Library Love

by Jeanette O'Hagan

My first memory of a library was a small room, about the size of a broom cupboard, at the Mt Isa Mines State School. It was grade 3, I didn't have friends to play with during the breaks. A teacher introduced me to the library, and I took to reading like silverfish to paper.  By the time I left that school at the end of Grade 4, I think I'd read every title on the shelf, including The Last of the Mohicans. (My school reports often suggested that I needed to read more to improve my atrocious spelling, much to the amusement of my mother, who had limited me to reading one book a day).

These days, I frequent our local library, putting books on hold or browsing the return shelves for great books to read. I not sure I could manage the Popsugar Reading challenges without the library's help. I've even been thrilled to find copies from authors I know personally on the shelves - Helene Young, Rosanne Hawke, Adele Jones, Paula Vince. Libraries help with my book budget. They mean I can walk into my bedroom with only a few (okay four) groaning bookcases and (five-ish) to-read book piles on my floor and desk.

Libraries are great for authors too:

Unlike second-hand and thrift shop books, libraries pay royalties to authors. While this isn't as much as royalties through the sale of the book, for some authors it can be significant as a book may be borrowed many times.

Readers can also request the librarian get in books and even take suggestions for book club sets. By requesting books by our favourite Australasian Christian authors - we then make those books more visible and available to other readers.

Writers may also approach libraries with their books, either as a potential sale or as a donation. Generally, the book will need an ISBN, and be registered with NLA and preferably be with a library distributor - but a many indie authors have had success in approaching local or regional libraries.


In Australia, the National Library of Australia (NLA) keeps a copy of all books published in Australia and/or Australian Authors. Your local State Library will expect a copy as well.

Charis Joy Jackson, Lynne Stringer and Jeanette O'Hagan at BOBY 2015

I'm not sure if there is anything similar in other States - but in Queensland, the Queensland Writers' Centre (QWC) and State Library of Queensland (SLQ) produce a catalogue of all Queensland books published in the year - Books in Our Back Yard (registrations are currently open until the end of the month for 2016 publications). They hold an event to launch the catalogue, with the books in the catalogue displayed on the SLQ shelves.

Libraries often hold book clubs meetings, meet-the-author or book themed events. They often have rooms available for hire that can be used for writers' groups, book launches and author talks.  Holding a book event in a library has obvious advantages, especially if the librarians help promote the event - as most people who frequent libraries also love books. (Some may be be there to level up their pokemon.)

I think we are blessed in Australia and New Zealand to have so many free council libraries, as well as the State and National Libraries.

What about you? Do you use your local library? What do you like about it?

I know that some of you have had experiences with book launches and events at libraries and would love to hear about your experiences. Have you any advice on how best to approach libraries?

Images © Jeanette O'Hagan

Jeanette O’Hagan first started spinning tales in the world of Nardva at the age of nine. She enjoys writing fiction, poetry, blogging and editing.

Jeanette is writing her Akrad’s Legacy Series—a Young Adult secondary world fantasy fiction with adventure, courtly intrigue and romantic elements. She is about to launch Lakwi's Lament: a short story next week and she recently launched Heart of the Mountain: a short novella and The Herbalist's Daughter: a short story. Other short stories and poems are published in a number of anthologies including Glimpses of Light, Another Time Another Place and Like a Girl.

Jeanette has practised medicine, studied communication, history, theology and, more recently, a Master of Arts (Writing). She loves reading, painting, travel, catching up for coffee with friends, pondering the meaning of life and communicating God’s great love. She lives in Brisbane with her husband and children.

You can find her at her Facebook Page or at Goodreads or on Amazon or on her websites JennysThread.com or Jeanette O'Hagan Writes .

Taking the Challenge

by Jeanette O'Hagan

Reading a favourite book is a great way to escape into another world – whether it be Pemberley, Prince Edward Island, Narnia or the Galactic Empire. Yet reading is not just an idle form of entertainment – the best books teaches us to see the world with different eyes. Novels can expand our knowledge of different countries, cultures, professions, periods of history or innovations or activities.

