Thursday 24 December 2009

Well, the builders have gone and we’re starting to feel at home... Relaxed enough, in fact, to reflect on the book we each enjoyed most this year, just in time for a spot of summer reading:

Best Read of the Year

Chrissy Sharp, Director – Truth, Peter Temple. He is a wonderful writer and this is his most complex and compelling plot yet and, in Villani, his most complex character.

Michael Williams, Head of Programming – Too many to choose from, but special mention for Eva Hornung's Dogboy and Kaz Cook's Up the Duff (for different reasons).

Claire Smiddy, Programming Coordinator –The Slap, Christos Tsiolkas

Pauline O’Brien, Head of Marketing – Disgrace, J M Coetze

Gabrielle Procter , Online Manager – Peeling the Onion, Gunter Grass

Fiona Menzies, Development Manager – The Tall Man, Chloe Hooper

Sarah Masters, Operations Manager – Shantaram, Gregory David Roberts

Katherine Lynch, Executive Assistant - The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver

Upcoming Events

With only a week to go until Christmas, we thought this might be the perfect time to offer you a little help with last minute gift ideas.

Tickets to our in augural Gala Night of Story Telling event are selling fast, so whether you’d like to give them as a gift, or to keep them for yourself, get booking.

On February 13th, 12 of Australia’s best writers will come together for an intimate night of storytelling at Melbourne Town Hall.

With contributions from Chloe Hooper, Paul Kelly, Cate Kennedy, Judith Lucy, Shane Maloney, David Malouf, John Marsden, Alex Miller, John Safran, Christos Tsiolkas, Tara June Winch and Alexis Wright this will be a literary event like no other.

On the anniversary of the Federal Government’s apology to the Stolen Generations, join us as we reflect on the stories that make us who we are and mark the arrival of The Wheeler Centre.

Book here

Following our Gala Night at the Town Hall, the February programme is full to the brim with exciting events, including our first Lunchbox/Soapbox with Peter Singer on February 25th.

It’s a simple idea: an old-fashioned Speakers’ Corner in the middle of the city, in the middle of the day.

Kicking off at 12.45pm, there’s no need to book, just pop into our lovely new Wheeler Centre building and let Peter Singer, one of Australia’s most eminent philosophers and ethicists, make you think.

Stay in Touch

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From all of us at the Wheeler Centre, we wish you a Wonderful Christmas.

The New York Times Magazine wraps up a year of weird ideas and innovations, from A to Z, starting with advertisements that watch you.

The State Library of Victoria gives us its favourite 10 Victorian books, either by Victorians or set in Victoria, or both, for summer 2009-10.

State Library Summer Reads

December normally invites all kinds of 'year in review' type lists, and this year we have the added excitement of the end of a decade to contend with.

This being the case, we have decide to start listing the lists:

The Washington Post kicks off with a very comprehensive list of books for 2009, dividing and sub-dividing them into every possible genre, until one wonders if they simply haven't included every books published in the last 12 months. Plus there's an interesting discussion from their editors about the last 10 years in books.

Wolf Hall: Hilary Mantel

The Guardian gives the Washington Post a run for its money in the thoroughness stakes. They've worked their way through each year since 2000, and there's a nice piece on the books that defined the decade.

Colm Tóibín

A little closer to home, Readings staff, plus a group of Australian authors, publishers and editors have compiled a list of their favorite books for 2009. And they should know.

The London Times has come up with a list of the 100 best books of the decade, but have balanced it with their five worst books of the decade.

Paste Magazine lists the 50 best films of the decade.

The London Times newspaper list its 100 best film of the decade, with the number one spot going to Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love.

The Washington Post also lists its top movies moments of the noughties.

And the Guardian's best film of the noughties? Fahrenheit 9/11.