NEWS ARCHIVE
EVENT- On
Wednesday 4 March 2009 we will have the author of
Princesses and Pornstars, Emily Maguire, in the shop for a short
discussion on what has happened to women's rights in this era of porn, botox
and the celebrity diet. In her book Emily confronts a whole range of
subjects that are concerning* to a lot of modern women, and to the feminist
warriors of old as well as to parents of teenage and near teenage girls. She
will discuss these issues and answer questions (and she is very engaging and
witty so it should be entertaining as well as informative).
Emily will be in the shop from 12.30 to 1.30 so that you can enjoy your
lunch time with a little discussion on modern concerns, bring your sangas.
Please let us know if you are coming and send this email to any friends who
are still feminists at heart or have daughters.
Emily will also be lecturing at the ANU on the evening of Wednesday - 4
March, 8-9pm Lecture Theatre 1, Manning Clark Centre, Building 26a, Union
Court, ANU.
Click on the events tab up above here somewhere for more information.
BOOK EVENT - LAUNCH OF
Bureaucrats and Bleeding Hearts by Tess Lea. Come and hear about the
book "Bureaucrats and Bleeding Hearts: Indigenous Health in Northern
Australia", guest speaker will be author of the book, Tess Lea, from Charles
Darwin University.
***5:30pm for 6:00pm - 7:00pm TUESDAY 24th February***
Tess Lea is a Darwin-born academic and anthropologist with a longstanding
interest in the cultural life of organisations, and in particular, the ways
in which social service bureaucracies help and also hinder the people they
are meant to serve.
"Bureaucrats and Bleeding Hearts" is a close examination of the culture of
public health professionals in Territory Health Services. It describes the
endless circularity of bureaucratic logic, and how it comes to pass that
people working inside the service come to see the world as needing more of
their efforts, whether or not those efforts are particularly effective. The
culture of goodwill and ideas about benefit are the subject.
Smiths Bookshop says: The recent intervention in the Northern Territory has
caused some angst, and joy, and trouble, and solutions, and fear, and anger,
and relief ....and... and ..... and ...........what is really going on? This
author and her book might help answer some of these questions. See you here
and please let us know you are coming by ringing 6247 4459.
BOOK EVENT - LAUNCH OF
The Glass Violin by local celebrity poet Geoff Page. The Glass Violin
contains poems about dogs, gods, Australia's military operations, injustice,
politics, music, teeth, ageing, childhood and those little pieces of plastic
that hold bread-bags together. It is, in other words, a diverse collection,
marked by vivid imagery, inventive use of language and humour. It was
recently reviewed by US critic Jendi Reiter on the web-site Winning Writers
(24 December) http://www.winningwriters.com/new/ wn_new.php: A shorter
version of a review published in her blog, is below (http://www.jendireiter.com/)
The Glass Violin By P.S. Cottier. This Australian poet truly does see the
universe in a grain of sand--as well as in a tram ticket, a Caesarian scar,
the names of Australian military operations, a shabby bear in the Soviet
zoo, a wren visiting a dead friend's garden, and myriad other small details
of modern life that she turns into windows on the human condition, in verses
both whimsical and profound.
COFFEE ESPRESSO Cappuccino Flat White HOORAY COOFFEE IS NOW IN THE SHOP. And
if you buy $50 worth of books you get a free cup of coffee, and if you buy
$100 worth of books you get 2 cups of coffee - up to 40 cups of coffee for
$2000 worth of books (plus a big hug from the owner)
BOOK EVENT - ACT LAUNCH OF
CLIMATE CODE RED BY 'John Howard'.
The highly acclaimed book Climate Code Red which warns of the severe dangers
posed by Global Warming is to be launched in Canberra by 'John Howard' at
Smiths Alternative Bookshop in Canberra on Friday, Jan 30 at 5pm.
Its authors, David Spratt and Phillip Sutton have emerged, according to the
Melbourne AGE, as amongst the most important analysts of the global warming
issue, following its highly successful Melbourne launch by the Victorian
State Governor, David De Kresta, late last year. According to NASA Chief
Research Scientist, James Hanson, Climate Code Red is a compelling case for
recognizing that we face a climate emergency. It provides a clear, well
informed sober consideration of the evidence on the imminent and potentially
cataclysmic impact of climate change. Its analysis of global warming and
call for urgent and comprehensive change to avert a global disaster is at
great variance to the woefully inadequate understanding of the problem
displayed by the Rudd Government.
Professor Robert Manne calls Climate Code Red an important book on climate
change because it honestly confronts the scale and magnitude of both the
danger and the response that is required.
'John Howard' has promised to confess all over why his Government failed to
act on Global Warming when he launches the book. Just who he will blame will
be revealed at the launch.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT Smiths Alternative Bookshop on 6247 4459 or
Geoff Lazarus
21/1/2009 Coffee machine is.........installed!! But we don't
have any coffee yet, but we will soon and then we'll start practicing and
getting it right. We also received a new store mannequin, haven't named her
yet but she will provide psychological support to our employees - the same
as the public service has a staff support process. She won't say much but
she will listen (or appear to be listening) and she won't interrupt, or
suggest false solutions, or make matters worse. Then we shall organise for
her election to the government where she could not do a worse job. Could
she?
20/1/2009 Coffee machine gets installed today!! So we won't be
able to sell the coffee but you can come and try it if you like.
17/1/2009 Coffee gets closer!! The coffee machine will be
installed on Tuesday 21/1 and then we may start selling it by the end of
January - we have to get health approval and stuff like that.
To get your custom (aka get your money) we will offer a free cup of coffee
(or tea or chocolate etc etc) with every $50 worth of books purchased, and 2
cups of coffee for every $100 etc etc up to 500 cups for $25,000 of books
(plus a free book on kidney transplants). We will also offer a free book
with every 500 cups of coffee! Sheeeesh - how good is that.........
11/1/2009 - What to do in summer? Well it just might be walking and
going to the beach and reading about Canberra and the nearby (relatively
when compared to, say, Hawaii) beaches. These might help make a
decision on where to walk and on which beach or hill and about some of the
things you may see on the way.
Beaches of Batemans Bay and the Eurobodalla Coast,
Beaches of Jervis Bay Kiama and the Shoalhaven,
Beaches of Merimbula and the Sapphire Coast,
Walking Canberra's Hills and Rivers,
Terror and the Scenic Coast,
The Prime Minister's Lodge: Canberra's Unfinished Business.
1/1/2009 Happy New Year !!! Hooray!!! and we believe in these
times of economic downturn (caused by the excesses of big business and the
failure of self regulation and the poor decisions of governments at all
levels*), that a cheap but deep way to spend time is by reading. We
recommend a lot of things - a history book, a novel, a classic, some
information on how things work, an opinion from an opinionated but deeply
clever person, some humour, an art book, something on self help or growing
your own vegetables etc
*Please note we claim the first diatribe of 2009 against bad big businesses
and appalling decisions by government - we believe this is the first attack
of 2009 and we want a prize!
16/12/2008 Three new versions of the Twelve Days of Xmas - Enjoy
Authors
On the twelfth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me
Twelve of Shakespeare's dramas,
Eleven Carre thrillers,
Ten Steinbeck classics,
Nine Tolkien sagas
Eight Mem Fox tales,
Seven Pilger Tirades,
Six Fulton Cookbooks,
Five Christie Mysteries,
Four John Donne poems,
Three of Oscar Wilde's,
Two Bronte Novels
And a book by Murakami!
Canberra Writers
On the twelfth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me
Twelve Canberra Writers,
Eleven Kituai Tankas,
Ten Geoff Page classics,
Nine Tully Tirades,
Eight Les Murray poems
Seven John Murray tales,
Six Hal Judge things,
Five books by Halligan,
Four Cain exposes,
Three of Sara Dowse's,
Two Johnston Novels,
And a book from Smiths Alternate-eeeeee (Bookshop!)
Genres
On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Twelve emerging authors,
Eleven manga comics,
Ten foreign classics,
Nine sci-fi sagas
Eight travel tales,
Seven Asian cookbooks,
Six horror stories,
Five mysteries,
Four of Shakespeare's Sonnets,
Three dictionaries,
Two graphic Novels
And a book about Roman history
08/12/2008 A book launch - This Thursday at 5 PM is the launch
of an important book about
Terrorism & Intelligence in Australia: A History of ASIO & National
Surveillance"" by local expert Frank Cain. It will be launched by the
recently retired but still active Wayne Berry.