They can challenge us to think about controversial issue in a more nuanced way or change our understanding of humanity and the cosmos. They can help us understand ourselves, challenge our prejudices and walk with us through difficult periods. A world without stories is a world without a soul.

Of course, there is more to life than books. Books have been a lifeline to me more than once, but deeper, more important, more trustworthy has been God’s love, not just through His story but also by His powerful presence in my life. So while I love memes about books, I tend to shy away from ones that suggest they are our only saviour.

All of which is a long-winded way (sorry) of saying that I love reading books. And one way I’ve discovered of adding an extra spice to reading, is participating in a reading challenge. There are a huge variety of these – some easy, some hard.   Here are four – some of which I’ve participated in, one of which I might do one day.

GoodReads Reading Challenge

Goodreads is a social media site that has a lot to offer to the reader (see here).  One feature is the annual reading challenge (see here). At the beginning of the year you set the number of books you aim to read in that year – it could be 10, 30 or 100. As you enter your books & mark them off as read, Goodreads keeps track of how you are progressing towards your goal.  In 2013 I set 40 books and surpassed my goal, last year was 55 – and I just made it – mainly because I have been involved in the launch of four anthologies over the last six weeks.

Four anthologies

Read the Bible in a Year Challenge

I started this challenge last year as part of a group. I really enjoyed the impetus to sit down and read long sections of the different books in the Bible in a more or less chronological order and then discussing our discoveries with other enthusiastic people. We used Diane Stortz’s A Woman’s Guide to reading the Bible in a year. Each week, the guide gave a set or readings from the Old or New Testaments, a brief introduction of the background of the passages & then asked 3 questions. For one reason and another, the group was unable to complete the whole year, but it is something I will do again in the future.

 The Popsugar 2016 Ultimate Reading Challenge

This year I’ve joined a group doing a 2016 reading challenge – which sets out 40 categories and 42 books for the year (apparently last year it was 50). Categories range from A New York bestseller to a dystopia; a book with a blue cover to a book you can read in a day; a book set on an island to a book of poetry (see the challenge here). So far I’ve read 2 books (which together add up to 1200 pages) and have almost finished the third, as I went for what I considered the most difficult item first – a book over 600 pages. I looked at the library return trolleys and picked up the only book that big (actually over 700 pages) by an author I had never read before in a genre I wasn’t that interested in (women’s fiction set in 1880s New York) – and loved it. The challenge has already stretched my reading and, as we talk about our books in the Facebook group, I’ve learnt about other new, interesting books I plan to follow-up and which I might not have heard about otherwise. It is a great opportunity to reduce books from the to-read list. It’s not yet the end of week three and I’m thoroughly enjoying this challenge.

The Geographical Challenge

One of the members of the above group shared another, even more difficult reading challenge (see here) – to read a book connected in some way to each of the 196 countries of the world. This is a challenge which take most people much longer than a year – but I imagine it would be an intriguing way to do the ‘world trip’. It could be a grand voyage of discovery.

There are many other reading challenges of course – some harder, some easier.

So, why do a reading challenge? I think they can add direction and excitement to our reading, like book clubs (see here) they can push us to read more widely than we normally would and ensure we never run out of something to read.

How about you. What would you set as a reading challenge - perhaps an alphabetical challenge (choosing books with authors starting with each name of the alphabet) or a genre challenge? I’d love to hear your thoughts or your experiences with reading challenges.

Image of coffee cup and open book courtesy of Apolonia at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Other images from Jeanette O'Hagan

Jeanette O’Hagan enjoys writing fiction, poetry, blogging and editing. She is writing her Akrad’s Legacy Series—a Young Adult secondary world fantasy fiction with adventure, courtly intrigue and romantic elements. Her short stories and poems are published in a number of anthologies including Glimpses of Light, Another Time Another Place and Like a Girl.

