Minerva's Books & Ideas

06/09/2022

Celebrate and support Indigenous Literacy Day!

Reading Opens Doors : Make a donation today to support the Indigenous Literacy Foundation

11/05/2022

One year ago- how much can change! We hope people enjoyed the magical times that were had in Minerva's and Sothis and now the space is on to a new life again!

09/03/2022

Big congrats to Leanne Hall for winning the Adelaide Festival Young Adult Fiction Award for her novel The Gaps!!

Listen to our chat and the piece we commissioned her to write in episode 4 of Gather here-

https://minervasbooks.com/2021/08/07/episode-4-coming-of-age/

Gather Episode 4: Coming of Age. Click below to listen LISTEN HERE or scroll down for more info photos and transcript To support the show you can make one off or recurring donations, or s…

25/01/2022

If you're looking for something to listen to on this day of reflection-
in this episode of Gather we heard from Margo Neale, Head of the National Museum’s Indigenous Knowledges Curatorial Centre and editor of the First Knowledges book series and co-author of Songlines: The Power and Promise with Lynne Kelly.

We also had guest, local storyteller and educator Deb Clark Lowah and featured her sound piece 'Place We Be' created for last year's Survival Day dawn service.

Feel free to drop any other links here to books or resources that you recommend as we keep educating ourselves and listening on ways to go forward https://minervasbooks.com/2021/03/31/episode-3-songlines-myth-fairytales/

It’s been a tumultuous time, hopefully proceeding long overdue change in the realms of social justice and respect, in particular to our First Nations people and women and LGBTQIA+ communities…

24/01/2022

Have you been into Everybody Knows Books yet? They have an adorable puppy too! (It’s just next to Coles on little bridge st)

06/01/2022

We usually share readings on our IGTV but thought we’d drop one for you here!

Amy reads Ballarat poet Nathan Curnow’s 2017 poem Epic- enjoy : )

28/12/2021

Enjoy the Gather party here!

Presented on Sunday Dec 5th Ballaarat Mechanics' InstituteRecorded and Produced live by H Squared Studios - Rex Hardware and Sam GoodayThanks to Amy Tsileman...

25/12/2021

The euphoria experienced as you begin to fall in love, the pile of books bought but unread, the coffee “threefill,” and other lyrical linguistic delights.

21/12/2021

It's our 5th birthday this week- check out some photos here from over the years!

Gather Podcast Party celebrating Season 1 Amy and Julian Coles book arcade pics Amy and Deanne open the Gather party (by Erin) Frankie the greatest, on screen (by Tiff) Awesome Gather women-Erin, E…

07/12/2021

Massive thanks to Auslan Stage Left and their amazing interpreters : )

A happy team behind the scenes at the recent Gather Podcast Party in Ballarat. Thanks to interpreting team Gus Burgess and Tracey Steiner too! Auslan link to the recorded podcast will be shared soon. Gather has been described as “a podcast that draws you into another world [that] gently guides you to a place of wonder as you see the world through another’s eyes.” Keep your eye out for the link soon.

06/12/2021

A one year ago yesterday we launched Gather podcast and yesterday we had a wonderful celebration with the Gather Podcast Party celebrating the first season - thanks all who were part of it! If you'd like to buy a link to the recording (including Auslan interpretation) jump over here- https://www.trybooking.com/book/sessions?eid=832153

03/12/2021

The final episode of Gather themed collecting is now out! Enjoy, and we look forward to celebrating with you on Sunday!

The final episode of the season! What an amazing journey- we’ve featured approximately 25 interviewed guests, discussing their books, theatre, music and beyond. We’ve featured seven independe…

01/12/2021

Hey folks! Have you got your tickets yet for the Gather Podcast Party and Minerva's 5th bday celebrations this Sunday?! Note the change of venue and thanks to Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute for accomodating us. We cant wait to see you- everyone that pre books tickets will get a copy of the Gather zine so get on it! https://minervasbooks.com/2021/11/15/gather-podcast-party/

Well, everyone’s been working hard, making their way through another challenging year so we thought it was time for a celebration! And everyone is invited- with a live or online option, and w…

05/11/2021

In the video above, poet, artist, National Book Award winner, and “godmother of punk” Patti Smith reads a selection from Virginia Woolf’s 1931 experimental novel The Waves, accompanied on piano and guitar by her daughter Jesse and son Jackson.

05/10/2021

A little taster of episode 5 talking Persian poetry and more!

01/10/2021

Episode 5 of Gather is here! enjoy

Episode Art for Gather Episode 5: Adaptation LISTEN HERE or scroll down for more info and photos! To support the show you can make one off or recurring donations, or support through buyin…

19/09/2021

“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

17/09/2021

A little treat for you as a prelude to Episode 5 coming out on October 1st!

Image 3 people in a recorded Zoom meeting: top left a smiling bearded man with a grey background, top right a brown-haired woman with headphones in a creative studio, bottom middle, a man with glas…

12/09/2021

We do miss the shop some days!

Vellichor [VEL-ih-kore]
(n.)
-The wistfulness of a second-hand bookshop.

A neologism from John Koenig’s “The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows” in which it is described thus: “the strange wistfulness of used bookstores, which are somehow infused with the passage of time”.

Used in a sentence:
“Quaint used bookstores, tucked away in old buildings, elicit an awareness of the arcane and arouse a most intoxicating sense of vellichor.”
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The 2022 Grandiloquent Word of the Day Wall Calendar on Kickstarter - snag an early-bird special to get a calendar for you and another for a gift, with shipping included! Link in the comments.

23/08/2021

Leanne attempts to describe Gather podcast ; )

14/08/2021

Remembering our days as a physical bookshop and some of the chalk boards that speak of the times!

11/08/2021

Have you had a chance to listen to Episode 4 yet?! In our Things Found in Books segment Chinese-Australian writer Leanne Hall takes us to a 7 year Faraway Tree Reunion, and its suitably weird and wonderful-

07/08/2021

Gather Episode 4 is here! Enjoy : )

In this episode we look at the by turns painful, joyous, creative, and generally angsty time of transition as we become our older selves (something that never really stops evolving, as Virginia Wolf wrote- “A self that goes on changing is a self t...

02/08/2021

Episode 4 of Gather will be out this Friday with special guest Leanne Hall! Here she is with a list of must- read YA https://www.readings.com.au/news/must-read-ya-for-the-second-half-of-2021

There are some really exciting YA books coming out in the second half of this year, so buckle up! Your TBR pile is about to grow… Half My Luck by Samera Kamaleddine (released on 28 July 2021) Layla Karimi is sort of Australian and sort of Leb…

21/07/2021

We’d love to get your voice messages this week to include in the next episode! Here is Julian talking about the influence of reading Nietzsche on him in his 20s : )

16/07/2021

As we cook up Episode 4 for you themed Coming of Age (we are still collecting your voice messages about your fave books too!) why not catch up on existing episodes? Our bookish gift to you, Enjoy! https://gather.buzzsprout.com/

Audio adventures exploring the lives of books, and the ideas they ignite and illuminate. Each episode is themed and unfurls from a book or books, and features the work of artists, writers, musicians and thinkers. Hosted by Amy Tsilemanis of Tinder...

15/07/2021

The century-old Drama Book Shop in Manhattan struggled for years. Then “Hamilton” happened.

12/07/2021

Lovely lockdown memories from last year with our letterbox book drops!

24/06/2021

Thanks so much Sarah Hart Creative, a font of fairy tale history, ideas and creativity. Have you listened to the latest episode yet?