From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now he's your host, Sam Collins.

From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now he's your host, Sam Collins.

Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And for the next half hour, we talk matters of blindness and low vision. It would most likely be having people all around Australia in the group. So people from Brisbane, Sydney, Darwin, even, which was quite amazing, being able to hear people's stories from all around the country. Happy New Year. It's me again, back for 2023. And great to be back. Now, that voice you just heard, there was Max McDonnell speaking about his experiences with the LEAP program from Vision Australia and what he enjoyed most about the program. I had the pleasure of interviewing Max very late last year while he spent the week alongside myself and others at Vision Australia Radio. He's a man of many talents and he also shows off one of those talents in the interview. So make sure to stay tuned. That's coming up right around the corner. And then later on in the show this week, Tess Herbert is back on the show with Leanne from the library as they discuss various things such as book recommendations, the latest events that are coming up in February, as well as the Big Visions Series, which are coming out in March this year, featuring figures from the blind and low vision community such as big wave surfer Matt Faunce, them and fashion designer Nikki Hind. I hope you enjoy this week's episode of Talking Vision. I'm here today with Max MacDonnell, a recent participant in the LEAP program. So LEAP stands for Learn, Engage, Act, Perform. It's run by Vision Australia for young people aged between 14 and 18 who are blind or have low vision and are looking to increase their skills specifically in the areas of education and employment. But don't take my word for it. Let's hear more from Max now. Max, welcome to Talking Vision. Thanks so much for being here. And no worries. Thanks for having me. Let's go in to leap a bit. So what is sleep for people out there who may be interested? It was a ten month course for young Australians all around the country to learn about tech skills and also making sure you speak better in certain situations and more confidently. And what did you think you learnt from the program? I learnt a few skills such as how to run a fundraiser. Tell us a bit more about the fund raiser. Yes. So you are able to choose how you want to fundraise and what you want to fundraise for. And I chose to fundraise for Lucca Dystrophy, Australia because that is the condition I have myself and I ran that through that. And my the way I decided to fundraise was by doing 40 kilometres of exercise. So swimming and running over the month of August. Tell us a bit about Luca dystrophy. If you're comfortable to speak about that, people may be interested to hear about what that is and how that sort of impacted on you and perhaps your vision in particular. Yes, Sir Luca Dystrophy is a rare genetic condition, has similarities to multiple sclerosis and mass. To those of you who might probably know that one bit better. So Luca, dystrophy is the more broad topic. The one I have in particular is a dry, you know, Luca dystrophy so it can affect your adrenal glands can affects boys cerebrally so the brain and often not very often but can affects older people particularly more women and with the spine so mobility but I've personally had some cerebral effects and a little bit of adrenal affects of that. Getting back on to the program now. Max, I understand you had a mentor, so what were some of the things you worked on together? Yeah, so we worked on something called a elevator pitch, which is sort of a short, sharp conversation with someone with Taps, like a big boss or someone you'd like to get a bit of information from. And you don't have much time to do that. And you know, those those mentors, some of them can be quite the character and understand yours from some from Townsville. I understand you both got on quite well, actually. Yes, certainly. Yeah. I had a very good conversation with him once a month at least, and he had got on very well with him and he seemed to be very willing to try to understand my situation, the, my vision as well, and help me with what tech might be best for me as well. So he had a really positive experience with him, with your mentor and all the things involved with that. But what else did you like best about the program? What was sort of one thing perhaps that stood out for you is something you'll remember for a long time. It would most likely be having people all around Australia in the group. So people from Brisbane, Sydney, Darwin, even, which was quite amazing, being able to hear people's stories from all around the country. What are your future plans? I believe you're getting into the conservation and ecosystem management area and because you do like being active and being outdoors. Yeah, so the plans are that I'm starting that in February at Holmes