Jeanette has practised medicine, studied communication, history, theology and, more recently, a Master’s in writing. She loves reading, painting, travel, catching up for coffee with friends, pondering the meaning of life and communicating God’s great love. She lives in Brisbane with her husband and children.

You can find her at her Facebook Page or at Goodreads or on Amazon or on her websites  JennysThread.com or Jeanette O'Hagan Writes .

Book Clubs and Authors and Friends - oh, my!

As I was pondering what to write about today, I realised my last book club evening for the year is coming up. There was my answer!

Almost 15 years ago, I was approached by my then church's pastor, to start a book club. Why I hadn't thought of it myself, I'll never know.

I sought interest in our church newsletter and had a great response. We decided to meet every six weeks on a Friday night at the church and I remember feeling nervous about leading the discussion. I had chosen Karen Kingsbury and Gary Smalley's Redemption - oh, how my selections have changed since then - and was really hoping to generate a good discussion around fidelity in marriage, temptation, etc, all issues covered in the book.

If memory serves, I think there were about 12 - 15 women in attendance and I opened with the stunning question, "So, what did you think of the book?". The very first response I received at my very first book club?

"I hated the book!"

The wind went out of my sails, as you can imagine! But the discussion from there was fabulous - that one negative comment got everyone talking. In those early years, we discussed books written by Brandilyn Collins, Angela Hunt, Sylvia Bambola, Ted Dekker, Randall Arthur, Randy Alcorn, and more.

We moved from meeting in the church building to my home - tempted away by heating and comfortable chairs. Membership fluctuated over the years and we said farewell to some members and welcomed others. Upon leaving that church a few years ago, I had a brief hiatus before commencing what was to become the Novel Journey Book Club, again meeting in my home. I'm delighted to still have two of the inaugural members of my original book club still attending and now have members from my former church, my new church, and from other churches.

Through my blogging contacts, I began to ask authors to participate in our discussions by way of emailed Q&As. This added a wonderful element to our time together and made the book come alive as the authors engaged with us. Our pattern is to discuss the novel for an hour or so, then read the Q&A together. Most of those Q&As can now be found on my blog.

We became braver! I had selected When Crickets Cry by the then upcoming Southern writer, Charles Martin. He suggested a conference call. Very graciously, he woke up at some dreadfully early time and we chatted with him for over an hour about his writing, inspiration, and family. He was a true Southern gentleman although he did have to ask us to speak slowly as our accents were tripping him up. It is with great interest that I have watched his career blossom and now to see one of his novels, The Mountain Between Us, on the verge of hitting the big screen is fabulous.

Since then we have enjoyed conference calls with Jenny B. Jones, Tamara Leigh, Karen Ball, and others. More recently we have enjoyed seeing authors face to face via Skype - Ronie Kendig and Katherine Reay included.

Choosing distinctive and issue driven books is key to a successful book club. If all we have to say about a book is that it was sweet, then the discussion is over. All the books I select have some issue that will lead to interesting discussion and differing ideas. We have talked about abortion, infidelity, betrayal, Biblical retellings, parenting, conflict, war, sacrifice, animal rights, friendship, and much more. Other authors we have engaged with are Tosca Lee, Billy Coffey, Kellie Coates Gilbert, Jeanette Windle, Siri Mitchell, Robert Liparulo, Chris Fabry, and many more. I love introducing my members to different genres, ones they may never have chosen to read for themselves. We have focused on Christian Fiction but we did select Kathryn Stockett's The Help as our final book in  2013, at the suggestion of one of my members.

Book Clubs are great for readers, but for writers, too. As writers, you will hear a different perspective on how readers respond to a book. You may be surprised that they aren't necessarily looking for the same things your critique partners and publishers are looking for. Listen well and it just may add that little something extra to your own stories!

On a purely personal note, some of my closest friends are those I met at book club. Discovering people who share the same passion for the written word is not always easy, so in joining or starting a book club you may just find your next true friend!

If you have any questions about starting or joining a book club, book selections, or generating discussion, please don't hesitate to ask in the comments below.

