Year: 2013

Once again, the Seanchai Library will be presenting a round of stories and readings in Voice this coming week, which are marked by the return of The Great Detective himself!

As always, all times SLT, and unless otherwise stated, events will be held on the Seanchai Library’s home on Imagination Island.

Sunday 13th January

13:30: Tea-time at Baker Street

Caledonia Skytower opens the cover of the second of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story collections about the adventures of his famous detective: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. This week Caledonia is joined by Corwyn Allen as she presents the first adventure in the volume, Silver Blaze.

One of the most popular Sherlock Holmes short stories, it focuses on the disappearance of a famous race horse, Silver Blaze and the apparent murder of its trainer and features some of Conan Doyle’s most effective plotting, hinging on the “curious incident of the dog in the night-time”:

Scotland Yard detective Gregory: “Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?”

Sherlock Holmes: “To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.”

Gregory: “The dog did nothing in the night-time.”

Holmes: “That was the curious incident.”

Join Caladonia and Corwyn as this popular Seanchai Library series makes a welcome return.

18:00: Mary Poppins (at Magicland Park)

“Cor Blimey, Caledonia Skytower!”  – Yes, Caladonia delves into by P.L. Travers’ famous story about the umbrella-piloting children’s nanny who  arrives at the Banks abode at Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane, courtesy of the East Wind.

Made famous through the hugely successful 1964 Disney film starring Julie Andrews and a wobbly accented Dick van Dyke (albeit an adaptation despised by Travers herself), and more recently the focus of a successful West End and Broadway stage production, the tale need no real introduction here.

First published in 1934, Mary Poppins was actually the first in a series of stories about the character written by Travers between 1934 and 1988, all illustrated by Mary Shephard, the daughter of Winnie the Pooh and The Wind in the Willows illustrator, E.H. Shephard.  Mary actually took the job on account of her father being too busy with other work, and  later became regarded as a co-author of the tales.

Join Caladonia at Magicland Park as she brings this magical tale once more to life.

Monday January 14th, 19:00: Notwithstanding: Stories from an English Village

Famous for his more exotic locations and stories such as Captain Corelli’s Mandolin and Red Dog, Louis de Bernieres used England for the setting for a series of short stories written early in his career.

Located in and around the fictional village of Notwithstanding, which is somewhat based on the village of Worley in Surry, where he grew up, the stories were various published in newspapers, etc., prior to being brought together into this single volume in 2009. Semi-autobiographical in places, the stories are rich in English rural detail and contain references to many real-world locations in Surrey, and allow de Bernieres to ruminate on a part of English life he believes to now be vanishing.

Join Caledonia Skytower as she dips into de Bernieres’ England.

Tuesday January 15th, 19:00: Inkspell

Faerie Maven-Pralou continues Cornelia Funke’s young adult which forms the second part of her Inkworld trilogy. The books chronicle the adventures of teenager Meggie Folchart whose life changes dramatically when she realizes that she and her father, a bookbinder named Mo, have the unusual ability to bring characters from books into the real world when reading aloud. Mostly set in Northern Italy and the parallel world of the fictional Inkheart book, the central story arc concerns the magic of books, their characters and creatures, and the art of reading.

In Inkspell, a year has passed since the events related in Inkheart, the first book in the series. Not a day goes by without Meggie thinking of Inkheart, a book that has characters that come to life. Resa is back. The fire-eater, Dustfinger, wants to go back to his wife daughters-who are in the story. When he finds a crazy, self-absorbed psycho storyteller, Orpheus, who can read him back into the book, he goes into the pages. Soon Farid convinces Meggie to read him into the book so he can warn Dustfinger of Basta. But Meggie has figured out how to read herself and Farid into the book Inkheart.

Wednesday January 16th, 19:00: Quite a Year for Plums

Anyone who has read the best-selling Mama Makes Up Her Mind or listened to Bailey White’s commentaries on NPR knows that she is a storyteller of inimitable wit and charm. Now, in her stunningly accomplished first novel, she introduces us to the peculiar yet lovable people who inhabit a small town in south Georgia.

Meet serious, studious Roger, the peanut pathologist and unlikely love object of half the town’s women. Meet Roger’s ex-mother-in-law, Louise, who teams up with an ardent typographer in an attempt to attract outer-space invaders with specific combinations of letters and numbers. And meet Della, the bird artist who captivates Roger with the sensible but enigmatic notes she leaves on things she throws away at the Dumpster.

Kayden Oconnell is joined by Caledonia Skytower as they continue to read from the novel.

Thursday January 17th, 19:00: TBA

Hopefully, Thursday will see Shandon Loring either continuing to explore Kona Legends or embarking on adventures new. Please refer to the Seanchai Library blog for updates.

In the meantime, my best wishes to Shandon as he recovers from surgery.

Related Links

• Seanchai Library (SL) blog
• Seanchai Library (SL) SLurl
• Seanchai Library in this blog

Note that throughout January and February donations made to the Seanchai Library SL will go to the real world charity Doctors Without Borders! Have questions? IM or notecard Caledonia Skytower.