Glen, Mount Waverley. So take course there, which is quite flexible, which is fantastic. So I'll be able to go in and out a little bit and catch up saying I'm planning on visiting my family overseas as well. Had you been into that area for a long or you came to that from some other end? Yeah, it came a little bit that from doing sports and recreation the last two years. Oh yeah. I was quite interested in learning a bit about various parts of the environment and how to maintain it. So that active part, you're actually quite a keen cricketer in the same league as a housemate of one. It's quite exciting to discover that the world is quite small sometimes and those people who may or may not have crossed paths with each other. So how long have you been playing cricket for? I've been playing cricket overall now for eight years now. Yeah, this is my ninth season, my third of seniors at East Malvern, Taronga. And you've been at a smaller than Taronga Zoo all the way through. Oh. Whereabouts were you before that? Yeah, so for juniors I played for Elsternwick Cricket Club for four seasons and then for under six Staines, they didn't get the numbers together. They then merged with another club. So I then chose to go to Elwood. A little bit of a rivalry club in yeah, in the comp, but I knew a few people there and it was nearby to where I live. So yeah, when you were talking about going overseas, you've got quite a strong family connection back in Germany and your immediate family, some of them are German as well. Yeah. So I'll be heading over there in June, July for seven weeks, seeing all my big family over there, which is quite spread out all around the country there. So tell us about your music. You've been involved with some with that for quite a bit. Yes, I play mandolin and harmonica, which I've taken to very much, particularly the mandolin for the last three and a bit is nearly four years. Wow. Oh, fantastic. And how did you get into the mandolin and the harmonica in particular? So the harmonica I've arguably been playing since I was two. Oh, wow. So along a lot of instruments that I've tried, I've always had the harmonica by side playing here and there. That mandolin, I really enjoyed the sound of it, folk sound. And then soon after, getting one for my 15th birthday, has stuck, started having lessons and had a great connection with my teacher. So yeah, I believe he brought in a harmonica for us today. So did you want to play us a bit? Okay. I'll see how I go. All right. There we go. Fantastic. Thank you so much. Yeah. Max. That was fantastic. Thank you. That's really exciting that you've got that harmonica and you've been playing it for quite a while, and I believe you do a bit of busking. Yeah, correct. Because there was a course I didn't really enjoy for one time. I then dropped that, so sort of had to find something to keep myself entertained during the week to replace those two days of that course. So then, yeah, I've been busking twice a week, usually in the morning at a local bakery, just to entertain people who pass by and buy the bread. That's great. With regards to the late programme, just to finish off, Max, what would you say to people who might like to get involved? Or perhaps somebody is listening and they think, you know that, you know, I've got somebody who would be perfect for that sort of thing. What would you probably say to them? I would say that, yeah, it's definitely something worthwhile if it particular have vision impairment. There's definitely some skills, a life skills and just more fine skills like text skills, which you'll definitely be able to learn there. And they're pretty versatile to try and make it quite personal for you. All right, There you go. I've been speaking today with Max McDonald, Caine, cricketer, bilingual musician and a man of many talents. So it was great to have a chat with you today and hear all about your experiences in the late programme from Vision Australia. The late program is about to kick off again in 2023, but watch this space over the course of the year. For more information about LEAP as it comes to hand and if you'd like more information about the program, you can visit the Vision Australia website at Vision Australia dot org and search. Take the leap where you can find all the information about LEAP, such as contact details, program information and much more. I'm Sam Kelly and you're listening to Talking Vision on Vision Australia Radio. Associated stations of our page and the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Max MacDonnell there. If you're enjoying the program and ID like to listen to past episodes or just find out a bit more about talking vision, you can of course visit the Vision Australia Radio website at via radio dot org. That's V radio dot org where you can search up all things talking vision and more. Or you can also have a listen to the program on the podcast app of your choice or through the Vision Australia Library. And now please enjoy Tess Herbert with Leanne from the library today.

Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And for the next half hour, we talk matters of blindness and low vision. It would most likely be having people all around Australia in the group. So people from Brisbane, Sydney, Darwin, even, which was quite amazing, being able to hear people's stories from all around the country. Happy New Year. It's me again, back for 2023. And great to be back. Now, that voice you just heard, there was Max McDonnell speaking about his experiences with the LEAP program from Vision Australia and what he enjoyed most about the program. I had the pleasure of interviewing Max very late last year while he spent the week alongside myself and others at Vision Australia Radio. He's a man of many talents and he also shows off one of those talents in the interview. So make sure to stay tuned. That's coming up right around the corner. And then later on in the show this week, Tess Herbert is back on the show with Leanne from the library as they discuss various things such as book recommendations, the latest events that are coming up in February, as well as the Big Visions Series, which are coming out in March this year, featuring figures from the blind and low vision community such as big wave surfer Matt Faunce, them and fashion designer Nikki Hind. I hope you enjoy this week's episode of Talking Vision. I'm here today with Max MacDonnell, a recent participant in the LEAP program. So LEAP stands for Learn, Engage, Act, Perform. It's run by Vision Australia for young people aged between 14 and 18 who are blind or have low vision and are looking to increase their skills specifically in the areas of education and employment. But don't take my word for it. Let's hear more from Max now. Max, welcome to Talking Vision. Thanks so much for being here. And no worries. Thanks for having me. Let's go in to leap a bit. So what is sleep for people out there who may be interested? It was a ten month course for young Australians all around the country to learn about tech skills and also making sure you speak better in certain situations and more confidently. And what did you think you learnt from the program? I learnt a few skills such as how to run a fundraiser. Tell us a bit more about the fund raiser. Yes. So you are able to choose how you want to fundraise and what you want to fundraise for. And I chose to fundraise for Lucca Dystrophy, Australia because that is the condition I have myself and I ran that through that. And my the way I decided to fundraise was by doing 40 kilometres of exercise. So swimming and running over the month of August. Tell us a bit about Luca dystrophy. If you're comfortable to speak about that, people may be interested to hear about what that is and how that sort of impacted on you and perhaps your vision in particular. Yes, Sir Luca Dystrophy is a rare genetic condition, has similarities to multiple sclerosis and mass. To those of you who might probably know that one bit better. So Luca, dystrophy is the more broad topic. The one I have in particular is a dry, you know, Luca dystrophy so it can affect your adrenal glands can affects boys cerebrally so the brain and often not very often but can affects older people particularly more women and with the spine so mobility but I've personally had some cerebral effects and a little bit of adrenal affects of that. Getting back on to the program now. Max, I understand you had a mentor, so what were some of the things you worked on together? Yeah, so we worked on something called a elevator pitch, which is sort of a short, sharp conversation with someone with Taps, like a big boss or someone you'd like to get a bit of information from. And you don't have much time to do that. And you know, those those mentors, some of them can be quite the character and understand yours from some from Townsville. I understand you both got on quite well, actually. Yes, certainly. Yeah. I had a very good conversation with him once a month at least, and he had got on very well with him and he seemed to be very willing to try to understand my situation, the, my vision as well, and help me with what tech might be best for me as well. So he had a really positive experience with him, with your mentor and all the things involved with that. But what else did you like best about the program? What was sort of one thing perhaps that stood out for you is something you'll remember for a long time. It would most likely be having people all around Australia in the group. So people from Brisbane, Sydney, Darwin, even, which was quite amazing, being able to hear people's stories from all around the country. What are your future plans? I believe you're getting into the conservation and ecosystem management area and because you do like being active and being outdoors. Yeah, so the plans are that I'm starting that in February at Holmes Glen, Mount Waverley. So take course there, which is quite flexible, which is fantastic. So I'll be able to go in and out a little bit and catch up saying I'm planning on visiting my family overseas as well. Had you been into that area for a long or you came to that from some other end? Yeah, it came a little bit that from doing sports and recreation the last two years. Oh yeah. I was quite interested in learning a bit about various parts of the environment and how to maintain it. So that active part, you're actually quite a keen cricketer in the same league as a housemate of one. It's quite exciting to discover that the world is quite small sometimes and those people who may or may not have crossed paths with each other. So how long have you been playing cricket for? I've been playing cricket overall now for eight years now. Yeah, this is my ninth season, my third of seniors at East Malvern, Taronga. And you've been at a smaller than Taronga Zoo all the way through. Oh. Whereabouts were you before that? Yeah, so for juniors I played for Elsternwick Cricket Club for four seasons and then