Did John Howard really politicize ASIO, that couldn't have happened? Could
it? Would John Howard have done such a thing? See blurb below and we will
see you at the shop on Thursday - Refreshments and wine will be provided and
if anyone wishes to politicize this event then we will check with John
Howard first (or maybe we'll check with his replacement, Maxine McKew.)
"Australia is actively engaged in the War on Terror. The Australian Security
Intelligence Organisation, the Australian Secret Intelligence Service and
the Australian Federal Police have expanded rapidly in size, and their
powers have been enhanced by counter-terrorism legislation. Frank Cain
argues that these agencies were significantly politicized under the Howard
government, though not for the first time.
This book also traces the history of the intelligence agencies in Australia
and their use by anti-labour governments against the broad left. In World
War I, the nationalist leader Billy Hughes deployed military intelligence
against opponents of his war policy. Before and after World War II, Robert
Menzies did so in taking steps to counter the activities of the Communist
Party. Cain explores the contentious notion that Australias surveillance
agencies have today become adoptive allies of the Liberal Party."
See you at 5 pm on Thursday and afterwards you can go to one of the very
fabulous restaurants in the Melbourne Building and opposite our shop.
3/12/2008 Xmas is nearly here - you can tell by all the carry
on down at the mall (such pathetic retail hype) so here is our retail hype
(and we shall do a Xmas Catalogue as well).
We wish you a merry book-mas, we wish you a merry book-mas, we wish you a
merry book-mas and a happy new read.
26/11/2008 Another Book launch - you Tanka!
Smiths Alternative Bookshop is happy to invite you along to the launch of
Kathy Kituai's new poetry CD 'The Heart Takes Wings'. This collection
features poems from her very popular poetry collection
Straggling into Winter, accompanied by the beautiful music of Nitya
Bernard Parker. Kathy is well-versed in the ancient art of Japanese tanka,
(if you don't know what that is come along and find out) and this is sure to
be a very special evening.
Also being launched are two new titles from David P Reiter, 'Primary
Instinct', which is a witty take on the world of State Primary schools, plus
one for the kids, 'Global Cooling'. This is a sequel to 'The Greenhouse
Effect' and is a very fun book with a great environmental message.
When: WEDNESDAY Nov. 26th at 6.30pm sharp Where: Here at the shop!! Opposite
the Canberra GPO Post Office in Alinga St and if you don't know where we are
"shame on you and shame on us and shame on shame and stuff" (as George Bush
used to say before he became a lame).
As always, refreshments provided. We hope to see you here!
19/11/2008 Another Book launch - you beauty! - You are invited
to the Canberra Launch of
Straggling into Winter by our own local Kathy Kituai here - Wednesday
November 26th 2008 6pm, Drinks provided, Please RSVP to books@smithsbooks.com.au
- a book that is thoughtful, entertaining, cultural and not likely to be
sold in those shocking, souless, mind-numbing malls.
9/11/2008 Book launch - Yay - You are invited to the Canberra
Launch of
Live an Exceptional Life by our own local Rachael Millsom, here -
Thursday November 13th 2008 6pm, Drinks provided, Please RSVP to books@smithsbooks.com.au
- a book that is useful, practical and not likely to be sold in malls.
6/11/2008 Art in Alinga Street - That's right our part of town
has been invaded for two weeks by some fabulous artwork from Canberra's
fabulous artists. There are also two works in our shop, one in the window
which is by Lucy Quinn and some in the shop by Nick Stranks. The window
display is very obvious and interestingly good but the art in the shop is
not so obvious (although still interestingly good) - the art isn't hidden
but it might not be obvious - so 10% discount to anyone who can spot what
that art is!! Also there is an art book catalogue, just go to the catalogues
link above.
25/10/2008 -
Astrological Calendar and Moon Planting Guide - 2009 NOW AVAILABLE.
This is the calendar produced every Year by Thomas Zimmer. It is great for
gardening, planning and predicting and it also looks fantastic hanging on a
wall. It is $11.95 plus postage if you buy off the web because of the cost
of the cardboard cylinder to protect your purchase, or $8.95 if you come
into the shop and buy it and even talk to us for a bit.
Reminder about the CD by that fabulous Rafe bloke called "It's not as
shit as it looks " (which it isn't) Remember we are the only proper
place in the world that has this CD (maybe). An album of humorous songs that
will make you smile and even LOL. Check it out right
HERE
23 October 2008 Launch, launch, launch, launch - come and check out
what the emerging poets, writers, artists, prose-ists, thinkers and doers
have produced in the latest version (#7) of the ANU Writer's Block
Block #7 - Thursday 23rd October at 6.00pm, and Frank Moorehouse will be
there to make sure all is launched effectively and with the right amount of
style and panache.
What has caused all the financial problems? Poor government? Yes.
Greed? Definitely. Greedy incompentent American Banks and American
Presidents? Oh yeah! Check out our
catalogues list to see what might explain what is happening.
Should CEOs pay back all the bonuses they earned over the last decade?
To vote or make comment send an email to books@smithsbooks.com.au or contact
your local MP! Down with hopeless, greedy, stupid CEOs who can only focus on
their personal long term wealth and not on the needs of everybody else!! (We
include ALL of the large shopping mall landlords in this diatribe)
EVENT Thursday 9th October 6PM,
Independence and the Death of Employment, by Australia's Guru on new
employment trends and activities Ken Phillips (see Ken's recent article from
The Age Newspaper
here)
- To be launched by Christian kerr, well known and very human journo
from up on the hill, go to the events part of this page for more
information. This event launches two significant publications about the
modern world of work involving independent contractors/independent
professionals (IPros). Currently representing around 20 per cent of
Australia's workforce, equating to 1.9 million people, this significant
sector of the workforce is still not well understood. Indeed, to this day,
virtually no research has been conducted about them and the organizations
that engage them. These two publications provide important steps towards
developing a much needed, in-depth understanding of this important group.
Independence and the Death of Employment shakes ideas by exposing
concepts that people may not even realize they hold. Every day, when people
"go to work", they are involved in legal and human relationships that define
who they are or who they are allowed to be. Ken Phillips challenges ideas of
the firm, careers, management and regulation from] the perspective of
independent contractors. The Forgotten Workforce reports on research
findings about the attitudes to work of independent contractors/independent
professionals (IPros) and those that engage them. The research has focused
on face-to-face interviews with information technology contractors and an
online survey of engager businesses.
EVENT Monday (today) 29th September Today (5.30pm) is the
launch of a new book on sustainability (which we consider to be one of the
better books on the subject)
Positive Development: From Vicious Circles to Virtuous Cycles through Built
Environment Design by Janis Birkeland will be launched by Deb Foskey.
Refreshments provided and all welcome. Remember that afterwards you can have
dinner at La Pasa, straight across the road from the bookshop, they will
give you a 10% discount on food (not alcohol) if you mention the book
launch. More information in the events part of this website.
And by the way I cannot help but make comment on George Bush's offer to
rescue the world from financial ruin - he is so kind and thoughtful to save
us all from the mess he created, but it does not fill me with confidence and
I wish he would just stick with his area of expertise - making unnecessary
war. I think the book we are launching is something he should read and take
to bed with him every night. Sorry.
EVENT Saturday 27th Very nice poetry event. Liam is a chef in
a local Japanese restaurant (the Iori - great Japanese restaurant with the
best dragon rolls EVER (no dragon was killed in the making of those rolls)).
Thanks Liam and we hope to see another book soon.
EVENTS Saturday 27th and Monday 29th September
Saturday 27th 4PM - Launch of a new book of poetry by local poet Liam
Bourke
Tranquility of Crimson Flow - Refreshments provided and all welcome.
This is one for you if you especially dislike football grand finals and want
a bit of culture in your life!
Monday 29th 5.30PM - A new book on sustainability (which we consider
to be one of the better books on the subject)
Positive Development: From Vicious Circles to Virtuous Cycles through Built
Environment Design by Janis Birkeland will be launched by Deb Foskey.
