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The Reading Room (2pm in the Library for a start @ 10.30am – 12noon)

This volunteer run reading and discussion group meets monthly. It is anticipated that members will read the selected book prior to attendance.
If you would like to be a part of this group (free to BMI members) please complete the Expression of Interest. We welcome your feedback through this form as we progress this great new initiative. 
 
Expression of Interest to participate >

 

For more information go to

Books That Saved My Life | Michael McGirr

More about the Author.

JUNE SESSION

Here are forty texts to read at some stage in your life- forty texts that can enrich you in all manner of ways. Some are recent, like Harry Potter; some ancient, like Homer and Lao Tzu. There are memoirs (Nelson Mandela), poetry (Les Murray) and many of the world’s great novels, from George Eliot’s Middlemarch to Toni Morrison’s Beloved. Our guide, in entertaining short essays about personal encounters with each of these works, is Michael McGirr- schoolteacher and former priest, reviewer of hundreds of novels and lifelong lover of literature.

His humour and insight shine through in stories that connect the texts he has selected with each other, and connect us to them. Never prescriptive, and often very funny, this book is an invitation to reflect on-and share with others-the extraordinary gift of reading. ‘It is a gift that is taking me a lifetime to unwrap,? McGirr writes. ‘The excitement has never worn off.?

About the Author

Michael McGirr is the bestselling author of Snooze- The Lost Art of Sleep, Things You Get for Free and Bypass. He has reviewed almost one thousand books for various newspapers; his short fiction has appeared in Australian and overseas publications; and he has been a publisher of Eureka Street and fiction editor at Meanjin. 

Review a title

Why not review a book for the benefit of our members. We will publish these reviews in our social media and website from time to time.

My Book Review >

This event is a BMI Community Art Project – Ballarat’s Oldest Cultural Institution

Introducing Malcolm Roberts | Board Member, Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute

01/05/2024 No Comments

Introducing Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute Board Member, Malcolm Roberts. Malcolm Roberts is Ballarat born and educated. He has had a varied business career in hospitality, corporate management and senior management where he was responsible for delivering high levels of customer service.  Malcolm has a firm commitment and passion for the Ballarat community and the region, supporting local

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Garry Disher at the BMI

29/04/2024 No Comments

We had a packed house in the Humffray Room for Garry Disher on Sunday. Garry proved a witty and articulate interviewee, and had the audience of over 80 rapt with tales of his literary career (being nominated for the Booker Prize); amusing anecdotes about readers who worry that the author “condones” the awful things his

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book cover

Rosemary’s Book of the Week | 29 April 2024

29/04/2024 No Comments

What Happened to Nina? Dervla McTiernan. Nina and Simon are the perfect couple. Young, fun and deeply in love. Until they leave for a weekend at his family’s cabin in Vermont, and only Simon comes home. What happened to Nina? Nobody knows. Simon’s explanation about what happened in their last hours together doesn’t add up. Nina’s parents

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Dervla McTiernan at the BMI | The Wheeler Centre | Ballarat Libraries

24/04/2024 No Comments

What a joy it was to have Dervla McTiernan welcomed by a packed house in the Minerva Space last night.  Thank you to Lauren, The Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas, Julie Stevens and her team at Ballarat Libraries Lexie Jeuniewic, Collins Booksellers Ballarat on Lydiard, Geradine Christou & Marilyn Furness and her amazing

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A Message from the Chair | BMI Board of Directors | May 2024

23/04/2024 No Comments

Hello everyone. Well things are certainly heating up at the BMI as Ballarat weather cools down. There’s no excuse to be caught out in the cold though, as our welcoming and warm surroundings provide the perfect venue for a variable feast of information and entertainment over the next couple of months. To backtrack a little,

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BMI Fundraiser

Featuring:
The Hideaways,
The Harmonies &
Surf Shadows. 

2 course dinner & lots
of dancing

find out more