for under six Staines, they didn't get the numbers together. They then merged with another club. So I then chose to go to Elwood. A little bit of a rivalry club in yeah, in the comp, but I knew a few people there and it was nearby to where I live. So yeah, when you were talking about going overseas, you've got quite a strong family connection back in Germany and your immediate family, some of them are German as well. Yeah. So I'll be heading over there in June, July for seven weeks, seeing all my big family over there, which is quite spread out all around the country there. So tell us about your music. You've been involved with some with that for quite a bit. Yes, I play mandolin and harmonica, which I've taken to very much, particularly the mandolin for the last three and a bit is nearly four years. Wow. Oh, fantastic. And how did you get into the mandolin and the harmonica in particular? So the harmonica I've arguably been playing since I was two. Oh, wow. So along a lot of instruments that I've tried, I've always had the harmonica by side playing here and there. That mandolin, I really enjoyed the sound of it, folk sound. And then soon after, getting one for my 15th birthday, has stuck, started having lessons and had a great connection with my teacher. So yeah, I believe he brought in a harmonica for us today. So did you want to play us a bit? Okay. I'll see how I go. All right. There we go. Fantastic. Thank you so much. Yeah. Max. That was fantastic. Thank you. That's really exciting that you've got that harmonica and you've been playing it for quite a while, and I believe you do a bit of busking. Yeah, correct. Because there was a course I didn't really enjoy for one time. I then dropped that, so sort of had to find something to keep myself entertained during the week to replace those two days of that course. So then, yeah, I've been busking twice a week, usually in the morning at a local bakery, just to entertain people who pass by and buy the bread. That's great. With regards to the late programme, just to finish off, Max, what would you say to people who might like to get involved? Or perhaps somebody is listening and they think, you know that, you know, I've got somebody who would be perfect for that sort of thing. What would you probably say to them? I would say that, yeah, it's definitely something worthwhile if it particular have vision impairment. There's definitely some skills, a life skills and just more fine skills like text skills, which you'll definitely be able to learn there. And they're pretty versatile to try and make it quite personal for you. All right, There you go. I've been speaking today with Max McDonald, Caine, cricketer, bilingual musician and a man of many talents. So it was great to have a chat with you today and hear all about your experiences in the late programme from Vision Australia. The late program is about to kick off again in 2023, but watch this space over the course of the year. For more information about LEAP as it comes to hand and if you'd like more information about the program, you can visit the Vision Australia website at Vision Australia dot org and search. Take the leap where you can find all the information about LEAP, such as contact details, program information and much more. I'm Sam Kelly and you're listening to Talking Vision on Vision Australia Radio. Associated stations of our page and the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Max MacDonnell there. If you're enjoying the program and ID like to listen to past episodes or just find out a bit more about talking vision, you can of course visit the Vision Australia Radio website at via radio dot org. That's V radio dot org where you can search up all things talking vision and more. Or you can also have a listen to the program on the podcast app of your choice or through the Vision Australia Library. And now please enjoy Tess Herbert with Leanne from the library today.

It is my pleasure to welcome back Leanne from the library to the program. Leanne is going to be talking about some of the upcoming events in February and the launch of the Big Vision books. Leanne, thank you for being here. Thanks, Tess, and happy New Year to you. Happy New Year to you. I hope you had a good Christmas. I did. I did. It didn't go any way. Just stayed at home with my family, but got lots of reading done. So that's always good. Fantastic. So I did. I well, I went to my family farm, my parents farm about an hour away. Lots. Yeah. I spent a lot of time reading books. I got really into I'm not sure if you familiar with the Millennium Series by Stieg Larsson, but I got really into those books. Oh, very good. Yes. Yeah. So now I love a good read over the holidays. Now, speaking of books, what are some books that you would recommend for Our trade is over the holidays because January is often a fairly quiet month, you know, getting back into work routines. And so what are a few books that you'd recommend? I might share what I was reading over the break, Tess. I've read a couple of great yeah, great Australian books over the break. So one which will be coming very soon to the library in the next week or so is Bedtime Story by Chloe Hooper, who's really, really well-regarded local author here in Melbourne and bedtime stories. Beautiful, beautiful book. It's kind of a memoir, tells the story of her time about three years ago when her husband was diagnosed with a quite rare and aggressive form of leukemia. And bedtime stories about how she navigated through that time with her two young children and sharing with them what was happening. And and what Chloe was really doing was looking at literature, children's literature through the ages and searching for the wisdom of, you know, previous generations and on how to share these big, big questions about life and mortality and meaning with her two very small children. So it's a really, really beautiful kind of meditative retelling of that, that