Refreshments provided and all welcome. Afterwards have dinner at La Pasa,
straight across the road from the bookshop, they will give you a 10%
discount on food (not alcohol) if you mention the book launch. More
information in the events part of this website. See you here.
23 September Recently a new book came our way that is a
fascinating biography on an interesting man, Griffith Taylor. He was a
geographer who explored the Antarctic (on Scott's 1910-1913 expedition) and
founded departments of geography at the University of Sydney and the
University of Toronto. His global travels paralleled the global scope of his
writings that covered issues ranging from environment, climate and
settlement, to race, migration, conflict and peace.
Check it out.
22 September Sorry everybody, we haven't changed the website
for about a fortnight! We blame the Rudd government and the previous Howard
government for creating and maintaining too much red tape. Also we may be
slightly focused on books (shop) and not as much on books(web) as we should
be.
7 September Wooaahh - what weeks last week and the week before
were (was). Kel Robertson is just a hoot and his book,
Smoke and Mirrors, is receiving excellent reviews (one customer said she
was captured from the first page and couldn't put it down after that) and
the poetry was excellent and we can see why poetry is once again becoming
popular. (pause, big breath). Thanks to Kel and Lizz Murphy and Emily and
EVERYONE.
Please visit the shop often and buy oodles of books - as a matter of fact
let me test how many people actually visit this website by saying that
anyone who purchases a book between now and, say, the 15th of September will
receive a magical 25% discount if they say (or write in their order) "25%
website dicount please" - or just mention you saw it on the website. Hang on
conditions of some type will have to apply - how about - the book must be in
stock for you to get the discount.
EVENT Thursday 4th September Performance poetry and a
competition to create a great poem about Smiths Alternative Bookshop -
that's right about us! The prize for the winning entry is a $100 gift
voucher and we will make the poem into a poster and stick it in the window
of the shop! Instant fame. This is being organised by Emily Stewart from ANU
Block (and this shop) and Lizz Murphy, THE poet from Binalong. It (the
poetry night) is to celebrate national poetry week. Should be a great,
cultural, entertaining and thought provoking night. Be here or be
nowhere......
EVENT - Thursday 28th August - The launch of local crime
writer Kel Robertson's new book
Smoke and Mirrors,. Kel's previous book, 'Dead Set', received excellent
reviews and sold well in Canberra and also in Sydney and Melbourne. Kel will
soon become a well-known name in the genre of Australian crime fiction and
we knew him first!
25 August 2008 - so much to talk about
We've conducted an intensive survey of everybody we know and we all agree -
last night's Tableaux Vellum was fabulous! Thanks Min Mae and muses, and
thanks to all the fine, cultured Canberra folk who came along.
Next up on our super busy and exciting run of events is
Andrew Galan who is our Writer-In-Residence from 4pm each day this
week. Come on in and offer some sage word advice. And pick up a copy of Kel
Robertson's latest 'Smoke and Mirrors'. Then go and see what Pablo is
getting up to across the road as CLAW's premier spectacle, 'Cabin Fever'.
It's all happening on Alinga St!
Almost finally, don't forget to grab your copy of
Macabre Canberra before it's all sold out. This is a directory to
all the spooky sites (and there are many!) in our region. Comes with a handy
map, so you can DIE I mean DIY tour. ONLY $12 BUCKS!!!!!!!!!
Ciao for now
18 August 2008 - special events We are very pleased to be part
of Canberra Living Artists Week (CLAW).
We have two amazing unmissable events happening as well as book launch on
Thursday 28th by Kel Robertson.
Event 1 - Sunday 24 August: 'Tableaux Vellum - words on skin' by the
fabulous Min Mae. $15.00 ($10 Concession card holders). Strictly no cameras
and you MUST book a time. (Contains nudity)
Min Mae's Tableaux is a performance involving a collaboration between
artists, writers and muses. Min brings various forms of art into direct
contact with the human body to create interactions between art, muses and
the audience. The writers will respond to the setting of the bookshop,
creating works which reference the themes of art, text and books.
The Tableaux artists and writers capture concepts conveyed by the muses, the
perceptions of their bodies and selves. The placement of the resulting text
and the poses are the vision of the tableaux artist in collaboration with
the visual artists applying text to bodies.
Tableaux Vellum is a collaboration between Min Mae and Adam Hadley, Andrew
Galan, Dan Kempers, Eileen Tuite, Hal Judge, Jo Telfer, Joan Cornish, Karin
Ferguson, Luke Cornish @ E.L.K Stencils , Michael Ellis, Naomi Milthorpe,
Skye Gallagher, Sullivan OConnell and Yasmin Element.
You must book as Min Mae's shows are always oversubscribed. There will be
two shows, one at 6.30pm amd one at 7.30pm. If there are enough people
interested there will be a third show at 8.30pm. Bookings through Smiths
Bookshop on 6247 4459 or reply to this email.
Event 2 is an on-going event of Word Smithing that starts at the Tableaux on
Sunday the 24th and finishes on the evening of Friday the 29th of August.
Andrew Gallen, a local emerging writer will be writing a book in the shop
from 4pm to 6pm each day (and probably later on Friday). He wants to be
influenced by the customers, the shop, the staff and the books. He wants
people to see what he is writing and make comment and make contributions.
Make sure you visit the shop and see Andrew in action and be a part of
Canberra Living Artists Week!!!
12 August 2008 - events coming soon We have some fabulous
events coming soon. For example we are having a special event at 6.00pm on
Thursday 4 September 2008 based around performance poetry and
a competition to create a great poem about Smiths Alternative Bookshop -
that's right about us! The prize for the winning entry is a
Then on Sunday 24 August 2008 we will have an event called -
Tableaux Vellum which will be part of Canberra Living Artists week, we will
have two shows featuring the unique and thought provoking work of Min Mae,
these will be in the evening (first one starts at 6.00pm). You will have to
book for this one as it will be popular (Min's shows always book out). $15
entry ($10 concession cards). RSVP to 6247 4459. More information will be
sent soon. (click
here for an example of what Min Mae has done)
28 August - Thursday The launch of local crime writer Kel
Robertson's new book 'Smoke and Mirrors'. Kel's previous book, 'Dead Set',
received excellent reviews and sold well in Canberra and also in Sydney and
Melbourne. Kel will soon become a well-known name in the genre of Australian
crime fiction and we knew him first!
24 August to 29 August Andrew Galan is going to be our
Writer-in-Residence. What this means is that he will be in the shop everyday
from 4pm to 6pm writing a book. He is doing this because he wants to be
influenced by the passing world, the passing people and the people that
don't just pass but hang around for a while. What a great thing!!! This is
part of Canberra Living Artists week.
31 July 2008 - new catalogues ~
Managing people and change
is a catalogue of some of the books purchased by Rod Morrison, a locally
based and internationnally recognised guru on managing people and change
(and he didn't pay for this unsolicited compliment - but maybe he should?)
and Catalogue of books for
a women's support group is a list of some of the books purchased and
maintained by a local group that provides support to women who are
experiencing some difficulty in their lives. Excellent group of women
supporters and excellent books.
18 July 2008 - some books that are a lot different and, perhaps, not
PC!
Naked Girls Smoking Weed, this book has, as you may have already
guessed, photos of naked women smoking, what appears to be but is probably
not, weed. Is this good or bad? Is it an art book, a pot culture book, a
political statement by some weed smoking feminists or just a rude book? Only
one way to find out. The next book,
Foul Play, may not be PC or perhaps it is culturally incorrect as it
appears to condemn organised sport. Very unAustralian and very unOlympic as
well! In this book Bill Shankly argues that sport can be bad for your
health, damaging to your character and is the last refuge of sexism, racism,
homophobia and animal cruelty - hang on I love my games of snooker and I try
not to hit the balls too hard. But maybe he means those organised
monaterally obscene sports based around money, greed and TV ratings? You
know like the Druglympics or the Tour de Farce?
Next is a book that will get all of the employees from this shop black
listed in Consummunist China. No it isn't about the Fallen Gongs it is a
book about
Origins of Tibetan Culture, It mentions China as well as Kashmir and
India and Buddhism in comic book form, very easy to read and informative.
4 July 2008 - excellent book launch with a song as well!
Being in Love by Judith Pickering was launched last night at a meeting
of the Canberra Jung Society. It was an extra interesting launch and I took
great joy in completing the receipts for sales of the books with '$60 for
Being in Love'!
