A night at the library
June 16th 2008 21:12
When I was a little girl, my mother used to take us to the Emmarentia Library up the road from our house every week or so, where my sisters and I would spend a good hour looking through the books and choosing our stash for the week. In those days the librarians had these fabulous rolling stamps which stamped the date in the book in the front. You had to get all your books ready and open at the right place, and then kerchlunk, the stamp would roll and stamp the date when you needed to return them. As a child, I longed to be a librarian, just so I could spend a good part of my day handling that impressive stamp.
The library was the one place I remember clearly from my childhood, as a venue of communal hospitality. The books were there to share. The outrage one felt when one came across a book with a page torn out or defaced with crayon, was a sense of desecration – find the culprit! Tied him up! Tar and feather him! Denying others the joy of a book was a treasonous act and I for one, felt that a lot more effort ought to have gone into tracking down the offenders and banishing them from the library in perpetuity. I also loved the well-thumbedness of library books. I could feel the patient hours each book had sat in a different pair of hands, generously spreading its stories.
I adore bookshops. But there’s something territorial and consumerist about them. Libraries are the antithesis of bookshops. There is no ‘mine’ in a library, there is only an ‘ours.’ Bookshops are there to make a profit, libraries are there to serve.
This is a very long-winded introduction to what I really want to say in this post, which is THANK YOU to the Randwick City Council Library Services, to Bowen Library, Maroubra, Sydney and to Michelle Kline, the fabulous PR person for hosting and advertising my book launch on Saturday night.
That spirit of generosity, service and ‘nothing-is-too-much-trouble’ is what characterized the entire event, from the weeks leading up to the launch, to the night itself, and the hour or so afterwards where there was quite a bit of mess to tidy up.
The launch? It was FABULOUS. We had a crowd of 160 people (I had invited every single person I know, and they ALL pitched up). We sold tons of books, and we drank champagne (the library gave us permission to serve some bubbly), and I think a good time was had by all, especially me.
My lovely friend Vincenzo filmed the speeches by Shelly Horton, my fabulous MC, and Sun Herald columnist, Jo Paul my publisher from Allen & Unwin and my own which you can see an edited version of by clicking on this link.
Speeches from the launch of Things Without A Name
Thanks also to my wonderful friends Katrina, Wiremu, Anouk, and Kelly for helping with the smoked salmon bagels and the setting up.
Thanks to my beloved Tracey Segel for taking photographs.
Thanks to David Friedman and Phil the barman for keeping people in champagne and never letting a glass go empty for more than a few seconds.
Thanks to the lovely Vincenzo for being my cameraman.
Thanks to the divine Lisa who made my hair all purple and shiny - I like it a lot.
Thanks to those who drove from afar to be there.
Thanks to those who stayed to help us clean up.
Thanks to Dymocks who sold my books.
And thanks to all those who bought books.
www.joannefedler.com
The library was the one place I remember clearly from my childhood, as a venue of communal hospitality. The books were there to share. The outrage one felt when one came across a book with a page torn out or defaced with crayon, was a sense of desecration – find the culprit! Tied him up! Tar and feather him! Denying others the joy of a book was a treasonous act and I for one, felt that a lot more effort ought to have gone into tracking down the offenders and banishing them from the library in perpetuity. I also loved the well-thumbedness of library books. I could feel the patient hours each book had sat in a different pair of hands, generously spreading its stories.
I adore bookshops. But there’s something territorial and consumerist about them. Libraries are the antithesis of bookshops. There is no ‘mine’ in a library, there is only an ‘ours.’ Bookshops are there to make a profit, libraries are there to serve.
This is a very long-winded introduction to what I really want to say in this post, which is THANK YOU to the Randwick City Council Library Services, to Bowen Library, Maroubra, Sydney and to Michelle Kline, the fabulous PR person for hosting and advertising my book launch on Saturday night.
Michelle Kline from Bowen LIbrary
That spirit of generosity, service and ‘nothing-is-too-much-trouble’ is what characterized the entire event, from the weeks leading up to the launch, to the night itself, and the hour or so afterwards where there was quite a bit of mess to tidy up.
The launch? It was FABULOUS. We had a crowd of 160 people (I had invited every single person I know, and they ALL pitched up). We sold tons of books, and we drank champagne (the library gave us permission to serve some bubbly), and I think a good time was had by all, especially me.
My lovely friend Vincenzo filmed the speeches by Shelly Horton, my fabulous MC, and Sun Herald columnist, Jo Paul my publisher from Allen & Unwin and my own which you can see an edited version of by clicking on this link.
Speeches from the launch of Things Without A Name
Thanks also to my wonderful friends Katrina, Wiremu, Anouk, and Kelly for helping with the smoked salmon bagels and the setting up.
Thanks to my beloved Tracey Segel for taking photographs.
Thanks to David Friedman and Phil the barman for keeping people in champagne and never letting a glass go empty for more than a few seconds.
Thanks to the lovely Vincenzo for being my cameraman.
Thanks to the divine Lisa who made my hair all purple and shiny - I like it a lot.
Thanks to those who drove from afar to be there.
Thanks to those who stayed to help us clean up.
Thanks to Dymocks who sold my books.
And thanks to all those who bought books.
www.joannefedler.com
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Comment by tlcorbin
Coffee Quip
A Global Citizen
Paranormal Paranormal
Is Why
Alaska Chronicle
Comment by Joanne Fedler
Secret Writers Business
Always there with a supportive word - I appreciate it.
Jo
Comment by AmyHuang
Sydney Table
Project Job Search
Travel Debate
Travel String
Love Adventures
And you looked great!
Comment by Joanne Fedler
Secret Writers Business
Sorry you couldn't be there - I would have loved to have met you. Maybe next time.
Jo
Comment by postmoderncritic
Postmodern Critic
Daily Inspirations
Relativity Watch
Padsoc
I would have come to your launch but I was in Europe at the time so unfortunately I couldn't make it. I'm going over to watch the videos right now...
Comment by Mrs M
Mum's Word
I read the first chapter and watched the videos. Great stuff. You do have a way with words. I like how you introduce new story lines seamlessly.
I could see during your speech that you are still greatly affected by what you have seen. Has writing the book been a cathartic experience? Bit of therapy for you?
The launch was a big do wasn't it? Well done.
I'm currently reading 'Some Girls Do....my life as a teenager'. A friend of mine is involved with the Sister to Sister mentoring program. They are her chosen charity for her thesis.
The things women have endured..... I wonder if men have endured as much?
Love & stuff
Mrs M
Comment by Joanne Fedler
Secret Writers Business
Thanks so much for stopping by and watching the video. It was a huge turn-out -about 160 people, my publisher couldn't believe the crowd.
I have to say the book was cathartic, it was me laying to rest a lot of ghosts from that traumatic time in my life. I still cry very easily when I read about violence to women and children - these recent family murders just cut me to my core. I hate how women suffer in this world. And there is no question - women suffer far more than men. Violence against women is a very speciific cultural phenomenon, and affects women in ALL cultures, in EVERY society and though there are men who are subject to violence and rape, the majority of victims are women and children. I once thought I could do something to change the world - I wanted to stop violence against women. Now I realise all I can do is write about it and hope that the message will trickle out there.
Thanks again for your support
Jo