Staff pick: Miranda Tapsell's "Top End girl"

 

You can find this book here.

I don’t often read autobiographies; I am not much of a nonfiction reader at all to be honest. The good thing about looking at books for a library; however? Reading outside your likes and comfort zones. It is about opening up to different narratives and points of view that you might not find by reading that same genre you read every other day.

Autobiographies are very different for me because they are about specific lives and specific points of view other than my own. These can be confronting, comforting, or a celebration, but either way it can be emotional. And it should be because it is the story of someone’s life, or part of their life depending on which autobiography you read.

Tapsells’ heart is in this book as she talks about some of the most impacting moments of her life, particularly her career and making the film Top End Wedding.

Tapsell is a straight-forward writer, and I imagine a straight-forward talker too. She is bold in speaking up about what she believes in and what she is passionate about and is very self-confident: evident through her stories about her childhood.

A very important message in Tapsell’s story is about her connection to country as a proud Larrakia and Tiwi woman. Tapsell brings up the pride and love she has for her culture and family; as well as the importance for non-Indigenous people to learn of and understand the issues and inequality facing First Nations people.

This is particularly true of Australia. Everyone should know, or learn, about not just the effects of colonisation on Indigenous people; but the invisibility of people of colour that continues today through how history is told, or even how health care and custodies work. The land is more than a way for governments to make a profit; and people are more than the stereotypes or covert racism that pervades everyday language.

Tapsell never says she speaks for all First nations people: she speaks for herself. It is a strong voice that shows clearly how much she has worked in her life, enjoyed life and celebrated everything she has and works towards. This book is one to read, because it helps show anyone how important it is to not just be aware of, but love and embrace community and culture.

SB

And if you are interested, you can borrow "Top End Wedding" here at the library!

Book Review - False Start: a memoir of things best forgotten by Mark O'Flynn

This is a strange little collection of tales in three distinct parts. Mark spends time at a Queensland mine, at drama school and then involved in theatre in a regional town and then he goes to Ireland to distribute religious statues. He never quite knows what he wants to do with his life but he is entertaining enough as he tries to find out. So, if you feel like accompanying him on his journey, you can spend an amusing hour or two. Wendy

Book Review - Give Me Excess of It by Richard Gill

I know Richard Gill only through his appearances on Spicks and Specks and via his participation in Operatunity OZ – a a search for undiscovered opera singers. He has always entertained and impressed with his passion for sharing music. This book covers his musical education thus far, including failures and successes; his ongoing quest for more musical challenges and deeper knowledge; and his infectious enthusiasm for developing and nurturing young talent. It touches only briefly on his personal life, apart from acknowledging the enormous support from his wife as he threw himself heart and soul into whatever was the preoccupation of the day. I enjoyed it and I hope this engaging man continues to teach and learn for many years to come. Wendy

The Time of My Life - more than your usual Hollywood biography

Narrated in Swayze's voice, The Time of My Life by Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi is an easy read in which Swayze tells of his life, career and marriage with stirring honesty. Swayze reveals himself to be a passionate and driven man who had more talents than his movies revealed. From football to gymnastics to dancing, singing and acting Swayze always strove to be the best and this determination, along with his relationship with his wife, is what kept him going through serious physical injuries and battles with alcohol and depression. This determination is evident throughout the book as right up to the last page he is still passionately declaring that he will continue to fight for his life after his diagnosis with pancreatic cancer. Sadly Swayze died shortly after completing the book. Reading the book I was glad that Swayze and Niemi took the time to write it before his death as it would have been a great shame if this amazing story was never written in Swayze's own voice, as it has accurately captured a real piece of him for all time.

You can read the book and check out the DVD North and South, the American civil war drama that shot Swayze to fame, at the library.

Kirsty.