And now I understand that the blurb for this book - Developing
Therapeutic Pathways Through Psychological Obstacles to Love - is about
helping practitioners help us understand ourselves and our need for Love,
the most important of desires (Followed closely by the need to read, then
the need for sex, then eating and then for a good gossip. TRUE!!! (maybe the
second bit isn't so true but it might be)) This group of Jungians also broke
into a bit of impromtu singing and it was truly beautiful singing and
astounding harmony - to be a Jungian must also mean being able to sing?
3 July 2008 Book launch, 4 July 8.00pm at Lyneham (Not here in
the shop). The new book is
Being in Love by Judith Pickering, which is about Therapeutic Pathways
Through Psychological Obstacles to Love . The launch is (again in case you
missed it) tomorrow, Friday 4th JULY at 8 pm in the MacKillop Conference
Centre,50 Archibald Street,Lyneham ACT. See you there. (having experienced
love myself I am looking forward to it all being fully and completely
explained - maybe).
27 June 2008 We are often asked what is selling well? Well,
our best selling titles in the last 4 months are (drum role):
The Apricot Coast by our own fabulous Marion Halligan, who launched one
of our other best sellers, The ANU Writer's
Block #6.
Next is various versions of The Quarterly Essay including
Love & Money. We also sold lots of
People of the book. We sold a lot of other books as well, but this will
do for the moment.
14 June 2008 A different couple of books, one from a local
author/artists at Braidwood and the other from far away USA. The first is
The Big Think which is about the big bang as viewed from, perhaps, the
way different cultures would have viewed it - excellent, different,
enlightening and thought provoking.
The second book is the interestingly named
How to Raise Your I.Q. by Eating Gifted Children which is from a very
independent, 'publish on demand' (and obviously we demanded!), publisher. It
is penned by one of America's very best satirists.
7 June 2008 The latest copy of Canberra's own literary and
political comment journal,
The Voice #26, is out now. (It complements
Block #6 very nicely). Also we note that Angus & Roberston has taken
over Borders Books - we are happy with that as A&R are lame, and independent
bookshops will always be a better place to visit. The problem is that the
government continues to force people into the mall, by closing non-mall
based carparks, why are they so fixated with helping the big businesses and
franchises in the mall and letting local businesses, who make up the
difference between our community and other communities, struggle? Huh? Why?
2 June 2008 We note that the Shopping Mall in Civic in
Canberra is now the official censor for our community - having banned and
banished some nude (god bless my soul) drawings by year 11 and year 12
students (those disgusting young people just make me want to cry with - well
- disgust!). Thank heavens we can all go into big shopping malls and see
just what they want us to see (things for sale) and nothing of interest that
may delight us or perhaps offend our senses. (Please believe me when I say I
am being ironic - I hate those shopping mall places). To be offended or
probably delighted see
Block #6 (beware - there maybe rude words and drawings of breasts and
Penii, and perhaps even some bottoms. (Sorry none of those are actually in
Block #6 but they were in other earlier editions.))
31 May 2008 Successful Launch, launch, launch, launch - of ANU
Writer's Block
Block #6. Wow, so many people who are so knowledgeable of literature and
the arts and what is emerging in those areas. Marion Halligan added her
normal depth to the event and the people, together, drank over 14 bottles of
wine but there was not one bit of binge drinking! More power to our emerging
clever people. (Sadly the more large shopping malls that are built the less
opportunity there will be for cleverness - mainly because shopping mall
owners try to 'average' everyone so that marketing of their rubbishy goods
is easier, and being average means less attitude, opinions, risks and change
- DOWN WITH SHOPPING MALLS!!!).
31/8/2007 - Mental health is always going to be a big issue
in this modern age, heaven help us there is so much going on internationally
(wars etc) let alone at the family and personal level. Here are some books
that can help cope.
In this nifty little book the author manages to summarise the issue for
depression in words and cartoons - a good book for blokes
I Had a Black Dog
This book has simple effective techniques for overcoming Traumatic Stress
Symptons - and people shouldn't be made to feel embarrassed if something
really gets to them, OK!
The PTSD Workbook
This book is a guide for living with depression and manic depression - and
more and more people are learning how to accept their condition and deal
with it
The Depression Workbook
31/8/2007 - just in
The Writers of the Australian National University (ANU) have the latest
issue of their latest writings. See what techniques are developing, and
which ones are staying the same, in the world of literature in
Block Issue #4
Next is the UNCUT story of Kerry Packer - what a fascinating and interesting
man, this is revised and updated version
Rise and Rise of Kerry Packer
Now in paper back - the story of a man who controls the thoughts of 14% of
the listening audience in Sydney and he scares the crap out of nearly ALL
politicians. Only $26.95
JONESTOWN
Now for something completely different. A book about a love affair between
Frank LLoyd Wright (yes the one of building design fame)and Mamah Cheney,
Loving Frank
18/8/2007 -
Australia's Forgotten Frontier. - Australian Launch at 12.30pm on Friday
24 August here at Smiths.
Annette
Ellis, the fabulous Federal Member for the seat of Canberra, will launch
this biography of local author Chris Viner-Smith. The book is a mix of
ripping yarns and chronicles of a part of our history that seems to be
overpassed but is still having important effects upon our international
relationships. Chris Viner-Smith recounts his exploits and deeds in PNG when
he was young and ready for adventure. He was just 19 when he became a
policeman in PNG and he grew up quick and fast. He recounts a whole range of
adventures across PNG which are interesting enough but this book is also an
important history of a time when Australia, PNG and were Indonesia in
eachother's way. A great read with some hair raising stories about sharks,
crocs and tropical storms, including Chris waking up one night to find his
tent covered in thousands of giant hairy spiders - AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH.
16/8/2007 - ABC Stateline (Canberra) recently did a report
into the state of the Canberra Business environment in our part of town.
We've uploaded, onto Youtube, a
copy of Stateline's great report which highlights the new malls impact on
Canberra. We think DOWN WITH MALLS!! (Well down with too many malls and
malls that are too big!) Don't you think that eventually where ever you go
in the world, the shopping will be exactly the same as where you just came
from? Even now all malls are pretty much the same as eachother. So you don't
have to catch a train or plane or bus to leave Canberra - just enter any of
the large malls and then you could be in any western city in the world -
cheap travel but, sadly, no thrills and no difference.
10/8/2007 -
Hollow Men. - Australian Launch at 6pm on Friday 17 August here at
Smiths.
Editor at large for the Canberra Times,
Jack Waterford
will pass opinion on this angst creating expose into modern politics. The
book paints an unprecedented picture of the internal workings of a political
party in New Zealand and a disturbing, but riveting study into the nature of
modern politics. Should Australia, and the Liberal Party, be proud of the
way the last few elections have been won? Or is the 'win at all costs - even
if it is at the expense of truth and understanding" the right way for a
political party to think and act? WELL IS IT!!! We think no but some think
yes and many think who cares. If you care get the book and come to the
launch.
5/8/2007 - People in Glass Houses
The inside story of Hillsong; a religious corporation that has earned
millions of tax-free dollars. Is this something to be scared of? This book
will help show just how much influence the company has.
People in Glass Houses.
28/7/2007 - just in
Like your wine? Like to know what is good and going to be good? Like to know
where to get it? Try this -
James Halliday's Wine Companion 2008
Next is the winner of the Miles Franklin Literary Award (therefore it must
be good)-
Carpentaria
A great book for boys that has stuff about everything including poems that
every boy should know (Ozymandias being one of them!)
DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS Australian Edition
18/7/2007 - Book Launch You are invited to the launch
of Harry Saddler's first novel,
Small Moments. The book will be launched by Canberra novelist and
essayist Dorothy Johnston. The launch will be at here at Smiths Alternative
Bookshop, 76 Alinga St, Civic at 6pm sharp, on Thursday 26th July 2007. Wine
and tucker provided but please arrive between 5.30 - 6pm or you might miss
out!
14/7/2007 - Travel ideas
Thinking of travelling? What about a trip down the
Kokoda Track? Or some
International Voluntary Work? And if you are travelling in Oceania and
Japan you might want to know about
social and cultural taboos and etiquette mightn't you?