very intense particular time of her life and a really, really moving read. How wonderful. It's always great to read a good memoir, isn't it? It is, yeah. Yeah. I'm a big, big fan of me, and that's probably my favorite favourite genre. Tess Yeah, I think it's probably one of mine too. I, I think last year one of the best books I ever read was Ten Steps to Nanette by Kind of Gatsby, which just I just found it so wonderful, you know, Girl, you know, her account of growing up in Tasmania when there were still laws against homosexuality and then her experiences as a neurodivergent person. It just struck so many chords with me. I know it's been really resonant with so many people. Very, very highly regarded. Hmm. Yeah, it's absolutely fantastic, you know, And it's often I find, you know, sometimes I love reading a memoir by a comedian who, you know, maybe hasn't had such a difficult life or at least doesn't write about it in the book. But often, sometimes it's the best memoirs are the stories that are a bit sad, you know, but way, as you said, bedtime story, where they really get you thinking about what someone else's life would be like in a particular situation. It's so interesting with comedians as well. There's often a lot of depth to their life story, which I know there's something there about about comedy and crisis kind of going together. Yes. And I don't know about you, but I often find they have really interesting families. Yeah, right. Yes. Yeah. I mean, great source material, right? Yeah, great source material. I think it's available in the in the VA library. A great book that I read a long time ago with the Lucy Family Alphabet by Judith Lacey, who I just love. And honestly, all the stories about her crazy family. Wonderful. And I don't. But I do often find that comedians have have slightly eccentric families or or difficult lives in the case of Hannah Gatsby. So they're just they're great memoirs. Excellent. Excellent. Well, I was also reading some fiction. They one I will very highly recommend is BILA. Jared hung up. A Long drive by Anita Heiss. The English translation of that is The River of Dreams. And this is the first book that's been, as far as we know, published in Australia with an Indigenous title on the cover and no English text. So that's quite special. And it's a fictional retelling of the Gundagai floods that happened in 1852. So it's it's a historical fiction novel, really beautifully written in the high seas of this nation's author as well. So it's wonderful to have her perspectives on these really quite heroic story of what happened during the Gundagai floods back then. Yes. And isn't it great? I feel like for more so it's nation's authors that we have and that people can read. I just think it really it's I think it's the best thing for our culture and our society to really read those books from First Nations also. Yeah, absolutely. Her her memoir as well. Am I black enough for you? It's a worthwhile read as well. It's something I learnt. I learnt quite a bit from reading it. So yeah, she's she's a great author, someone we would recommend. The final book I wanted to talk about. This was released a couple of years ago, but all out she brings scars by Trent Dalton and he's also the author of Boy Swallows Universe. So All the Shimmering Skies is set in Darwin in the Second World wars around the bombing of Darwin. And it's a very beautifully written, very lyrical kind of novel, very rich story about a girl on a bit of an odyssey, really, with some interesting companions who join her. Very moving tale as well. It sounds like there's a few recommendations that are for all types of rate is we've got a memoir and we've got some fiction, but I think that's fantastic. That will appeal to a really a really great demographic of of rate is. I always find that I love a bit of everything. I love a romance or a crime thriller or a memoir. You know, it's it's it's I think it's very important to not just stick to one genre, you know? Exactly. I mean, absolutely. Certainly in this role working at the Regional Australia Library, I find myself in a challenge to read, perhaps outside of my preferred genre is I haven't typically been a big fiction reader, but I've really enjoyed exploring what some of our members recommend to me and that they've both come out of reader recommendations to me. So I'll say yeah, always keen to hear what our readers are getting into and there's going to be a very exciting launch in March here of the Big Vision books. Can you tell me? Yes. Yeah. So this is a really, really exciting initiative from our library, from Vision Australia, something we're so, so proud of. Tess We're releasing the big vision books. So these are a series of picture books which will be featuring protagonists from the Blindness and low vision communities. Our first book is featuring Map Form Stone, who's a blind surfer. There's been a bit of media around him recently because he was in Portugal chasing big waves, those giant waves. And there's also going to be a Netflix documentary about him coming out this year. So he's a fantastic example of, you know, what life can be like when you have a big vision for yourself. And so these books are featuring people who are really achieving success in their chosen field and they're, you know, they mainstream books. So they'll be available in public libraries, in bookshops. And something that we're very, very proud of is that we worked with our publishers, Bébé, to have these books accompanied by Braille. So each book is principally Braille, which means children who are blind will have low vision and can rate them alongside their sighted peers. It means we're getting Braille out into the world, raising the profile of what Braille means to our community as well. And they're beautifully illustrated by very highly regarded children's illustrators say that this book is illustrated by Philip Bunting. It's really popular among kids. So