Long Weekend Entertainment

The long weekend is fast approaching, and if you find that you have no idea what you are going to do with it; well then, this is the blog for you!
It is now a well known fact that the Hurstville LMG will be (unfortunately) closed for this Easter's long weekend, and the staff will be given a chance to catch up with their reading/movies/music that they have been putting aside for this weekend.

You might be wondering just what it is that the Hurstville LMG staff read/listen to/watch in their free time, so I am about to tell you.
I went around and asked the staff what they would be reading/watching/listening to this long weekend, and I came away with a list about five pages long... and that was only HALF of the staff here! So I've shortened the list to some of the top suggestions (although if you want to hear more, just let me know!)

For those parents out thee looking for some good picture books for their children to read this long weekend, some great suggestions would be: It's a Book and The Big Elephant in the Room by Lane Smith; The Legend of the Golden Snail by Graeme Base and the Old Tom book series by Leigh Hobbs.

For the juniors starving for a new adventure, I've been told to recommend: Worldshaker by Richard Harland (also really good for teens!) and the Worst Band in the Universe by Graeme Base.

Teenagers who find themselves with free moments between hanging out with friends this weekend should take a good look at: Maus: a survivor's tale by Art Spiegelman (a moving graphic novel about the holocaust); The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group and The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks and Where the Mild Things Are: a very meek parody by Maurice Send-Up.

For those out there looking for a new author to sink their teeth into, take a good look at: James Patterson; Joyce Carol Oates; Lisa Kleypas; Michael Connelly and J.D Robb - for some wonderful books.

If all you want is a good novel to get you through the weekend, the staff at Hurstville LMG have recommended: Daughters-in-law by Joanna Trollope; Kill Your Friends by John Niven; The Road by Cormac McCarthy and The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

The non-fiction lovers out there simply must read: The Ghost at the Wedding: a true story by Shirley Walker (to get you in the ANZAC spirit!); It's Not About the Bike: my journey back to life by Lance Armstrong; The Wolf at the Table: a memoir by Augusten Burroughs and one of the many Lonely Planet Guidebooks (taking you on a trip around the world, without ever leaving your chair!)

By way of magazines, among the most popular with the LMG staff are: Donna Hay; Australian Personal Computer (APC) and Practical Parenting.

And if all you REALLY want for this long weekend is a good movie to sit back and enjoy, take a good look at: The Sixth Sense; The Wedding Singer; The Karate Kid; Toy Story 3; The Social Network; A Fish Called Wanda; Long Way Round; the Story of India; The Darling Buds of May; Pride and Prejudice (the BBC version) and Dirty Dancing.

If, when you were reading this blog, you came across something that you really wanted to read/watch/listen to, and then began to worry because the LMG staff have said that they would have it out this weekend - don't fret! After many painstaking hours of bribery and blackmail (not seriously!); I managed to convince my fellow staff memebers to hold off borrowing their weekend entertainment until 8:59pm on Thursday (one minute before closing time) to give you a chance to get down here and grab a copy. But you'd better hurry!

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

'A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier' by Ishmael Beah is a poignant tale of a child solider in Sierra Leone. At the age of twelve, Ishmael Beah lost his family and his childhood to a raging, violent civil war. Drafted into the army, Beah was fed drugs, wielded guns, and was witness to the horrific fighting that was the result of a country in turmoil. Beah would spend years in this seemingly parallel world, where boys were men, men were monsters, and life was worthless.


Luckily for Beah, he was removed from the fighting by UNICEF and sent on the long hard road to rehabilitation. Beah learned again to live, laugh and love. To return to the happy, kind-spirited boy he used to be. However, many children do not have this chance.


Ishmael Beah is now 26 years old and lives in New York City. In 2004 he graduated from Oberlin College with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. He has spoken before the United Nations and many other NGO's in an attempt to bring awareness to the plight of more than 300,000 child soldiers still left fighting in more than 50 conflicts around the globe.
He is also the President and Founder of The Ishmael Beah Foundation, which aims to help the rehabilitation of former child soldiers and ease their return to normal lives.