Either way enjoy your travel and be good to the locals.
8/7/2007 - Time for getting the garden ready?
It has rained here in Canberra and we're guessing that gardening should be
good! So to get those blooms happening get a copy of 'The Canberra Gardener"
by the Canberra Horticultural Society. This is a local gardening bible,
written by local experts.Click
here to order a copy One of the staff here is a member of a local
organic community garden and word is that this year the cabbage and broccoli
is fantastic and as tasty as it could possibly be!!
5/7/2007 - Minnows Of Triton
We've sold a heap of this book, and now it has been reprinted with more
information about the not so pacific Pacific. We are relaunching the book
tonight with the author, John Murray, and ABC Walkley Award winner Di
Martin. This book details the politics, crime and corruption of South
Pacific Islands, and includes analysis into Australia's involvement in the
region.
Click here to read more
25/6/2007 - Just in from Shanghai
A couple of beautiful books full of great photographs about a fascinating
subject. The quality of these books is to be seen to be believed. By
Shanghai based photographers and artists Tess Johnstone and Deke Erh.
Shanghai Art Deco and
A Last Look: Western Architecture in Old Shanghai
16/6/2007 - Stocktake Sale 20% off EVERYTHING except
freight and gift vouchers the websale finishes Saturday 23 June and
the in-shop sale finishes Sunday 24 June. Don't miss out cause if you do
you'll miss out!
9/6/2007 - Celebrating Wilderness edited by Ian
Brown
Envirobook , with the support of the Colong Foundation for Wilderness,
published this glossy large-format work of writings and colour photographs
to coincide with the Fifth National Wilderness Congress, held in Sydney
recently.
It is a superbly presented book, with 46 full-page colour wilderness
photographs by Rob Jung, David Neilson, Rob Blakers and Ian Brown .
More importantly, it is a book of very different and thought-provoking
papers by eleven Australian and overseas writers, ranging from historic
words by Myles Dunphy , to an appraisal of the ongoing battle for the
Tasmanian forests by Helen Gee . Geoff Mosley tackles the wilderness and the
future' question, while Ian Brown stimulates us from the Antarctic
wilderness.
Click here for more information
2/6/2007 - New literary product
We have this great new product - a Literary Sign. A local woman, Trudy Sue,
makes these great signs with quotes from famous authors and thinkers. We
have them in the shop and you can see her website by
clicking here.
29/5/2007 - Happiness - A Guide To Developing
Life's Most Important Skill, by Matthieu Ricard
Back in stock after selling out this is a book that has garnered rave
reviews from Buddhist scholars, psychologists, and even global financier &
philanthropist George Soros. Martin Seligman, author of Learned Optimism
thinks Ricard's book is "...a brilliant synthesis of 25 centuries of the
wisdom of Buddhism with the neuroscience and cognitive psychology of the
21st century."
Matthieu Ricard is a Buddhist monk who left a career in cellular genetics in
France thirty-five years ago to study Buddhism in the Himalayas. And let's
face it-we would all prefer to be happy than not.
Click here for more information
26/5/2007 - Minnows Of Triton
We've sold a heap of this book, and have run out BUT it is about to go into
a second print that will include updated information on Fiji and the
Solomons. Order now because we have already taken quite a few pre orders.
This book details the politics, crime and corruption of South Pacific
Islands, and includes analysis into Australia's involvement in the region.
It's by Canberra based author John Murray.
Click here to read more
25/5/2007 Upcoming Book Launches
We have two books lined up to be launched on Thursday the 14th of June -
Michael O'Sulivan's 'Easter at Tobruk' and David Reiter's 'Real Guns'.
Please click here
to read more about the events.
22/5/2007 News Flash - new employee Yep, Jess
has joined us and is even now either working in the shop or thinking about
what she can do in the shop next time she works. Jess is pretty clever with
visual arts as well and is going to help make the shop even more exciting
and interesting and amazing and awe inspiring and unique and alternative to
visit! Go to about
the people who work at Smiths to find out a bit more.
16/5/2007 How about this book on why music affects us all so
much.
This is Your Brain on Music Oliver Sacks thinks this is "Endlessly
stimulating" - and so do we!!
13/5/2007 Today is Mothers Day - yay for all Mothers! - and
besides the
bookseat as a great present we also reckon most Mums love travelling
(and lets face it that's how some of them became Mums (no, not that they had
irresponsible sex overseas but that they met the love of their life while
they were away! (some of you people have a one track mind)). So to help Mums
to travel, and people to buy Mums appropriate travel books, check out our
new travel questionnaire
thingo. Oh
yeah and Happy Mothers Day Mum - I bought you a book from this great
bookshop that I know, and a framed picture of ME! (my Mum is soooo lucky to
have me) and I promise I will also ring you.
Mum click here (nobody else
should!)
11/5/2007 - Three Great Reads. These three books are real
specials and are highly recommended by a whole heap of people - not just us
(although we understand that our recommendations are priceless).
1.
THE ROAD - Cormac McCarthy's harrowing vision of survival in a
post-apocalyptic America.
2.
SHANTARAM - "...a glorious wallow of a novel..." from Australian
adventurer, raconteur and ex-crim Gregory David Roberts.
3.ORPHEUS
LOST - If you appreciated Andrew McGahan's Underground and/or Richard
Flanagan's The Unknown Terrorist then Janet Turner Hospital's latest book is
for you.
4/5/2007 We have the best thing for Mothers Day- "The Book
Seat". It holds a book and lets your Mum read it in any position (well just
about, perhaps upside down is a bit of a problem). The Book Seat is
comfortable and can be used anywhere (except under water) and is designed to
make reading more enjoyable. The Book Seat will hold your Mum's book open in
a most comfortable position so she can read Hands-Free. It is a bean bag for
a book! Reading at the beach or in bed, or at the computer, or while breast
feeding has never been more enjoyable. And it has a special dooverdangle to
hold the pages in place, very clever! And as a special Mothers Day special
if you buy a Book Seat and a book worth $10 or more you get a book voucher
worth $10, that has got to be good, hasn't it?click
here
2 May 2007
The Madman's Middle Way We think this is very different - the subject of
this book was actually imprisoned by the Dalai Lama!
28/4/2007 Here are four diverse but either useful or
interesting books -
The Portable Edgar Allan Poe,
Love is a Dog from Hell (poetry by Charles Bukowski), ,
Hiding in the Mirror (alternative realities, from Plato to string theory),
Touched by Suicide (hope and healing after suffering). Enjoy.
22/4/2007 ANZAC DAY We aren't open today (although the website
is of course always open). I remember when I was young that Anzac Day was
not so popular, as a lot of the diggers would rather forget what happened
and get on with their lives and other people thought it was the
glorification of war. But as the diggers got older they, and the younger
people, embraced it for what it was and Anzac Day became a good day,
remembering deeds done, people who never returned, old friends and the folly
of war. Now it seems to becoming a nationalistic, jingoistic sort of day
where people get to carry on as though Australia is the greatest nation ever
and Australians are the greatest people ever. I hope my observations are
wrong and we don't all become a bit like
Ozymandias.
Interestingly we haven't learnt a lot about the folly of war and we still
have some diggers off in a far place fighting a war that seems to be like
nearly all the others - unnecessary.
Click here for a good summary of war.
22/4/2007 RECOMMENDATIONS!!! We are getting closer to having a
page listing recommendations from our staff and other people we know. This
might be useful when you want to get a good book to read and enjoy, or to
inform on some special subject, or to buy for someone else.
If YOU want to recommend some good books then you are very, very welcome.
What we would like is some recommendations (name of book and author would be
good) with reasons why you are recommending that book. Then, as well, we
would like your age and a bit of background about you so that our customers
can make some judgement on whether they, too, would like that book. Or
whether the person they are buying that book would like it. Lots of people
want to buy a book for a relation (grandchild, daughter-in-law, Auntie etc)
and they haven't got the foggiest, so this list of recommendations might
help (we hope). So keep an eye on and in this site and send us your own
recommendations (anonymously or with your name - doesn't matter). Thanks
16/4/2007 We are very upset because Fiona has left our
employment. She is moving to Sydney and we wish her the very best and we
will miss her a lot. Fiona will be highly successful at whatever she does
and if any future employer treats her badly then they will suffer the wrath
of Smiths Alternative Bookshop!