we're really, really excited to be really pioneering this book series. Yes. And it sounds remarkable. I mean, I think as a kid, the only stories I had as I was blind protagonists were kind of set in the 19th century, I mean, and they were they were true stories. So it was Helen Keller and Louis Braille. But again, it was very hard to relate to them, I think, because they lived in such a different world and there just wasn't a lot of similarity. Whereas I think these stories really show, you know, depictions of people who are blind and have low vision in this day and age or achieving extraordinary things and will hopefully be a great motivator. Yeah, Yeah. And I think something that's, you know, particularly about, you know, Matt Warmth, too. We're featuring Nicky Hind in one of the coming books. That means they're very well regarded, you know, in their field, amongst their sighted peers. So they're not kind of doing something exceptional in the blindness phase. It's they're really doing what they do very well. So that's really, really exciting to feature. Yes. Yeah, that's that's wonderful. What a brilliant project. And what other events are coming out? Yeah. Some events in February for the library. So it's starting out our regular programming at the library. So the best one that's coming up is treat yourself. So I think we spoke about this last year, Tess, but we're starting a regular book chat for our library members, so be bringing together a library members with our staff just to chat about books. We love books. We want to talk about books and say the first one is happening on February 14, which is not just Valentine's Day, but it is library lovers day in the library world. Yes. So we we will begin kick off now Treat Your Shout series on the 14th of February. That will be at 12 p.m. Australian Eastern Daylight Savings time on scene. So it's open to everyone across the country. Straight. Your show will be happening every two months. So we hope that you we'll have some regulars come along. It's a great chance to hear about all of the new titles. So for this first one will be sharing some of the new titles which are in production and talking about what everyone was reading over the summer. But that sounds like a fantastic a fantastic conversation, a fantastic day. Oh, yes, I look very enjoy, very informal. It's different to a book club in that we're not all reading the same book in discussing the same title, but we're just chatting about what we're all reading and we always get such great suggestions that come through. Our readers are always so diverse in their reading and so well read. So I'm always I always look forward to those conversations. Well, as you know, Liane, I'm a fellow book lover, so I might even come along and join myself. Oh, you'd be very welcome, too. We love to have you. Thank you. Thank you very much. I mean, the other thing that's happening in February as well is we're kicking off our In Conversation series. So that's a quarterly series we do. And our first in conversation will be with David Roland and Maurice Gleason, who your listeners may know is the president of Blind Spots Victoria. So we will be talking about David's book, which is called The Power of Suffering, and it's a memoir about how we grow through life crisis. And Maurice's story is one of the stories that is featured in David's book. So I think that'll be a really, really valuable conversation that we'll be hosting and be fantastic to have some of your listeners along to that one as well. Well, I'm sure lots of people will look forward to attending that. And finally, where can people go to find more about the library? Absolutely. So our website is the main place to go. So get a vision Australia dot org forward slash services forward slash library. We post all of the information about our upcoming events and any news from the library there. You can also contact us at any time. So if you're a member and you need some assistance, you're always welcome to give our team a call on one 300 654656 or email us at library at Vision Australia dot org. Liane. That's fantastic. Thank you so much for coming on the program today. As always, it's an absolute pleasure to chat to you. Great. Thanks, Tess, and hope to see you. Like any lovers day. Definitely. Thank you.

It is my pleasure to welcome back Leanne from the library to the program. Leanne is going to be talking about some of the upcoming events in February and the launch of the Big Vision books. Leanne, thank you for being here. Thanks, Tess, and happy New Year to you. Happy New Year to you. I hope you had a good Christmas. I did. I did. It didn't go any way. Just stayed at home with my family, but got lots of reading done. So that's always good. Fantastic. So I did. I well, I went to my family farm, my parents farm about an hour away. Lots. Yeah. I spent a lot of time reading books. I got really into I'm not sure if you familiar with the Millennium Series by Stieg Larsson, but I got really into those books. Oh, very good. Yes. Yeah. So now I love a good read over the holidays. Now, speaking of books, what are some books that you would recommend for Our trade is over the holidays because January is often a fairly quiet month, you know, getting back into work routines. And so what are a few books that you'd recommend? I might share what I was reading over the break, Tess. I've read a couple of great yeah, great Australian books over the break. So one which will be coming very soon to the library in the next week or so is Bedtime Story by Chloe Hooper, who's really, really well-regarded local author here in Melbourne and bedtime stories. Beautiful, beautiful book. It's kind of a memoir, tells the story of her time about three years ago when her husband was diagnosed with a quite rare and aggressive form of leukemia. And bedtime stories about how she navigated through that time with her two young children and sharing with them what was happening. And