonishing Science Behind How Everyday Hobbies Help You Relax by Stan Rodski -  The eAudiobook  & eBook editions of Neuroscience of Mindfulness is available to download from our BorrowBox Library 

Staff Picks, Yan's Recommended Reads

A tricky genre to define, Scifi or ‘Science Fiction’ is more than just space ships and aliens. Scifi is a genre that looks at the world that was and imagines a world that can be. Sitting within the family of what is considered to be ‘speculative’ fiction, Scifi entertains, thrills and makes us consider some important questions about ourselves, our world and the universe(s) beyond us. Join Nisa and Rachel as they discuss these books: The Hidden Girl and other stories by Ken Liu. Head of Zeus, 2020Bone silence by Alastair Reynolds. Hatchette, 2020The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. (originally published by) William Heinemann, 1898 

Science Fiction

In this episode of Parra Pods Yan shares her love of translated literature with listeners. Yan is City of Parramatta Libraries resident expert on translated literature and always manages to surprise us with the diverse range of books she gets through! Below are just a few of the authors & titles Yan talks about in this podcast. Happy Listening!   ‘Shadow of the Wind’, ‘The Angels Game’, ‘The Prisoner of Heaven’ & ‘The Labyrinth of Sprits’ by Carlos Ruiz Zafon One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez Along the Trenches: a Journey Through Eastern Europe to Isfahan by Navid Kermani ‘The Name of the Rose’, ‘Foucault’s Pendulum’ & ‘On the Shoulders of Giants’ by Umberto Eco ‘Sapiens’, ‘Home Deus’ & ‘21 lessons for 21st Century’ by Yuval Noah Harari ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’ & Farewell Waltz by Milan Kundera ‘Norwegian Wood’ & Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami ‘Red Sorghum’, ‘The Garlic Ballads’ & ‘Sandalwood Death’ by Mo Yan ‘Boyhood’, ‘Youth’, ‘Summertime’, ‘Disgrace’, ‘Life & times of Michael K’ by J M Coetzee Jo Nesbo, Stieg Larsson, Karan Fossum, Arnaldur Indridason, Hakan Nesser, Leila Slimani, Andrea Camilleri

Translated Literature

21 September 2020 COVID Update – Mutation of Coronavirus and Chronic Diseases 主題: 有關新冠狀病毒的突變和慢性病   City of Parramatta Libraries Health Awareness Talks in Cantonese Language.   In partnership with Australian Chinese Medical Association. Health talks to promote better understanding and awareness of common health issues and related services in the Chinese Australian community.    Presented by Professor Stephen Li.  Chemical Pathologist | Clinical Lipidologist | Chartered Manager Director Core Pathology & Clinical Chemistry, Pathology West, NSW Health PathologyDirector Westmead Hospital Lipid Clinic Chair, Community Health, ACMA Honorary President and Foundation Fellow, ACMA

21 September COVID Update – Mutation of Coronavirus and Chronic Diseases

14 September 2020 COVID-19 Update – The Side Effects of COVID Vaccines 主題: 有關新冠狀病毒預防疫苗副作用的最新信息   City of Parramatta Libraries Health Awareness Talks in Cantonese Language.   In partnership with Australian Chinese Medical Association. Health talks to promote better understanding and awareness of common health issues and related services in the Chinese Australian community.    Presented by Professor Stephen Li.  Chemical Pathologist | Clinical Lipidologist | Chartered Manager Director Core Pathology & Clinical Chemistry, Pathology West, NSW Health PathologyDirector Westmead Hospital Lipid Clinic Chair, Community Health, ACMA Honorary President and Foundation Fellow, ACMA

14 September 2020 COVID Update The Side Effects of COVID Vaccines

  In this episode of Parra Pods Katherine & Nisa discuss some of the amazing Young Adult fiction they have read over the last couple of weeks. Reading Youth Adult fiction in all its  diversity is great way to understand the issues facing the up and coming generation.  The books that we review in this episode discuss diverse themes  such as “Black lives matter”, growing up Muslim in Australia, body issues and being young and LGBTQ identified. What these wonderful books have in common is that they are all thought provoking, funny at times, often inspiring and always entertaining. I urge you to grab a YA book now and enjoy!   Some of the books discussed in this podcast include:   The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, 2017.   How (Not) to Ask a Boy to the Prom by S.J. Goslee, 2019.   You Must Be Layla by Yassmin Abel-Magied, 2019.   There's Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon, 2019.   Looking for some more recommendations why not check out our blog post on YA picks of 2020 & some old favourites!  

YA Reads!