11/4/2007 We have the best new product - "The Book Seat". It
holds a book and lets you read it in any position (well just about!). As we
know many book stands or book rests are awkward in bed. The Book Seat is
comfortable and can be used anywhere (not under water) Designed to make
reading more enjoyable. The Book Seat will hold your book open in a most
comfortable position so you can read Hands-Free. It is a bean bag for a
book. Reading at the beach or in bed, or at the computer, has never been
more enjoyable. And it has a special dooverdangle to hold the pages in
place, very clever!
click here
5/4/2007 An oldie but goodie is "Owning Your Own Shadow" by
Robert Johnson which will help you understand the dark side of the psyche. A
useful skill as we head towards an election......"The shadow in Jungian
psychology is the unconscious dumping ground for undesirable characteristics
of personality. "Owning" the shadow--accepting it as part of one's self--is
seen as the first step toward wholeness. Using examples from history,
mythology, and religion, Johnson, author of Inner Work ( LJ 7/86) and
Transformation ( LJ 8/91), offers a tour of the shadow, showing its origin
and features, and demonstrating how and why it bursts into consciousness
when least expected. Returning to the subject of his earlier work We ( LJ
2/1/84), the author reveals how experience of romantic love may lead to
awareness of both positive and negative aspects of the shadow, and how
integrating the shadow into one's personality can be a challenging religious
experience. This clearly written, thought-provoking work is recommended for
academic and public libraries." [When referring to this item please quote
stockid 207]
click here
31/3/2007 April is nearly upon us........ so what's good for
an Australian autumn read? How about you visit the poetry section and get a
bit of culture and get connected with the seasons at the same time.
13/3/2007 BOOK LAUNCH Acacia Rose is launching her book 'Azure
Moon' at Smiths on Wednesday the 14th of March 2007.
The book is a novel about women and the role they can play in achieving
peace.
Refreshments provided by Smiths Bookshop and The Poacher's Pantry.
See you there (here)
12/3/2007 The launch of Blundstones & a Brown Dog by
Christopher Nailer was very successful. The Director General of the National
Library of Australia, Jan Fullerton, launched the book and we also raised
$150 for Oxfam by auctioning a poster of one of Christopher's poems.
Christopher read the poem before the auction which probably doubled the
price. The man who won the auction also provided us all with a story that
was relevant to the poem, which was about doctors check ups and affairs of
the heart. It was a very nice moment for us all.
5/3/2007 The shop is now back to normal and let me say that
the landlord and the insurance people were excellent, quick to react and
make decisions and organise whatever we needed! We fixed the carpet, the
roof, the lights and the bookshelf in record time. We also marked down about
300 damaged books but we must have marked them down far too much as they
caused a riot, such was the interest, and they disappeared very quickly.
Also we have an event on Thursday 8 March at 5.30 pm for 6.00pm. A book of
poems, Blundstones & a Brown Dog by Christopher Nailer. This is publshed by
Ginninderra Press and will be launched by The Director General of the
National Library of Australia, Jan Fullerton. Let us know if you will be
there (or here).
1/3/2007 Well the website may have been back in action but the
shop wasn't!! The hails that hit Canberra caused our shop to be damaged, but
we reopened for business after only one day. So upsetting to see all those
damaged books. We'll wait and see what the insurance assessors say before we
decide what to do with the damaged stock.
As to the storm - it was a ripper
24/2/2007 Website now back to normal
23/2/2007 OK - as a special service for our customers we have
entered every book on this website twice!! Also we may have screwed up a
book download and are now trying to fix things - we of course blame the
government for this electronic shemozzle, they in turn will blame the
opposition and the way they set up technlogy in the late 1980's, the
opposition will inturn blame poor planning and slipshod policy making on the
run as well as buck passing from the PM down. The government will quickly
organise some refugee crisis or a war to shift the attention away from their
own failings and the opposition will start to argue among themsleves. There
will eventually be a senate enquiry. The public servants and ministerial
advisers will be gagged.
BUT, in spite of all that, this website will not be fixed until tomorrow at
the earliest....... we thank democracy for nothing
13/2/2007 - Rockwiz - is a show but is also a book!!
Q. Misheard lyrics: what should this lyric be, who sang it and in which
song? Throw down your buns, yo disco necklace.
A. Throw down your guns, don't be so reckless, Australian Crawl, Reckless.
This is a good fun book that'll test whether you remember anything about
music, also contains a CD with some great riffs. Well done Brian and Julia.
click here
29/1/2007 - The Stern Review "The Economics of Climate
Change" is now 20% off!! That's right. It is normally $90 and now it is
$72. Yeah, yeah we know it is still not cheap but if you want to get a copy
of what finally tripped the dumb governments of several countries (aka USA &
Australia) to do something then at least it's a bit cheaper. Get in quick
'cause it'll sell well at this amazing (soul-pleasing) price. If we run out
we'll order you one. BE QUICK or the environment will freeze over before you
get a chance to complain. (Ok it might actually boil over - I get confused
because I haven't read it myself - YET!)
click here
29/1/2007 - The Weapons Detective
If you're one of the people that are interested in Rod Barton's excellent
book about WMDs, the pursuit of companies supplying banned arms to Iraq and
the politics behind it all please
click here.
27/1/2007 Well Australia day has been and gone and the best
result is that it seems that governments have finally noticed there might be
a problem with the environment - what a shock!!! Mind you, as always, they
aren't responding with a long term strategy but with a short term vote
catcher. Anyway - we now have copies of the Stern Review "The Economics of
Climate Change". Let us know if you want one, It isn't cheap but it has all
you need to know.
click here
25/1/2007 - Public Holiday Hours
Just to let you all know that tomorrow (Australia Day) we are open
10am-5:00pm. Thanks!
22/1/2007 - Minnows Of Triton
We've sold a heap of this book, and for good reason as well. It is quite
topical as it details the politics, crime and corruption of South Pacific
Islands, and includes analysis into Australia's involvement in the region.
It's by Canberra based author John Murray.
Click here to read more
7/1/2007 - 2006 Short Story Competition Winners
First place
A Stranger in Paradise by Michael O'Sullivan (NSW)
Second Place
Nothing is Permanent by Joan Vale (QLD)
Third Place
Chicken by Goldie Alexander (VIC)
Thank you to all who entered our Short Story Competition in 2006. We had
over 200 entries from all over Australia.
Visit this site in August for details of our 2007 competition.
Chris Strong
Competition Organiser
28/12/2006 - A quick update
A while back we had a couple of fantasic events. Rod Barton signing copies
of 'The Weapons Detective', and RIRDC launching their range of farming
books. We now have photos of these events:
Click here for the Rod
Barton photos
Click here for the RIRDC
photos
28/12/2006 Feeling as full as a goog? Well that means that you
ate and drank too much, or you have a medical problem and should immediately
see your doctor (or Reiki practioner, or chiropractor, or acupuncturist, or
herbalist, or aromatherapist, or feng shuist, or therapist, or Rosen
Methodist or what ever is your preferred way). But in actual fact the best
thing you might do is walk A LOT while listening to an audio book
from Smiths bookshop. I have just listened to the first book in the No. 1
Ladies Detective Agency series and it was fantastic - a great yarn well
read. Click here -> Great
listening while getting rid of bloated feeling and you will see a
selection, ring us and we'll let you know what else we have.
15/12/2006 - MERRY XMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR and we hope that
2007 is healthy for you and that when you consume it is just enough
consumption for you to be happy. (It appears that too much consumption
leaves people feeling dissatisfied with life whereas a tad too little leaves
them vibrant and alive (why is that? Huh?))
We also hope that you don't have to visit a mall too often as that can be
bad for your soul.
Be happy, be fit, ask questions, relax every now and then, don't stress too
often (sometimes is OK) and generally have a good one.
From the management and the workers of Smiths Alternative Bookshop
15/12/2006 - A Christmas Catalogue
Fiona has put together a catalogue for Christmas. Check it out at
here.
8/12/2006 - Blossom Possum
As you may be aware the Australian children's classic 'Blossom Possum' is
available from our shop and it would make a fabulous Xmas gift. It is
illustrated by legendary Kilmeny Niland and written by Canberra's own Gina
Newton. It's a perfect gift for children all around the world! It normally
costs $24.95 but we reckon it should be in everyone's xmas stocking so just
for now it is $19.95
click here.