and what Chloe was really doing was looking at literature, children's literature through the ages and searching for the wisdom of, you know, previous generations and on how to share these big, big questions about life and mortality and meaning with her two very small children. So it's a really, really beautiful kind of meditative retelling of that, that very intense particular time of her life and a really, really moving read. How wonderful. It's always great to read a good memoir, isn't it? It is, yeah. Yeah. I'm a big, big fan of me, and that's probably my favorite favourite genre. Tess Yeah, I think it's probably one of mine too. I, I think last year one of the best books I ever read was Ten Steps to Nanette by Kind of Gatsby, which just I just found it so wonderful, you know, Girl, you know, her account of growing up in Tasmania when there were still laws against homosexuality and then her experiences as a neurodivergent person. It just struck so many chords with me. I know it's been really resonant with so many people. Very, very highly regarded. Hmm. Yeah, it's absolutely fantastic, you know, And it's often I find, you know, sometimes I love reading a memoir by a comedian who, you know, maybe hasn't had such a difficult life or at least doesn't write about it in the book. But often, sometimes it's the best memoirs are the stories that are a bit sad, you know, but way, as you said, bedtime story, where they really get you thinking about what someone else's life would be like in a particular situation. It's so interesting with comedians as well. There's often a lot of depth to their life story, which I know there's something there about about comedy and crisis kind of going together. Yes. And I don't know about you, but I often find they have really interesting families. Yeah, right. Yes. Yeah. I mean, great source material, right? Yeah, great source material. I think it's available in the in the VA library. A great book that I read a long time ago with the Lucy Family Alphabet by Judith Lacey, who I just love. And honestly, all the stories about her crazy family. Wonderful. And I don't. But I do often find that comedians have have slightly eccentric families or or difficult lives in the case of Hannah Gatsby. So they're just they're great memoirs. Excellent. Excellent. Well, I was also reading some fiction. They one I will very highly recommend is BILA. Jared hung up. A Long drive by Anita Heiss. The English translation of that is The River of Dreams. And this is the first book that's been, as far as we know, published in Australia with an Indigenous title on the cover and no English text. So that's quite special. And it's a fictional retelling of the Gundagai floods that happened in 1852. So it's it's a historical fiction novel, really beautifully written in the high seas of this nation's author as well. So it's wonderful to have her perspectives on these really quite heroic story of what happened during the Gundagai floods back then. Yes. And isn't it great? I feel like for more so it's nation's authors that we have and that people can read. I just think it really it's I think it's the best thing for our culture and our society to really read those books from First Nations also. Yeah, absolutely. Her her memoir as well. Am I black enough for you? It's a worthwhile read as well. It's something I learnt. I learnt quite a bit from reading it. So yeah, she's she's a great author, someone we would recommend. The final book I wanted to talk about. This was released a couple of years ago, but all out she brings scars by Trent Dalton and he's also the author of Boy Swallows Universe. So All the Shimmering Skies is set in Darwin in the Second World wars around the bombing of Darwin. And it's a very beautifully written, very lyrical kind of novel, very rich story about a girl on a bit of an odyssey, really, with some interesting companions who join her. Very moving tale as well. It sounds like there's a few recommendations that are for all types of rate is we've got a memoir and we've got some fiction, but I think that's fantastic. That will appeal to a really a really great demographic of of rate is. I always find that I love a bit of everything. I love a romance or a crime thriller or a memoir. You know, it's it's it's I think it's very important to not just stick to one genre, you know? Exactly. I mean, absolutely. Certainly in this role working at the Regional Australia Library, I find myself in a challenge to read, perhaps outside of my preferred genre is I haven't typically been a big fiction reader, but I've really enjoyed exploring what some of our members recommend to me and that they've both come out of reader recommendations to me. So I'll say yeah, always keen to hear what our readers are getting into and there's going to be a very exciting launch in March here of the Big Vision books. Can you tell me? Yes. Yeah. So this is a really, really exciting initiative from our library, from Vision Australia, something we're so, so proud of. Tess We're releasing the big vision books. So these are a series of picture books which will be featuring protagonists from the Blindness and low vision communities. Our first book is featuring Map Form Stone, who's a blind surfer. There's been a bit of media around him recently because he was in Portugal chasing big waves, those giant waves. And there's also going to be a Netflix documentary about him coming out this year. So he's a fantastic example of, you know, what life can be like when you have a big vision for yourself. And so these books are featuring people who are really achieving success in their chosen field and they're, you know, they mainstream books. So they'll be available in public libraries, in bookshops. And something that we're very, very proud of is that we worked with our publishers, Bébé, to have these books accompanied by Braille. So each book is principally Braille, which means children who are blind