7 September 2020 COVID-19 Update – The viral load of coronavirus and the prevention 主題: 有關新冠狀病毒的數量及如何預防   City of Parramatta Libraries Health Awareness Talks in Cantonese Language.   In partnership with Australian Chinese Medical Association. Health talks to promote better understanding and awareness of common health issues and related services in the Chinese Australian community.    Presented by Professor Stephen Li.  Chemical Pathologist | Clinical Lipidologist | Chartered Manager Director Core Pathology & Clinical Chemistry, Pathology West, NSW Health PathologyDirector Westmead Hospital Lipid Clinic Chair, Community Health, ACMA Honorary President and Foundation Fellow, ACMA

COVID Update 7 September - Professor Li - The viral load of coronavirus and the prevention 主題: 有關新冠狀病毒的數量及如何預防

1 September 2020 COVID-19 Update – Reinfection, Autoimmune and Men's Fatality 主題: 更新冠狀病毒的資料 - 病毒再感染、自身免疫性及對男性死亡率的資料   The problems and variants of the new Coronavirus, the differences in the autogenous immune system between women and men, and the impact of the natural immune system on patients repeatedly infected with the new coronavirus. 內容：新冠病毒的問題、變種、女性及男性對自生免疫系統的各異 及 自生免疫系統對重覆感染新冠狀病毒病人的影響。   City of Parramatta Libraries Health Awareness Talks in Cantonese Language.   In partnership with Australian Chinese Medical Association. Health talks to promote better understanding and awareness of common health issues and related services in the Chinese Australian community.    Presented by Dr Stephen Li.  Chemical Pathologist | Clinical Lipidologist | Chartered Manager Director Core Pathology & Clinical Chemistry, Pathology West, NSW Health PathologyDirector Westmead Hospital Lipid Clinic Chair, Community Health, ACMA Honorary President and Foundation Fellow, ACMA

1 September 2020 COVID -19 Updates Reinfection, Autoimmune and Men fatality 主題: 更新冠狀病毒的資料 - 病毒再感染、自身免疫性及對男性死亡率的資料

24 August 2020   COVID-19 Updates - Mutations & Lower Fatality 主題:冠狀病毒的突變和較低的死亡率   City of Parramatta Libraries Health Awareness Talks in Cantonese Language.   In partnership with Australian Chinese Medical Association. Health talks to promote better understanding and awareness of common health issues and related services in the Chinese Australian community.  This episode is about “COVID-19 Safety Guidelines”.   Presented by Dr Stephen Li.  Chemical Pathologist | Clinical Lipidologist | Chartered Manager Director Core Pathology & Clinical Chemistry, Pathology West, NSW Health PathologyDirector Westmead Hospital Lipid Clinic Chair, Community Health, ACMA Honorary President and Foundation Fellow, ACMA

24 August 2020 COVID-19 Updates Mutations & Lower Fatality 主題:冠狀病毒的突變和較低的死亡率

Domestic violence is not limited to hitting or bodily harm, it also includes verbal and psychological abuse, physical control, and sexual assault.  Bullying and attempting to control a partner are also different types of domestic violence that the police do not tolerate in dealing with. Domestic violence includes physical, verbal or psychological harm from one family member to another, and also includes ill-treatment of the elderly and children.   لا يقتصر العنف الأسري على  الضرب أو الأذية الجسدية فهو يشمل أيضاً الاعتداء اللفظي والنفسي والتحكم المادي والاعتداء الجنسي. ممارسات التنمر ومحاولة السيطرة على الشريك تعتبر أيضاً أنواعاً مختلفة من العنف الأسري الذي لا تتساهل الشرطة في التعامل معه. يشمل العنف الأسري أذية أحد أفراد العائلة لفرد آخر جسدياً أو لفظياً او نفسياً ويشمل ايضاً سوء معاملة كبار السن والأطفال. Additional information:   There is no excuse for pardon, you are not the reason. The helpline for victims of domestic violence provides 24-hour counseling, and the workers in this service refer victims to emergency services such as housing and material support. This number is 1800 656 463 There are other services available for victims of domestic violence around the clock, including the phone service 1800respect or 1800 737 732. For translation services, you can call 131450 For men who are victims of domestic violence, you can call Men’s Line Australia on 1300789978.   لا يوجد أي مبرر للعف أنت لست السبب. يقدم خط مساعدة ضحايا العنف الاسري الأستشارة على مدار 24 ساعة ويقوم العاملون في هذه الخدمة بتحويل الضحايا للخدمات الطارئة كالسكن والدعم المادي. هذا الرقم هو 1800656463 هناك خدمات أخرى متوفرة لضحايا العنف الأسري على مدار الساعة منها خدمة الهاتف 1800respect أو 1800737732. لخدمات الترجمة بامكانكم الاتصال على الرقم 131450 أمّا للرجال الذين يقعون ضحية العنف الأسري فبامكانكم الاتصال بخدمة Men’s Line Australia على الرقم 1300789978   Speaker - Heba Kassoua Multicultural community Liaison officer, Cumberland Police Area Command  

Domestic Violence Arabic Language العنف الأسري

“Parra Pods” is City of Parramatta Libraries newest, most innovative voice. We will be reviewing books, DVDs, documentaries, magazines and music. Feature staff picks, award winning books, special events, author interviews & guest speakers discussing topics of interest to our Library members. We want to keep you informed about all things books, DVDs, music, reading and libraries. And have some fun along the way. Hope you can join us!

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Parra Pods

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