5/12/2006 - Smiths Christmas Cards
We have our own range of Christmas cards this year at Smiths. They are
designed for people that are bored with the usual crop of Christmas card.
Click here to learn more
about them.
30/11/2006 - Christmas is less than a month away. We have gift
vouchers and thousands of books you can give as gifts to help entertain or
inform, or perhaps change someones life for the better.
You can search by
category by clicking here and selecting a category from the drop down
menu.
Or you can view some award
winners for some more good ideas.
18/11/2006 - Rod Barton is a man who is smarter than all the
politicians involved in the decision to invade Iraq! He is THE Weapons
Detective, he'll be here in the shop on Tuesday 21 November to sign his book
and discuss the content - (while you are here you can sign a petition to
bring David Hicks home - he may be guilty but let's confirm that he is or
isn't in a democratic way!)
Rod Barton worked as one of the four weapon inspectors (along with David
Kelly) who discovered Iraq's biological weapons program. He was special
advisor to Hans Blix, writing parts of his speeches, and later returned to
Iraq after the 2003 war. The Weapons Detective describes the fascinating
chess-game of weapons inspection, with its mixture of detective work,
scientific analysis and mind-games.
4/11/2006 - farm, rural and related publications...
This is BIG! We now stock publications from
RIRDC (which is what? - the Rural
Industries Research and Development Corporation that's what). RIRDC provides
great support for emerging and non main stream activities on farms, in the
bush and for regional Australia. To find a list of these books click on
SEARCH/BUY BOOKS in the menu bar at the top of this page, then where it says
select a topic - click on that and select Rural Industries, click on 'Find'
and there will appear a list of some of the books. The event to launch our
new association is on Thursday November 23rd at the shop and YOU are
invited. Whether you want to harvest snails or produce quality medicinal
herbs - RIRDC and Smiths is the place to get the information you need.
1/11/2006 - Multicultural books...
We have compiled another list of recomended books. The Multicultural Women's
Advocacy Inc. is a group of culturally and linguistically diverse women and
their children who have settled in the ACT region. They have been kind
enough to list what they consider some of the best pieces of literature from
nations that have been under-represented literary-wise.
Click here for them.
Also, if you haven't already, maybe you'd like to read through
a list of award winners.
31/10/2006 - Last Day for Short Story Comp.
This is the last day you can enter our short story competition. We have had
an overwhelming number of entries thus far, ensuring that our judges will
have a tough time picking the winners. Thanks to everyone for entering, and
if you haven't entered yet this is your last chance.
Edit: Yeah, it's over now.
Stuck for an idea? Click
here to view some award winning books
23/10/2006 - Jonestown here
Jonestown has arrived and we will soon ask Alan Jones to come to a book
signing. Do you think he will come?
17/10/2006 - Short Story Competition
Wow. So many entries; we've already eclipsed the total number of entries
from last year. Please, keep them coming.
3/10/2006 - DEWR Womens book club
Women from the Women's Forum at the Department of Workplace Relations met at
our shop and talked about books and what they might want to read and
discuss. We talked about Capote's
In Cold Blood and some 'Murakami' novels, some crime fiction as well as
a range of classics. They will meet again soon and we'll see what they have
discussed and what they think. It looks like a classic might get the nod as
their next book.
26/09/2006 - Multicultural Women's Book Club
Canberra's Multicultural Women's Book Club will soon have shelf space for
their recommended reading. More information (like the names of their
recommended reads) soon. Thanks Sally and Sanaz.
26/09/2006 - Minerva Book Group
It was Deb's turn to organise a meeting of the Minerva Book Group, which has
been around for over 18 years, and last night they had a meeting in our
shop. They enjoyed wine, coffee, cake, nibblies and good conversation while
surrounded by books. They reviewed
The Sea by John Banville and although they all liked it, some liked it
more than others. The only bad thing from the night was that Deb backed her
car into a tree out the front of the shop, but we blame the government for
that piece of poor planning.
14/09/2006 - Happy Birthday
Amanda (last name withheld) was given a present by a good friend that
included a gift voucher for $100 worth of books and after hours access to
the shop, with a guided tour and champagne, for her and some friends. All
because she was a bit older. Well done Amanda!!
18/08/2006 - Thanks for Coming Everyone
Peter Corris recently visited Smiths Alternative Bookshop to promote his
latest book
Saving Billie. Wine and light food was supplied care of the Poachers
Pantry. We would like to thank everyone that made it, and we hope we were
gracious enough hosts.
click here for more info.
Click here for the
photos from the event
31/3/2007 April is nearly upon us........ so what's good for an
Australian autumn read? How about you visit the poetry section and get a bit
of culture and get connected with the seasons at the same time.
13/3/2007 BOOK LAUNCH Acacia Rose is launching her book 'Azure
Moon' at Smiths on Wednesday the 14th of March 2007.
The book is a novel about women and the role they can play in achieving
peace.
Refreshments provided by Smiths Bookshop and The Poacher's Pantry.
See you there (here)
12/3/2007 The launch of Blundstones & a Brown Dog by
Christopher Nailer was very successful. The Director General of the National
Library of Australia, Jan Fullerton, launched the book and we also raised
$150 for Oxfam by auctioning a poster of one of Christopher's poems.
Christopher read the poem before the auction which probably doubled the
price. The man who won the auction also provided us all with a story that
was relevant to the poem, which was about doctors check ups and affairs of
the heart. It was a very nice moment for us all.
5/3/2007 The shop is now back to normal and let me say that
the landlord and the insurance people were excellent, quick to react and
make decisions and organise whatever we needed! We fixed the carpet, the
roof, the lights and the bookshelf in record time. We also marked down about
300 damaged books but we must have marked them down far too much as they
caused a riot, such was the interest, and they disappeared very quickly.
Also we have an event on Thursday 8 March at 5.30 pm for 6.00pm. A book of
poems, Blundstones & a Brown Dog by Christopher Nailer. This is publshed by
Ginninderra Press and will be launched by The Director General of the
National Library of Australia, Jan Fullerton. Let us know if you will be
there (or here).
1/3/2007 Well the website may have been back in action but the
shop wasn't!! The hails that hit Canberra caused our shop to be damaged, but
we reopened for business after only one day. So upsetting to see all those
damaged books. We'll wait and see what the insurance assessors say before we
decide what to do with the damaged stock.
As to the storm - it was a ripper
24/2/2007 Website now back to normal
23/2/2007 OK - as a special service for our customers we have
entered every book on this website twice!! Also we may have screwed up a
book download and are now trying to fix things - we of course blame the
government for this electronic shemozzle, they in turn will blame the
opposition and the way they set up technlogy in the late 1980's, the
opposition will inturn blame poor planning and slipshod policy making on the
run as well as buck passing from the PM down. The government will quickly
organise some refugee crisis or a war to shift the attention away from their
own failings and the opposition will start to argue among themsleves. There
will eventually be a senate enquiry. The public servants and ministerial
advisers will be gagged.
BUT, in spite of all that, this website will not be fixed until tomorrow at
the earliest....... we thank democracy for nothing
13/2/2007 - Rockwiz - is a show but is also a book!!
Q. Misheard lyrics: what should this lyric be, who sang it and in which
song? Throw down your buns, yo disco necklace.
A. Throw down your guns, don't be so reckless, Australian Crawl, Reckless.
This is a good fun book that'll test whether you remember anything about
music, also contains a CD with some great riffs. Well done Brian and Julia.
click here
29/1/2007 - The Stern Review "The Economics of Climate
Change" is now 20% off!! That's right. It is normally $90 and now it is
$72. Yeah, yeah we know it is still not cheap but if you want to get a copy
of what finally tripped the dumb governments of several countries (aka USA &
Australia) to do something then at least it's a bit cheaper. Get in quick
'cause it'll sell well at this amazing (soul-pleasing) price. If we run out
we'll order you one. BE QUICK or the environment will freeze over before you
get a chance to complain. (Ok it might actually boil over - I get confused
because I haven't read it myself - YET!)
click here
29/1/2007 - The Weapons Detective
If you're one of the people that are interested in Rod Barton's excellent
book about WMDs, the pursuit of companies supplying banned arms to Iraq and
the politics behind it all please
click here.