will have low vision and can rate them alongside their sighted peers. It means we're getting Braille out into the world, raising the profile of what Braille means to our community as well. And they're beautifully illustrated by very highly regarded children's illustrators say that this book is illustrated by Philip Bunting. It's really popular among kids. So we're really, really excited to be really pioneering this book series. Yes. And it sounds remarkable. I mean, I think as a kid, the only stories I had as I was blind protagonists were kind of set in the 19th century, I mean, and they were they were true stories. So it was Helen Keller and Louis Braille. But again, it was very hard to relate to them, I think, because they lived in such a different world and there just wasn't a lot of similarity. Whereas I think these stories really show, you know, depictions of people who are blind and have low vision in this day and age or achieving extraordinary things and will hopefully be a great motivator. Yeah, Yeah. And I think something that's, you know, particularly about, you know, Matt Warmth, too. We're featuring Nicky Hind in one of the coming books. That means they're very well regarded, you know, in their field, amongst their sighted peers. So they're not kind of doing something exceptional in the blindness phase. It's they're really doing what they do very well. So that's really, really exciting to feature. Yes. Yeah, that's that's wonderful. What a brilliant project. And what other events are coming out? Yeah. Some events in February for the library. So it's starting out our regular programming at the library. So the best one that's coming up is treat yourself. So I think we spoke about this last year, Tess, but we're starting a regular book chat for our library members, so be bringing together a library members with our staff just to chat about books. We love books. We want to talk about books and say the first one is happening on February 14, which is not just Valentine's Day, but it is library lovers day in the library world. Yes. So we we will begin kick off now Treat Your Shout series on the 14th of February. That will be at 12 p.m. Australian Eastern Daylight Savings time on scene. So it's open to everyone across the country. Straight. Your show will be happening every two months. So we hope that you we'll have some regulars come along. It's a great chance to hear about all of the new titles. So for this first one will be sharing some of the new titles which are in production and talking about what everyone was reading over the summer. But that sounds like a fantastic a fantastic conversation, a fantastic day. Oh, yes, I look very enjoy, very informal. It's different to a book club in that we're not all reading the same book in discussing the same title, but we're just chatting about what we're all reading and we always get such great suggestions that come through. Our readers are always so diverse in their reading and so well read. So I'm always I always look forward to those conversations. Well, as you know, Liane, I'm a fellow book lover, so I might even come along and join myself. Oh, you'd be very welcome, too. We love to have you. Thank you. Thank you very much. I mean, the other thing that's happening in February as well is we're kicking off our In Conversation series. So that's a quarterly series we do. And our first in conversation will be with David Roland and Maurice Gleason, who your listeners may know is the president of Blind Spots Victoria. So we will be talking about David's book, which is called The Power of Suffering, and it's a memoir about how we grow through life crisis. And Maurice's story is one of the stories that is featured in David's book. So I think that'll be a really, really valuable conversation that we'll be hosting and be fantastic to have some of your listeners along to that one as well. Well, I'm sure lots of people will look forward to attending that. And finally, where can people go to find more about the library? Absolutely. So our website is the main place to go. So get a vision Australia dot org forward slash services forward slash library. We post all of the information about our upcoming events and any news from the library there. You can also contact us at any time. So if you're a member and you need some assistance, you're always welcome to give our team a call on one 300 654656 or email us at library at Vision Australia dot org. Liane. That's fantastic. Thank you so much for coming on the program today. As always, it's an absolute pleasure to chat to you. Great. Thanks, Tess, and hope to see you. Like any lovers day. Definitely. Thank you.

And that's all the time we have for this week. You've been listening to Talking Vision. Talking Vision is a production of Vision Australia Radio. Thanks to all involved with putting the program together. And remember, we love your feedback and comments, so do please feel free to get in touch. On talking vision at Vision Australia dot org That's talking vision A one word Vision Australia dot org. But until next week it's Sam Kylie saying bye for now.

And that's all the time we have for this week. You've been listening to Talking Vision. Talking Vision is a production of Vision Australia Radio. Thanks to all involved with putting the program together. And remember, we love your feedback and comments, so do please feel free to get in touch. On talking vision at Vision Australia dot org That's talking vision A one word Vision Australia dot org. But until next week it's Sam Kylie saying bye for now.

You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us any time during business hours on one 300 84746. That's 13847466 or by visiting Vision Australia dot org that's Vision Australia dot org.

You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us any time during business hours on one 300 84746. That's 13847466 or by visiting Vision Australia dot org that's Vision Australia dot org.