********

Rel Mollet founded her book-reviewing blog www.RelzReviewz.com in 2006, which is dedicated to showcasing Christian Fiction and its writers by way of reviews, author interviews, character spotlights, and more. 

Rel is the Content Editor at NovelCrossing.com, a contributing writer at FamilyFiction.com, and an Advisory Board member of the INSPY Awards.  A book club co-ordinator for over a decade, Rel resides in Melbourne with her family.

Sharing the Joys of Reading

by Jeanette O'Hagan

As an avid reader, I am always looking for new books. Not that there is a shortage of available books – with hundreds of thousands of new ones published each year, libraries with overloaded shelves and old classics available at the click of a mouse. But how does one sort through the chaff to find the precious grains of wheat? For me, new releases by known authors, trusted publishers or genres, reviews on Good Reads or elsewhere, Blog tours, recommendations from friends and browsing the aisles of bookshops or libraries are all good ways to discover new treasures.

And then, over the last couple of years I have discovered delightful, challenging, poignant books and new authors amid a whirl of laughter, conversation, coffee and delicious food. Why? I joined two book clubs, both meeting monthly.

One of the book clubs is more traditional in format. It is the smaller of the two – about eight to ten people each month with one brave male. Our leader (with some consultation) decides which book the group will read. Mostly this is determined by what book club offerings are available at the local library though on a few occasions we will all buy the set book. We (endeavour to) read the book during the month and then, over hot drinks and cake, we discuss what we think about it. We have covered a wide range of genres – literary, romance, science-fiction, detective, historical, memoir, comic, inspirational. While a couple of titles have been a drag to read, I have found many gems and have been enriched by the experience. We don’t have any trouble discussing the book and it is fascinating hearing everyone’s responses. Where one may love a particular title, another might hate it. And everyone sees different things in the story. This enhances my understanding and appreciation of the book and author. Our group is fairly diverse – ranging from 40s to 70s in age, from different walks of life and interests.

I have to say though, that the other group is my favourite. I was saddened when, due to the time commitments of the leaders, this group finished up at the end of the last year. This was a larger group with usually fifteen or more women coming together the hostess’s lounge room. There was a range of ages from young mums to grandmas. Instead of having a set book, we would go around the group and talk about the books we had read that month. If we wanted, and most did, we could bring the books with us to lend them to anyone intrigued by the owner’s review. Some books circulated through almost the whole group as the succession of readers were enthused by it. The whole night was casual and relaxed. Everyone understood when someone hadn't managed to read because the month had been busy. This was a very lively group and the spirited chatting before we settled down to share our treasures was just as much fun as listening to each other talking about the books we had loved to read – and the few we had hated. I discovered many books and new authors I liked this way. The advantages of this format was that we were not restricted to what the local library had chosen to provide in multiple copies nor were we committed to buying a particular book. We did a few different things as well. One evening we had a local author come to speak to the group about her book, another we went to hear a well known author at a public speaking event. We also went as a group to see the latest movie version of Jane Eyre when it came out, we talked about our childhood favourites and we had a pyjama party to support the Pyjama Foundation. At the end of the year we would have a Christmas party, bringing along a gift wrapped book to be exchanged.

Both book clubs were associated with a church as a way of connecting with people.

There are certain logistics involved in running a book club – who should be invited, where to meet, what format to run, how often, how casual or formal it should be, how books are chosen, and who leads. Yet these decisions are not too onerous and a book club can be a great way to share your love of reading and favourite authors with fellow book lovers. It is also a great way to discover books and authors you might never have considered reading before. 

Have  you ever been part of a book club? Would you consider it?

Jeanette O’Hagan

Jeanette has practiced medicine, studied communication, history and theology and has taught theology.  She is currently caring for her  children, enjoying post-graduate studies in writing at Swinburne University and writing her Akrad fantasy fiction series.  She is actively involved in a caring Christian community. You can find her at her Facebook Page or webiste  JennysThread.com .