27/1/2007 Well Australia day has been and gone and the best
result is that it seems that governments have finally noticed there might be
a problem with the environment - what a shock!!! Mind you, as always, they
aren't responding with a long term strategy but with a short term vote
catcher. Anyway - we now have copies of the Stern Review "The Economics of
Climate Change". Let us know if you want one, It isn't cheap but it has all
you need to know.
click here
25/1/2007 - Public Holiday Hours
Just to let you all know that tomorrow (Australia Day) we are open
10am-5:00pm. Thanks!
22/1/2007 - Minnows Of Triton
We've sold a heap of this book, and for good reason as well. It is quite
topical as it details the politics, crime and corruption of South Pacific
Islands, and includes analysis into Australia's involvement in the region.
It's by Canberra based author John Murray.
Click here to read more
7/1/2007 - 2006 Short Story Competition Winners
First place
A Stranger in Paradise by Michael O'Sullivan (NSW)
Second Place
Nothing is Permanent by Joan Vale (QLD)
Third Place
Chicken by Goldie Alexander (VIC)
Thank you to all who entered our Short Story Competition in 2006. We had
over 200 entries from all over Australia.
Visit this site in August for details of our 2007 competition.
Chris Strong
Competition Organiser
28/12/2006 - A quick update
A while back we had a couple of fantasic events. Rod Barton signing copies
of 'The Weapons Detective', and RIRDC launching their range of farming
books. We now have photos of these events:
Click here for the Rod
Barton photos
Click here for the RIRDC
photos
28/12/2006 Feeling as full as a goog? Well that means that you
ate and drank too much, or you have a medical problem and should immediately
see your doctor (or Reiki practioner, or chiropractor, or acupuncturist, or
herbalist, or aromatherapist, or feng shuist, or therapist, or Rosen
Methodist or what ever is your preferred way). But in actual fact the best
thing you might do is walk A LOT while listening to an audio book
from Smiths bookshop. I have just listened to the first book in the No. 1
Ladies Detective Agency series and it was fantastic - a great yarn well
read. Click here -> Great
listening while getting rid of bloated feeling and you will see a
selection, ring us and we'll let you know what else we have.
15/12/2006 - MERRY XMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR and we hope that
2007 is healthy for you and that when you consume it is just enough
consumption for you to be happy. (It appears that too much consumption
leaves people feeling dissatisfied with life whereas a tad too little leaves
them vibrant and alive (why is that? Huh?))
We also hope that you don't have to visit a mall too often as that can be
bad for your soul.
Be happy, be fit, ask questions, relax every now and then, don't stress too
often (sometimes is OK) and generally have a good one.
From the management and the workers of Smiths Alternative Bookshop
15/12/2006 - A Christmas Catalogue
Fiona has put together a catalogue for Christmas. Check it out at
here.
8/12/2006 - Blossom Possum
As you may be aware the Australian children's classic 'Blossom Possum' is
available from our shop and it would make a fabulous Xmas gift. It is
illustrated by legendary Kilmeny Niland and written by Canberra's own Gina
Newton. It's a perfect gift for children all around the world! It normally
costs $24.95 but we reckon it should be in everyone's xmas stocking so just
for now it is $19.95
click here.
5/12/2006 - Smiths Christmas Cards
We have our own range of Christmas cards this year at Smiths. They are
designed for people that are bored with the usual crop of Christmas card.
Click here to learn more
about them.
30/11/2006 - Christmas is less than a month away. We have gift
vouchers and thousands of books you can give as gifts to help entertain or
inform, or perhaps change someones life for the better.
You can search by
category by clicking here and selecting a category from the drop down
menu.
Or you can view some award
winners for some more good ideas.
18/11/2006 - Rod Barton is a man who is smarter than all the
politicians involved in the decision to invade Iraq! He is THE Weapons
Detective, he'll be here in the shop on Tuesday 21 November to sign his book
and discuss the content - (while you are here you can sign a petition to
bring David Hicks home - he may be guilty but let's confirm that he is or
isn't in a democratic way!)
Rod Barton worked as one of the four weapon inspectors (along with David
Kelly) who discovered Iraq's biological weapons program. He was special
advisor to Hans Blix, writing parts of his speeches, and later returned to
Iraq after the 2003 war. The Weapons Detective describes the fascinating
chess-game of weapons inspection, with its mixture of detective work,
scientific analysis and mind-games.
4/11/2006 - farm, rural and related publications...
This is BIG! We now stock publications from
RIRDC (which is what? - the Rural
Industries Research and Development Corporation that's what). RIRDC provides
great support for emerging and non main stream activities on farms, in the
bush and for regional Australia. To find a list of these books click on
SEARCH/BUY BOOKS in the menu bar at the top of this page, then where it says
select a topic - click on that and select Rural Industries, click on 'Find'
and there will appear a list of some of the books. The event to launch our
new association is on Thursday November 23rd at the shop and YOU are
invited. Whether you want to harvest snails or produce quality medicinal
herbs - RIRDC and Smiths is the place to get the information you need.
1/11/2006 - Multicultural books...
We have compiled another list of recomended books. The Multicultural Women's
Advocacy Inc. is a group of culturally and linguistically diverse women and
their children who have settled in the ACT region. They have been kind
enough to list what they consider some of the best pieces of literature from
nations that have been under-represented literary-wise.
Click here for them.
Also, if you haven't already, maybe you'd like to read through
a list of award winners.
31/10/2006 - Last Day for Short Story Comp.
This is the last day you can enter our short story competition. We have had
an overwhelming number of entries thus far, ensuring that our judges will
have a tough time picking the winners. Thanks to everyone for entering, and
if you haven't entered yet this is your last chance.
Edit: Yeah, it's over now.
Stuck for an idea? Click
here to view some award winning books
23/10/2006 - Jonestown here
Jonestown has arrived and we will soon ask Alan Jones to come to a book
signing. Do you think he will come?
17/10/2006 - Short Story Competition
Wow. So many entries; we've already eclipsed the total number of entries
from last year. Please, keep them coming.
3/10/2006 - DEWR Womens book club
Women from the Women's Forum at the Department of Workplace Relations met at
our shop and talked about books and what they might want to read and
discuss. We talked about Capote's
In Cold Blood and some 'Murakami' novels, some crime fiction as well as
a range of classics. They will meet again soon and we'll see what they have
discussed and what they think. It looks like a classic might get the nod as
their next book.
26/09/2006 - Multicultural Women's Book Club
Canberra's Multicultural Women's Book Club will soon have shelf space for
their recommended reading. More information (like the names of their
recommended reads) soon. Thanks Sally and Sanaz.
26/09/2006 - Minerva Book Group
It was Deb's turn to organise a meeting of the Minerva Book Group, which has
been around for over 18 years, and last night they had a meeting in our
shop. They enjoyed wine, coffee, cake, nibblies and good conversation while
surrounded by books. They reviewed
The Sea by John Banville and although they all liked it, some liked it
more than others. The only bad thing from the night was that Deb backed her
car into a tree out the front of the shop, but we blame the government for
that piece of poor planning.
14/09/2006 - Happy Birthday
Amanda (last name withheld) was given a present by a good friend that
included a gift voucher for $100 worth of books and after hours access to
the shop, with a guided tour and champagne, for her and some friends. All
because she was a bit older. Well done Amanda!!
18/08/2006 - Thanks for Coming Everyone
Peter Corris recently visited Smiths Alternative Bookshop to promote his
latest book
Saving Billie. Wine and light food was supplied care of the Poachers
Pantry. We would like to thank everyone that made it, and we hope we were
gracious enough hosts.
click here for more info.
Click here for the
photos from the event
16/08/2006 - Short Story Competition
Our short story competition will have Peter Corris as the judge, he'll be
checking for readability and grammar and whatever judges look for. It closes
on 31 October so get writing.
Click here
for more information and to enter our other competition.
20/07/2006 - Welcome to Our New Website
Our old website was useless, so we designed one that is useful. People can
now search and buy books through this website. Oh, and if you are so
inclined you can view all about our store's history, staff, events,
competitions etc.
Now, we are new to this whole website thingy, so if you have any
suggestions/views/feedback please
send us an email.